Talk:Fry's Electronics

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Contents 1 Restored History Section 2 Poor customer service 3 Store locations 4 Founders? 5 Name 6 Vandalism or correct date? 7 Kroger statement 8 Fremont PC-Walla Fry's 9 Themes? 10 Outpost.com 11 NPOV and sourcing 12 We need interior pictures 13 Commissions 14 Tucson wants a Frys Electronics BAAAAAAAAAD! Trust me! 15 Fry's in Canada 16 Concord location 17 Spartan? 18 Major overhaul of article 19 Are the store numbers correct? 20 "although Fry's usually will not match prices from their website" is not right 21 San Diego store

[edit] Restored History Section

Reinstated History section, which was removed without explanantion by 24.23.83.240 on Dec 20 '05. jxm

I work for Fry's. It hurts to hear about poor CSR, but think about how most e- consumer chains have a "no return" policy on e- items. California customers/consumers must anticipate all sorts of long waits/hassles - we at Fry's see every form of hustle artistry on every level, and I don't look forward to those days when such subterfuge improvisers make their regular appearances. Our returns people must have God given patience. We have to look out for our dedicated customers, and we have to look out for the company bottom line. I personally HATE scoping hustle tricksters, and I haven't half a clue to their slight-of-hand games, although I see the results of their selfish wankage every day.

We have every desire to look out for our honest shoppers and when they have problems, that means we didn't go 100% on the front end, but our return policy is extremely forgiving; we may get it wrong. I apologize on the behalf of our end. We want the best for you, the guy with the tech gear. We have to check it out. You think this gear is confusing to you? I personally am clawing my way to understand every new piece of gear that comes to our shelves, and no PHd. can touch our Team Knowledge. That's the real deal. We put a lot of thought behind what we sell you, and although there's some hiccups, we try like hell to get it right. you might have to be patient. WE, collectively have the patience of a boat anchor. A lot of thought goes into the way we arrange what you purchase. It's a far cry from selling you bananas. This gear is fiercely technical, and today is a new day; what we sold two days ago are antiques. There's no miracles. What you want may have a Microsoft "feature" or two and Service Pack 17 will run better. If you have an open source solution, I'm all ears. You're the third (thousandth) customer in line, and I want to know what you took home and runs flawlessly. Nobody seems to come back and say, "This works great; I have no problems.." (Sometimes they do. It makes me feel terrific.) Come shop in Indiana. We're one of the top stores.

[edit] Poor customer service

The stores are noted for, and seem to revel in, a reputation for horrible customer service. Is there any way that can be added in an NPOV manner? RickK 07:26, Aug 22, 2004 (UTC)

That's a good question. I've heard the same thing (luckily I never needed any service when I shopped there). If you can find and quote a source, that'd be the best way to add it in a NPOV manner. You could say, "The store chain is noted for poor customer service," but without a source, it sounds weasley. — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:42, Aug 24, 2004 (UTC)

Updated, with references. Attempted to revise for NPOV. New to Wiki, would appreciate some feedback. --Hadley 04:35, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I'm in silicon valley and shop at Fry's almost every week. I think the reputation for poor service is somewhat of an urban legend or just something for us geeks to complain about. The complaints come from the fact that people want to return just about any and everything, even when the item is obviously no longer in sellable condition. Just to show that I'm not a shill for the company, something more concrete to complain about is their policy of selling returned and repackaged items. Dyl 05:12, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)

I used to live in SV, and I think its reputation is well-earned. But at least (now) it's presented in a NPOV manner. If you think the repackaged items need to be mentioned, go ahead and add it. Be bold. :-) — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:56, Oct 29, 2004 (UTC)

