And just to show that I am not just here to bash Best Buy unilaterally: As a retail manager I always encourage my employees to take control and make decisions when issues arose. This is a little different since I am speaking of managing a problem, not trying to manage your time, however I have always told all of my employees that I will defend them and their decision in front of the customer. If they make a wrong call I will find a diplomatic solution without selling them out. It is just as important for an employee to know that you will support them as it is for the customer to "always be right." (My version is actually the customer must always think that they are right.)

As for the "race card" don't do it. If you were talking about an institutional policy I would say OK. But you are talking about a untrained, unqualified, underpaid kid who was never cut out for dealing with the public. You only lend credence to the people who abuse it. Several times I could have screamed racism as a white male (yes such a thing does exist), but then I realized that it was simply the result of turning your restaraunt over to the control of juvenile delinquents.

With almost 600 stores, you're going to get some employees that know everything and some that know nothing. It happens. We're not called Best Service, we're called Best Buy.

But the commercials do not show that. The commercials show employee's that know what they are talking about and there is no way that the Best Buy company can deliver what they portray in thier ads.

You promise me a Ferrari and give me a Yugo...why shouldnt i be mad?

Two problems. In the first paragraph you are talking about an employee that is behaving professionally or at least at the slightest hint of decent behavior. Not someone who walked away from someone while they were helping a paying customer. And trust me I was definately "right". I don't understand how people like this can make it in retail.

Second. He wasn't some pimply faced juvenile delinquent. He was a fat balding white male in his fortys and if you know where Lakeland is, you definately know that racism, ignorance and the glory of "dixie" are very much alive. Granted usually not towards Asians but you weren't there. You didn't see how he just walked off and helped these other people very enthusiastically. It's unfortunate that people like this work at any store. I wouldn't even treat another human being this way let alone a paying customer. It seems that one of the greatest characteristics of Americans is lacking in the workplace, pride. Employers don't pride themselves over their employess and employees don't take any pride in who they work for.

I can understand you being mad the first time it happened to you, but if you're continuously coming in, getting that Yugo...who's the idiot then?

You are sssooooooo dead on here. I was in a Atlanta, GA Best Buy and there are some rascist Confederate flag waving suns of b's working there. One employee walked up to me in his blue shirt and white hood, and when I asked where the product was he pointed over by the burning wooden cross. Then he had the nerve to page the Ass. Manager David Duke to try to get me to buy a sub to NetFliKKKs and Entertainment Whitely.

I'm just BS'-ing. I couldn't resist. I don't mean to make light of your situation, but this was the first thing that pop'd into my head.


My one true comment on everyone talking about the commercials. I can see your point and how Best Buy is implying they have a knowledgable staff. But in the same regards in one commercial they implied that parents are out of touch with entertainment (the Playstation/Jungle Gym). And there are some parents that this clearly doesn't pertain to. Plus if you believe everything you see in commercials, then there is a little kid and his dog who have switched intelligence (cell phone video ad), three guys would pass up a hot chick for some mexican fast food (Taco Bell ad), etc. etc.

And with Gas prices as high as they are, who wouldn't want a Yugo right about now?

Not believing stuff from fantastical Taco Bell commercials is different from a commercial that is trying to sell the idea that Best Buy has informed employee's.

Three guys passing up a hot woman for a taco is not quite on the same level as trying to sell off some idea that your store's employees are able to tell you what you need to know about products.

I've never seen a single Wal-Mart commercial claim that thier employees knew loads on products...simply that the employees like to work there. Lowe's talks about having products in stock then discusses helpful employees.

The commercials are designed to make you think Best Buy is a good place to shop and that the hired help can help you with your questions. I may not believe what the commercial says, but that doesnt stop others. And as long as people go to the store with expectations set by watching these commercials (which were planned out that way) you are going to continue having people pissed off.


I never have any problem with Best Buy employee's. I know what i want when i go in the door and if its not there then i go elsewhere.

Of course i used to work at this store so i know some of the in's and outs and i know what managers to avoid and which employee's know thier shit.

