Thursday, October 3, 2013

P.C. Richard- Flatiron

As I have noted before, all stores like this get different reviews for different locations

Some very strongly positive reviews as well as some less enthusiastic ones..

I was there once and was satisfied with what happened there, but I was annoyed by an older salesman who was simply dying to get me to buy something else, and didn't want to let go of me--I just had to be the hardened New Yorker and walk out on him abruptly

P.C. Richard & Son

3.0 star rating
18 reviews Rating Details
53 W 23rd St
(between Avenue Of The Americas & Madison Ave)
Manhattan, NY 10010
Neighborhood: Flatiron
(212) 924-0200
Nearest Transit Station:
23 St. (F, M)
23 St. (N, R)
23 St. (1, 2)
Hours:
Mon-Fri 9 am - 9:30 pm
Sat 9 am - 9 pm
Sun 10 am - 7 pm
Price Range:
$$$
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes
5.2 Miles from P.C. Richard & Son
Dick M. said: "In the last two visits I have noticed that the quality of the service staff has gone way up.  Knowledgeable, friendly and efficient!  I love this Home Depot!" read more »
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18 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 1 review
    New York, NY
    7/17/2013
    Kudos and many thanks go out to Anderson at this location!!!  Not only friendly and super helpful but knowledgeable as well!

    Patient and attentive, with a well thought out answer to every question we had.

    Need more like him in the customer service industry!

    Where as we got unresponsive, slow, tedious service right across the street at Home Depot, Anderson was a knight in shining armor during this nasty heat wave when all we needed was a quick trip for an AC unit.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 2 reviews
    Upper West Side, Manhattan, NY
    9/19/2013
    Bait and switch!  Bought a $6K Viking range.  Paid and extra $275 on delivery for something that took 5 minutes .  Than the tried to collect an additional $228 COD despite my having a receipt showing a zero balance.  When I called the store because the grill piece wasn't delivered (it was supposed to be included), the salesman was very apologetic and said he would take care of it right away.  2 weeks later we get a call saying that despite his telling us the grill was included, he made a mistake and it would be and additional $189 (after we complained he said he could give us a "deal" for $125).  Yesterday I got a bill in the mail for $228 from PC Richards.  When I called they said to ignore it.  We'll see.....
    They will not get any of our future business!
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 2 reviews
    New York, NY
    8/1/2013
    Many thanks to Jose C at this location. He is incredibly knowledgeable on appliances and electronics, friendly, courteous and responsive.
    I travelled out of my way to complete all of my purchases for an extensive apt renovation. I highly recommend him!
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 36 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    9/6/2013
    used car salesman tactics, things mysteriously "on sale" when you say you will look around.   I don't like the feel here, and have had only negative experiences. Their ambience and tactics don't instill trust.
  • Review from

    • 64 friends
    • 259 reviews
    San Francisco, CA
    11/27/2012 1 check-in here
    We were looking for a large boom box, so the sales guy was pretty helpful but obviously just looking to make a sale. Luckily, we already had an idea of what we were looking for, so we only called him over to tell him that we were ready to ring us up.

    TIP: Make sure you do your homeowork before you shop in here. That way you have an idea of what product you are buying and what specs to look for. I wouldn't feel comfortable relying on some of the sales guys at this store, because they don't seem like they know what they are talking about!
  • Review from

    • 4 friends
    • 23 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    4/20/2013
    I was really surprised by the lack of customer service. I stopped by and bought a $200+ A/C and with installation the total was almost $500.

    I had to seek someone to help me meanwhile people were standing around doing nothing. Then the person who did help me took more than 20 minutes with a fairly simple sale (I just didn't need a bracket which I guess complicated things).

    Fast forward to me calling back an leaving a message for the sales person when I got home because my doorman let me know I needed insurance for PC Richards to install. No biggy, just bring their paper work.

    The next day the salesperson called me at work and spoke to me so rudely, treating me like I'm stupid and a child. He also expected me to drop everything while I was working and fax him information from my apartment building immediately. I thought about it and called back PC Richards and cancelled my whole order a few hours later.

    Now today Saturday, the person called me again. Again, treating me like a child who didn't do what I was supposed to do. I let him know I had cancelled my order completely yesterday. Sheesh.

