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[Hero]

I can't believe we're 60 posts in and the thread isn't discussing the Forbes firing squad article on Best Buy last year

Yeah, Best Buy is going to die a slow death. Even 5 years ago when I worked for them they were scared shitless of Wal-mart.

I also had a BB employee refuse to sell me the Ghostbusters game on release day. Nevermind the fact that I showed him the store ad, that I had grabbed near the front door, that said "Available Tuesday at 12pm" in an highlighted area. He went to the storeroom and proceeded to tell me it wasn't the release day.

Did you punch him in the face? Or at least get a manager and show them the ad? I don't take shit from retail pawns. The squeaky wheel always gets the oil.

 

[TimeKillr]

Anyone know what happens in Canada? It is idiotic having a Future Shop next to a Best Buy. I assume those are going away.

It's actually not idiotic at all!

They create their own competition. They are both owned by the same company, so what it does is it encourages people to shop around two "different stores" which are in fact owned by the same company. No matter what happens, they profit.

 

[Windu]

i understand that these mobile stores require less employees and retail space but is building dedicated stores for an industry where people only buy these things every two years a good idea? It's not like they are the carrier or manufacturer of these things either. Just don't see how a dedicated retail store for this stuff is a good idea when you are not the carrier/manufacturer and all the money comes from accessories which can be found at normal retail stores.

Anyway, what they should be doing is trying to improve their online business.

 

[SoulPlaya]

Anyone have a list of what stores are closing?

 

[Lazy vs Crazy]

They refund returns in cash never had such a worst experience returning merch other than maybe Warlmart

Wait what? You are angry about getting money back for returning something?

 

[Barrett2]

My Best Buy Experience:

1) Go to any section

2) Can't find item

3) Can't find sales person

4) Go to different section and find sales person

5) Ask sales person for help

6) Sales person goes to computer and looks at bestbuy.com to see if item is in stock

7) Question why I even bothered going to the store instead of shopping online.

THIS every time

 

[ruxtpin]

Did you punch him in the face? Or at least get a manager and show them the ad? I don't take shit from retail pawns. The squeaky wheel always gets the oil.

I did. They flat out refused because the 360 game case had one of those, "Don't sell before so and so date." It wasn't the same date as their advertising page.

Edit: lol - Let me correct myself, I did not punch the guy in the face BUT I did show the manager the ad.

 

[megashock5]

They refund returns in cash never had such a worst experience returning merch other than maybe Warlmart

On two separate occasions I had them refund a manufacturer's coupon as cash when I returned an item. Not complaining, but that's really odd. Usually you're just out the coupon.

 

[ThisWreckage]

Yeah, Best Buy is going to die a slow death. Even 5 years ago when I worked for them they were scared shitless of Wal-mart.

I've got news for you: everyone is scared shitless of Wal Mart. Everyone. Grocery stores. Pharmacies. You name it.

 

[Htown]

Step 5 Listen to manager throw a hissy fit when I don't want to give them my email/phone number because I don't want their spam and they have no other reason to have it.

This is not necessarily true, by the way. For any company that keeps any sort of customer information, it's a lot easier for them to keep track by using a unique identifier (like an email address or phone number) than it is for them to have to search through all the John Smiths that live in your city. Take it from a guy who had to do returns for a long time for people who didn't have their paper receipts: it's way easier to find someone in a system by their phone number than it is to find them by their first and last name. By an order of magnitude.

You may not want to give the information to them, and that's fine, but realize that unless you're going to memorize the internal customer number their database gives you for the next time you come in, there are valid reasons for them to ask for the information.

 

[RustyNails]

Should've just fired Geeksquad employees.

 

[Seraphis Cain]

I've never actually been to a Best Buy. Ordered stuff from them online before. Took forever to arrive, too.

Still, sad news for the people getting laid off.

 

[maliedoo]

hey Best Buy, how about you lower your prices and stop hiring douchebags who think they know more than everyone else.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

hey Best Buy, how about you lower your prices and stop hiring douchebags who think they know more than everyone else.

you only can get so much quality when you basically hire only part-timers at just barely over minimum wage. and really, I don't know of any brick and mortar that can compete with amazon. just the nature of the B&M.

