best buys employees suck and so do they

well yesterday reminded me why i dont like going to the store.

wife and i decided 2 get a couple tablets. so, to best buy we go.

so we get to best buy and start looking around.. i land on the tablet we want(gonna get 2) and tell the clerk.
let me back up and say the service bites. for the most part i knew what i was looking for...still though, it would be nice if someone were there to answer whatever questions i had.
so, i land on one but of course the tag does not have all the specs so i ask if i can see the box so i can read the rest of the specs.

im told the box wont tell me anything....no big deal...show me something i say..
all he can do is look at up on best buy.com
so, we do that but i am a bit annoyed because i could have done that myself at home and saved a lot of time.

either way, not a big deal....i look at the specs and decide i want 2 of those...

he comes back after about 5 minutes to tell me the 'bad news'...none in stock. i would have to pick up at another store or order online.....i say i will pick up in avon(next closest best buy)...then he says they dont have them either....

ok, we look around and i land on another one......he goes to get it and comes back with they dont have any....so, i will pick up at the avon one....nope, none there either..

now im very annoyed..i wasnt yelling at him but i asked him whats the deal with having these things on display if they're not available for purchase.

"well i dont have any control of that"...
yeah...i know

so i land on a 3rd tablet(gonna buy 2).....bad news....only one in stock.....none in the avon store.....

we just left.....his attitude was not bad considering i was annoyed.


so we go to the avon store and i buy 2.......i pay cash. we get home and i open mine to find it is missing the micro cord and adapter....so, i box it up and head back....even more annoyed now.....it was brand new and sealed. should not have been missing anything.

get back to the store and have to wait a half hour in customer service line cause there is only 1 person working and there is a line and the clerk is dealing with someone that seems to be from latvia and they are having issues with their surround sound.

so, i finally get up there and i tell her i want to exchange it out and why....takes my receipt...
then she asks for ID. i ask why and she cops her little tude.....i give her the ID.
then she is typing away and she all of a sudden says "phone number"...
i say what and she say "your phone number"....
to that i reply no number.

thats when the tude gets worse.

she gets the rolly eyes with the small breath sounds....you know like she is going into broncho spasm...

"well i need your phone number to do the return"...

i told her to make something up....not giving my number..

now, i thought the entire point of having a receipt that shows an item was paid for in cash was so you could return it no problem...thats how it used to be. why do i need to show my id and give my number?
the id was not a big deal but i never give my number.

there is a 15 day return policy and i was an hour into that about.....

i just dont like being huffed and puffed at by some 16 year old...

its not a big deal and wasnt a big issue....just annoying....reminds me why i dont like people...

that store really does blow.
they have so much stuff on the shelf but you cant buy it all and take it home with you. a lot of the tags said reduced cause it was an open box and apparently they stock stuff that is not even in the store.

i suppose it is so people will see the item and go ahead and buy it online....i know it is 2014 but there are still people like me that like to see an item in the store, buy the item and take it home all at the same time....


ahh well. 2 stores, a couple clerks and an attitude later and we have out tablets...

I haven't had too many issues with employees at Best Buy, but Geek Squad, oh boy. Talk about us being steaming pissed off, they're incompetent as hell. We had bought a new desktop some years ago, and it was fine right out of the box. Then it started having graphics issues, and since we'd bought a Geek Squad warranty, we took it in. For roughly the next week, they had no idea what was wrong with it, let alone where it was. We did eventually get it back, after being the monkey on that manager's back every. single. day in person. Want to know what was wrong with it? That I figured out myself anyway?

One of the RAM sticks was corrupted, and needed replaced. Effing idiots.

a reply to: CardiffGiant

I feel for you I just had another meltdown in that store 2 weeks ago looking for 1 simple item.
What looked like 100 workers walking around yet nobody could help.
Thank god they had apple reps in-store to try and sell me crapple products every time I came within 10 feet.
Once I found the memory stick I needed I tried to ask a question at the info desk. Greeted by 'Butthead' from the Beavis and Butthead show, he did the same thing looked it up and then went braindead as he tried to read.
I swore 5 years ago I would never go back then I broke that promise and I did. They SUCK!
Oh and did I forget to mention the store insurance plan for a memory stick!!!

Now that you mention it there is another similar store on my list, can't remember the name?

My rant over or to be continued.

Now you understand why these places pay minimum wage, thats all the morons are worth sometimes.

Gotta love asking a tech question to these fools and then they proceed to read the box. I already did that....smh

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Whats funny about that is you have to take a long ass aptitude test when you apply. They do seem to employ on morons though.
I cant believe how huffy she got when i wouldnt give my number.
Its annoying when the items you are trying to buy cant be taken home.
What is the point of having an actual store?
The employees have the intelligence of carl childers[sling blade] and half the # on the shelves they dont even stock.