    Net net, I think these people are rude, disorganized and not worth dealing with.  I don't appreciate being scolded on the phone by someone who is barely doing their job. Overpriced anyway.
  • Review from

    • 34 friends
    • 1 review
    Manhattan, NY
    7/7/2013
    Holy crap. Buying an air conditioner from these people was one of the most unpleasant retail experiences I've had in New York. Arranging delivery of my (top-of-the-line) AC unit has been a disaster. The salesman had the worst attitude and basically argued with me every time I tried to make an arrangement for delivery. I live alone and work about a 10-minute walk from my apartment, and it is impossible for me to take an entire weekday off to sit in my apartment waiting during an eight-hour window. When I asked if it would be possible for the delivery people to call a half hour or so before they arrived, he reacted like I asked him to turn over his first-born. When we missed the first delivery attempt, and I had to reschedule, I hired someone who is looking for work to be available and nearby when the delivery people arrived. Again, he made it sound like I was asking him for the world on a silver plate. Absolutely no service mentality going on here - the customer always seems to be wrong. And I am not someone who generally sets the bar too high for reasonable customer service. But this place is a total disaster.
  • Review from

    • 16 friends
    • 4 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    6/11/2012
    I wish I could give this place zero stars.  I bought a protable a/c.  I was never offered any installation services at the time of purchase.  IO didnt even know it was an option.  The sucker weighed over 100 lbs.  Not only did they not tell me a time it would be delivered, basically any time, all day Saturday, causing me to cancel all plans, they ended up coming at 6:30 AM!!

    That's not the problem though.  This product is poorly constructed.  Basically, the unit works, but good luck getting it in the window.  The screws are too small to keep it in the provided window frame, and they pop out and the frame doesnt fit the window, so it lets in alot of hot air that is supposed to be sucked out.

    I called P.C. Richards, and they basically told me it was my problem.  Someone could come and install if I wanted to pay the $60.  If I had been advised up front this was an option, I might have paid, but I had already struggled most of the day just to get the sucker out of the box and into the window.  I weigh only 10lbs more than the unit.  Never shopping there again, and I suggest you don't either.  Horrible customer service.  You cant return any appliances once they are out of the box.  I spent over $600, and they could care less about my satisfaction or safety.
  • Review from

    Brooklyn, NY
    1/24/2012 1 check-in here
    Was here because I needed help with the iPad I purchased at a PC Richard in Brooklyn.  My Wi-Fi stopped working the day I bought it and I had been relying on my Verizon Mi-Fi for internet service (I am not a technical person).

    The sales associate, whose name I will not reveal for his own protection, not only showed me how to get the Wi-Fi working, he also answered a ton of other questions I had about the iPad.  He spent about twenty minutes assisting me, but the store was not crowded at the time.

    Note:  Upon first approaching the sales associate, he immediately commented on my resemblance to Angelina Jolie, so your customer service experience may differ.  But all my questions were answered, and when I tried to use the Wi-Fi later, it worked.  At least I know where to go if I need assistance in the future.
  • Review from

    Dalston, London, UK
    4/22/2011
    I've never used the word aghast in a review, but my visit here last night left me gobsmacked (another word I've never used).  I wanted to buy a bookshelf stereo and liked the fact that this store has floor samples that actually work, unlike nearby BestBuy.

    Unfortunately I had a question, which meant I needed someone with knowledge of said products.  After waiting 10 minutes for a salesman to wander in the vicinity, I found a guy helping a customer in the TV section.  He was busy, but asked the other salesperson to help... the other salesperson who happened to be kicked back in a comfy chair, watching basketball.  After a lengthy wait (it must have finally been half time), salesman 2 eventually got up, sauntered over to the stereo section, and without a greeting or grunt, listened to my question.

    His reply, "I don't know."  And he stood there staring at the component as if it were the monolith in 2001.  I tried to clarify the question, which was simply about the ability to plug in other components, and he remained dumfounded.  Then he pointed at one of those ugly-ass over-pimped boom boxes on another shelf and suggested I buy that instead.

