Top 5 things Best Buy doesn't want you to know

[hopjohn]

I should have posted this long ago. As a former employee, here is an insider's look at the top 5 things from the HT department of Best Buy (where I worked) that I guarantee they do not want their customers to know.

5. Barely legal bait and switch schemes. They push the limits of the laws with many of their flyer ads with some cheap product, like a 40 dollar DVD player to get you in the store, in hopes of encouraging you to buy something better, ie more expensive. That's the salesmen's job under any circumstance, so it doesn't change with these cheapo sales events either.

4. Open box items are usually returned items, not something that just happened to get opened in store, which rarely happens. I've seen many store employees try to avoid saying it was returned, in fear of losing the sale. Also most employees don't take the time to properly label the open box tags so you may think you are getting all accessories when you are not.

3. I've discussed this before, but here is more on this subject. As part of employee training, monster cables are drilled into employee's heads as a part of all applicable sales add ons from day one. In fact it is part of the "Total Solution" mechanism in place that all employess are to follow during their sales routine. Employees are told straight up that monster's products are superior, but never given any detailed reason why this is supposedly so. The employees I witnessed would typically memorize much of the fluff that was written on the package, on their own behalf, as a way to more quickly answer customer questions, preserve "expert" status, and eliminate possible reservations that the customer might have about spending more on something that was already provided in the box. In fact, this was often lied about. Employees don't like telling customers that zipcords come with their dvd player when asked. If they employees are forced into telling a customer, they will be quick to point how poor in quality they are in comparison to monster's products. One manager would actually say "The only thing (the customer) better be using zipcords cords for is to hold their trunk shut after they've just bought something". AR cables and recoton cables are seen as a failure of doing a proper sale at Best Buy and used only as a last ditch effort to get the customer to buy a little something extra. If an employee doesn't ask you "do you want cables, an antenna, blank discs, tapes, etc. with that?" when you are buying an applicable product, then they are simply not doing their job as instructed.

2. Employee know how. There was a recent Home Theater magazine article on the knowledge of Circuit City, Ultimate Electronics, and Best Buy employees. The rag was trying to determine how well each store knew their stuff. I knew what the results of this absolutely retarded article were going to be before I even began reading it, but as a former employee I read it anyway for curiousity's sake. The results, of course, depended on the individual knowledge of the employee that the writers happened to speak to.

Best Buys's policy is for each employee to know as much as they can about the products they sell in their primary area of responsibility. Yet, in order to do so they have to research the product almost entirely on their own time. During slow times throughout the day when you would think an employee could do a little studying, typically this is when the merchandising manager obegins running around being his/her most concerned about the store's cleanliness and the straighntess of the product on the shelves etc., so employees rarely get to know their products that well and also because of the constant product turnover. Also keep in mind when selling something such as a DVD player you can only know so much by looking at the box, the little tag, and the exterior of a product, never once getting a chance to operate its menus or analyse its performance on screen. For these reasons, the most knowledgable of employees are those who are interested in HT, music, etc. for their own personal hobbies and interests and know about these things from the time they spend reading learning, and using them outside of work. Best Buy would rather you think their "friendly experts" are well seasoned and well informed NOT some pimple faced kid, but usually that's exactly what they are. The technical training employees do get is nearly non-existant, and the little that is given is usually in the form of hurried-up computer modules so they can get you back to the sales floor. Also good training starts at the top, and when most employee's superiors know less about the produts than the salespeople do, it's a lost cause from the beginning.

1. PSP. This little acronym stands for Perfomance Service Plan, or better known to most as an extended warranty. It is the single biggest thing harped on by managers to their sales staff to be absolutely certain to sell. coincidentally, it is also one of the most lucrative things that Best Buy sales in terms of pure profit, (cables are up there also). The reason for this is because very rarely do customers take adavantage of the plan., and believe me they know this. If everything is done correctly an employees should try to sell you a PSP on any device which has one, and then the person at the register should also ask you,, though it is the sales persons job to sell it to you. The person at the register merely acts as a vocal reminder. Managers prefer employees to sell their products with PSPs at the register in the department so you can't walk and think alone, since this allows an opportunity for this pressure approach to fail.

The explanations of coverage by the PSP it is often errored, because the specific coverage varies from product to product. This causes a tremendous amount of confusion and often salespeople tell you that something is covered under the plan when in fact it is not. The employee probably doesn't do this consciously, but because the managaers are as confused about the specific coverage as anyone else their is no source for accurate information when making the sale, so employees might embellish when they aren't sure.

The status of a salesmen lives and dies by the ability to sale the PSP along with as many other related products as is possible.The more expensive the product, the more expensive the PSP, and consequently the more important it is for a salesmen to attach one to the sale. If a salesmen sales a big screen television without a PSP you can bet money that the manager is going to be wondering why, and you can bet the employee is going to be trying to avoid the manager for the next few hours. An employee would also be expected to sale cables, a dvd player, a surge supressor, and whatever else seemed logical as a result of answers to strategically asked questions during a big screen sale. This is the idea of the "Total Solution" I spoke of earlier. You didn't think they asked all these questions to be nice did you?, but that's how they try to play it off. Friendly experts with all the answers.

Most employees will probably tell you in private thet they hate selling PSPs because it is a contradiction to th view that the corporate office holds dear. The corporate ideolgy is that of a proper, friendly, non pressured sales approach. Unfortuately this happens only in theory compared with that which actually takes place. In practice, managers ride the asses of employees to sell the PSP. So much so that salespeople are basically forced into being very bullish in their approach to selling them, and that's when an employee is forced to be very "creative" in how they handle the situation, sort of be friendly, but persistant as hell approach.

Well I hope this post was informative, I wish all former employees would call out on their experiences. I think this only helps consumers understand the mendling that goes on behind the scenes.

Peace,
hopjohn

[rgriffin25]

Hop,

I think it is funny that you mention this. I have not had the misfortune of working at one of these retail stores. However, I was at Circuit City this evening looking for a movie and killing time while the wife was shopping next door at a dept store. I happen to over hear a vunerable customer fall into the hands of some over zealous salesmen. I am not going to ramble out the whole story.. I will say that the customer didn't know much going into the store. So after being convinced on which equipment to buy the salesman lead him to the Monster accessories rack. They went right to the $200 a roll speaker cable and told him this was what he needed to get it all hooked up. (All this for a HTIB)

I desperatly wanted to say something, but after much deliberation I resisted the temptation and went on looking for movies. It makes you wonder how many people get duped on a daily basis..

Another quick story.. I work at a locally owned electronics store. We recently sold a $500 TV and a $110 DVD player to a customer. A week or so later he came back in asking questions on how to connect his stuff with his new Monster Cables. Yep, you guessed it.. He went to Best Buy and the salesman there sold him close to $600 in cables. (I kid you not!) So after his $610 purchase at our store, he spent the same amount he spent on the equipment on the cables. (Power conditioner, high dollar comp video, Svideo, and A/V kits) A Best Buy salesman of the day I bet!

[nm2285]

Just as a side comment: I've never worked at a Best Buy but in patronizing them, the management seems as inept as the employees. Once, I returned a DVD player that I had opened, the woman at the register told me I'd have to wait until the manager checked it. The manager was standing there shrink-wrapping some documents and continued to do it for 10-15 minutes while I stood there. Finally he finished, walked over to the box, looked in, and said ok. 15 minutes of waiting for a job that took 2 seconds. That was the height of ignorance.
Just one of many horror stories.


Anyway-
I have worked at Circuit City and they drill the ideal of spending 10% of your total budget on cables (they ONLY carry Monster). Each employee is supposed to have a certain total of his sales in extended warranties (City Advantage) and accessories-usually about 5% or so. That makes it a bit easier working...managers aren't riding your *** about it unless you are just making or lower than your requirements.
Also, Circuit City actually puts their staff through online training about the specific products and technologies they sell. I only worked in the portables, video games, media, and phone sections and I still had a good 5 or 6 hours of training. I think some Circuit City stores are far superior to Best Buy. Unfortunately, they are inconsistent; some are awful.

[hopjohn]

I would second that about Circuit City. It usually boils down to the luck of the draw in terms of who you end up dealing with in any consumer electronics place. Even boutiques aren't immune to this. Some employees are quite knowledgable, and some are on the verge of falling into a coma for lack of brain activity. :D

[annunaki]

Hop,

Another quick story.. I work at a locally owned electronics store. We recently sold a $500 TV and a $110 DVD player to a customer. A week or so later he came back in asking questions on how to connect his stuff with his new Monster Cables. Yep, you guessed it.. He went to Best Buy and the salesman there sold him close to $600 in cables. (I kid you not!) So after his $610 purchase at our store, he spent the same amount he spent on the equipment on the cables. (Power conditioner, high dollar comp video, Svideo, and A/V kits) A Best Buy salesman of the day I bet!

I am not trying to be mean here, but him purchasing that dollar amount in cables from someone else is the salesperson's fault. If the customer would have been qualified more extensively, the salesperson may have been able to sell him a $900 TV and a $220 dvd player and an additional $90 in cables and peripherals (which would have made a much bigger difference than the cables he was sold, which were sold to do that purpose). The customer would have been more satisfied with your store and received better equipment in the end. Customers, and people in general, will spend more money than what they tell you they are willing to spend. IF they can be shown the benefits of the superior product and why they may be necessary.

[rgriffin25]

I agree to some extent. I didn't actually help this customer. So you may be correct in assuming that he would have spent more money. That was not the point of my story. Which was that some customers believe anything they are told. (these people are targeted by dishonest salesmen)

Maybe if the guy at best buy actually cared he would have done a better job helping this guy instead of sticking it to him.

[Mudcat]

My complaint about both Beast Bum and Circuit $H!!tty are that you cannot get what you want when you are more knowledgable than the sales twerps. If you want to waste money on Monster's top of the line stuff, you cannot get it. If you want plain 12 awg zip wire, you cannot get it. If you want AR's top of the line you cannot get it. But if you want KLH crap they can get it.

