Thu, February 3, 2005
By the way, did I mention? Fuck Best Buy.
So, as you may know, Wonderfalls came out on DVD this week. Ordinarily, I'd stop at Best Buy on the way home from work to buy it, but I didn't go to work Tuesday on account of the sewer repairs on my street kept me trapped in my driveway by trenches and piles of sewer mud.
So I dropped by tonight, and couldn't find it on the shelf. "Uh oh," I thought to myself. "Here's where the delicate equilibrium is disturbed." You see, continuing to shop at Best Buy has been a risky proposition; it's kind of like driving on your spare tire – everything's fine as long as the road is smooth, but as soon as you hit rough terrain there's very little separating you from certain peril. Now, my life was in the hands of the moronic high-school dropouts who work there.
Approaching the guy at the computer was a waste of time: he couldn't look it up since he hadn't heard of it. (?) He referred me to a young lady who appeared to work in the DVD section, and she had seen the Wonderfalls set, but said that they had only stocked two copies. (So, clearly Best Buy is taking Fox Broadcasting's side on this – that nobody could possibly ever like that show – rather than Fox Home Video's side – that rabid, furious fans had demanded its release on DVD. They're quickly learning, as they sell out of their puny stocks, that we – the viewers – were right all along.)
She looked it up in another computer (a computer which, it should be noted, was having all sorts of problems due to the buggy custom Best Buy intranet running on an ancient version of Windows Internet Explorer – get Firefox, kids!) and found that only one copy of Wonderfalls was still in the system. But she told me that probably meant they didn't have any. (?) Maybe someone had returned it and it hadn't been reshelved, or maybe someone had gotten to it before me and hadn't made it to the registers yet. Tempted as I was to locate and tackle that person, I asked the associate if her 19th century tabulation device could access the inventory at the other store a few blocks away. She found that they also had one in stock, so I got their number from her, and gave them a call while I returned to scour the TV DVDs rack.
After waiting while the phone in the DVD section rang thirty times or so, I spoke with a blue-shirted, sullen high-school dropout a few blocks away who also had never heard of Wonderfalls. I spelled it nine times, and explained that I already had the results of an inventory search – I just wanted him to find out if they actually had it on the shelf and, if so, hold it for me. He said this to me: "Well, one doesn't mean we have it. The computer doesn't update right away when someone buys it." Of course not! Why would selling an item of your store's inventory remove it from the inventory listing? I wanted to tell him that I knew all about Best Buy's ridiculous computer system and its many, many shortcomings, but that was beside the point. All I said was, "That's why I figured I'd call on the phone and ask."
He put me on hold for a minute, then came back and said, "Sorry, we don't have it." And we both pretended he'd actually looked for it, as opposed to putting me on hold for a minute, standing there picking his nose, then saying he didn't have it just to punish me for getting snippy. Fine. Whatever.
I tossed the Ms. Pac-Man game back on the shelf (I'd been craving it since Poppy and Mario let me play theirs over the holidays, but I'd be damned if I was handing money to Best Buy after this!) and stormed out of the store. I was really tempted to throw it in a fridge or clothes dryer or something – find that, computer system! – but if I'd done that, I probably would've opened the door to find both copies of Wonderfalls, a half-eaten Quiznos sub, and a baby in there already, and then I'd be forced to decide whether to abandon my brand new re-boycott and just buy the damn DVD.
It still amazes me that you can have an inventory system in which one of something is indistinguishable from zero of something. I know Best Buy's system is ridiculous, and it appears to be widely known that one and zero are the same thing (two separate people at two stores told me this within ten minutes – and in both cases they seemed to feel that having one in the system made it less likely that they had one on the shelf), but that seems like the sort of thing that would make it hard to do business. I mean, what's the minimum number of something that you have to have in order to be sure you have more than zero? Five? Ten? And – whatever that is – why not order that amount? What's the sense in ordering two of something if you can't tell the difference between two and zero? Might as well order ten; then at least you know you have one. Then again, maybe I've at last discovered the heart of Best Buy's computer system problems. If none of their computers can distinguish one from zero, that would explain a lot. Computers talk in binary code – and in binary code, one and zero are the only numbers!
I got home, called Amoeba Music on Sunset, and their cheery DVD stock girl said she had one pre-owned copy on sale cheap, and she'd set it aside for me. What a sweetheart. If it weren't for the abysmal parking, horrible Hollywood traffic, and the sinking feeling that I'm not cool enough to be there, I'd shop only at Amoeba. (I still feel "in the club" for having frequented Amoeba in Berkeley back before they sold out and went Hollywood, but that feeling fades as soon as I walk through the doors and realize I'm three piercings shy of the average.)
So, this time tomorrow, I'll have Wonderfalls in my hot little hands – and I'll be able to add it to the giant pile of DVDs I can't wait to watch. But, luckily, I can add it right to the top!
Brandon — Thu, 2/3/05 3:56pm
Remember anecdotes like this, for they will be our generation's version of "When I was your age, I had to _______" grandparent stories. Our future progeny will likely be amazed that we had to deal with incompetent human clerks and occassionally buy our entertainment in stores rather than having it piped right into our home.
However, for future telling, you might want to clean up the language - little Mobil Quiznos Simmons doesn't need to hear that kind of talk.
Joe Mulder — Thu, 2/3/05 5:32pm
However, for future telling, you might want to clean up the language - little Mobil Quiznos Simmons doesn't need to hear that kind of talk.
Oh, we've offended his Highness, Lord Lamenstein of Squaresylvania.
The bitch of it is: Best Buy is the only store anywhere near where I live OR work that has new DVDs for cheaper than sticker price the day they come out. It's also the only store near where I live or work that has any DVDs. So, if I want something, and I don't want to wait for Amazon, I pretty much have to go to Best Buy, and 60% of the time I get what I want (and cheaply, too!), and 40% of the time I just want to kick someone in the nuts.