I have shopped there and try very hard to avoid anything that might require customer service because on one hand Frys assumes that all customers are inherently criminal and deserved to be treated as such (and on the other hand assumes they're all sophisticated techies who already know what they need so don't need knowledgeable sales staff). One example: I bought shrink-wrapped software, took it home and discovered (I don't remember the reason) that it was the wrong software. I returned it the next day, still in its shrink wrap, with the receipt. I had to fill out paperwork; stand in a long line; watch them remove the shrink wrap, open the box, and test the software ("anyone can shrinkwrap a box", they told me); wait for a suupervisor's approval for the return; then go stand in another long line to get the actual refund; wait for them to find my paperwork from the other desk; and wait for another supervisor's approval. In general, trying to find someone in the store who can answer your questions or help you with what you're looking for is pointless. Occasionally I get useful info, but more often than not, if I don't know exactly what I need, no one can help. Elf | Talk 17:08, 29 Oct 2004 (UTC)

FWIW, the Wired (September 1998) article mentions "famously antagonistic customer service" and refers to the clerks as "surly"; still, it's clear they love the place. The article is still a fun read.. I always knew my collection of "Wired"s would be useful for something. --hadley 04:42, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)

As an east-coaster relocated to the west coast, I have been frequently told of how bad the customer service by people who live here (but love the place anyway, it's part of the allure.) That said, it seems roughly as bad as the customer service at a CompUSA or Best Buy or elsewhere... -- JoshuaSchachter 07:03, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

In all fairness, it should be pointed out that, in my experience anyway, the problem is with company policies, not with the employees themselves. I remember one time when I was there with my Dad, we tried to buy something that had been advertized as being on sale (something like $10 off). Their system, however, said there was no sale, whereupon we produced the newspaper ad in question. This turned out to be a mistake. It took 45 minutes to get out of the store, during which we were held hostage by labrynthine policy and protocol; we couldn't decide to just pay full price, and they couldn't cancel the transaction and give us our money back. The sales clerk was patient and persevering to the end, though, despite having to run several times from the front area to the back room (a distance of about six miles); he did seem a bit amused though when my dad (who'd been waiting close to an hour) blew up at the manager because she asked him for his Social Security number (which is illegal). We eventually saved our $10 and, more importantly, made it out alive. --WikiMarshall 08:13, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

---

[edit] Store locations

With all due respect to Mboverload, do we really need--or want to--list all there store locations? We aren't an advertising vehicle for them and all that info is on their webiste, which we link to. Would we want to list all the locations of Wal-Marts or Best Buys? I could see doing it if their stores were few in number or hard to find, but they aren't either. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:59, Nov 15, 2004 (UTC)

The recent edits by Elf has improved the list of store locations (the edits made it smaller), but I really don't think we need to list their store locations—that's their job, not ours. We link to their website which lists all their store locations. We don't do it for any other retailers, so why for Fry's? Please, I'd really like to hear any justification for listing their store locations. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:19, Nov 16, 2004 (UTC)

I also think that the pointer to their website is sufficient article content with respect to accessing location information. - [[User:Bevo|Bevo]] 15:36, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I agree --Mboverload 16:18, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Actually I agree--I was just tired last night and doing a little cleanup here & there & didn't think too hard about it. I'll be bold & remove. Elf | Talk 18:53, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Thank you! :-) — Frecklefoot | Talk 20:55, Nov 16, 2004 (UTC)

Um, having not seen this discussion, I put back the list of all the stores. Seeing as how there are only 25, I don't think it's a space-wasting problem, and I think including the themes makes it more interesting than a mere list of store locations. The comparisons to Best Buy and Wal-Mart are not apt here, because if you've seen one, you've seen them all, but each Fry's Electronics location is unique. I intentionally didn't include the addresses, because that would have been too much advertising, but simply the city name and the theme I think makes for mildly interesting trivia. Nohat 03:21, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I'll buy that. Elf | Talk 14:11, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I don't understand why the closed Lawrence & Kern location is listed, but the closed Oakmead & Lakeside location is not. If it is meant to be a complete list of locations, including closed locations, it should include the Oakmead & Lakeside store. If it is meant to be a current list of locations, then drop the Lawrence & Kern location. --Larry Hastings 19:59, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

The list is incomplete. Please feel free to add any closed stores you know of. Nohat 20:57, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

The article states there are three locations in Georgia. In fact, there are only two GA locations: one (new) store in Alpharetta and the (older) store in Duluth. The table shows two stores for Alpharetta. Given that Alpharetta is a fairly small town, it would be extraordinary for Frys to build more than one store in that locale. The company claims it has only one Alpharetta store. They have not announced plans for any additional stores in Georgia. 208.27.235.133 09:51, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Founders?