 

[roodiculous]

I can't believe we're 60 posts in and the thread isn't discussing the Forbes firing squad article on Best Buy last year

Completely nailed it. I can hardly remember going to Best Buy and probably won't step into one in the foreseeable future. You can thank Amazon Prime and its amazing return policy for that.

 

[ThisWreckage]

you only can get so much quality when you basically hire only part-timers at just barely over minimum wage. and really, I don't know of any brick and mortar that can compete with amazon. just the nature of the B&M.

This is a huge fucking problem with retail. People demand top notch service, but would you care about your job if you didn't have benefits, had to put up with an entitlement culture, couldn't move up, worked part time, and made no money? There's got to be some give somewhere.

 

[LosDaddie]

Should've just fired Geeksquad employees.

Geek Squad and their HOme Theater installation division are most likely their most-profitable sectors. The profit margins for TVs, games, movies, etc are all very slim.

 

[Uno Venova]

Had nothing but good experiences with them, fast in store pickup, clean. This is a shame.

 

[ruxtpin]

This is a huge fucking problem with retail. People demand top notch service, but would you care about your job if you didn't have benefits, had to put up with an entitlement culture, couldn't move up, worked part time, and made no money? There's got to be some give somewhere.

I agree, but I think problems arise when you have the working environment that BestBuy perpetuates - where those underpaid PT employees are trained with the motto, "If you want a job tomorrow go out there and move our overpriced shit." I know it's a different environment, however fast-food employees are typically working PT and don't get paid much at all, but they're not creaming their pants if I upgrade to a large fries with my cheeseburger.

 

[ThisWreckage]

I agree, but I think problems arise when you have the working environment that BestBuy perpetuates - where those underpaid PT employees are trained with the motto, "If you want a job tomorrow go out there and move our overpriced shit." I know it's a different environment, but fast-food employees are typically working PT and don't get paid much at all, but they're not creaming their pants if I upgrade to a large fries with my cheeseburger.

Most retail employees I know are harassed by upper management to upsell random bullshit to customers so the fat cats can pad their pockets even more. They're even given quotas.

 

[Ken Masters]

BB employees are the opposite of Apple (retail) employees, they have no knowledge so almost always have to call someone else (which takes forever) or they go on best buy.com (which I can do myself).


A classic Best Buy experience for me was when I asked an employee a question and they went to look up the answer on google right in front me, I just stood there dumbfounded


Goodbye BB, you won't be missed, I look forward to your video game sales while you head towards bankruptcy

 

[Prologue]

Maybe I'm being a bit naive but if the average consumer isn't buying electronics at Best Buy, then where are they buying it?

 

[Buxaroo]

Too much of the general populace still really doesn't like to buy things online, and there is always the instant gratification of leaving a store with an item.

Circuit City will shrink and restructure, but it's not going anywhere.

 

[ruxtpin]

Most retail employees I know are harassed by upper management to upsell random bullshit to customers so the fat cats can pad their pockets even more. They're even given quotas.

Yeah, I worked Domino's phones for 2 years when I was younger and was always prodded to "upsell" extra items, but I never felt like my job was threatened if I didn't get to tack a 2-liter or some bread-sticks on an order. I think a business can upsell product AND still treat it's customers well. In BestBuy's case, and in my experience, they try to upsell at the cost of treating the customer well.

 

[Lazy vs Crazy]

Maybe I'm being a bit naive but if the average consumer isn't buying electronics at Best Buy, then where are they buying it?

Walmart.

 

[IndieJones]

Did you punch him in the face? Or at least get a manager and show them the ad? I don't take shit from retail pawns. The squeaky wheel always gets the oil.

LOL, (internet) Hero indeed.

 

[Piercedveil]

But if I need my computer fixed, who is going to reboot it for me?

 

[ThisWreckage]

Yeah, I worked Domino's phones for 2 years when I was younger and was always prodded to "upsell" extra items on an order, but I never felt like my job was threatened if I didn't get to tack a 2-liter or some bread-sticks on an order. I think a business can still try to upsell product AND still treat it's customer well. In BestBuy's case, and in my experience, they try to upsell at the cost of treating the customer well.

