quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I only go there if i know exactly what i want and i know it’s priced acceptably and in stock. I never go if i have product questions and trying to figure out what to buy.

Same here. The kids working there are usually clueless and have no interest in helping. I only go when I know just what I want and have confirmed it's in stock.

Of course, I have gotten burned even when the product is "in stock".

I once purchased a pair of Sonos speakers that were only in stock at a BB a few towns over. After driving 30 minutes, picking up the speakers, and driving back home, I discovered that they had managed to pull a pair of white speakers to fill my order when I had ordered black. I had to drive another 30 minutes back, then stand around waiting while the "manager" shuffled around lackadaisically looked for the pair of black speakers that weren't stocked where they were supposed to be.

I’ve always had good luck at Best Buy. Very helpful folks. And, corporate wide, Best Buy has turned tings around. Over the past five years the return on their stock price has quadrupled the Dow Jones Industrial Average and almost quadrupled that of the S&P 500. Whatever they are doing, it seems to be working.

Far too often I agree with this statement. Case in point; week before Christmas, I went in ready to drop ~$1,400 on a new washer and dryer. I had it all picked out, just needed someone to verify they had it in the back and take my money... I will concede it was a busy week and expected a longer than usual wait time. Counterpoint; this was a weekday evening, the store was not busy. I waited a total of 55 minutes to include asking for help at the customer service desk. the girl there was nice, but could not help me. I walked out in just under an hour. (Went to local/regional small chain "Spicers" 31Dec in an out in <20minutes).

Another this is going to out me as old:


I was browsing and the sales kid was trying to cell blank expensive CD-Rs to an old couple who just wanted to put their photos on disc. They kept telling him they were on a budget but he kept trying to upsell. I told them not to buy from them. I walked out to my car and gave them a few spools that I had in my trunk. I work nights and I had visited the dumpster behind CompUSA the night before. I’ve actually built two computers from scratch from dumpster diving.

My son got a gift card to best buy for Christmas and we went to the store to find him an nve ssd. Nothing in stock. Had to order it online.

I had a great experience with Best Buy... in 1992.

BB is good as a showroom only IMO.

No guilty conscience on my part, they brought it on themselves. Employees stand in one or two groups, you have to seek them out, they will not approach you.

Product knowledge is spotty, they are reluctant to call for assistance. They will try to muddle through and make it sound good. Last visit while shopping for car audio they forgot to add a Sirius module telling me that it was not necessary as it was built in the radio. This was despite what Pioneer said on their website, a previous call to Crutchfield that I had made and the information card next to their display radio on the floor.

One thing they are good on is promoting extended warranties, they must get a lot of training on those.

I've found that good or wretched CS really depends on which Best Buy you end up shopping at. But yes, online sales have really stuck it to B&M retail. Amazon makes the purchasing process (and returns) so easy, without need to leave the comfort and safety of one's home. Or the bubble of wherever you happen to be, thanks to the ease of buying via a phone app. With the e-tailers I wind up buying using my phone far more than I buy while on my computer. That's the nature of convenience, I suppose. Pricing is often better online, though in-store still beats online on instant gratification...if the product is in stock.

Certainly our business has been bitch-slapped somewhat hard by the online gun sales presence, but that's more due to availability of product from multiple channels than any consistent pricing advantage. MAP is MAP, and when we find online dealers undercutting established agreed-to minimums, guess which pissed off gun shop is blabbing to manufacturers about it. Of course in these current harried days this kind of trend is no longer a thing, but when we get back to normalcy you're darn tootin' that we'll be at it again. Does it do any good? Well let's just say that some of those gun manufacturers are willing to kiss and make up with much more "agreeable" pricing to us. And we did notice that a certain online big-wig e-tailer located in South Carolina did raise their prices on certain flashpoint handguns from those very same gun companies. Hmm...

Whenever I think about all of the FFL transfers that we get buried with on a daily basis, I think back a few short months ago to the look on the face of one customer when we answered his query regarding a rifle we had on the rack with info about the $1300 he could have saved if he had just bought the FDE 6.5CM SCAR 20S that he wanted from our shop instead of overpaying for the one he transferred in by buying online.

