annoying futureshop salesperson

[storm rider]

as mentioned earlier, these extended warranties are highly commissionable for the clerk, probably in the 30-50% range....so that's the motivation for selling you something that you don't need.....for all you old timers, do you remember when stereos and Tv's all had 5 year warranties?...and lasted for 20+ years?

The 1st TV of my own was a 12 year old Sanyo 19" my father purchased in Chilliwack when we moved back from the UK and gave to me when I moved to Alberta 12 years ago....5 years ago I upgraded to a 27" Sony flatscreen tube and sold the venerable Sanyo to a gal who worked for a client....she was happy with the Sanyo as well as the price she got it for...2 years later I upgraded to a 46" wide screen plasma flatpanel....and I sold the near new Sony to another gal who worked for a client.....and she was uber happy with the TV and the price...long story short....I have had a 20+ year old TV that went through 3 owners and a 5 year old TV go through 2 owners and not one of them had a problem.....upsold warranties are total BS...if I can inherit a 12 year old TV and enjoy it for a long period of time and then sell it to another person and that person gets a long use out of it then it just goes to show what the life of the product is actually like....extended warranties are an upselling POS that are best avoided.

Just my .02

SR

 

[Bobo The Rabbit]

If you buy video cards at future shop, BUY THE EXTENDED warranty.
They do not try to fix them, just simply take your word that it is broken and in even 1 year they will no longer carry the model you bought so if you wait 2 years you can go in, say its broken and they give you a new video card which will be far better.
Also with the item they give you as a replacement you can upgrade from it.
So if they gave you a $300 X but you want a $400 X as a replacement you can just pay the difference and now your walking out with a brand new far superior item even though there was nothing wrong with your current one.
This works as long as its a item they do not fix.
Also if you know how to "break" certain computer or tech items you can just get them flat out replaced, and we all know in 2 years you can easily trade in your item for a far superior one. The staff don't care as long as you are smarter than them.

 

[whoisjohngalt]

They used to call the extended warranty "Customer Service Plan" or CSP but the salespeople referred to it as "Cash for Sales Person". Its a suckers bet, like taking insurance in Blackjack.

 

[uncleg]

With all the practice they get trying to up sell they'll probably do good working the high track or some of the MP's.

 

[bill555]

I was planning to buy a laptop at FS but salesman said it will be extra $99 fo a set up. However I declined. Is that Normal?

 

[LittleAsianGuy]

I hope he doesnt mean setup as in adding a firewall,windows update and antivirus. I can get that shit on my own. If you're referring to extended warranty it really depends on the price of the laptop. The other ripoff to me is the setup for laptops...they often charge for stuff most people can do on their own or get a friend who knows how.

I was planning to buy a laptop at FS but salesman said it will be extra $99 fo a set up. However I declined. Is that Normal?

 

[Ray]

If you're in the lower mainland, get your computers/accessories/ peripherals from NCIX. They have a number of outlets.

Buy your cameras and accessories from Broadway Cameras or Kerrisdale Cameras. They have a number of outlets.

Better price/ selection/ service.

 

[mikes]

I remember buying some computer speakers at Future Shop; the salesman was such a rude prick. I took the little slip he gave me that registers his commission at the cashier and threw it over my shoulder as I was walking to the register. The cashier asked for the slip I just said I didn't get one. Felt so good after that.
Anyway I don't step foot into that place anymore, I prefer London Drugs for any kind of mass market electronics.

 

[johnperb]

Purchase from newegg.ca or if you prefer local pickup ncix.com.

 

[Cobra GT]

I work in retail and sell extended warranties on the products I sell. I personally do buy extended warranties on certain items. There are people that abuse the extended warranty policy as the poster above mentioned taking an item back to the retailer and getting a new one after a few years even if the original product wasn't even broken. The percentage of people that do that is very small for most retailers but at Costco, it was abused extensively over 10 years to the point where they have blacklisted certain members and now record every return that a member makes. They also changed their return policy from 1 year to 90 days on computers and tv's due to the policy abuse. The extended warranty is best for products that cost about $100 and under, with the warranty costing $10-$15. Products that are best to buy extended warranties are DVD players, MP3 players, cordless phones, portable stereos, toaster ovens, hot water kettles, etc. These are items that the owners use everyday and have high chances of naturally malfunctioning within 2-3 years of continuous use. Almost everytime someone has an extended warranty claim after 2 years of owning the product, the product has been discontinued and the store will give you the amount that you paid towards a new item. The consumer wins by getting full value towards a new item which is usually superior in technology at the same price.

There are tons of store items that are under $150 with the extended warranty costing about $20 where I work at, where people abuse the policy. They come back 2 years later and get a new model and pay nothing for it. Basically these people buy the warranty because they were going to buy a unit model 2 years later anyways because they wanted the new technology. But instead of shelling out $150 to buy a new model, they abused the extended warranty policy by planning 2 years ahead that they would just bring the old unit back and get new technology at no extra charge. Alot of retailers don't care because the extended warranty is by a 3rd party insurance company and the retailer itself is not losing any money from the policy abuse.

But buying an extended warranty on high ticket items is crazy. $300 for a warranty on a $1000 tv or laptop doesn't make sense to me.

 

[InTheBum]

Baught a camera for a friends bday and had this pushy salesperson try to sell me on extended warranty. Kept on telling her the 2 yr warranty was good enough. Try to convince me to buy 30.00 extra warranty for a 100.00 camera lol. I finally snapped at her saying look i just want the dam camera ok.

Just show the Sales rep your T4, and they will leave you alone...

 

[FloridaGuy]

I don't understand the point of salespeople anymore. Don't we all do extensive internet research across a variety of sources before going into a store to make a major purchase? Anything a human salesman tells me, I assume to be a lie intended to get more money out of me. Or, a simply ill-informed script he's reciting. Does the minimum wage/commissioned sales kid really know more about a product than Consumer's Report, for example?? And, don't we all have a crystal-clear idea of what the price should be, before even getting into the car to drive to the store?

Exception might be a boutique specialty store, ie an old Swiss guy running a family ski shop.

 

[InTheBum]

I heard Hubba is the top Future Shop salesperson in the PC gaming department on Broadway!

Impressive to say the least!

 

[uncleg]

I heard Hubba is the top Future Shop salesperson in the PC gaming department on Broadway!

Impressive to say the least!

When you're the only one...........................