Complaint Review: Circuit City/manager-store Director Frank - Falls Church Virginia

FROM ALL THE REPORTS IN THE NEWS, CIRCUIT CITY IS NOT DOING VERY WELL RIGHT NOW. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. THIS IS WHAT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND A CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPER HAS TO SAY: Circuit City liquidation sale to start today Posted: 01/17/2009 01:30:35 AM PST * The liquidation sale starts today at Circuit City, the largest retailer to be upended by the widening financial crisis, yet another hit to a local economy pounded by the bankruptcies of two department stores -- Mervyns and Gottschalks. The company announced Friday it would close its 567 stores in the U.S., including one in Santa Cruz County, California after attempts to sell the business failed. The nation's second-biggest consumer electronics retailer has more than 30,000 employees. Circuit City had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the credit crunch and consumer cutbacks proved insurmountable. Negotiations extended past midnight Thursday, then fell through, Circuit City lawyer Gregg Galardi said. Two potential buyers -- Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who controls a chain of electronics stores in Latin America and the Golden Gate Capital private equity firm -- considered downsizing to 180 to 350 stores. But Circuit City couldn't secure financing or vendor support. "This is the only possible path for our company," acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum said. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens approved the liquidation plan Friday afternoon, allowing closeout sales to start today at some stores, including the county store. "This is bad news for the local economy," said Michael Hutchison, economics professor at UC Santa Cruz. "It will result in a loss of employment, fall in sales tax revenues Advertisement and less consumer choice. It's not clear that these sales will stay in the county or go to large discount stores in San Jose. This recession is hitting virtually all sectors of the economy and is getting worse." But Lyle Troxell, host of the Geek Speak show on KUSP-FM radio, contended Circuit City's demise is not a big loss. "I would go to Fry's in San Jose or Santa Cruz Electronics, which has great customer service," he said. "You can get cables for less at an office supply store. Circuit City has a large collection of movies, but you can get that online. For a large format TV, Costco is a better bet." Troxell said selling technology is tough because it doesn't work for the vendor to stock equipment. New products come out every six months so if the products in stock aren't sold by then, they become obsolete. Bryan Rudisill, 20, a manager for Circuit City in Santa Cruz,ca worked there for three years. He is thinking of moving to Long Beach,ca because he sees more opportunities there. Circuit City opened a 27,000-square-foot store on Commercial Way with 75 employees in 1997. The county invested $2 million in the project. Then-redevelopment director Tom Burns said the location could attract Toys "R" Us and Circuit City, which it did, create jobs and bring in $450,000 a year in sales taxes. Friday afternoon, the Santa Cruz Circuit City wasn't empty but it wasn't packed either. Sister Mary of the Salesian School in Corralitos carried in her laptop, hoping someone could help her resurrect the 60-page booklet she was working on to commemorate the order's centennial. Capitola resident Alberto Garcia wanted to make an exchange. He had received a letter about the company's financial woes, but he hoped the Santa Cruz store would stay open. Betty Kaiser of Santa Cruz needed to replace a broken monitor but she came away with a Toshiba 32-inch TV for $600, saying, "It was a very good price." The company's plans to close disappointed Glenn Petersen, who had driven from Watsonville with his daughter. Last fall, shoppers defected to Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer, when it opened a big store on 41st Avenue. Darrell Long, a computer science professor at UC Santa Cruz, called Circuit City and Best Buy largely interchangeable. "With all the technology in Santa Cruz, it's a shame we don't have a store that fills that niche," Long said. County Supervisor John Leopold, a Circuit City customer, said, "I didn't realize they were that close to the edge." He has asked the county redevelopment director to assign someone to work on economic development. "We need to be building a mix of businesses," he said. "You don't want to have all big-box stores. Locally owned business have the ability to survive a downturn in a way that chains don't." Circuit City said liquidating the stores should last through March, after which they will close. The company's inventory has a retail value of about $1.8 billion, said James Schaye, president and CEO of Hudson Capital Partners, the liquidator. He said sales will begin with up to 30 percent discounts and will be adjusted as the liquidation continues. Circuit City stock fell below $1 on the New York Stock Exchange in September and the company was notified Oct. 24 that it could be delisted. In 2000, before the dot-com bust, the stock had been as high at $58. Circuit City said it had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities as of Aug. 31. THIS IS NATIONWIDE. WHEN BUSINESSES GET TOO GREEDY AND THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATIONS GET TOO GREEDY BY RENT GOUGING PRACTICES AND THEIR TENANTS HAVE TO RAISE PRICES TO MAKE A PROFIT, THEN YOU HAVE OVEREVALUATION OF MERCHANDISE WHICH WILL NOT SELL AND IN TIMES OF A BAD ECONOMY, NOBODY CAN AFFORD TO BUY IT. ADD TO THAT RUDE, INATTENTIVE SALESPEOPLE WHO IGNORE, INSULT OR HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN CUSTOMER SERVICE...AND PEOPLE WHO DISCRIMIATED AGAINST CUSTOMERS... OH WELL, MAYBE IF THEY HAD BEEN A LITTLE MORE SELECTIVE ABOUT WHERE THEY LOCATED THEIR STORES, LESS GREEDY IN THEIR PRICING PRACTICES AND PRACTICED BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FINANCING PRACTICES, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE HAD SUCH A LONG WAY TO FALL. CONSIDER YOURSELF FORTUNATE NOT TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS MESSED UP BUSINESS AND MAYBE YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU WANT IN THEIR LIQUIDATION SALE. AND YOU CAN SMILE.

