Circuit City exploit
Hey guys, if you've ever seen the Circuit City commercial about the 24/24 guarantee, you know what the deal is. In case you are unfamiliar, it's basically encouraging people to shop from their website and pickup at the store (this bypasses the commission given to the salespeople). They guarantee the items will be ready for pickup within 24 minutes or you get a $24 gift card for free.
Circuit City is famous for being disorganized. It was disorganized 10 years ago when I worked for them, and it is just as disorganized now. The employees don't understand how the 24/24 guarantee works, so this is what happened the last 2 times I shopped on their website:
1) I choose what I want, and check out via online basket.
2) When I get to the store 1-3 hours later, they take my sales printout, and actually goes and gets my items from the back. Nothing was ready for me when I arrived.
3) I pay for it with my CC card, and they check my ID.
I let it go the first time, but the 2nd time (at a different location) I said, "hey, based on the 24/24 guarantee, you owe me a $24 gift card."
The manager comes out and says, "you weren't in our store for more than 24 minutes."
I said, "read the fine print. It says '24 minutes from time stamped on internet printout to the time customer arrives at the store, excluding time waiting in line.'"
He says, "you're right...here ya go $24 card".
Apparently very few of the employees are trained about this 24/24 guarantee, so now Kelly is going to exploit it as he usually does against big dumb retailers. Staples fell victim to Kelly's exploitations last year, now it's Circuit City's turn. Here is what you do:
1) Shop online at circuitcity.com and buy at least $75 of stuff (required).
2) Go to the nearest CC store after 24 minutes (or even 5 hours later) and pickup the stuff. Chances are, it's not ready for pickup.... the warehouse guy will actually go in the back to get your stuff.
3) Point out to customer service that there shouldn't be waiting at all. Mention and point to the BIG 24/24 banner hanging somewhere in the store. The manager will come out.
4) Argue about the 24/24 deal.... he is gonna try to weasle out, but the fact is the stuff was not ready when you arrived. Argue that it defeats the whole purpose of saving time by shopping online.
5) Manager will lose, and you get $24 gift card.
6) Now you can either go home, get a bite to eat, or just wait 10 minutes.
7) Because Circuit City has such a generous return policy (no questions asked), you just return the stuff you just bought.
8) Do this a few times, and you have enough for a plasma TV soon.
Final note: This tactic will only fail if the stuff is actually on the conveyor belt at the customer service desk when you arrive. If they live up to their guarantee, you can't collect. Only larger items will be on the belt because they have to come from the back. If you order small stuff like PS2 games or memory cards, someone from the floor has to actually pick out your stuff and put on the belt, which is HIGHLY UNLIKELY. Those salespeople would not lift a finger for non-commission work.
Moral issue: There is nothing immoral or amoral about this exploitation. If anything, this actually strengthens the company in terms of policies and training. Notice Staples is a lot more uptight now than last year. We need to educate these retailers that the consumers expect them to live up to their guarantees, or suffer the consequences. Happy hunting. Hope you get your 60" Plasma HDTV soon.