Welcome to the age of entitlement....
They young workers figure the job is OWED to them some how...
Just pay me .. after all I AM working so whats the big deal.

Fire them all and put people in place that give a flyin fark....

a reply to: CardiffGiant

Not a big fan of Best Buy customer service myself. But at least they have decent prices and the floor walkers don't get commission, so there really is no pressure to buy a certain brand. But the trade off there is you don't get a...er....um...I guess there really is no trade off. The guy knows his stuff or he doesn't.

I have had pretty good experiences with the Best Buy in North Olmsted, but you have to do your homework. I almost always buy my electronics there...floor models. Great deals if you don't mind cosmetic damage. The one in Parma however, I swear that they hire exclusively from the school for the gifted. LOL I won't go there anymore. Oh, and stay away from the Lorain store, many idiots there as well.

But a bit off topic, I have found every Home Depot and Lowe's here in this area to be very good. If they can't get the product that you are looking for, they'll get it to you from another store in the area if they have it in stock within a couple of hours.

I guess It's OK to piss off electronics customers, but don't piss off a contractor.

I feel your pain!
I had an experience at our local Guitar Center store that was beyond belief. I hate them first and foremost because they drove two local smaller musical instrument stores out of business.

I tell the sales guy I want to buy a certain effects pedal for a bass guitar. I'm in a hurry, so I'm not really focusing like I should be. He rings it up and I'm out the door.
I get out to my car, look in the bag, and it's a pedal for electric guitar, not bass. I go back in and tell him. He doesn't
apologize. He just keeps doing his moronic "I'm cool because I work in music store" routine.
He gets the right pedal and then tells me I need an AC adapter. I told him the pedal will run off a 9V battery . You have to remove four screws on the bottom of the pedal to access the battery. He says "I guarantee this pedal has no battery hookup. The AC adapter is $20 bucks, but I'll do half price for you."

OK, I buy it. I'm running late so I dash off. When I get home, I discover he's sold me the wrong adapter. Then I remove the bottom of the pedal. Voila! There's the 9V battery hookup.

a reply to: CardiffGiant

Whenever a customer service rep asks me for my phone number when exchanging, I always tell them that it's a business number. 555-867-5309.

I went looking for a specific tablet once and got the deer in the headlights look from everyone. It was a very popular tablet and anyone with half a clue about the latest tech would have heard of it. That adventure concluded when the sole employee that actually knew about the stuff Best Buy sells informed me they sold out earlier that day and quietly informed me of a rival store that might have it in stock (they did).

Best But did do a bang up job helping me with a computer though. I wanted to buy a middle if the road computer and throw some upgrades of my own in. The guy who helped me, Dave, was a friggin wizard and helped me more than I knew I needed. I went back the next day just to shake his hand since he helped me beyond what I was expecting and the computer we planned out was better and cheaper than what I initially had in mind. Best Buy would be amazing if it had more guys like Dave working there. I still remember the guys name and this was years ago, that's quality service.

a reply to: TDawgRex

We went to the elyria store first cause i live in elyria. I usually dont get to north olmsted unless im going to half priced books. It is way too congested for me. You get by great northern and there is too much going on. I used to go to the guitar center there.
I miss circuit city. I liked it much better than best buy.
Around here if you want electronics its best buy or radio shack and radio shack sucks balls. Their prices are ridiculous. I needed a splitter once so i wnt there and the cheapest one was like 10 bucks. Dude was trying to tell me for digital cable i needed this gold plated big daddy splitter. I wound up getting one at dollar tree and im still using it.
In general though i think it is the age of entitlement.
The employees have zero customer skills and they know nothing of the product they sell. Back in the day that would have been unacceptable

a reply to: TDawgRex

When they ask ( if you call them saying your number) asking i always say no. I shouldnt have to give my info out. Most stores ask you for your number email addy and zip code these days just to make a purchase. I never give it.
I dont like the small breath broncho spasm sounds with the rolly stank eyes though

a reply to: CardiffGiant

I can relate to your frustration. That's why I do most of my Christmas shopping and everyday purchasing of items on-line.

I find myself researching product specification, comparing like products and price comparing on-line with anything I need to buy. It saves me loads of time, hassles and gas, traveling around from store to store. In fact I end-up finding a lot of stuff cheaper on-line when there is free shipping with the product. Sometimes the added shipping cost is the same cost found in stores around town. (Shopzilla, Nextag and Amazon saves me a lot of time price comparing). Another advantage to on-line purchasing is it's delivered directly to your door!