But then again my argument has never been about my experiences shopping. I would go on about the actual things i dislike about the company and the store i worked at, but that would probably run longer than this entire thread

Never believe commercials.

Or you'll live your life wondering why your Big Mac looks nothing like the one in the commerical.

There you have it - Best Buy employees in the commercials are actually frozen at sub-zero temperatures and then carefully sculpted and painted to look better than the real thing. Once warmed back up to real body-temperatures they become limp, discolored and balding which explains a lot.

I'm curious...what exactly does that explain?

Every ad ever made is false advertising as it makes the product look better than it actually is.

As someone else said, that big mac looks pretty damn good on TV.

J-O-K-E You take working in the smurf cave waaaaaay too personally. It's a job, not a career.

Oh this is so true. They absolutely make up rules or explain them in some convoluted way as to not give you the pm. I no longer give them ANY of my money, I absolutely refuse to, but I cant tell you how many times in the past I have left the store after saying "what the hell is the point in having the policy if you refuse to follow it?"

I work P/T at Best Buy as a "Geek Squad" member.
In my opinion, it's managers like Tarantino that make BBy a much more difficult place to work, and a worse place to shop for customers.

I wont go into details about this (to keep BBy's secrets, cue evil laughter...), but being an insider, I know there is very little, if ANYTHING, BBY loses in a situation like Chanster's.

I say, having been a customer and as a present employee, take things on a case by case basis.

If there are never any cases where judgement calls come into play, why even bother calling you over, why do they need you? (For those situations anyway).

Finally, believe me, not EVER making an exception to the "no receipt, it sucks to be you" policy has very little, if anything, to do with being ranked #2 in the company.

I'm not taking anything too seriously, it's just that your joke didnt' make sense and wasn't funny.

digitalboy - everyone I work with seems to like me. I don't make working there more difficult, I make it easier...people follow the rules, there aren't mix ups. Like someone said, what's the point in having a policy if they aren't going to follow it?

I agree. Working the Guest Service desk at Target for a year, it was rather annoying to have customers argue with you for 5 minutes, hold up the line, demand to see a manager, and watch the manager give in for "just this once." It makes the customer service employees look like jerks for not making things right to begin with.

Not funny man, not funny!

Or do you really not know how food is "prepared" in print and video advertising?

Sorry for the threadcrap, but ....

I'm commuting up to Ball State for my Masters Degree classes this summer and stopped in at the store near campus to pick up three titles with my $100 Gift Card. Found Band of Brothers and Curb Your Enthusiasm S2 with no difficulty, but I had this guy searching all over the damn store for an obscure title for my daughter that showed "in-stock" After nearly ten minutes of tenacicity I'll be damn if he didn't find it.

Very impressive, especially with all the horror stories about their employees lack of enthusiasm for customer service. This guy went all out for a $9.99 DVD.

I don't know if this has been said, but I hate going to Best Buy and those friggin' speakers being up so friggin' loud that I cannot hear what those teen workers are saying. All they do is mumble (I'm 20...and I just got out of the mumbling phase) and I have to ask this two, three, or four times over and over about something if I have a question.

(Cut more out for brevity)

You are right, and I stated that (I think). The situation that I presented was a little different, but the premise is still the same. A manager has an obligation to their employee as well as the customer. I'm not saying that the employee was right (it certainly doesn't sound like he was) but to instantly say that the manager was just defending his employee is a little rash. Unfortunately the consuming public has come to expect that employees are to be just tossed to the wind at their demand. I have had numerous irrational customers demand that I fire an employee for a perceived slight. On that same note, I have fired numerous employees for not providing customer service. Continues more on this in third paragraph . . .

Second: You are right, I was not there and am not familiar with that area of the country. However my personal views on race are simple: I don't believe in it. It is a slippery slope. Until people can get past viewing themselves as this or that hyphenated existence and simply see themselves as people first, racism will never end. It is endlessly perpetuated by both the "victims" and the "racists."

