Another wasted trip to Best Buy has gotten me riled up enough to write this post. It’s not a situation that’s singularly theirs, but they do seem to specialize in it … or almost as much as Home Depot, who I thought was the master of this error in advertising.
Here’s how it started -
I grab the Sunday paper and look for bargains in the ad inserts and circulars. Target has a great looking gizmo that toasts muffins, cooks eggs and re-heats my bacon. Looks like a great way to make my own breakfast sandwich and not have to fight the lines at the fast food places.
I drive over, walk in and grab one, head for the checkout and am gone in 60 seconds.
No problems.
Then to the Best Buy, that happens to be about 100 feet away, but eons behind in customer satisfaction.
The circular had a Wacom Graphire4 tablet that i’ve been wanting to get for a certain daughter and her fabulous mother. Both of them are really, really good with Photoshop and this will be a great addition to their arsenal.
I notice that CompUSA has it listed for $99, but it would have to wait til I get to Louisville later this week, as we don’t have a CompUSA.
Best Buy has listed it for $105, $6 more, but who would care about $6 measley dolars when you can get it now.
But wait ! It’s on sale at Best Buy for $69 ! I run over to grab one and think that the savings will pay for the sandwich machine. Cool ! Kinda like a 2-for1 deal.
Except that they don’t seem to have one on the shelves.
I’ll try to flag down one of the dozens of the denizens in blue who seem to congregate in 2′s and 3′s talking to ….uh, each other, not customers.
I look for one of them not using this herd mentality. Kinda like one that the wolves would look for. Culled from the herd because he’s weak.
I find him. Tall and has that mouth that continually hangs open. Perfect. I’ll trick him into going into the back and finding me one.
He leaves and returns the same way. Empty handed.
No deal dude, he says. Not only do we not have any, we can’t even order them.
He does mention that a whopping 2 are scheduled to come in this week on one of the two trucks that bring replenishments.
What day do those trucks come, I ask.
I have no idea, dude, he says.
I kinda knew that already.
I leave thinking these few simple things -
1) Do those who create ads have any way to see if it’s worth wasting the ad space on an item ? If you have 6 items spread out over 50 stores, don’t bother putting it in the circular.
2) Have they thought of putting something on sale that they have a lot of and need to move, instead of clearing out just a few items and pissing off those that get the same feeling that I got ?
3) Can they offer to find a store that has some inventory and have the item shipped to where they’re needed ? Think about it. There may be no need for these in New Jersey, but 100 people in Kentucky that want them.
4) Does any other electronics store habitually fare any worse with this type of situation ?
5) Is there any way to get more than one checkout lane open and have fewer blue-clad talkers talking to each other ?
I hate going to Best Buy just because they always have dozens of blue-shirts doing a lot of chit-chatting, but there’s ALWAYS a long line to checkout and only one lane open.
And that dude at the door who watches his fellow employee put my stuff in the bag and then wants to check my register receipt … get rid of him or put him in a lane that has a register, so he can actually accomplish something besides making me feel like you don’t trust me.
Anybody else want to jump on this train ?
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{ 128 comments… read them below or add one }
I live in GA and my nearest Best Buy is EXACTLY the same way. Employees standing in herds, etc. But I love the store. I’m a “tech geek” though, so thats understandable.
Well now I know it’s impossible to quickly stop a train when it’s got a whole head of steam, but slow down there, Mike!
It’s like I tell the people who complain about our CRM software, sometimes it’s the software, sometimes it’s the humanware.
Last week I linked to Mary Sullivan’s blog about how great Best Buy is.
http://www.allbusiness.com/sales/customer-service/10783-1.html?postId=008075
(Sorry, not that good w/ HTML.) Since then I’ve gone in there twice, once to buy my kids a computer, once to pick it up. No problems either time. The second time I made a purchase, on the 2nd Saturday before Xmas, there was NO line.(And the store was packed.)
Now, I do agree with you about the advertised item. And I agree that the Blue Shirts frequently stand around talking to each other. But 90% of the time I’ve asked for assistance they met my needs.
You may have run into a humanware problem here where the store management is at fault. But, that’s not a problem at my store or at the store mentioned in the post I linked to.
I most heartedly agree with you about their unwillingness to order it from another store. They can definitely improve on that. Perhaps they should reverse that policy, then market it as “Dude, we can definitely get that for you!”
Regards,
Glenn
Thanks Adrian. I really liked the “Eat Your Veggies” Photoshop work on your blog.
Thanks for a different viewpoint Glenn.
We need that around here to balance out my views, which are sometimes blogged about without much care for the other sides view.
I’ve shopped at Best Buy hundreds of times, as I’m a tech and gadget geek.
Maybe the store was packed and there was no line because the people couldn’t find what they were looking for … OR they came in to get an item in the circular, but there were none available.
I’ve always seen the blue-shirts in packs. And I’m of the persuasion that if they worked for me, they’d be asking people if they needed help, not waiting for people to ask for help.
In fact, I might have them line up at the front of the store and ask you as you walked in if you needed help.
When they finished with you, I’d have them come get another customer and help them buy something.
My store would sell way more than any store they now have.
Guaranteed.
Thanks for keeping me honest and for ALWAYS adding to the conversation around here.
We value your business and appreciate your views.
I actually had a good experience with Best Buy on Saturday in St. Louis.
I went in, ad in hand, to buy a four handset telephone system.
When I took it to the counter, the price came up as $169.00 plus tax.
“That’s not the Sale Price,” I informed the checker as I showed her the ad.
“This must be Saturday’s ad from the paper and the sale doesn’t start till tomorrow, Sunday,” she countered.
“I hope I don’t have to come back for that price,” I went on.
She called over a manager, and of course, I was ready for a fight.
