HEY! That’s MY gimmick!
-i’m a mod at Customer’s Suck 
Manservant,
An add? Come on, just 'cause I don’t agree that Best Buy is a total piece of crap? If you look carefully, you will see that I haven’t argued that they have great service, or even good service. You want great service you have to pay for it. That is a veritable fact. If you want great prices, you have to be willing to sacrifice something (typically service).
The only thing I see Best Buy being guilty of is implying that their service is outstanding. Do a little research before you shop, ignorance is not bliss.
Did the OP ever ASK to be helped? Sometimes you have to be forward.
Certainly anyone who is unhappy with their experience in Best Buy is welcome to tell their friends. I just think it is silly to try to organize a boycott out of spite or a desire for revenge. Personally I am quite satisfied with my experiences with Best Buy and would hate to lose them.
Not to worry, my financial interest in the company has little to do with my opinion of their business practices. Rather it is the other way round. Should there be a fundamental change to their figures or philosophy I’ll reevaluate my position.
I do do research before I shop. That’s why I hate Best Buy. I’m sick of some unctous salesdrone trying to discuss my sales choice with me. I know what I want, and I don’t want have to debate with some kid who’s learned to recite a sales spiel. Just give me my goddamned product quickly and let me check out fast. Shopping is something to get over with. It’s not a way of life for me. (By the way, I’ve heard that either Best Buys or the sales drones (or both) get kickbacks from manufacturers to push their products, which is why they debate with you on your product choice. Makes sense to me, but anyone else heard this?)
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That is the single worst statement of customer service I’ve ever heard. The salesperson should be there to get you your product, answer any questions the customer might have briefly,
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Who’s trying to organize a boycott? Where can I get in line? I’ll sign up!
Y’know what’s pathetic? All these people discuss their problems and concerns with Best Buy. Person after person who’s had problems with Best Buy’s grotesque lack of customer service, long lines, dubious business practices, etc, and you, a stock-holder, instead of addressing the parade of their concerns simply blow them off.
No wonder you have such a high opinion of Best Buy’s business philosophy, which appears to be “Th’ hell with what the customer wants, we’ll do it our way.”
Fenris
(And yes, your earlier post was an ad. All we needed was catchy music, an animated mascot and maybe Florence Henderson singing the words. :rolleyes:)
Jesus, I wish. How sweet would that be?
Me: Jaime, we have no money to pay the car payment this month.
Jaime: No fear! I got my monthly kickback today!
Me: YES!
That’s not how it works. If someone is getting kickbacks, it’s pretty clandestine, and flies right in the face of the whole “We’re a non-commission store” introduction that goes with every spiel.
PLG Th’ heck do you think you’re doing, contaminating The Pit with facts and rational answers? You’re raising the bar! Stop it at once! 
Fenris
Because some (many?) have had a bad experience that automatically negates any positive experience? Or do you think my investment makes me incapable of being rational? I assure you that emotional investing is a sure road to disaster (or at least to a lower net worth).
What about Best Buy makes people assume that they have good service? How many other price beating warehouse type stores are leaders in service?
Fenris, my experience has been that a firm “no thank you” or even a “I’m just browsing” is adequate to send the little cretins scurrying off after easier prey.
Definitely no kickbacks to the sales staff. The PSP’s (extended warranties) are or should be the only area where the sales staff has any vested interest. They may not be commission, but you won’t survive long if you don’t push PSP’s. This is one area where they will spout any BS to get you to sign on the line. Pointing out that maybe you shouldn’t purchase said item if it is of such lousy manufacture that it requires an extended warranty usually gets them off your back.
http://www.bestbuysux.org (cation: some content may be offensive!)
Is this correct? You want to be left alone, unless you need help? I am reasonably sure that it isn’t in Best Buy’s budget to hire clairvoyant sales people.
I wouldn’t say I blew them off. I own Best Buy because I like their business model and the numbers they produce. Increase payroll by adding more sales and checkout staff and the numbers won’t look so good. Increase prices to get the numbers back and floor traffic will likely dwindle. Want more knowledgeable perfunctory service? Visit Circuit City if you have one in your area. Their commission sales staff will be more than happy to help you with your purchase and make you feel good in the process. Also, their limited floor traffic should lessen the chance that you will go unnoticed.
As long as that satisfies the majority of the customers and makes sales numbers so be it.
YOU are not the only potential customer in the world! Sorry if that destroys anyone’s delusions of self-importance. Everything can’t be tailored to your needs.
