Nicole's Brain

CIRCUIT CITY, WILLOWBROOK LOCATION ..

January, 23, 2009 :  This company gets what they deserve.  America is a better place without Circuit City.

Saturday, November 10, 2007: : First, I want to make it very clear that I was very happy about spending my hard earned money on a new car stereo and even about the extra money (lots of it) you have to pay that goes along with getting it professionally installed. I was looking forward to a positive experience. I'd been up since 5am, worked a long day of taking care of injured and ill patients, but this would be the good part of my day, the part where I get to do something for myself. I smiled at everyone who worked there when I came in, watched them pass as I waited in line, addressed the sales lady who had my online purchase at Customer Service, and this is the point where the fun began. You have to be special to shop at this store. No one smiles. A red shirt and khaki pants identifies the employees. They will pass you and not smile, not ask how you are, there are no "warm fuzzies" in this store. It must be cool to be cold. Or maybe they all hate their jobs. That's possible, but unlikely, since they are so very "cool" with each other and you, as the customer, get to watch, instead of participate, in this. Well, you're an adult, you can get around that if you need a product at an inexpensive price and accept that the work ethic in today's youth is different than 20 years ago when I was a youth. I'm a whole 44 years old and to quote my 83 year old step-father, "In my day..." if I'd acted like this at any of my jobs, I'd have been fired. If my managers had accepted this behavior, they'd have been fired. Maybe it's just the way people in their 20's act these days, like no one and nothing matters at all. If you want anyone in this store to crack a smile, get ready to be funny or do a skit for them. Ok, so that's the front of the store, now, let's move on to the install portion of this rant.

After much searching on line, in stores and reading reviews of car stereos on CNET, Epinions, Nextag, Pricegrabber and Circuit City, I found the one I wanted, a JVC KDHDR1. This is an HD/CD car stereo. I also bought the IPOD adapter and had it shipped to me as it was unavailable in Houston for purchase. This JVC adapter is supposed to allow my IPOD to be attached and run directly off the head unit. HD radio is supposed to sound digital, verses the analog signal that is picked up on today's standard car stereo, and this unit has a single CD player. Simple, easy. Reviews on this system were good. HD usage was questionable in Manhattan, the buttons a bit small for some fingers, and many sounds range options on this radio were found tedious by 2 users. I operate a 2 million dollar machine for a living so certainly I can learn how to use a new car stereo. I got to Circuit City at 520pm, waited in a long line to pick up my online purchase from a woman who acted very put-out that I was there, or that she was there or that she had to deal with me. I told her I was there for an install and asked her if I should just pull around to the install area, where ever that was, and with a sigh she told me "yeah". I explained that I needed to go over the additional costs of the install before it started and then she shrugged her shoulders and said I "could" go back to the car stereo area and talk to them first. Not a smile, not a care, if I dropped dead on the spot she probably wouldn't have budged. So, off to the car stereo area I go, with a smile. I think the smiling and friendliness is what did me in. Strange huh? I meet up with 2 young men who were marginally friendly/helpful, certainly because I was there and needed their help. Still smiling, wanting a positive experience regarding this install in my pretty art car, I ask for info about additional install charges. I have to pull around back to the install area to get the install price information and I need to go over some things about the car with them before they start. There is a car in this area being worked on. The man in the car is busy and put-out when I ask if there are some things I can talk to him about. Hint: don't smile at your installer. I have to basically beg the install manager (had no idea he was the manager until 10pm that night), he was just the guy that was pointed at when I said needed to go over some things before I left my car in their hands. In customer service, certainly in an install situation, you would expect that any person doing this kind of work would be happy to know about anything in the car they might need to be careful with, so as not to be liable for any damage., ie: not to anciently kick or bump or dislodge wiring, LED light kit, wiring and brain that controls the unit, XM radio, its wiring and holder, mirrors all over the car so I wanted to make sure they took care when opening and closing hood and truck so nothing would fall on top and hurt them. I was brusquely told, he wouldn't need to get in the trunk or hood, all they have to deal with the stereo unit console area. I had to prompt him over to the car, "Can I please show you this?" to get him to acknowledge the brain for the LEDs so it wouldn't be anciently kicked loose of it's mount. Ok, that done, I go back in and pay my additional install prices. I'm still hoping for a happy ending, my car in their hands.

