I walked into Circuit City on Route 18 in East Brunswick on Tuesday, March 27.
I was simply looking to find out which lap top would be best to purchase for my wife. Next thing you know, I ended up buying a Gateway MX8711 with Microsoft Office and the $200 Antivirus software. Unfortunately, I am a Comcast customer, which means we have Antivirus protection as part of our monthly service. This is something the sales kid should have asked us before pushing the Antivirus protection on me. Of course he didn't.
So I paid for my Laptop and was asked to come back in 3-4 hours. They said they would install the CD/DVD into my laptop and install the Antivirus protection and Microsoft office. I informed the sales kid I wouldn't be able to come back until tomorrow morning.
That evening I went home and spoke to a number of people with lap-tops who all said, (I hope you didn't get scammed into buying the Antivirus Protection). Of course I did.
So on Wednesday morning, I arrived at the store bright and early and asked the sales kid to refund me my money as I still had not picked up the laptop. I was actually going to purchase a different model off of the Circuit City website since they did not have any inventory in the store. The sales kid said they would not be able to refund me my money since they had already inserted the CD/DVD for me into the lap top and installed the Antivirus protection. I said this was unacceptable.
So his sales manager (MACIEJ CURLEJ) came over to try and resolve the issue. This made things even more difficult as the sales managers English was not very good. I had a very tough time understanding him, which made me even more upset.
He offered to reinstall the 2 programs on the new computer I wanted to purchase. But I told him I only wanted the Microsoft Office installed. He said this would not be possible since they had already installed (put in a CD) the programs on the original computer. Between his inability to speak English and his unwillingness to simply refund me MY MONEY, I was very agitated.
I asked him to speak to someone in the store with some authority. The store directors name is (PAUL ELLER). Now I am pretty sure he spoke English, but he seemed scared to come over and talk to me. So I was stuck trying to get this issue resolved with Maciej. Rather than dealing with the language barrier, I decided to call AMEX and have them dispute the charge.
Later that afternoon, I called back the store and asked PAUL ELLER for his supervisors name. I also asked him what number I could call to speak to someone with some sort of authority. He told me to call 800-THECITY. I spoke to an operator and she said she would transfer me to PAUL ELLER's superior. I was on hold for 90 MINUTES.
I hung up and called back. Another receptionist then called the store and asked PAUL ELLER where to find his superior. The receptionist was told that PAUL's superior was out the entire week and not due back until April 2. How come no one told me that when I first called is very insulting?
As I was leaving the store (without the merchandise), I asked MECIEJ to give me his business card and PAUL's business card. I also let him know that AMEX would have this resolved and that we would be credited back our money. His response was That's Ok, we will still get paid.
It took every muscle in my body to not tell the sales manager what I thought of him and Circuit City. But I doubt he would have understood what I was saying as English is definitely not his first language. I am very surprised CC would hire someone who can not communicate with customers.
I am amazed at the lack of professionalism and respect. AMEX has assured me this would be resolved, but it may take them 6-8 weeks. Since I do not physically have the merchandise, I was guaranteed it will not be difficult to get credited back my money.
Now my wife's birthday is in 5 days, but I do not feel comfortable purchasing another laptop until CC has refunded me MY MONEY.
If someone could please let me know who I can contact to expedite the process, I would be very thankful.
AGAIN: BE VERY CAREFUL. Educate and inform yourself before shopping at Circuit City.
M
East Brunswick, New Jersey
U.S.A.
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