Did you understand the part of my OP in which I mention that the appliance department was void of any salespeople that I could have asked for help? The few salespeople that I did see breezed through before either one of us could ask for assistance. The one salesperson that did arrive to the appliance department went to help another couple. Perhaps my problem is that I’m polite to a fault IRL, and I wasn’t going to be a jackass demanding attention when he was busy with others (for the couple’s sake, not the salesperson’s).
So, you want to blame me for not getting good service? I can tell you where you can put your Best Buy stock.
Boycott? What boycott? You’d better brush up on your reading comprehension, because my OP never once mentioned a boycott of any form. I never once wrote anything along the lines of “Don’t spend your money at Best Buy!” I did say that I hope they lose business through their own inept sales service, and that the few salespeople that completely ignored us (along with several other customers) live a life of retail–that is nowhere near an attempt to organize a boycott. I can only hope that Best Buy does change its service, because they have the potential to be a great store. But, until that time comes, I’ll never purchase a thing from them again.
You did say that I’m welcome to express my unhappiness with Best Buy with my friends. That’s exactly what I’m doing.
Luckily, most businesses employ people able to help customers without the tsuris that Best Buy creates. Below is a simple model that I give freely to Best Buy, since they’re apparently the only people in the world who don’t know it.
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“Hello Sir/Ma’m, my name is X. Can I help you or answer any questions?”
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If <yes> GOTO 40
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If <no> GOTO 50
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<help customer>
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GOTO 60
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I’ll be in this area if you need help later, and if I’m not available, anyone with this kind of jacket/hat/etc should be able to help you. <leave>
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Find new customer to help.
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GOTO 10
I personally guarantee that this will not irritate anyone, as long as there are enough salespeople to actually help if needed and enough cashiers to check people out. It also frees up a number of salespeople to help those who need/want help without irritatating those who want to be left alone. And it does not put the onus on the customer.
Compare this to the Best Buy model:
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Hi! I see you’re looking at X. Let me give you some recommendations on other brands. I’ll also help you comparison shop. In addition, let me discuss various cost/benefit ratios with regards to features. I’ll also tell you about my unsuccessful love-affair! You’re my new best friend! I’ll never, ever let you go!
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If customer says “Thanks, but I’m just looking” or “Not interested, but thanks.” GOTO 10. Repeat until customer goes insane.
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If customer does dislodge you, or you miss the customer as they walk in the door, you must vanish forever. Do not reappear when customer DOES eventually want info, or needs to check out. He or she is dead to you. Make sure the rest of your salespeople know that the customer is a non-person too. You will all ignore him or her at all costs.
Trust me. The first model’s better.
Fenris
Fenris said:
I agree! In my experience the first model has been the case the majority of the time, with the later definitely being the exception.
How easily you conclude that your second model is the norm based upon a small sampling of dissatisfied customers and your own experience.
JavaMaven said:
No, I blame you for allowing yourself to stand there and look the fool as salespeople walked past. Furthermore I blame you for expecting exemplary service if this was anything other than your first visit to Best Buy. I blame you for getting all worked up without ever once mentioning the situation was unsatisfactory to anyone who could have done anything about it.
Faster than it takes to get out a simple “Excuse me” or “Pardon me”?
Perhaps you’re guilty of being unable to escalate your response in stages. Politely pointing out the fact that you require assistance certainly would not qualify as being demanding or a jackass. Must you go straight from 0 to 100?
I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and apologize if it appeared that the boycott reference directly referred to your OP. It was intended to refer to the “I’m going to tell all my friends not to shop there either” crowd.
Customer Care at
1-888-BESTBUY
(1-888-237-8289).
Or write to us at:
BestBuy.com
Customer Care
PO Box 949
Minneapolis, MN 5544
At the place where I was standing, the few salespeople that did come through (except for the last one) were still several yards away, where I would have had to yell rather than speak to gain their attention. What bothered me more about the whole experience that there wasn’t even just a moment of recognition that we were standing there. They never seemed to see us. When I worked retail, if I had ever been caught ignoring customers I’d have lost my job–end of story.
This was not my first trip to Best Buy. I had bought several small ticket items there before: a VCR, a phone, a microwave, CDs–all things that never required any actual assistance. In fact, I don’t ever remember a salesperson ever coming up to me during those other trips. I never expected exemplary service; I only expected service. Hey, I would have stuck around and asked for help if I had at least got a little eye contact from anyone in a blue shirt. Excuse me if I like to be acknowledged.