It's those little devilishly cruel moments that make it (somewhat) worth it. Our SCAR sold about a day or so later, and the guy who bought it got a kick out of the tale of woe regarding the earlier fellow. Life is indeed cruel; no use wallowing in it when you can revel in someone else's misery. :devil face:

I was in there yesterday. I guy at the front informed me due to covid I would not be approached by employees while in the store. If I needed help come back and talk to him and he'd arrange it.

Once Circuit City went tango uniform, Best Buy was the only big box electronics store around. No competition means no incentive, so they went into decline. I think they are trying to avoid augering in, and the ones around me are pretty good, although I never ask anyone for advice (they will always try to sell you the most $$ model), just "where is it..."

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
Best Buy service has been shit for a long time, long before the rise of the internet.

At my old job we would get BB gift certificates for meeting safety goals, etc, so they would pile up and I would have to go in to use them. Went in for a CD burner (that tells you how long ago) and told the employee what I wanted and what I had. He started to read the back of the boxes. gee, I can do that. He then handed me one and said this is what you need and walked away. I look at the box and it clearly states it wont work with my version of Windows. Idiot.

great place to buy a phone,

they were the cheapest for the last 3 phones we bought,


and they were the best deal when I bought my Nikon DSLR 7 yrs ago,


otherwise, if I think I need something they sell, I go look, and end up buying elsewhere,

and yes, the avg person in the store (working there) has no clue unless it involves getting you to sign up for a best buy card


come to think of it, I did buy a TV mount online from them, simply cause they were the cheapest w/ inv in stock when I did a search
never had to set foot in a store for that

The two I go to, are great. They know what they are talking about, try to get you the best deal and are easier and cheaper to buy a phone from and better at setting your new one up.
Not sure about dealing with them over the phone or online?

I saw today that they are pulling support from conservative congress critters

How is Best Buy even still in business right now?

The one near me closed last year, it was a ghost town, the one near my work is also a ghost town on life support.

I have mixed feelings on BestBuy.

On the one hand, I find that they don't carry the variety of many items I'm shopping for that other retailers do, and I'd never expect any kind of knowledgeable assistance from their sales staff.

On the other hand, they make for a great same-day pickup spot if they do have something I'm looking for. I can't actually remember the last time I went into the store shopping for something. I've ordered online and picked up later for as long as I can remember. With curbside (since Covid), I don't even have to get out of my car, and the one time they took more than 10 minutes to run my product out to me, it came with an apology and $50 refund (on a $150 purchase) from the manager - neither of which I asked for or even remotely expected.

To be fair, they did show their incompetence recently when I had ordered a black cover for my Amazon Fire tablet and a white one was brought out to me by their runner. The sticker was right, the product was wrong (as was their online inventory, apparently). When I went in to have it swapped out, they admitted they didn't have a black one and essentially hoped that I wouldn't notice or care.

Also, I'm a super duper double platinum customer (or whatever they call it, since I opened a BB credit card to take advantage of their 18 or 24 month 0% financing offer on several appliances when we were redoing our kitchen over the summer), so for the next 12 months (unless I end up spending another $3K with them this year), I'm a VIP. I also review my purchases to maximize the points towards my awards. I think I have $25 sitting in my account right now. It's easily added up to several hundred dollars over this past year, which isn't nothing.

Given the options (Target? Walmart?), I'm okay to keep BB on my go-to list in instances where they meet my needs.

-Rob

The last time I went to BB was to check on a battery for my laptop. It would not turn on at all even when plugged in, so thought I would try a new battery before anything else. It took forever to find a clerk and explained the problem. I was told they don't carry the batteries. Okay....so where can I find them was my next question and this rocket scientist tells me "go online". Hey stupid...(I didn't actually call him stupid but sure wanted to) how can I go online if my laptop will not turn on???? He just looked at me with a stupid blank expression. Screw BB and their lousy customer service.

quote:

Originally posted by tleo205:
... how can I go online if my laptop will not turn on???? He just looked at me with a stupid blank expression. Screw BB and their lousy customer service.

In all fairness, BestBuy guy isn’t your personal shopper. Be irritated that they don’t have laptop batteries (which are anything but standardized, so even that is understandable and even predictable), but I have to ask... what year was that? The last time I can remember only having one way to get online (home PC) was the mid-90s, and even then, I could get online at the library, but that was also pretty much before eCommerce was a common thing.

Most people, at least since the introduction of smart phones, have multiple access points to the internet. Before smartphones, many still had access at work or school.

Or you could have called the manufacturer. No Internet required.

-Rob