I work for a pharmacy and not only do I have to hound customers, but even the head pharmacist is reduced to such a thing. Our upsell item of the month next month is gummy bears. I'm not shitting you.

 

[TheMan]

online is great in many respects (especially for books, games, and things that don't need to be "tested"), but sometimes you need the instant gratification of walking into a store and walking out with what you wanted within 20 minutes. Plus, i like being able to return items and get them replaced/refunded immediately.

 

[ruxtpin]

I work for a pharmacy and not only do I have to hound customers, but even the head pharmacist is reduced to such a thing. Our upsell item of the month next month is gummy bears. I'm not shitting you.

lol - I read that and pictured Dr Spaceman from 30 Rock trying to get me to buy some different colored pills, "We got some purple ones, green ones... What's your favorite color?"

 

[MightyHealthy]

Waiting for the list. I got a Best Buy that's close to me that I like. Usually drop by there for clearance games. It would suck if it got closed down. It gets tons of business, though.

 

[Kinitari]

BB employees are the opposite of Apple (retail) employees, they have no knowledge so almost always have to call someone else (which takes forever) or they go on best buy.com (which I can do myself).


A classic Best Buy experience for me was when I asked an employee a question and they went to look up the answer on google right in front me, I just stood there dumbfounded


Goodbye BB, you won't be missed, I look forward to your video game sales while you head towards bankruptcy

You really need to give people who work in retail more credit. It's usually one person in at a time per department now with all the restructuring, maybe two - and these people are expected to know the intricacies of everything in their particular department? Google is their best friend. I get asked for example the length of a cable on a gaming headset that doesn't have it written on the box. How am I supposed to know that? I Google it.

 

[pxleyes]

I'm going to get killed for saying this, but I had a really nice experience at the revamped CompUSA in town. It felt like a B&M NewEgg based on its selection and prices. I needed a new power supply on the spot and they not only had what I needed in stock, but the price was identical to NewEgg. Maybe it was an anomaly, but I would love to keep a retail store around where I can get parts when I need them in a pinch.

 

[Mr. B Natural]

I don't like BestBuy; however, this leads to pretty much nobody left. Now what? Amazon and online is nice but they don't provide the obvious advantages of going to somewhere and at least seeing, hearing, etc what you're buying. It also is going to hurt the product awareness of technology significantly for your average consumer.

Hopefully somebody willing to do retail justice will take BB's place, but I doubt it.

 

[FLEABttn]

You really need to give people who work in retail more credit. It's usually one person in at a time per department now with all the restructuring, maybe two - and these people are expected to know the intricacies of everything in their particular department?

There's a customer service failing, regardless of who is at fault, when the people in charge of knowing about something don't know about it.

 

[Windu]

I don't like BestBuy; however, this leads to pretty much nobody left. Now what? Amazon and online is nice but they don't provide the obvious advantages of going to somewhere and at least seeing, hearing, etc what you're buying. It also is going to hurt the product awareness of technology significantly for your average consumer.

Hopefully somebody willing to do retail justice will take BB's place, but I doubt it.

if there is a need for a local store, it will be filled. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[ameratsu]

There's a customer service failing, regardless of who is at fault, when the people in charge of knowing about something don't know about it.

Sorry but this is BS. As someone who worked at best buy, it is impossible to know everything about every product, especially when new products come in weekly. While it's true that some employees are clueless, you really do get a lot of questions, some of which you don't know the answer to. If employees use the resources at their disposal to find an answer in a timely fashion they are doing their job.

 

[sangreal]

I'm going to get killed for saying this, but I had a really nice experience at the revamped CompUSA in town. It felt like a B&M NewEgg based on its selection and prices. I needed a new power supply on the spot and they not only had what I needed in stock, but the price was identical to NewEgg. Maybe it was an anomaly, but I would love to keep a retail store around where I can get parts when I need them in a pinch.

Well, it is a B&M tigerdirect, isn't it?

 

[Husker86]

Ummm, Best Buy does have an internal inventory system, it's called RSS. What are you all talking about that employees check the website for inventory?

It wasn't my favorite job because of management only looking at numbers, but I enjoyed working there and know I helped a lot of people.

But I haven't been in the store since I quit over 2 years ago.

 

[FLEABttn]

Sorry but this is BS.

