May 01
Should I trust Best Buy? Don’t trust anything anyone at Best Buy ever tells you.
Posted by jamersan | Posted in Porch Talk | Posted on 05-01-2009
Best Buy employees (at least locally) are almost always wrong. I was in the local Best Buy on Wednesday taking back my Flip Mino HD because the new Ultra HDs were coming out just after I purchased the Mino. The store had not received their first Ultra HDs and I was told by a Best Buy employee that they would be on a truck “next week” and that she could not tell what day it would arrive nor could I pay for it and reserve one that was coming in.
When I went back into Best Buy on Thursday researching my Macbook, I met another, very helpful employee (probably the most helpful BB employee I’ve ever seen) that told me I could have easily reserved one of them but there was no need because the truck came today and I could just pick one up. He also said that the person I spoke to should have been able to look up exactly when they were going to arrive. Hmm, laziness I guess.
The problem with the local Best Buy is that the employees are usually a bunch of college kids that assume I am an idiot. If I have time and need entertainment, I do nothing to end that assumption, and play along letting them “sell” me on whatever I need.
For example, the last time I purchased a computer from Best Buy, I had a 5 minute “argument” discussion with one of the employees about me needing to buy a new USB cable for an arm-and-a-leg because my old cables at home “probably weren’t USB 2.0 compliant”. They have no clue that I have, hanging on my wall, the degree they are probably still 5 years of college away from getting and have been banging on computers since they were just out of diapers.
Just try this for me: If you know what you are talking about when it comes to computers, walk into Best Buy, stand in front of a computer you are considering and ask this question to an employee: “what is your opinion of this machine”.
I can almost gaurantee you a half hours entertainment as that question leads to their opinion of everything technology related you can bring up.
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So funny about them trying to sell you the cable. I talked to a guy that said he was a Best Buy manager at a bar one night. He said they really instill in the employees to sell cables. Apparently they sell an HDMI cable for HD tvs that are like $90 or something. So crazy. You can get those cables on the Internet for under $10. I’ve also seen USB printer cables for $30 in those stores. Those are like $2 from a lot of places.
I am firmly convinced that Best Buy has all of their profits wrapped up in warranties and cables. They give away the hardware to get you in and gouge you on the peripherals.
I will almost always stop by Big Lots first to see if they have a cable and then on to Sams Club as their cables are typically reasonable. Of course, none of those beat the deals you can get online where the cables costs next to nothing as you mentioned.
cool. Not only does this make every one of my fellow Best Buy employees look like complete asses, it also shows up as the third option on Google when one searches “Should I trust Best Buy?” I’m really sorry you had such a negative experience at that particular store, but that one employees actions should not represent the customer experience that the rest of us try to provide.
This is just a really negative blog post that is designed to make my life at work miserable. You’d think someone with a degree would understand that one store does not speak for all 1200+ Best Buys in the US. You are just part of the problem.
I agree Willis. I’ve had nothing but great experiences at Best Buy. Sure nobody is perfect, and it’s their JOB to offer accessories! Will it just benefit the company? No, obviously the cable or whatever they are buying will be useful for that product they are purchasing. Besides, if they don’t sell accessories, how will the company make a profit? Simple business, yet brilliant. I’m not going to Walmart to save a dollar or two when I can walk into Best Buy and get someone to help me out right away. I’ll just tell them it’s cheaper at Walmart and they’ll price match it, BOOM DONE!
Willis,
Thanks for the comments. This is a personal blog. MY personal blog. If I’m having a bad day, or angered a someone/something, I am pretty sure I have a right to express that opinion on this website. I even have the right to make ridiculously general statements.
So, to prove that you and your fellow Best Buy employees are not asses, you come on here acting like an ass. Nice.
I may (or may not) be part of the “problem”, but I assure you that you are.
Also, searching for “Should I trust Best Buy?” has this post on the second page for me. However, now that you have put that exact phrase in the comments, I’m sure it will go up. Hell, I’ll even optimize the page for that exact term to see if we can get #1!
Johnson,
Wow, two comments on the same (really old) post on my blog in the same day! Hmm, coincidence? Probably not. Anyway, at least your comments added to the discussion and posted some positive Best Buy points (unlike Willis).
Okay, I’ll admit it! Best Buy is useful for someone that doesn’t know what they are doing or has some questions. At least there you get some help versus just about everywhere else I go. I’ve even been able to return my 17″ macbook pro when the new ones came out even though I had it for 40 days (Silver Rewards Zone Benefit).
I was in Best Buy today purchasing a 24″ iMac. I was offered help 4 times, and the guy that helped was was quick, efficient, and to the point. He was a nice guy (unlike Willis).
As a best buy employee… I agree with what you’re saying in this blog (to an extent). For someone who knows their technology…. they’d be useless trying to find out more information from an employee. The best an employee can do is a) talk out of it’s own ass b) talk about the product as if they know the product back to front (when really they’re told what to say and it’s the not the best (ie wrong) information) or c) say ‘uhh not really sure. i’ll look it up on bestbuy.com or google it for you’. and then there’s that model employee that will know about every item and be honest with you and will actually take the time to help you without trying to sell you useless stuff the managers push employees to sell. Unfortunately there’s only like 3, 4 of these employees per store and you’ll most likely not run into him/her. The thing that drives me crazy about best buy is how all the managers and supervisors will try to push accessories and protection plans. My god it get annoying hearing about it every hour. “hey guys our prp (product replacement plan aka warranty) number is only at 5.68% can we raise that up to 8% in the next hour” “hey guys we dropped to our prp to 5.43% we need at least 7% by tonight” For example if someone is buying a xbox 360, here’s what im supposed to do: i’m expected to attach on the prp (give the customer a full on presentation about how great the prp is if there is normal wear/tear), have him buy an extra controller, buy couple games, charging station, wireless network adapter, xbox live card, and ESPECIALLY GET THE HDMI cable, and since he’s buying so much stuff have him sign up for a best buy credit card and have him buy more stuff so he can get the no interest for 18 months. And be all like i really thank you for coming in.. can you do a survey about me? (ridiculous…) If a customer walks out the door with just the console itself, someone will come up to me and be like ‘whoah you could’ve at least sold the hdmi cable. what happened?” i know it’s my job or whatever, but after a year… it old….quick. and btw, you guys have no idea how much they mark up cables. esp the hdmi… it’s ridiculous.
