I have a Comp USA store about an hour from me. That has to be the worst merchandised store I've ever been in. All the computers are in the rear of the store. Magazines and low priced peripherals are in the front.
In addition they used to sell all the old ppc stuff next to the new intel stuff without realy distinguishing between the two.
We called it IncompetentUSA here on Memphis! There was never anyone there to help with a Mac issue, when there was someone there, they did not have a clue! I hope the close all of the stores, they have all gone down hill since they were biught by that mexican guy. I have nothing against mexicans, so don't flame me over that, this guy does not have a clue how to run a computer store.
after i read the article about CompUSA stores closing I took a trip to the store 6 blocks away.
First thing I notice... ALL SALES FINAL... sign on the door...inside the hustle and bustle of locals showing the company men where everything is...manager specials already out.
i asked one of the guys in the white shirts "why are all the sales final?" he tells me the store is closing in about two weeks. 5%-30% discounts on everything this weekend. then next week 30% - 70% off.
The CompUSA here in Greenville, SC sells more Apple products than any CompUSA in the entire southeast. I guess that's why it's remaining open. We're supposed to be getting a real Apple Store sometime this year though.
I worked for CompUSA as a Tech salesman a number of years ago, and witnessed multiple incidents of management and other salesmen willing and knowingly decieving customers. As an example, other salesmen told me that a "great" way to increase the total ticket price on a sale was to grab higher margin items (printer cables/ink/etc.) from the shelf and placing them in the shopping basket while pushing a customer who had decided to buy a CPU, monitor, etc., basket to the front of the store...with the hope that the customer wouldn't really notice the extra $80 to $200 in items until after the sale. Really shady stuff.
In fact, I quit my job (which paid very well in commission otherwise...upwards of 60k a year for selling computers from the floor!) because I grew tired of the enviornment.
I'm not surprised to see this happening.
My friends and I have been to CompUSA stores many times over the years and have NEVER had that happen!!!
Maybe NYC has stricter laws than where you live, but I've also never even heard of that happening.
Maybe if their customer service didn't suck, people would actually shop there. At the one by me, if you weren't looking at a computer, you weren't getting assistance. But walk into the computer section, and you couldn't go 2 steps without being offered assistance.
And their great deals that mysteriously sold out before I got there even though I was there a mere 15 minutes after it opened. There was probably a bunch of the item sitting in the stock room that they moved off the floor in the morning so they were "out of stock."
I've gotten rainchecks for items that sold out.
Look, they aren't the "best" places around, but they aren't the worst either.
They're just caught between larger stores with more bucks in their pockets.
I say bring on more Fry's! Yeah, there Mac section sucks, their staff are ill informed but they have some amazing deals and great return policys on hardware and it's not obvious if you are buying an open box item or not.
I worked at CompUSA like ten years ago and I was the dedicated Mac Guy and loved every day of it but then when they brought in a new GM (who traveled like more than 60 miles one way in his commute) and was a major ass to boot it was time for me to go.
I actually left and tried to come back. The day of my interview with this guy he says "first thing you need to do is tuck in your shirt and you gotta sell PCs too and do a major push with the extended warrenty."
I was the first in any of their stores nationwide who brought in my own DV video camera and demo'd off iMovie 1.0....then all the Apple sales reps came in with a DV camera provided by Apple and did the same. I was a legend in my own right
You're the second guy wrong about Fry's.
And, in case you don't know, EVERYBODY pushes the extended warrantees—including Apple!
And, yeah, if you're going to be on the floor, tuck in your shirt. At least TRY to look professional.
Yes that one. I hate the store and I hate the layout of the store but
1) It's close to the Apple Store
and
2) It's the best place around for me to grab stuff I can't get at the Apple Store (Ink, Photo Paper, Cameras, etc.)
Sebastian
That's where you had to buy Apple stuff back around the dot-com boom...and bust. CompUSA. Yeah, old skool dude. There was no Apple Stores [official fancy ones] at all back in the day. Around there was Prada and HelloKitty and stuff. 8)
I actually left and tried to come back. The day of my interview with this guy he says "...... you gotta sell PCs too and do a major push with the extended warrenty.".....
I swear a few times at CompUSA downtown SF around dotcom boom-bust, I feared for my life that I would be hit repeatedly with a baseball bat by the salesperson until I caved and bought the CompUSA/ Apple extended warranty.
That's where you had to buy Apple stuff back around the dot-com boom...and bust. CompUSA. Yeah, old skool dude. There was no Apple Stores [official fancy ones] at all back in the day. Around there was Prada and HelloKitty and stuff. 8)
Mmm... memories... CompUSA Downtown SF.
You sure it's closing? Conf1rmed?
Here's the list of stores closing in the next 60 to 90 days as reported from the CompUSA website. I don't see SF on the list though.