No, it's customer service failing. If there's a guy who can't answer how and why one TV is better than another, or what the particular differences there are between iOS and Android, or why two nearly identical refrigerators are $100 different in price, why am I going to buy the thing? If you can get the question quickly, great, but if all that amounts if is "Uh, come over here and let me google that for you...uh, contrast ratio is...uh...well...the higher the better" then your customer service sucks.

You can't know every product, and given how thin Best Buy spreads out their customer service staff, I'm not surprised. It's not the employees fault that Best Buy isn't giving them the tools and resources and manpower to better answer questions, but that's still a customer service failing (not in the "customer service agent" sense, but the "customer service concept" sense).

 

[ThisWreckage]

There's a customer service failing, regardless of who is at fault, when the people in charge of knowing about something don't know about it.

No one is perfect and you're demanding a wealth of knowledge. Customers should definitely ask questions, but they shouldn't walk in completely blind and ignorant either.

 

[pxleyes]

Well, it is a B&M tigerdirect, isn't it?

I think that is what they amount to now.

 

[SpecX]

Sucks for those losing their jobs. I haven't been in a Best buy for at least a year now. If I want to go to a B&M electronics store, I always end up going to Fry's which is an hour drive away, but I have family near it which we will visit as well to make the trip worth it. Otherwise I shop exclusively at Amazon for my electronic needs. I always preferred Circuit City when they were around and the one we had near us was way better than BB.

 

[exarkun]

Best Buy has cut down on the stuff they stock in store, which realllly puts me red in the face when I see they have it online but when I go to the store they don't have it.

Then sometimes I need something really, really quickly and just say fuck it and go to bestbuy to get it quickly (despite the obvious mark-up in cost) and they WON'T HAVE THE SIMPLEST shit (popular laptop batters, chargers or electrical cords). They have downsized their in-store inventory to the point that its almost exactly the same stuff that Walmart (and Sears lol).

Which begs the question, why even go there. They did it to themselves.

 

[GungHo]

Most retail employees I know are harassed by upper management to upsell random bullshit to customers so the fat cats can pad their pockets even more. They're even given quotas.

You mean you don't really need to buy $100 HDMI cables to get an HD picture?

 

[Ryaaan14]

I like Best Buy. It's where I buy my games.

This.

Sad news.

 

[sc0la]

Somewhere in Amazon HQ, Jeff Bezos is ejaculating.

You say "somewhere" like the ejacucave doesn't have a name.

 

[LuchaShaq]

This is not necessarily true, by the way. For any company that keeps any sort of customer information, it's a lot easier for them to keep track by using a unique identifier (like an email address or phone number) than it is for them to have to search through all the John Smiths that live in your city. Take it from a guy who had to do returns for a long time for people who didn't have their paper receipts: it's way easier to find someone in a system by their phone number than it is to find them by their first and last name. By an order of magnitude.

You may not want to give the information to them, and that's fine, but realize that unless you're going to memorize the internal customer number their database gives you for the next time you come in, there are valid reasons for them to ask for the information.

I had my paper receipt. There is no valid non information selling/spamming me reason for wanting so much personal info.

Since retail jackasses throw a fit when I don't want to give them my name/number/email/address I just started giving them fake ones for all three different every time.

It's easier now because the only thing I buy in person is food 99% of the time. If retail places weren't such dicks about wanting my info non stop maybe I wouldn't avoid them like the fucking plague.

 

[JGS]

Yeah, I worked Domino's phones for 2 years when I was younger and was always prodded to "upsell" extra items, but I never felt like my job was threatened if I didn't get to tack a 2-liter or some bread-sticks on an order. I think a business can upsell product AND still treat it's customers well. In BestBuy's case, and in my experience, they try to upsell at the cost of treating the customer well.

Honestly, this may be impacting my pleasant experiences there. I have never been upsold at Best Buy beyond the extended warranty at the cash register. This is across multiple Best Buys in a few states.

They may say something like Monster cables are the best, but never in an intrusive way. I imagine i would hate them too if they were similar to Gamestop or a car dealer.

 

[ronito]

Did I misread that? They're closing 50 stores but only laying off 8 employess per closed store? Or am I wrong?