Note: The CompuSmart described in this post is the now-defunct Canadian retailer.
I just attempted to give CompuSmart some money. I arranged my afternoon so that Evan and I could take the bus from our house to the Giant Congregation of Strip Malls known as Crowfoot Crossing, so we could trek to the local CompuSmart store to pick up a USB headset, and possibly an Apple keyboard.
I did my research. I went to their website to see what they carried, and to see what the price was, and to verify that it was in stock at that location. Check on all counts. I searched the store for the USB headset - and came up empty.
I then made a dash for the service counter, since the bus that was scheduled to take us home was going to be there in a few minutes, and if we missed it, we'd be stuck there for another hour.
The guy behind the counter couldn't find the headset either. So, he went to the inventory computer. "Oh. We've got 4 on order. Looks like nobody has them. Montreal is backlogged." Great. So, why does the website say it's in stock? "Uh. It looks like the database didn't get updated, or someone put in the wrong number of sales or something." Great. I ask if it's possible to give him the money now, and have them deliver it to my office, since I didn't plan on making another afternoon trek on the slim chance that they may actually have one in stock later when they say so. "Well, that would be difficult. And it would cost you." Great. I'm standing here, trying to give the company my money, and they couldn't care less. The guy didn't even offer to put me on the waiting list. He just stared at me, slackjawed, until I walked away. Then he scurried back behind the "service" counter.
I give up on the USB headset. The other thing I came for was an Apple keyboard, to replace my old Macally POS that feels like I'm typing on stale oatmeal. The website says it's in stock. Both the USB and the Bluetooth wireless version. I scan the Apple section (that has a nice grey Apple logo banner flying above it). They have 2 bluetooth keyboards. And no USB ones. Crap.
And they still don't have any iTrip for regular iPods - they have a couple for iPod Mini, but nothing for the 3G/4G series. They assured me right after christmas that they'd be getting a bunch in, and would keep some in stock.
Frustrated at wasting an afternoon, and pissed off at giving these losers one more chance, we head out of the store, hoping to catch the bus home. We did. Evan napped on the bus on the way home. He's so cute. :-)
As it stands, I will never, ever, ever give CompuSmart another chance. They have lost my business, permanently.
ps. this was the first time I used the attribute... No positive whuffie for these clowns...
UPDATE: 5 minutes after getting home, the order was placed successfully with Memory Express - these guys absolutely rock. Best prices, good people. Why on earth didn't I go there first? Their initial price was $10 lower than CompuSmart's, so even with the addition of the delivery fee, the price works out the same. That's how you make happy customers! :-)
UPDATE: I got the headset today, delivered right to my house. It works great! As an added bonus, it came with a coupon for 120 minutes of Skype Out calling! Sounds impressive until you realize that's like $2... I just tried it (calling myself - lame), and it seemed to work quite well. On the phone, I sounded clear, with only a slight lag. I guess that's understandable, since the call was routed over the internets to god-knows-where, then back over POTS to my home phone. Not sure how much I'd use Skype Out, but it's a pretty decent option for conference calls where the long distance charges add up really quickly.