What i’m wondering is why such an educated person, apparently in the computer technology field, is buying any kind of computer hardware from a Best Buy store in the first place? Or do you just visit Best Buy so you can feel superior to the acne riddled younger versions of you?
Yes, Yes, I know. However, I am an impatient person. When I need a computer, I want one now not a week from now. Best Buy / Office Max / Office Depot are the only places in the local area where you can purchase a PC, and Best Buy is the only one that has any sort of selection.
What did you expect, honestly? Is it unreasonable to assume that you were a condescending asshole? Maybe the kid thought you were an idiot for a reason, so he treated you like one.
Additionally, why did you call poor Willis an ass? He was simply saying that your blog post makes his job miserable. What was your intention when writing this? Do you just hate Best Buy so much that you want them to lost business? Maybe your high-school girlfriend that cheated on you now works as a financial statistician for Best Buy and you just hate that whore. Regardless, putting a negative label on Best Buy employees hurts their customer’s trust in them. Trying to help someone, which is what the associates are there for, that does not trust you is pointless and a waste of time.
Try this next time you go into Best Buy. Educate the person that is “helping” you on what they are wrong. Have a positive impact on the future.
Wow, I wished all my posts got this kind of exposure! I’ve gotten no comments on the positive posts, even the ones about Best Buy. One little negative comment and I offend all the Best Buy Employees.
Sure, there are good employees at Best Buy. I even know a few. However, for every good employee there are brats like the one’s posting in this thread that want to whine because someone doesn’t like them. Get over it, grow up. Not everyone will like you or what you do. My opinion is not that important. The good Best Buy employees realize this is a stupid blog that no one read until you started posting in this thread and giving it exposure. If you idiots had not posted, it probably would have faded away by now. Oh well, self-fulfilling prophesy I guess.
And for the record, it’s not just Best Buy (which is one of my favorite stores), its any place that hires a bunch of college kids to make sales. Of course, there are always exceptions.
The original post was probably phrased harsh (as I have admitted) and made to illicit reaction, although I didn’t expect any until Google decided to rank this highly for “trust best buy”.
Comments like JJacobs are exactly what I am talking about. Little punks working at Best Buy that can’t control their emotions enough to not make smart ass comments on a meaningless blog. Yes, I made his job harder. Forgive me for expecting the consumer to open their eyes and educate themselves and not just trust what is being sold to them.
wow this is a crazy post! i had to put my 2 cents in as a best buy employee. jamerson, for someone making a blog post and giving critiscism, you sure cant take it. look theres nothing wrong with your post. i have had horrible experiences at retail stores before. so if you had a bad experience at a best buy its fine to express your opinion but it is something completley different to say “dont trust anything anyone at best buy tells you”. i for one happen to love my job at best buy and always try my very hardest to give the customer the best experience possible and make sure they leave the store with the latest and greatest, with all the knowledge they will need and with no regrets about their purchase. adn yes it does have it’d days. when managers and sups are constantly yapping about close rates, and black tie (protection plans) percentages, and revenue and so on. its gets annoying and aggravating sometimes. yes its true, best buy sells monster hdmi cables for 80 dollars and up. and yes you can find them for 20. if thats a big issue then jus buy them somewhere else. but also realize that we also have best buy brands such as dynex, insignia (made by lg), and rocketfish. you can buy a rocketfish hdmi for 40 or a dynex one for 20. best buy can accomadate people of all personal income level. end of the day, the reason people come to best buy is because your going to have a bigger chance of getting someone who cares and actually KNOWS about what we sell compared to other stores and the 70 year old, technology-incapable grandmother that the wal mart down the street hired for their home theater department. not to mention our great deals on protection. if you buy a 2500 dollar led 55 inch tv you can pay an extra 200 for a 4 year plan that will cover you. so if on the last day of your 4 year plan your tv breaks down, guess what? we replace it. so like i said. i understand jamersan. but shine such a negative light on best buy as a whole because there are those of us who do care. who wont try to shove down accesories down your throat. and who really know what we are talking about. and jus another peice of information, i jus finished taking a MANDATORY best buy training called “building relationship skills”. we have several of these to take a month because we are geared towards the helping the customer out and giving you a complete solution. sorry you had a bad experience. hopefully you’ll get one of our great employees and post a positive blog about us.
Josh,
The article has some harsh terminology, but to be completely honest I did some basic rewrites on the terminology once i got the first couple of bickering posts to get a bigger reaction out of it. Your comments are fine and understandable and not just a knee-jerk reaction like some of these idiots.
I have had quite a few positive Best Buy experiences and if you read through this blog, you will see that I shop there quite often. That is where I go to buy most all of my electronics, and the employees at the local store have been much upgraded in the past year. There seem to be more “adults” and less “college kids”.
I don’t buy anything at Wal-Mart as far as electronics go, so definitely don’t trust anything they tell you
i would have to disagree. im sorry ur experiance was bad but your going to blame best buy in general for one employee? uhm yeah cool. i work for best buy and personally everyone who works in computers know A LOT about them. so im sorry the best buy you went into doesnt know what there talking about but common you have to blame Best buy in general?