Central AR, lots of help in BB, HD and L… Mostly knowledgeable about location of stuff and will call someone better equipped to answer if you need specific help. Not perfect of course but pretty good.
So, the obvious solution is: if you want help, look shifty and pocket a small item. Immediately, sales people will descend from around the store. Don’t forget to unpocket the item before you leave though.
My best friend, who is incredibly fiscally responsible decided it was time to buy a new tv. She’d saved up to get a nifty, big, flat panel, make all your friends jealous tv for her new pad. Wilds decides to go to Worst Buy (I think she’d researched price, I forget why she specifically went there). No help. None at all. She’d try to ask associates for help, only for them to actually walk away as she approached or just disappear into the ether. She tried the service desk to no avail. It becomes important now that she’s well endowed. So she starts jumping up and down, not in a tantrum manner, but hey, she’s short maybe no one has seen her due to her height. Now when Wilds jumps up and down you pay attention, its hard to miss. Nuttin’. She takes out a handful of money, and not in a loud or obnoxious manner but still trying to find help goes: I have money! Cash! I want to buy a T.V.! Today! With cash! Please someone help me!
She finally gave up, frustrated. I believe that she contacted the manager later when she wasn’t so angry, but didn’t buy a T.V. there, or anywhere. She spent the money on our ponies, which I’m sure they think she should have done to begin with. They always give her attention and love. 
I tend to ignore Worst Buy, even though I have a friend who works there who I’ll defend with my dying breath, but he’s not out on the floor, or anything like that. He’s a super diplomatic guy who can tell grandparents how their grandkids cost them tonnes of money and screwed up their computer system, without any anger directed at him, and usually no bloodshed directed at the grandkids. After repeated attempts to find specific items at my local store (when I still went) I started thinking about how it was smaller than the average WB. I finally asked him about it and he said that those stores were basically just to keep the store on your mind. They didn’t have as much stuff and they were encouraged to say to check out the web site. Screw that, I could get what I was looking for for less elsewhere. I wanted instant gratification, dammit!
As for the other stores mentioned, I’ve always found it helpful if I know someone who works there. It makes finding other help and/or answers easier.
Thursday, who finds life easier when she knows people who know people. 
Uh-oh. Someone mentioned Home Depot.
To me, that’s like a red flag to a bull.
Ooh! Lemme tell you about the snippy lil Miss who treated me like shit. I still have steam coming out o’ me ears from that time.
I needed a new kitchen faucet–and since we are redoing our kitchen, I wanted a nice one. I looked around and found the One I Wanted–on display.
I couldn’t find it on the shelf. Too may items, too many dusty boxes, half opened and teetering etc.
I flagged down an orange apron–not her department, she’ll hafta find the gal. (I actually dont’ mind being told that-tell me that, don’t string me along and then say, well, I work in lumber after 15 minutes of BS).
“Gal” comes into the aisle. I tell her my plight. She says, real snippy: it’s right in front of you. I gave an embarassed laugh and said gosh, if it was a snake, it would’ve bit me! She rolled her eyes and said, “I guess so.”
Ooh-went to the manager with that one…ignorant hussy, no better than she should be.
:mad:
<off to take meds for foaming at mouth>
Mmm. Last trip to Best Buy was pretty mixed, in fact.
I wanted the new iPod, see. My current one is 20GB, I wanted the 30GB with video. Mostly because I want the extra space and slightly longer battery life, partly because I’m charmed by the idea of watching TV on something I can fit into my pocket.
The day before (10-26) I walked up to the mp3 player counter.
“Do you have the new 30GB iPods?”
“Yep! We have the 30s and the 60s, but only in white. Black you’ll have to wait a few weeks for.”
“Aw, okay. Thanks! I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Tomorrow comes. I have my receipt (I’d purchased my 20GB on the 30th of September. I’m leaving for the weekend in the morning. I’m not going to be back in time if I don’t exchange it today) and my iPod in its box and everything. I go to the exchange counter and the girl nods cheerily in understanding. She’ll set up the return and I can shop around for a while. I’ve been down this road before and I know part of it is going to the mp3 player counter and asking for the new player I want.
So I go over there and hunt for an employee. I don’t expect someone to be perpetually in that little kiosk, because I know they’ve got other stuff to do, other people to help. A couple of expensively-dressed but somewhat shifty guys seem to have laid claim to the guy who sells the things, so I hover nearby for a while. I figure that when they get to the point that the two guys are discussing what they should get, I might be able to get the attention of the guy ushering them around.
No dice. I hover for a good five minutes or so and I don’t get a second glance from the salesguy. Vaguely piqued, I lie in wait behind a display stand and leap like a tiger on the first blueshirt I see.
“Hi! I want to get a 30GB iPod. I’m doing an exchange for my 20. I’ve got the exchange stuff all set up and I just need the new player.”
“Uhhh… I think we’re out, lemme check.”
“Drat. Okay…”
After further conversation (part of which requires tearing the actual mp3 salesman away from his indecisive quarry), it is determined that they NEVER ACTUALLY HAD ANY. They’re not supposed to be sold until 11/01, see.
Doh… stupid enter key.
They said they couldn’t have sold me one the previous day ANYWAY.