Does anyone know anything about the founders? For instance, I thought I heard once that one of them had an advanced degree in mathematics.--68.94.26.237

All I know is that it was started by the sons of the owner of the Fry's grocery stores who were more interested in technology than food. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:44, Mar 22, 2005 (UTC)

John Fry got a math degree. Forbes story -- DrVeghead 04:18, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Name

I always thought the stores should have been named Chips and Chips because they sell both integrated circuit chips and potato chips... -- RTC 20:37, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism or correct date?

Can anyone confirm what the correct date of the cited article is--an anon user just changed it from "The Future of Retail," Wired 6.09, September 1998, page 146. to 6.07, July 1998. Elf | Talk 03:14, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Kroger statement

I moved this statement from the article, just added by an anon user:

FRY'S ELECTRONICS is not affiliated with FRY'S FOOD & DRUG STORES or THE KROGER COMPANY. THE KROGER COMPANY owns and operates the FRY'S FOOD & DRUG STORES. (DO NOT EDIT THIS PARAGRAPH. THIS PARAGRAPH IS PROPERTY OF THE KROGER COMPANY and IS APPROVED BY THE KROGER COMPANY.)

I don't know what to make of it. I doubt Kroger had a flunky log onto Wikipedia and make such a change. No part of Wikipedia is "owned by Kroger" or any other private company. However, someone may want to research the veracity of the statement and make any pertinent changes to the article. — Frecklefoot | Talk 13:51, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

• Well, it's certainly true that there's no affiliation. What else needs be changed? That's exactly what the article says. I've changed it to say "Fry's Food & Drug Stores" to be more precise. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 17:54, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

A similar notice was placed in the Fry's Food and Drug Stores page, this time by 207.200.116.12. I've removed the license-conflicting Do not edit... statement, but left the other ownership statement alone (apart from removing the unnecessary caps). JXM 18:18, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

I doubt it's an official PR flack---a real one would have gone through official channels and contacted the Wikimedia Foundation's counsel. It must be some well-meaning store manager or cashier. --Coolcaesar 07:14, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fremont PC-Walla Fry's

The Fremont Fry's staff appears to be ~90% of Indian nationality, is this just a reflection of Fremont, Ca demographics? I sometimes feel like I am watching the movie Dish Walla there.

There are a lot of Persians in the Concord store. I think the multi-ethnic nature of Fry's employees should be mentioned in the article.

If you can find reliable sources which disucss the ethnic distribution of employees then it would be suitable. Our own estimates are not sufficient. -Will Beback 22:38, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Fry's seems to fly under the radar of the media, or maybe it's that they purchase all those ads.  :-) Anyway I have been working there for the last 4 to 5 months and am now moving on to another job. Although I will not disagree with most of the criticisms made of Fry's I do feel that, from what I have seen, they gave a lot of young people of all ethnic groups a chance to get started on their careers. I might just write an article about my experiences and post it to some blog.Steve Dufour 08:30, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

I know several people who work at a certain Bay Area newspaper, and they have admitted to me off the record that their employer never runs negative coverage of Fry's because Fry's is one of their biggest advertisers. As we all know, Fry's loves to buy up the "back pages" of the newspaper or even inserts its own special advertising section. --Coolcaesar 16:27, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

I suspected that something like that was going on. Very smart of Fry's.Steve Dufour 17:24, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

I noticed plenty of Indian staff in the Fremont one too, Fremont's second biggest ethnic group is Indian. (1st is Chinese)--Old Guard 06:00, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Not only are they mostly Indian, they're specifically Punjabi. I seem to remember hearing that Fry's had replaced a lot of them with people less ethnically conspicuous (the turbans are bit noticable), but it's been a while since I was last there to see. --WikiMarshall 08:18, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Themes?

