Indiana finally got it's first Fry's Electronics. Although the store opened on Wednesday, the grand opening was this past Friday. I decided to be adventurous and give it a try during the grand opening.
Crowds
As expected, the parking lot was packed. The store was originally an Incredible Universe by Radioshack. It was basically the same idea (a large electronics store) but you had to 'check in' and 'check out' on every visit. An idea from an over-zealous marketing department and the whole chain closed quickly.
As I slowly moved through the parking lot, folks were coming out in droves not just with packages, but shopping carts filled with boxes and bags. It seemed as if people had been budgeting for months in anticipation of the opening.
Employees
Customer service has always been a hallmark of Frys. I'm kidding, of course. With this store, they decided to hire as many employees as customers which led to gridlock up and down the aisles. In addition to that, they were still carting out sale products to replenish the stock on display.
The employees were all trying to be helpful but many still seemed to be confused as they were new hires. That didn't stop them from asking every shopper how they could help though.
Theme
If you are from Silicon Valley, you are familiar with Fry's and that they usually have a theme. I've been to the 'museum' store and the 'Mayan' store many times in California. Well, I told my sister I was going and she asked me to 'pick up a flatscreen for the kitchen.' Being a good brother, I called when I was there. Her husband (originally from Cupertino) answered and immediately asked, 'So, what's the theme?'
Well, the answer was Racing. There were lots of giant pictures on the walls, but no real Indy cars on the floor to my disappointment. There were a couple of cars though. I believe they were giving away a GM SUV. They also had a Hummer in the mobile electronics department. I didn't get a picture of it, but it had about 10 LCD screens in it (including the doors).
I did not end up buying a lcd for my sister as her husband wanted to research it a bit more than 'pick up a flatscreen.'
Checkout
I only went to purchase RAM for my home pc and surprisingly, that was my only purchase considering all the temptations. There was a small checkout line, but considering all 65 checkout stations were open, I still think they were doing well.
Conclusion
It was definitely an amusing experience to see the crowds. I bet traffic at the store will die down considerably but Fry's still has the widest range of products in the Indy area.
In a small jab at Best Buy, the receipt included the final line as "Your best buys are always at Fry's!"