Joe Mulder — Thu, 2/3/05 5:32pm
Might want to dumb down those formatting tips, by the way.
Brandon — Thu, 2/3/05 5:51pm
Oh, we've offended his Highness, Lord Lamenstein of Squaresylvania.
Wow, Jameson's grandchildren will be royalty?! The future gets more and more interesting with every post!
p.s. The comedy perfectionist in me is distraught. The kid's name really should have more Jameson-riffic corporate references and a file extension in there... something like iPod TiVo Simmons.xpv. Ahhh, much better!
Bee Boy — Thu, 2/3/05 8:31pm
I have to agree with Joe, my kids will not be raised in a household where they're not allowed to say "Fuck Best Buy" whenever they want to. (Although, in this little play, I suppose Mobil is my grandkid, and who can say what kind of squares my kids will be as parents.)
But yeah, obviously I'm hemmed in with the same problem with Best Buy. That's why I was there on Wednesday night, and I'll be there again. The traffic fighting my way north to Amoeba was enough to convince me that it definitely won't be taking over the space at the top of my "frequently shopped" list.
Sorry about the formatting tips – to quote my AP Biology teacher (you haven't met her, but I was in love with her daughter for nine years), "I couldn't conceive of that mistake to tell you not to do it!"
Anonymous Coward — Thu, 4/14/05 12:02am
By the way yeah at best buy one in the system=fuck it im not gonna search for it :) I am working a craphole job that doesnt pay worth a damn and now i have to deal with a bunch of idiots who cant read?
"Best Buy Employee" — Mon, 6/13/05 5:07pm
fuck the stupid bastards that cant look up for shit themselves...
"Another BBY employee" — Mon, 6/20/05 7:22pm
If someone steals that DVD it still says we have it, and people steal shit like it's suppose to be free.
Bee Boy — Tue, 6/21/05 3:40pm
It's nice that Best Buy's representatives do the hard work of making my point for me. Hostility toward the customer and passing the buck. That's pretty much exactly how they treat me in the store, too.
Certainly there are myriad reasons why the inventory might be out of sync with the database. Theft is probably #1 – every time I'm in the Best Buy location where this story took place, its shelves are disorganized and items are all over the floor. The place looks like it's already been ransacked; I can see why thieves might get the idea.
First, it's Best Buy corporate's responsibility to do all it can to keep the database in sync with the items on the shelves. Better tracking, better organization, better inventory upkeep. But the employees at the store are the first line of defense.
Right:
"Ah, the computer system shows we have just one copy in stock. That's not always a reliable indicator, but let's take a look at a few locations where this item might be shelved. Follow me."
Wrong:
"I haven't heard of that. Ask her [points to Employee #2] to look it up."
Employee #2: "The system says we have one. That's the same as none. I guess we don't have it. [walks away]"
Anonymous Coward — Sun, 6/26/05 12:55pm
I work at best buy. And I understand your frustration with not finding your DVD. But you have to understand, when the computer says "one" copy left, it’s pretty hard to find it. Now before you get in a rage, about "why the fuck not", you have to understand we do organize our shelves (people come in everyday at 6am just to do so!), but other customers come in and move everything around. They probably did have you DVD "wonderfalls" in, but it probably was in another department, god knows where.
And I am sorry, but we are not going to search the whole damn store for one DVD. You have to understand, after you, there are another hundred customers looking for something. And for employee #1 telling you to ask #2, that’s because we are assigned places, and I am guessing #2 was in charge of DVDs. But hey I am glad you found your DVD at amoeba. I shop there to for CD’s. :D by the way, what best buy was this?
Anonymous Coward — Sun, 6/26/05 12:58pm
Oh yea, Best Buy is a enormous company, and they have windows because it is the easiest for CNS people to mange. Hey i have Fire-fox to, for my SINGLE computer. Fire-fox would not work for the hundreds of thousands of computers linked up on the networks. So you can shut up about that.
Bee Boy — Sun, 6/26/05 6:08pm
To answer your question, this occurred at store #109 ("West LA"): 11301 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles.
I understand that on the enterprise level, Windows is cheaper to install and therefore "easier" to support. I understand that Best Buy would never consider underwriting the massive switch to Linux or Mac. But it's still a very problematic operating system and Best Buy's computers (at least the one I was standing at) are running a very antiquated version – perhaps because Windows is so glitchy and labyrinthine that it's too much of a headache to upgrade. (Firefox vs. IE is a separate debate. Each is used by literally millions of people to connect to the Internet. Both run on Windows. There would be no problem installing Firefox on every Best Buy workstation – and it would be more reliable than IE 5.01 or whatever they're running. Again, I don't expect them to make this switch, but Firefox's ability to work on hundreds of thousands of computers is absolutely not the reason why.) However, an intelligent retail megastore would run its intranet on something more reliable, flexible, and scalable – for example, a Linux infrastructure – from the start. I know Best Buy is not that store; I don't expect Best Buy to be that store. But a store that focuses its attention on making its inventory system more reliable is a store I'd rather shop at – not that such a store exists today. I was mostly just making the point that their choice of supply chain tracking software falls in line with the rest of their choices: it's focused on making things "easier" for Best Buy, not delivering a more useful or reliable experience to its customers. Every complaint I have about shopping at Best Buy can be summed up in the same way.
Most of the employees I encounter at Best Buy are not at all interested in helping the customer or making the shopping experience easier. If our latest anonymous commenter is the notable exception to this rule, kudos to him or her. I'm impressed and very grateful. (And, s/he should probably work someplace else, where that commitment might be appreciated.) S/he's certainly in the minority among Best Buy employees. Hell, s/he's in the minority among Best Buy employees commenting anonymously on this page!
