(Welcome again to Martina, one of the finalists vying for a blogging position at the upcoming AT:Home Tech. Comment away.)
Simply mention the word to any technologically inclined friend you know. Say it in a hushed whisper, with a smile on your face. And watch the eyes of your friend go wide with delight. You will probably even elicit a squeak or overly enthusiastic 'Oh? Are you going now? I can drop everything I'm doing because you know I'd LOVE to come along right?'
Yes, I speak of the West Coast phenomenon known as Frys.
A long time ago when I wasn't native to these parts (but still paying many a visit), I found it rather amusing that my compatriots from the Silicon Trenches would laboriously rearrange schedules just to ensure at least a 4 hour block of quality time at Frys. I couldn't understand how a store could engender such a flurry of planning activity. Now that I'm lucky enough to reside in the Bay Area, and having made the pilgrimage, I understand. Completely.
For some, Frys evokes an imagery of rows of uninteresting pieces and parts of mystery hardware (destined for who knows what nefarious purpose) coupled with aggressive sales folks, for others, what comes to mind is the interesting themes of each location. And I'm sure that for yet another portion of folks, Frys is just that computer superstore with the cheesy commercials which get too much rotation during the holidays. But for the geek? Frys is paradise. Well, at least 7 out 10 geeks surveyed seem to hold this view.
Frys is so wonderful in terms of its offerings. It isn't just a temple to the gearhead, it's incredibly convenient for any consumer looking to add technology to the homestead. While it's great that you can get everything you possibly need to build that custom designed CPU case that fits into your Eichler populated with Eames (from fans to hard disks to shiny lights to graphics cards), you can also find yourself any manner of PC (they serve all religions here, Wintel and Apple), monitor, input device, wireless keyboard or mouse, and needed accoutrement (Need a nice disc storage solution? Check. How about cable taming solution so that your desk doesn't resemble a large plate of pasta? Yep, they have that too). Oh, and have I mentioned all of the techno-tchotchkes they have? PDAs of all flavors, digital cameras, video cameras, and printers, and wait, are those small drops on my laptop drool? Why, yes they are! Alright. l will try and keep the rabid enthusiasm under control. Ahem.
Let me at least finish by rounding out the list. You can peruse for anything from small appliances (think vacuums, steam cleaners, toasters and coffee makers) to big contraptions (stuff such as washers, dryers, and my favorite, wine storage solutions). Add to that books (technology oriented of course), multimedia (software, music and movies), and you have the perfect 'natural habitat' for the geek you know.
Here in Northern CA, there are 7 locations: Campbell, Concord, Fremont, Palo Alto, Sacramento, San Jose, and Sunnyvale. Our Southern CA friends have a longer list of choices that span from Anaheim to Oxnard. And there are even Frys in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Indiana and Georgia.
My only complaint? Having one in San Francisco proper would be awfully convenient, but then, having a reason to putter down to Silicon Valley is not such a bad thing either. Each Frys location has a different 'theme', and part of the fun (again perhaps for the geeks) is actually checking those themes out (road trip anyone?)
A quick decoder for the locations I've managed to hit:
Sunnyvale = "The History of Silicon Valley" complete with high tech museum displays
Palo Alto = "The Wild Western Frontier" (saddle required, lasso optional)
Campbell = "Egypt" (Yes they do have a sphinx and King Tut Tomb replica)
Fremont = "1893 World's Fair/Chicago" (with a focus on this newfangled thing called 'electricity')
San Jose = "Mayan Temple Ruins" (the entrance does it for me, such architectural grandeur for the purpose of fetching my $10 USB key)
I've heard that the Southern California locations have themes that range the gamut from NASA to Tiki Paradise to Retro-Space (Martians/Aliens galore).
In summary, having been initiated, I'm an unabashed fan. Frys gets my thumbs up as a go-to source for techno-goodies. After all, a girl needs a place to go buy her oscilloscope, how else am I going to keep the home labs running in good order?
-Martina
Too many of your blogging finalists use too many words. This is a prime example. Way too long. Do you know how many blog entries the average reader goes through in a day? We don't have time to read through some high school narrative writing assignment. Martina could have communicated what she has to say in witty and informative language using about a tenth of the words she used.
Frys in Sacramento is a messy, rude, incompetent, ridculous store. I'm shocked that other locations are enjoyed, let alone still up and running.
After Fry's short-lived holiday advertising, showing a Stepford Wives theme, I must say they lost me as a customer! It was just the capper on the rude service I've received at their Palo Alto location, now I make sure I'm shopping closer to home or online, rather than making the drive to Fry's. If Fry's is listening, there's nothing like doing the research yourself, going into the store and trying to just doublecheck that this part will work with your computer... and being treated like you're an idiot (or do I just get the rare salesperson covering up for their own lack of knowledge???). Fry's: you can do SO much better!
Martina, nicely done, but I do agree the article could be a little tighter (i.e., shorter).
Maybe in Northern Cali they salivate over Fry's. Certainly not here in So Cal. We have many competitors with the same merchandise at a fraction of the cost.
Me too..FOund fry's deals bad. Go online and get deals worth 25% cheaper for sure!! There return policy is awful too.
I used frys online to get a computer that was less expensive than the store and had free shipping. I got it in a timely manner BUT the computer was not working when I received it. The monitor was not getting a signal. I had to send it to HP and get it fixed. It didn't cost anything to ship it or get it fixed its just the friggin hassle off it all.....The whole deal was a big PITA!!! I won't use them again or go into the messy disorganized store ever again.
Fry's won't be around in a decade. Newegg.com has them beat on prices 9 times out of 10, and in spite of being a mail-order outfit offers superior customer service.
Fry's is nothing special in my opinion.
Here (Portland area), Frys is just another big department store. True, you can buy discrete resistors, big box items like major appliances, some home theater equipment, computers, office supplies, technical books and software all under one roof but really it's not such a big deal nor worth the gas money.
Their prices are mid to high range - you don't go to Fry's for bargains unless you're willing to buy whatever they happen to have on sale - never a good idea at any store unless you really want what's "on sale" to begin with.
Fry's customer service has been horrendous in the past, I don't know if that's improved or not, it's been a while since I bought anything there.
On most things you can get better prices online.
When I bought my 50" Sony last month I saved a ton of money over Fry's prices at a local store that only sells home theater equipment rather than everything under the sun.
As to technical books, I'd much rather shop at Powells (http://www.powellsbooks.com/) - their main store covers a whole city block, and that's not counting their techincal section in another building.
So why "geeks love Frys" is beyond me. Geeks are supposed to be smart.
I like the themes that Fry's stores have. They go all out with Western, "Inside a Computer" or other themes.
Other than that, Fry's is pretty much useless. I only buy keyboards/mice from Fry's if I can't wait for Amazon Prime or newegg to ship me the device...
You can only appreciate Fry's if you are truly initiated and know your stuff. It's not for your mall shoppers. Spot on Martina! I challenge anyone to find an oscilloscope at a store! I pity those who shop at Radio Shack!
Anyone who truly *needs* an oscilloscope won't buy one at Frys, if they know what they're doing. Fry's only carries low bandwidth ones unsuitable for any serious work in this age of GHz clock frequencies. As for voltmeters, I can get better deals at Home Depot or Lowes.
Must be nice to be the *perfect* geek. Sorry that some of the rest of us actually have success with Fry's on the tools side. Observations made about the other choices one has are well put and appreciated.
But the sweeping generalizations about ability level based on choice of store? Not so much.