Circuit City -- Customer Service....NOT!!!!!

Product purchased on-line at Circuit City Web Site. This letter to them covers the complaint.

SHORT-CIRCUITED BY CIRCUIT CITY

December 6, 2005

Circuit City Stores, Inc.

Attn: Customer Support

9954 Maryland Dr.

Richmond, VA 23233

ATTN: CUSTOMER SERVICE DIRECTOR

Dear Sirs or Madam:

This letter concerns recent purchases transacted from your web site. My travail began several days ago.

1. I placed orders for two satellite radio systems and ancillary products via the telephone after

viewing your advertisement on the internet. The Order numbers are:

448800288750

447800291022

At the time of the order, your representative assured me I would be receiving email confirmation from Circuit City “shortly.” The reason why email confirmation is important regarding this purchase is that you’ve offered rebates for the products, and printed email confirmation is required in order to obtain the rebates.

2. After 24 hours, I contacted your Customer Service number since I had not received the email confirmations. After a “Hold because we are experiencing heavy volume” of 30+ minutes, your representative confirmed the order had been placed/approved and said she would see to it I received the email confirmation “shortly.”

3. That was three days ago and in the interim, I’ve made three additional phone calls involving several hours of being placed on hold due to “we are experiencing heavy volume” and eventually being told by your representative, the email would be forthcoming “shortly.” No email confirmation was received.

4. I tried emailing your Customer Service division and received directions to log in at https//ssi.ciruitcity.comlogin.jsp, go to my account and simply print out the pending orders.

I followed these directions and was greeted with this message: “Your account does not have any active orders at this time.” Yet my credit card company tells me Circuit City has already billed my account.

5. On December 6th, I called your Customer Service number again and spoke to your representative who said he would refer me to a “supervisor” who would help to resolve the problem of getting an email confirmation. (He gave me a case #209839.) Your “supervisory person” proceeded to respond to my requests for an email confirmation with these comments:

“Why do you need a rebate when the price of the products is so low?” (I explained to him the rebate was offered because in order to activate the satellite radios (the products ordered) one has to subscribe with XM Radio, and the rebate was an inducement for that continued subscription. BUT WHY DID I HAVE TO JUSTIFY THE REBATE? CIRCUIT CITY INITIATED IT??????

Then your “supervisory person” said the following: “Why don’t you just go to the Circuit City store in New York City and get the confirmation?” I said I lived about 100 miles from New York

City and I also said ”What kind of goddamned customer service is this!”

At that point, your customer service diplomat said he wasn’t going to tolerate such harsh language and I told him he had something to do with my vitriolic response and perhaps he would prefer to just cancel the orders and credit my credit card account. He told me the products were already shipped.

I told your “supervisory person” that I am looking forward to writing an account of

“Customer Service At Circuit City” in my next column. I am a journalist with the Independent Newspaper Chain in Eastern Long Island. His response? “Well that’s okay, is there anything else I can help you with?”

I have purchased from Circuit City in the past, both over the internet and in Florida where I have a second residence. I’ve never had a negative experience with Circuit City before nor have I received such ineffective and discourteous treatement. Has something happened in customer relations with your firm?

You’ve certainly put a crimp in the tis-the-season-to-be-jolly-motif.

Sincerely,

Dominic Annacone