Date Posted: Dec/14/2004 11:14 PM
TheBigGuy said:
OK, time for my two cents as a former cc manager. What the
managers you dealt with did was so against everything that cc
preaches it isn't funny. There is no justification or excuse for
it. I can add a few random thoughts to this very popular thread.
First--the manager must be new, since every cc manager
should know that video games can only be returned at the front
counter. Trying to return them at a register within the dept will
get you nowhere. DPS (CC register system) will not allow you to
process the return.
Second--If all you have said is true,
what is happening right now is that the managers should have been
placed on administrative leave, which is paid leave of absence
while the upper management investigates this. The investigation is
usually done by the regional loss prevention manager with no
-particular ties to the store or the manager. He/she will
interview the managers for their side of story, interview any and
all associates that were working that night. Then it all gets
reviewed and a decision is made. I have only seen one person
survive, read that kept their employment, administrative leave
during the 5 years I spent at cc.
The process takes a few
days to complete, so that explains why the process is continuing.
If you spoke to Alan McCollough's office (CEO) then you can feel
safe that it is being handled correctly and will not result in a
coverup or anything like that, I can tell you from experience that
they are understanding of both the customer's point of view and
the needs of the business. You can believe that they are taking
this very seriously.
I know this was long, but I hope I was
helpful. I will be happy to help answer any questions that you
might have going forward. I no longer work for them, but I still
care about the company and how things happen.
Yes, I spoke with Alan McCollough's office. The
fact that they were handling this gave me both reason for concern
and confidence (a little of each?).
I appreciate your post.
It is nice to have a better understanding of what is going on inside
Circuit City. I didn't know what to make of it when
I spoke with mr. McCollough's office today... he is the Chairman,
CEO, and President of CC - the very fact that his office was
involved came as a bit of a surprise to me.
I think that the
issue can be broken into two parts at this point:
1. Circuit City's stand on price mistakes. How they
deal with customers who get in on a price mistake, and how they deal
with them internally. To the best of my limited legal knowledge the
burden of proper pricing is the responsibility of the merchant. Once
a sale has been completely, unless there is collusion (between
company representative and consumer) or trickery (think about the
UPC issue with the Humax DVD Recorder @ bestbuy) it is the merchant
who is responsible for setting and charging the proper price. Once a
sale is complete it is too late to demand a return.
2. The
incident following the sale. Since there was no trickery (no
changing of UPC codes, theft, or other tampering) or collusion (I
had never met the CSR before) I believe that point #1 is moot. Once
the sale was complete management acted in a way that is somewhere
between unprofessional and criminal. At the bare minimum they
committed a litany of civil offenses. I expect CC to take
responsibility for their employees actions, since the employees
acted under the belief that they were serving the best interest of
their principal. The acts were done in the course of business by
decision-making (management) agents. My understanding is that based
on the concept of respondeat superior the employer is responsible
for the torts commited by their employees if the employer was either
negligent in the hiring or supervision of the employee. Since these
acts were committed by managers (Store Director + Department
Manager) and not stock-boys or other non-management types I believe
it is a fair argument that their actions, while not necessarily
endorsed or supported by CC upper management, represent actions of
management for a particular location. CC corporate (or, depending on
how they are structured, the individual store) is responsible for
the acts of their managers.
Furthermore, the nature of the
deal should not be a valid defense for committing a tort (or
criminal act). Put in other words, in exercising your fiduciary
responsibility to your employer you should not be required, nor be
permitted, to violate the law. To take the law in your own hands
under the auspices of protecting your principal (in this case, the
CC stores profit margin) is not acceptable. Most stores will not
physically restrain you if you shoplift, let alone if you
purchase the goods at a price less than management finds
acceptable.
Imagine if this happened each time someone got a
price match? Think about the hundreds of PM deals here on Fatwallet!
Imagine, for a moment, that periodically after a PM from a
(non-management) CSR store management (at any store, not just CC)
physically blocked your exit from the store and then manhandled you
to get the merchandise back. If such actions were permitted we would
have to bring body guards with us each time a FW member attempts a
PM!
Long story short - if the manager(s) were under the
impression that their actions were justified by a sense of duty to
their store and to CC they need to rethink their business practices.
How many of you would be willing to get into a physical
confrontation for your company (regardless of your business type)
over $100?
Two more things
1. My friend (the
one I mentioned either here on on the other thread that got the Tivo
DVD burner for $199 from CC) and I discussed this today. The
difference in price on that deal was also about $100. He teaches
kenpo karate (20 years of experience at it). When I asked him what
he would have done in my place his response would not have been so
pacifist "If they reached for me I would have responded with force.
I train every day that if someone grabs at me to disable them, I
wouldn't have waited to see if it was my shopping bag or my arm to
bring him to the ground." This was food for thought, for me. I am
not a martial artist. I also don't carry a weapon (as others have
talked about). What happens when an individual that is/does is faced
with this situation?
2. There is something I wish Circuit City, Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, etc. would understand. Many of
us on Fatwallet have spent more since we started
reading Fatwallet than we did before. I found Fatwallet in 03/2003 -
my shopping has more than doubled since then. Yes, we sometimes get
incredible deals - at the same time, we often get in on regular or
slightly discounted offers based on the recommendations of other
Fatwallet members. I cannot count the number of items that I
purchased based on seeing it here on Fatwallet - I can say for
certain it is far more than I have purchased in the last 18 months
based on print ads or television commercials.
One last
point
With regards to filing a police report... I have
chosen to wait until after Circuit City tells me what they are going to do
about this situation. There are two main reasons. The first is that
I told Alan McCollough's executive assistant that I would wait to
hear back from them until Thursday COB. The fact that Circuit City handled this (today) with
professionalism and timeliness makes me more inclined to let them
work on it in house first. Since they know that I contacted the
police, and they have already stated that the security footage will
be reviewed I would still like to give them the benefit of the
doubt. Second - if Circuit City does terminate one (or both) of the
employees involved I would rather not make it even more difficult
for them to find future employment. A criminal record is much harder
to resolve with a potential employer than a termination from your
previous employer. One foolish action can follow someone for many
years.
Message
edited by: undefined on 2004-12-14 23:32:43
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