Complaint Review: TigerDirect - Internet Select State/Province

On 12/31 I sent an email to a number of executives at TigerDirect detailing my concerns with their customer service and the poor circumstances surrounding this case. The email was basically a recap of everything above. I also sent the email to [email protected]. On 1/1, I received the following response from Generoso at the Sales team:

Dear Valued Customer: 

Thank you for your email. 

We do apologize that we did not notify you accordingly on the matter. Upon checking order number XXXXXXX was placed last November 11, 2013. We also review the chat that you have here in tigerdirect. Prior to that as we check the item today we do apologize that it is no longer available we will not carry the item anymore. Due to that please accept our sincerest apologies for the matter. Since the item will be discontinued i already process the cancellation of the order was process, for the inconvenience we would like to offer you a $5 Gift Card that you can use on your next purchase. Again we apologize for the matter. 

Thank you for your patience. 

Thank you for visiting our website. We appreciate your business. If you have further inquiries and reply to this email, please make sure to include your entire message, so we can address it appropriately. Please feel free to contact me at the phone number below should you require any further assistance. 

Sincerely, 

Generoso 

TigerDirect.com Customer Advocate 

If you've read anything else written on this page you'll know two things: first, I placed the order on Nov 29, not Nov 11; second, that I have been lied to and mislead multiple times by multiple different sources, foreign and domestic.

Apparently Generoso could not be bothered to take an extra second to proofread or get the relevant information correct. Second, the Surface RT is not a discontinued item and certainly was not when I placed my order over a month ago on November 29. Also, is $5 for an item which I will no longer be able to purchase for my mother, nor give as a present, nor even see really considered a satisfactory "sincerest apology"? I have responded by demanding more information from someone that is personal, proofread, and poignant. I don't think that is asking too much. When everyone gets back to work tomorrow, we'll see what happens.

I was told on 12/19 by Estelle K that the item would ship "this week or next." Those weeks have no gone by. It has been over a month since the item was ordered, and I am no closer to receiving it. I decided to call the number she suggested, which was the billing and processing center. The person there was very understanding and offered to transfer me to a customer service manager that was on site in her facility. She told me to make sure I spoke with a customer service manager and not to take "no" for an answer. She also warned me that if they couldn't provide the item they would offer me a different one. I don't want a different one. I've also noticed the inventory on their website now simply says "Available In Store." (If it's available in store, why don't they just send those of us waiting one of those items? Basically, TigerDirect had inventory but prioritized stores over orders they already took. They are selling them in stores for more than the orders they took, so why lose the money by fulfilling ours, right?)

After holding for 29 minutes, I spoke with Keith. He told me they would not be getting inventory of this item "for a long time" and that the replacement item also would not receive inventory "for a while." I asked to speak with his manager, explained everything written above, and told him it was ridiculous that they couldn't just pull an item off the shelves of some of their stores and send them to people who've placed orders. He explained that the "inventory control systems" were different, so they couldn't. I told him that was ridiculous; it's the same company and there's really no reason they can't just demand those stores pull the product and send them to a distribution warehouse, but I didn't want to yell at him for it since it's not like he's the guy in charge of that. He told me he would get a manager for me. I went back on hold. After fifteen minutes he returned. He told me that he "spoke with the manager" and there are many people for whom this is a problem, and they have been speaking with the PM (whoever that is) to get more of the item to fulfill the orders. They have ordered more, but the earliest they will likely arrive is 2-3 weeks. There was nothing more he could do for me... I'd just have to wait another month or two if I wanted to see the item. 

 I don't think I need to say how excruciatingly unhappy this makes me. I could have ordered the item, on 11/29, from a reliable vendor like Staples or Best Buy. Let's not forget that TigerDirect is no small company; it's parent, Systemax, consolidated both CompUSA and Circuit City into TigerDirect. The lesson for companies here is a pretty simple one: don't offer inventory on an item that you don't have and won't have in the foreseeable future. Assuming the average lifespan of a tablet/computer is around 3 years (which seems more than fair given the refresh cycles), the two months of time that passes will be 5.6% of the device's life. If three months passes, that's 8.3% of the device's lifespan spent in limbo. Considering the Surface RT was released Oct 26, 2012, that makes this device about a year and four months old by the time I will see it. Doing some maths, that makes this device 45% depreciated by the time I will see it. To be fair, I will have paid about 41.6% of its original cost for 65% of the original item's lifespan by the time I receive it. So that seems about fair, right?

Wrong. The market values its depreciation at a rate of about $323.08 per year, since in Oct 2012 it would've retailed for around $600 with touch keyboard and in Nov 2013 it was on sale for $250. At that depreciation rate, the item will cost $-43.16 this time next year. Since it's gone negative in two years of consistent depreciating value (which is fair considering most items lose value quicker the longer they are around), it's more likely that the lifespan of such a device is only 2 years, not 3. Thus by the time I receive the Surface tablet, it will have lost more than 50% of its value (if I get it around Jan 26, it will have 37.5% of its lifespan remaining before it can be considered completely outdated. That means I'll have paid 41% of its original value for 37.5% of its original lifespan. If I get the item on Feb 26, I'll have paid 41% of the original cost for only 33.3% of the item's original lifespan. Some more maths makes this even more disappointing. If you bought the item at full original cost, you would've paid $6 for every 1% of the Surface's lifespan; in other words, you would've paid $25 per month of the item's lifespan. I, however, will pay $7.51 for every 1% of my Surface's measley 8 month remaining lifespan; that means I'm paying $31.30 per month of Surface's remaining time before it's labelled "outdated." Some bargain, huh?

No shipment went out yesterday, so I decided to contact again today to see if I could get some clarity. First, I contacted Roger, a customer service manager whose number I found through some intense Googling. He did in fact work for Tiger as a customer service manager, but he was unavailable. I left a message at around 9am, and I have not received a call back by now (2pm). I contacted the chat again, to see if maybe I could get a quick "Yes, this product is shipping today". No such luck. Estelle K. (extension 5380) told me the Surface would ship next week. After telling her I spoke with a rep yesterday, she instead said that they would ship "either this week or next." In case any one is keeping track, next week is Christmas (and will be nearing one month since time of order). This was the conversation:

Please wait while we find an agent to assist you... 

All agents are currently busy. Please stand by. 

An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience. 

The next available Agent will be with you in a moment. 

All agents are currently busy. Please stand by. 

An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience. 

The next available Agent will be with you in a moment. 

All agents are currently busy. Please stand by. 

An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience. 

The next available Agent will be with you in a moment. 

All agents are currently busy. Please stand by. 

An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience. 

The next available Agent will be with you in a moment. 

All agents are currently busy. Please stand by. 

An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience. 

The next available Agent will be with you in a moment. 

All agents are currently busy. Please stand by. 

An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience. 

The next available Agent will be with you in a moment. 

All agents are currently busy. Please stand by. 

An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience. 

The next available Agent will be with you in a moment. 

All agents are currently busy. Please stand by. 

An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience. 

The next available Agent will be with you in a moment. 

You have been connected to Estelle K. 

Estelle K: Hello, and thanks for contacting us today, please hold on while I get that information for you. 

Thomas: Hi, I'd like to know the status of my order. #XXXXXX. 

Thomas: Thank you. :) 

Estelle K: these units are shipping out by next week. 

Thomas: I was told yesterday on the phone that it would ship yesterday or today. 

Thomas: After being told on 12/3 that they would ship on 12/13. 

Thomas: Can I have your employee ID number, please? 

Estelle K: I have been told that the surfaces are going out this week or by next week. 

Estelle K: My extension is 5380. 

Estelle K: Is there anything else I can assist you with? 

Thomas: Do you have an employee ID, not an extension? 

Estelle K: that is my id. 

Thomas: Is there a number I can call to speak with an America-based customer service manager? 

Estelle K: 800 800 8300 option 2. 

Thomas: Thank you, Estelle. You've been much more helpful than most people I've spoken with. 

Estelle K: THE surfaces are definitely going to ship. We are confident of that. It is in the works. 

Thomas: I hope so. This is getting ridiculous, and yesterday I was told something about possibly not getting it because I wasn't on the priority processing list. 

Estelle K: We are told that units are shipping this week and next. 

Estelle K: We try our best to see what is in the system, in this case was are being advised that the units are shipping this week and next. 

Estelle K: sorry, I am not able to be more specific. 

Thomas: I'm guessing they won't arrive in time for Christmas, despite being ordered in November with no indication given, at any point or in any written documents, that the 6-8 day shipping I paid for would not be enough to get them in time for Christmas? 

Estelle K: Frustrating for you, I understand that they are understanding the need to ship asap for this holiday season. 

Estelle K: when the order does ship, the tracking number should allow be available. 

Thomas: Well, this has been an utterly disappointing experience, so thank you. 

Estelle K: I am sorry, the Surfaces are definitely much in demand. 

Estelle K: I wish they would have had more inventory on them. 

Estelle K: I hope this isn't by design? 

Thomas: What? 

Thomas: I understand that they were in demand, I'm just not sure why you guys took orders on an item you didn't have in stock and couldn't guarantee incoming stock, either. It's not like you're making any extra money from pulling people's chains like this. In fact, you're probably losing it. It's unlikely I'll purchase anything from Tigerdirect in the future given the ridiculous amount of loops I've been pulled through, the numerous false information 

Thomas: I've been given, the incredibly poor customer service I've dealt with. You might get my $250, but it's unlikely that any of the customers who're going through this will give you another cent. It's just bad business. And the customer service agents I've spoken with have been utterly unapologetic about it. 

Estelle K: I understand. 

Estelle K: I think that inventory was promised to us and for that reason we offered it on our web site. 

Thomas: Well, thank you very much for your help. 

Estelle K: thank you. I look forward to this being resolved. 

Estelle K: Have a great day, and thanks for providing us with the opportunity to assist you today! 

Estelle was far more helpful than anyone else has been, though at this point I just don't know if I can trust anyone's time frames. I've been told four different time frames, so I thought I would call. If the representative on the phone could give me the same answer as Estelle, then I'd trust it (for now). I immediately called their customer service line, 800-888-6111, rather than the number she advised (which I'd called already yesterday). After 1 hour and 25 minutes passed while on hold, it became a game for me to see how long it would take for someone to answer. (These 1-800 calls are still free, right?) I ate lunch, took a shower, and now I'm writing this. The customer service from TigerDirect is downright abhorrent. I finally gave up at 2 hours and 17 minutes.

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