    Steering him back to the actual system of interest, I asked if there were someone else there with some knowledge of electronics, since it didn't seem to be required knowledge for working in a consumer electronics store.

    His response:  "I don't know.  You should go up front and ask."  Then he walks off, goes back to the TV area, and starts watching the game again, yawning and checking his watch.  Huh?

    So I did trek up front to find another salesperson who turned out to be friendly and helpful - and I was happy with my purchase, though not the experience of Mr. I Don't Know.
  • Review from

    Torrance, CA
    2/15/2009 First to Review
    Walked in here looking for a microwave. They have a good amount of appliances in their store that competitively rivals Best Buy which is two blocks down. Microwaves for about $40 which seem pretty high quality.

    A lot of other specialty appliances as well.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 3 reviews
    Brooklyn, NY
    3/13/2013
    We purchase the high-end appliances for our client from PC Richard & Son on West 23rd Street. Silvio Cortez has been very helpful, professional, knowledgeable  and efficient, since the moment we selected the appliances through the delivery to the client. I would definitely recommend to conduct your next purchase of appliances with Silvio's assistance.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 33 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    7/8/2012
    I am a little surprised to be writing a 5-star review. In my mind, I had considered PC Richards as only slightly better than one of those shady discount stores on 14th Street that sells grey-market, fell-of-back-of-truck, refurbished-as-new items to an unsuspecting public. Perhaps the few times I'd walked into the PC Richards Store on 14th Street, with very unhelpful sales associates and merchandise on the shelves that appeared to be quite damaged, had helped to reinforce my initial impressions.

    But then I needed to buy a new range and microwave, and since Bloom & Krups closed, pickings seemed slim. So after visiting Home Depot across the street, I decided to give the 23rd Street PC Richards a chance. I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice showroom (particularly upstairs for higher-end kitchen appliances), and helpful sales people. Though quite busy too...it was a little hard to get some attention, though as I was in a hurry I didn't push it.

    I wasn't convinced until I returned home and did a little research; among the usual negative reviews for appliance stores (every store I could think of...) I found a number of people reporting positive experiences on the blogs at http://gardenweb.com, which I usually find a very reliable source of information. So I took the plunge, returned, and had an amazingly positive experience. The sales person was quite helpful -- though she preferred a different range than the one I had extensively researched and decided on, she did helpfully steer me toward what turned out to be a very-much-better microwave. She set up a quick delivery for 3 days later, and I walked out a happy camper.

    Now a few days after installation, I am just as happy. The installation turned out to be a nightmare; whoever had done the original work in our kitchen was apparently completely incompetent. Who the hell uses industrial strength glue to attach a range to the cabinets? Our did...among other things. But 3 hours later, the delivery guys had managed to get everything installed despite many obstacles.

    So a few minor caveats -- enough that I might have said 4 stars, except that if I were grading on a curve, we'd be at 5+ stars. Like another reviewer mentioned, we weren't given any time window for delivery, but that is so completely standard among companies like this that I can't downgrade PC Richards for that. We were able to call the morning of delivery and get a 4-hour time window, at least. [We ended up being the 2nd-to-last delivery for the day, and with the extra time invokved, I can't imagine that the person after us was quite as happy with the experience as we were.]

    And although I knew from my research that I would probably need a back filler panel for the range, I completely forgot about it at the store and the sales person didn't really ask enough about what we were doing to know that we'd need one.  Getting ahold of the sales associate via phone after the range was delivered to find out which of the two possible items we needed was difficult (as I mentioned, they can be a little busy), but in the end it all worked out (though by not having it delivered with the range, it will require self-installation, which is not a huge deal, but also not the best of all possible worlds).

    Also, I'd be troubled buying a small electronics item here due to their no-return policy.

    Hopefully I won't be needed other large appliances in the future...but if I do, I'm glad to know where I can go.
  • Review from

    • 16 friends
    • 42 reviews
    Manhattan, NY
    1/23/2012
    Never have I had this level of professionalism in NYC. They KNOW CUSTOMER SERVICE. So refreshing to have sales professionals who place customer needs before their own. The 4 people I encountered were a PLEASURE. Will try to get all my appliance needs met there!! Thanks guys!

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