Best Buy shrinks music section again

[Rune Blackwings]

Not to mention that Jen's expectations would demand that Best Buy actually invest some in Jeremy, and they have absolutely no interest in that. He's only a piece of meat.

I expect nothing beyond proper customer service. I should not be surprised to get it. You cannot have a business, not train your staff and not hold them accountable then be surprised the business is not doing well and cannot compete with other places, including the Internet.

[Rune Blackwings]

"Is that wrong? Should I not do that?"

:P

[Banquo]

I agree that it is BB's responsibility to properly train him and hold him accountable. If Jeremy does not know the product, that is BB's fault. However, the previous visit, I was looking for a product and Jeremy was more interested in serving some big titted young girl than in assisting a customer. That is Jeremy's fault.

I'm still gonna have to go with Jeremy, who seems to have his priorities in order.

[Plasmatopia]

Seems like they'd be better off without Jeremy.

[Banquo]

Seems like they'd be better off without Jeremy.

Don't worry. They'll all be gone soon enough.

[Vic2012]

I expect nothing beyond proper customer service. I should not be surprised to get it. You cannot have a business, not train your staff and not hold them accountable then be surprised the business is not doing well and cannot compete with other places, including the Internet.

In principle I agree, but we live in a culture now where "you get what you pay for." I actually expect bad customer service so I usually try not to engage any of these kids working the floor because I know they're only there to kind of point you in the general direction of where your item might be. If you expect good customer service then you'll have to pay extra. It's that simple. And obviously, a record store or an electronics store cannot compete with Amazon or whoever else.

[Scott Bails]

obviously, a record store or an electronics store cannot compete with Amazon or whoever else.

They can, if they're willing to put in the effort.


But they're not.

[Banquo]

The human factor in terms of customer satisfaction is no longer integral for what's left of big-box brick and mortars. Remember 10 years ago when you could barely get out of a store without being asked to complete a satisfaction survey? You rarely see that anymore. Retailers used the poor economy and e-commerce as an excuse to pretty much make the sales clerk obsolete in order to cut payroll and benefits by "training" the customer to serve themselves, which only results in higher profits for the retailer and greater unemployment and job competition all the way around. After all, the cost of a 9-hole round isn't getting any smaller. So... dealer wins again! Soon you'll need an MBA to deliver pizzas for $8/hr + meal allowance if you can negotiate that much. Or you could just pick the pepperoni off the pie that you're delivering.

[Vic2012]

I got yer "satisfaction survey" right here.

[Banquo]

I got yer "satisfaction survey" right here.

Don't "Bogart" that survey. Pass it over to me.

[Vic2012]

nyuck nyuck

[Rune Blackwings]

In principle I agree, but we live in a culture now where "you get what you pay for." I actually expect bad customer service so I usually try not to engage any of these kids working the floor because I know they're only there to kind of point you in the general direction of where your item might be. If you expect good customer service then you'll have to pay extra. It's that simple. And obviously, a record store or an electronics store cannot compete with Amazon or whoever else.

first-they did not even point me in the general direction. They did not do anything.

Also, BB has ads airing with a guy talking to a woman and pushing the fact the staff has some knowledge on something (in his case, mobile devices). We know that is an alternate reality BB and that in the real ones, they would be hard put to even name one feature beyond texting on the damn thing.

second-I disagree on competition. You have record stores in NJ, Tunes, who seem to be very successful in spite of internet merchants. The Princeton Record Exchange still exists despite the Internet. How can they stay open while other stores fail? They are doing something right.

[Jerjo]

I helped my 85-year-old aunt buy a new laptop a couple months ago and in that small city, Worst Buy was the only choice. We waiting forever to get waited on but the young woman who eventually helped us was actually knowledgeable about what she was selling. The Geek Squad guys were also competent.

Their CD selection really blew and their DVD prices weren't competitive at all - especially with a Target a block away. I did go back last week and they at least had the new Alice in Chains. But I was feeling ornery so I went to independent store where I bought four boxes of incense and the AiC ($16.99 but what the fuck). You gotta support the independent record stores and book stores.

[Rune Blackwings]

Geek Squad installed equipment on one of my computers, so I have no issues with them. The last computer I bought was not from help from the staff, but rather the HP rep who happened to be visiting (and promptly guilted me with her grandmotherly glare into buying an HP monitor instead of a eMachines monitor! Damn you, HP, for hiring grandmothers as sales reps!).

[Banquo]

first-they did not even point me in the general direction. They did not do anything.

That's what they do.

Also, BB has ads airing with a guy talking to a woman and pushing the fact the staff has some knowledge on something (in his case, mobile devices). We know that is an alternate reality BB and that in the real ones, they would be hard put to even name one feature beyond texting on the damn thing.

