By Judi Curry
GRRR! Last week my microwave oven broke. Since a neighbor had her house catch on fire due to a faulty microwave, I decided rather than limp along with a door that had to be banged shut rather than closed normally and risk the possibility of fire I would purchase a new one.
I did extensive research, and decided on a Panasonic 2.2 CuFt Inverter Countertop, and then did price checks on those places offering the oven.
Not surprisingly, I ended up making the purchase from Amazon, which seems to be where I am purchasing everything lately. The total cost was $187. It was to be delivered the next day – a Monday.
In the Sunday paper, I happened to notice the Frys’ ad – good only on Sunday– and they had the exact same oven listed for $99.99! And, according to their advertisement it “Ships Free!” All I had to do was to sign up for their advantage program. No problem. Did it immediately and was given a promo code number.
Then the fun began.
I went to their on-line advertisement – the EXACT SAME ad that I was holding in my hand – and ordered the microwave. The first thing I saw was “does not ship”. I have to pick it up at the store. I thought about that for awhile, and then decided that the $70 savings was worth the crowd and ordered the oven. I had a moment of panic when it showed the price at $169, but after I put in my promo code it dropped to the $99.99 price.
As I was preparing to leave to pick it up, I received this message:
“In-Store Pick Up Order Acknowledgment
Dear Frys Electronics Customer,
Your request for in-store pick up has been received. Please do not go to the store yet! This email is a confirmation that your order has been received.
You will receive a confirmation e-mail within 20 minutes* indicating whether or not the item(s) you have requested have been located and set aside for you at the checkout counter of the store you have selected”
This message was received at 12:51pm. At 1:12pm I received this message:
“We apologize for the delay, but we are in still in the process of confirming your order. Your order will either be confirmed or you will be contacted within the next 10 minutes indicating whether or not the item(s) you have requested have been located and ready for you.”
At 2:00pm I contacted Fry’s and was on hold for 31 minutes. (Thank goodness I have a speaker phone and could put the phone down!)
I spoke to a woman that sounded apologetic about the problem, and again put me on hold while she checked to see why I hadn’t been called back. She came back on the line and said the order was still being processed. I asked her why it was taking so long, and she said she would check with the appliance manager. And she put me on hold again.
While I was waiting for her to return, I received the following message:
“Dear judi curry,
Your request to cancel In-Store Pickup Order has been processed and confirmed. Thank you for choosing Frys.com In-Store PickUp!”
And just as I get this message the woman comes back on the phone and tells me she has the appliance manager on the line. I informed her about the cancellation notice, and she says, “that’s funny. It still shows that it is in progress.” Like, “funny, haha?” She said, “are you sure you didn’t cancel it?” Yep, I’m sure.
The Appliance manager comes on the line and gives me some far-fetched story about people are in the store putting the oven in their baskets and all that is left is a demo and one in a box. (In a box? So, why can’t I have that one?) Nowhere in the ad does it says “supply limited; nowhere in the ad does it say “limit one”. Also nowhere in the ad does it say anything about rain checks – positive and/or negative.
There is only one conclusion that I can draw from this experience: Frys is as guilty of a scam as some of the men that I talk to on my on-line dating sites. I placed the order in ample time to receive it; shipping was never available even though the ad said it was; it was a “come-on” to get you into the store. Well, it didn’t work with this blond. I may pay $70 more with Amazon, but at least I know they will stand by their advertisements.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I doubt it’s a scam. It’s only a one day sale. What can you say, wrong place at the wrong time on seeing this ad.
I don’t know, Ron. I think what they wanted to do was to get me in the store; tell me that they didn’t have the advertised product, and try to sell me something else that cost more. If it was a one day sale, they should say “no rainchecks,” or some such thing. I still think it was a “come on”
I stopped shopping Frye’s a long time ago for these very reasons. I agree that their ads are bait and switch. In my opinion, $70 is a small price to pay for avoiding the frustration and crowds.
Hope your Amazon microwave serves you well.
You’re probably lucky you missed out – not only are their ads misleading, but they’ll repackage and re-sell faulty consumer returns left and right without disclosure. I learned long ago from friends into building their own computers from individual components that Fry’s is pretty much a grab bag, hence the dirt-cheap prices.
Actually, we have noticed the same thing and have been told by store employees that in most cases, the store may only get ONE of the advertised item, IF AT ALL. Apparently, according to them, not ALL stores carry or will get the advertised products. In some cases, some products, only a few stores in the entire country will get…maybe one. BUT the ads get people online and into the stores and they will most likely still choose a product from Fry’s since they are there already. Crappy, but effective I guess.
You are probably right. But this time I didn’t fall for it. Went ahead with my original order from Amazon. So I paid $70 more – but without the aggravation.
I agree. I recently received a promo code for an item, went to the store to buy and they don’t have any. I guess it’s easy to sell things at low prices when you don’t have any to sell. This is an old auto sales tactic to get you into the store….bait and switch.