Memory Express experiences

[D'z Nutz]

Just out of curiosity, how have some of your experiences been with Memory Express over the past couple of years?

The last few times I've shopped there, I've walked out a little disappointed and I've talked to a few others and their feelings tend to reflect mine in that the quality of service has been declining.

A few examples:
* I went to go pick up some RAM at the NW location and as the sales person is ringing it up, he asks me if I want IPR. No problem, I understand it's part of their job to ask me, but I tell him I'm not interested. Then he tells me "The 1GB sticks and the 2GB sticks are pretty solid, but these 4GB sticks have a high return rate so I'd really recommend it." He tells me the IPR for each kit's like $7 and I think about it for a bit then decline cause I figure I'll know right away if the sticks are defective plus I've had a good history with Kingston so I'll chance it. Still, I haven't built a rig in over 5 years, so maybe the quality of Kingston's gone down a bit? I ask a friend who's got some inside contacts at Memory Express about the memory I bought and he tells me they've sold over 80 of the kits and only one's ever been returned as defective so the sales person was clearly bullshitting me to get me to buy the IPR.

* I was buying more parts for my build, so I figure to save a bit of time (and in case I forget something while I'm at the store), I'll place the order online and then pick up at the SE location since that's the closest to me. I pick out my parts on the website and make sure the SE location has them in stock so I don't have to make a second trip to a different location. Done and ordered. I get there and the parts haven't been put aside. No problem, I understand because I submitted my order during my lunch break and I'm sure they've been busy all day so it wouldn't have been ready by the evening. So he starts collecting all the parts I ordered and immediately he's bringing back stuff I didn't ask for and they're all more expensive than the parts I've picked out. I was getting the feeling he was either half-assing his attempt at gathering my stuff or he was trying to get me to spend more:
- "This cable you wanted, I can't find it, so here's the longer one. It's $5 more."
- "You wouldn't happen to want this DVD drive with lightscribe would you, even though it costs more than the one you ordered?"
- "I can't find your wireless card. You want this one instead?" (even though it doesn't fit the board I'm buying)

So even though these parts are still listed as in stock on the website, I have to go make a second trip to another location which is what I wanted to avoid in the first place.

* Boxing day had 55" Samsung LED TVs for $1200 (or something like that). I didn't need it so badly that I'd wake up at ungodly hours to go line up for it, but I figured if I happen to wake up early I'll swing by the NW location to see what's left. To my surprise, I get there at like 8:15 and there's 5 of them sitting along the wall by the door. Whoa, I lucked out! So I get in line. One of the staff walks by and I ask him if the TVs by the wall were still available. He tells me that they are. I ask him if I'm in the right line for the televisions and he tells me I'm not and the line up is over by the kiosk. I walk over to the kiosk and it turns out I was in the right line, it just happened to wrap over to where I was. Damn it, I lost my spot. Anyways, 3 hours later I get towards the front of the line and there's two TVs left. (The guy ahead of me happens to want one too.) We get to the kiosk and the guy tells us those TVs were never available the whole time we were there because they were sold out 5 minutes after the store opened.


Just to be clear, my annoyances have nothing to do about saving a couple bucks here and there. I'll gladly pay a bit more to a local business over online or franchise retailers if I feel the service is there but as of late, I feel Memex has been on the decline. For years I used to be able to count on their staff to be pretty knowledgeable, but now they seem more interested in making the commission and sometimes don't even have any clue what I'm asking them.

Is it just me who's having bad luck or have any of you had similar experiences?

[kenny]

My experiences with MemEx echo yours. I went to pick up a pair of drives and the sales person told me the failure rates were incredibly high and "most" of them were coming back within a few months. He recommended the IPR instead of pushing me to a different brand of hard drive.

If the products were that crappy, maybe instead of selling IPR they should stop selling the product in question.

[almerick]

I went into MemEx last night looking for a monitor, before going in I checked the website for stock and it said they had 5. Upon walking into the store, not even a friendly hello or acknowledgement that we were even in the store. The monitor I was looking for wasn't even on display and it seems like most of their inventory was hidden in the back room. The monitors on display were more expensive and higher models. Had to wait a bit before a sales person reluctantly checked their inventory. Ended up buying the replacement plan

They should really work on their customer service and focus on helping customers in getting what they need instead of up selling them.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I've noticed two main things:

1) They push IPR plans like crazy

2) They don't like honoring IPR. I've never made a claim myself, but I know LOTS of people who have tried, and they do everything they can to not honor it. Also, I heard they try fix it rather than replace it instantly, completely defeating the appeal of IPR...can anyone confirm?

I've also been in the store when a customer was arguing about a TV that broke that he had IPR on. They wouldn't give him a better TV because an equivalent wasn't available, they forced him to take a worse TV. He was livid, and the IPR plan clearly states you get upgraded in the case of nothing equivalent being available.