For the most part, working at Best Buy is considered "just a job," and these kids are there to hang out with their friends, offer extended warranties, and collect a paycheck. I can understand; I worked jobs like that at their age. But I still took them seriously – it really didn't take much extra effort to make a customer's experience markedly better. I don't necessarily fault these individual employees for failing to take that initiative – some of them probably did at first, but then realized that it was not recognized/appreciated/rewarded at Best Buy. Still, in my experience very, very few of them offer conscientious, helpful guidance – and I've had plenty of interactions at many different stores. It's the same at Home Depot: until the corporation devotes itself to incentivizing employee excellence, the customer experience will continue to be this frustrating whenever it strays from the comfortable path of walking in the door, retrieving the top disc off the shelf, and checking out. Woe be the customer who has a return, an online pickup, or a simple inventory question like mine. Customers like me can understand that it would be impossible to turn over an entire store looking for one DVD set. If some other customer has stashed it in a dryer or tucked it behind Cutthroat Island, it'll never be seen again. (But hey – just an idea – instead of standing around chatting, why don't the employees walk through and organize the inventory when they have some free time, rather than waiting until the next morning at 6?) Of course, my complaint about "one equals zero" stands, regardless of whether the item might have been lost or moved by customers, or just in the shopping cart of someone on his way to the register ahead of me. Because the inventory system indicated that this Best Buy store had only ordered two of the disc in question. If one disc is so hard to keep track of, what's the point of ordering just two? 50% of your stock is immediately assumed to be lost! Best Buy should be as aware of its inventory problems as its employees are: if it's generally true that having one of something in the system means it's impossible to find on the shelf, so be it – but then Best Buy and its inventory managers should reorder that item when the inventory drops below three. This DVD had only been released that day, so obviously there was no time to reorder. Therefore, the original order should have been larger.
Of course, that didn't happen. There's still a right and wrong way to approach the problem. My experience would've been vastly improved if someone said, "Hm. Only one in the system. That's no guarantee that it's still on the shelf, but I know a few places it might be. Follow me and we'll look there." Sure it won't always be there, but at least I'll feel like we've done all we could. Instead, two Best Buy employees at separate stores both could not be bothered to consider the fact that one might equal one. I'd have settled for someone simply confirming that it would definitely have been shelved in TV or Comedy – and not in some other area (New Releases, Box Sets, etc.) that I might have failed to look. Then I'd feel like the employee is knowledgeable and helpful, so I wouldn't be afraid to ask a question the next time – or just tempted to shop elsewhere. This takes a couple of extra minutes, but pays off huge for Best Buy. And, if there are a hundred customers waiting behind me, they'll be happier to wait because they'll know that their question will also get such thorough consideration. (Not that I've ever seen more than one person ask an inventory question at Best Buy. I'm sure they've all had experiences similar to mine – they've learned to keep a question to themselves if it's more complicated than, "Point me toward the digital cameras.") And don't give me, "Employee 1 probably wasn't assigned to the DVD section; Employee 2 was." My question wasn't about a DVD – it was about inventory. Every employee should be able to pull up the inventory system and see if an item is in stock. That's exactly the question I asked: "I checked in TV and Comedy; can you find out if you have it in stock so I know whether to keep looking?" He was standing at a computer with the inventory system open. He should have been able to tell me if the DVD was in the system. Then he could've referred my question about where to look to another employee if he really wasn't a DVD specialist. (Although I suspect he was, since he was standing in the DVD section using one of their computers.) Just like the "one equals zero" problem, his reaction is unacceptable not because there's no justifiable reason for it – it's unacceptable because of the way it was done. "Never heard of it; ask her" is exactly the sort of apathetic response I get whenever I ask anyone at Best Buy for help. The customer is treated like a nuisance – always.
Sometimes the customer is a nuisance. Many customers are a pain in the ass; I certainly understand that. But I'm really not: I ask questions only when necessary, I approach all employees politely and respectfully, and I ask clear and direct questions. If they're unwilling to help me – or have been defeated by an employment experience that does not reward or encourage them for taking satisfaction in a job well done – then Best Buy has failed.
Anonymous Coward — Sun, 6/26/05 10:20pm
Well I do only work at best buy for a pay check. I attend college, because I dont want to be those "high school drop out" guys that work there forever. But I just like to help people out, and even customers that are a "pain in the ass", you have to respect them. I think, "Hey maybe they are having a bad day, maybe I can make it better, but thats just my feelings. But come to Best Buy West Covina (wireless Dept.) and I will help you out :). Oh ya, im a guy :D -chris
"Bmoney" — Tue, 8/2/05 9:29am
I fucking hate best buy they have the worst customer service and try to ass rape you with a service plans every chance they get. No one in the store knows any thing about there department and the mangment are fucking ass holes. Another thing why push PSP or ( Fucking retarted serivce plans , that dont do a damn thing) if you are not going to even make commission on them. At the end of the day I hope you go home felling great about ripping people off, who can barely afford to buy a computer as it is. I hope all best buys burn down, the mangment is still in there and I get to go piss on the ashes.
Bee Boy — Tue, 8/2/05 9:39am
Add some felching, and you've got yourself an Aristocrats joke!
Anonymous Coward — Wed, 8/24/05 2:42pm
I HATE BEST BUY TOO!!!!!!!!! WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE WORLD!
"Liquiflux" — Sun, 8/28/05 8:23pm
First of all (about the whole buying dvd's thing), just get yourself a NetFlix account (www.netflix.com), order movies, then rip-&-send. Secondly, don't order shit online at bestbuy.com. The second you order it, it starts the shipping process... which can't be undone... ever.... ever ever ever. Even if you wanted to cancel the fucking thing, you couldn't. Trust me. Even if you wanted to simply change the shipping address you can't... ever.... ever ever ever. So I agree. Fuck Best Buy AND their "would you like a squishy" customer service reps.