I am very sad to see this happen. My dad is the ASC at the CompUSA in Omaha, NE. Now he's going to be out of a job. Of course he has been talking about retirement for a couple years (he's 67 years old). And yes, he is the oldest ASC in Apple. He was also always in the top 5 people in his position for the last 5 years. Don't know if any of you knew this, but Werner Trucking switched to all macs (except for their AS400 mainframe). My dad brokered that deal for Apple. It was about a $2 billion deal. I'm not surprised to see this happen in the end though. The upper management of CompUSA really had their head's up their butts. That's the real reason for this happening. They got a new CEO and he's cutting off an arm to save the body. Sucks, but it has to be done. Just my 2 cents.
I am very sad to see this happen. My dad is the ASC at the CompUSA in Omaha, NE. Now he's going to be out of a job. Of course he has been talking about retirement for a couple years (he's 67 years old). And yes, he is the oldest ASC in Apple. He was also always in the top 5 people in his position for the last 5 years. Don't know if any of you knew this, but Werner Trucking switched to all macs (except for their AS400 mainframe). My dad brokered that deal for Apple. It was about a $2 billion deal. I'm not surprised to see this happen in the end though. The upper management of CompUSA really had their head's up their butts. That's the real reason for this happening. They got a new CEO and he's cutting off an arm to save the body. Sucks, but it has to be done. Just my 2 cents.
Beo
I'm sure your Dad either will be able to consult for a variety of Apple resellers -- maybe travel a bit, and transition to semi-retirement... With all his Apple reseller consumer and small-to-large enterprise experience.
It will be fine. This is a frack up with CompUSA, Apple has a good future ahead of time. All the best.
I am very sad to see this happen. My dad is the ASC at the CompUSA in Omaha, NE. Now he's going to be out of a job. Of course he has been talking about retirement for a couple years (he's 67 years old). And yes, he is the oldest ASC in Apple. He was also always in the top 5 people in his position for the last 5 years. Don't know if any of you knew this, but Werner Trucking switched to all macs (except for their AS400 mainframe). My dad brokered that deal for Apple. It was about a $2 billion deal. I'm not surprised to see this happen in the end though. The upper management of CompUSA really had their head's up their butts. That's the real reason for this happening. They got a new CEO and he's cutting off an arm to save the body. Sucks, but it has to be done. Just my 2 cents.
Beo
I'm not going to denigrate what your dad did, but it would have been more like a $2 million deal.
I have some mixed feelings about CompUSA closing. The CompUSA where I used to live was the only place around to see new Macs when they came out. In fact, if it wasn't for CompUSA, I would have had to drive 90 minutes to get anything for the Mac before the original iMac was released.
Then there is the CompUSA near where I live now. It's the complete opposite of the one near my old house. The sales people don't know what they are talking about, prices are outrageously high, and don't get me started about the service department. My cousin bought a Power Mac G5 from CompUSA and after experiencing problems right out of the box with it, brought it back to CompUSA for a repair or replacement. They kept it for months and then called my Aunt telling her to come pick it up before they threw it out. They never even looked at it, the computer sat in the box the entire time it was at the store.
Looking at the list, the CompUSA I liked is closing while the store that I will avoid at all costs gets to stay open. It's just a matter of time before the entire chain goes under.
I have some mixed feelings about CompUSA closing. The CompUSA where I used to live was the only place around to see new Macs when they came out. In fact, if it wasn't for CompUSA, I would have had to drive 90 minutes to get anything for the Mac before the original iMac was released.
Then there is the CompUSA near where I live now. It's the complete opposite of the one near my old house. The sales people don't know what they are talking about, prices are outrageously high, and don't get me started about the service department. My cousin bought a Power Mac G5 from CompUSA and after experiencing problems right out of the box with it, brought it back to CompUSA for a repair or replacement. They kept it for months and then called my Aunt telling her to come pick it up before they threw it out. They never even looked at it, the computer sat in the box the entire time it was at the store.
Looking at the list, the CompUSA I liked is closing while the store that I will avoid at all costs gets to stay open. It's just a matter of time before the entire chain goes under.
In 2001/2002 sometime I bought an iBook G3 500mhz from CompUSA downtown SF. I'd complained above about being badgered about extended warranties.
That said though, there was a pretty nice guy at the Apple service department... Well, I think he did general tech repairs but he was Apple-Certified-Tech too. What was happening was a stupid FW400 add-on card I put into my Dell at work, when connected FW400-6pin-to-6pin to the iBook port, kept frying the iBook FW400 port. All in all, during the 1st year of warranty, the CompUSA Apple tech replaced the iBook logic board like 3 times. He was somewhat confounded, but he must have figured, well, must be something weird going on. I only connected the dots by the 3rd logic board replacement and never let my iBook near that work Dell ever again...!! I sold the iBook G3 to a workmate in the middle of 2002 and bought a beautiful Titanium G4 PowerBook from CompUSA. Needed it because I was planning at that stage to quit my job and rev-up some contract work or a new job. Had a friend (workmate's boyfriend) who worked at Adobe so I got some original Adobe software at staff price... Wow. about 5 years ago now.