It's easier and cheaper to tell you what they can do than to actually do it. If they follow through 30% of the time then they've accomplished their goal. That being said, they actually do focus on mobile devices and training people to sell them. But if you can't find that book or CD that you're looking for, then forget it.

second-I disagree on competition. You have record stores in NJ, Tunes, who seem to be very successful in spite of internet merchants. The Princeton Record Exchange still exists despite the Internet. How can they stay open while other stores fail? They are doing something right.

Most of what's left of independent record stores are still here but for the grace of God and perhaps a little luck. The ones that still seem to thrive have been around a long time. Maybe they own their space. Maybe they have a niche that no one else has. But I guarantee you that it's not easy for any of 'em.

[trurl]

In my experience, you're generally better of letting your cat walk randomly on your keyboard than letting anyone from Geek Squad in the same room with a pc. Maybe that's just around here.

[Scott Bails]

In my experience, you're generally better of letting your cat walk randomly on your keyboard than letting anyone from Geek Squad in the same room with a pc. Maybe that's just around here.

That's what I've always heard.

You'd be better off finding some nerd at the local high school and giving them $50 to fix your computer.

[progeezer]

It's just around there. The Geeks have fixed 2 software problems for me without charge quite well.

[Vic2012]

first-they did not even point me in the general direction.

Well then you're SOL. Sorry .

[spellbound]

Remember 10 years ago when you could barely get out of a store without being asked to complete a satisfaction survey? You rarely see that anymore.

You rarely see store chains stay in business 10 years anymore. Every piece of audio equipment I own has outlasted the store that sold it to me. If it was a chain store, it outlasted the chain. Yet another in the long series of arguments against ever buying an extended warranty.

Also, BB has ads airing with a guy talking to a woman and pushing the fact the staff has some knowledge on something (in his case, mobile devices). We know that is an alternate reality BB

That woman is Amy Poehler, and of course she is in an alternate reality BB. That's how advertising works. If Amy wasn't there, no one would watch the commercial.

The sole advantage I noticed to the local BB having moved their CD section is that the PA hasn't followed it (yet). The CD section of BB has always been afflicted with truly obnoxious Hip Hop "music" played very loud. The worst of a bad genre. It encouraged the customer to hurry up and leave. Most of the crap they played, I never heard anywhere outside of BB. The female singers would affect little girl voices but the lyrics, when I could comprehend them, only had to do with sex. Audio pedophilia. You'd think, in Nevada, they would pummel you with country music. I guess they found out people could tolerate that, so they stuck with the Ped Hop. Amazingly, elsewhere in the store there would almost always be a very good concert video playing on several big screens. But you could not see it or hear it from the section where they sold music CDs and music DVDs.

[Garden Dreamer]

I mostly bought at Best Buy when there was an exclusive promotion, such as a t-shirt inside a Rush DVD that wasn't available anywhere else.

[Cuz]

Although it's not perfect, I like having Best Buy around. I look forward to the weekly flyer in the Sunday paper each week. Last week I got Wings Over America for $15, tomorrow I'll be getting the new Queens of The Stone Age for $9, and next week I'll be buying the deluxe edition of Black Sabbath's 13.

[Rune Blackwings]

It's easier and cheaper to tell you what they can do than to actually do it. If they follow through 30% of the time then they've accomplished their goal. That being said, they actually do focus on mobile devices and training people to sell them. But if you can't find that book or CD that you're looking for, then forget it.

i was looking for batteries. If Jeremy and Aydyn decided to actually ask if I needed help (you know, actually serving the people who are there to keep their company open by buying stuff), then they could have pointed in the general direction of where the batteries are and saved me 15 minutes of wandering around looking for the damned things. Hiding crap from customers so they buy more crap only works in supermarkets...

[Gruno]

Usually I have to ask an employee on the floor if they even have a CD section.

How often do they move the CD section around at your Best Buy's?

This is a problem in all stores these days. I wouldn't blame it all on the clueless employees. Today companies don't train their employees anymore. They pay them minimum wage, and just throw them out there on the floor.

Where do you come up with this stuff? "all stores these days"? You must be privy to a lot of inside info that us regular consumers have no clue about.

It's just around there. The Geeks have fixed 2 software problems for me without charge quite well.

I've never had a problem with Best Buy or its employees with answering my questions or getting info on products. I guess the Best Buy stores I have been to accidentally trained their employees.

[Vic2012]

Where do you come up with this stuff? "all stores these days"? You must be privy to a lot of inside info that us regular consumers have no clue about.

Most of the stores I go into, like Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, Sports Authority. All the "big box" stores. Or maybe it's just my perception. I rarely ask for "help" because I know the employee on the floor can't answer my questions (at least 9 out of 10 times). It's not always the employee's fault. This is Florida, there are no unions, and it's a "right to work" state. The system favors corporations and worker bees aren't treated very well. They're overworked (well, some are and some just cruise along), tired, undertrained, etc. Plus, you've got a generation of young people today that don't have the same work ethic the we had. It's not always their fault. Customer service jobs are stressfull and low paying down here.

rant over .