He looked it over, and without hesitation said, “Gas is expensive. We’ll give you the sale price.”
This was a $30.00 savings, which I thought to be significant.
It’s a shame that he had to be called over and the front line person can’t make that decision by themselves.
You have a great idea about Blue Shirts who aren’t busy, helping customers. Perhaps some retailers will read this and follow your advice.
BTW, it was exactly the kind of experience you described that motivated me to blog about customer service.
And despite all of the bad word of mouth Radio Shack got recently, I’ve had great experiences at “mine” as well.
Consistency–That’s the ticket!
Regards,
Glenn
Regards,
Glenn
Thanks for that happy ending Fred. I may have to move to St. Louis … we’re all Cardinals fans anyway ! Go Redbirds !
It’s great to see common sense win out over a piece of paper.
Thanks for stopping by and for taking time to comment.
Hey Glenn, I didn’t know there were still any Radio Shacks in existence.
Let’s hope my ending is as happy as yours and Fred’s.
Mike, I have the ultimate Best Buy experience here. http://www.fromthepen.com/issue120.html
OMG ! You clearly outdid me there BTD.
Best Buy and all the other retailers and fast-food establishments all have to use these brain-dead text-messagers for the bulk of their workforce.
That’s one reason I find smaller, out-of-the-way, niche shops to get most of the items I need.
I hate fast-food and retail just because of their need to use gum chewing, text-messaging, non-reading, ill-educated, immature idiots.
The best part will be when they hit adulthood and haven’t gotten any better.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. “Best Buy” does not equal “Best Customer Service.” You nailed it on the head about the blue shirts congregating and chatting amongst themselves. I have been to three different Best Buy stores near where I live and the modus operandi of these schmucks is the same: jabberjabberjabber – oh customer is seeing me – “what can i do for you?” ummm, no we don’t have that … jabberjabberjabber. So, I shop online now. I avoid the long lines and the poor service all together.
Thanks for joining in Seshu.
I’d rather just shop somewhere else myself.
This has a lot to do with store management.
It sounds like you’ve had a bad experience with a particular location. Luckily, the store I shop at offers up great customer service and I know a couple of sales managers by name, too.
That’s my 2c.
Thanks for a comment to balance out the coverage Scot.
Wish I was so lucky !
BestBuy… HQ in Minneapolis. Call me what you want but I think People from Minneapolis are @$$’s. They dont care about anyone but themself and if they can make a dollar doing it even better. I currently live in Des Moines where we are dominated by 3 best buys (one is the largest in the USA) against one CompUSA. I am 20 years old and have had to work with the Idiot text messagers you talk about trust me I know and I fired them when ever I could. It seems all companys from Mnpls, MN just have poor business eithics Northwest.. come on anyone who has been on this airline knows what im talking about. Target is getting better. Best Buy is still worthless. Here is why I dont go there anymore.
1) I bought a sterio when i was in high school with a REPLACEMENT plan. a few years later it broke so i took it in and they told me “because its over 2 years my 4 year plan would only repair it.” I was pissed off being lied to but it my word against theirs so i said ok whatever fix it. TWO MONTHS later i get a call saying its in. I go to pick it up and after waiting 45minutes for them to find it they present it to me with a huge cash accross the screen and missing buttons. I was furious i told them I would not accept it they told me i gave it to them like that… did it go to phillips to get fixed no it went the best buy repair facility in uh oh MINNEAPOLIS this was also frustrating as i was told that Phillips would fix it. I filed a complaint with the manager and online… today 3 years later no response.
2) First week of college my buddy needs a PDA so i go with him to get him one. We got BB #1 they tell us its no in stock but #2 has it… we drive accross town and oops their bad its actually #3 that has it. We go to store #3 (now have commuted for well over an hour) the one unit they have is a display unit (not told to us from other stores) they offer us a 10% discount. Ok whatever not like we have options oh but wait its missing the USB adaptor… they refuse to discount anymore but offer us a Bluetooth adaptor to replace it we say ok as we check out the Bluetooth scans as 59.99 i go umm wait thats not right. The kid (one of the really top notch ones SARCASIM) says “oh i didnt mean it would be free i just said I could sell it to ya.” Whats more is the manager backed him up on this… I the customer have to pay more money for a bluetooth adaptor because best buy and its elite staff can seem to keep track of a usb cable. We drove to CompUSA we got the unit new told them about our ordeal and they matched the 10% even without proof, and the compusa unit was opened. That is good business… your customers are mad at the competitor you give em a lil money off to make them smile (and kick the competition when their down
)
Thanks for the comment James. I can’t say that I disagree with you on any of that, as I’ve had several really poor experiences with BB.
I would love to tell you of our experience my wife and I add with the Big Blue Box (Best Buy). Trust me if I would have know of your Web site I would have heeded the warnings and advice of others that have had just horrible experience with Best Buy.
Well here goes:
My wife and I decided to take some of our Tax Return to buy us a new Washer, and Dryer. Well as usual we went to BB as we have done for in the last (9) years to buy all of our Big Price appliance items, as we have bought our (3) Desktop Computers, (2) Refrigerator, (1) Dishwasher, (2) TV’s (3) DVD Player’s, (2) VCR’s, (3) Surround Sound Systems…. etc…well you get the picture, close to $10,000.00 over those (9) years.
Things seem to go smoothly with the purchase of both of them till the arraigning of the FREE delivery that was with the package deal. But the sales person worked out the glitches an made the delivery on Wed’s the 14th of February in the late afternoon. I informed the sales person that we had some serious plans made, and could they arraign it before or after the 14th. “No” was the reply that it was the only day they could make the delivery. Well ok I said, “but let’s make sure it happens”. No problem was the reply; a they would call us the night before to confirm the time in the afternoon. “Great”, I said, let’s do it.
