Software Etc sucks ?

Sales slip

Software Etc....
SLC, UT. USA. Crossroads Plaza 801/364-1214 Scams -- Dishonesty -- Abuse

I bought this mouse
...and it did not work well.
I tried to return it after 3 weeks.
They would not take it back.
Does this suck?

LINKS:
   Read EMAIL about this
"Employee turnover was high, one every three months...
    People were often stealing money and slacking off. "

The boring details...
Mr. Robert Gerkaroun*, the store manager spoke with me by telephone for perhaps 45 minutes.

I paraphrase: Gerkaroun said that return as in return policy means that the store gets the merchandise back, but the victim gets to hold only an IOU -- store scrip, not the real money. I think that is at best only a one-sided, unfair return.

After I mentioned this web page, he put me on hold for about 7 min. Then the telephone phone disconnected us.

To his credit, he called back later, but could not resist accusing me me of hanging up on him.

No apology was offered for selling me a defective item or for giving me such a hard time.

This was very unpleasant experience. It seems that at Software Etc., the Customer is not always right.

Mr. Gerkaroun stated that His store's parent company is Gamestop.com. It has a 15 day return policy, as presently stated on its seb page.

This business is located in the basement of Crossroads Plaza, a mall in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Webmasters: If you have a related web page, please feel free to link to here. Let me know, and I will reciprocate.

* Gerkaroun -- That's NOT his real name. Robert refused to tell me his last name. Mr. Gerkaroun stated that his computer store does not have an email address, nor does it have a web page. Its snail mail address is:

Presently, Egghead, at http://www.egghead.com/ offers this mouse for over 12 dollars less.

The Mother Of All Software Et Ceteras...

	Store	Address	City, State
I first bought software -- for my Apple II computer -- from Software Etc., when the store seemed to have been a well run "mom-and-pop" store. If you want to buy something from Software Etc. today, maybe you should hurry. In my opinion -- and this is only an OPINION -- Software Etc. won't be in businesses much longer. I think that a business which finds it necessary to victimize its customers is in its death throes. R.I. P. Companies listed here, such as Tel America do not seem to do well. ( Tel Amercia used to be at telamerica.com/. Some companies need to learn that the customer is not always wrong :)	Babbage's	University Mall	Orem, UT
	Babbage's	Layton Hills Mall	Layton, UT
	Software Etc.	Fashion Place Mall	Murray, UT
	Software Etc.	Cottonwood Mall	Salt Lake City, UT
	Software Etc.	Crossroads Plaza	Salt Lake City, UT
	Software Etc.	Valley Fair Mall	W. Valley City, UT
	Software Etc.	Red Cliffs Mall	St. George, UT
	Software Etc.	So. Towne Center	Sandy, UT
	Store locations, as listed on http://www.gamestop.com/ Gamestop.com (817) 424-2000

Victims: Email me and I'll post your messsage here; with or without name and email address.
Rebuttals accepted likewise, but you must give name and email address.

-----Original Message-----
From: Sue Anderson [mailto:larander@terracom.net]
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2000
To: Nowsc@yahoo.com
Subject: Software Etc Sucks

I bought a computer game, but my computer wasn't fast enough so I tried to return the game. They told me that I needed to get a new video card and they

-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Norz
Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 3:15 PM
To: Nowsc@yahoo.com
Subject: SE sucks?

Just one question: why are/were you in such a fury over the return policy of the
store? It's clearly stated on the receipt that "Returns must be make within 7
days". There's a similar message at the top of the receipt. Did you just think
that you could ignore those and become an exception to the rule? I'm not saying
you were wrong in wanting a refund or that the manager was right in treating you
the way he did. But you do have to look at the store's policy and how you were
wanting to return something outside of it.

As a side note, I've worked for the company in the past, in Gamestop, Babbage's
and Software Etc. stores. I've also worked at the corporate office on the
Gamestop.com website. The company really isn't that bad at all. I took great
care of my customers and tried to work around situations like yours with the aid
of the District Managers or the Corporate Office. Sometimes, though, things in a
large company take time. Ususally customers who wanted exchanges outside the
return policy needed to wait until a DM or so authorized. You wouldn't believe
the number of people wanting to return games that they beat in a couple weeks,
etc.

greg norz

================My==REPLY==================================
Dear Mr. norz --

I understand the problem you may have with returns, especially when you cater to clientele who are mostly children. That is a problem you chose to take on when you decided to go into this business.

