My experience with CompUSA as an employee and a customer

[Kim Hall]

My experience with CompUSA as an employee and a customer

The Job

I started working at CompUSA in November of 1998 as a technician. At first I
was happy, surrounded by all the goodies I liked to play with. Then reality
set in. The service manager had been there 5 years and was fed up with the
public and everything else. I guess some chairs had flown around the room
before I started and not by themselves. He refused to go out to the counter
and talk to any customers even though they asked for him. The customers
would then go to the store manager, who in turn would dump on the service
manager, who in turn would dump on us for decisions that we were not
empowered to make.

I was a night shift guy. I was often left alone to make my quota of work,
answer phones, and work the front counter all at the same time. Many nights,
I didn't take a lunch or ate while I worked and consequently didn't punch
out for lunch on the time clock. No problem! I discovered months later that
the person in charge of time was punching me out for 1 hour without my
knowledge (which is against the law) in order for the store to avoid any
labor issues. How thoughtless of me, I forgot to thank him.

In the course of my 1½ years of employment, they went through 4 service
managers. Shortly after I left they laid off or reassigned all but a few of
them, even a few they had just finished training. They thought that the
business manager could drop by once in a while from across the store to do
this more than full time job; dealing with warranty issues, tracking work
flow, handling higher level customer complaint issues, reviewing
performance, etc. Many jobs didn't get done on time because technicians didn
't have the authority to resolve customer/manufacturer/warranty issues. I
guess that's one way to stop returns or warranty claims!

Getting things like an ink cartridge to test a customer's printer was not
allowed. So what if you didn't have a known good one to test with? No one
ever had an answer for that. You just got them from the stock and no one
talked about it. Then they complained about unaccounted-for inventory and
searched everybody's pockets at the door!

And then there were the 8 AM Sunday mornings on my days off when I had to
drive in for 1 hour (whoopee) to be at the morning meetings. These were to
introduce yet another new manager (old ones disappeared mysteriously) or a
new incentive program or to talk about our attitude problems and how to
treat customers well (like we were not being treated).

The vacation "request" form read something like this:
"This is a request for time off and is not to be interpreted as a demand!
Management reserves the right to alter or cancel scheduled vacation based on
businesses needs. Not showing up for work during the requested time when it
has been cancelled is grounds for disciplinary action". Hello! Ever buy a
plane ticket, book a motel room, or buy a vacation package? I guess you
couldn't afford it anyway. I really thought they might spank somebody right
in the middle of the sales floor!

As an employee you can buy items at cost, a perk if you can afford it. I was
told one time when buying a hard drive that if I didn't purchase the
insurance plan with it (as a show of support for that program) that the
manager was "seriously" considering not letting me buy it. Another tech had
bought a computer and the warranty for it several years before. It required
replacement because the parts were no longer available. The manager coerced
him into submitting for the full retail replacement value to the warranty
company, gave him the PC at store cost, and kept the difference. I'll bet
the warranty company would love that one!

Physical inventory, which is supposed to be done every quarter, failed to
get done 5 times as scheduled and when I left the store, they still hadn't
done it. Every time they thought they were going to do it, everyone had to
come in for extra duty, disrupting their lives and not making plans with
their families, only to be told to turn around and go home (without getting
paid for any time). Everyone showed up and not one manager had the courtesy
to call their people and tell them not to come in. It sure builds up
confidence that your leaders know what they're doing and care! And it really
helps their credibility too when they say, "It's definitely happening on
Saturday, be there or we'll write you up!"

One store had a big software copying problem and fired 5 techs and their
service manager over it. All the stores were asked if they could share their
techs to help keep up and catch up until new people could get on board. They
were desperate. 70 jobs were backlogged - about a week to even look at
something. Customer: "Hello, my PC has been there almost a week - What did
you find?" Sound familiar? They offered mileage and paid lunches for anyone
willing to help out. I went to this store for about a month and submitted
all of my expenses to an unwilling manager (he didn't want the hassle). Then
I was informed that my old store didn't need me full time and my choice was
limited, so I had to drive twice as far through downtown traffic. The
manager couldn't remember where my receipts had gone and didn't know
anything about the status of my expenses. Finally, when my paycheck, which
kept getting sent to my old store, didn't show up on time, I quit (no direct
deposit for the peons, only management). My wife had to drive down to the
store while I was at my new job and wait for hours for them to issue a check
at the store. They don't like to do things that way! It's not procedure. I
had to take CompUSA to the labor board for my expenses which I finally got
months later. They had to issue my check to the labor board 3 times before
they finally got it.

The Policies

And now for some insider tips:

CompUSA strategy #1: The CompUSA shuffle.
Never leave anyone in a position long enough to answer for their actions or
what they say. Relocate them or otherwise make them unavailable to answer
questions or remember details of what took place only a little while ago.
That way, the new person has no idea what you are talking about and will
take forever getting answers, if they even bother, if they even can.
Remember, they have a full time job doing other things besides helping you!
Be patient and don't' be so selfish! They're busy!

CompUSA strategy #2: The CompUSA round-robin.
If you are a non-technical person and don't know what the customer wants,
transfer them to tech support. We know everything and love to answer all
those questions about pricing and store hours instead of meeting our quotas.
And the customer is really happy when we transfer them back to the reception
phones.

