RIP Future Shop

[Darth Cylon]

@Chigimus. Kevin Layden was a a lot more down to earth and hands down. He'd came to the store and talk to everyone. He didn't act like a king. He replacement Mike Pratt was the new crowned emperor in his new robe. I don't have much to say about him. His wife came from Best Buy US and was parachute in the Canadian CHQ as a director. Looks like he didn't fare too well after he jumped ship either.

The current President & COO Ron Wilson. Oh man. When I heard he was name President & COO in 2013, I knew there would be more cut. COLD CUT. There's practically nothing nice I can say about him.

[SanMiguel]

this is indeed a sad news specially to the people who work in Future Shop, specially those who have families to feed.....

[Scrapper6]

And of course the media sensationalize this and blame it on lazy buyers... Or at least that's the headline the CBC had online when I first booted up this morning.

That title smacks of desperation to get people to click on the link, people aren't lazy when it comes to shopping for computers, or other big name electronics. They're smarter, they don't take crap from anybody, and Future Shop is a terrible, terrible place to go because all they care about is making the sale and getting the commission. (At least from my perspective.)

Personally it's sad to see the store go belly up the same way Target has, but in all honesty what can you expect? Corporate America is interested in making more money from their subsidiaries and if Future Shop can't hack it, than they just cut it off at the knee. Like some kind of gangrenous infection.

Utterly revolting. Honestly not surprising though, when it comes to big name electronics you only have to buy one every so many years, and they are expensive items to be dropping hard earned cash on. You're understandably going to be picky where you shop. It's just the nature of the beast.

[MULTIPLEX]

Originally Posted by Team Jetfire

Good riddance to the company;

But I feel bad for the people who's jobs are affected.

Exactly. Someone in my family lost their job cause the store was shut down last week. I feel bad for them.

But as far as the company and my own personal experience, Future Shop has the worst policies and customer service I have ever encountered and had to deal with.

I actually got accused of returning a stolen TV because I got it from another FS outside Guelph even though I had my receipt. Really? Then when I asked to speak to the manager I was told no, he is too busy. Wouldn't even call an assistant manager. The TV sales guy came over to inspect the TV and told me he knows "everything" about TVs and knows "more than me" and claimed my TV was fine even though I demonstrated clearly, using a digital file on my USB, the defect. There were huge splotches of condensation/clouding scattered across the panel affecting the picture. His response, "I should've paid for the callibration". I knew he was pissed cause the return probably came out of this potential commission that day. But I have the right to return a FS product to any location. I just happen to buy it in Orangeville cause they were the only location near me that had stock when the sale was on. Only when I brought it home and tested it, did I notice the clouding.

Anyways, I'm real tech savvy and this guy was off his rocker. I got the exchange but from that day, I never walked into FS again. I am not surprised this company is gone. I don't mind best buy. It's the lesser of two evils. Never really had an issue with them.

[Chigimus]

Originally Posted by Darth Cylon

@Chigimus. Kevin Layden was a a lot more down to earth and hands down. He'd came to the store and talk to everyone. He didn't act like a king. He replacement Mike Pratt was the new crowned emperor in his new robe. I don't have much to say about him. His wife came from Best Buy US and was parachute in the Canadian CHQ as a director. Looks like he didn't fare too well after he jumped ship either.

The current President & COO Ron Wilson. Oh man. When I heard he was name President & COO in 2013, I knew there would be more cut. COLD CUT. There's practically nothing nice I can say about him.

I would agree with your opinion of Kevin Layden. I've met him before myself and I found him to be a very approachable and a classy guy. I left while Layden was still at the helm but as I mentioned earlier, it wasn't that much long that he resigned himself so I never met Pratt or Wilson, but I will take your word for it as it seems to coincide with the feelings I had that led to my departure.

Originally Posted by MULTIPLEX

But as far as the company and my own personal experience, Future Shop has the worst policies and customer service I have ever encountered and had to deal with.

I actually got accused of returning a stolen TV because I got it from another FS outside Guelph even though I had my receipt. Really? Then when I asked to speak to the manager I was told no, he is too busy. Wouldn't even call an assistant manager. The TV sales guy came over to inspect the TV and told me he knows "everything" about TVs and knows "more than me" and claimed my TV was fine even though I demonstrated clearly, using a digital file on my USB, the defect. There were huge splotches of condensation/clouding scattered across the panel affecting the picture. His response, "I should've paid for the callibration". I knew he was pissed cause the return probably came out of this potential commission that day. But I have the right to return a FS product to any location. I just happen to buy it in Orangeville cause they were the only location near me that had stock when the sale was on. Only when I brought it home and tested it, did I notice the clouding.

Anyways, I'm real tech savvy and this guy was off his rocker. I got the exchange but from that day, I never walked into FS again. I am not surprised this company is gone. I don't mind best buy. It's the lesser of two evils. Never really had an issue with them.

This also echoes some of what I was trying to convey in my earlier post in this thread about how the culture had changed with BB's policies and practices slowly creeping in and re-shaping how we did business. I empathize with you and for what you experienced; it was an example of a larger part of the problem of having BB as the governing regime.

On the one hand, even though some people may hold the opinion that FS sales associates were greedy or shady due to being paid on a commission structure, that is not the case for everyone that worked there, so please try not paint everyone with the same brush because of a few bad apples. Despite those that tarnished the image, once upon a time FS associates were truly knowledgeable about the products they sold as CHQ used to arrange vendor conventions for the best of their full time staff to attend in order to receive knowledge training for products from the manufacturing companies. BB employees never got that treatment and it still shows today with staff simply reading off the tags or who couldn't be bothered to help you out. They're just glorified merchandisers who polish the shelves and put out stock in the end.

[TMIIWonkoNemises]

I had no bad experience with Future Shop, and it was normally the first place I go to when getting either games or other accessories. Still pretty bummed out that I'm in a world where Future Shop gets the bitter end, but The Source lives for another day :|

[Tekkamanraiden]

Originally Posted by TMIIWonkoNemises

I had no bad experience with Future Shop, and it was normally the first place I go to when getting either games or other accessories. Still pretty bummed out that I'm in a world where Future Shop gets the bitter end, but The Source lives for another day :|

I wouldn't be surprised if The Source is the next to go.

[CobraCommander]

I never liked how they always try to push their extended warranty, I've heard horror stories on trying to get a claim processed. Anyways, at least there still is Costco, a great place to get a TV with 90day no hassle returns and cheaper price to boot!

[Sun Swipe Prime]

Originally Posted by CobraCommander

I never liked how they always try to push their extended warranty, I've heard horror stories on trying to get a claim processed. Anyways, at least there still is Costco, a great place to get a TV with 90day no hassle returns and cheaper price to boot!

You know what I say every time someone tries to push one on me? I say something to the effect of, "Are you telling me there are lots of issues with this product? That it's likely to just go belly up any time, so I need this warranty to ensure I'm not going to get screwed? Maybe I shouldn't buy this then if its so chock full of issues."

That usually sends them into back-peddle mode.

Honestly, if I were a manufacturer, I'd be looking askance at extended warranties. It's basically a sales associate telling customers that a product is a cheap piece of crap that won't stand the test of time.

[MULTIPLEX]

Originally Posted by Sun Swipe Prime

It's basically a sales associate telling customers that a product is a cheap piece of crap that won't stand the test of time.

Most household technology today is cheap and will not stand the test of time. Look at TVs for example. These flat screens don't last long at all. Tube TVs are still the best built. Unfortunately they are bulky and less energy efficient. Both my tube TVs lasted over 20 years each! My Sony WEGA is still going. Vacuums...don't get me started...