Adios CompUSA?

I found out in December that CompUSA was closing its doors because it's losing money. I am not surprised; I've been in my local CompUSA and watched employees actively avoid engaging with customers who clearly were looking for help.

Really. I'm not kidding: I've watched employees in their red shirts almost run the other way. The Emeryville, California store is notorious for this.

Much to my surprise, however, was that I also discovered (when doing a bit of research on the supposed store closings) that the company was purchased by Mexico's magnate, Carlos Slim. So it got me wondering: could CompUSA's poor customer service -by American standards, mind you - be the result of cultural differences in customer service standards?

The stores appear still open, so now I wonder what's really going on.

Personalized Starbucks Card: Final Thought

This is a bit tardy, but just to wrap up ... the card looked pretty good, but most importantly, me mum appreciated the thought. And enjoyed her cuppa joe.