I bought both a Sony RDR-GX7 DVD player/recorder and a Sony RCD-W500C CD player/recorder at big blue. I had done my research and knew what I wanted and what my budget was (I'm not comparing these units to other brands, just my research and budget). I walked in and put the boxes in my cart and walked up to the cashier. I tried, with all my military special ops training to avoid the sales people, but dam they're good. I did not make it through the CD racks to the cashier before being accosted about service plans, extended warrenties, cable upgrades, HD TVs (to better view the DVDs on my upcoming purchase). I almost had to get physical to get out of there.

[annunaki]

I agree griff. Sorry to go off topic. I do agree that the best buy "experts" set people up with things that they really do not need. I will say however, that if that customer was willing to spend $600 with best buy, he may have been willing to spend it at your store. :)

[trumpet]

Although Best Buy is not the perfect store, they do come in handy for me. I ussually buy things that I really can't afford at the time by using their no interest financing plans. Though I don't buy the psp plan for everything, I actually use it when I do. I faithfully use it with cell phones and Pocket PCs. Because of the fact that something always goes wrong with these types of products I ussually upgrade about once a year and only pay the difference.

So they are not all bad.
Just my Opinion

[tjkahn]

This is a great thread - thanks Hopjohn.

This is why web sites such as this are so valuable. You can do all your own research, talk with experts on these forums, and if Best Buy or Circuit City has something you want at a decent price, you can grab it and ignore the sales people. Believe me, one "I know what I want and I'm in a hurry" and most sales people get the message.

Another note, the mass stores are not the only ones that do this. I regularly buy from a home theater store in the Chicago area, and they carry higher quality mainstream brands (Denon, Yamaha, Integra) up to very pricey exotic/boutique brands. Their sales staff is pretty knowledgeable. Yet, they only carry Monster Cable ("only the best"). Every time I buy a component, they try to sell me M-Series Monster interconnects. I did buy a very expensive subwoofer cable and some other expensive interconnects, but I have a Denon 2900 on order, and thanks to audioholics.com, I ordered interconnects from Blue Jean Cable. I'm convinced from my research this will be as good as or better (but probably indistinguishable) from the best Monster product I could have been sold. I have no complaints about Monster Cable, but I think there is a huge mark-up on their producst. BTW, Blue Jean's communication was excellent - product shipped priority mail in less than 24 hours. Thank you audioholics!

[Tsunamii]

Great Thread and great comments. This is why I never listen to the Sales people (no offense to any sales people here). I like to research on my own find the best dollar value and have a local store like Tweeter price match my item and buy from someone I know will stand by their product.

Tsunamii

[markw]

I am not trying to be mean here, but him purchasing that dollar amount in cables from someone else is the salesperson's fault. If the customer would have been qualified more extensively, the salesperson may have been able to sell him a $900 TV and a $220 dvd player and an additional $90 in cables and peripherals (which would have made a much bigger difference than the cables he was sold, which were sold to do that purpose). The customer would have been more satisfied with your store and received better equipment in the end. Customers, and people in general, will spend more money than what they tell you they are willing to spend. IF they can be shown the benefits of the superior product and why they may be necessary.

They really would rather sell more $$ in cables. The markup on theTV and DVD player are barely there. The markup on cables is tremendous.

Back "in the day" when I sold (before botique cables), we made most of our money on phono cartridges. We could afford to cut our margins on the other stuff knowing full well that we could make it up on the cartridge. Also, using their low whosale cost to our advantage, we could offer a cartridge "for only one cent" and mark up the other stuff and still offer an attractive, no haggle system price.

It's all about profit margin and nowadays cables are where it's at.

[annunaki]

I guess you are right in that respect Mark. Cables do help out with margins, but $610 worth is quite overboard. I guess you could call me old fashioned but I like to see my customers happy, with better equipment, without selling them a bunch of B.S. I have always taken the no nonsense sales approach, as I cannot willingly tell a customer that they will see huge performance advantages from cables. So far it has been pretty rewarding.

[hopjohn]

I have always taken the no nonsense sales approach, as I cannot willingly tell a customer that they will see huge performance advantages from cables. So far it has been pretty rewarding.

Best Buy employees don't have that luxury. What they willingly do, is not the same as what they are told to do. Just curious what you do tell your customers about the low end cables you sell, certainly you're not unhappy with expensive peripheral sales should they occur. How do you handle the subject of cables with your customers?

[annunaki]

Basically, most of my cable sales are the $30/meter variety. Not too expensive but not too cheap either. And no B.S. marketing and sales tactics. If a customer wants a $100/meter cable I can get that for them. If they want the $6/meter cables I can get them that too. By going with a cable in the $30/meter range one is pretty assured of good construction and oxygen free copper (though even at $6/meter on would be pretty sure of getting an ofc cable, but not the same durable construction of the $30/meter). Some very cheap cables do not employ ofc and over time the copper oxidizes. When the copper oxidizes it can have adverse effects on sound by raising the impedence and inductance of the cable. That is usually how I can steer people into a little better cable. Simply give it to them straight. As far as the high end cables go, if a customer has already bought into the crap, I will give them my opinion and they can still buy the $100/meter cable if they want. It won't bother me. :)

[docferdie]

Think about it this way, even though a cable may cost 5 cents and is sold for $50 they didn't neccesarily make a profit of 49.95 as a store because they have huge operating costs that aren't always apparent to the consumer. The best example I can't think of is how the Cleveland Clinic was so proud that in one year they made a profit of $100 million. Upon further questioning it came out that this was for an operating cost of $10 Billion.
If you like having a store that is fairly well stocked with a diverse number of items and a reasonable return policy then you shouldn't feel so bad about paying a little bit more for some items as opposed to others.

[Unregistered]

there used to be a website dedicated to bringing down futureshop and best buy. It seems to be down or taken out.
heres the url just incase it pops up again
www.futureshopexposed.com

[hopjohn]

This post wasn't designed to prevent you from shopping from Best Buy or any other electronics store. It was intended to inform people of what to expect, and to provide essential information for avoiding snake oil. So let's not turn this into the steam vent.

Here is a portion of an interview that ecoustics held with Gene. It highlights what I was refering to with regards to the profits made by Best Buy and other cable vendors.

Q:
Why aren’t hardware vendors who design the electronics more vocal about cables?

A:
This is a rather complicated subject that I will try to answer as eloquently as possible without offending anyone. Many of the reputable hardware vendors I have spoken with feel exactly as I do about cables, at least privately. I suspect they aren’t publicly vocal about it because they don’t want to undercut their dealerships. Believe it or not, most dealer’s bread and butter result from cable sales. Cables offer some of the highest profit margins in the industry. It is not uncommon for a dealer to do in excess of $100K/month in revenues for cable sales where they would be lucky to do 1/4th of that in sales and maybe 1/8th in profit margins of say loudspeakers.

[Rob Babcock]

You're best bet if buying something over $100 is to look for a real slacker. Just like anywhere, some BB employees are pretty "gung ho" to follow the party line, but others are lazy/laid back kids that just go thru the motions. "No" once works fine for the slackers- they look like they're trying, at least a bit.

My local BB isn't nearly so bad as some must be. Although a few years ago, my brother bought a 55" projection set from them and was hounded about the warranty to the point that he just went off. Something to the effect of "Are you gonna sell me this f**kin' TV or am I gonna drive over to Ultimate Electronics?" According to what I've read, some store managers would rather you not even buy the TV than to get out the door without getting jacked for the gravy (it messes up their "ratio", I hear).

Lastly, I think BB is near criminal in their many techniques developed to screw you out of getting the service you paid for on your PSP. Several times in the past I've taken something in for service repeatedly only to have it returned to me STILL NON-FUNCTIONAL, and eventually had them claim I abused the item when they couldn't figure out how to fix it. The end result is that under no circumstance that I can think of would I ever buy anything electronic from them that I could buy elsewhere (with the exception perhaps of a printer or game console).

That said, I do spend a couple grand per year at BB, mostly on software (movies, games & music). You gotta watch your arse.

[Westrock2000]

To add insult to injury;


At Best Buy, an Arresting Price Policy

By Peter Finn Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, February 28, 1997;
Page A01

There are comparison shoppers.

And then there's Ronald Kahlow.

Kahlow, 54, wanted a TV set. So he created a program on his laptop
computer that would let him record the model number and price of every
television in a string of stores near his Reston home.

First stop: Best Buy.

And that's where things started to get, um, bizarre. Kahlow, a computer
jock who owns a small software company, was arrested twice and led away
in handcuffs when he refused to stop recording TV prices. In court, he
read a poem by Robert F. Kennedy to the judge, who declared him not
guilty of trespass. The judge, Donald P. McDonough, compared Kahlow to
the civil rights demonstrators of the 1960s.

Now Kahlow is suing Best Buy for $90,000.

All for a good deal on a TV.

Best Buy officials said the company, which is based in Minneapolis, has
an unwritten policy not to allow anyone to record prices in its
stores.

"For competitive reasons, we ask that pricing not be written down,"
said spokeswoman Laurie Bauer. "It's a disruption of other customers.
[The policy is] so other customers will not feel threatened or
disrupted."

Bauer declined to discuss either the trespassing case brought against
Kahlow or his civil suit.

It all started in July. Looking like a gunslinger with a laptop, Kahlow
sauntered into Best Buy in Reston with his computer strapped around his
waist. He said he was leaning toward a big screen model but was
pricing everything. Kahlow said he was keying in the information when
store employees asked him to stop. Kahlow said he explained what he was
doing and refused to stop.

According to court testimony, Best Buy employees stood in front of
Kahlow and pulled the tags off every television he had not yet priced.

The store also called the police, who asked Kahlow to leave. He refused
and was arrested on a trespassing charge.

The next day, Kahlow came backarmed with pad and paper.

He started taking down prices again. The police were called again.
Kahlow was arrested again.

"I felt very intimidated," Kahlow said. "Each step of the way, I felt
more and more furious. I mean, come on, I'm a consumer. I was totally
in the right. When something is plumb wrong, you have to stand up."

Retail analyst Ken Gassman, who secretly records prices all the time to
compare different companies, said some stores do throw out professional
shoppersif they can detect them. But, Gassman said, Best Buy's
competitors and price analysts such as him never would be as obvious as
Kahlow.

