# Hubby and the electronics store jail/ **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 1, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871 "2005-11-01T06:19:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/1 "2005-11-01T06:19:03Z")
Yesterday Hubby and I had a "date."We went to Frye’s Electronics store. They had RAM on sale. Even though we’ve purchased RAM from Frye’s twice before and both times it was wrong, didn’t make the Honey stop and think. Even when the wife (me) said “Are you _SURE_ you want to risk this again?” He stayed his course. So, we get home, he installs the RAM and Surprise! It’s not the right type. It’s ok, we have the receipt, we’ll just return it. So, about 10:30 am, off he goes. He’ll stop at Frye’s and exchange the RAM, then go pick up lunch. Well, as 4:00 PM came and went, I started to be a little concerned. Not much, he tends to get side-tracked, losing all notion if the time. But, 5-6 hours for a 45 minute errand? That’s a bit much even for him. Just before 5:00 PM, he gets home, angry, tired and a littler bewildered. He got to Frye’s customer service desk, and said he just needed a straight trade, that he clerk apparently picked up the wrong box the night before. She smiled and excused herself. A minute later, the customer service manager approaches him with a somewhat confrontational demeaner. He tells Hubby that they can’t take the RAM back, because it had “been tampered with.” What happened is each stick of RAM has an identifying sticker on it. The sticker on the stick in question was loose, so before attempting to install it, Hubby carefully peeled it off . He was afraid it would jam in the slot. When it didn’t work, he put the sticker back on, put the RAM and all the associated paperwork back in the box and with receipt in hand… well, we’ve been there. The problem was he put the sticker back on in a slightly different place. When this was explained to the Hubby, he said, under his breath, No, fuckin’ way!" The next thing he knows ther is a city cop at his elbow to escort him to the manager’s office. Apparently, it is illegal to swear inside Frye’s Electronics. They kept him there for over two hours. They would not budge from their stance. They told him he’d have to buy the correct RAM and could go through the manufacturer about the one in hand. I asked WHY he bought anything else from them and he looked puzzled, and said, I don’t know. They told him to pay for his correct purchase, and leave their store and to please, never come back or he would be charged with tresspassing. Now, hubby is a 6’2" firefighter. He can be intimidating, but he avoids it as much as possible. He wasn’t angry, well, not right away. But even as he did, he stayed calm. He really wanted to work it out reasonably to the benefit of all. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/2 "2005-11-01T06:49:28Z")
😕 [futurama]This is about as confusing as that movie about that dude on a drug trip that I saw when I was on that drug trip.[/futurama] ---
**Author:** ![Nilor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a4c791/32.png) [@Nilor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nilor)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/3 "2005-11-01T08:38:56Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > [futurama]This is about as confusing as that movie about that dude on a drug trip that I saw when I was on that drug trip.[/futurama] This is how I understood it…maybe it’ll help 😉 picunurse’s husband went into a Fry’s Electronics store and bought some RAM, which turned out to be the wrong kind. He moved a sticker on it while installing, and when he tried to return it they refused. He said a swear word and the manager called a city cop, who escorted him to the manager’s office. He was in the manager’s office for over two hours, discussing the ram. The end result of the discussion was that he was told to purchase the correct ram, and return the incorrect ram to the manufacturer. He was also told that, if he ever re-entered Fry’s, he would be charged with trespassing. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/4 "2005-11-01T09:00:02Z")
There is a word for this incident, and that word is “Kafkaesque.” This manager needs to be ratted out to corporate. I dunno, maybe being in the west and south, Fry’s is extra conscious of possible rampage shooters. But it definitely sounds like we’ve got a control freak manager here who needs to be taught the meaning of (1) “tampered with” and (2) “courtesy.” Please complain, in detail and at length. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/5 "2005-11-01T09:46:01Z")
Surely it isn’t legal to confine someone for trying to exchange merchandise?? Why isn’t the Fry’s manager in jail right now? ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/6 "2005-11-01T09:47:51Z")
Wow. :eek: Where-ish is this place, so that we may avoid the establishment altogether? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/7 "2005-11-01T10:39:38Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Surely it isn’t legal to confine someone for trying to exchange merchandise?? “Exchange merchandise?” He was a large burly male merchandise tamperer who used a swear word. Such people are an unacceptable security risk. :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Why isn’t the Fry’s manager in jail right now? Because a man’s home is his castle, and so is his business. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/8 "2005-11-01T13:57:05Z")