I poked around on the Gamestop.com website. There, a 15 day exchange policy is stated. I'm told that Software Etc. is a subsidiary of Gamestop.com. If the return time period is halved each time a subsidiary is made, I give you this exercise: How many subsidiaries make a 7-HOUR return policy?

As for your blurry small-print return policy statement on the receipt (see http://www.nowscape.com/suck/mouse_radio_receipt.jpg ) that is something given to the customer AFTER the sales transaction. I did not look for any signs in your store, nor am I accustomed to doing that. Seven days is particularly short and unusual, I think.

In my business, purchases are not always evaluated immediately. Having an unusual return policy as you do, you should have announced it at the time of sale so that potential customers are fully aware. In this case, our return policy would not have matched your return policy.

I still *am* "in a fury over the return policy of your store." My company will continue to do business with vendors where the customer is always right. In your store that is just not the case. Even now, with this email, you seem to dig in your heels, defending this business-wise insane treatment of good customers.

Good luck, you will need it, I think. We've set up a pool at the office (200-dollar prize, at the office, to guess when your company will no longer be one. So far almost half of the squares have been sold.

Who are you, Mr. norz? Are you employed by Software Etc, or Gamestop? What is your interest?

Thank you for taking the time to reply and thanks in advance for reading my reply.

-----Original Message-----
From: Lanny Cottrell
Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2000
To: Nowsc@yahoo.com
Subject: Your ignorance

I just have a comment. Here I am Surfing the web and come across your page. I was a little interested and when I saw your page I realized it was just plain ignorance. Even I can read that it says returns within seven days twice on the receipt. Anything after that is your responsability to contact microsoft after that. I am a frequent shopper at Babbage's and have never had a problem with them or there return policy.
Thanks for your time.

*Comments-
My husband called to reserve a game for me ("Burgertime" for
gameboy). When I went to pick it up, they would not sell it to me.
They said that only the person who reserved the game could pick it
up.... I told him my husbands name, the fact that he called on Monday
morning, he was supposed to pick it up on Saturday..... Everything I
could think of.... He told me that I could not have the game unless he
could call my husband on the phone and I could produce picture ID.... I
did these things. Unfortunately, my husband was not home at the moment.
I drove from Indianapolis to Bloomington to pick up this game only to be
sent on my way by a rude salesman. If he had told my husband that he
was the only one who could pick up the game when he called to reserve
it, I would not have wasted my time. I will never shop at this store
again! Software Etc. SUCKS!

Software Etc
College Mall
3038 1/2 East 3rd Street
Bloomington, IN 47401
(812)339-1821

Thank You,
Becky

on the receipt itself it says that returns must be
made within 7 days. was this rule in affect beofre or
after your argument. If it was before then jesus shut
the fuck up and shut down your site cause you are
obviously not the type that reads the small print. If
not then my apologies and I'm w/ you.

Sincerely,
David B.

I think you need to check your facts. All purchases people make have a
"cooling off" period which varies depending on the value of the item
purchased. For something of the price you paid for this mouse, that period
would not extend past two weeks at the most. Beyond that period you have the
warranty period, during which the product may be returned if faulty (the
product not meeting your personal expectations does not count as faulty, it
must actually be considered to not function as stated or to be physically
damaged) at which time the seller must replace it with another of the exact
same item, or if the fault is found to be a generic defect witht the
product, then they must supply an alternative that can meet the prupose at
either the same price or less. Only if they are unable to fulfil these
obligations are they then required to give you a refund. Frankly I think the
store only gave you a refund due to the fact that the headache you would
have given them by constatntly bothering them would not have been worth the
cost of the mouse, that yes they definitely will re-sell because for one it
is common policy to do such things in retail stores when perfectly good
items are returned by nit-picky customers and secondly the mouse would not
have been faulty it was just built to microsoft standards and would have
worked just as good as any of their other products.

Yours Kindly

Roy Greensmith