"Is Best Buy out of its mind?" asked Gassman, of Davenport and Co., a
brokerage house in Richmond. "This is so anti-consumer, it's
unbelievable. And it raises the question about whether they are the
lowest priced. . . . If you call yourself Best Buy and you are the best
buy, then why would you worry about comparison shopping?"

One of Best Buy's main competitors said it doesn't proscribe comparison
shopping. "As long as someone is not disruptive, we have no policy"
against it, said Morgan Stewart, a spokesman for Richmond-based Circuit
City.

It isn't the only one. "Customers can come in and take down any price
they want," said Brian Dowling, a spokesman for Safeway Stores Inc.
"In fact, it's something our customers and our competitors do all the
time."

"Someone wants to price, we tell them to enjoy themselves," said Barry
Scher, a spokesman for Giant Food Inc.

After his arrest, Kahlow said he priced TVs at several other
electronics retailers, including Circuit City. In each instance, he
said, he was asked what he was doing but was allowed to continue when
he explained he was comparing prices before deciding where to buy a
TV.

A month after his misadventure at Best Buy, Kahlow stood before
McDonough in Fairfax County General District Court.

Best Buy argued that Kahlow was interrupting other sales.

The judge, in full rhetorical flower, disagreed.
Original Link (http://www.quux.org:70/Government/USA/Law/bb-arrest.txt)


A story regarding a Best Buy pricing snafu has been circling the Web for several weeks now. Usually stories like this equate to some irate individuals with a loud voice getting wide attention. However, this time it's different. Some Best Buy managers are now having people arrested when they show up to claim their Internet order. We covered the original story in February, and since that time there have been new developments.

To review, in February a price listed on Best Buy's website and on many in-store price tags read "VisionTek GeForce4 Ti4600 for Special Pre-Order Price of $129.00 ... the savings is a $200.00 Value". More than 2,000 consumers placed orders at that price on Best Buy's website. Originally, the number was estimated to be around 1,400; it is now confirmed that more than 2,000 people have valid orders, some with more than one card per receipt.

Many consumers are showing up at Best Buy these days to inquire about their order and find out why it was never filled and why they never received it. When they do so, some of them are being arrested for criminal fraud. It has come to pass in recent days that several Best Buy managers are having people arrested when they show up to claim their order. Even individuals holding valid receipts with legitimate grievances are being escorted away by police.
Original Link (http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2002apr/gee20020424011358.htm)


For more information refer to;
BestBuySux.com (http://www.bestbuysux.org/index1.html)

[annunaki]

That article is nothing short of amazing. Does best buy hire communist gustappo or what?

[archemedes]

I had a customer call me frustrated after buying a tv, and dvd player at Best Buy. They sold her 3 cables she had Sattelite, and the dvd player she didn't know what the other cable was for (simple composite cable priced at 29.95) I went out hooked everything up and calibrated the set charged her my service call, and we started talking, she thought she got a great deal since the set was "on sale" she told me the price and I had to keep myself from laughing the price was the msrp we had it for $100 less, plus would have thrown in the composite cables, and hooked it up with delivery (I know that's weird)

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Holy Crap! They had police remove customers from the store becuase they had receipts! :eek: :confused:

Thats the last time I'm shopping there, I'l probably get picked-up on the way out:

Mall Security: Hey you! Stop right there!

Me: I paid for this CD I even have a receipt.

Mall Security: A-Ha! So you admit it! You're coming with us!

[Unregistered]

This is really weird. I work at circuit city and have gone down to best buy a number of times to check their prices and have never been thrown out.
They have us do this to check competior pricing.
This is what usually happens;
I walk in to best buy in my circuit city shirt with my nametag on with my clipboard in hand.
BB Manager: "How you doin' today?
Me: Oh, Hey I'm great. Don't mind me I'm just checking your prices for Circuit City.
Him: Oh, Great. Let me know if you guys have anything cheaper than we do.
Me: Alright, Have a great day.

[Unregistered]

I find it interesting that no one has mentioned the markup that monster cable and the like put on their products. If this gives you any idea they offer Circuit City employees a discount of 60% through their site. And you know that they are still making money off of that. Monster Cable is the biggest rip off. I would never buy it at retail unless I had no other choice. Just my 2 cents.

[BuddTX]

I see someone already posted this web site, but I will post it again, as it was burried in the post:

Best Buy Suks (http://www.bestbuysux.org/)

[Khellandros66]

I used to work for Best Buys Audio Departmant, and we had some actual informative demos of how Monster Cable being thicker means its better (i know how this sounds already :D ) Anyways I taught my supervisor about DACs, THD, SNR and all that good stuff which is sad.

~Bob

[djoxygen]

Many years ago (as in about 16 or so) I worked at a Best Buy in the Minneapolis area. I'm not sure they were even a national chain at that point. All sales people were on commission and required to dress the part. Suits and ties for the men, dresses for the women. The only people allowed to wear jeans were those of us back in the warehouse.

There was a smattering of low end gear, but the upper end of their range went as far as Hafler and Cerwin-Vega (yes, both for home use! - see "active v. passive monitoring" for more on using studio-quality gear at home).

IMHO, the day Best Buy took the salespeople off commission was the day they dove for the company of bottom feeders. However, even before that they would play dirty pool, and the manufacturers were playing right along with them. When the Sunday morning circular went out in the paper, the staff would go around posting higher "regular" prices to make the "sale" prices look like they were a better bargain than they were the day before. And to prevent the kind of comparison shopping that apparenly can land one in court these days, some of the suppliers (Infinity comes to mind) would sell a slightly altered model number to each competitor, so BBC would get a 3000 and the guys across the street (can't remember if it was CC or someone else) would get a 3001. Each would claim that theirs was somehow different than the other, and all but the most educated customers would believe it and be kept from playing us against each other on pricing.

Fortunately the Internet has put most of those practices in the graveyard where they belong. But the pushing of service contracts, outrageous cable markups, and the fact that rather than be trained on product performance and specifications, the only training salespeople get is how to sell the former, has kept me pretty much to buying DVDs and CDs at BBC and CC, and reserving my hardware budget for stores that can earn it.

[Tres]

I have worked at Best Buy for more then a year now. I agree that they do stress things like higher in cables in my area (Computers) and that they suggest battery Back UPS. I am also a computer Science Major getting ready to graduate from a local college. I am considered in a position of higher rank then my coworkers and often coach them on the proper ways of selling. I never force them to sale them something that isn't necessary. I do tell them why a gold usb cable (for example) is better then a typical plain usb cable. I do explain to them why one type of cd-r is better to sale then others. I also tell them why someone should buy the service plan. Here are my personal experiences as a customer before I worked at Best Buy. I bought a toshiba laptop and a service plan for $250. About 9 months later my battery went out. I called toshiba and they said I could pay to get it sent there and they would check the battery and then send me back one. I was like no I wasn't going to pay for it. I went to Best Buy and they replaced my laptop and rolled my service plan over. I had the same thing happen with a washer and dryer. Now I am not saying that this has happened to every item I have ever purchased. But it has happened 2 times. There service plan was well worth it to me. No one can tell me that any laptop will never break. I spent $250 on a service plan for a laptop that cost me close to $2000. So I could buy 8 service plans and if only one broke and needed replaced, break even. This is not including batterys or anything. Now the failure rate of laptops is hovering about 25% in the first year(as stated by a recent national magazine article).

One thing that I can bet my job on is that at my store, my customers are taken care of much better then any other store in my area. I have on multiple times let customers return items from other stores without receits so they could get a better model (even though we would have to sale later at a lower cost), I have often told my service techs in the store to install something for free (something no other store in my area can provide), I have often told my employees to discount a product just because the box was damaged and to check the product before it left the store for the customers satisfaction. I have also helped people fill out rebate forms so they would insure that they received them back, went to someone's house and hooked up a washer and dryer because they couldn't get it working, and even helped walk people through installing computer components that I could have charged them for (for free). This is just what I have done. I have seen many other good things. My store just took out 13 little brothers from the big brother/big sister program to a bowling and pizza night. We have donated our time and money to send things to soldiers in Iraq. We have donated items for Goodwill and the local salvation army. We even conducted a video game contest where 50% of all money collected went to the winner and the rest went to a charity. And the person who won it worked with me and gave all the winnings other then his entry fee to charity as well. So I don't think you have the right to Bash best buy employees with your slander when you obvisously have no clue what happens in every store.

I doubt you could say that you have ever been helped with a pc problem at one of my local competors.

[Mudcat]

I wish you were in my area. The two BB I can use (Glen Burnie, MD and Springfield, VA) often use high pressure gestapo tactics, even if I'm only getting a DVD.

[MarkSJohnson]

Seems to me that 5, 7, 10 years ago The Best Buys and Circuit City’s were easier to deal with. I was psyched when each originally opened in my area. They weren't high end, but better than many of the other options I had at the time.

No, I can barely stand to be in BB and, though I've found the CC across the street to be better, it's still no bargain in the "sales experience".

What really turned me off was when I was buying a very nice Sony 19" LCD computer monitor which was $1100 at the time. The guy I was dealing with at Best Buy was easy going and nice to deal with. Then someone else came over, I don't know if it was a superior or not, and it went rapidly downhill. The new guy asked if I was getting the extended warranty and I replied "no". He started listing off the reasons why I should and I told him that I wasn't interested. Now, I'm walking to the registers in the front of the store and this guy is FOLLOWING me, listing more reasons why I should get it. I'm starting to seethe now, and while the monitor is being rung up, he tells me I'm going to regret it because the backlight on these typically burns out in 3 months to a year and it would be incredibly expensive to fix.

What I told him is that I don't believe that Sony would produce a product with that kind of failure rate. What I said in my head and in the car afterwards was far different and shouldn't be posted here. At the time, I essentially kept quiet because I had my desk pulled out (no small feat) and really wanted to get that monitor that day to finish the installation of the new computer and get my office back to normal; the only other option I found would have been an hour's drive.

Now, for good or for bad, I'm not nice to a**hole salespeople that "push". I'm much more likely to give them a piece of my mind and walk out. Not that I'm a mean person. 99% percent of the time all is fine and I'm a guy who always tips 25%. But if you're going to push my buttons, I just don’t have tolerance for it anymore and I now push back.