CompUSA strategy #3: The CompUSA excellence.
Why bother to train people when they can muddle through on their own; By
constantly interrupting others trying to meet their quotas; By asking months
worth of questions and gathering knowledge one piece at a time? And be sure
to humiliate anyone in front of others for making the wrong decision with no
information to go on. Make them feel real guilty about what they have cost
the store. I wonder what it costs to muddle through?

CompUSA strategy #4: The CompUSA bolt.
When the going gets tough, the managers get lost. If it appears that an
unpleasant issue is about to come to a head requiring a management decision,
you look around and say, "Hey, where'd he go. His coat's gone!" This is
probably the most extensive training that managers receive; detection and
avoidance of ensuing complaints. Some even get sent to Texas (the home
office) for this class. If you want to catch a manager, here's how:
1. Ask for a manager to be paged at the front counter. "MOD to the front".
That's Manager On Duty, an oxy-moron (not a dumb guy with zits, although.).
2. Watch the store for anyone who looks like O.J. dodging the opposing team
and the police at the same time and trying to catch a rental car.
3. If they're not hiding in back already, identify their location and wait
by the door until they come out. Be sure to watch other connecting exits as
well. If you here an alarm, check the fire exits.

CompUSA strategy #5: The environmental statement.
Don't let employees take home perfectly good or repairable equipment that
you have decided to throw away. Just clear the shelves, get out the hammer,
break it up, and send it off to the landfill. Ink and toner cartridges,
monitor glass with phosphor coatings, PC boards with chemical components,
whatever. Into the dumpster it goes. At least when the regional guys tour
the stores, they won't find anything out of place or not accounted for.

The Benefits

I started in November of 1998. The employee manual stated that after 3
months, I would be entitled to medical benefits. I filled out the paperwork
and gave it to the benefits manager. After 4 months, I asked what was going
on. "I'll check on it", he said. No word. I asked again. "It must have
gotten lost, fill them out again." I did. Finally, I received benefits after
8 months and many queries. One guy worked there for over a year and never
saw any benefits before he left. Note: When you ask a question like this and
the person responsible won't look you in the eye, that's an indication of
intent. I had to pay my own COBRA benefits for the extra 5 months from a
previous job. When I left in April of 2000, they had 44 days by law to send
me the COBRA extension forms. I received these forms in January of 2001,
more than 8 months later. CompUSA told COBRA that I left in October of 2000.
Didn't anybody wonder where I was for 6 months? I had to pay $2564 to make
the medical current and retroactive back to October, no help back to April.
And then, the CompUSA/COBRA team tried to cancel me over a 1 day
miscommunication on their customer service's part about an on-line payment
due date. They had happily accepted the $2564 and 2 months worth of premiums
before that with no complaints. Then, after paying for July of 2001 and on
the 20th of that July, I got a notice that the insurance had changed and
gone up to $593 from $438. And, I was overdue! The new company hadn't gotten
paid yet. It wasn't their problem that I had already paid the old one. I had
to pay both to stay current and I am still waiting to be reimbursed by the
old one. I guess this is how companies save money on medical expenses!

The Customer

As a customer, both employed and not, I purchased many rebate items. I
filled out the forms, cut out all the tags, and mailed them on time, keeping
a list. As far back as two years and to this date, I am out about $600 for
rebates that were sent in per their form's instructions. The store manager
called me a liar, even when I gave him the copies of what I had sent, and
said it wasn't their problem. I would have to go through the rebate center
in Texas. I experienced a version of Strategy #2 above, I guess it's company
wide. Hours on the phone only acquainted me with all the people who didn't
know how to help me and proves that all you have to do is inconvenience
people enough and they'll give up. Maybe I'll try Small Claims Court if I
can determine who to send the summons to.

That sign that says that the manufacturers honor copies of receipts as
agreed to with CompUSA - don't you believe it. MGM wouldn't send me my free
DVD with a receipt copy and the store said it wasn't their problem. A note
about rebates: It's not free. They are borrowing everyone's money for 6-8
weeks (more like 6-8 months) and earning interest while you are paying the
same on your VISA card. When and if they send you your rebate, they have
made their money back on the actual cost of the item and much more.
Something you pay $20 to $30 for costs pennies to produce and may even be
overstock or soon-to-be-obsolete items. IE: The new version of Windows
coming out in a few months will not support that new modem. Not to be
condescending but I often thought of the milling customers as herded cattle
while watching them shop. "Ooh, it's free after rebates, and we'll need to
buy this to use it!" Free CD-R disks after rebate and we'll buy a CD-Writer
to make our own CD's. In fairness, I was guilty of this before working
there. Wake up people or grow spots and learn to say "MOO"!

I saw another complaint letter about the cost of printer and other cables.
The store makes their money on supplies, accessories, and warranty plans far
more than big item sales. Markups can be 3 to 4 times the cost. I once
bought a plastic cable organizer that was a 99 cent retail item for a only a
penny (cost).

If anyone is interested in legally pursuing any of the above, send me an
email. Washington has some of the weakest employment laws in the country.
At-will employment where no reason is needed to can someone is just inviting
abuse and retaliation against someone who would otherwise stand up for their
rights. I guess the politicians know what side their bread is buttered on
and it's not on our side because we can't afford the butter! We gave it to
them.

After reading this, I'm sure the buying public will understand about the way
they are served and why. Would you be inspired to do first class job for low
pay under these conditions?