Aside from the IPR though, I find their staff helpful and friendly (SE location). They've went out of their way to help me several times before.

[Cos]

On phone so keep this short. They are still the place i go to but since their new stores and focus shifting broader to consumer electronics i am no longer as happy as i used to be and buy more stuff online now. I miss the whitewashed ne and macleod south stores. You were a geek for going in but all the staff was super nerds who new their stuff.

Now i get pushed to buy tvs now.

[Vagabond142]

Maybe it's because I keep lucking out with good sales guys or the fact that I know half of them by name from when the NW location was at it's old spot, but I've always had great service from MemEx and I'll still shop from them first before looking elsewhere for parts.

However...

I do agree that their parts tracking is a little suspect. When I bought my Siberia V2's, they showed 5 available online. I got there and they had to spend 35 minutes finding the damned things

[Sasuke_Kensai]

I haven't had terrible experiences lately, but generally I feel the same - it's getting more and more of that "big box store" feeling - in size, atmosphere, and obviously the introduction of consumer electronics. And anything you buy - IPR IPR IPR! So far I've only been "upsold" on a $22 DVD drive instead of a $16 one (online said stock, he said he couldn't find it)

I still like the NE though - I feel like the people there are a lot friendlier, easier to talk to. But, that may also be the atmosphere making me more comfortable and less awkward.

SE - have seen cashiers talking to each other instead of attending to people in line...

NW - been there once, felt really awkward, but I think that was more my fault lol

More anecdotes, my friend will drive 20 mins to the NE store, rather than 5 to the SE one.

[Wraith]

I haven't been there in a while but when I was building my then new PC they were great. All the parts I bought from them were pricematched with ncix, newegg etc. no questions asked. I also had IPR on a powerline kit that started to crap out (I knew it would, I often never buy into these plans) and they replaced it with a newer model.

I do find it irritating to have to say no to IPR more than once though.

[Unknown303]

Yeah I don't know how many times they try to push IPR on me for memory and hard drives. I have yet ever had memory or hard drives fail on me. I've actually never had any piece of a computer fail. Nothing. And I leave my computer on 24/7/365.

[stealth131]

I have had good experiences getting decent parts for a decent price.

Other times I called them to ask if an items in stock. 2 times I drove there and it wasn't even in stock

[Mibz]

Maybe working retail sales has numbed me to it but I really don't care when sales guys push warranty on me. They're working hard to make money and, as annoying as it may be, I won't fault them for it.

That said, they've definitely made the shift from local parts shop to big chain retailer. Management changes, business model changes, profits go up, service goes down.

A new small shop will pop up in the years to come and the cycle will continue.

[Afrodeziak]

The only computer shop I use and I've never had issues.

Prices matched from online shop - YES
Bought a hard drive that was DOA - they replaced immediately.

Everyone I've been helped by always knows their shit, although I usually do the research beforehand.

[captain134]

I don't mind them offering the plan. I DO mind them telling me BS to get the plan.

Whenever I buy from there I have done all my research and shopping online I just go to them with a SKU and want to be in and out. I have already made up my mind if I want the plan or not and I find it insulting some of the BS they say to sell it.

I am sure people with less computer knowledge fall for it but sometimes the BS is so ridiculous I decide to not get the plan out of spite.


I mostly use NW location.

[Grogador]

Wow, it's like none of you have ever worked sales/retail before. The IPR plans are pure profit/commission, so yeah they're gonna push em hard. Apparently lying is an integral part of sales, so watch out for that... Inventory tracking isn't perfect unless you go the day after they do it. Just research/pricematch your shit and go get it.

Free local delivery is nice cuz I'm lazy

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Informa...ockStatus.aspx
**Please Note** Availability displayed on our web site is only an estimate, and is subject to change.

[spikerS]

MemX used to be really good.

I used to have my own computer repair shop that I ran out of my house and used to use memory express as my supplier. Was able to get an account with them pretty easily, and a decent discount.

When I first started dealing with them, their staff was really knowledgable and there was ZERO pressure on anything. They would get just as excited as I would when picking out new parts for a client's gaming rig, or quick with brainstorming ideas when troubleshooting LANs and stuff. This was 5+ years ago.

Fast forward to today.

They have become pushy, indifferent, and their prices are no longer competitive with other budget places. Staff are no where near as knowledgable, friendly, or enthusiastic. Now with the NW store, it is even worse!

I have not stepped foot in a MemX in at least a year. Most of my computer parts are bought online, and are usually cheaper including shipping to my door, than it is for me to drive 25 blocks to the MemX on 32nd, for the same thing.

in short, MemX is pretty much a gong show now.