Although I've gone on long enough in this post, let me throw a little slant in here that might take the thread in a little twist:

Do we, as consumers, get what we deserve?

I'll keep this short (so it won't need to be moved to the "rant" folder), but when we, as consumers, continuously patronize the place that's $5 cheaper, how else can the stores stay in business with some of the narrow margins that leaves? I get a kick out of people complaining that the airline business has such bad service, but they'll still choose the carrier that's $3 cheaper. It may not be the case with members of forums such as these who, as a general rule, are better educated about the purchases that they wish to make and on average buy a higher-level product than the majority of consumers. But by and large, don't consumers in general get exactly what they ask for? I'm not talking rudeness by salespeople, but the lack of support and knowledge and the need to sell "something" to make a profit??

[Rob Babcock]

Do we, as consumers, get what we deserve?

I'll keep this short (so it won't need to be moved to the "rant" folder), but when we, as consumers, continuously patronize the place that's $5 cheaper, how else can the stores stay in business with some of the narrow margins that leaves? I get a kick out of people complaining that the airline business has such bad service, but they'll still choose the carrier that's $3 cheaper. It may not be the case with members of forums such as these who, as a general rule, are better educated about the purchases that they wish to make and on average buy a higher-level product than the majority of consumers. But by and large, don't consumers in general get exactly what they ask for? I'm not talking rudeness by salespeople, but the lack of support and knowledge and the need to sell "something" to make a profit??

In my area it's not that simple- BB is pretty much the only place in town to buy that stuff. There's an Ultimate Electronics for the "semi-upscale" audio stuff & a great assortment of TVs, but they carry virtually no computer stuff. There's a local PC place, but it's real "mom & pop" and carries a very limited supply of monitors and stuff (although a good array of cases, mobos & hardware- plus advanced knowledge). And there's always Wally World/Target/Shopko, etc for cheapo stuff live VCRs. And no place in town can even come close to the selection of CDs and DVDs at BB.

So where does that leave me? I'll tell you where: buying from BB or ordering online, presumably to save that same $3. Buying by internet is another hot button issue lately- many people think you should buy locally to keep B&M dealers in business. Besides, with some online vendors you get sub-BestBuy level service.

For any audio I can buy locally, or a TV, I'll hit UE. For anything upscale I'm pretty much forced to go internet. But for the bulk of my music & movie purchases, I'm left with the Big B.

[Unregistered]

I didnt read all four pages of this, just the first.. but, i must say this. Do you expect somebody extremely knowledgable about ANYTHING to be working at a $7 an hour job dumping low end electronics on people? This is just the way the world works. No Mcdonalds employee can explain to you the technical workings of a shake machine and no conveinent store worker can be expected to know the amount of calories in a snikers bar off the top of their head. Its the nature of retail. The store is not there to give people the best bang for the buck it is there to make money. You are foolish if you expect anything more than you are getting out of your best buy employees. They are not trying to make friends.. just sales.. and untill they start paying liveable wages to the people working on the floor, do not expect more. (pardon my rhyme)

Jim Curtis
Buffalo, Ny

[MrCommonSense]

You folks make me laugh... What did you expect? Businesses, in case you hadn't figured this out, exist to make money (duh)... So why are you so suprised that they would try to do this? Yes, things like extended or replacement warranties and high end accessories like monster cables, etc., are profitable for stores - if they weren't then why even bother to be in business? You people seem to think that these stores exist to please you, as though the whole reason they get up and go to work everyday is so you can eventually get around to using them to get something you want - cheap. Hey, there's an old adage that goes "you get what you pay for"... In retail today the only significant profit made is on cables, warranties, etc. - there's a lot less profit to be made on the primary item itself, very often no profit is made or the retailer even takes a loss with every sale. You guys need to understand this: it is NOT immoral to offer a product that you make a profit on, in fact it is necessary and good. Ask yourselves this before you open your mouths and while like a 3 year old that doesn't want to share it's toys, "what if the stores actually did what I suggest?" Here's the answer: with consumers unable or unwilling to pay a decent profit margin on all products and retailers unable to sell any products at a high profit, those products which consumers won't or can't pay a decent profit on will become a waste of time and effort for retailers and they will stop selling them. As a result, many people will lose their jobs in both retail and manufacturing, causing a serious decline in the overall economy. Chances are that if stores stopped making profits on accessories and warranties, not only couldn't you find anyone to sell you a game console like an XBOX or a PS2, or a nice TV, or a Home Theater System, but even if you could you might not be able to afford them because (by the domino effect) YOU could very well be UNEMPLOYED.

And by the way, it's not like you don't get anything for your money. Monster cables, for example, really ARE the best cables money can buy, and they really DO result in better picture and sound quality. As for warranties, hey, a lot of people wind up cashing them in and they would have been screwed without it. As for those who don't, well, they get the peace of mind that they can if they need to, they are lucky not to have any problems or hassles, and they are doing their part to cover the costs incurred by those who DO have to use theirs, as well as creating an avenue of profit for the stores that is their incentive to do things like: make deals with manufacturers to get the products you want to buy made, make deals with shipping comapnies to bring them to your town so you can buy them without driving over hell and a half acre, build clean, attractive stores for you to shop comfortably in (and keep them that way), get up every morning and put on a stupid uniform so customers can tell they work there, stay up late stocking shelves, pay the employees who tell you how to find the public restroom in their stores, and then pay the same employees to clean up where you piss and ****, provide you with free toilet paper to wipe your *** with, and put up with your inane stupity as to how things work!

Hey, anyone who doesn't like stores making a profit, there's an idea that a lot of folks tried about that: it's called "communism". I hear the weather's nice in cuba, but there's no big screen TV's (with or without extended warranties and decent cables hooked up in the back).

[Rob Babcock]

Monster cables, for example, really ARE the best cables money can buy, and they really DO result in better picture and sound quality.

.............provide you with free toilet paper to wipe your *** with, and put up with your inane stupity as to how things work!



Holy cow! Did someone go off their meds today?:p

I'll tell ya, unless it's different at the Best Buy you work at, Mr.CommonSense, free is too much for the toilet paper they use! :p Which is on par with the value of the advice I've received from the average BB employee... :rolleyes:

[Leprkon]

There's nothing wrong with a business offering a high-end product. Every person who ever goes into sales is trained to do that, because you never know when you have an uneducated customer (ie sucker).

There's also nothing wrong with telling people on message boards about aplces that do this religiously, and in some cases, to the extent they would risk a sale.

We always tell women who don;t want to have sex that when they say NO it means NO, quit asking, and go away. Too bad we don't have a similar law for RETAIL !!!!

As for the guy who made postings about McDonald's, I don;t expect an employee to know how a shake machine works, but I DAMNED sure expect him to be able to tell me what's on a Big Mac !!!!!!!!!

[Unregistered]

"As for the guy who made postings about McDonald's, I don;t expect an employee to know how a shake machine works, but I DAMNED sure expect him to be able to tell me what's on a Big Mac !!!!!!!!!"

They are not *****ing about the Best Buy employees not knowing whats in the box.. im sure they can tell you that. The people here seem to be expecting sales people with MIT degrees in engineering. My Mcdonalds analogy was vaild in that regard.

[Leprkon]

Let's imagine a normal person walking in to Bets Buy. He knows what kind of music he listens to and maybe how big the room is he will be putting a system in. He is going to be asking the guys at Best Buy "why should I buy the (Insert Brand Name) 1000 instead of the 900 ? Getting an answer like "well, it's their next step up in the line" just isn't an acceptable answer. There oughta be some really good reasons to dish out an extra $ 150, and if they want that extra dough, they oughta be able to earn it.

I personally don;t think it's going to far to ask a reasonably technical questions like "this model upconverts the video... how does that help me ?" and expect a truthful answer like "it doesn't change the quality of the signal or the picture, but it does let you run just one cable to the TV"; or "does the unit have seperate amplifiers for each channel ?" as this is a major separation point from the low line and better quality receivers. I certainly don't expect Best Buy people to know the DSP processor speed or number of DAC's in each unit, but they should be able to answer the questions that impact people who wouldn't know for themselves.

In many cases you will find these guys don't even know the difference between a component and composite video input, or will be happy to sell you an equalizer to go with your brand new Dolby Digital 7.1 receiver, which could distort the signal and might overdrive your DSP chip.

These are the kind of things I wouldn;t expect from a Walmart employee who might be in the toy department today and in women's shoes tomorrow. They are the kind of things I would expect from (as Best Buy calls their employees) audio consultants or audio technicians.

[JoeE SP9]

The way that I fight the good fight against BB and others like them is to invite my neighbors and any one who expresses an interest in good sound and video over for a demo. After I get them in the sweet spot they usually buy better stuff that they had in mind. This is a great way to kill the sales of that B(l)ose crap. Also having a killer hifi is not like having a Ferrari. You can't park it out front and have people walk by and put their fingerprints on it. You have to get them in your seat and then they will hear the point. The comment I hear the most is "I didn't know stereo/movies/TV could sound like this". :cool:

[JoeE SP9]

As far as those special warranties go, I tell the salesman I know their reason for pushing them is the bonus they get for selling them. I also add "if you keep pushing that on me I will take my business elsewhere". I have nixed a purchase at the register because of their pushing those warranties. :cool:

[Stryf3]

As far as those special warranties go, I tell the salesman I know their reason for pushing them is the bonus they get for selling them. I also add "if you keep pushing that on me I will take my business elsewhere". I have nixed a purchase at the register because of their pushing those warranties. :cool:


This I don't understand. Is it such a big deal to say no? It's their job to ask a couple of times and try to convince you. It always cracks me up when I deal with people like this. It's as though I have magic words that will MAKE you invest in an extended warranty (or whatever) unless you get very angry and threaten to leave the store.

[JoeE SP9]

The problem is the way the warranty is pushed at you. If saying no thank you once was enough I wouldn't have written. Having a salesman who knows less than you implying you are an idiot because you won't purchase something you neither want nor need is enough to get under your skin. When they follow you to the register when you have said no multiple times is to much to take. :mad:

[vividere]

I have an interesting story regarding extended warranties. I have only bought a few in my life and vowed to never do it again.

