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  1.  permalink
    I've recently left Fry's. And with that, I've taken years of experience. Both from this forum, and from personal experiences, which I will address. These will piss off both the pro-Fry's, and the anti-Fry's. I left from a management position to pursue better opportunities in my life. I cannot imagine a more conflicting view of customer vs. employee perspective than that which I've observed over my career. I've seen the pro-sides of sales, the upsides of cashiering. I've done carts runs in the rain, and I've had $20,000 dollar sales rejected because someone isn't "authorized on the account", even though the company has made numerous purchases before. I've also had $500 dollar sales appear out of nowhere, and have made many friends standing around as a cashier doing nothing when it's slow.  
    I began a cashier at Fry's. It was a minimum wage job, just like any cashier should be. I worked hard, showed initiative, and worked my ranks up. I became a merchandiser, and worked my way up into management in the computer department. It was a long process, but I enjoyed it. I will never regret a moment of it. I always showed my customers their best options, despite commissions (I'm financially stable, despite what my job pays me). I made a lot of friends with customers, and had a few that returned on multiple occasions to ask simple questions for a few minutes, or to purchase extremely large orders. I treated them all equally and loved my job. To this day, I still text some of them with some questions they have with windows 8 lol.  
    I'll begin with the negatives towards Fry's that I've seen since I began there. They pay 0 commission for virtually all ad items. This has bred a hostility towards most customers who will walk in with a newspaper. I've seen what they "claim" to be profit margins, but have spoken to multiple reps across the board. I wont list any major ones, but take your pick of Sony, HP, Samsung, Acer, Toshiba, Asus. Some of these brands pay EXPLICIT commission for sales of computers, upwards of $40 a piece, regardless of price. The associates will see as few as $5 of that paid to them.  
    I will not, in this post, blame Fry's for anything illegal. Spiffs (a common terminology for a "finders fee") is not illegal, nor does it have to be recognized by a retailer, and therefore is subject to an employer's interpretation of how they should be distributed. The Fry s brothers, and Kulter are using the U.S. law on the finest degree to ensure that they are maximizing profitability while reducing wages of their employees. Another major law is that commission is only due when an employee actively sells an "ad" item. These items are reduced in commission because of the fact that they're advertised. Law states that a commissioned employee can only be payed due to items "sold". Therefore, items placed in an advertisement have sold themselves. This means employees are no longer subject to any earnings gained. This is another thing that has corrupted this business. On any given day, you could see salesmen dodging customers with a newspaper in their hands. It has caused a sever problem in customer service, and will continue to do so. I'd love to say that Fry's "loss-leaders" are such great bargains that they can't afford to pay associates, but even by the doctored structures on their POS systems, a sale item will go from $199.99 with a $49.00 profit, to a $189.99 item with a -$.99 hit.  
    The numbers that have been fed into the system have become such a game that even incentives towards employees (i.e. Norton) have had days were their $5.00 commission has been reduced to $0, due to technical flaws. This seems like a long rant on Fry's for their terrible practices, and I'm sure at this point you don't care to hear the other things I have to say. But I'm going to conclude this with the things I've seen customers do, that are as equally horrible.  
    I've seen countless customers come in who want a gaming computer. They're on a budget and don't want to spend more than $400. I've never been one to be rude to people on a budget, despite my financial standings, i grew up on food stamps. The fact is that certain hobbies require more investment than others. If you want to take up chess, and want to invest $15, I'm okay with that. You could find the right pieces. Please don't expect to fund your "EXTREME GAMING" hobby for $500. I'll show you to a few computers that can play some moderate RPGs, or even to my components department. The fact is always, you get what you pay for. I don't go to McDonald's expecting the best hamburger of my life.  
    The other type of customer which bothered me was the reseller. I don't care what country you're from. If you want something to ship back cheap, just ask for it. No it won't be great, and no I won't explain the benefits of a better computer to you. Just be honest, and let me sell you the cheapest thing I have. You don't need to be sneaky and say it's for a "friend". I could care less about customs. Just please take your merchandise and move on. I don't dislike you, I just dislike the way you have no concern for other people's time.  
    To sum this whole thing up. The last few years have been a roller coaster. I've met alot of people that I really like, and a few who I really don't. Don't expect Fry's to be a career choice, because it won't be. In fact, they'll screw you with more tentacles than an anime porn (bad analogy because I don't watch it, but still pretty acurate). But just deal with it until something better comes along. Don't be a lifer, but use the circumstance to your best advantage.  
    - Sincerely E. :face-smile:
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    • CommentTimeMay 11th 2013
    Well said... good luck with your future endeavors. All I can say is in able to survive with a company that plays dirty, you gotta play dirty yourself.
  3.  permalink
    s (I'm financially stable, despite what my job pays me).

    Any pointers as to the ones that are still stuck at Frys with little or no options?
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2013
    Guest: s (I'm financially stable, despite what my job pays me).  
    Go to sales and be a shark like me... or see if you can get another job with a computer related company. Many people who worked at Fry's with me went to Apple, Dell, etc.
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2013
    Have you considered college? An Associates degree in a specialized area can take you a long way.
    • CommentTimeMay 15th 2013
    ObiWan: Have you considered college? An Associates degree in a specialized area can take you a long way.
    Until you get sick of that specialized field and change into a different major at the cost of a few extra years. :face-monkey:  
    It doesn't hurt to go to college though. If you qualify for scholarships or even unemployment, try to take advantage of that when going back to school. I'd personally go for a bachelors at a 4-year though. From what I've seen so far, as long as you have relevant experience, the degree itself doesn't necessarily have to reflect off of the job.  
    If you don't want to go to school though, You can always be like me and join the Empire. :face-devil-grin: