WTF is with CompUSA, and XP?

twyg

Back to Mac Baby!
Is it just me, or am I noticing that everytime you ask a CompUSA, no matter where it is (in my case I asked Norwalk, CT, White Plains, NY, and Manhattan) about OS 10.1 they start to plug XP. For cripes sake man... Even if I did buy it for my Mac I think I'd be a little more than stuck with a box, a coaster, some toilet paper (the manual of course) and complimentary jewel case to hold my burned CD's. (Best part of the whole deal right there)

Just trying to start a conspiracy theory. ;)

All joking aside all three stores when asked about 10.1 made sure to plug XP immediately!

:mad:
 
I could imagine a lot of employees doing this, though it's never happened to me. I guess thats because, um...... there's never any staff there anyway.
 
Hello,

St Louis, Maryland Heights CompUSA was out by 10:30. We (meaning a bunch of other stranger Mac Users) quickly drove across town to another where they "just got a shipment 10 minutes ago". There was a line of sorts. Basically about 5 people were following a manager around looking for the young cashier that had the box stuffed under his register. No signs or fanfare. They didn't ask for the little coupons everyone was carrying. I was expecting at least a big 10.1 Now Here sign above the Store-within-a-store thing.
 
I went in to the Murray, Utah store to get my upgrade CD, and while I was waiting in line to be helped, I noticed on the phone in the register a script taped to it that read "thank you for calling compUSa, Where you can pre- order your copy of XP, can I help You?" Interesting, because when I was trying to call the store yesterday to find out if the upgrades would be availible today, They had no idea what I was asking for. So, when did Microsoft buy CompUSA?
 
When you call CompUsa you get a national connection to their stores. It is there that they "Hello, CompUsa, would you like to upgrade to XP?"

In Kansas City, CompUsa said they would have the 10.1 update at noon. This was a small bummer because I would be at the Kansas Speedway watching the NASCAR Busch Series. (Swwwweeeeeettttt!)

Stopped by after the race just to see if they had any left. It did not arrive! They let me put my name on a list and they will call me when it is in so I can pick it up! Swwwwweeeeettttt!

Now I can watch the Winston Cup NASCAR race tomorrow knowing that I will soon be loading my free update!
 
If they plug you for XP try asking them if XP runs on the Macintosh.
Trust me, you'll get a good laugh.
 
The reason CompUSA plugs XP so much is that, when the company became privately held about two years ago, one of the investors who bought 10% of the stock was Microsoft! Eighty percent of the company is owned by Carlos Slim Helu, the "Warren Buffet of Mexico", 10% is owned by Prodigy Communications (which Mr. Slim owns a sizable chunk of), and the other 10% is owned by Microsoft. Mr. Slim also has sizable holdings in Microsoft (he has Gates' personal phone number), and he owns Sears of Mexico, the Mexican phone company, etc. He is reputed to be worth about 10 Billion! CompUSA as a corporation actually makes a fair amount of money off of Apple sales; it is the most profitable hardware brand they have, as far as margins go. The problem with the company is at the store level; most of the emplyees don't know anything about PCs (although they think they do), and with Apple having such a small market share, it is indeed hard to find Mac people who want to work there, especially when all management wants you to push is extended warranties! Even with all the negative stuff, CompUSA as a company moves thousands of Macs a month, just because there are 200 of them around.
 
But yes, the reason is when you call your local CompUSA, you are rerouted to the national call center, so they all say the same thing! ;) One person tried to transfer me in-store, and they ended up transferring me to the fax machine!!! I wasn't too happy with that. :p
 
No; neither of the above. oldmac used to work for CompUSA for over six years (I was a glutton for punisment)! Now oldmac sells only Macs for an Apple Specialist. oldmac just tries to keep up with the industry.:D
 
hey jove,

yeah, i got the second to last CD at the marryland heights store. man that store hates mac users.
 
I was recently inside a CompUSA in Provo, Utah when I over heard a customer and the clerk discussing OS X.1. I watched them chat along, when finally I heard the clerck say XP, the customer spat on the clerks nicely cleaned tie and stormed out of the building.
 
I read where some people in here thought that because Microsoft owns 10% of CompUSA, the stores are pushing Windows XP. I also read about some Mexican billionaire, but didn't quite see the relevance. I just want to clear something up that a lot of people seem to be confused about. Just because a company or person owns stock in another company, DOES NOT mean that they have any say into what that company does. In fact, unless that company or person owns 51% or more of the TOTAL outstanding stock issued by the company, the have ABSOLUTELY NO SAY in ANYTHING that the comany does. Public (aka Common Stock) is issued when a company "goes public" or valuances a portion of the worth of the company to be sold on an open exchange market. This stock is sold with the implicit agreement that the owner has a 'stake' in the assets of the corporation and also implies that this person has NO authority in operations of the company. It makes no difference if Microsoft owns 10% or 49% of CompUSA, they have nothing to do with the operations there. The reason that CompUSA is pushing XP is related to what the Marketing industry calls 'slotting fees', where Microsoft pays CompUSA a TON of money to basically market their OS for them. Just remember this little tid bit of wisdom when you (no one in particular) are running around screaming about Microsoft's share holdings and their role in the conquest of the free world.
 
I can tell you where the Compushaft people are at. I had to go to Compushaft at 1p this afternoon for work reasons.

I could not believe my eyes. There musy have been maybe 6-10 customers and 25-30 employees. The place was crawling with employees! I saw at least two managers also on the floor. The Apple section had 3 employees hanging around.

I'm no genius, but shouldn't your employees work during the busiest hours?

Javier
 
Originally posted by Shotokan
I read where some people in here thought that because Microsoft owns 10% of CompUSA, the stores are pushing Windows XP. I also read about some Mexican billionaire, but didn't quite see the relevance.
That's great...I need to make a T-shirt or bumber sticker outta that one! :)

CompUSA is a great place guys! I buy all of my games and the majority of my software there, I have no problems with them, and either should you.
 
The frequency of any given CompUSA employee's answering a question with either an ignorant or intentionally deceptive response is higher than any other retail chain I've ever had the experience to shop at. I have found no variation in this tendency to mendacity over the last six years or amongst the ten or so stores I have visited. Because of this consistency, I have no choice but to assume that it is endemic to their corporate culture.

Last week, our office was considering the purchase of an HP color laser printer. We found a good price online, but wanted to see a printout. Since there is a CompUSA just around the block (the 5th Ave. Store in Manhattan) I thought they'd at least be good for something & I'd be able to run in and quickly get a sample printout (especially since it takes over 20 minutes to get an employees attention). The printer wasn’t in working condition, however, and as I was futzing with it I caught the attention of an employee. It took him a few minutes to understand what I needed (doesn't everyone request a sample printout before the buy a printer?), he couldn't get it to work either & ran off for more support. Finally another salesman came over and explained that I couldn't get a printout because the demo page featured a picture of the World Trade Center, so HP disabled it. In case you couldn't guess for yourself, the demo page (that I got from the staples around the corner) is a picture of dried flowers.

Not only do they lie to your face, they do it poorly. I'm not quite sure which I find worse.
 
Well... for those who don't like CompUSA. You could go get a job there and make it better. But, those Mac skills go for more than $7.00 an hour in most places.

They get what they pay for. Customers demand bare bones pricing on computers... where's the money to pay highly skilled workers?
 
quote:
______________________________________________________________________
I read where some people in here thought that because Microsoft owns 10% of CompUSA, the stores are pushing Windows XP. I also read about some Mexican billionaire, but didn't quite see the relevance. I just want to clear something up that a lot of people seem to be confused about. Just because a company or person owns stock in another company, DOES NOT mean that they have any say into what that company does. In fact, unless that company or person owns 51% or more of the TOTAL outstanding stock issued by the company, the have ABSOLUTELY NO SAY in ANYTHING that the comany does. Public (aka Common Stock) is issued when a company "goes public" or valuances a portion of the worth of the company to be sold on an open exchange market. This stock is sold with the implicit agreement that the owner has a 'stake' in the assets of the corporation and also implies that this person has NO authority in operations of the company. It makes no difference if Microsoft owns 10% or 49% of CompUSA, they have nothing to do with the operations there. The reason that CompUSA is pushing XP is related to what the Marketing industry calls 'slotting fees', where Microsoft pays CompUSA a TON of money to basically market their OS for them. Just remember this little tid bit of wisdom when you (no one in particular) are running around screaming about Microsoft's share holdings and their role in the conquest of the free world.
______________________________________________________________________

Just what do you (no one in particular) think ownership of stock confers? Microsoft is indeed the giant, and what it says go! Of course, I'm aware of slotting fees! Also, CompUSA stock is no longer sold on the public market; it's privately held. If you think that Bill Gates, or his minions, has no say in CompUSA's pushing his products, you're entitled to that belief; erroneous as it may be. The relevance to the Mexican billionaire is that he and Bill Gates are personal friends, and, as such, Gates definitely has a say in what goes in CompUSA. Microsoft didn't buy 10% of CompUSA with the hope of advancing a competitor's position, or because it thought that paper used to print the stocks was pretty; it bought the stock for a self serving interest, which is certainly understandable. If you (no one in particular) owned 10% of any company, you would certainly consider it in your self interest for that company to grow, and that would be achieved by getting your product to market, and that is achieved in many instances by market muscle and pressure, whether it's Microsoft or whomever. You get your product to market by convincing a seller to carry it, and it certainly helps when you are the giant in your field. I spent a number of years as a purchasing agent for a very large industrial distributor; I have somewhat of an inkling how the business game is played, and it isn't always fair! Also the "magic number" of 51% does mean final control, but any company, especially one like CompUSA, whose stock nosedived from $36 in 1997 to $8 when it was taken private in 1999 (at a premium of $10/share), would not ignore a shareholder who held a substantial number of shares, even if they amounted to less than controlling interest. No company can go to their shareholders and say, "Gee, our stock just took a dive, because we upset a guy who owns 10%, even though he is the biggest kid on the block"! I'm not here to get in a p*****g war over this issue, but the business world doesn't always play nicey nicey!
 
Back
Top