Almost five years ago I bought a Sony receiver from Audio King. Recently the amplifier has been resetting itself...the sound to the "A" speakers would go out and come back at will...somtimes good for most of a day and then it might go out five times in ten minutes.

I was going through my paperwork and found that by some fluke I had bought a 5 year extended warranty for $50. I can guarantee you that $50 is far less than the repair would be to get my receiver fixed. It is just a fluke I found the paperwork otherwise I wouldn't have thought to look for an extended warranty never the less a five year one.

I am in a quandry as I am going to buy another receiver and that 5-year warranty might be more intriguing that it was before :)

Lew

[threewheel42]

We have Frys, Best Buy, CC and independents.... I have found one CC locally who gave me useful info and low pressure... but basically they are useful for price comparison...then I purchase from ABT Electronics. Great service, many many knowledgeable floor sales people and great service. They will beat any of the box store prices, plus you get a better feeling they will back up the product. They ask once if you want a service plan, but do not push it.

It is a huge operation, with multiple HT displays, video and kitchen displays...

For example, we purchased kitchen appliances, among them a double oven with probe...it appeared that the probe might be not registering correctly... I called tech support. He suggested a service call just to make sure it was working correctly...and they apologized for only being able to get someone out in two days. I know of others with similar experiences.

[djoxygen]

I am in a quandry as I am going to buy another receiver and that 5-year warranty might be more intriguing that it was before :)

I have always gone back and forth on the XT warr. But they should never be pushed the way they often are. With computers, my rule of thumb is, if there's an LCD panel, spring for the warranty. So I guess that would apply to TVs as well.

But many states allow you to cash in XT warr for partial or full value at the end of the term if you have made no claim against it, so if you live in one of those lucky places, you're not risking as much.

[warnerwh]

I will not go into a Circuit City store. They are the biggest morons of the three main electronics chains in the area. Best Buy isn't far behind and Good Guys actually have people that have a clue. My brother won't go into Circuit city anymore either. The people there are incredible in their ignorance. I do pity the average consumer. It's the blind leading the blind.

[Steve1000]

I had a really nice experience at the Best Buy in Gaitherburg, MD, my last purchase there. I didn't have a clue about DVD recorders but needed one to archive old analog and newer digital family videos. The guy who was helping me pointed me to the Sony RDR-GX7, which was $300 that day (after rebates), and it's worked out pretty well, it seems to be a very nice product. It makes a nice digital DVD recorder in the old-style VCR way too.

I had a really good experience at Guitar Center several months ago, as I got a full tour of the Behringer DEQ2496. I had read good things about it, but upon seeing it and talking about it I was very surprised at its range of capabilities and have been very happy with that purchase too.

I've been going to Circuit City obsessively since it was a little hole in the wall in Bethesda in the late 1970s! Things have sure changed!

I do always say no to extended warranties. If someone asks me if I want to buy cables I probably usually say no so fast I don't even think about it. It's just part of the terrain. Same with the extended warranties. Usually I don't even give them my phone number, unless, as at Circuit City, there is something in it for me, such as the future option of a no-receipt return. My default auto-pilot answer is no, and they understand pretty fast it's nothing personal and it's not for discussion.

It is a shame the pressures that these people are put under. From reading this thread, I am getting the impression that the snake-oil cable industry is subsidizing my electronics habit. If the people getting ripped off are the same mean-spirited people who used to like to bust my chops on some other forums when I said that expensive cables are snake-oil, that's fine with me. But when I run into an otherwise fine person who has unwittingly bought expensive cables for his hifi, my heart does sink a little, but I keep my mouth shut, as it's water under the bridge at that point.

One thing I have found is that there is usually a deeper and better layer to the salespeople, and many of them do enjoy audio as a hobby, so if you can engage them in a conversation where both people are learning, or where they see that they can be genuinely helpful to you, they can turn from self-interested to very helpful.

I bought both a Sony RDR-GX7 DVD player/recorder and a Sony RCD-W500C CD player/recorder at big blue.

[miklorsmith]

I'm not mean-spirited and have never given anyone a hard time over the point, but in my system, cables make a difference. I've been active in the hobby for over 20 years and this is my belief based on my experience. I also believe there is snakeoilery in the cable and audio business. Just want to point out there is a legitimate distinction between good, quality cables, and those which advertise dubious physical qualities to justify exorbitant prices.

I went into Radio Shack last week to buy some 10-gauge wire to build some speaker cables. The Manager told me they didn't have any suitable 10-gauge wire but that the M cables they had spools of, already terminated, are "just the best", as a proud father would say of his child. He went on to say that even though they are 16-gauge wire that they would have an equivalent carrying capacity as a normal (read cheaper_ 10-gauge wire because of the special winding techniques they use. I bit my tongue and bought some 10-gauge battery cable. Hey, two 35-foot spools, one red and one black for $30!

[sgtbyls]

[QUOTE=MrCommonSense]You folks make me laugh... What did you expect? Businesses, in case you hadn't figured this out, exist to make money (duh)... So why are you so suprised that they would try to do this? Yes, things like extended or replacement warranties and high end accessories like monster cables, etc., are profitable for stores - if they weren't then why even bother to be in business? You people seem to think that these stores exist to please you, as though the whole reason they get up and go to work everyday is so you can eventually get around to using them to get something you want - cheap. Hey, there's an old adage that goes "you get what you pay for"... In retail today the only significant profit made is on cables, warranties, etc. - there's a lot less profit to be made on the primary item itself, very often no profit is made or the retailer even takes a loss with every sale. You guys need to understand this: it is NOT immoral to offer a product that you make a profit on, in fact it is necessary and good. Ask yourselves this before you open your mouths and while like a 3 year old that doesn't want to share it's toys, "what if the stores actually did what I suggest?" Here's the answer: with consumers unable or unwilling to pay a decent profit margin on all products and retailers unable to sell any products at a high profit, those products which consumers won't or can't pay a decent profit on will become a waste of time and effort for retailers and they will stop selling them....


Wow, I feel so guilty now about wanting to save money and not get screwed. I think I'm gonna head over to a few of these stores and just give them some money just so they can continue to have the opertunity to sell something to me.

[Peppy]

Yep, you’re right. They are there to make money and this is why they are in the business. Nothing wrong there, But home theatre business(or any other electronic business for that matter) really push very hard to play on uneducated buyer. It always surprise me that, it is still one of the only area that buyer actually trust and believe whatever many sale man feed them with there "Bull#@&%". And that happen mostly of the big surface, like Best Buy, Future shop etc...Me personally I tries to fight this, my way...by educating friends and family before they purchase something audio or video related; and show them what are their difference and choice they have. I never tell them buys this product or don't buy this product, but what are the difference between product technologies or option they looking at and if I found anything in one of my magazine or the inter-net, I gladly make them read about it....By the way,

Happy new year every one !

[Fife]

I purchased a TV from BB a month ago. In the bright showroom, it had an indistinguishable picture from the other models. There were two of us and we both concurred on this point. Upon getting it home I realized that there were many poor aspects to the picture. When I took it back to upgrade to a different model, I was practically attacked by the store manager. He proceeded to treat me like a criminal. He accused me of trying to pull a "scam". I was also told that I had no idea what a good picture is. He also told me he would flag my name for any future returns. It was the worst experience I ever had in retail. Quite obviously, I was not trying to pull a scam. before. There was no benefit for me to buy and then return a TV. I was upgrading and going to spend more money gladly. The manager was so aggressive that I actually told another manager that I would punch him if he ever walked up to me again. The store eventually allowed the return, but what a trial by fire.

[BMXTRIX]

I don't have a problem with any of the major electronics retail chains and am happy to purchase items from them.

I always purchase extended warranties when I KNOW that the item I am buying will likely be under heavy or abusive use.

For example: Got a refurb. video camera at Sears (Sony) - Camera broke a couple of times and then went out for over a month. Sears replaced with brand new model after over three years of me using it. That was five years ago and I still have the replacement.

My plasma came from Best Buy - via eBay (long story) - The plasma is a Sampo, and the price was excellent (phenomenal actually). So, the warranty cost less money for 5 years and we usually have the set on about 6 hours every day. If it survives past 5 years, I feel I got my moneys worth - if not, then I am covered on a major purchase.

I never have felt high pressured or anything else at Circuit City or Best Buy and while sales associates are sometimes quite inept, I also find them quite inept at 'higher end' stores like Tweeter and (locally) Myer-Emco.

Lots of Maryland, DC, NorVA people commenting here, so if you are local, check out some of the people at the A/V boutique stores and think about whether they really compare either. Snake oil remains the same no matter which company sells it - I really don't think Best Buy comes anywhere near holding the patent on it and do think it is a little unfair to single them out when so many others are as blatent - if not more so about it.

Snake oil is all over this world... it's finding your way through it to the oil you actually might put to some use that is difficult. That's why people ask for NON BIASED opinions on the Internet before making major purchases so they aren't as likely to buy into crap.

[Dan]

I don't have a problem with any of the major electronics retail chains and am happy to purchase items from them.

I always purchase extended warranties when I KNOW that the item I am buying will likely be under heavy or abusive use.

For example: Got a refurb. video camera at Sears (Sony) - Camera broke a couple of times and then went out for over a month. Sears replaced with brand new model after over three years of me using it. That was five years ago and I still have the replacement.

My plasma came from Best Buy - via eBay (long story) - The plasma is a Sampo, and the price was excellent (phenomenal actually). So, the warranty cost less money for 5 years and we usually have the set on about 6 hours every day. If it survives past 5 years, I feel I got my moneys worth - if not, then I am covered on a major purchase.

I never have felt high pressured or anything else at Circuit City or Best Buy and while sales associates are sometimes quite inept, I also find them quite inept at 'higher end' stores like Tweeter and (locally) Myer-Emco.

Lots of Maryland, DC, NorVA people commenting here, so if you are local, check out some of the people at the A/V boutique stores and think about whether they really compare either. Snake oil remains the same no matter which company sells it - I really don't think Best Buy comes anywhere near holding the patent on it and do think it is a little unfair to single them out when so many others are as blatent - if not more so about it.