I am annoyed that I was told otherwise, but I return peacefully (moo!) to the girl at the rebate counter and explain my case.
She says “Hang on… let me see if I can do something.” I hang, obediently.
Upshot is: she takes a return on my iPod, gives me store credit, then uses the store credit to purchase me my own iPod again. What this does is give me an extra 30 days on my receipt, so I can exchange it out any time I please in the next month! 
So a mixed situation all around. Ended well, though. Possibly because they can look at my account and see the fridge (and service plan) I bought from Best Buy, the vacuum cleaner (and service plan) I bought from Best Buy…
My reason for never shopping at Best Buy…
While living in an apartment, with no means to leave any deliveries outside or with neighbors, I went to Besy Buy to buy a new TV.
After finally deciding on my purchase, I asked the sales drone whether I could specify the delivery date and time. The guy assured me that I could set up a specific appointment, to have it delivered after I got home from work. I requested the next Monday after 4pm, which he entered into the appointment log on the computer. Everything good I thought.
Well, he was completely FOS. BB contracts out all of their deliveries to another company, who receive their “requested” delivery times and then try to “fit them in” with their normal routes. Monday came and went with no TV. I called BB, and was referred to the delivery company help line. The delivery guys (no fault of thier own really, I blame BB for passing bad info to the customers), said that the only time my area of the city was on the schedule for was Thurday a.m.
After bitching way way up to supervisor level, they took pity on me and showed sympathy, saying BB screws customers that way all the time, and made a special trip to drop my TV off in the p.m.
Simply put, the BB guy you talk to is just trying to make a sale. If you don’t physical have your product in hand when walking out the door, don’t belive any promises, and prepare for the worst.
Aargh! We went to Best Buy recently to buy a TV. Now, we’d shopped around, and discovered that the one we wanted was only at the BB (or else we would have gone somewhere – anywhere – else).
Okay, it’s the weekend and they’re kind of busy. We understand this. We flag down a sales guy, he says he’ll be with us as soon as he’s done with another customer. Fine, no problem, we wait while testing out the nice comfy recliners. He comes back, we tell him which TV we want, he goes off and gets it, gives it to us, and says he’s going off duty now but just take it up front. He then disappears. Fine.
Except not fine – we look at the box and discover it’s an older model of the TV we want. We don’t WANT last year’s TV, we want THIS year’s TV. We finally flag down another sales idiot, who assures us, after ten minutes to disappear in the back, that “the only difference is that this one is black and the one you wanted is silver.” What does he think we are, morons? We insist we want the silver one anyway, not even getting into it with him because there’s no point in arguing with idiots, and after much sighing and eye-rolling, he finally ambles off to get it. About as slowly as a human can move and not be a sloth.
So we ended up with what we wanted. But it took well over an hour. To buy one TV. It’s a miracle the place stays in business, considering how small their profit margin was on that one TV; I doubt it even paid for one hour of those idiots’ time, even at the pittance they’re presumably paid.
In Pennsylvania at least you’ve already stolen the item once you conceal it on your person.
You should’ve asked for an open box discount ;).
Well on the other side of this, I just bought a new fridge. Went into BB on about the 15th of Aug and got a price on the unit we wanted ($1700). When I got back ino town on 9/1 we had gotten a 10% discount coupon from BB. So down we headed to BB.
The same lady that had given us the quote was there, so we again started to talk to her. She types in the SKU for the fridge and the price comes up at $2200! :eek: WTF?
me You told me $1700 two weeks ago?
BB lady When?
me Two weeks ago say the 15th. So she goes into the computer and on the 15th the price was $1700.
BB lady OK, you can have it for $1700.
me Cool I say
me So I have this 10% certificate
BB lady OK, types in cert.
me Ah, excuse me but the 10% certificate did not subtract anything off the price. You computer seems to need math lessons
BB lady That’s strange :::reads cert:::
BB lady This cert is not good on special order items, and this fridge is special order
me figures
BB lady Tell you what, I’ll give you the 10% off anyway
me Cool!
So we schedule the delivery for a couple of Saturdays later. On Friday night BB’s delivery company calls me and tells me my new fridge will arrive between 3-4:30PM on Saturday.
At 12:30PM on Sat. they call again and ask if the driver can deliver between 1-1:30. Sure come on down. Driver arrived at about 1:05Pm.
I really could not have asked for an easier transaction, or better service from either the sales person, or the delivery guys.
YYM (and probably will)V
A few years back, I was looking to buy a new TV. I did my homework, and decided on the exact model, and went to BB for an easy purchase. All the sales guy had to do was ring up the order and arrange for delivery. He rang up the order, we agreed upon a delivery time, and I left the store, temporarily satisfied.
When the deliver date arrived, someone called and told me we’d have to choose a new delivery date. Fine. We agreed on a new one and, again, I was temporarily satisfied.
On the morning of the new delivery date, I got another call and reluctantly chose another date.
On the morning of the new delivery date, I got another call, and very reluctantly chose another date.
On the morning of the new delivery date, I got another call, and told them to forget it. I went to BB and canceled the order. When I told the service lady why, she was surprised I didn’t cancel earlier.
I left BB and went to Sears, where I bought a much better set for only a little more price. They delivered and installed it two days later.
I haven’t stepped foot inside a BB since.