Hamspree is a store that sells TV's and monitors. High priced of course. You can get TVs inserted into frames that look like cows. That kind of cute shit. I recently saw a fold up monitor that would be perfect for my baseball travels. Unfortunately, it was a Hamspree.
When the store finally did open, a leisurely ten minutes after they posted it would, there were two salesmen. What the fuck? I asked why one couldn't leave while the other manned the store? Who closes in the middle of peak customer time? The salesman said, "Well, if someone buys a big 55 inch TV we gotta get it out of the basement and it takes two people to do that." "How often do you sell those?" I asked. His answer: "That's not the point." So for the convenience of that once-in-a-blue-moon customer (can't keep him waiting ten minutes), they keep all the other potential customers out. Brilliant! Just brilliant! And again, you're paying Beverly Hills prices. This is the city that laughs at Costco. The salesman maintained that this was company policy although I question that too.
Needless to say, this sales whiz didn't have what I wanted, didn't know it existed, didn't even recognize it when I showed him a picture. And of course couldn't order it. Finally, he said, "Let me show you something close to what you want" and then proceeded to show me a TV that was so completely different from what I wanted that he might as well have shown me a toaster.
When it comes to Hannspree -- the inventory, prices, sales staff, and company policy is OUT TO LUNCH.
Schmucks.
ReplyDeleteDon't hold back, Ken, tell us how you really feel! :-)
ReplyDeleteLet that be a lesson to you. You should've told those cretins you're Charlie Sheen. You'd have left the store with a heavily discounted 56 inch LED TV - Free delivery & instalation included - and a very wet ass.
ReplyDeleteJust go to a different store for Christ's sake. Why the drama? Oh...I see, Beverly HIlls.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the rules and regulations at your average Apple Store the first day any new gadget comes out...
ReplyDelete...besides, I thought Sky Mall was the world's dumbest store?
All I wanna know is what kind of monitor are you looking at? I travel a lot, too, and am always interested in this kind of stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd, just to pile on, hannspree.com doesn't go anywhere. www.hannspree.com does, but not hannspree.com.
ReplyDeleteAnd www.hannspree.com redirects to a flash site, where if you click on "USA" in the moronic and pointless flash animation, nothing happens. You have to click on "USA" in the much more functional yet ugly list underneath.
Which then opens a new window (leaving the all important "What country are you from, even though we could easily assume that from your IP address and automatically redirect you, yet give you an option to choose other countries, which 1 visitor in a million ever do, but hey, we paid $20k for that dumb ass broken flash site so we're gonna make everyone use it" page still open).
Now, you are finally (2 windows, several clicks and 3 urls later) and you are presented with yet another flash animation that shows you products, and of course, shows you the model number of each item shown. Because, really, I don't want to know that it is a 55" HDTV, I want to know that the Internal Model Number is "ST2343KDLELD##".
Because that's how I remember things at a site I shop once every 5 years.
I read this post using a Hannspree Xm, bought in Portugal at a non-Hannspree store.
ReplyDeleteI like this monitor and a year or so ago I went online to their website to see what other models they had. Let's say that the website and the lack of stores that currently have their products here put me off buying any more of their products.
Their loss really.
I eat at Nate ‘n Al’s with some frequency and in the three or so years Hannspree has been open, I have never once seen a customer buy anything, even the week before Christmas. I’m not sure what they’re in the business of doing, laundering money perhaps, but I would bet a lot of money they are not in the business of selling TV’s.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean "lack of stores," Richard? The website very clearly tells you that you can purchase their fine products at both CompUSA and Circuit City! And failing that, I'm sure you could always try Gimbel's!
ReplyDeleteYou actually can buy some Hannspree TVs on Costco's website. (Not the weird animal-framed ones -- although some of them are available on Amazon.com.)
ReplyDeleteThey get pretty good reviews for the price -- but you can just pretend you paid double in Beverly Hills.
DavidZ, I'm referring to the lack of stores in Portugal. I did buy it at a giant chain at the time but now no store seems to have their products anymore.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Richard. I guess my point may not make sense in Portugal. I was adding to the criticisms of their website by observing that most of the stores they list (CompUSA, Circuit City) are famously long out of business...
ReplyDeleteThis was a great write-up to read after my first full week as HANNspree's new marketing manager for the US.
ReplyDeleteKen, all I can say is that I would love the opportunity to set it right with you, and apologize on behalf of our retail staff at the Beverly Hills location.
Please feel free to contact me at jonbekefy@usa.hannspree.com and hopefully we can find some time to talk during your busy schedule.
Kind regards,
Jon Bekefy
About two years ago, a Hannspree shop opened in my neighborhood. I think it lasted for 6 months. They had a big opening ceremony but I never saw a person in the shop, except the very bored personal. In the windows I saw a 50" flat screen TV disguised as an apple (you know, the fruit). I always wondered who would buy that? Is this for stupid people who have loads of money but no clue, when they hear about "Apple TV"?
ReplyDeleteWe have a Zebra and a Basketball and love them. Shocked that they are 5 years old and still working great. Now that the kids aged out I was passing them on and someone asked me where they could get another basketball. I could t find the store, (Permanently Closed) but I did find this post. I'm laughing because our two animal tvs were like 129 each in Beverly Hills around the time of this post. Maybe I got the going out of business special and didn't even know it.
ReplyDelete