The night of the 13th we waited till around 9pm for their call. Nothing, no call. So I called the store a talked to the sale person that sold us the Washer/Dryer, and asked when they would be delivered. I waited on hold for over 20 minutes. Finally I called back and asked for the Manager on Duty. Waited other 10 minutes till he came on the line. I explained the situation to him; he stated he would check into this. After other 10 minutes he game back on the line. He stated that the Order for delivery was CANCELLED and that there was not going to be a delivery. Well my jaw dropped to the floor. “What the Hell was going on”, I asked, I know we didn’t cancel the order for delivery. I informed him of this and said this was not acceptable and that they would need to make the delivery as promised and that we would not be available for any other day. And why the Hell had this had happen. After waiting for other 15 minutes on the phone he finally came back on with “ it will be delivered tomorrow between 4pm an 6pm” OK I said great. As I was about to thank him he hung up, without an apology of any kind, or any explanation of what was going on? Well this should have clued me into Best Buy’s customer service policy of SCREW’EM AN LOSES’EM. Well as promise they did deliver the machines on time, but not with out some hassles there too.
Where comes the good part:
The following week my wife an I decided to buy a new laptop computer, and of course BB was having a Package Deal on a Toshiba laptop with Windows Vista installed and also with Mini mouse, and carrying case. This sounded great, and in our price arrange too. So we went into the Store and as usual we had to hunt down someone in the computer department to help us with the purchase. After finding a fresh Snot Nose Narcissistic Kid barely out of high school to help us, we decided to ask a few questions about the New Windows Vista system. We wanted to know if this laptop would be able to communicate with the other (3) computers we have in our home running Windows XP? And would it work with our Linksys Network Router System? And will we be able to share files, and to use our Lexmark Printer with this new Windows Vista, and our Network? “ Well of course it would…was his reply, with no problems. “ Well with that, and the blind trust I put in people we bought the laptop, and the extended service plan. And back home with our new toy.
Well we got it home and started to set it up, and everything was going as smooth as silk till we tried to set up the Network to share files/folders with the other computers, and the printer. Now I am not illiterate when it comes to computers, nor am I an expert, but I knew something was a miss, and something was not right. Well it was late and we decided to wait till the morning to finish the setup.
The following day was the Worst Frkin Nightmare I have had in 35 years (showing my age of 55) of dealing with any big business, and of course the worst day I ever had with Best Buy.
I kept trying to make the Laptop communicate with the Network, and my other (3) computers. I would keep getting a Microsoft Windows Error of “not finding a Network”. After spending an hour on their web site I could find nothing, so I called them. I spent over 45 minutes waiting; finally I spoke to someone about the problem (because I thought since it was a Windows Error the would be able to help) no such luck. They said I would need to contact Toshiba about this since this was an OEM (original equipment manufacture) problem, and not theirs. “Great” Called Toshiba, nothing, this were their service person informs me that the new Windows Vista program will not work with the network, router, a printer if my other (3) computers are running Windows XP. “HOLY COW POOP”. This was Frkin Peachy. Toshiba suggested to call Best Buy to see what they can do for me, buy asking someone there if they could help set up the network to communicate with the other computers. Sounded like sense. So I did.
So I called the Big Blue Box (BB) and spoke to same manager I had dealt with on the delivery problem. Wow that was the most stupid mistake I ever made. This manager was the biggest “D**K” I ever spoke to. I calmly explained the problem to him, an how I was led to believe that there would be no problem with this Laptop running Windows Vista to work with my computers, network, and printer. He told me point blank told me that his sales person would have “never would have told me such a thing”. God I was outraged, not only was He calling me a Liar but also it was quite clear that this worthless manager was not going to help me at all. I asked to speak to his Boss, (the store manager) SHE was not there. Then I asked how to get in contact with his District manager…. guess what…that’s right, he refused to give me that info also stating he did not know how, an even if he did he would not give me that info, because all customer concerns, and problems are handled at the store level, and that this problem did not warrant any further attention. What a worthless piece of human waste. I asked what was the name of his store manager, at first he was very hesitant, and then he gave me her name.
Well for the next (4) days I spent calling the Best Buy customer service line, (what a gd**n joke this is), calling their Corp Office, calling their District office, trying to get someone to listen and care about my problem. Again No-one gave a Royal flying Rats Ass about what was going on. Only to inform me that all the customer relation problems needs are handle at the Store Level. “My God, don’t they understand that here in lies the problem the Store Management and the rotten little peckerhead that sold me the Laptop. “NO>>>HELL NO”. So after nearly going to the Hospital because on my Blood Pressure I decided to give it up. Knowing that Best Buy had SCREWED ME IN THE A** AND NEVER USED ANY TYPE OF LUBE TO EASE THE PAIN. Then out of the Blue the lousy Store Manager called an gave me the lamest apology I ever heard but still would not help me with my problem only offering to send out the GEEK Squad to make my Laptop work with my other computers, an network. But of course this would cost me other $200.00 for their service. God what kind of sick joke these folks live under, what kind of CON-Game they are playing on the costumer, what kind of people believe they would have me come BEST BUY GO TO HELL YOU ROTTEN MOTHER*******, back an waste my money in their store after this kind of Bull S**t.
God I pray, and beg anyone reading this not to buy your need’s at Best Buy, they will Lie, Cheat, an screw you up the behind so hard, that you will see stars. If any one reading this and still believes they will get good service from BB, all you will get is a Stroke.
Thanks for that review Ric.
Sorry you had to endure the pain known as BB.
May you find peace at another store.