What's this about "The Movies" theme in the Sacramento store? I've been there at least a hundred times and never seen any movies theme. What's up? Havethey remodeled recently?Gopherbassist 20:55, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Fry's Store 14 Sacramento does not have an official theme, it was once upon a time an Incredible Universe location though, and many of the "show-biz" hangings from that era have been incorporated into the store's decor. Runner095 17:15, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Outpost.com

I see that this links directly here. I will take a wild guess and say that Fry's has bought them out. Still, Outpost.Com had its own history and should have its own page for that. Alyeska 03:22, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

True, their commercials are pretty famous. There should be something written about them.--Matteh (talk) 15:29, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV and sourcing

The article needs to follow WP:V and WP:NPOV. Currently, the whole article is a mish-mash of unsubstantiated complaints and advice. Even the parts that appear to be reasonably correct are not often sourced. The customer service section in particular is a mess. --Chan-Ho (Talk) 16:28, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Can't we just put the NPOV template on that section though? ~ clearthought 16:29, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

The whole article has a problem with NPOV, not just that section. The advertising section has problems. Also, I'm not just talking about the critical stuff. Parts of the article are praising but still not NPOV, e.g. "Geek mecca", comparisons to Best Buy, the comments about filled parking lots, which are not only unsourced but is debatable why it was included except to promote a particular POV. The problems with POV and sourcing (and perhaps even some OR) are with the whole article, so I don't really see a point in redundantly tagging individual sections. --Chan-Ho (Talk) 16:52, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

In the part where it says "Fry's sells all the parts for a consumer to make their own (computer)", there's no source for it, but all you have to do is look at the ads and see cases, motherboards, processors, memory, etc. being sold. Fry's also sells electronic parts and test equipment unlike Best Buy, a more consumer oriented store. —Pelladon 01:11, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] We need interior pictures

These stores have some pretty nifty themes/interiors, can somebody please take a few pictures?--Old Guard 06:01, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

It's a hard feat. Fry's doesn't like people taking pictures of their interiors. If caught, the photographer's camera is confiscated, film removed, then returned. This is pretty standard, though. Photos can be used to case the joint (prepare for a roberry or burgluary). — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:27, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Frecklefoot's right. When Costco saw me trying taking better photos inside the warehouse to replace the photo I already took (see the article for my current photo) they got kind of mad and chased me out. Retail people in general don't like customers with cameras because (1) it distracts them from dealing with shoplifters and (2) photos can be used to case a joint for a takeover robbery during store hours (for example, photos can be used to prepare maps) or a burglary after hours. --Coolcaesar 21:49, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Commissions

Cashiers (or Customer Service Associates aka CSA) were paid .23% of every dollar rung up at their register. This changed last quarter when all CSA's were switched to quarterly commission. Each certified CSA gets paid $8/hr, then based on the previous quarters sales/hour the base $8/hr is increased incrementally up to $13/hr. Un-certified CSA's get $7/hr and are not eligible for commission. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.123.132.251 (talk • contribs).

First off, I'm disclosing that I work for Fry's, and I have to point out that any information on commissions or stuff like that is confidential. I can't and won't confirm whether this is right or wrong. In fact, considering that it is near impossible to cite the source, I'd like this information removed if possible. --Geopgeop 08:40, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tucson wants a Frys Electronics BAAAAAAAAAD! Trust me!

I live in Tucson and I have to travel to Phoenix everytime I want to go to Frys Elec. Tucson doesn't have the quality electronics at a good price,like Frys does. Tucson hikes there prices up on everything, it's so pathetic! Why does Phoenix get all the good stores and all we get is the left over shit? I really should move to Phoenix.

Why are you telling us? Tell Fry's. ;-) — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:03, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fry's in Canada

Any info on that? thanks.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.57.58.57 (talk • contribs).

[edit] Concord location

Oh yeah, this can be added: the location of the Concord store used to be a Levitz Furniture store. Again, I can't add this myself, as I work for Fry's, so if someone can add this, thanks. --Geopgeop 08:42, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Spartan?

The History section said that "The Oxnard store and future stores will only feature Spartan decorative elements." This implies that they will feature decorative elements reminiscent of, well, the Sparta from a couple thousand years ago - which is almost certainly not the case. I assume someone decided to capitalize that for no good reason; I've changed it to a lowercase s, which makes a whole lot more sense both in context and from my personal experience. 63.193.215.221 05:36, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, is the decoration of the store "spartan" as in "sparse" or "Spartan" as in "emulating the historical city of Sparta and ancient Greece"? Perhaps it should be changed altogether to prevent confusion. — Frecklefoot | Talk 16:22, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Major overhaul of article

Okay... I'm probably going to be seen as Draconian, but I decided to tackle the complete revision of this article. It was filled to the brim with OR, and in an effort to comply with sourcing requirements of Wikipedia, I removed anything that wasn't sourced, with rare exceptions. This means that major sections were completely eliminated, although I had good reason for doing so. The History section needed to be slimmed down considerably, since the endless discussion of theming for what seemed like every store in the chain was unnecessary and redundant, given that a list of stores and their themes are in a separate section later in the article. Also, one or two key examples, which I left in the article, is more encyclopedic. Finally, personal remembrances of why a location was a great shopping experience is not encyclopedic. Sorry. :(

The Commission section I eliminated entirely, as everything in it is OR, information that could only come from a former employee. In addition, I believe it's unnecessary information in an article about an electronics retailer. If this information has a source article that explains Fry's commission structure and illustrates its influence on customer service, then by all means, add it back. Otherwise, it shouldn't be here. Finally, the Advertising section was filled with POV and unsourced statements, so I got rid of all of it. I did acknowledge the customer-created websites, however, as a way to get some additional information in the article without using weasel language ("some people say," etc).

Okay, those of you who contributed much of this article prior to my edit can burn me at the stake now. ;) --TARDIS 08:56, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

I see nothing wrong with your revisions. It looks much better now. Thanks for helping out! --Coolcaesar 05:33, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Nice...it wouldn't happen to be in response to this, would it?  :-) Granted it isn't FA quality, but what could be done next is to separate the paragraphs about its retailing operations from the History section. Regards, Tuxide 06:01, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the feedback. Actually, Tuxide, I never saw that link you provided. I just saw that the article needed work and decided to take a crack at it. (I shop at Fry's occasionally, so I'm familiar with the store enough to do so.) The Retailing/History split is a good suggestion. Maybe we can work on that next. :) --TARDIS 19:17, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Good job. Under History, by sequence it's arguable that store #2 at Fremont pioneered the theme concept, then #3 at Palo Alto , before Sunnyvale #4 opened. might need to drop the store #4 story unless a reference can be found. 71.146.152.196 07:23, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Are the store numbers correct?

I ask because the Alpharetta, GA store opened after the Duluth, GA store, but is listed here with a lower store number. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Bigpeteb (talk • contribs).

I am marking the section as {{unreferenced}} for this reason. Considering WP:V, the whole table should probably be cited. Tuxide 22:12, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "although Fry's usually will not match prices from their website" is not right

I know in the Dallas, Irving, Plano, Houston, South Hoston, and Austin locations, Frys.com will match the price on their site. Most of the registers have another machine with Windows on it (instead of their normal terminal based system) with the website up. They use to even look up product types and prices and say if the website has it they will have it (or they should). If this is the case else ware as well I'll change it soon. ZacBowling^talk 02:47, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

There may be something to this, I noticed that a lot (although not all) of the prices from the Fry's website do correspond to the retail store College Watch 23:35, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] San Diego store

It does not really have any theme, I have no idea where the "Aircraft Carrier" claim comes from. Its interior is completely plain. --Itinerant1 08:14, 8 April 2007 (UTC)