Bee Boy — Mon, 8/29/05 8:32am
Comments of onebee readers do not reflect the opinions of onebee. onebee does not condone digital piracy. onebee loves Netflix and would never think of using Netflix like a cheap hooker. But, seriously. Fuck Best Buy.
"shutup" — Thu, 11/17/05 12:45pm
shut up you whiny geeks. wa wa wa they didn't have my soap opera on dvd. wa
"Not a Spoiled LA Brat" — Mon, 12/5/05 8:15pm
As an overall comment on this waste of time complaint, I'd have to say WTF! First off I work at Best Buy as well and would have to say that the MAJORITY of people in my store are pretty freindly and gladly help people. Perhaps the store in LA is staffed by tens of other spoiled little brats like you? It is times when worthless complainers come in whining about being able to find ONE DVD out of MILLIONS, make employees care less about helping you. Theres a simple motto you should follow IF ITSNNOT ON THE SHELF WE DON'T HAVE IT! You dont need a fancy computer system or a computer system at all for that matter to tell you that. You act like Best Buy's puprose in life is to piss you off. I can honestly tell you that we don't hide anything in the back with the intention of not selling it. Stupid customers will move things around the store all of the time and theft is always a flaw in the inventory. It is impossible to account for merchandise that is stolen. Do you realy think we ould ask theifs to provide us with a list of everything that they stole. How else would we be able to account for it? You can go into ANY retail store and find the same problems . Trust me I worked at Circuit City and Target before working at Best Buy and Best Buy is by far the best. I could understand why you would be upset if you were purchasing a more substantial product like a camera or TV and they were missing. High value items are inventoried much more frequently than DVD's or CD's. It would be impractical to physically count every single item in the store every night and that seems like you would be asking Best Buy to do? Our store does a monthly inventory of the whole store and that can not even keep quantities accurate 100% of the time. Maybe if you had a job working in retail you could get to experience first hand what Best Buy employees have to put up with. On a final note I will agree that it would not hurt for Best Buy as a corporation to upgrade their operating system. It is as you said a well out dated version of Windows, but that only means the computers are slower. Running firefox or whatever upgrade you suggest would not be able to account for stolen or misplaced product as I already Mentioned. And Honestly I feel sorry for you because your life revolves so heavily around this DVD that you had to throw a tantrum and "boycott". Oh and finally i do give you props for the "throw it in a refrigerator cuz thats so true and I must say funny.
Bee Boy — Mon, 12/5/05 9:22pm
(I have got to get out of the habit of responding to these, but it's so fun!)
Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to hear that you work at the Best Buy with the polite and friendly people. You've certainly represented that group well.
So, Best Buy shoppers, the key to remember is: don't enter the store with your mind set on one product. Asking, "Do you have this DVD?" is whiny and unfair. Be a polite customer and ask, "Do you have any DVDs?" Then the crack staff should be able to satisfy your request.
These statements are contradictory. It's because of the second one that I always ask the staff to check the computer inventory if I'm looking for a brand new DVD that was just released that week. Maybe it's been moved or it's in a "featured" section. It might be filed under "TV" or "Comedy" or "Box Sets." If the computer inventory says Best Buy has a bunch, then I'll spend my time sifting through all the shelves. Better yet, maybe someone in the DVD department might actually know about the new discs out that day and be able to direct me straight to the right section.
Actually, I'm not asking Best Buy to do anything. I'm saying I'd prefer to shop at a store where the inventory is relatively accurate, and the staff are helpful and knowledgeable, particularly within their section. I'm not saying such a store exists. It may not be possible. But Best Buy is not that store. Best Buy is so accustomed to inaccurate inventory that it's become a given that one of something is the same as zero of that item. Best Buy's floor staff routinely act like I'm putting them out if I ask any question more complicated than "Do you have any DVDs?"
I consider it one of the few successes of my life that I've managed to avoid such a job. With any luck, the economy will hold up (vote Dem in '08!) and I'll never have to.
But yeah, I'm sure most customers are shitheads. The problem is, if you allow yourself to treat all customers as shitheads, you're just "paying it backward" (as I like to say) and causing more frustration, which breeds angrier customers who are more likely to become shitheads. When I had jobs that forced me to interact with lots of dumb customers, I always tried to be super-sweet to them, to leave them with no reasonable complaint about my service (not that these people are ever reasonable). Nobody's perfect; everyone has a bad day now and then. But I'd enjoy shopping at Best Buy a lot more if the staff were trying to treat everyone like the best-case customer, rather than treating everyone like the worst-case customer.
He he! Point taken. In my defense, I just bought the DVD elsewhere, because someone else had it. As I've stated often, I don't have the energy to boycott Best Buy (or even throw a tantrum). They have the cheap DVDs, so I still occasionally go there when I want cheap DVDs – although Circuit City's new promotional campaign highlights their low price guarantee and their friendly, knowledgeable staff, so I may have to give them a try. It's just a longer drive.
Thanks!
"best buy blows" — Sun, 12/11/05 1:55pm
i went into best buy today ... then as soon as i got home i typed in google "fuck best buy" it turned up many results as you can tell
as soon as i went into best buy ... i came ready to return a digital camera i got for $500 including a bogus $60 service plan ... the audio on the camera gave out along with the thing stopped focusing on the pictures ... so pretty much its a piece of shit now ... i got it 2 months ago so its within manufactures waranty ... i got a new service rep that didnt know shit because he was new ... so he brought out the manager ... he saw the problem and said we have to send it to get it repaired ... if its fixable we will have the camera back "fixed" ... if its not fixable we get a new camera ... So i start reading the service plan now and it says the following: "Products, including those within the manufactors warranty period, may be repaired or replaced with a comparable product, or we will issue a voucher for the original purchase price at our discretion"
So we went to a blonde lady sales rep .. after me and my dad had enough shit that we had to get it returned to have it serviced ... so she says okay i can get you store credit for this camera ... is that okay? ... my dad said yes ... she says one moment i will have to talk to the manager in order to see if you get the manufactor warranty cost included in that store credit card ... my dad says okay thats fine ... she comes back saying im very sorry my manager says we have to take it back to service before we can do anything ... my dad is being a pussy and i dont want to say " I WANT A FUCKIN CAMERA THAT WORKS NOW" in front of him because im trying to be a good kid ... but anyway the manager is being discrimative to me and my dad
See the blonde lady rep was going to give us store credit ... until the manager had his say that means the blonde lady had discretion and her discretion was we can get it returned ... then the manager said no ... that means hes being discrimative towards us which he said himself "we will not allow you to get store credit"
well my dad knows some people at the better business burreau.