I wonder what will happen if they have a fire. Go away your tresspassing, or embarasment. The memory card labels are there to identify the type, brand, and model of memory. People try to bring back cheap memory as better memory. You can lose a couple hundred dollars on one stick. It’s very easy to pass off a memory stick as another. The clerk isn’t going to be able to tell. The manufacturer is not going to give credit to the store with a tampered identification label. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/9 "2005-11-01T14:08:33Z")
FYI, the management of the Renton, Washington Fry’s are a bunch of ignorant assholes. My wife and I had an awful experience with some of the sales crew and the management basically called us a bunch of whiners. I will never go in that store again. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/10 "2005-11-01T14:11:34Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Wow. :eek: > > Where-ish is this place, so that we may avoid the establishment altogether? It’s in Renton between Boeing and I-405. It turns out the cop was an in-uniform, off duty city cop, moonlighting as Frye’s security. I’m puzzled by the fact that he could wear his official police uniform when working for a private company. **Harmonious Discord** interesting you should mention that. Hubby’s fire station is located 5 blocks from the store. I’m going to rough draft a letter to Frye’s corporate office today. Hubby is working, so he’ll fine tune it tomorrow. I’ll also have to follow up on how to contact the manufacturer to get refund on the useless RAM. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/11 "2005-11-01T14:47:04Z")
Huh. The way I thought I understood the law, the manager was well within his right to tell your husband to take the previously-purchased RAM and get out. He did not have the right to demand that your husband make a purchase. The detainment was probably illegal. I suggest perhaps making a call to the DA and perhaps the police oversight board. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/12 "2005-11-01T14:56:37Z")
I haven’t seen a Fry’s since I’ve been in the PNW. But they were all over the place in SoCal. I would only go there if I could not get what I wanted somewhere else, or if someone else was going on his lunch break and I was riding along. IME they treat _everyone_ like a potential shoplifter. It’s insulting. And I’ve noticed that a lot of their merchandise has been opened. I found out that when someone returns a defective item, they are likely to tape it up and simply put it on a shelf for someone else to buy. When I _have_ shopped at Fry’s I haven’t had any trouble beyond getting a floor person to help me find something. But stories like **picunurse** ’s and stories I’ve heard and read from other people make me not want to go there. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/13 "2005-11-01T15:19:07Z")
Just for giggles I tried to contact these people to tell them about this post. Their web site gives you no way to e-mail them. Sort of tells you about the company, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/14 "2005-11-01T15:37:11Z")
> [@Harmonious Discord](#): > > It’s very easy to pass off a memory stick as another. The clerk isn’t going to be able to tell. The manufacturer is not going to give credit to the store with a tampered identification label. The serial numbers printed on the chips are usually enough to ID a chip in the absence of a sticker. Should the clerks have a lookup manual for every possible serial number? No. Could they keep a net-connected PC at their workstation so they could Google serial numbers? Sure. That’s what my old electronics store did. Of course, my old electronics store was a Mom & Pop that still stocked “specialty” parts like 386 RAM and math coprocessors. Also, I work in military contracting, and visit El Segundo pretty often. I’ve had computer-savvy pals at Northrop-Grumman tell me to stay _far far away_ from the Fry’s locations in their area. Apparently the ones near San Francisco (Mountain View?) are much better. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/15 "2005-11-01T15:47:27Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Also, I work in military contracting, and visit El Segundo pretty often. Depending on how the filmmaking goes, I might be looking to get back into the data processing/analysis field. Worked for contractors before, held clearances. Maybe you can put in a word for me if the time comes? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/16 "2005-11-01T15:50:44Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > The serial numbers printed on the chips are usually enough to ID a chip in the absence of a sticker. Should the clerks have a lookup manual for every possible serial number? No. Could they keep a net-connected PC at their workstation so they could Google serial numbers? Sure. Even easier would have been to get the same stick and compare the chips. I really hope a long letter to corporate gets that asswipe fired. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/17 "2005-11-01T15:58:18Z")