OK, back to the subject at hand: I fully agree with your statement that there is no pride in the American retail workplace. But why is that? It is because their is no loyalty anymore. Employers are more than willing to toss good employees to the wind in the name of a crappy customer who only spends a few dollars in their store every few months. Why should there be any pride? Retail pays squat, it offers little job satisfaction, and has NO job security. What is there to take pride in? The companies that I have taken the most pride in while working for them have always been the ones that screw you the worst in the end.

Tarantino - I work with a CSM who does things just like you do.

EVERYbody, including me, LOVES her.

I just wish she bend a little SOMEtimes on that policy.

Believe me, I know you're doing the logical, justifable, thing.

So false advertising is only wrong the first time? After that it is strictly caveat emptor?

Let's say I go into Best Buy to buy a vacuum (tanman!) and get really poor, borderline racist treatment. I see your commercial on TV claiming that you have the kindest, most knowledgeable sales staff and decide "Maybe that was just on bad apple." So I go back in to purchase a printer and get lied to and suckered into buying a 25 mile gold plated printer cable because the printer doesn't come with a cable (even though it says right on the box it does). So I go home and see another commercial showing me how Best Buy has the friendliest smartest clerks outside of the Hall of Justice. Well, every large operation is bound to hit a few bumps so I am willing to give you another chance. This time I go in to buy the hottest new DVD and discover that the sales clerk doesn't know what a DVD is, however he does offer me a CD holder for my car to keep my DVD in. At what point is a company no longer liable for their advertising and claims?

Let's say I'm watching TV and see a commercial for a massive, juicy, lucious burger that will cure cancer at a new fast food restaurant called McArsenics. I go in and buy the burger only to become deathly ill after eating it. While I am in the hospital recovering I see that McArsenics is offering a new tender, plump, all white meat chicken sandwich that is guaranteed to add inches to my penis. On my home from the hospital I stop and get one of those tempting slices of chicken heaven. Again I become deathly ill. So while I'm recovering I see that McArsenics is launching a new campaign and will stop using arsenic as one of their special herbs and spices. So on the way home I stop again and just get a large french fry and a milkshake which are promised to give me the ability to read minds. Only this time they are using strychnine instead of arsenic!

I'm being melodramatic in an attempt to be funny, but the point is still the same. Yes I will agree with you that a large company is bound to let a few slip through the cracks. However, if a company is going to advertise their expertise, then they are damn well obligated to make sure that they are indeed offering that expertise. You cannot run a commercial showing me the Ferrari (customer service) and then fall back and say "Well, the Yugo (price) is cheaper so you're really getting the better deal!" particularly when you NEVER HAD THE FERRARI!

Tarantino, you are a good sport and I truely appreciate how you have subjected yourself to this thread and the people here. I am not saying that your store is this way and may the retail gods bless you if it is not. However, Best Buy as a whole has subjected themselves to this unapologetically.

Your store may be a shining example of what a store should be. You say that you are number 2 in the "power rankings" (whatever that is). Perhaps your company should go in to your store and see exactly what it is that you are doing right and then spread that to the rest of the company. Instead they would rather sit on their laurels and let a broken system keep working. I've been in retail all my life as well, I know how the system works. I have considered going there to work, but have ultimately determined that I have had enough of the corporate politicking and would not be happy (or probably paid enough).

Not a threadcrap at all. Look through (I think early on) and even I have posted a few positive experiences at Best Buy. I am not saying that they never happen by any means!

What's up with that Geek Squad stuff anyway? I don't know who the advertising/marketing agency that came up with that idea was but I'd fire them instantly. C'mon "Geek Squad?"

Also, Tarantino I'm sure is a very good guy, but from reading some of these posts, in some ways, you remind me of the JFK Field Supervisor in the movie The Terminal. He always obeyed the rules and policies with no room for judging on a case-by-case basis. When the airport supervisors came for their review, he got caught yelling at Viktor. The retiring Field Supervisor tells him something along the lines that rules are there but that he's dealing with people and that sometimes you have to bend the rules for the people. Sometimes, a little bit of goodwill can do a lot for a company.

Dabaomb ,

I dont know who thought of it, but I hope it goes just as suddenly as it came.

BTW, you echoed my sentiments exactly.