Tag: frys

Computer Parts Shopping

Posted onAuthorComputer Tweaker1 Comment

At a local electronics store in America. I am sure many have one in mind when I say that. I decided to go to the video card section and check out some of the video cards when a ( I am uncertain if they are sales associates or stocking clerks with a strange desire to sell you something slightly more expensive) walked up to me and offered to help me. I told him I was looking for an Nvidia GTS250 1gb, this card was right behind us about mid back. The guy reached up and grabbed an Nvidia 275 card.$70 difference. He began to suggest I needed a card that was more expensive, before asking me if my computer can even handle it. Like do I have a strong power supply, Do I have pci express? Do I at least have windows xp. So I chuckle and said ” Why you gotta call me out??? I don’t have that much money”. We both chuckled at how I did that. I then broke out with specifics. I told him ” I am looking for a match to my card so I can run SLI” He started to butt in with ” this will run SLI” I laughed and continued with ” I need specs like  ‘Shader Clock 1836MHz,Memory Data Rate 2240MHz,GDDR3,RAMDAC 800 total to match exactly what I have” He looked at me with his eyes glossed over and then muttered ” well if you need me my name is” blah blah blah I got glossed eyed. He walked away

While I was walking around in the video cards section, I noticed that one of the video card’s box had the shrink wrap open. The price was kind of ok, and the box was super heavy. This usually means a large card or a really heavy heatsink. I actually had that exact same video card. It was a BFG 250. It broke on me. I was trying to see if it was the same exact model as what mine is Or if it was going to be a low profile with no sli. Mine isn’t completely broke I wanted to see what I could do with mine in SLI. An employee of the store walked over to me an said that I needed to take that video card over to the manager’s station . I told him that I just wanted to confirm that the video card was what I was looking for. He said that he was (I’m paraphrasing) certain that was what i was doing then he assured me that company policy was the way it was. So I waddled up to the counter/command center (lol), and when I get up there I explain what the request was of the employee. By that time I saw all I needed to see. So I asked a question. I said ” I notice there are a whole lot of items on the shelf that had the “returned item” price marked down sticker, Why is that?”. The guy at the stand looked up and had a look in his face that I can’t explain and said “well a lot of people do not know much about what they are buying and what they have. They get home and that parts do not match so they bring it back to us certain that it is broken”. I tried to have no expression as I replied ” Wow that’s a whole lot of people”. I then walked back to the video cards section.

 

I then walk over to the motherboard section and start looking at the motherboards, I mean since I do have an extra Athlon II processor and brand new, non functioning motherboard.

I noticed it was the same thing going on in the motherboard section as the video card section. Tons of stickers (well not as many but quite a few) of returned items with prices being marked down.

while standing there , my favorite motherboard associate was there telling some story about a video game. So I started to tell my story of how games for windows live some add in code to my GTAIV told me that I installed the game to many times and the whole uproar it caused for a week. The dude looked at me odd and walked away. So I finished my video.

Now my big question is : Why are there so many products on the shelves like that? Is it normal for that many products to be returned? could that many people not know much about what they are buying ? Could it be an occasional bad item gets returned then reshelved, and no one wants to buy the returns, so they build up in time? Is it because they have been burned so many time they just figure it’s easier to let the customers test it, if it comes back they finally send it back to manufacturer? Is it cheaper that way instead of sending a truck back once a month like all other companies do ?

I asked Greg from “Greg’s Snippets” and he had a great answer. He suggested that you have to consider the foul customers and the not very knowledgeable, the random dysfunctional parts, display items and items just like the one I stumbled across that was on the shelf and already open. Each of those items have to weighed in as some factors as to why these products are back on the shelf like that. This is a guy who always sees the deep seedy truth about everything he hears and sees, so him giving that response was a bit out of character. but hey it made sense.

You tell me what you think it could be.

Frys Let Me Down

Posted onAuthorComputer Tweaker2 Comments

Ok, Story time.