Fry’s return policy certainly makes no mention of forcible detention if you move a sticker. > [@Fry's Return & Exchange policy](#): > > 1. For a refund or exchange, most products may be returned within 30 days of original purchase date. Some other products, such as notebook computers, memory, microprocessors, network-attached storage, CD and DVD recorders, camcorders, digital cameras, air conditioners, and wireless phones may be returned within 15 days of original purchase date. See store management for specific information. > 2. Original receipt must accompany any product to be returned / exchanged. > 3. Product must be in original box with original accessories, packaging, manuals, and registration card in undamaged, clean, and brand- new condition. > 4. Products returned within policy with the UPC Code missing from the box may only be accepted back as an exchange for the exact same item. > 5. Product that is returned incomplete, damaged, or has been used – if accepted – will require a deduction. This deduction is final. Subsequent return of missing items will not reverse the deduction. > 6. Product returned with serial number missing or tampered with will NOT BE ACCEPTED BACK FOR RETURN. > 7. If the product returned has any data or information stored on a memory or storage device, Fry’s shall not be responsible for the transfer of such data or information to another product given to the customer as an exchange, or for the loss of any data or information or to maintain the confidentiality of any data or information still residing on the returned product. > 8. Computer software, video games, audio CDs, VHS videos, and DVD videos are returnable only if unopened. > 9. Defective computer software, video games, audio CDs, DVD videos, and pre-recorded videos will be exchanged for the exact same item only. > 10. Product using accessories such as laser toner or ink cartridge toner, media, batteries, film, etc. must be returned with the accessory in factory-sealed condition or will require a deduction for a replacement. > 11. Refunds will be issued as follows: (1) Check purchases by check (2) Credit card purchases by credit issued to the credit card used in the original purchase transaction (3) Cash purchases by cash, unless the refund is over $500, which will then be refunded by a check mailed from Fry’s Home Office. > 12. Refund checks are mailed the 10th day from the date merchandise is returned. > 13. Service, delivery, and installation charges are non-refundable once performed. > 14. Special order items and cut cable/wire are non-returnable. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/18 "2005-11-01T16:18:20Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > The serial numbers printed on the chips are usually enough to ID a chip in the absence of a sticker. Should the clerks have a lookup manual for every possible serial number? No. Could they keep a net-connected PC at their workstation so they could Google serial numbers? Sure. That’s what my old electronics store did. Of course, my old electronics store was a Mom & Pop that still stocked “specialty” parts like 386 RAM and math coprocessors. > > Also, I work in military contracting, and visit El Segundo pretty often. I’ve had computer-savvy pals at Northrop-Grumman tell me to stay _far far away_ from the Fry’s locations in their area. Apparently the ones near San Francisco (Mountain View?) are much better. They are clerks not tech’s and the store would not get credit from the manufacturer. I think the store incident was rediculous, but that still doesn’t change why the label can’t be removed. The manufacturers came up with the label policy to prevent fraud. I know what people do to defraud places and the memory switch was a very popular fraud. They’ll aslo switch hard drives and try to pass off a 40 meg for a 40 Gig. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/19 "2005-11-01T16:30:32Z")
I think your missing out on an important thing here. The cop was in his work clothes for the city police, while working for the store. Most police juridictions won’t tolerate him working in the uniform at a store as it implies he is on duty for the police. Wasn’t a big part of the problem here the actions of the off duty cop. ---
**Author:** ![TJVM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@TJVM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJVM)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871/20 "2005-11-01T16:33:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Apparently, it is illegal to swear inside Frye’s Electronics I know nothing about Washington law, but I can’t believe that that’s true. I don’t think such a law would be constitutional. > [@](#): > > They kept him there for over two hours. They would not budge from their stance. They told him he’d have to buy the correct RAM and could go through the manufacturer about the one in hand. > I asked WHY he bought anything else from them and he looked puzzled, and said, I don’t know. They told him to pay for his correct purchase, and leave their store and to please, never come back or he would be charged with tresspassing. I’m not sure I’m reading this correctly, but are you saying that they refused to let him go until he gave them additional money? Or are you just saying that they wouldn’t give him the correct item unless he paid for it, and he elected to do that? If it’s the former, you should talk to a lawyer–seriously. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hubby-and-the-electronics-store-jail/328871.md?page=2)