Comments
In addition they used to sell all the old ppc stuff next to the new intel stuff without realy distinguishing between the two.
First thing I notice... ALL SALES FINAL... sign on the door...inside the hustle and bustle of locals showing the company men where everything is...manager specials already out.
i asked one of the guys in the white shirts "why are all the sales final?" he tells me the store is closing in about two weeks. 5%-30% discounts on everything this weekend. then next week 30% - 70% off.
aaawww yeah.
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!!
The CompUSA where I buy ink for my printer, and other things I can't find at the Apple Store is shutting down!
Sebastian
This the one opposite the official Apple Store? corner of something-and Market St Downtown??
I worked for CompUSA as a Tech salesman a number of years ago, and witnessed multiple incidents of management and other salesmen willing and knowingly decieving customers. As an example, other salesmen told me that a "great" way to increase the total ticket price on a sale was to grab higher margin items (printer cables/ink/etc.) from the shelf and placing them in the shopping basket while pushing a customer who had decided to buy a CPU, monitor, etc., basket to the front of the store...with the hope that the customer wouldn't really notice the extra $80 to $200 in items until after the sale. Really shady stuff.
In fact, I quit my job (which paid very well in commission otherwise...upwards of 60k a year for selling computers from the floor!) because I grew tired of the enviornment.
I'm not surprised to see this happening.
My friends and I have been to CompUSA stores many times over the years and have NEVER had that happen!!!
Maybe NYC has stricter laws than where you live, but I've also never even heard of that happening.
Maybe if their customer service didn't suck, people would actually shop there. At the one by me, if you weren't looking at a computer, you weren't getting assistance. But walk into the computer section, and you couldn't go 2 steps without being offered assistance.
And their great deals that mysteriously sold out before I got there even though I was there a mere 15 minutes after it opened. There was probably a bunch of the item sitting in the stock room that they moved off the floor in the morning so they were "out of stock."
I've gotten rainchecks for items that sold out.
Look, they aren't the "best" places around, but they aren't the worst either.
They're just caught between larger stores with more bucks in their pockets.
I say bring on more Fry's! Yeah, there Mac section sucks, their staff are ill informed but they have some amazing deals and great return policys on hardware and it's not obvious if you are buying an open box item or not.
I worked at CompUSA like ten years ago and I was the dedicated Mac Guy and loved every day of it but then when they brought in a new GM (who traveled like more than 60 miles one way in his commute) and was a major ass to boot it was time for me to go.
I actually left and tried to come back. The day of my interview with this guy he says "first thing you need to do is tuck in your shirt and you gotta sell PCs too and do a major push with the extended warrenty."
I was the first in any of their stores nationwide who brought in my own DV video camera and demo'd off iMovie 1.0....then all the Apple sales reps came in with a DV camera provided by Apple and did the same. I was a legend in my own right
You're the second guy wrong about Fry's.
And, in case you don't know, EVERYBODY pushes the extended warrantees—including Apple!
And, yeah, if you're going to be on the floor, tuck in your shirt. At least TRY to look professional.
This the one opposite the official Apple Store? corner of something-and Market St Downtown??
Yes that one. I hate the store and I hate the layout of the store but
1) It's close to the Apple Store
and
2) It's the best place around for me to grab stuff I can't get at the Apple Store (Ink, Photo Paper, Cameras, etc.)
Sebastian
Yes that one. I hate the store and I hate the layout of the store but
1) It's close to the Apple Store
and
2) It's the best place around for me to grab stuff I can't get at the Apple Store (Ink, Photo Paper, Cameras, etc.)
Sebastian
That's where you had to buy Apple stuff back around the dot-com boom...and bust. CompUSA. Yeah, old skool dude. There was no Apple Stores [official fancy ones] at all back in the day. Around there was Prada and HelloKitty and stuff. 8)
Mmm... memories... CompUSA Downtown SF.
You sure it's closing? Conf1rmed?
I actually left and tried to come back. The day of my interview with this guy he says "...... you gotta sell PCs too and do a major push with the extended warrenty.".....
I swear a few times at CompUSA downtown SF around dotcom boom-bust, I feared for my life that I would be hit repeatedly with a baseball bat by the salesperson until I caved and bought the CompUSA/ Apple extended warranty.
That's where you had to buy Apple stuff back around the dot-com boom...and bust. CompUSA. Yeah, old skool dude. There was no Apple Stores [official fancy ones] at all back in the day. Around there was Prada and HelloKitty and stuff. 8)
Mmm... memories... CompUSA Downtown SF.