You’re all to idealistic, these are companies out to make money, so to get an item from a store somewhere else is going to cost them money, sometimes I’m sure it’s to a point they would make no money or possibly lose some… that doesn’t make much sense. I can say if you have a bad time, it is probably because of those individuals that you come into contact with, not because of the company entity known as Best Buy… people get too angry with associates sometimes when they can only deal with the cards dealt them. and be realistic, they aren’t paying their non-commissioned employee’s enough to go stark raving hyper customer service drowns, they aren’t gonna wipe your ass for you, some of the in stock issues.. well, it’s a national ad, they can’t spend time checking if all their locations have all the stock, hell not all stores even have the same items that the regularly stock. cut your expectations, this is a retail world filled with smart helpful people, and dumb irritating jack asses…. that’s people, that’s all places.
Thanks for your input Stuart.
I hope I never feel that way.
I hope my employees never feel that way.
I hope I never give in to mediocrity.
I wish you never gave in, but it sounds like you did, long ago.
Maybe in Goose Creek or Charleston they’re just a little more laid back than is good for you.
Stop by again soon.
Mike it just sounds like you were having a bad day and really possibly needed to get a life. As you can see the positive remarks outweigh the negative. I work for Circuit City and I deal with customers like you all the time. I bet you you were not even there first thing in the morning which means that somebody beat you to the punch. Sorry Dude but it looks like your not gonna get your little pad.
Hey Pepe,
What freakin’ positive comments are you reading ?
I don’t see any, in fact all I see is people who agree that people agree with me, except for a few others who are worthless to customers and are just there suckin’ up a paycheck.
Mike Sigers,
“In fact, I might have them line up at the front of the store and ask you as you walked in if you needed help. When they finished with you, I’d have them come get another customer and help them buy something.”
That is a terrible idea!!! The blue shirt army at Best Buy drives me absolutely NUTS when I go in there. I hate going to Best Buy specifically for that reason. They swarm me and repeatedly ask me if I need something. If I want help, I will find someone to help me. I sooooo hate to be bothered when I’m shopping.
Thanks for that info Jon. I’m just the opposite.
I make my buying decision long before I walk in and would gladly take a guide to help me find the item quickliy and get the heck out of there.
He’s a little story that I’ve experienced the last month. I live in Texas and everything that all of you have posted and commented about Best Buy is true to the last letter. I recently bought a brand new Sharp 37″ LCD HDTV and it looks gorgeous on the display 32″ (same model but I bought the bigger one). Well…I bought the TV on the first week of July…well July the 6th to be exact…a Friday. Well I was told that the tv was backordered so I would have to wait no later than the 29th of this month to get it, but I would also have a good chance of having the tv come in a little sooner like the week before the 29th. So I called in last week on a Monday and was told that the TV would definitely be in on Thursday the 19th of July. As excited as I was since the tv cost around 1700 dollars, I called in that Thursday to make sure it was coming in since I had to borrow a buddies car to pick up the tv. The young lady at the Magnolia Theatre told me that the tv would be coming in on Friday. So I thought to myself, “Hey, doesn’t their trucks come in on Thursday and Saturday’s only?”…well having been going to Best Buy for quite some time I knew that was the days of the trucks coming in, but was lied to about Friday.
With me suspecting that they were lying about the Friday the 20th arrival of my HDTV, I was definitely right. I called in on Friday to see if my tv was ready to be picked up. I was told that the tv would “definitely” be in on the next day, the 21st, a Saturday.
I went on Saturday, knowing that Best Buy would get a truck in…no luck. The tv did not arrive. So I talked to one of the Best Buy employees that worked at the Magnolia center and asked about my tv. He checked and told me that the tv is NOT backordered but is “Allocated” or whatever. I asked him what does that mean, he told me that it means that its not on this Saturday shipment but will be on the next shipment “FOR SURE”!
So I got really frustrated now and got even more irritated when I asked since I have bought the tv almost 3 weeks ago…what happens if I don’t get my tv within the 30 days and it breaks down on me on the first week I actually have my tv? Do I get a chance to bring it back for the 30 day guarantee money-back? NOOOO. The Best Buy guy told me that we don’t do that since you bought the tv on the 6th and if its past the 6th, you can’t refund it. But I told him “Hey I didn’t even get my damn tv yet and I have about a week left, what gives?” The Best Buy guy goes… “I have no idea, but you can’t refund after 30 days of purchase”…
This is bs…
So I was hoping the tv would come in yesterday the 26th of July which is a Thursday…but knowing my share of luck, I didn’t even bother calling them until today to make sure my tv was coming in on the LAST DAY of the listed date of waiting for my tv. I call in today and ask the lady at Magnolia if my tv was coming in for sure tomorrow. She told me she doesn’t know for sure and that the other guys at Magnolia had no clue either. They think that the tv will come in on Monday now…
(OK…this is getting real bs…I am getting really frustrated with Best Buy. A truck coming in on Monday is bs especially for the Best Buy in Texas here. Their Monday shipment truck are for PLASMA TV’s only as stated by the Magnolia employee…so how in the world would I get the damn LCD tv on a Monday the 30th when my maximum waiting time for the tv is the 29th…a SUNDAY)
I dunno, I am getting tired and frustrated that I have spent 1700 dollars on this tv that looks promising and yet I haven’t even seen or used it…I am venting sorry guys, but just wanted to let yall know this situation I had with Best Buy. :/
Sorry about you’re bad experience with them ED, but we all understand, as we have been burned too.
Sooner or later, it will come back to haunt them and their poor track record will take ‘em down and out.
Uh, Maybe I should clarify for some of you being that I am a ex employee of Best Buy.
Let me make this clear, management couldn’t give a shit about anyone that works for them in the stores.
Infact, most of those blue shirted people have ZERO power on what they can offer you. Theres a ton of things that you don’t understand.
I’m even suprised that someone actully went out to the back to check if there was any more items that were on the sales ad.