When I bought the unit online, I got a great deal. The $199 stereo was marked down to $159, then when installation was purchased online (be careful here, once you buy an install at one store you cannot switch the install to another store per a phone conversation with a customer service representative at Circuit City's 800 number) it was reduced by deducting the "free install on all purchases over $99". So, on the receipt, $105 on the unit, $35 install (that includes a $4.99 shop fee), $22.96 for the IPOD adapter and $9 to ship the adapter to me. Once there, $25 to install the IPOD, $21 for a roadshop kit, $20 for a roadshop harness, $19 for smart cables, so, after $185 online to purchase the unit, adapter, install and shipping, then I paid another $91 for additional supplies to put the unit in. I expected to pay additional fees for these items, and you should too. What I didn't expect was to get in my car, all "done", after waiting 3 hours, only to find that one front speaker was on.

Now, let's talk about the sound in my art car before it was taken to Circuit City. This car was purchased used, solely with the intention of becoming an art car. The stereo in this car was decent, an Eclipse, with 4 speakers, the 2 in the back Pioneers, factory speakers in the front. When my other art car, with its AWESOME sound system was totaled, the large, rear, full range speaker, and amp, were removed to put in my newest art car. A friend, who used to install stereos for a living, removed my rear speakers and he and my husband installed the new large, loud, fabulous sounding speaker (and amp) in this art car. After a few months the CD started skipping on me and I decided that maybe with the "new" speaker and amp, this newest art car deserved to jam like the old art car. It was time for a new stereo. The person who owned the car before me had the stereo installed so that when the car turned off, the stereo stayed on. I knew this would require an additional kit to make sure this didn't continue to happen with the new stereo. I told Circuit City, they understood, I paid for an extra harness or cables or whichever charge that was to get this mounted properly. The sound from the back speaker was mainly what I listened to as the front speakers could never deliver the quality that this large rear speaker set up could. I still left the front speakers on, but drove most of the sound, 80% or more of it to the back speaker. And it jammed, loud, clear, too loud for most people, car window vibrated, etc.

The install. The shop manager did not work on my car. A young kid did. Once he was done, speaking in barely audible tones, he handed me my keys and, smiling, I asked, "Is that it? Are you going to show me anything about the stereo??" He walked over, and showed me how to remove the faceplate, the case for the faceplate, that there was a remote. I had already spent over an hour standing with the unit and the manual in the store, learning how to use its functions so that I would know how to operate it when I got in my car. This was advised in almost every review I read as there are many functions, but you can't figure them out unless you read the manual, and then refer to it as well when changing the settings of the sound. I also read the manual for the next 2 hours I sat in the waiting room, alternating between reading and watching Independence Day on a TV that had no sound, which I found out was broken when I asked the install shop for a remote. That is the only time I interrupted their work and it was a 5 second discussion thru a window where I made a hand gestures for a remote and was told the TV was broken. So, it's been 3 hours, they started on my car after it had been there for an hour as they were working on another install. I'm excited, the moment of truth, a new HD/CD radio with a connection for my IPOD, and I about to hear its awesome sound out of my awesome rear speaker/amp and factory front speakers for the first time. I get in my car and I have sound coming from one front speaker. Imagine if you will, a hard on, deflating. How can this be ok, how could anyone give a customer a car, after an install, with one speaker working in the front? Oddly, the speaker was crackling and it certainly wasn't't crackling when I took the car in. So, here I am after $275 and 3 hours of smiling and waiting, with a new stereo and one cracking speaker. Ok, I admit it, I stopped smiling after about an hour and a half because I couldn't't stand smiling at all the employees and getting ignored any more. Why bother? The car was outside the workshop bay. We won't discuss the angle the car was parked on, or that the trunk fell on top of my shoulders after I opened it to see if there