So what would be your action in this situation????
"Blake" — Sun, 2/19/06 10:17pm
seriously though, I just left bestbuy, terrible company to work for. I know im preaching to the choir, but that company is fucking ridiculous, its not even the employees as in salespeople who are bad, its the supervisors, sales managers, and general managers who dont give a damn, they think as long as they're number one in their district life is good. but CUSTOMER SERVICE is key not a fucking number on a score sheet! they wont realize that, and I had to leave, I couldn't deal with it any longer. its terrible... but sadly circuit city doesnt carry the product lines I like, but all i've got to say is best buys shit is marked up extremely high... car audio 70%ish, home theater 50%ish, computers only a few dollars, but cables for the computers...$40=$1.23 to me. terrible.
"adam" — Tue, 5/9/06 8:02pm
Blake if you were so concerned with Best Buy not helping customers why didnt you stay to help pave the way for this. I personally think its up to the individual to help the customer not the store or who manages it when they are they. You probably were a employee who wants to blame others for shortcomings you could not fix. Overall Best Buy does care for the customer, but accidently hires associates who are lazy and dont want to help customers, then quit cuase they are to inthralled with themselves and making excuses why they cant help customers due to bad management
"thedude" — Mon, 6/12/06 1:08pm
Honestly, who cares what these Best Buy employees say. Anyone who's ever tried to get a little help there can testify at how terrible it is. I understand that you're busy or a dick or whatever, but Best Buy is the bottom of the barrel. I hope your proud to work there, Heaven knows your family must be.
Anonymous Coward — Mon, 8/14/06 9:36pm
i like ass raping customers
"Luke" — Tue, 3/6/07 10:41am
I can imagine that this is just a very small sampling of the people who have had horrid experiences at Best Buy however; my question to all of you is this - Why do you continue to shop there? If you have such an awful viewpoint of Best Buy all along? If so, why would you go into the store. Go to Circuit City or order online. By ordering items online you know exactly what you're getting as well as the price and delivery options. Beyond that, you would eliminate any sort of interaction with these 'miserable Best Buy employees'. Poor customer service is only half of the problem. People such as yourselves are the other half. Have you made an attempt to contact Best Buy's District or Corporate offices? I can say with the utmost certainty that, presenting problems such as the ones all of you are experiencing to upper level management will get your problems fixed. If you still feel that that would be a waste of your time, then there is an easier solution. Cut your ties with Best Buy! Don't shop there, don't patronize them and don't recommend them to others.
"FUCKBESTBUY" — Mon, 3/12/07 11:03pm
fuck best buy... i worked there the customer service sucks assssss and no employee knows shit about anything!
"idiot" — Wed, 3/14/07 1:24pm
I cant believe that everyone here sides with me when i say FUCK BEST BUY!
"idiot" — Wed, 3/14/07 1:34pm
Youd think that if you spend $2000 on a laptop and spring for the extra service plan that youd get it, even better when you take it back to get work done on it that after 2 months that the fuckin thing would fixed but i must really be an idiot cause wasnt a damn thing fixed, actually they fried the motherboard replaced it then never fixed the actual problem and im the asshole! the fucken counterboy is a dildo infact all of them are and it seems the managers are too. why cant i just get the damn thing workin? at my job i do what i get paid to do, so maybe i should work there where i can fuckoff.
"BBY Employee" — Sun, 4/8/07 4:17am
OK I also work at Best Buy, and yes the company is full of problems. The same problems that all major retailers are full of. My only question to the customers is that when you go food shopping do you ask the employess where they keep bread. No you look up and find the sign that says bread...then you go get your bread. SO as a customer you wanted to find " wonderfalls" take a second and look in the DVD section for the big ass sign that says TELEVISION...and then go look under the W's. If its not there...GO HOME. If one more person asks me where the computers are I am going to snap. They are located under the HUGE SIGN HANGING FROM THE CEILING THAT SAYS COMPUTERS. Yes I get a million legitimite questions a day which i have no problem answering. I enjoy most of my customers, but dealing with all the damn mouth breathers is driving me crazy. As a customer take a second and look for yourself....if you still can't find it , fine ask me. But if I tell you we don't have it...leave it alone. If you ask me a question...accept my answer.
Bee Boy — Mon, 4/9/07 11:45pm
It's a good point with the bread; unfortunately the analogy doesn't hold. All the different types of bread are always together in one place – no guesswork. There's no "New Releases" area of the bread aisle, separated from the other bread the way it is with DVDs at Best Buy. There's no confusion of nomenclature: wheat bread is wheat and white bread is white. Wonderfalls is a comedy and a TV show and a box set. I know I'd put it under "TV," but frankly, given my past experience with Best Buy employees (who may not be representative of every person who's ever worked there, but who are certainly representative of the majority of employees I've encountered) I've learned to be wary.
I was only asking the bakery people for their advice. I knew this particular type of bread was delivered just that very morning. I was surprised not to find it where I expected it to be, but I know there's some variability as far as where it might be shelved. There's a good chance one of the people who work in the department actually shelved this very loaf of bread earlier in the day, so if I can find that person, his or her counsel would really go a long way toward solving my problem. I think it's fair and reasonable to ask politely, which I did.