FROM ALL THE REPORTS IN THE NEWS, CIRCUIT CITY IS NOT DOING VERY WELL RIGHT NOW. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. THIS IS WHAT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND A CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPER HAS TO SAY: Circuit City liquidation sale to start today Posted: 01/17/2009 01:30:35 AM PST * The liquidation sale starts today at Circuit City, the largest retailer to be upended by the widening financial crisis, yet another hit to a local economy pounded by the bankruptcies of two department stores -- Mervyns and Gottschalks. The company announced Friday it would close its 567 stores in the U.S., including one in Santa Cruz County, California after attempts to sell the business failed. The nation's second-biggest consumer electronics retailer has more than 30,000 employees. Circuit City had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the credit crunch and consumer cutbacks proved insurmountable. Negotiations extended past midnight Thursday, then fell through, Circuit City lawyer Gregg Galardi said. Two potential buyers -- Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who controls a chain of electronics stores in Latin America and the Golden Gate Capital private equity firm -- considered downsizing to 180 to 350 stores. But Circuit City couldn't secure financing or vendor support. "This is the only possible path for our company," acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum said. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens approved the liquidation plan Friday afternoon, allowing closeout sales to start today at some stores, including the county store. "This is bad news for the local economy," said Michael Hutchison, economics professor at UC Santa Cruz. "It will result in a loss of employment, fall in sales tax revenues Advertisement and less consumer choice. It's not clear that these sales will stay in the county or go to large discount stores in San Jose. This recession is hitting virtually all sectors of the economy and is getting worse." But Lyle Troxell, host of the Geek Speak show on KUSP-FM radio, contended Circuit City's demise is not a big loss. "I would go to Fry's in San Jose or Santa Cruz Electronics, which has great customer service," he said. "You can get cables for less at an office supply store. Circuit City has a large collection of movies, but you can get that online. For a large format TV, Costco is a better bet." Troxell said selling technology is tough because it doesn't work for the vendor to stock equipment. New products come out every six months so if the products in stock aren't sold by then, they become obsolete. Bryan Rudisill, 20, a manager for Circuit City in Santa Cruz,ca worked there for three years. He is thinking of moving to Long Beach,ca because he sees more opportunities there. Circuit City opened a 27,000-square-foot store on Commercial Way with 75 employees in 1997. The county invested $2 million in the project. Then-redevelopment director Tom Burns said the location could attract Toys "R" Us and Circuit City, which it did, create jobs and bring in $450,000 a year in sales taxes. Friday afternoon, the Santa Cruz Circuit City wasn't empty but it wasn't packed either. Sister Mary of the Salesian School in Corralitos carried in her laptop, hoping someone could help her resurrect the 60-page booklet she was working on to commemorate the order's centennial. Capitola resident Alberto Garcia wanted to make an exchange. He had received a letter about the company's financial woes, but he hoped the Santa Cruz store would stay open. Betty Kaiser of Santa Cruz needed to replace a broken monitor but she came away with a Toshiba 32-inch TV for $600, saying, "It was a very good price." The company's plans to close disappointed Glenn Petersen, who had driven from Watsonville with his daughter. Last fall, shoppers defected to Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer, when it opened a big store on 41st Avenue. Darrell Long, a computer science professor at UC Santa Cruz, called Circuit City and Best Buy largely interchangeable. "With all the technology in Santa Cruz, it's a shame we don't have a store that fills that niche," Long said. County Supervisor John Leopold, a Circuit City customer, said, "I didn't realize they were that close to the edge." He has asked the county redevelopment director to assign someone to work on economic development. "We need to be building a mix of businesses," he said. "You don't want to have all big-box stores. Locally owned business have the ability to survive a downturn in a way that chains don't." Circuit City said liquidating the stores should last through March, after which they will close. The company's inventory has a retail value of about $1.8 billion, said James Schaye, president and CEO of Hudson Capital Partners, the liquidator. He said sales will begin with up to 30 percent discounts and will be adjusted as the liquidation continues. Circuit City stock fell below $1 on the New York Stock Exchange in September