What got me worked up is just the fact that we (and the other customers in the appliance department) seemed invisible, even though I heard and saw a salesperson call for assistance. I felt that I had spent too much time waiting, and so I went somewhere else. As a customer, I should not be blamed for a damn thing (unless I actually did something completely uncouth in the first place, which I didn’t). As a customer, I do believe that I deserve to have a certain amount of service paid to me if I walk through the door planning on spending our hard-earned money on a big-ticket item. As a customer, I should not have to ask for attention from a salesperson–a decent salesperson will be there when I need them, because they’d have paid attention to me (even if they are not hounding me) from when I showed up in their department. As a customer, I have the right to walk out of the store without complaining to the manager, because I believe thirty minutes for just a simple acknowledgement is way too long to wait.
I realized after I posted, that we had a simulpost (note the time stamp) where you referred to http://www.bestbuysux.com as the boycott, and not the OP. My apologies.
By the way, I’m only telling my friends about my bad experience, and not telling anyone to “not shop there”. I believe the good folks here can make up their own minds where they prefer to shop. If they like to shop at Best Buy and have never had a bad experience there, then more power to them.
In the last 4 years I’ve spent upwards of $5,000 at Best Buy, but after tonight, they’ll never see another thin dime from me.
I bought a digital camera a week ago, a nice one: Sony CyberShot. It ran $699.xx and I bought a 64 Mb card for it, so all told, I paid out about $886.
I had given my parents my old Mavica (for a trip to Alaska), and figured this little wonder would be a great replacement. It turns out, it was. That’s not the point, though.
The point is this: I got my Mavica back (my parents decided to do without it) so I went to return the CyberShot. I’ve had it 7 (seven) days, and used it once. Turns out, BB has a return policy for digital cameras. 15% “restocking fee.” Had I been told about this? No. Had I been asked or told to check the policies regarding returns? No. Was the camera visibly used? No, the tape on the box wasn’t even broken (I’m good like that), they cut it to check the box. Is there anything I can do about it? No. Am I totally fucked out of $105? Yup. Will I ever buy anything from there again, be it a DVD or a washing machine? Not a chance.
Another thing, am I going to email all my friends and tell them not to shop at BB? Yup, and I’m going to link to this thread, so they can get more of a broad idea of why BB sucks ass.
Cry me a fucking river.
It is posted all over the store. It is posted on the BIG ASS SIGN by the door with HUGE letters. It is posted on the receipts. I think it’s even posted by all the registers.
Hey, you know what, fuck that. I’ve never been told about said policy, nor have I had reason to read the fucking walls, so blow me. They have, specifically, a space on the receipt saying you’ve read and agree with the return policy. It is not signed on my receipt. You know why? Because it was not pointed out to me and I, being a normal person, didn’t see the need to scout out the damned store before using their products. I’ve returned something there before, headphones or something, I really don’t recall, but I had no problem whatsoever. Why would I think they would have a policy just for a few of their products?
Cry you a river? BB can suck a river from my dick, TYVM.
:rolleyes:
Well, when the sign is six feet high and hanging right by the service desk with “RETURN POLICY” in HUGE BOLD LETTERS, maybe you should have taken the time to read it. It’s their fault because you are too lazy to read the return policy on the reciept they have you? The one you could have read at any time?
Do you have to have every little thing specifically said to you everywhere you go? Do you just have problems with HUGE SIGNS anywhere else? Or was it just Best Buy?
Look, it’s like this:
I’m not really in the habit of reading the walls of places I shop at. Perhaps it has to do with an aversion to the trifle and misc. crap that every other store I’ve been to usually places along the outboard walls of their store, that or the giant banners for SALE! SALE! SALE! that also decorate these spaces.
I don’t need every poloicy spelled out, but when they have specific policies for a few items in their store that affect the return of said items, were they not to your liking or for whatever reason, I think it might be in the interest of customer satisfaction to at least make a mention of them.
You know, something along the lines of “Well, you know if you open a CD, we can only exchange it for another one just like it, right? Okay, with digital cameras, which, rather than the $18 CD, run into the 100s and even over $1,000, have a policy for their return, too. We call it a “restocking fee.” You see, even though their is absolutely nothing wrong with the camera and it has to be returned within 14 days of the purchase, we gouge you for 15%, then maybe we’ll list the item as and “open box” item and knock 5% off it, but probably not, since this one here looks like it’s never been opened, but we’ll have to open it anyway to make sure. Okay? Great, thanks!”