Theft is a major problem with any business but especially at Best Buy….thats why they have the dude in the front with the yellow shirt checking your bag. No, they don’t trust you. You wouldn’t trust anybody either if it were your store.
If you ran a store like that, I would be a frequent shoftlifer at your store.
That being said, I was suprised that this guy went OUTSIDE of his ZONE to look for something for you in the back. He would get alot of hell to find stolen goods back in the section he was supposed to be looking after.
Also, for some of you that actully look at those sales ads looking for deals. Yes, sometimes they are good. READ THE DISCLAIMERS and USE SOME COMMON SENSE.
OTHER PEOPLE read the ads too, you know. OTHER PEOPLE will BEAT YOU TO IT. Why do you deserve special attention?
Its even funnier when employees have to answer the phone and someone is asking you to go to a shelf and hold items for them…
Let me simply put it this way, guys and girls. Life isn’t fair and you can’t always get what you want. So please stop bitching about sales people. 95% of them don’t even enjoy working there but they continue to because they have bills to pay.
Complain to a manager. Don’t ask the salesperson to call the manager. They get in trouble for that, too. YOU need to physically hound the entire store looking for the guy in the blue shirt and obviously more then 30 years old with a phone at hand. THATS THE MANAGER. That who you want to bitch to.
UNLOAD IT ALL on that guy. Don’t unload it on a 16 year old kid that works there on saturday when he not in school. Also, don’t do it to obvious college students.
Learn to be a smart consumer. Not one that gets employees in alot of heat. Its doesn’t help at all especially when they can’t give you discounts and most of the time they have to offer you service plans for items that don’t need it like telephones or desktop computers.
Let me get a couple of things clear Paul -
1) If I owned the store and ran it like I said, you’d steal from me ?
And after you say something that incredibly stupid, I’m supposed to take you seriously ?
2) I’m not supposed to complain to an employee who is compensated to wait on customers because they’re in college ?
If you take the check on Friday, you have to take the heat on the other days, so whether or not they’re in school should have nothing to do with my buying process.
3) You use a fake email address and a first name and we’re supposed to think you’re the man and know what you’re talking about ?
Get your own blog, write your own posts and then we’ll see if you’re worth listening to.
Thanks for making my day ! Come back soon !
I worked at geek squad for 3 days. Saw first hand at what was going on there. You can’t believe the way I was treated. I don’t have a herd mentality so I didn’t exactly fit in. I enjoy helping customers out of bad situations. Too many times I was told not to help out over the phone. I actually had to whisper for fear of getting caught fixing problems over the phone. Rule of thumb at BB bring the problem in or send GS out. The training there, at least for me, was abysmal. I can’t even get through the phone to find a manager to get my schedule so I’m leaving. I don’t believe the customer is always right (there are some nuts out there) but most of them are right. I saw so many customers losing their tempers in the few days I was there. I am so very disappointed in the whole BB community. The geek who was training me was so short-tempered and full of himself and very herd oriented. Don’t get me wrong there are a few there who are very nice and helpful. But only a few.
so basically best buy over the last 5 years has doubled in growth. there are currently 1256 stores in north america alone with another 351 worl wide. stock is at 52$ a share comapared to circuit cities which is at 6$, Geek sqaud was voted the best computer repair BY THE CUSTOMER. the problem is the customers who think the world revoles around them we that many stores there is absolutly no possible way to guarantee that an ad item will be in stock through the duration of the ad and for the record best buy will not put an ad out if there is not any less than 100 items in over 70% of that district. i deal with great customers on a reg basis and things go wrong it happens. but the patient customers who let you try to help them for some reason always end up leaving with a smile. its the asshole customers that have no patience and think that you are supposed to drop everything for them and not do your job that are the problem. 85% of customers that step foot in best leave happy i can handle that so go ahead and shop somewhere else. try circuit city, see how much better service you get there. you will run into the same problems its not the reseraunt industry its retail buddy.
“… its the asshole customers that have no patience and think that you are supposed to drop everything for them and not do your job that are the problem …”
Nice way to describe the people who pay your measley little wages, Bret. It’s the employees like you that make the Best Buy workforce the joke that it is.
You “think” you know what you’re doing and that’s what makes you dangerous.
You can’t spell, you can’t use punctuation, you have no idea as to actually handle a customer, you use facts that have nothing to do with the situation, etc.
You’re a real gem of an employee and they’re lucky to have you.
Have any of you people whom seem to care so much about retail ever thought about being a manager or a supervisor? or at least a blueshirt?
I worked as a blueshirt (I’m a Geek Squad agent now) and i hate the way customers seem to resemble babies more and more. Quit whining and order it online if we don’t have it. And something that customers seem to get mistaken… We don’t manufacture what we sell… If it breaks, dont come up to me and tell me that my products are horrible.
/rant
Guess what Edgar, you are the exact reason I hate the store you work for, because they hire fools like you.
You made my point for me.
Your competitors are lucky your store has you !
Actually, I work at BB, so here’s the answers to those 5 questions…
1- Tablets are a very popular item. If they were on sale for a significant discount, I’m sure they were just sold out before you got there.
2- Again, you most likely weren’t the 1st customer looking for a tablet. When these are on sale, they go pretty quickly.
3- Items like this usually arn’t transferable. Even if it were, it would take about 1 1/2- 2 weeks to transfer to kentucky from new jersey.
Also, I didn’t know(and i bet the sales guy didn’t know) that you had a crew of 100 with you? lol…who says nobody wanted them in NJ?
4- Yes. All stores have the trouble of dealing with those customers who will find a way to complain about everything, then post it on the internet:)
5- Those guys standing around are only standing around when customers don’t need help, or they are talking about budget with a manager. Also, no they cannot get on register. They are probably “CA’s” (job title), who usually hang out in hot-spots, such as the front of the store where the new customers are, therefore they are not trained to be on register, because they have a different job. They do not have authorized log-in numbers for a register.