and the company was notified Oct. 24 that it could be delisted. In 2000, before the dot-com bust, the stock had been as high at $58. Circuit City said it had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities as of Aug. 31. THIS IS NATIONWIDE. WHEN BUSINESSES GET TOO GREEDY AND THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATIONS GET TOO GREEDY BY RENT GOUGING PRACTICES AND THEIR TENANTS HAVE TO RAISE PRICES TO MAKE A PROFIT, THEN YOU HAVE OVEREVALUATION OF MERCHANDISE WHICH WILL NOT SELL AND IN TIMES OF A BAD ECONOMY, NOBODY CAN AFFORD TO BUY IT. ADD TO THAT RUDE, INATTENTIVE SALESPEOPLE WHO IGNORE, INSULT OR HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN CUSTOMER SERVICE...AND PEOPLE WHO DISCRIMIATED AGAINST CUSTOMERS... OH WELL, MAYBE IF THEY HAD BEEN A LITTLE MORE SELECTIVE ABOUT WHERE THEY LOCATED THEIR STORES, LESS GREEDY IN THEIR PRICING PRACTICES AND PRACTICED BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FINANCING PRACTICES, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE HAD SUCH A LONG WAY TO FALL. CONSIDER YOURSELF FORTUNATE NOT TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS MESSED UP BUSINESS AND MAYBE YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU WANT IN THEIR LIQUIDATION SALE. AND YOU CAN SMILE.

FROM ALL THE REPORTS IN THE NEWS, CIRCUIT CITY IS NOT DOING VERY WELL RIGHT NOW. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. THIS IS WHAT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND A CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPER HAS TO SAY: Circuit City liquidation sale to start today Posted: 01/17/2009 01:30:35 AM PST * The liquidation sale starts today at Circuit City, the largest retailer to be upended by the widening financial crisis, yet another hit to a local economy pounded by the bankruptcies of two department stores -- Mervyns and Gottschalks. The company announced Friday it would close its 567 stores in the U.S., including one in Santa Cruz County, California after attempts to sell the business failed. The nation's second-biggest consumer electronics retailer has more than 30,000 employees. Circuit City had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the credit crunch and consumer cutbacks proved insurmountable. Negotiations extended past midnight Thursday, then fell through, Circuit City lawyer Gregg Galardi said. Two potential buyers -- Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who controls a chain of electronics stores in Latin America and the Golden Gate Capital private equity firm -- considered downsizing to 180 to 350 stores. But Circuit City couldn't secure financing or vendor support. "This is the only possible path for our company," acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum said. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens approved the liquidation plan Friday afternoon, allowing closeout sales to start today at some stores, including the county store. "This is bad news for the local economy," said Michael Hutchison, economics professor at UC Santa Cruz. "It will result in a loss of employment, fall in sales tax revenues Advertisement and less consumer choice. It's not clear that these sales will stay in the county or go to large discount stores in San Jose. This recession is hitting virtually all sectors of the economy and is getting worse." But Lyle Troxell, host of the Geek Speak show on KUSP-FM radio, contended Circuit City's demise is not a big loss. "I would go to Fry's in San Jose or Santa Cruz Electronics, which has great customer service," he said. "You can get cables for less at an office supply store. Circuit City has a large collection of movies, but you can get that online. For a large format TV, Costco is a better bet." Troxell said selling technology is tough because it doesn't work for the vendor to stock equipment. New products come out every six months so if the products in stock aren't sold by then, they become obsolete. Bryan Rudisill, 20, a manager for Circuit City in Santa Cruz,ca worked there for three years. He is thinking of moving to Long Beach,ca because he sees more opportunities there. Circuit City opened a 27,000-square-foot store on Commercial Way with 75 employees in 1997. The county invested $2 million in the project. Then-redevelopment director Tom Burns said the location could attract Toys "R" Us and Circuit City, which it did, create jobs and bring in $450,000 a year in sales taxes. Friday afternoon, the Santa Cruz Circuit City wasn't empty but it wasn't packed either. Sister Mary of the Salesian School in Corralitos carried in her laptop, hoping someone could help her resurrect the 60-page booklet she was working on to commemorate the order's centennial. Capitola resident Alberto Garcia wanted to make an exchange. He had received a letter about the company's financial woes, but he hoped the Santa Cruz store would stay open. Betty Kaiser of Santa Cruz needed to replace a broken monitor but she came away with a Toshiba 32-inch TV for $600, saying, "It was a very good price." The company's