was ANY sound coming out the rear speaker, or that because it was so heavy and I'm not used to it being parked on a slanted drive, it fell on me, right on the area where I'd just had a biopsy done 3 days before on my back, we won't discuss the tears in my eyes while I waited for the pain to go away or the pain that is still in my right scapula. Nope, we won't discuss that cuz I'm a hearty kind of woman. I spent 5 months of nights and weekends in my Houston garage, without air conditioning or heat, sanding off the finish, cutting and gluing mirrors to my car. I ride a motorcycle harder and faster than many men out there. Nope, I'm sturdy, I'm not a whiner, so we won't discuss that negative aspect of the install. I'm in my car, pull out my manual, I play with the controls, no sound from my rear speaker. Why? These are the professionals. I took my car to Circuit City, to their Professional Installation Department. I could have arranged an appointment with my friend, but he is located too far away for an install to be convenient, and he's a busy man with a full life who would probably do this favor for me, but why should I do that when I can conveniently use a Circuit City between my job and my home, with professional installation? I walk into the bay and tell them there's no sound coming from the rear speaker. A multitude of interactions happens over the next hour which include the car being pulled in to and out of the bay 4 times, various speakers working, but none of them working right, horrible sound quality, a young installer telling me it's my speaker's fault, my amp's fault (it's overheated!), it's my front speaker's fault, and they were obviously blown by then, and the manager of installation department said, "buy new speakers" at one point after the younger man couldn't satisfy me with my install. All the time there was another car in the next bay. I specifically made an appointment for this install, even tho they usually don't take appointments, just to make sure I'd have this new stereo installed and working for World Art Car Day, which is today by the way. I won't be making most of World Art Car Day as I will be at Circuit City with my car and my husband, the manager of the store and the manager of the Installation Department until this situation is resolved. For the record, my amp has never "over heated". The younger installer told me my back speaker was only for bass. What? Who the hell told him that? Certainly it can handle a hell of a lot of bass, but it's not only for bass. After the car was pulled in and out 2 more times, the installation manager finally comes over to address the situation with me and the younger installer. He tells the younger installer that the rear speaker is a full range speaker. Did they not listen to the stereo before they removed it? Maybe they should do that so they can hear what a customer will be expecting when they leave. After another trip in to and out of the bay, making changes to something behind the head unit, another conversation about how it doesn't sound right, that I usually only have the front speakers on at 20% maximum, at least 80% driven to the rear speaker since that's what sounds so great. I was informed my the shop manager that there are only 2 lines out, some other information I couldn't understand, he pointed at the stereo, shrugged his shoulders and finally said they could replace it with my old one. WHAT? This is professional installation? I have never installed a stereo, but I have watched and I have benefited from what proper stereo installations sounds like. When I drove the car in, the stereo sounded perfect, the CD player was skipping, that was the only problem. By the time I got home at 10pm and let my husband hear it, I had suboptimal sound coming out of the rear speaker, crackling front speakers, no ability to adjust bass or treble if driving only the rear speaker, no adjustments working when driving front and rear speakers, basically a mess of an install that I recall changing from one mess to another every time the car was driven in then out then in then out, then in and out, when I finally left there at 10pm. I told the manager that I was not happy, that I wanted to make sure he knew it and that we were on the same page. I wanted to get into the store, but it was after 10 then. He smiled. I thought I'd faint. He said they'd be there tomorrow (today), Saturday, World Art Car Day. I told him I have an event all day, he said they are there 7 days a week. I'm getting dressed and will continue this rant when I get done with this mess. Oh, by the way, you can pull the stereo out of its harness with one hand now. That sure seems secure. Have a great World Art Car Day everyone.

