Elkabong57

Great article on c/net yesterday. compelling argument and i would have to agree, my circuit city is just like the one he described.

http://www.cnet.com/8301-13506_1-990...?tag=cnetfd.mt

starseed1981

......not soon enough.

My Other Self

Well, I may be the in the minority, but I strongly and have always preferred Circuit City to Best Buy. Their customer service has always been better and I've never had an issue with any sort of returns of high end merchandise. Best Buy put a sour taste in my mouth a few years back and as a result I only buy DVDs there if the price is right.

It's unfortunate, as every time I'm in CC the store is just so dead.. nobody is ever in there. Atleast for the most part the staff is knowledgable.. unlike BB where every blue shirt stands around and acts like an idiot, never to ask if you need assistance..

Bah. YMMV I guess. I've just had bad luck at Best Buy over the past 10 years.

Ginwen

Your Circuit City must be an unusual one. I don't want or need much help from the staff at either place, but at Circuit City I can't even get checked out. Last week someone from my work went on Thursday to buy the B52s CD (from their ad) and they had it in stock but hadn't put it out 2 days after the ad said it would be available.

fujishig

I hate their "customer service checkout lines" and all the other annoyances that come from them, but I don't want them to close down... the more retail competitors, the better.

My Other Self

I'm originally from New York and did a lot of purchasing at my store there with no problems. I haven't had any issues on the few occasions I've shopped in California. Easy to price match and excellent customer service. The one manager even let me use her gamer's card the one time. I have nothing but praise for CC, every time I've shopped there.

Obviously it's YMMV. Some people never have any problems at BB, others all the time. All depends on your store and who they employ I suppose.

I'm not kissing CC's ass but I will say that they've wowed me over the years as a regular consumer of electronics. Best Buy knows that everybody and their mom shops there given their deals so it doesn't seem like they're really worried about losing customers here and there.

fumanstan

Typical experiences for me. It's an annoyance to check out, and every time I go to buy something thats a sale item there's rarely any stock.

I'd prefer CC to stick around as competition for Best Buy, but i rarely go there anymore.

DarkEyes

i think the main reasons stores have less people in them and bad customer service is most folks buy dvds online these days...no need to go into a store.. plus most stuff you want stores dont have.... so you forced online anyways...

Goldblum

My local BB has a wider selection of merchandise, but my CC has better customer service.

BravesMG

I just purchased a 1080p projector for about $2300 with the warranty from Circuit City, and I'm kind of concerned that they won't be around for years to take advantage of the service plan. I haven't opened it yet, and I'm strongly debating taking it back, even though I got a hell of a deal.

fitlissa76

Yeah, our CC is great too. Really wonderful customer service, the employees all know what they're doing & if they don't they go find somebody who does & they stay to learn from the person so they can answer the question in the future if needed. No problems with price matching. (Best Buy is HORRIFIC here when it comes to price matching or coming back in for a price adjustment. They act like you're asking for their firstborn child's head or something.) Unfortunately, the one thing I hate about CC is their checkout. They often do not use their registers, usually we have to check out at the service desk & it takes FOREVER AND A DAY to checkout. It's not the rep's fault, it's that their checkout system is so damn slow. Oh, and their DVD & CD shelves are poorly organized.

Oh, and they remember faces too. They recognize us when we come in & always smiling. I would hate to see them close down. I know from what others have said that most other CC stores are not like this, but ours is great. (atleast in my & my husband's experience)

N0treDom

My father recently used his service plan to replace a defective LCD tv, and I expressed concern to him not to get a new service plan. I was also worried that Circuit City wouldn't be around for him to redeem it. His response was that the Circuit City service plan is actually through another agency, so it wouldn't matter if CC was around to redeem it. However, I would read your service plan and make sure rather than just listening to me; it's possible we could be wrong.

Eddie W

CC lost me when they closed up all their standalone stores and moved to the malls. That changed it from a store I could impulsively stop by & browse to a last resort after I'd checked out everyplace else.

smashthesymbols

I've always had the same problem with my local Circuit City. If, and that's a big if, you can even find whatever you're looking for, it's nearly impossible to get checked out. You have to wander around asking for someone to check you out, because the registers obviously aren't staffed (it is Circuit City after all) and customer service is completely deserted too. I've since given up on them completely.

My last experience was helping someone shop for a new laptop. I cautioned against Circuit City but they insisted so we went. When she tried to get help from the guy in the computer department, who was just sitting behind the counter reading, he just pointed at the shelves where the laptops were and told her everything they had was out. She finally got frustrated and we went to Best Buy instead. She got help immediately. The guy definitely knew what he was talking about and he spent probably 30 minutes helping her and she walked out with her new laptop.

My Other Self

Do they still have Circuit City Express stores? I haven't seen one of those in ages. They just built 2 new stand-alone stores by me within the past year and a half.

The Bus

Sounds like its time to buy CC stock.

UAIOE

The reason I don't go into CC is because the store here has a pitiful selection of CD's and DVD's and the way it is organized is atrocious. The reason I shop at Best Buy anymore is the fact I can actually *find* what I want in store without a blue shirted guide.

fitlissa76

Um, they didn't close all of their standalone stores. Maybe in your area, but ours is a stand alone store that has been here for a number of years now.

ernestrp

I stopped by one Sunday morning. Very few shoppers and even fewer employees. I was in the Dvd/CD for about 10 minutes and then the computer section for about 10 minutes and only one CC employee passed by and he didnt ask if I needed help. I overheard a guy trying to buy a Samsung monitor that was Not on-sale and they were OOS.

I did buy a Agp video card a month or so ago from CC. PNY 512mb 7600 something for 79.00. Seemed like an okay deal.

Groucho

Thanks for the tip! I'll hold DVDTalk responsible if things go bad with this investment. DEEP POCKETS.

BuckNaked2k

Yea, the last few times I was in a CC the registers were all unmanned, and all the red shirts were involved in (what looked like) extremely difficult returns, as each one require three of them looking at the monitor and scratching their heads.

God help you (because no one else will) if you just want to buy a few items and get checked out quickly. Good-bye and good riddance.

nemein

I hope not... I hate shopping there, but I prefer they stay around to offer some competition

TropicalRobot

I agree that CC has absolutely the most poorly organized and consumer-unfriendly DVD section of any major retailer--it's truly pathetic. And they do always seem caught off guard when someone actually wants to check out...almost never anyone actually at a register. I won't be surprised if they go under at all. People like to gripe about Best Buy, but to me Best Buy absolutely blows away CC in every way. It's not even close.

spainlinx0

This guy is finding out late about Circuit City apparently. It's like a high school accounting student trying to interpret a financial statement. Who hires these people?

mndtrp

Circuit City and Best Buy have had about equal quality in customer support and technical knowledge. Maybe it's their location, as they are across the street from each other.

I had a computer hardware problem. Best Buy told me they would help me in a minute, and never came back. Circuit City didn't have any idea for assistance. I went home, looked it up on a couple of websites, and ordered my parts from Newegg.

The only time I go in either store is when I think I want something right away. It's kind of sad when I can get better service from a faceless website then from a person standing in their store.