Snake oil is all over this world... it's finding your way through it to the oil you actually might put to some use that is difficult. That's why people ask for NON BIASED opinions on the Internet before making major purchases so they aren't as likely to buy into crap.

As another DC area native I feel inclined to comment. I agree that Circuit City and Tweeter in particular are no better. They ALL charge list price for TVs. I did much better (3K on a 50" plasma) online new. I'm glad you found something good used through e bay but it definitly is buyer beware.

Ther ARE several independently owned brick and mortar dealers who are excellent. Two in particular are The Gifted Audio Listener in Centreville and Soundworks in Kensington. The Speaker Factory is now sadly gone. There are others. The sell inexpensive stuff to the very high end and don't act condescending. Going to the stores are a pleasant experience which is something the Best Buys and their ilk never offer. One can take one's time and have a wider variey of choice than BB/CC by hitting two or three of these local stores. There are many smaller manufacturer's with fine products you will never see in BB/CC worth looking at.

We are lucky in this area to have such choices. I feel sorry for those who have no alternative. I left Myer-Emco out because I have had both good and obnoxious experiences there. They have some good stuff to sell but I preferrred other equipment elsewhere.

[BMXTRIX]

I have been by the Gifted Listner to check out the Magnapans and spent half an hour talking to the owner. I am a Crestron programmer and am working on becoming independant so am hoping that they will offer my services to any clients that may show an interest. Their expertise is very much audio, and mine is not... so I appreciated their help, though what I want to get from them is still (sadly) out of my financial means.

I may need to check out Soundworks...

The plasma I got on eBay was sold through Best Buy and was brand new in the box - I picked it up at their Baltimore warehouse myself and unboxed it. eBay is something that takes a little pratice to get a decent understanding of - but mostly it is a good experience if you know EXACTLY what you want and what you should be paying.

Picked up a Velodyne HGS-10 for 700 bucks a month ago... That's a steal as well.

[ebarker9]

Reviving this from the dead...

The single biggest issue that I have with Best Buy is their internet pricing policy. Their in-store prices should, theoretically match their online prices. The problem is that they don't have internet access in the stores except at customer service. The salespeople only have access to a cached BB webpage which may not have the most current prices.

I went with a friend of mine to help him buy a TV. We looked up the price online, which I believe was $900. We even called to confirm the price, at which point they told us that we were mistaken and that the actual web price was $975-even as we had the web browser open. We didn't have a printer so we figured we'd be ok dealing with it at the store. Sure enough, they showed us the $975 on their computer system so we figured that we must have been looking at a cached copy of the webpage before we left. We got back and checked again, refreshed, and still found the $900 price. Going back to customer service, the person there was VERY familiar with this issue and confirmed that the salespeople do not have access to the internet.

This is a corporate-wide policy and I think it's incredibly dishonest. It's one thing if it's widely known by the salespeople who can then refer people to customer service but I'm guessing that most don't know. It seems fairly clear to me that BB is well aware of this and keeps the system because most people aren't diligent enough to check online, print out the webpage, and then argue with the salesperson over it. I think it borders on fraud.

[JimSt]

The trick at Best Buy is to actually buy the item online and then choose in-store pickup. This doesn't always work...for instance if you're using a gift card. However, most of the time it eliminates all of the hassles.

[hifiman]

I love this thread. I've spent many, many thousands of dollars at CC and BB over the years. I remember one time many years ago I went to BB to buy a computer that was advertised at a great price. I showed up and purchased it, but not before a seemingly endless hassle from no less than 3 people to purchase the extended warranty. I didn't want it and came close to cancelling the sale, but didn't. At CC I did wind up purchasing warranties for a laptop and an LCD TV. The laptop burnt out a motherboard after 1 1/2 years. Wow what a hassle dealing with the company that carried the warranty. At the time I was under the impression that CC did all the warranty work. Since then I am much more careful about warranty purchases.

Today I find there are much less hassles. I live in Southern California and have never seen a BB that did not have a CC a block away. Here in Riverside we also have a Tweeter 1/4 mile down the road (though it's going out of business soon). In fact, in a 10 mile radius of my home I have 3 BB and 3 CC stores to choose from. In my mind the stores don't give customers nearly the hassle they once did because of the close proximity of not only their competitors, but their own stores as well. And of course I think the internet has played a very large role as well. Anyone taking the time to browse the internet to investigate a purchase has empowered themselves as a consumer and has essentially made salespeople irrelevant to the purchase (though I admit I love to ask them questions just to see how ignorant they are of their own products, which is often very ignorant). The internet has forced other companies to adjust their pricing and customer service. Take Crutchfield for example. It wasn't all that long ago the Crutchfield charged a premium for the products they sell. Now I find them to have fairly competive pricing.

But getting back to CC and BB. I love purchasing products at CC over the internet for in-store pickup. I make the purchase, drive down to the store, finish the transaction at the customer service window and come back home. For those who are subceptable to sales pressure, or just don't want the hassle this offers a great alternative. Also, they can have it mailed, often with no shipping charges. One thing I will caution people about CC is that very often the prices will differ between stores. I can't count the number of times one of the 3 stores in my area will offer an item at a discount over the others. The same for internet pricing of CC's products. Before I pickup my purchase made over the internet I will quickly find the product in the store to compare. Sometimes it's cheaper purchasing over the internet, sometimes its cheaper in the store.

[kiran_sham]

There is a Magnolia Home Theater systems showroom inside Bestbuy in Costa Mesa, CA. They have some superb home theater systems on display. They insist on NOT buying Monster cables :)

[kiran_sham]

Another thing I heard about BestBuy:
Some of the guys bought items from BestBuy stores, used it for a week and returned it as an open box item. Later the same folks went and picked the exact same items that they returned :D ofcourse for the price of an openbox item. So now BestBuy either puts those open box items online or transfers them to other stores randomly :eek:

[arevee]

guys,

i have shopped at CC for the past 5 years and have always had good service.

I was worried when CC dropped the sales-commissions for their sales people. I thought it might stop the salesman from being too friendly since they were not making money anymore on how much they can sell. It turned out to be a false alarm. Those guys still are friendly and still take the time to help u out.

This could also be because unlike each one of BB's guys, they are not helping out 15 customers at the same time!

of course, I always try to help the non-worldly-wise customers who r being sold products they do not know anything about. For e.g. senior citizens want to buy a simple point and shoot and the sales guy tries to sell them a $700 classy one. what a mess!

just my 2c.

[johndoe]

wow! this thread has brought the worst in many an audioholic!
I don't own an Ipod, but my friend recently bought hers at BB and when apple reduced the price she just took it back. no questions asked, she got a full refund... it's not all bad at BB.
Another story, I ordered a set of athena speakers on the BB website and by the time I got them, let's just say I had changed my mind, so I took them to the store. I got my full refund (minus S&H), they put them back on the open item shelf. Last time I went there (about 4 weeks later), there they were, neatly packed inside the box, at a much discounted price... If they're still there next weekend I'll just buy them at 40% MSRP (because it's a best buy I wonder if they'll have me arrested.

[Tsunamii]

You should let Tweeter chaarge what they charge, if you want to buy there so darn bad. :cool:


First: Its not that I want to buy there so bad. It is like I said, convenient.
Second: I don't own stock there I want the best price hands down.
:D

[markw]

A little over a year ago my wife prichased a AM/FM/CD walkman for a trip. We electrd to get a two year extened coverage plan for the pittance they charge (and knowing their construction and the anticipated abuse it will endure).

Well, you guessed it. It just ceased to function but she misplaced the paperwork for it (i.e.. receipt. Gotta love her though)

So, with another lonng journy coming up,we bought a cheapo CD only player and mentioned our plight to the nice salesgirl. She says that's no problem. Go to customer service and if we paid by credit card they can produce a copy of the receipt. Great salesgirl.

So, we amble on over to Customer service and this pimply faced kid comes out of the back room looking all kindsa disturbed. I never did get his name. He says they can't do it in the store and I have to call "1-800 BEST BUY" to do this and writes exactly that on a notepad and gives us the paper and walsk back into the back room. I said I think we can remember that number as he walked away.

So, I call that number. Didja ever call that number? It's phone maze hell. I spent over half an hour trying to get to where I needed to go and never did get there. I think it's purposly designed that way.

So, in frustration, I called the warranty agent (we DID have that piece of info) and explained the situation. The lady there was helpful and aid I needed a receipt. I said I justwentthroug hmaze hell there andshe giggled sweetly and agreed with me. She then told me the four numbers I needed to dial and, lo and behold, I was talking to a real person who helped me.

She also said the local store could have done this. I told her the story and she asked what store, when this happened and who did this. I was able to tell her the first two.

I then called the store and asked for the store manager and was given a couple of teenagers who tried to bury it.

Best Buy is fine if you know exactly what you want and they have it at the price you want to pay. Any interaction with the local inhabitants is at your own risk.

[Resident Loser]

Best Buy is fine if you know exactly what you want and they have it at the price you want to pay. Any interaction with the local inhabitants is at your own risk.

...give dat man a big seegar...

Unfortunately, this seems to be the general rule for making a purchase of nearly anything, anywhere...

jimHJJ(...I think it's something in the water...)

[msmith855]

Words to live by! I always do my homework way before I step foot in a store for any major purchase.



Best Buy is fine if you know exactly what you want and they have it at the price you want to pay. Any interaction with the local inhabitants is at your own risk.

[westcott]

I am suprised no one but me seems to get offended when I try to leave BB or Fry's Electronics and they want to check the contents of my bag as I walk toward the exit from the cashier line.

I am not a thief nor do I appreciate being treated like one. I no longer do business at either one.

I would much rather be treated like cattle and coraled in an area after my purchase that prevents me from reentering the store easily and leads me directly to the exit. It works for the grocery store and other establishements.

[anamorphic96]

It's called loss prevention. Dont be offended by it.

Due to the creative ways people are stealing items these days it has become a necessary evil in some places. I dont like it as well. But im not going to stop shopping some place because they want to check my bag and protect themselves. Even Home Depot where I live does this and there a hardware store.

