Complaint Review: Circuit City - Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania

You can twist it however you like to make you feel better. Yes, you did get a good deal on the TV. In fact it was already a "good deal" before the extra $100 they had to give you. When it comes right down to it though they ended up paying out less to you than they would have in the first place. It makes it look like you really didn't care all that much about the scratch, you just wanted to push the issue just to see how much you could milk them for. Nobody really win anything here. If anything you not getting what you were asking for and them having to pay out less than what they had offered you in the first place makes them look like they came out on top. So anyhow, I'm glad to hear you got it settled to your satisfaction. Most people's free time, however, is much to valuable to engage in frivolous law suits, so I would not recommend this course of action to everyone.

It really is WOW! ... check out the math on the price I paid for the television monitor ... MSRP $1,400 ... I paid $650 ... minus $100 ... equals $550 for a television worth $1,400 ... that's over 60% off the original cost. I think a pretty good deal! but I really wanted to have Circuit City do the right thing and replace the television monitor case. As far as the time involved, your are correct it took quite a bit of time, but I just finished my masters degree, so I have a little extra time available, and I actually used the knowledge I gained from legal courses I previously completed. As far as the generosity of Circuit City, they would have made much more profit if they would have sold me a new TV with the $200 discount. They really just wanted me to go away, which was the reason I pushed this issue in the first point. I really would have liked to appeal this lower court decision to a higher court to request award of the full $342 in compensatory damages (to repair the television monitor case), possible punitive damages (for false statements made in their own corporate goals), and look even to make the issue into a class action suit (bringing all those individuals with unresolved complaints that have been filed with Circuit City). A couple of interesting statistics ... last year Circuit City profit was over $41 million and the CEO made $3.58 million all I wanted was for Circuit City to pay $342 for damage "they" caused by mishandling. I really didn't think that was much to ask, but I could be wrong.

Should have taken the 200 off. You would had a better TV and saved time and money. That seems to have been a rather generous offer in my opinion.

WOW! They had to give you a whole $160 instead of giving you $200 of a BRAND NEW tv? That sound to me like they ended up with the better deal. Not only did they have to give you $40 less than they origonally planned, but you got to SPEND a good deal of your time (how valuable is that) to go through with this. If you think you actually won something then good for you. Don't let me burst your bubble.

In my civil suit with Circuit City, they ignored my customer complaint and even ignored a court ordered subpoena. I requested compensatory damages of $342 to replace the damaged front case, and although the court ruled in my favor, it was bitter sweet, Circuit City was ordered to pay me only $100 and the $60 for court costs. The court wanted us to work it out prior to making a ruling, but failed to realize that I attempted to an open dialogue with Circuit City on several occasions. Many times I make purchases based strictly on price, but I can assure you that I will not make any future purchases at Circuit City and I will explain the lack of customer concern to anyone who will listen. During the court case, Circuit City didn't even send the store director, who was listed on the civil complaint. They sent their television/video manager and their legal department didn't think enough of our legal system to provide him the subpoenaed information by the court. In my opinion I don't believe that this is a one time issue with customers and other people are probably being treated the same, with the hope that the complaint would just go away. Circuit City needs to be responsive to customer's complaints and meet their own customer service goals as listed on their web site.

I apologise for you having to go through this all jude, but please understand that tv's are heavy, and aquward to move around. Even for us strong young guys. (FYI. The circuit city that I work at today makes standard practice of using a carpeted flatbed on castors to move televisions around the store.) As per our standard operating procedure an open box TV may be returned for a full refund for up to 30 days after recieved. You would have had no restocking fee or consequences what so ever. We are under no obligation to further reduce the already low prices of our new tv sets. The fact that the store director was willing to offer a $200 discount on a NEW in the box unit to replace your damaged open box unit was an extremly generous offer. An extremely generous. So, even though the damage is not your fault, sometimes mistakes are made. The store director is there to run a business and make sure it is profitable, & at the same time ensure we provide the best experiance and support for our customers. This is an extremely difficult task. In any event you are, it seems to me, being greedy and should just take the $200 discount off a new tv. Thats a GREAT offer. Circuit city isnt out to get you, but we arent going to cut our throats to make you and every other difficult customer happy. Sometims we all just have to compromise. We will have to seel the same OB tv you bought and returned and someone else will buy it, and we will have also lost $200 of profit because you are being difficult. Once again, take the $200 and shut up.

John, Thanks for the information, it was very helpful and also for your additional unrelated comments. Kevin, I appreciate your thoughts. I know this seems reasonable to Circuit City, but it doesn't seem that they are interested in improving their handling of merchandise. It appears that if I don't want it, then someone else will. Are either of you, or any other Circuit City employee for that matter, aware of any written procedures or training provided that relates to the handling of merchandise in the store. It seems that an easy fix to some of the damage issues if a "flat bed" cart (similar to those found in Home Depot and Lowes) would be used in moving this heavy merchandise. Thanks again,

I too, sell TVs at Circuit City. I'm sorry to hear that warehouse damaged your item. Open box items are usually priced extremely low (sometimes we take a loss on them) to move them out of the store. Their gave you the choice of giving you your money back, or $200 off a new tv which is extremely generous, believe me markup on TVs is nothing today. If it this had happened at a different store (not Circuit City) they would probably just offer a refund.

Hello Jude, I have been selling TVs with Circuit City for the past two years and will let you know how the open box system works on larger items as you requested... Large TVs that aren't on wheels are moved on hand carts. All the trucks I have ever seen at my store have a rubber shielding where the truck meets an item. The item is then moved to a concrete floored warehouse to await pickup. Now, I do not work in the actual warehouse, but I will say a hell of a lot of TVs come onto the floor with scratches and dents placed there by mishandling by warehouse personnel. I understand your situation that you got a deal on a single open item and you don't just want a refund, you'd rather have the deal! However, the company will not give you a new TV for the same price (they strive for positive profits of course), and they wont repair it. In the end, someone else WILL buy it with that damage at the same price. Now, it gets tricky when you consider who "owns" the TV after purchase. Manufacturer warranties start and Circuit City liability ceases upon delivery/loading of the item, not upon payment. I have dealt with your situation before, and a refund is the best outcome I have ever seen. I'm not saying that's fair or not... that's just how I've seen it done. A refund will at least put you back where you started, no gain/loss. The $200 off another TV they offered you might be worth looking into. It may be a more expensive TV, but if we're talking about an $800 TV, that's 25% off a new item! *** on an unrelated note *** I have seen TVs (the Sony xbr 40-inch to be exact, a 300 pound TV) accidentally dropped and mysteriously an open box appears a few weeks later after a new case has been applied. Sure, the thing was probably "serviced" and has to be sold, but I wouldn't want it. As far as an item sold open box that was truly a store display item as the salesman may claim... A TV sticks around ideally for 12 months, operating 7 days a week from 9am-9pm... consider the wear that will leave on the TV (maybe check the manufacturer date, its on the back of the TV?). Don't rush through the sale, ask questions and test the merchandise. Don't jump at the offer of a deal As for other electronics (dvd players, receivers, camcorders, etc) Circuit City prides itself on "hassle free" returns which usually means we don't ask "was it broken?" So at the end of the night the merchandise is just put out "open box" on the floor without actually being checked. HOWEVER, I could honestly say that 5 times that amount of merchandise is returned with no damage at all, so that means a good honest deal for you... What I'm trying to say is... Test the merchandise before you buy it.