Best Buy's sucky customer service

[wagegoth]

Since I live in a major metropolitan area, I've shopped at different Best Buys, Circuit Citys, Targets, Costcos, etc.

It's definitely a store to store thing. In fact, I actually drive farther (even with gas prices pushing $4 around here) to shop at certain stores, because the customer service, inventory, and cleanliness are better.

When I worked for a now-defunct department store, the department I was in did not have commissions, but when raises were handed out, the better the sales, the higher the raise.

[justZu]

I am kind of a Best Buy junkie, but I am also one of those people who does the research at home and likes to be left alone while shopping. Anyway, I have had experiences from both ends of the spectrum when it comes to BB customer service.

First - the good...Christmas before last both of my sons wanted the same game for their gameboys(or DS's, can't remember which) so they could link and play together. The game was kind of hard to find and I asked the guy in the Video Games section if he knew when more would be available. He says that there may be some newly arrived in the back and volunteers to go check. I wait and after a while he returns with two copies of the game. He had to root through most of the delivery to find them and had really gone above and beyond the call of duty. I was impressed and grateful. His manager was happy to hear about it as well.

Second - the sucky...My husband was looking for a new computer to replace his ancient one and we went to BB to see one that was on sale. He took a liking to another one and wanted to ask a few questions about how the computers compared to each other. We waited patiently for the floor clerk to finish with the customer he was helping. He saw us waiting, I know he did. We made eye contact. After his customer decides he will not make a purchase(the guy was loud and the store was quiet) they proceed to shoot the breeze about various non-computer things for so long, my husband left. It was obvious that the other customer was a friend and the BB employee just didn't feel like helping anybody else. CompUSA got the sale that day.

[CancelMyService]

Best Buy employees get commissions off selling "PSPs", which are their warranties. Circuit City used to pay nice commissions and have well trained and knowledgable staff, but they wanted to copy Best Buy so badly they got rid of commission and just recently laid off all the salespeople nationwide who were making the most money (aka the best people on staff) so now both stores have kids working a job to get through college rather than professional and knowledgable sales staff.

Also, CompUSA took the usual "minimum staff allowable" policy to the max. Other than weekends and holidays there would only be 1 or 2 sales people on the entire floor. My wife went to buy an iBook and printer, and we stood there waiting for someone to help us. Lucky for us, the entrance to the employee bathroom was nearby so some random worker who was on his way to taking a whizz ended up with a nice laptop/printer/warranty sale. No wonder they had to close half their stores.

[Ryu]

I bought an ipod at best buy and the employee just stayed there waiting for me to finish picking out what i wanted
Next time if that happens I'm leaving and not going back

[Banrion]

I thought they got rid of commissions years ago.

Well it was 1998-99 when I worked there, but they had me in the dept with boomboxes, headphones and calculators, and expected me to make a living off of commissions of around 10-15 ¢ per item on the big ticket stuff. Alot of the smaller stuff didn't even pay a commission, but I still had to sell it and waste my time with the SC's. Then there was the issue of the manager who showed up at my house one day when I had called out sick and told my mom "If she's so goddamn sick, I wanna watch her puke." That was the end for me and I to this day have never stepped foot back in a CC.

[MadMike]

That's all I can say without becoming irate over my treatment as a CC employee.

I thought they got rid of commissions years ago.

[Emmeileia]

Personally, I have found getting ahold of and staff at Best Buy harder than catching a greased mongoose with tweezers...I can't wait till the new Future Shop near my house opens...
I had heard somewhere (though it may be an urban legend) that Best Buy's policy is to tell staff to only concentrate on people making really big purchases, as that makes more money for the company. Or something along those lines.
Gah...when I bought my DVD player there, it took 20 minutes to catch a staff, and when I asked him if I needed any extra cables or such, he said no and damn near bolted. Turns out I did need extra cables. Argh.

That being said...I have always found their cashiers to be super nice and helpful. Very good cashiers there.

[Banrion]

IIRC the only salespeople in BB who make commission are the cell phone people, and they aren't even BB employees. CC is commissioned in all depts. That's all I can say without becoming irate over my treatment as a CC employee.

[mrsjfreak]

Based on what they sell they do, at least up here I know they do, because I knew someone who used to work there and I saw his paychecks. They were split up with base pay and commission

[KuzcoLlama]

Best Buy does not work on commission.

[mrsjfreak]

I think they work on commission maybe?

Yeah they do, which is what shocked me even more, because my husband and I were looking at really expensive laptops there... Which is usually their biggest commission items

[Emrld]

It was the first asthma attack I'd had in 10 years.
Needless to say when I left I went straight to the Dr's office and just waited till I could be seen. I now carry an inhaler with me. And have only had 3 attacks since that day.

[blas]

I'm not a big electronics person (and I score all my blank CDs and other little things from my baby brother because he uses his discount from K-Mart), but the few times I have been to Best Buy, I was in heaven.

I swear at the Best Buy where I live, it's like a mandatory requirement that the males be under 30 and perfect looking. I think they work on commission maybe? All I know is my friend and I and her fiancee went in because he needed a TV, and we sat around on the chairs and watched their big screens.

The young men employees would not leave us alone. They kept offering to change the movies for us, showed us how to use the remote, repeatedly asked us if there was anything they could help us with..........I secretly wanted to ask all of them for their numbers......but ohh......no no....blas is a bit too shy when it comes to droolworthy young men.

Best Buy may be the one place I can go where I will be flocked by gorgeous guys in my age group. And they seem to like me.........yes, definetly somewhere I gotta go next time I need a confidence boost.

[tollbaby]

I really hope you don't take this the wrong way, but if you have a debilitating illness that strikes indiscriminately at odd moments, shouldn't you carry your inhaler on you at all times? It's possible that they just didn't look towards the aisle as they were walking by, and I'm all for helping your fellow man, but you can't expect the store staff to take responsibility for your medical care. Yes, someone should have come over to see what was going on, and I'm frankly shocked that no one, not even a customer, did. But that's like me expecting store staff to rush to my aid if I have a blood sugar episode when it's my own damn fault I don't have any glucose tablets on me... I've had roommates and family members who were asthmatic, and not only did they carry inhalers, but in the case of my roommate, we had a spare in the medicine cabinet and a spare in the car's glove compartment. (please please please don't start a flame war over this.... maybe I should have kept my mouth shut).

[Emrld]

I think in cases of Customer Service - sometimes it is the company itself - but many times it can be how it is staffed from the top down. If you get managers that don't know how to manage or only manage one way - then it will all roll downhill.

I know we have people hear on this board that work at the home improvement store I am going to mention - and I have a strong feeling that even if they were 10 deep at their paint counter they would have helped.
It is the store whose name is basically what you are hoping the prices are with and "e's" on the end.
I had an asthma attack while walking down an isle - I was alone and I could not catch my breath . . .I ended up sitting /laying on the floor. I know that employees walked past the end -because I saw them - walking and talking to each other - or walking with another customer. I am sorry but if you are in a store and you see someone laying down in an aisle - gasping for breath - wouldn't you run over and help them or at least get someone to do so???? I was down for about 10 minutes . . . finally caught my breath and was able to walk out. For 4 years I would not step foot into any of their stores. I met someone who worked in corporate and they explained how that store had recently been restaffed from the top down - so I decided to give them another chance.
What a difference having the right staff makes.