[Kg810]

I stay away from the SE location cause I found their service and attitude to be terrible. I recently called them because that location was the only store that had stock on something I was looking for(showed 3 in stock). So the guy who answers the calls picks up with an already apparent attitude (bad day maybe?) and asks what he can do, I give him the SKU number and the name and within a span of 5 seconds he's like "don't have it, bye." I had a feeling he was just being a lazy fuck, so I waited till the afternoon to call and this girl picks up, tell her the thing I'm looking for and she's like "okay hold on please... 1 min later - yeah we have 3 here would you like me to put one on hold?" So even though they may have some good people there, just because of some sour few, I avoid that place unless I have no choice.

I've only been to the NE location 2-3 times and found that their service was decent considering each time I go there are tons of customers there. I like to take my time sometimes to ask for a second opinion as I'm paying, just so I know I'm getting the right part or if they know of any better parts coming in soon etc. But yeah, never had the chance to there, once you line up its basically in and out.

I regularly visit the NW location and really enjoy the service there. There is one guy (forget his name) that has given me some questionable service there, he's the asian one. He never seems happy, any time you bring up price matching he'll give you attitude. It's like yeah, okay, I understand you are on commission and if I price match you are losing a few bucks or something but, you've been working for this store for a while and you know this is what they do, so why not accept it and expect it rather than get all snobby because someone wants to price match. Other than the asian guy, everyone is seriously really helpful. They'll share experiences, tips, recommendations, etc.

[SCHIDER23]

I usually go to the SE location and I do agree their service has gone down a bit, but I also had good experiences, the latest experience I had was not a positive one, my brother bought an Asus 16" Laptop their high end one, and the sales person recomended us the IPR plan, so we said sure for the little extra it was worth it, fast forward to a month after and the laptop started to show pixelation like it was overheating, so I decided to run a stress test on the hardware to see if one of the components was overheating, turns out that it never crashed after 6 hours or running, we started monitoring the temp and everything was running cool, it would go black and than reboot itself ramdonly, so we took it to them and they said we had to leave it, so they could run a few test.

Two days after they came back saying there was nothing wrong, and that they run stress tests and the problem never showed up, but they did clean it added thermalpaste, and updated bios at no charge, fine whatever. A week after it started doing the same thing, so this time we took a few pics and even video and you could hear the laptop speeding the fans up and down, we took it back and told them that there is something going on with the motherboard or one of the sensors, once again we got the same line we have to do some testing you will have to leave it with us.

The tech contacted the house 3 days after saying that the problem showed up and that they have come to the conclusion that it needs a new motherboard, but I was not home and my other brother who did not know anything about this problem answered the phone, so when the tech asked him if that was alright, all he said was Ok nothing else and the tech ordered the motherboard. I got home later that day and he gaved me the message, so I called back and asked for an update, the tech explained everything that needed to be done, so I said that means we are getting a new one than, he said no since we agree to the motherboard replacement, at this point I was pissed so I quoted their IPR policy saying that if they can't fix it in 3 to 5 business days I get a new one, and he said that it doesn't work that way and that the laptop hasn't been in their hands for more than 3 days, so I said how long is the replacement motherboard going to take, cause according to your policy you only have till friday, he said the part might be getting in on Sunday.


I asked to speak to his manager, the guys was a bit more difficult, so I repeated everything I said to his tech, and he came back with the same line, so I asked him when is the new motherboard getting in, he said the earlies is sunday, I can have the laptop back by tuesday he said, so I once again quoted the IPR policy if they can't resolved the problem in 3 to 5 days I get a new replacement, and he said yes that's how it works, and I said I dropped off the laptop on Saturday, so I started couting from Monday and up, meaning by Tuesday of next week is 7 business days not counting the weekend, so I said that means your IPR policy is pure BS, at this point he knew he had to honored the agreement or is all bullshit, he said that he was going to discussed it with his technician, he was going to call me back the next day, so next day comes and they finally agree to exchange the laptop for a new one.

I usually only buy IPR for portable HDD, since if you drop it they will exchange it, but this last experience left me with a really sour taste, I still buy stuff from them, but not as much as I used too, I do most of it online now, btw sorry for the long story lol.

[95teetee]

I've had nothing but good experiences, but I've only ordered online (and had shipped) for the last couple years.



and no matter how bad they get. they'll never rival Techtronics for absolute shit service.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by SCHIDER23
I usually only buy IPR for portable HDD, since if you drop it they will exchange it, but this last experience left me with a really sour taste, I still buy stuff from them, but not as much as I used too, I do most of it online now, btw sorry for the long story lol.

This is consistent with what I hear...first they try not to honor it at all. Second, they try to FIX and not REPLACE it, causing you much hassle, time without your stuff, etc. Then, if you're lucky, after a fight, the replace it.

I understand they need to protect themselves from abuse of the system, but with the way they advertise it as being 100% hassle free and push it, they sure do make it a pain in the ass to actually make a claim.

[483hp]

I've noticed that have a relatively high percentage of stuff that's open box and has been re-shrinkwrapped.