[malvado78]

Well maybe not where they just check you bags but my wife and I were shopping at Kaufmann's she went in the dressing room to try something on and in the dressign room there is a sign that informs everyone that they are being videotaped for loss prevention. I thought this was illegal or something. Taping women in a dressing room. Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

[anamorphic96]

Where their cameras aimed in the dressing stalls themselves ?

My bet is they are located in the aisle areas where people enter the stalls so security can see what people go in and out with. I would be seriously surprised if they where aimed in the stalls watching the women.

But who knows. Some companies are pretty damn stupid.

[malvado78]

I'm not sure I didn't look for the cameras (it was in the womens dressing room) and my wife only mentioned the sign not seeing the cameras. What you said would make more sense but I was think of the people who go into the dressing room and put clothes underneath theirs and wlak out. I thought this is what they would be looking for.

[gellor]

I'm not sure I didn't look for the cameras (it was in the womens dressing room) and my wife only mentioned the sign not seeing the cameras. What you said would make more sense but I was think of the people who go into the dressing room and put clothes underneath theirs and wlak out. I thought this is what they would be looking for.

They could also be playing to people's gullibility. For instance when I was a teenager, I worked for a local grocery store who had signs up everywhere mentioning security cameras. What they had in actuality was several smokey plastic bubbles with red LEDs suspended in them.

[hifiman]

Pikers,

Can you elaborate a bit? It's a little difficult to understand just what you are trying to say in your post.

[BMXTRIX]

Pikers, about the only reason I would have buy from a B&M store, is because the manufacturer insists on being bungwipes and not 'authorizing' online sales. I personally try to avoid ANY manufacturer that has this policy as it serves ME no good. Yes, I know I lose the in-store demo.... But, you get places like Axiom Audio who allow you to IN HOME demo. That holds some real value to me.

I have worked at a DC area high-end retailer and I know how clueless 90%+ of the staff was. Even guys who have been doing it for years... They are great sales guys, and worthless engineers. They don't even CARE about engineering, they just care about schmoozing with clients.

B&M stores have a purpose, but not for the DIY people and those who wish to actually be educated. They are for the people bringing in the $$$ who don't have time to set up a nice system, but have the cash to blow on a great setup.

As a Crestron programmer, you better believe that I ran across a LOT of those types of people on a regular basis. They don't bug me at all, I understand 100% where they are coming from.

But, those stores have no value to ME, a person who is willing to spend hours researching a DVD player and then some time searching for the best price.

Manufacturers not allowing online sales is a slap in the face to people like me. I do NOT want a relationship with a sales guy. I don't need to be SOLD a product, I just want to do research on my own and get the best product for the best price possible WITH a manufacturer warranty.

Denon, with a list on their site of authorized online dealers, is headed in the right direction in my opinion.

[hifiman]

BMX,

Good post. I totally agree. Each passing day the bricks and mortar businesses are losing their relevance. On a side note, I never really understood the importance of going to a bricks and mortar store for a demo or information. The staff never seem to know anything but the most basic information (sometimes not even that). As for speaker demos - why bother? The speakers are going to sound different in my living room anyway.

[annunaki]

BMX,

Your reasons, are one of the big reasons I am still in this business. I pride myself, and the store I manage, on proper information and knowledge. I have a no B.S. policy. You either tell the customer the truth, and answer their question, or find someone that does. Every customer that comes through the door, is an opportunity to educate and and make a friend. Setting the customer up proper the first time is what we are about. It is a shame that most B&M stores do not do things (what I feel is) the right way.

The worst part of it is though, some people are not even trying to go to shops like ours, because they have had too many bad experiences in the past. I feel bad for those people, and wish they would try to give it one last chance.

[hifiman]

The worst part of it is though, some people are not even trying to go to shops like ours, because they have had too many bad experiences in the past. I feel bad for those people, and wish they would try to give it one last chance.

Years ago I used to go to a specialty shop in my area. I loved that place. They sold great products and had awesome customer service. Unfortunately they just couldn't compete with GoodGuys and CC. This was back when CC carried Carver products and GoodGuys carried Adcom. This shop switched product lines several times, but so did the big boys. Eventually this shop closed. Over the years we had one or two other open and close. Two places have managed to stay open for a very long time, but they both have the absolute worst sales staff. When I'm there I feel like I'm at a used car dealership. One of these places is just outright dishonest, but that's a long story in its own.

I recently decided to purchase a Rotel pre/pro. Of course one of the previously mentioned shops carried Rotel products. I tried to buy from them, but gave up when I realized things hadn't changed at that shop. Fortunately I found a Rotel dealer about 30 miles away. I never knew this place existed. This was a small shop, but I purchased my pre/pro from them with confidence. If it wasn't for them I would be strictly internet and even possibly purchasing (gasp!) gray market.

[BMXTRIX]

I pride myself, and the store I manage, on proper information and knowledge.
I think there are a LOT of people that benefit from solid B&M stores. They have a purpose which should be exactly what you stated. To provide a superior level of service than BB/CC and to save the customer from having to wade through websites (like this one even) to just setup their home theater or audio only system. I have been into a few good places in the Washington, DC area and am always impressed and wishing my pockets were deeper and my bills less. I would most definitely support them.

On the other hand, for those of us willing to do our own research and to fully immerse ourselves in the installation process, B&M holds no value and manufacturers not willing to sell w/warranty online at the best possible pricing is an insult.

Yes, there will be those who will go into your store, rape you for information, then buy online. But, those people are already doing that in many cases. It always sucks when that happens.

I live by my labor and my expertise. If I was a poor programmer or Crestron systems failed to wow people, I would not be employed for very long. Heck, I am most definitely in the upper 5% or less with what I am doing. But, I still consider it a huge value added product that comes with a premium price. But, for me, I don't care as much about where people BUY the product, as long as they are paying for the programming and any associated engineering and labor, then my job is done and a profit should be made.

One of the difficult parts with B&M is that brands are limited. It would be nice to go online and be able to choose from any brand of speaker that is manufactured. Rotel, B&W, Meridian, Axiom, Energy, Polk, Klipsch, etc. I have to go to half a dozen stores to see all those brands, and even then, they may not have what I want available right away. Then I still will need to take it home to audition it!

When I need help, B&M is where I go - and where I buy from. When I don't need help, I just want the best price and the manufacturer to honor their own warranty.

[MBauer]

The bottom line is you have to be an educated consumer.

This is a great thread and it offers some outstanding insight into the high stakes world of retail.

I could offer up a similar experience that my father-in-law ran into at a high end independent retailer, a focus on moving the box and not on customer service or even the knowledgeable insights they are supposedly capable of offering.

[Methost]

Being an educated consumer, I enjoy the big box electronics stores. I may be somewhat of an HT newb on these forums, but I know enough about BB and their monster cables, extended service plans and SI/EW subscriptions to enter their doors and not worry about getting screwed.

I also enjoy playing a game I call "Stump the staff". I don't need to tell you the rules as I am sure you could figure them out. I also like messing up a potential sale if I happen to over hear one. I have no qualms about sharing what I know with people that are about to spend a lot of money they shouldnt.

[Pyrrho]

...
Best Buy is fine if you know exactly what you want and they have it at the price you want to pay. Any interaction with the local inhabitants is at your own risk.

...give dat man a big seegar...

Unfortunately, this seems to be the general rule for making a purchase of nearly anything, anywhere...

jimHJJ(...I think it's something in the water...)

While reading this thread, I was thinking the same thing. I've encountered obnoxious, ill-informed sales staff at boutique shops, too. They are different, however, in that they are more likely to be snooty as well.

Naturally, these things are extremely variable, but it certainly is not a problem exclusive to big chains like Best Buy.

[Khellandros66]

I still love BB and the big stores for alot things, such as quick fixes like my Harman Kardon FL8380 went the other day.. Rather wait 4 months + to get a nicer player i needed a cheapy one to take place. I bought the Sony DVP-NC80V and the 4y PSP (I know the plan wel enough to trust it). The way I look at it is I spend $400+ now but in 6-12months HD-DVD rolls out well I now have a outdated player that was $400+

Buying the cheaper play means i have something for now and once the HD DVD is out I bump to that.

Anyways. The death of most of these companies is cheap customers. Think about it when was the last time you went to best buy fora $400 anything?? So where do you think the pressure is to make money Insurance programs. I worked for CompUSA and the Drill 1000x harder then Best buy did. The managers receive a quarterly bonus if they are over 6% average attachments. Well who do you think they want to hiar. Well OOOPPS we don't have the payroll to get the big saleman because avg consumer is a cheap..SOB..

~Bob

[acv19602]

i know this is not completely relevant, but to the guy that said there is barely any markup on tvs... that is completly false.. as a best buy employee (purley for discounts) its one of the most markedup items in the store.. trust me we get 5 percent over cost and thats like 50% discount on tv.

[Matt34]

i know this is not completely relevant, but to the guy that said there is barely any markup on tvs... that is completly false.. as a best buy employee (purley for discounts) its one of the most markedup items in the store.. trust me we get 5 percent over cost and thats like 50% discount on tv.


Welcome but your about three years late to this party.;)

[Adam]

Welcome but your about three years late to this party.;)

Hey, it's never too late to jump into the action at AH! :D

(Goes off to find an obscure thread from 2004...)

[GlocksRock]

Just to reiterate... I hate best buy :D

[Adam]

Just to reiterate... I hate best buy :D

Hee, hee. Yeah, I'm not a fan, either. However, when I bought my receiver back in 2005, they were willing to match the total price from an internet dealer. So, I was quite pleased with that because I could go get it and have it the same day.

And the thread rises from the ashes...

[jostenmeat]

I wouldn't hate BB except for the fact they push Monster cables down your throat. I got duped before I knew any better, and I still see that manager/salesman time to time when I find myself wandering in there.

I don't have any inkling to physically harm him anymore, but I still resent him. I probably know as much, or more, about AV than he does he now. All within the time span of 1.5 years or so.

I guess he's just doing his "job". However, I think its bad business. I'm sure fellow audioholics are regarded the same way by their friends as I am by mine, and a lot of negative feedback from a trusted source is plain bad business I would think.

