Sent: Oct 20, 2006 7:50:53 AM
To: service@futureshop.com
hi there, i just thought i would share with you the most unpleasant shopping experience i have ever had! actually, i believe it is my ONLY unpleasant experience! i spent all morning yesterday researching online what kind of lcd monitor we should get. after reading reviews as well as user comments at several sites, i settled on one model that was available at your store (which, by the way, is a TWO HOUR drive). we did some other shopping, of course, checked out the selection at costco and then went to your future shop store on regent. there was a lady who said hi to us just after we had walked in to the store, that was the last time someone talked to us. we went straight to the monitors, i found the monitor i had looked at online, i was happy with the display so i was ready to purchase it. unfortunately i couldn't find one in a box, the tag said "open box" so i assume that meant there was just the display model left. that was fine, i didn't care, i just needed a sales associate to help me with it.... we waited around for someone a few minutes then one of my girls needed to go to the bathroom so we took care of that and came back and waited around for assistance again waiting, waiting, walked around looking for someone in the area who was available, waiting, waiting. see sales associates go by, looking at us as they walk by, waiting, waiting, same sales associates go by, looking at us, waiting, waiting. another sales associate helps someone near by, they're looking at computers and then at monitors. he's beside us on our right, walks in front of us to our left, goes back to our right, at which point i actually started to speak to him. he didn't even look at me! not once, no "i'll be right with you" or anything like that. i see another sales associate always busy in the computer section and he's never in our area. finally a couple sales associates, one of which had looked at us as he walked down the main aisle SEVERAL times (after the second time he wouldn't look in our direction anymore), came in computer section, again seeing that we were needing assistance, but again not acknowledging us. i seek them out, i was impatient, i was upset, i demanded for help and went back to the monitors. i was even more upset at his answer, he never asked what i needed help with, he never said someone would be with me shortly, instead he pointed out the two sales associates that were in the area and said they were with someone else. well, obviously, otherwise i wouldn't have been standing around all his time, trying to keep my three kids civilized! i was fuming at his attitude! he didn't care what so ever when i stormed out empty handed. i think he actually said "fine"! hard to believe that if anyone would have asked, they would have found an easy sale. i already knew what i wanted before i entered the store!!! i just wish i could have brought the display model to the checkout so we wouldn't have had to waste our time with you guys!!!
we were in your store for an hour!!! we waited for someone to talk to us for an hour!!! (ok, take off 5 or 10 minutes for bathroom break) no wonder my kids were running around, making noise. i would have left long before had i known that much time had passed! i wish the monitor i had picked was at a different store and i could have totally avoided dealing with your incompetent sales people. now that i think about it, it would have taken me less time to drive to another future shop. but who knows if we would have had the same experience there?!
i wasn't ready to go back home without a monitor, that was the main purpose of our trip to winnipeg! so we went a couple of doors down to best buy where the sales associates actually asked if they could assist us. imagine that, what a concept!!! one of them even opened up with "what brings you to best buy?" oh if he only knew!
don't worry! i won't be going back to future shop so your sales people don't need to worry about me yelling in their store again...
christine sibilleau
Christine,
Don't know if you're aware about Future shop and Best Buy, but they are actually the same company. Difference is, future shop is commission sales, best buy salaried. How odd that the service should have really been the opposite of what you got. But it is VERY typical. Working in retail myself, I know how incredibly frustrating I find it if someone has to wait for me. I try and find someone to help them if I'm unable to..........maybe I'm the last of a dying breed.
i know you take care of your customers! i guess i was more upset by his reaction, i wasn't expecting a salesperson to dish it back out to me! after my email someone did EVENTUALLY (but that's a whole other story) contact me from the store and he seemed genuine and disappointed that i had poor experience, he said that my attitude was irrelevant-their job is to serve the customer (regardless if they're a B^T@H)! i felt a lot better after talking to him - Kevin, Senior General Manager for the Winnipeg stores. i might even go back to future shop, except for the one on regent...
yup, i knew before that future shop and best buy were part of the same company but i only found out about the commission/salary thing while i was at best buy.
it's funny though - several people have since told me that they won't go back to future shop because of poor service and that they love best buy. total opposite of what you'd expect because of the commision/salary difference!