Just left Best Buy where I picked up a new TV. The salesman insisted I get a $400 or so “Panamax” box, saying I plug the TV into it, then plug my Direct TV box, Xbox, Apple TV and DVD player into it and that it regulates the amount of wattage or something, much like the heart’s electric impulses are regulated for efficiency (didn’t expect a physiology lesson at a Best Buy, but OK).
I guess the skepticism was written all over my face, because he immediately went into his spiel about how Best Buy employees are non-commissioned and that he genuinely wants me to know that this contraption will extend the life of my new TV by about 50,000 hours.
So i bought it… have not hooked it up, and plan on taking it back first thing in the morning unless the straight dope I get on it tells me otherwise. I told him I am either getting the service plan OR this little Panamax. He said, in such case, get the Panamax.
I call bunk. It seems what you’ve gotten is a $400 surge protector and noise filter/isolation transformer with cool little ammeter and voltmeter displays on it. A surge protector is a good thing, a noise filter is totally useless if your TV’s power supply is worth anything at all.
Anyone know if his little speech on “we don’t get commission, so believe me when I tell you that you really need to have this” was true of Best Buy? If it doesn’t mater if you get the commission or not, you’d think the tendency of the salesmen would be to be more honest…not make you buy a lot of crap. The TV itself came to about $1100, plus the $400 “surge protector” and then he wanted me to get the service plan for another $300. I could’ve had two TVs for all of that.
In my experience, Best Buy used to push that “we don’t work on commission” thing really hard, with the (sometimes unsaid) contrast that Circuit City staff did work on commission and thus would try to pile on the accessories. Don’t know, never did, if it was true. I seem to remember hearing that CC employees no longer work on commission, though. I think that stopped when CC stopped looking like a warehouse with a little showroom attached and started looking like … well, Best Buy.
If it’s anything like when I worked at Kmart way back when, it had more to do with targets than commission. Like, the department manager would say that there was a target of 6 warranties and 3 credit card sign-ups today, and you were supposed to meet them. Meeting them made the manager (and eventually the corporate office) happy, and you might get a movie ticket, or a pen, or a pizza party or something. Not meeting them could mean termination, I guess. I refused to do the warranty thing, and never got in serious trouble.
So your Best Buy guy’s manager probably saw that, hey, no one is buying these hocus-pocus voodoo audiophile new age psudeo-scienciey bullshit overpriced thingamajigers (Monster cables, Panamax boxes, $20 “microfiber” cloths, extended warranties), and made his sales guys sell it.
BTW: The guys you see on the floor at Best Buy (sales and geek squad) and CC are the equivalent of fast food workers. Their training is ALL sales, and almost zero tech. Believe almost nothing they say, they are part of a marketing-speek cult.
Ignoring the whole unseemly world of sales targets, spiffs and whether or not a red lightning bolt display is useful, Panamax’s filtering is good stuff. I’ve got one of their much more plain-vanilla units that cost about $150 and it does take out a lot of power line noise that was showing up on-screen. It also kept the home theater gear alive during a prolonged time when the electric utility was delivering 160+ volts. The equipment might have been able to withstand this on its own, but a few light bulbs suffered an early demise and the controller board in our kitchen stove could not handle being hit with 320 volts… Considering that the stove took a nearly $500 hit on its own, I’m glad to have had the protection - regular surge supressor powerstrips aren’t designed to handle prolonged overvoltage.
So is this thing more for a home theatre? Because this is just the TV in the family room, with a Direct TV box, an XBOX and occasionally Apple TV. And the TV isn’t on all day every day. I have no fancy sound system on it or anything…
BBY salesdudes aren’t on commission however they do try to hit 3 departmental goals a day. Volume, accessories, service plans. Accessories and service plans are where they make their money since the market on retail electronics is so competetive they have low margins on actual product.
If he can sell you on accessories and service plans he’ll look pretty good to his managers. This may mean future promotions, choice hours, transition from part-time to full-time, perks, etc.
If I were you I’d return the Panamax thing. Majorly overpriced overkill. Opt for a decent $50 surge protector/suppressor you can purchase on line at a discount price.
And for the new flat panels I’d also forgo the service plan. If the thing doesn’t have any inital problems that surface during the manufacturers warranty period, chances are the thing will last the extra 2-3 years you’re buying coverage for.
I went to Best Buy to return it this morning, the a manager-type overheard and asked if I was returning the TV to (he obviously assumed I’d just purchased a TV from them, which led me to believe that they tell their salesman to urge people to buy both items).
I told him no. I’m keeping the TV.
He goes, “Do you understand what this device does.”
I told him I did and that I did some research on it and I think it’s a load of manure…in as many words.
He then wanted to know where I researched (really pushy-like). “Did you go to a forum?”
I told him I spoke to AV people an a message board. Then he nods, nobly…sort of in a holier-than-thou way, like…ha, I knew your dumbass went on a message board…ha, what does the public know about anything.
He told me to go look at a TV they’re selling that had been returned because the person did use this Panamax thing. I told him I wasn’t interested and that I hooked up my TV and it was fine and that I really wanted to just return the damned thing.
What does he do? Gives me the “we, here at Best Buy, are not on commission” speech. Then when I finally say, “I’m good.” He sort of snickers, shakes his head and walks off. It’s my funeral, right?
Not that I’m the most plugged in individual, but I know lots of people with lots of big screens…no one ever mentioned buying this stupid box. A family member of mine has a home theatre, no Panamax. I read about buying a TV on about.com and the say to consider getting a power surge protector…I think if they meant a $400 one, they would’ve said something.
Ha! I figured they’d pull something like that.
(I worked for BBY for 12 years from the sales floor up thorugh management).
While the sale of that Panamax thing looked good on yesterdays numbers it being returned today is going to make todays numbers look pretty bad.
We even had a system in place where if a customer service gal had a customer trying to return big $ accessories or service plans she was to immediately call a manager or sales person to intercept the transaction and talk the person out of returning it. Sounds like that’s what happened here.
When I first started there I used to love being knowledgable about audio and video and getting people what fit their needs best. But I soon became disillusioned when the most valuable salespeople weren’t the ones who were most knowledgable about their stuff, but who sold the most add-ons.
Sales trainings weren’t about product knowledge but rather how to talk about the extended service plan “early and often”.
I got out of the sales side and into operations/inventory management.
Thank you…I fell a WHOLE lot better about returning that thing…especially after the manager made me feel like a dumbass.
I’m pretty disappointed in Best Buy. I grew up in Eden Prairie, back when it was headquartered there and enjoy being loyal to a hometown business, but I’m a little sore about this!
Yeah, I still shop there and make major purchases since I know their system but have just developed a thick skin for ignoring their attempts to have me buy the service plan and big $ accessories.
Some of these guys actually do have great product knowledge but are so pressed to sell you the add-ons they make that their #1 priority.
When I bought my LCD set I had a lot of questions so I basically told the guy up front that I needed all the accessories and the service plan. Once he had that monkey off his back he shut up about it and was willing to open up more and go into depth about the product.
Of course the service plan and accessories all came back the next day to the dismay of a disgruntled manager.
Unfortunate that I have to play that game.