westerbergrules

So I've decided to check out the low end Sharp 27" Sharp with the squeeze feature. I walk into Best Buy and see the picture looks great for an analog set but I want to see how the squeeze looks. I find the two TV area sale guys helping someone with a little Sharp Plasma/LCD TV and patiently wait my turn. After they're done with her, I say, "Excuse me, I would like to see one of the 27 inch sets hooked up to a DVD to check the picture. Could you do that?" Long pause. He looks around. The other guy walks off (Breaktime?). "Uh, we're understaffed right now and I don't have time." "You don't have time to show me the set?" "No, I uh... don't have time." "Oh, OK if you don't have time..."
As I'm walking away, I turn back around and see him start talking to another sales person. And talking. And talking.

God I hate that store.

girlnextdoor

I know someone who had a similar problem last year trying to buy a camera at Best Buy.

The camera counter was 4 people deep with only 2 sales associates. The person went off and found an associate from the computer section to show him the camera. He decided to buy it and was told by the computer associate, they he would have to wait until someone from camera could ring him up. His answer to that was, "I am trying to buy a $800 dollar camera, do you think the manager could ring me up or should I leave?"

After discussion with a supervisor, the computer associate had to walk the camera up to the check out and wait while my friend made the purchase.

I hate that store sometimes myself

eddiekirk

Best Buy will never do that. Hook up a DVD player so you can check the squeeze mode. Yeah right... Saddam will be the next Pres before that happens.

Go with the Wega 27"

Tarantino

You think they'll have extra DVD's and players just laying around to hook up to things? Next time ask if you can hook a surround sound system up so you can see what it sounds like as well.

That's what online reviews are for.

westerbergrules

Are you serious?

UAIOE

Best Buy wont allow an employee to hook up a DVD player to a TV for a customer.

1. you have to run that by a manger and they are never around when you need them.

2. The manger more than likely will veto the idea without thinking twice

3. The manager would rather the employee spend that time trying to sell some type of accessory or service plan to multiple customers.

sniper308

You've got to be joking. I actually assume just what you've said when I go to Best Buy, but not because I think it is right, but merely because I am a realist and know that is the way it will be.

Just go to another store, one that will take their time with you. A local HT store, etc and they will do it. You might wind up paying more, if you buy it there but you get what you pay for. You could always see if they would PM Best Buy, or if they are only a few bucks more reward them for their good service.

I find Best Buy no better than buying at Walmart, or some other major discounter. Expect no customer service or if you request service, expect it to be bad. I will PM there like crazy when I know exactly what I'm buying from doing research by other means, or just for media purchase, etc that are no brainers.

darkside

Their winning sales staff combined with their price increases have happily kept me out of Best Buy for over six months. If I never go back in it will be too soon. I have had many terrible experiences there including recently when I tried to buy a PDA and the guy walked away from the area and wouldn't ring me up because I kept refusing the extended warranty.

I'm convinced Best Buy and Circuit City are stores that primarily sell warranties. Those other items are just accessories to go along with the warranties.

wm lopez

Just by the way they price match should have everbody going to Circiut City.
C.C. should do that in their commericals.
"We don't hassel on dvd price matching!"

young

word... bb has really gone downhill.

gcribbs

A strange thing happened to me on friday.

I went into Best Buy and had a bad customer service experience and when I complained to the manager he told me he would correct it on the spot. He went and got my dvd and when I told him what the price was supposed to be for my Bestbuy.com pickup he changed the price to the lower price taking just my word for it

I was shocked.

I was so impressed with his willingness to help a customer that I emailed Best Buy to let them know that this manager changed a bad shopping experience to a good one by providing good customer service.

dcswirl

I too have started to hate Best Buy. Television shopping there is something I will never do again. They seem to only want to help the people buying high end merchandise.

digitalboy

It depend on who you ask.
I'm a part time tech (black shirt) at Best Buy, and I have done that quite a few times, as well as put batteries in phones, among other tasks. PLENTY of my co-workers WILL NOT. Truth to tell, like most have said here, if you really want GREAT service, MOST of the time you have to PAY for it. The sales folks aren't on commission, so most of the time they don't care whether you buy there anyway.

Josh H

Best Buy isn't supposed to be any better than Wal-mart or any other major discounter. They just happen to only carry electronics.

Really, all the employees are expected to do is help customers find stuff (and many can't even do that which is lame) and try to sell warranties.

It's a self service store, you really just have to know what you want before hand. As others have said, read the online reviews. Or if you want to try something out, do so at the local HT store and then buy it at BB for the lower price.

It may not be the ideal shopping experience, but I get a little tired of seeing it constantly bitched about on the net.

If you don't like it, write a letter to their corporate office and stop shopping there. Put your money where your mouth is.

Whining on the net isn't going to change anything.

fourwalker

yeah, I agree, the place is called "Best Buy" not "Best Customer Service". I don't understand why people expect a higher level of customer service from BB then they do Wal-Mart, they're both the same thing, except BB is focused on electronics.

DVD Josh

It works like this: you trade lower prices for lower customer service. It's why they succeed, because it all comes down to how much money a person has to spend. You can't have it both ways.

Sdallnct

If that is the case why didn't the salesman just say that? Why make some lame excuse. All they would have said was "I'm sorry sir we don't do that here". Then the customer can make the decision to buy there anyway or go elsewhere.

Or does being a "discount" store mean it is ok to lie?

Josh H

The prices are low because they pay their employees crap. Thus they're not going to have the highest quality employees who are helpful/give a crap about their job.

Obviously there are exceptions to this as some employees are good, but you're not going to get the same service you do in a home theater store where the employees make a decent chunk of change in commission.

Again, I personally say never shop in BB, CC etc. unless you know what you want. They have great prices, but your better off doing research first, testing stuff out at HT stores etc. and then coming back to BB for the lower price.

Or if you have a lot of money, just stay the hell out of there if you hate it so much and stick it to them by buying your stuff at higher prices at home theater stores.

tanman

See the problem is the employee lied to the customer and just went to talk with someone else. Just explain. I'm sorry but we don't have any DVD players available to hook up to the TV. Don't just make a lame excuse and go do something else. That totally disrespects the customer.

Eplicon

I avoid the salespeople whenever I shop at Best Buy myself. Most of them pretend to know what they're talking about, and a lot of "newbies" seem to fall prey to their sales tactics.

BTW, just what is the purpose of them walking around the store and hitting that stupid little bell?

UAIOE

I think the bell is for when they sell a service plan or something.

Thank god they didnt do that dumb crap when i worked there.

UAIOE

This response is great...to a point. When you start getting to the point where you dont care what *ANY* customer says and you fall back on the "Good, go someplace else" attitude then it becomes a problem.

Its fine to act this way towards the dumb people but you should never punish the good people in the process.

RedMetalZombie

What exactly is the "squeeze feature"

al_bundy

If you were buying a $5000 plasma they may have done it, but not for a cheap 27" that they barely make any profit on.

C_Fletch

The squeeze trick allows for an end user to set his DVD player in 16x9 mode for anamorphic DVDs. They will then appear normal on a 4X3 set but you are given approximately 66% more resolution. Thus the detail is greater, etc.

At least I think that is right.