plans to close disappointed Glenn Petersen, who had driven from Watsonville with his daughter. Last fall, shoppers defected to Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer, when it opened a big store on 41st Avenue. Darrell Long, a computer science professor at UC Santa Cruz, called Circuit City and Best Buy largely interchangeable. "With all the technology in Santa Cruz, it's a shame we don't have a store that fills that niche," Long said. County Supervisor John Leopold, a Circuit City customer, said, "I didn't realize they were that close to the edge." He has asked the county redevelopment director to assign someone to work on economic development. "We need to be building a mix of businesses," he said. "You don't want to have all big-box stores. Locally owned business have the ability to survive a downturn in a way that chains don't." Circuit City said liquidating the stores should last through March, after which they will close. The company's inventory has a retail value of about $1.8 billion, said James Schaye, president and CEO of Hudson Capital Partners, the liquidator. He said sales will begin with up to 30 percent discounts and will be adjusted as the liquidation continues. Circuit City stock fell below $1 on the New York Stock Exchange in September and the company was notified Oct. 24 that it could be delisted. In 2000, before the dot-com bust, the stock had been as high at $58. Circuit City said it had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities as of Aug. 31. THIS IS NATIONWIDE. WHEN BUSINESSES GET TOO GREEDY AND THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATIONS GET TOO GREEDY BY RENT GOUGING PRACTICES AND THEIR TENANTS HAVE TO RAISE PRICES TO MAKE A PROFIT, THEN YOU HAVE OVEREVALUATION OF MERCHANDISE WHICH WILL NOT SELL AND IN TIMES OF A BAD ECONOMY, NOBODY CAN AFFORD TO BUY IT. ADD TO THAT RUDE, INATTENTIVE SALESPEOPLE WHO IGNORE, INSULT OR HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN CUSTOMER SERVICE...AND PEOPLE WHO DISCRIMIATED AGAINST CUSTOMERS... OH WELL, MAYBE IF THEY HAD BEEN A LITTLE MORE SELECTIVE ABOUT WHERE THEY LOCATED THEIR STORES, LESS GREEDY IN THEIR PRICING PRACTICES AND PRACTICED BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FINANCING PRACTICES, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE HAD SUCH A LONG WAY TO FALL. CONSIDER YOURSELF FORTUNATE NOT TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS MESSED UP BUSINESS AND MAYBE YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU WANT IN THEIR LIQUIDATION SALE. AND YOU CAN SMILE.

FROM ALL THE REPORTS IN THE NEWS, CIRCUIT CITY IS NOT DOING VERY WELL RIGHT NOW. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP. THIS IS WHAT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS AND A CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPER HAS TO SAY: Circuit City liquidation sale to start today Posted: 01/17/2009 01:30:35 AM PST * The liquidation sale starts today at Circuit City, the largest retailer to be upended by the widening financial crisis, yet another hit to a local economy pounded by the bankruptcies of two department stores -- Mervyns and Gottschalks. The company announced Friday it would close its 567 stores in the U.S., including one in Santa Cruz County, California after attempts to sell the business failed. The nation's second-biggest consumer electronics retailer has more than 30,000 employees. Circuit City had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the credit crunch and consumer cutbacks proved insurmountable. Negotiations extended past midnight Thursday, then fell through, Circuit City lawyer Gregg Galardi said. Two potential buyers -- Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who controls a chain of electronics stores in Latin America and the Golden Gate Capital private equity firm -- considered downsizing to 180 to 350 stores. But Circuit City couldn't secure financing or vendor support. "This is the only possible path for our company," acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum said. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens approved the liquidation plan Friday afternoon, allowing closeout sales to start today at some stores, including the county store. "This is bad news for the local economy," said Michael Hutchison, economics professor at UC Santa Cruz. "It will result in a loss of employment, fall in sales tax revenues Advertisement and less consumer choice. It's not clear that these sales will stay in the county or go to large discount stores in San Jose. This recession is hitting virtually all sectors of the economy and is getting worse." But Lyle Troxell, host of the Geek Speak show on KUSP-FM radio, contended Circuit City's demise is not a big loss. "I would go to Fry's in San Jose or Santa Cruz Electronics, which has great customer service," he said. "You can get cables for less at an office supply store. Circuit City has a large collection of movies, but you can get that online. For a large format TV, Costco is a better bet." Troxell said selling