I suppose you just can’t please everyone. We do our best when we’re at work, but we don’t work magic, we can’t read your mind…if you have something you think we should be doing, SAY IT…maybe there’s a reason it wasn’t already being done, but you won’t know unless you ask.
Thanks for being the first reasonable voice from a BB employee Lisa.
I may not agree with the way you think, but at least you were mature and reasonable.
Well, thank you and your welcome.
Oh, and about the guy in the yellow shirt(loss prevention wears yellow instead of blue) at the door. They do look pretty useless don’t they? lol.
But they actually stop thousands of $$$ in product from being stolen everyday. There are quiet a few people who try to walk past them with stolen items & don’t make it. But, maybe they should at least look a little more busy…those guys get yelled at everyday for checking reciepts.
Just thought I’de give those guys a break.
But anyway, I hope you find the tablet!! If you need any help, it’s pretty easy for employees to find out whether or not we still sell it. Just need a model number or a sku number.
byee:)
I didn’t even bother reading the whole thread because more than likely it is just a bunch of people who don’t know what they are talking about. But to the person who started the thread. I am a loley Best Buy employee. I would like to answer your questions. First, the adds that are made are made most of the time months in advance. When Best Buy runs out of a product it isn’t because Best Buy wants to hold out on you. It is because the manufacturer isn’t making them quick enough but we keep selling them. Not our fault. You are absolutely right that maybe a store in Jersey doesn’t need any but a store in Kentucky needs a hundred. But there is always going to be that one customer that goes into Jersey and gets pissed off just like you did. As far as having only one person for checkout…. When you are hired in to Best Buy you are hired in to a specific department. Mine for example is Home Theater. I am qualified to sell and speak very knowledgeably on home theater and the accessories needed to set it up. I however am not qualified to run a cash register. Yes I know…. how hard can it be to run a cash register? Next time you are in Best Buy I encourage you to hop behind a register that you have never used and see how quick you mess it up. As far as the guy that sits at the door checking receipts…. His name is Loss Prevention. Though I understand that you should be the one exception to the rule that people steal…. you aren’t. Policies are only in effect because less than human people try to rip places like us off. I have seen 16 year olds and I have seen 87 year olds steal from my store personally. So in other words…. blame society…. not us. And I mean this part with all sincerity…. If you think that you can run a multi billion dollar corporation better than how it is being ran now then I encourage you to go to http://www.bestbuy.com and click on the careers link and apply to corporate. But until you actually work the industry I would suggest you stick to whatever it is that you are good at.
Thanks for adding your opinion Kyler. If you had read the whole thread, as you call it, you’d have seen that some of the BB employees who answered were indeed and are still to this day, idiots.
A couple of others actually spoke with some sense about them.
You, my friend, are in the former group and not the latter.
You and BB deserve each other.
Keep drinking the BB koolaid.
I think you’re a retard. I think you complain too much and understand nothing. Stores like that do not put anything in the back except for TVs, CDs, DVDs, and laptops. Everything else is in an overstock isle or on the floor. No store makes their own ad!! You can’t put it on one store because they don’t have something you want… not only want but probably don’t need. There are so many more things in life to worry about. Why don’t you just make it easier on yourself and order it online? Stop being a whiny fool. I know you didn’t notice cause you’re so pitiful and closed minded… but that “guy” at the front door does more then just check your cheap receipt. He watches over the store, and controls shrink… Best Buy is not the only place that does that. Circuit City does the same, Target have their own ‘police’, and walmart uses undercover people. You are so lame, I don’t understand you; if this problem happens over and over… why bother? why waste the gas? why waste the energy on posting this blog? Real mature.
Nice. An unknown fool from the Atlanta area of Georgia comes on my blog and calls me names and hurts my feelings.
Now I’m gonna have to go to Best Buy and call them names to make myself feel better too !
I work at best buy and you obviously don’t know what your talking about. I’m sure you have a job and I’m sure you don’t do other people’s jobs right? Well its the same thing at best buy. We are all separated into respective departments. We get paid to SELL in those departments. When you say you see people talking, typically its about the store and things we need to know. Most people there don’t just talk about the sunday night football game and also, there are times when we aren’t helping anyone because they don’t need help. I’m sick of all you customers complaining because we bust our asses off for you people and you just dont care. All you do is complain. If your so damn concerned about how the store is run, then go in and fill out an application. Then maybe you’ll get some common sense about how much a job like best buy sucks. I’m sure there are employees that dick around and don’t do their job but usually they quit or get fired really fast. But I know for a fact that at my store we do a damn good job with what we have to work with. So before you start referring to working men and women as cattle, take a look at you and the rest of the customers that don’t seem to have a clue about anything and then make an opinion. Also, if you want a really good deal on sunday, it helps if you get there when the store opens and not hours later and then bitch about how nothing is left. Early bird gets the worm.
Thanks Drew.
As usual, an idiot Best Buy employee comes on this blog and says nothing and does it in a bad way.
You guys make it too easy to show the world how bad you are.
It would take me a week to take all the idiot stuff in your comment and tell you what you should think, what matters, what doesn’t matter, etc.
I thank God I don’t have to shop in “your” store. And I pray for all those people around Stuart, Florida who do have to shop there.
Mr Mike Sigers.
I find it so funny that you think working at a store like BB is SO EASY. I suggest next holiday season you get a job at a BB, Target, Walmart for a few months and you can REALLY see how people act in public and treat other human beings. Most are nice but that very small few are NOT!