Yesterday morning after my post, my husband and I went to Circuit City. They open at 10, we were parked outside the Stereo Install bay at 930. The Install manager arrived at 945a before the store opened, parked by the install bay, addressed us and walked around to the front entrance to get in. At 10a when the bay doors never opened we walked around and entered through the front door where Circuit City was bustling with employees and customers, very unlike the quiet atmosphere outside the bay doors in the parking lot where we?d been sitting, waiting. I found the store manager, introduced myself, told him I had a stereo install issue from the night before and instead of explaining it, gave him one of my website cards and asked him to please get on line and read my experience there. I told him my husband had already headed back to the stereo installation area to talk to the install manager and headed for the restroom. When I got the install area, I found my car inside, my husband and both managers in the install bay talking. A lot was being said about the fact that the front speakers didn't work, the back speakers sounded terrible, the stereo itself was loose and jiggling around in the dash, did anyone listen to the stereo before the new one was installed, did the manager work on the car himself at all or only the other younger guy who wasn't there today? I asked the store manager if he'd read the complaint on my website and he said no. The install manager and my husband went round and round about blown front speakers, the stereo sounding terrible, asking them to get in the car and listen, the store manager saying nothing, the install manager admitting nothing, offering no help, explaining this was "all they did" with 2 small packages in his hands. I chimed in and asked if anyone bothered to listen to the original stereo before it was removed so they could understand what kind of speaker system they would be listening to after the new one was installed. No. No one did that. That should be protocol. Listen to a stereo to hear the speakers, verify none are blown, make sure it sounds the same, if not better, when the install is done. I was asked to wait in the waiting room by my husband because he could see how shaken up I was. I was more than happy to have him there helping me, taking charge of the situation I got nowhere with the night before. He has installed stereos and neon, he knows electricity and wiring, was a generator mechanic in the military, etc. He persuaded both managers to get in the car and listen to the suboptimal stereo/install. They both admitted they wouldn't have happily driven away or accepted this install if it was their car or they'd paid $275 for this head unit and install. The three of them came up with a plan and then my husband ran it by me. It was a bit over my head honestly, but I understood that my front speaker wires would be cut to sever power to them since, per the install manager they were blown or dry rotted and that's why we were hearing crackling. My husband knew the front speakers weren't blown, but also knew he had to prove a point to them and that the speakers could be rewired. So, wires get cut. Then I'm asked to sit in the car with the install manager. With the manual, he and I worked with the system's adjustments to make the system work properly. When my husband bent down next to me he noticed that my front speakers were on, music/noise was coming out of them. He asked the install manager if he cut those wires, the manager said yes. Then he asked him that if he did cut them, why was sound coming out of them? The install manager said he was sure he cut them and denied any sound coming from the front speakers, until he felt them, and he was confused. And then he was even more confused when they didn't sound blown or dry rotted. There were no "I told you so"s by us. He pulled the deck out, pointed at the only install points they made, 2 connectors, then pointed behind them and said that the wiring job done (remember by the car's previous owner, NOT US) before they did their install must be what was causing the front speakers to still be on, even though those wires had been cut. He pointed and said he had nothing to do with that, it was due to the previous stereo install. I sat, blood pressure rising, head in my hand rubbing my temples, sighing. I listened as my husband took over again and pointed out that they are the "experts" at stereo install, and because of that they should be able to fix it, they should be able to fix any stereo situation handed to them when they agree to do an install. Something about ohms, something about cross-overs, more conversation between them that I couldn't hear by that point. The install manager said he could probably fix it, but there would probably be another charge for this. I didn't move. He said he had all day to work on the car, I looked at him and said we wouldn't be going anywhere either. He told my husband he wouldn'tt charge us any more to fix the problem. I got out of the car, my hubby and I waited outside the bay again while the stereo was again taken out and worked on. I peeked in occasionally, saw the store manager squated down, speaking to the install manager one time as he was working in the car, couldn't hear what they were saying. Then finally we get to come back in. The stereo is working, sounds very nice, ALL speakers on and working, front and back, nothing blown, nothing dry rotted. Then the install manager and I sat together in the car and figured out how to manipulate the equalizer settings, the preset settings, modes, etc. The sound was great. JVC makes a great product. The IPOD adapter is clear, the connection flawless, controlled by the head unit when plugged in, a CD sounded great, wonderful mid-ranges I'd never heard so clearly before, must be due to the built in equalizer, and I understand there's a built in amp in the unit too, but anyone who is proficient with car stereos probably already knows that. We were told that the head unit's amp is what blew the front speakers, the ones that were now working and sounding as good as they ever did. Also remember, I was told that the back speaker was only for bass the night before and that the amp on the speaker box in the back overheated and needed to cool down. The guy the night before sure knew how to make excuses and really encouraged me to leave with my suboptimal install, tail tucked between my obvious ignorant female legs, and go home. The back speaker box takes up ½ the trunk and there's an amp attached to it, so there is plenty of power for this stereo to rock. At this point the install was finally finished. The install manager backs the car out, I shake his hand, I don't smile, I can't smile, it's nowhere in me to smile. I do thank him and he said that we both learned a lot that morning. This is an apology? This is ok? I think not. The store manager never approached either me or my husband again. No apology from him either, no compensation, no percentage off the purchase for inconveniencing us, nothing. We drove away, parked in the parking lot way out front of the store, got the stereo's preset station buttons set, and drove away just after noon. I was so grateful to Mike. Without him there is no way this install would have been fixed and the stereo would still sound terrible. I would have had to call in a favor from a friend who does installs, taken more time and probably spent more money to get it fixed by someone I know and trust. As we drove away, me thanking my husband for coming to my rescue, I still couldn't smile. Even though the stereo sounded, sounds, great, I just couldn't. The whole situation was a fiasco. I went to bed very angry, slept poorly, missed the first part of one of the Klub's annual events that, as President, I should have attended, woke up early, very angry, and had to get my husband to put his life on hold to come with me and help out. I rarely need rescuing from any situation, but this I certainly needed a rescue from. Shame on Circuit City.

Here's my advice to you. Don't get a stereo installed at Circuit City. If you do, make sure you are a male with stereo install know-how. Personally, I will never shop at this store again. I can spend my money MANY other places and I MIGHT be treated as poorly, but it's doubtful. Oh, and by the way, the spine of my right scapula still hurts really bad from where my trunk fell on it. Amazing I've managed to make this art car, own and drive it every day, get in and out of the trunk countless times with groceries, but this time, in this situation, it falls on me and I get hurt. Figures.