The only thing I buy at local stores is clothing, food and hardware. (I'm a Lowes whore, who spends as much time there as my wife does as Macy's, lol).

originally posted by: CardiffGiant
I dont like the small breath broncho spasm sounds with the rolly stank eyes though

lol. This was the best part of your rant, and it was in the replies. I get that attitude on a regular basis too. They don't need my phone number or email address for me to hand them my money.

Sorry for your hassle, I know how frustrating it is. Thankfully, we've had pretty good luck at our local best buy. Of course, I don't go in there unless I know exactly what I want and I have a backup plan researched already. I don't settle when it comes to gadgets, I want what I want, even if it means I have to wait a bit. (Although I love instant gratification and usually prefer not to wait at all).

Make sure you write a review for your best buy, so people know what kind of service to expect there!

I managed a Best Buy in the mid-nineties. I don't know about these days, but tack then it was a very competetive company, even where other stores in the same chain were concerned. The stores with the highest sales of products and of service plans ( remember back when they cared more about the service plan than the damn product they were selling? Yeah back then ) would win banners to hang and some really incredible bonuses. I used those bonuses to literally purchase a house full of appliances, computers, and electronics.

Anyway - the point being, even back then customer service was not taught. They invested in training in "sales psychology". They promoted the notion of up-selling people into what they really did not need. It was an entire culture of looking at the consumer as a chump, ripe for the plucking. There was ZERO interest in selling people the right product or the product in their price range. It was ALL about cleaning the consumer out and sending them home confused and broke.

As it happens, one day my daughter was born. Her mother had a placental abruption with her and it had been a difficult pregnancy. I had missed a few days of work with Braxton-Hicks ( false labor ) and an emergency room call that said they could not find the babies heartbeat. After the birth ( C-Section ) I had to take four days off to help my daughters mother recuperate. I returned to work to find myself fired - by a new district manager who was grinning ear to ear that he was getting to fire his first manager.

I have never spent a single penny in a Best Buy since. Crap store. Crap policies. Crap service.

a reply to: CardiffGiant

Been there, done that.

I once bought a game from a retailer that was clearly not working and the self appointed expert behind the counter told me that in these exact words: "when that happens it's not the software, it's the hardware."

I didn't know whether to laugh at him or to lecture him. I studied IT and he should know better, but I let it go and asked for a replacement disc. He mumbled on about how a new disc won't fix the problem.

So I went home, put the disc in-and it worked fine. I've seen this genius at work before and he's that type of gamer who frowns upon anyone who isn't a level 50 battle elf or whatever and he'll exploit the less knowledgeable customers when the chance arises.

originally posted by: MojaveBurning

lol. This was the best part of your rant, and it was in the replies. I get that attitude on a regular basis too. They don't need my phone number or email address for me to hand them my money.

Sorry for your hassle, I know how frustrating it is.

thats how i feel.
i paid cash. maybe 90 minutes went by...i wanted my cash back so i could exchange it...didnt want to take the chance on them handing me a gift card and them not having another tablet and then be stuck with the gift card....

When they hire people, they don't necessarily hire based on their tech knowledge. In fact, most of the people that work at an electronics store like that don't know. I was trying to help somebody get a computer once and called the local Staples here (we have no Best Buy) where my girlfriend works. I was making sure it had an expansion slot that the customer needed and she didn't know, so she asked the Easy Tech Manager at the time. He didn't know either. All they could do is read the box and it said nothing about the expansion slots. But, it's pretty much a standard expansion slot so I said it probably has it, and just hold it for the guy until he gets there to buy it. Hell, at one point I was even showing the manager some tricks like how to short two pins to start a motherboard without a power button or how to jumper-wire the PSU to start without being plugged into a motherboard.

Well, that manager got fired recently for stealing from the store and now my girlfriend is Easy Tech Manager... and I get asked a bunch of questions all the time.

Really though, they hardly ever get any customers in there that really know what they're looking for or what they're looking at, so they don't really need to know. The only thing most people need to know is, yes, practically any computer made within the past 10 years that runs is going to get you on Facebook, check your email, and watch videos on Youtube. But that doesn't stop people from demanding an Intel i7 processor because they think it will load Facebook posts quicker.

If you want tech knowledge, go to a real computer/electronics store, not some retail chain bull crap. Or go over to Overclockers.com

Right after posting that, my girlfriend's phone rang and woke her up (her day off)

Some guy is threatening to sue them because he doesn't know how to work his computer.

Reminds me of that joke, If people bought cars like they bought computers.

a reply to: Aldakoopa

Silly me i guess.
I thought best buy was an electronics store. You would think people on the floor would know about their product