I like how people who NEVER have worked it retail find that it should be SO EASY. I know BB sucks that’s why I don’t shop there. Most retail workers could careless for there $7.00 an hour. You work for that and we’ll see how that job works out for you. You seem to have all the answers guy.
Get a clue.
Maybe if you and your brother would have just taken time to help your mother out, you wouldn’t need to post and bitch about it on the internet.
Mother and brother ? What post did you read Damon? Are you still doin’ those cheap drugs ?
Next time you get a notion to attempt to comment on a blog post, do yourself and the blogger a favor…actually read the post.
Then, to help you look like less of a fool, have someone who finished Jr. High write it for you.
Come back soon.
Not.
1) If you get there on Sunday they are guaranteed the amount specified in the add.
2) If you take the add to a different store that has the product they can price match it!
3)The managers in the local best buy here do a good job making sure the employees are addressing customers first.
4) You seem like a very unhappy person, I feel bad for the loved ones around you.
1) Wrong.
2) Why should I have to drive 45 miles ? They normally have hundreds or thousands of the items in “distribution centers” and are too stupid to get them into “stores” where customers can buy them.
3) Wrong.
4) I’m a helluva lot happier than some anonymous person who lists their email addy as aretard2004@yahho.
If indeed you are a retard and I’m guessing you’re closer than you think, you should stick to Will Farrell movies orr Adam Sandler fanboy sites, which are probably more suited to your expertise.
Thanks for stopping by and proving your talent is very limited.
I googled “I hate Best Buy” and this blog popped up. I have been an employee of BBY going on 5 years now and enjoy seeing what people have to say about the negatives of BBY. No, I’m not anyone important; I’m merely a part-timer in the computer department while I finish off my degree at school. Reading your post and those of others stirs up a lot of emotion within myself. I take these things personally and I assume the other BBY employees that have posted feel somewhat the same. They just relay their “feelings” in an idiotic way.
Well, given I have seen BBY and it’s insides for 5 years, I have a decent understanding of how things work. I will attempt to break it down to make sense of it all.
There are actually 2 types of stores, A stores and B stores. The A stores are the typical big blue box with $100k+ budgets everyday. Huge store with typically 3-5 employees in the major sections (cpu, tv) and 2-3 managers on the floor. The B stores are what BBY is starting to implement for all their new stores. Much smaller in size (yes that decreases some inventory i.e. no furniture, musical instruments, etc). They only have 2-3 employees in the major sections. 1-2 managers on the floor. The store I work at is a B store. With a smaller store, customers feel closer to BBY interaction and generally leave with a sense of “hey I have a friend at BBY”. I hear “your store is better than your other store over in XXX” all the time. (there are 3 A stores within 30 mins of ours). BBY as a whole is trying to accommodate for customers feeling “lost and alone” in the huge stores by making all these new B stores.
About the ads, they are printed well before they are put into the papers. Numerous times the ad has gone out and that Sunday, we only have 2 of the $399 laptops in stock. Generally if the ad says “limit X per store” the store should hold X amount in the back specifically for the ad. But as always, sh!t happens and sometimes the store just doesn’t have the supply for the demand. Now, here’s the kicker, there are PLENTY of ways to accommodate for out of stock items. Customer Fulfillment, which orders one directly from the district warehouse for the customer (if district warehouse has them), ORCA, which places an order so that if it is “on a truck” it is immediately put on hold for said customer when it comes off, and then there is the infamous raincheck. Raincheck only guarantees the price, but if the item is backordered… you wait. As for store to store transfers, we do it all the time on large items i.e. tv, pcs, ipods, etc. We typically don’t do it for small items i.e. ram, cables, etc. Now this is UP TO THE MANAGERS. Since we have 3 other stores near us, a manager who lives in that area just picks the item up on their way to work the next day. There is no way for us to order/ship things outside of our district, corporate just doesn’t give us the option because it would cost us more money to ship than what we actually make on the item. It’s not “business” ethical. Screw the customer, I guess you can call it that, but that’s why BBY.com works like a champ.
The chit-chatting blue shirts (code named in our store as “blueberry patch”) is typically because where those employees are zoned is empty. Yes kids do it even if we are busy, but the managers should break it up. Some customers enjoy the “are you finding everything ok” every 10 minutes by a different employee, while others tell you to piss off when you get within 10 feet of them. Part of the job. Me personally, I just contact everyone and if they want to tell me to piss off, at least then I know.
It all comes down to the store and the employees within it. Some stores have cruddy management, which leads to pissed off employees, which leads to a bad experience by the customer. The ol’ poop rolls downhill. Other stores have a great environment and experience. I have plenty of customers that only talk to me and come to me about EVERYTHING. At my store if you have a cruddy attitude, you will no longer have a job. That’s how our management functions, therefore great service.
I wouldn’t base your experience at BBY off of one particular event or even store for that matter. There are still decent people out there in the BBY world that care about the consumer.
I can rant and give more info on the scoops of BBY, but I’ve already typed enough. BBY functions on “numbers” one particular number that you can make a difference in is CSI (I forgot what that stood for). If you buy something at a BBY store, go to http://www.bestbuycares.com. Fill out the survey and post your rants on the comment section. Managers/District/Corporate all review these if enough people complain, something changes.
My 2c + 1
Oh and BBY has also picked up on the 3-4 employees in computers with no one in their department vs 1 employee in car electronics with 8 customers. They have Customer Assistants (CA’s). These people are not stuck in one department. They are free to roam amongst the store where they are needed. It gets more customer interaction and limits the amount of time a customer is alone. I guess it’s one way BBY is “trying” to adapt to what the consumers asked for.