I just gave my friend 15 ft and 6 ft Monoprice HDMI cables. Total was less then $25. I'm not sure if you can even get a 3ft optical from BB for that price. Don't even get me started on BD prices. :eek:

[Twingy]

I'd have to agree on all these points. The no-interest financing has been the selling point to me for Best Buy purchases over anywhere else. But I've also gone in to the store each time knowing what I want and also why I want it. I went in yesterday to pick up a Yamaha VXR663 receiver because my old one didn't do HMDI audio and with the PS3 I want to get HD audio from my Blu-Rays (*damn* by the way, what a difference in sound quality). Anyway, I was browsing the racks and saw the HK AVR247 and was curious about its capabilities. So I asked the button pusher at the counter if it could do DTS HD and Dolby HD over HDMI. He messed around with the computer then told me the best it would do is 720p. I pretty much knew at that point that he was completely useless. So I just grabbed the Yamaha and paid.

Now about the PSPs... I get them but I read the little brochure first to know whats included for each product. I bought a Mio GPS from BB with a PSP. When it broke I called the 800 number and they said they would send me a gift card for the original amount of the purchase and that I should discard the broken product since it was discontinued. It was still under the manufacturer warranty and they fixed it for me and sent it back, so that worked out well.

Just know your stuff before you go in there and don't let them sell you all that other crap we all know you don't need and you'll be ok.

[Soundman]

I should have posted this long ago. As a former employee, here is an insider's look at the top 5 things from the HT department of Best Buy (where I worked) that I guarantee they do not want their customers to know.

5. Barely legal bait and switch schemes. They push the limits of the laws with many of their flyer ads with some cheap product, like a 40 dollar DVD player to get you in the store, in hopes of encouraging you to buy something better, ie more expensive. That's the salesmen's job under any circumstance, so it doesn't change with these cheapo sales events either.

4. Open box items are usually returned items, not something that just happened to get opened in store, which rarely happens. I've seen many store employees try to avoid saying it was returned, in fear of losing the sale. Also most employees don't take the time to properly label the open box tags so you may think you are getting all accessories when you are not.

3. I've discussed this before, but here is more on this subject. As part of employee training, monster cables are drilled into employee's heads as a part of all applicable sales add ons from day one. In fact it is part of the "Total Solution" mechanism in place that all employess are to follow during their sales routine. Employees are told straight up that monster's products are superior, but never given any detailed reason why this is supposedly so. The employees I witnessed would typically memorize much of the fluff that was written on the package, on their own behalf, as a way to more quickly answer customer questions, preserve "expert" status, and eliminate possible reservations that the customer might have about spending more on something that was already provided in the box. In fact, this was often lied about. Employees don't like telling customers that zipcords come with their dvd player when asked. If they employees are forced into telling a customer, they will be quick to point how poor in quality they are in comparison to monster's products. One manager would actually say "The only thing (the customer) better be using zipcords cords for is to hold their trunk shut after they've just bought something". AR cables and recoton cables are seen as a failure of doing a proper sale at Best Buy and used only as a last ditch effort to get the customer to buy a little something extra. If an employee doesn't ask you "do you want cables, an antenna, blank discs, tapes, etc. with that?" when you are buying an applicable product, then they are simply not doing their job as instructed.

2. Employee know how. There was a recent Home Theater magazine article on the knowledge of Circuit City, Ultimate Electronics, and Best Buy employees. The rag was trying to determine how well each store knew their stuff. I knew what the results of this absolutely retarded article were going to be before I even began reading it, but as a former employee I read it anyway for curiousity's sake. The results, of course, depended on the individual knowledge of the employee that the writers happened to speak to.

Best Buys's policy is for each employee to know as much as they can about the products they sell in their primary area of responsibility. Yet, in order to do so they have to research the product almost entirely on their own time. During slow times throughout the day when you would think an employee could do a little studying, typically this is when the merchandising manager obegins running around being his/her most concerned about the store's cleanliness and the straighntess of the product on the shelves etc., so employees rarely get to know their products that well and also because of the constant product turnover. Also keep in mind when selling something such as a DVD player you can only know so much by looking at the box, the little tag, and the exterior of a product, never once getting a chance to operate its menus or analyse its performance on screen. For these reasons, the most knowledgable of employees are those who are interested in HT, music, etc. for their own personal hobbies and interests and know about these things from the time they spend reading learning, and using them outside of work. Best Buy would rather you think their "friendly experts" are well seasoned and well informed NOT some pimple faced kid, but usually that's exactly what they are. The technical training employees do get is nearly non-existant, and the little that is given is usually in the form of hurried-up computer modules so they can get you back to the sales floor. Also good training starts at the top, and when most employee's superiors know less about the produts than the salespeople do, it's a lost cause from the beginning.

1. PSP. This little acronym stands for Perfomance Service Plan, or better known to most as an extended warranty. It is the single biggest thing harped on by managers to their sales staff to be absolutely certain to sell. coincidentally, it is also one of the most lucrative things that Best Buy sales in terms of pure profit, (cables are up there also). The reason for this is because very rarely do customers take adavantage of the plan., and believe me they know this. If everything is done correctly an employees should try to sell you a PSP on any device which has one, and then the person at the register should also ask you,, though it is the sales persons job to sell it to you. The person at the register merely acts as a vocal reminder. Managers prefer employees to sell their products with PSPs at the register in the department so you can't walk and think alone, since this allows an opportunity for this pressure approach to fail.

The explanations of coverage by the PSP it is often errored, because the specific coverage varies from product to product. This causes a tremendous amount of confusion and often salespeople tell you that something is covered under the plan when in fact it is not. The employee probably doesn't do this consciously, but because the managaers are as confused about the specific coverage as anyone else their is no source for accurate information when making the sale, so employees might embellish when they aren't sure.

The status of a salesmen lives and dies by the ability to sale the PSP along with as many other related products as is possible.The more expensive the product, the more expensive the PSP, and consequently the more important it is for a salesmen to attach one to the sale. If a salesmen sales a big screen television without a PSP you can bet money that the manager is going to be wondering why, and you can bet the employee is going to be trying to avoid the manager for the next few hours. An employee would also be expected to sale cables, a dvd player, a surge supressor, and whatever else seemed logical as a result of answers to strategically asked questions during a big screen sale. This is the idea of the "Total Solution" I spoke of earlier. You didn't think they asked all these questions to be nice did you?, but that's how they try to play it off. Friendly experts with all the answers.

Most employees will probably tell you in private thet they hate selling PSPs because it is a contradiction to th view that the corporate office holds dear. The corporate ideolgy is that of a proper, friendly, non pressured sales approach. Unfortuately this happens only in theory compared with that which actually takes place. In practice, managers ride the asses of employees to sell the PSP. So much so that salespeople are basically forced into being very bullish in their approach to selling them, and that's when an employee is forced to be very "creative" in how they handle the situation, sort of be friendly, but persistant as hell approach.

Well I hope this post was informative, I wish all former employees would call out on their experiences. I think this only helps consumers understand the mendling that goes on behind the scenes.

Peace,
hopjohn

This is very interesting information and reminds me of a visit to BB i had a couple weeks ago. I was looking around at the televisions, and the salesman, came over and was talking to me for a while (he was obviously trying to sell me something). An elderly couple approached us and asked the salesman, "What does the 'P' in 720P and 1080p mean?" A simple question, right? Well, apparently not. The salesman responded with, "Hold on a moment. I'll have to look that up." I about died. I tried so hard not to laugh. I couldn't believe this guy was selling HDTV's and he didn't know even the most basic questions about them. I then watched the whole conversation unfold and it was quite funny. This post reminded me of the whole thing and I must say, the knowledge of the sales staff is very limited. :)

[fiosmeup]

I had a customer at Circuit City that signed up for Verizon Fios- they had just bought a HDTV and a HDMI cable, I told them they do not need the HDMI cable because verizon gives you one for free, so the customer returned it to the sales person. The Home theatre Manager wanted to throw me out of the store for telling the Customer to return the HDMI Cable.
I've worked in 20 or so Best Buys and Circuit Citys- Some are bad, but most are pretty good.
Open Box- I bought a Harmony remote, the guy that returned it started to open the box and realized it was not an IF remote and returned it, the plastic was cut but the remote looked like it was untouched.
Open Boxes can be good deals on some products- I was always told they were returns when I was in the store,.
D

[Seth=L]

Wal-Mart does most of this same crap in their electronics department. Always try to get the customer to sign up for a credit card, always try to get the customer to purchase cables, surge protectors, and other accesseries, and always try to get the customer to purchase the service plan. We sell many service plans on our TVs, not so many credit cards (as I don't typically even mention it), and we sell plenty accesseries as well. We wheren't carrying Monster cable for some time, but they just put them back in the inventory.:mad:

[Mani8387]

So your saying that you shouldn't purchase a PSP?

[bandphan]

its their job to sell and ours to know what we are purchasing;)

[mudrummer99]

I guess I'll chime in as a current BB employee. I have worked in 4 different stores over the past couple years. Each store has its own vibe and goals that its management imposes upon its sales people. Some stores push PSP, some install services and some accessories. I am fortunate that my last couple of stores have been relatively easy going. They set goals for basket attachment like every other retail business out there. I don't get reamed if I don't sell PSP's or enough accessories. My managers realize that it is a numbers game, those that want it will buy it, those that don't, won't. The people on the fence are where asking questions helps figure out what it is they are trying to do in their setup and then getting them there within the budget they have. I personally don't sell monster cables if I can avoid it. I usually default to Rocketfish, and have even been given crap from other employees for doing so, but that is how I do it. At my store, most of us are very honest with our customers, my supervisor has a very strict "don't BS the customer" philosophy. I like this since I hate telling people what they want to hear for a sale. I mean, since BB has a 30 day return policy, what good is it to sell someone something they don't want just to have it come back 2 weeks later? But I do understand where most of you are coming from. Again I have been fortunate to work with relatively competent people in my time with this company but I have also had extremely bad experiences in other stores. Its hit or miss, and is almost completely dependent on the people that work in the store. There are BBs that I refuse to shop in since the customer service is so bad. I guess its just a luck game, and sometimes you just have a good store that happens to be a couple miles from your store. Well there's my two cents. Thanks for reading

Mike