I hear you with the "Where are the computers?" gripe; I really do. But it doesn't relate to my situation because computers are bigger than DVDs. Much harder for them to be mis-shelved, wrongly categorized, or slipped behind other computers and out of sight. Unless your point is that you're so burned out on answering the computers question for blind idiots that when I come long with my perfectly reasonable question you're not inclined to give it any consideration. Believe me, I do understand that; I hate people, too. So very much. But if that's how you react to having to answer dumb questions from people, you probably shouldn't be in a service industry job. Sad as it is, it comes with the territory.
Well, in essence, that's exactly what I did. (Except I stopped at Amoeba on the way home and gave them my money for the DVD.) But, yeah, that was definitely the vibe I got from the Best Buy employees: "Can't find it yourself...TOUGH LUCK." Which begs the question, why even pay them to roam the floors? All you really need are cash register attendants and people to hold the door open for customers leaving without buying anything.
I gladly will, if it makes any sense. "The computer says we have 1 but that means we have 0," doesn't make sense at all; I feel entirely justified in digging deeper. "If you ask me a question...accept my answer [no matter how ridiculous it sounds]" is not a good policy at all. That way lies... well, the Iraq war, frankly.
"bumblebee" — Tue, 7/17/07 3:49am
if best buy is so horrible... then why are they the only electronic retailer not laying off employees (circuit city), shutting down half their stores (comp usa), abandoning entire regions (tweeter), or completely gone out of business (media play, tower records)?
Corporate Strategies and Advertising only go so far. Employee execution and customer satisfaction are the 2 biggest reasons why best buy continues to grow while the other big name retailers struggle.
Bee Boy — Fri, 7/20/07 9:49am
Interesting comment. Other than Circuit City, all of these retailers only serve a fragment of Best Buy's market, so they don't really count. If everyone's buying Dells online now, it'll take a bite out of CompUSA, but Best Buy also sells digital cameras and CDs, so they stay afloat (for example).
I'm not an expert, but I thought Circuit City was in a slump because Wal-Mart slashed prices on low-end HDTVs and the rest of the industry had to follow suit to stay competitive. HDTVs having the highest profit margin and the fastest market growth, this is a big hit. If Circuit City took it worse than Best Buy, it's probably because they do a lot less business in CDs and DVDs, so they don't have a cushion to fall back on. That's just a guess, though.
I also heard the reason Circuit City was laying off employees was to hire them back at lower wages. Maybe Best Buy already pays its employees so poorly, they don't need that strategy. That would explain why their employees are all so surly. (With obvious exceptions – like Chris, above.)
Anonymous Coward — Tue, 7/24/07 2:25am
You sir, are an idiot! Have you ever worked in a retail store? Do you live in the real world? If you are so smart with your college degree, why couldn't you find the damn tv show on the shelf?! By the way, employees are trained specifically to one or two areas, it is impossible to know everything about everything in technology. Do you know every single process at your company? Of course not, that would be redicioulus! IF there is only ONE copy of something, THEN it may be a return, or another customer may be carrying it around, or it may have even been ordered online for an instore pick up. If you can't find your stupid tv show on a shelf in alphabetical order no less, then you sir are an idiot! Maybe Best Buy should hire you!
"C.city" — Fri, 8/10/07 12:25am
CIRCUIT CITY ALL THA WAY BABY... FUKK BEST BUY IN THEIR BLUE N YELLOW ASS
Anonymous Coward — Fri, 8/10/07 12:27am
BY THE WAY ANONYMOUS COWARD... I AGREE. I WORK IN RETAIL, BACK IN CAR AUDIO, AND IF SOMEBODY ASKED ME ABOUT TVS, I'D BE DUMBFOUNDED. BESIDES THE POINT THO, THEY DO HAVE HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE
"Bmoney" — Thu, 11/15/07 2:29am
It is awesome to see Best Buy employees respond to this thread and essentially say; I do not want to find the product you (the cutomer) want, find it yourself. Also I saw a GM get fired today it was the best thing I have ever seen. He was all crying and acting like a bitch. Any time something bad happens to best buy people I think it is karma getting them. In all the time I have worked in the industry I have never seen a Best Buy employee actually help a customer. They always try to up sell, add on, or ass fuck the customer.
Also Bee Boy is like the best debater ever.
GO FUCK YOURSELF BEST BUY EMPLOYEES.
fancyaries — Sat, 11/17/07 9:22pm
I totally agree with you about BEST BUY! Fuck Best Buy! All they want to do is sign you up for their stupid Mastercard so they can make $90 for each one! Trust me...I worked there for one week, then QUIT! What a joke that place is~IF I owned STOCK in BB I would UNLOAD it! You rock!
"john milborne" — Fri, 12/7/07 1:09pm
I agree and just have to express my contempt for the disturbing theme of the Best Buy Christmas advertisements. It is sad how much consumerism is promoted over true family values.
jmilborne@blogspot.com
"John Doe" — Sat, 12/8/07 12:54am
You guys aree all fucking mad. Best buy is no doubt the best... You fucking guys are all spaz... get lifes and get off the computer you fattys and go for a BIG WALK TO bestbuy.
k thankx and tal to you soon you bunch of fucktards
Bee Boy — Sat, 12/8/07 10:07am
I know a six-year-old who loves that commercial, and while I acknowledge that its overall theme is a tad materialistic, there's a moment when the cute teenager renounces her friend with the piercing, calling her a "freak." If that message sinks in and this future teenager is saved, it will have been worth it.
(How'd that slender marathon runner John Doe, who never would do anything as spazzy as Google "Best Buy" on a computer – ick! – end up here? Anybody know?)
Brandon — Sat, 12/8/07 4:57pm
Much like Spiderman's reknowned "Spidey Sense," John Doe gets a tingly sensation whenever his twin life missions – making sure fatties get lives, and stopping fucktards from dissing Best Buy – converge into one deadly stew of spazzdom.