15 days ago I was given $150 to upgrade someone’s computer. This computer was very old. pc100 ram. Max of less than 1g capabilities. It only had a 40 gig hard drive and the processor was a Pentium II. I take the $150 and go to fry’s and walk around in circles for an hour as I always do. The frys in Houston Texas off I45 and West Road. It hit me, I cam up with an idea. I put together in my head all of the parts that where on sale and with in a budget I could handle and a good enough upgrade to be near worth the change of parts.So I look at my son who has been on his Intel e2200 processor for 2 years. And I think about my Athlon 5600+. I see that you can buy a gigabyte motherboard and an AMD 440 for $59. Ok that is not bad, not bad at all. Below I see 4 gigs pc 6400. I grab two of the cpus/motherboard packages and the 4 gigs memory. I rush home and yank only $80 out of the pot that I was supposed to use to build this kid’s computer with, I stuff that money in my pocket. I yank my two gigs of memory out of my computer and my 5600+. Throw a triple core Amd 440 and 4 gigs of memory in my machine, chunk my memory and my old processor in one of the new boards, toss it into the kid’s computer and install windows from one of my unused disks. There he is set. I take the other mobo and cpu combo and build a triple core 3.0 gig CPU  and 4 gigs memory computer for my son. We all came out with very nice machines for under two hundred bucks.

The kid’s computer is running like a monster. My son’s computer however had gone through a huge series of bsod (Blue Screen of Death) . I go to return the motherboard and processor for his machine and forgot the dang backplate. They sent us back home to get that. We go back up there. A different person was checking us out the next time we get there. They said the box for the cpu did not match. Even though the processor I was returning had the serial code on it, and that serial code matched my receipt. ok I go home and get the box. I get back up there with both boxes. This time I am being checked out by a third person. He now says that the box for the motherboard does not match the serial code on the motherboard. Even though the serial code on the motherboard matched the receipt. 3 trips to that place. This is the last day of the 15 day Warranty. It takes me 30 minutes to get home, 30 minutes to get back. I am standing there in front of the dude and it is 30 minutes before they close. He walks to his manager and explains what has been happening. The  manager some skinny dude with a nasty comb over and a suite that is 4 sizes too big for him shrugs and laughs and says I need the right box.

I asked the manager to come talk to me and hear what I have as the situation. I just wanted to see if he would laugh in my face within kicking distance. As soon as he walks up he says ” there is nothing i can do without the right box” . I tell him it is my 3rd trip up there and it would have been helpful if someone would have covered all of this the first time I came up there. I explained that one of the boxes are at some kid’s house and I will not be able to get it back. He grins and stares at me with a “ok figure it out dude” look on his face. I grab my stuff and start to walk out the door. I turn to the guy and very angrily started to say ” this is how you satisfy customers” I have no idea what I was going to say with that. The dude doesn’t care, he is just there to stand in goofy poses and look important. I got half way through saying it and just stopped and walked away.

On the way out of the door, the door guy who is suposed to check your bag and mark your receipts stepped in front of me with his purple highlighter, I looked him in the face and told him to F off. I know it wasn’t his fault. I just didn’t want to have to go through  a hokey pokey of explaining that I am walking out of the store with a handful of parts and a receipt that already has a highlighter check on it from the last person who didn’t actually inspect my stuff. I just knew that this time I would be accused of something I didn’t do so I stopped him right there. He replied with a “woaaaah!!!???” . I continued to the car and left for home. I got home 5 minutes before they closed. I would never make it back.

If the lazy bunch had their act together (yeah I know I had the wrong stuff) they could have double checked all that i was walking in and out with to let me know what else I need. they were not helpful at all.

From now on I am buying everything I need from http://www.tigerdirect.com/ They have better deals anyway. You only have to wait a few days though. and I am not one to go around saying that Fry’s sucks, But they really let me down. The biggest  tech review site in Houston, and the most common writer here, treated like a nagging 12 year old.