And for the guy with the tv issue, when we do our inventory we have lots of options. Units available (to be sold) Units unavailable (displays) and 2 subcategories on shipments. In Transit (it’s on a truck and should be at the store the following truck or the truck right after) and Inbound Allocated (It’s PLANNED to be on a truck, not a garuntee) Generally speaking, if it’s in transit you should be seeing your tv soon. If it’s inbound allocated it’s a 50/50 shot. Me personally, if an item is inbound allocated, I tell the customer just that 50/50. I don’t just leave them hanging. But everyone functions differently and not all people actually care or are educated enough to understand that concept.
And for the feller who “works” for BBY and ranted about not yelling at the 16 year old, it’s part of the job. If someone messes up, you’re wearing a blue shirt too, it’s your problem as well… fix it. If the fry cook at McD’s messes up your fries, do you yell at the fry cook? More than likely no, you yell at the first person sporting the golden arches. They fix it. Same concept. As everyone has stated, it’s retail. With it comes the understanding of how to deal with your problems and those created by your fellow employees.
^^I wrote that previous one in class and on my drive home I thought of more things to say
2c+2
Hey Jason,
Thanks for a mature reply to all that’s been said.
I can deduce one thing from your comment: You’re gonna be alright in life.
There have been some real idiots who’ve stopped by and there’ve been some other fairly intelligent responses. None matched yours.
Keep doing what you’re doing, keep using a level-headed, simple, common sense approach and you’ll be able to go and do what you want, when you want, where you want.
Stop by again sometime and leave comments on some other posts, as I like your style.
I’ll tell you a secret, since you’ve been so fun to respond to … I don’t really hate Best Buy
Mike,
Thanks for your comments. I too work at Best Buy as a Customer Assistant and have taken your words to heart. I can’t change things on a grand scale, but I am definitely going to do my best and motivate my fellow employees to do their best on the job.
I hate it when someone leaves upset with BBY, especially when it is something we could have fixed. I’ll be doing all that I can to make sure the blue shirts are on the job and with customers each and every time.
Here’s to hoping future experiences are better than the past!
I have a feeling Josh, that if I shopped at the Best Buy you work in, things would be different and I’d always enjoy my shopping experience.
Thanks for taking time to leave a professional, mature comment. If I’m ever near your part of Virginia, I’ll definitely look for the local Best Buy.
As a Best Buy employee(not a retard like that “no deal dude”), I can try to clear things up about the out of stock issue.
We have the items on the shelf before it goes on sale obviously. As you told in your tale it was 105$. There is no way to tell how many would be sold before it goes on sale, or how many would actually be sold.
So lets say I get 10 of the items in the store before the ad, truck for my store come thursday and monday (unlike that kid i know my truck dates)
8 are sold by saturday (day before the sale), and to be honest as an employee, I dont even know what goes on sale until i come in Sunday morning and see the AD.
Now I have 2 left, great.
Usually, if its an AMAZING deal, Ill recieve literally 30 when i usually get 5. It all depends when you come in also.
If you come in on a saturday hoping to get something that went on sale sunday….well come on…seriously?
If it goes out of stock, we can tell you the date and others stores that have them.
Sorry you just had a stupid kid who was probably on his first day.
So, I know this may come off as a bit biased but I disagree with much of what you said. I am a best buy employee and I think knowing why some of things happen might help you be a bit more patient an pleased with your local bby.
About not haveing the ad item in stock…
IT HAPPENS! Believe it or not we can’t keep every item stocked. Especially a $105 item that is on sale for $65. I walk into work many morning with a line out front just waiting for our store to open. Half of our ad items are cleared out by the people waiting in line first thing Sunday morning. Secondly, we can’t control our ads. They’re sent down from us by corporate. Those ads are nationwide. If one store doesn’t have them they aren’t going to exclude a product from our sales ad. Think of the 100′s of other stores that do have them! And the customers that would be unhappy about it not being advertized.
About not transfering it from another store…
if you ask, we will do our best to get it for you. If a customer doesn’t seem genuinely interested in a product, sometimes even I am a bit hesitant to have it transfered from another store. It takes a lot of time to have that done and about 80% of the time the customer never comes back to pick up the product. Other stores get annoyed at giving us product they would otherwise sell and then watching it sit on our shelves. Also, we have a ton of other ways to order things. But sometimes even our corporate office runs out of product. If we can’t get it from our warehouse then we have to wait for it to be ordered to our delivery center from the manufacturer. No store, regardless of size, can be perfect for you.
About employees standing in groups…
we are all friends. We work together usually 8 hours out of the day and often spend time together outside of work. When we’ve contacted the customers in our department (yes we do contact our customers) and every one is just looking… we stop and talk to one another. But we will stop talking with our coworkers to help you. If you ask any one of us a question, we will either find you someone who can answer it or answer it ourselves if possible. You must be patient and understand that even these “herds” of people you refer to are human. We can only do so much. After that its your turn to put in some effort. We don’t enjoy our jobs any more than the next average joe, so a bit of comic relief from our friends in the middle of the work day is necessary to keep that happy smile so many of our customers rave about. When you hear about the phenomenal customer service you get at best buy, it’s always from the customers who treat us human. I HATE being talked down to by a customer more than anything. And like a red blooded human if you talk down to me, because i’m a woman or because i’m wearing a blue shirt, or whatever other reason you think you’re superior to me as a person, I WILL NOT do everything I can to give you an exceptional experience.
So understand that we’re human and we will do what we can for you. But we don’t read minds and sometimes you do have to ask.
Hi Ronny,
Thanks for adding another mature comment on this post.
Some of what you said is all well and good. Some is just plain, er…stupid, like the portion about you and your coworkers standing in groups and how I need to expend effort and you don’t enjoy your job, etc.
You need a new atmosphere and a new attitude. have you thought about the Marines?
Thanks for the good points and, as you age and mature, you’ll never believe you said some of that rubbish.
Other than that, thanks for stopping by and adding your thoughts.