technology is tough because it doesn't work for the vendor to stock equipment. New products come out every six months so if the products in stock aren't sold by then, they become obsolete. Bryan Rudisill, 20, a manager for Circuit City in Santa Cruz,ca worked there for three years. He is thinking of moving to Long Beach,ca because he sees more opportunities there. Circuit City opened a 27,000-square-foot store on Commercial Way with 75 employees in 1997. The county invested $2 million in the project. Then-redevelopment director Tom Burns said the location could attract Toys "R" Us and Circuit City, which it did, create jobs and bring in $450,000 a year in sales taxes. Friday afternoon, the Santa Cruz Circuit City wasn't empty but it wasn't packed either. Sister Mary of the Salesian School in Corralitos carried in her laptop, hoping someone could help her resurrect the 60-page booklet she was working on to commemorate the order's centennial. Capitola resident Alberto Garcia wanted to make an exchange. He had received a letter about the company's financial woes, but he hoped the Santa Cruz store would stay open. Betty Kaiser of Santa Cruz needed to replace a broken monitor but she came away with a Toshiba 32-inch TV for $600, saying, "It was a very good price." The company's plans to close disappointed Glenn Petersen, who had driven from Watsonville with his daughter. Last fall, shoppers defected to Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer, when it opened a big store on 41st Avenue. Darrell Long, a computer science professor at UC Santa Cruz, called Circuit City and Best Buy largely interchangeable. "With all the technology in Santa Cruz, it's a shame we don't have a store that fills that niche," Long said. County Supervisor John Leopold, a Circuit City customer, said, "I didn't realize they were that close to the edge." He has asked the county redevelopment director to assign someone to work on economic development. "We need to be building a mix of businesses," he said. "You don't want to have all big-box stores. Locally owned business have the ability to survive a downturn in a way that chains don't." Circuit City said liquidating the stores should last through March, after which they will close. The company's inventory has a retail value of about $1.8 billion, said James Schaye, president and CEO of Hudson Capital Partners, the liquidator. He said sales will begin with up to 30 percent discounts and will be adjusted as the liquidation continues. Circuit City stock fell below $1 on the New York Stock Exchange in September and the company was notified Oct. 24 that it could be delisted. In 2000, before the dot-com bust, the stock had been as high at $58. Circuit City said it had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities as of Aug. 31. THIS IS NATIONWIDE. WHEN BUSINESSES GET TOO GREEDY AND THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CORPORATIONS GET TOO GREEDY BY RENT GOUGING PRACTICES AND THEIR TENANTS HAVE TO RAISE PRICES TO MAKE A PROFIT, THEN YOU HAVE OVEREVALUATION OF MERCHANDISE WHICH WILL NOT SELL AND IN TIMES OF A BAD ECONOMY, NOBODY CAN AFFORD TO BUY IT. ADD TO THAT RUDE, INATTENTIVE SALESPEOPLE WHO IGNORE, INSULT OR HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN CUSTOMER SERVICE...AND PEOPLE WHO DISCRIMIATED AGAINST CUSTOMERS... OH WELL, MAYBE IF THEY HAD BEEN A LITTLE MORE SELECTIVE ABOUT WHERE THEY LOCATED THEIR STORES, LESS GREEDY IN THEIR PRICING PRACTICES AND PRACTICED BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FINANCING PRACTICES, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE HAD SUCH A LONG WAY TO FALL. CONSIDER YOURSELF FORTUNATE NOT TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS MESSED UP BUSINESS AND MAYBE YOU CAN GET WHAT YOU WANT IN THEIR LIQUIDATION SALE. AND YOU CAN SMILE.

What you have written makes no sense at all. I'm sorry, but it's as if you walked into a store, found a tv that needed a "small adjustment" in the price, and the manager somehow ended up ignoring you and then walking away mumbling something you couldn't understand. There are so many questions just begging to be answered : Just how much was the ''small adjustment"? Why would a manager take that kind of attitude for such a simple request? Why would he just walk away mumbling? What were you arguing about later?? And how do you get discrimination because of age?? Im sorry, perhaps this all really did happen to you, however the way you have presented it on this forum smells of trying to get something for nothing. Age discrimination? There is nothing in your entry that even remotely comes close to proving that (too young, too old???). And as far as a price adjustment, its either yes or no. Not the quite frankly unbelievable story of a manager who tries to avoid you at all costs and mumbles as he walks away. Perhaps there is more to this story... but unfortunately because of how you presented it I would no longer be able to believe you. Jiminy Christmas, just look at how long-winded I've been picking your story apart :)