For years he had walked the earth questioning his lot in life, wondering if these so-called "powers" would ever give his existence some true meaning. Finally, in the wee hours of December 8th, 2007, as he lie in bed contemplating his heroic dedication to this calling, he was alerted to the dangerous, prolonged escalation of this thread, and without hesitation, he sprung into action!
God bless you, John Doe! K thankx and tal to you, too!
"Mike" — Mon, 12/10/07 10:49am
My favorite part is John Doe's e-mail address. I LOVE gaylord.com!! It contains all the information about homosexual deities that an ecclesiastical dandy like me could want!
Bee Boy — Mon, 12/10/07 5:56pm
Not only that, now I finally know how to protect my cherished copy of The Secret of the Gold Jaguar!
"FaultyLine" — Tue, 1/22/08 11:04pm
This is so funny, I used to work at Best Buy (or S**t Buy if you ask me) althought I was NOT a highschool droupout and I ALWAYS had the same problems. The ETK (Employee Tool Kit) was horrible... The inventory system that you are so fond of (RSS, Reteck Store System) was worthless during the holidays as it would just die, and if people TRIED to use it during the holidays, the registers would go offline which meant no one could buy anything..... After we lost half a million at our store in one day (black friday) because of our junk computers, we FINALLY got a system upgrade, which still sucked... Believe me, I know your pain, I used to work at that company.....
Anonymous Coward — Mon, 2/11/08 10:44pm
I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge this. I realize it's a couple of years old. But while we're on the subject, please allow me suggest that you avoid Office Deopt and Office Max for the very same reason.
This past November I was scouring all of the aforementioned stores I could, searching for one very awesome ruby red office chair that only one store had that in fact was just a floor model. My experience (minus the existance of a floor model) was EXACTLY the same except for the name of the store, the product I was buying and the number of stores I searched.
I am 39 years old. But I can't be that old, can I? To be taken back by the overwhelming lack of common sense, common courtesy and customer service that would've gotten you fired back when I was younger and working retail. At one point, a manager said to the assistant manager (while I stood waiting for nearly 30 minutes) "Yeah ya' know I think we just "blind received" that chair." So what? You're admitting in front of me that your computer system gets updated to reflect inventory that doesn't even exist? While employees look for and I wait for something... that's not there!
Unbelievable. Isn't it puzzling how life in this country has unwravelled? One would think that over the years people both individually and as a group would become "better". Stunningly though, while my life travels have been limited to the North America it seems that over the years people only get worse.
One could more easily imagine telling one's friend or loved one something like "Yeah man, back in the 60's 70's or 80's people were BAD." Not true though. People in this country seemingly only go from bad to worse.
I'll part by saying that at the ripe old age of 39 the aforementioned behaviour doesn't bother me merely because it affects me personally. But because on a larger scale, this makes our country, our society weak and ripe for attack. And I'm not a conspiracy nut, I'm just speaking figuratively but as realistically as possible.
P.S. Don't shop at GameStop or EB Games (same store, different name) either.
Anonymous Coward — Thu, 3/20/08 2:13am
I work at a Best Buy as well, and I am so sick and tired of all of you whining bitches who are too stupid to find what you need. "Oh no, I can't find my DVD that I MUST have now or else I'll die! Customer Service was bad! Boo hoo!" Grow some nuts you stupid assholes. There is only about a million other places you can shop. If all you're going to do is bitch and moan and make life miserable for every employee in the store if we happen to not carry your product, go fucking shop somewhere else. We don't need your shit, and we certainly don't need your money that you could just as easily shove up your ass. Seriously, How would you like it if WE came into your place of business and started bitching up a storm and treating you like human pieces of garbage? And as for the PSP or PRP issue, we're just doing our job. It comes with the territory. If we didn't offer them, we would not only be fired from this job that some of us NEED to pay for bills and for schooling, we would also have whining and bitching customers who would complain that we DON'T have extended warranties once a product had some type of malfunction. If we happen to offer (NOT PRESS)them, you bitch. If we don't offer them and something happens to your product, you bitch. It's a lose-lose situation.All you have to do is politely say "No thank you, I'm really not interested at this time" instead of acting like some jackass on some high ass pedestal way above the rest of us "peons" that live to serve you, It's not that hard...really. Also, If you smartasses who think you're so fucking superior and have some type of solution to fix these problems and run the fucking company yourselves, I'm all ears. Go ahead, you peices of dogshit, enlighten me. Because clearly you have nothing better to do than sit around and live out your pathetic, miserable lives bitching about your service at best buy, or office depot, or home depot, or wherever. Retail isn't easy, trust me. It's not. But on the whole, it's a great job, you have a fun time, and you meet some awesome people, whether they be co-workers or awesome customers that make the job worthwhile. But then we get you soulless assholes who suck everything enjoyable out of it, and life in general. And as for the "high school drop out" remark, that is total horseshit.Everyone I can think of at my location is very intelligent and is very dedicated to getting the job done, and pleasing customers so they will come back again and again to enjoy our fine store and the products that we offer in it. You may have some problem with Best Buy, fine whatever, but don't be a fucking jerk and bitch about it to other people who have pleasant experiances there.
I've heard a few, no, QUITE A FEW people comment on how dedicated we are to pleasing people and how we are their favorite store. Don't attempt to sabotage our honest business because you have a stick up your ass. Take it somewhere else, because we could easily live without people like you as our customers. Take it to Wal-Mart or Sam's Club, because we don't need it here.