You sure it's closing? Conf1rmed?
Here's the list of stores closing in the next 60 to 90 days as reported from the CompUSA website. I don't see SF on the list though.
Beo
I am very sad to see this happen. My dad is the ASC at the CompUSA in Omaha, NE. Now he's going to be out of a job. Of course he has been talking about retirement for a couple years (he's 67 years old). And yes, he is the oldest ASC in Apple. He was also always in the top 5 people in his position for the last 5 years. Don't know if any of you knew this, but Werner Trucking switched to all macs (except for their AS400 mainframe). My dad brokered that deal for Apple. It was about a $2 billion deal. I'm not surprised to see this happen in the end though. The upper management of CompUSA really had their head's up their butts. That's the real reason for this happening. They got a new CEO and he's cutting off an arm to save the body. Sucks, but it has to be done. Just my 2 cents.
Beo
I'm sure your Dad either will be able to consult for a variety of Apple resellers -- maybe travel a bit, and transition to semi-retirement... With all his Apple reseller consumer and small-to-large enterprise experience.
It will be fine. This is a frack up with CompUSA, Apple has a good future ahead of time. All the best.
I am very sad to see this happen. My dad is the ASC at the CompUSA in Omaha, NE. Now he's going to be out of a job. Of course he has been talking about retirement for a couple years (he's 67 years old). And yes, he is the oldest ASC in Apple. He was also always in the top 5 people in his position for the last 5 years. Don't know if any of you knew this, but Werner Trucking switched to all macs (except for their AS400 mainframe). My dad brokered that deal for Apple. It was about a $2 billion deal. I'm not surprised to see this happen in the end though. The upper management of CompUSA really had their head's up their butts. That's the real reason for this happening. They got a new CEO and he's cutting off an arm to save the body. Sucks, but it has to be done. Just my 2 cents.
Beo
I'm not going to denigrate what your dad did, but it would have been more like a $2 million deal.
Here's the list of stores closing in the next 60 to 90 days as reported from the CompUSA website. I don't see SF on the list though.
Which Leaves me about a few extra months to buy up as much Printer Ink as I can until I find another store that offers it that cheap
Sebastian
Then there is the CompUSA near where I live now. It's the complete opposite of the one near my old house. The sales people don't know what they are talking about, prices are outrageously high, and don't get me started about the service department. My cousin bought a Power Mac G5 from CompUSA and after experiencing problems right out of the box with it, brought it back to CompUSA for a repair or replacement. They kept it for months and then called my Aunt telling her to come pick it up before they threw it out. They never even looked at it, the computer sat in the box the entire time it was at the store.
Looking at the list, the CompUSA I liked is closing while the store that I will avoid at all costs gets to stay open. It's just a matter of time before the entire chain goes under.
I have some mixed feelings about CompUSA closing. The CompUSA where I used to live was the only place around to see new Macs when they came out. In fact, if it wasn't for CompUSA, I would have had to drive 90 minutes to get anything for the Mac before the original iMac was released.
Then there is the CompUSA near where I live now. It's the complete opposite of the one near my old house. The sales people don't know what they are talking about, prices are outrageously high, and don't get me started about the service department. My cousin bought a Power Mac G5 from CompUSA and after experiencing problems right out of the box with it, brought it back to CompUSA for a repair or replacement. They kept it for months and then called my Aunt telling her to come pick it up before they threw it out. They never even looked at it, the computer sat in the box the entire time it was at the store.
Looking at the list, the CompUSA I liked is closing while the store that I will avoid at all costs gets to stay open. It's just a matter of time before the entire chain goes under.
In 2001/2002 sometime I bought an iBook G3 500mhz from CompUSA downtown SF. I'd complained above about being badgered about extended warranties.
That said though, there was a pretty nice guy at the Apple service department... Well, I think he did general tech repairs but he was Apple-Certified-Tech too. What was happening was a stupid FW400 add-on card I put into my Dell at work, when connected FW400-6pin-to-6pin to the iBook port, kept frying the iBook FW400 port. All in all, during the 1st year of warranty, the CompUSA Apple tech replaced the iBook logic board like 3 times. He was somewhat confounded, but he must have figured, well, must be something weird going on. I only connected the dots by the 3rd logic board replacement and never let my iBook near that work Dell ever again...!! I sold the iBook G3 to a workmate in the middle of 2002 and bought a beautiful Titanium G4 PowerBook from CompUSA. Needed it because I was planning at that stage to quit my job and rev-up some contract work or a new job. Had a friend (workmate's boyfriend) who worked at Adobe so I got some original Adobe software at staff price... Wow. about 5 years ago now.
Which Leaves me about a few extra months to buy up as much Printer Ink as I can until I find another store that offers it that cheap
Sebastian
Better deals than online, huh?