"Paul" — Tue, 5/6/08 2:13pm
I am currently having a large number of issues with BestBuy. It started when BestBuy sold me a used Mac with someone's info and password on it and I could not wipe the drive. I was told that this only had been an open box and it was fine. That it even had been checked out. Then they replaced it with a broken one. I then took that one back and got a brand new one. The Store manager was rude and nasty with me. (other issues not listed at tis time as well). After a few months the new one had an issue and I took it in and they tried to tell me the Service Agreement they sold me was being altered because it was a Mac, I told them they could not re negotiate the contract down the road. They did fix the Mac but lost the box it came in (serial numbers and custom molded packing) and damaged the Mac! It had scratches all over it and they told me they were not responsible for the lost box or the damage! I spent over an hour on the phone with their Customer Service dept. after the store personnel refused to call them on my behalf, who told me it would all be taken care of. The guy (Paul) at the store told me it would be sent the next day and this was being given top priority. A week later I had no response. I can never get through to the store so I again called to the Customer Service #. In both calls the rep was not able to help only (escalate) the call. I had to get a supervisor on the phone each time to get answers. This guy tells me there is no record of my computer at the the store or service center. They don't know where it is and they think they lost it. I am at a loss with the deception. Who do you contact as a layer and do they do pro bono work on this kinda thing ? I had thousands of dollars of stuff on this Mac and use it for work. My info is redone5623@aol.com and my name is Paul
Also there are other issues like they packed up the Mac without my cables and left them in their work area. No doubt if I had not called them out on that they would have said I never gave them to them. I have not had one good experience with these people. I see that this is typical from all the postings on the web about them. I am well spoken and would love to talk to the press about this.
"Lynx" — Sun, 6/15/08 5:59am
Ok ok, I just had to post here after i typed 'FUCK BEST BUY" in google, and yes I turned caps lock on. So, my friend gets back from Thailand yesterday and he wants a laptop when he got back. I am decently knowledgeable with computers so I offered to go with him, select a laptop for a decent price and set it up for him. The laptops these days come with vista, in fact they are "optimized" for vista, but frankly, Vista is a piece of shit. We purchased the laptop and proceed to get hassled by the security guard at the exit, receipt in the bottom of the bag, hands full, i proceed to fish and find the receipt and when done so this bright young man checks the items off with a highlighter without looking in the bag. I proceeded to respond with the witty comment, "Thanks for making me feel like a criminal" All this is completely beside the point tho but comical in retrospect.
So, I decided i would do my friend a favor and install Windows XP for him. I looked up the drivers for the laptop i wished to install XP on and HP, the laptop brand, had all of the drivers for XP for the machine in question.
I proceed with the install neglecting to make a start up disk, my cardinal mistake, you see, I figured the god damned laptop came with its own recovery disks and i just had not opened em yet as there was a bunch of packaging in the box. I have never set up a system that did not have start up disks. Anyways, The XP install goes fine, i install all of the drivers, but the wireless card won't respond. I run some diagnostics checks to detect hardware, and it is not detecting any wireless card. The Best Buy spec sheets for the laptop specify the machine has an Intel wireless card but the HP website specifies a different series of Intel Wireless card....
I download some software from intel to detect your intel wireless card. It says it can not find a god damned intel card. So here I am, baffled. I can't open the laptop because it will void the warranty, so I tell my buddy, they've fucked up, they are listing a different wireless card than what is in the machine.
THE RETURN!!:
Security guard marks the laptop box as an exchange as that was the original plan. We go to returns/Xchanges and the guy tells us no worries, go look for a laptop and come back to me. I had just recently read some things about the laptop he had purchased and some bad things that could arise so I advised him to get another laptop. We searched but could not find a suitable laptop within price range and capability to match so I told him I remembered a good local place that we might find a better deal and computer. We go tell the guy at Xchange that we were just going to get the money back. The 'geek squad' lady comes over and tells me she tried to start the computer but 'it wouldn't start'. I said ya, I know it won't start, I formatted the hard drive before we came here. She proceeds to tell me that voids the warranty and any return or exchange, but for the low price of 59 dollars they can load the start up disks and we can come back in 3 hours and THEN return the laptop. I think this is bullshit right away and question her decently about the subject, the only thing wrong with the comp is the wireless is not working on XP. I tell my buddy lets go look at some wireless cards that can plug into an internal bay in the laptop. Side note, while we are over there looking, i talk to the HP rep there and ask him which operating system he uses and he promptly says XP, yet here we are being forced to by a 'VISTA' only laptop. She gives us a wireless card and guarentees us it will work in our laptop. We make the drive home... and its TOO BIG. This geek squad expert who lectured me for 10 minutes about the 'dangers' of downgrading to XP and how i was pretty much an idiot who did not research and take proper care sells me a card that doesn't fit. We go BACK to best buy where we talked to another employee, informed him that we were dealing with her, he gets her attention and as she walks by, glares at us (no one near her) and says she is busy with a customer (you know what fair enough, i worked in retail too, but she never came back, I would always come back.) So we end up biting the bullet and paying 59 dollars for some high kid to burn us 3 recovery cd's that took 20 minutes.
I install the recovery, vista is on now and i hate it lol, before anything even loads, I get an error message that windows media player could not be installed. Whatever, i could go on for hours, but if you have taken the time to read this rant, refer back to where I was mentioning Intel wireless cards. I go into device manager to see what the card actually is as the recovery disk had its driver, and its a FUCKING BROADCOM, not Intel, like best buys spec sheet stated, not what HP's website stated, so I never had a chance pretty much, got my ass handed to me by some geek squad woman who lectured me about carelessness then proceeded to sell me a wireless card that didn't fit when she had the exact computer floor model at here disposal.
Sad fact is, end of the day best buy won, they got there money and it fucking sucks. One thing I can assure tho, is the only reason I would shop at best buy again, even tho it wasn't my purchase, is to buy the stress balls they sold at the counter (And I actually wondered at the initial purchase why the fuck are they selling stress balls at best buy)
Thanks for reading this tho if you got to the end! It was a good outlet, so i will end with my google search.... FUCK BEST BUY
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