Amigo wrote:

zendao42 wrote: [...] Just got a new phone this week, since the old one was on life support- should I worry that they'll get me next? Well, if it's like mine, you can turn off the "GPS always on" feature so that it ONLY works when you're making a 911 call. Check the "Settings" menu. (gotta protect my sweet zen from those mean old death rays!)

Thanks for looking out for me, honey...



I was all up in those settings before I even left the mall- sorry, shouldn't have said the "m" word...

chris wrote:

[...] I loves my Nano, Feef. Dexter at the gym, that's alls I'm saying. Also cheaper than like 99% of the GPS devices.

Well, Chris, today I took a half-day off from work to finish my xmas shopping. Bought a silver 8-GB iPod Nano at Best Buy, along with a 2-year replacement warranty. I'm glad it's a gift for someone else and not me. It's just too tiny and sparse-looking for my taste. I likes my electronics bigger, with more buttons.

Anyway, this Best Buy store was just recently built. It has a feature that I simply cannot stand: diagonally placed aisles.

Checkout there has another annoying feature: they put your bought merchandise in clear plastic bags that glue closed at the top. That is so ridiculous. I couldn't even put my receipt in the bag unless I rolled it up and slid it through a small side hole; and when I got to my car, I had to put the Best Buy bag inside an opaque bag so that no one could see through the car window what I had bought on my next stop.
_________________
"If you allow yourself to be offended, then you're a bit of [a] nitwit."
(Christopher Moore)

mllefifi wrote:

chris wrote: [...] I loves my Nano, Feef. Dexter at the gym, that's alls I'm saying. Also cheaper than like 99% of the GPS devices. Well, Chris, today I took a half-day off from work to finish my xmas shopping. Bought a silver 8-GB iPod Nano at Best Buy, along with a 2-year replacement warranty. I'm glad it's a gift for someone else and not me. It's just too tiny and sparse-looking for my taste. I likes my electronics bigger, with more buttons. Anyway, this Best Buy store was just recently built. It has a feature that I simply cannot stand: diagonally placed aisles. Checkout there has another annoying feature: they put your bought merchandise in clear plastic bags that glue closed at the top. That is so ridiculous. I couldn't even put my receipt in the bag unless I rolled it up and slid it through a small side hole; and when I got to my car, I had to put the Best Buy bag inside an opaque bag so that no one could see through the car window what I had bought on my next stop.

Best Buy has the WORST customer service anywhere. I've gone into them in three different cities and it's always the same thing. Three pimply guys talking about Playstation or cars who absolutely can't be bothered with your stupid retail shit and one hopelessly put-upon girl at the register who just wants everyone to die so she can go somewhere else and be hopelessly bored. They really, really need to put those people on commission.

chris wrote:

mllefifi wrote: chris wrote: [...] I loves my Nano, Feef. Dexter at the gym, that's alls I'm saying. Also cheaper than like 99% of the GPS devices. Well, Chris, today I took a half-day off from work to finish my xmas shopping. Bought a silver 8-GB iPod Nano at Best Buy, along with a 2-year replacement warranty. I'm glad it's a gift for someone else and not me. It's just too tiny and sparse-looking for my taste. I likes my electronics bigger, with more buttons. Anyway, this Best Buy store was just recently built. It has a feature that I simply cannot stand: diagonally placed aisles. Checkout there has another annoying feature: they put your bought merchandise in clear plastic bags that glue closed at the top. That is so ridiculous. I couldn't even put my receipt in the bag unless I rolled it up and slid it through a small side hole; and when I got to my car, I had to put the Best Buy bag inside an opaque bag so that no one could see through the car window what I had bought on my next stop. Best Buy has the WORST customer service anywhere. I've gone into them in three different cities and it's always the same thing. Three pimply guys talking about Playstation or cars who absolutely can't be bothered with your stupid retail shit and one hopelessly put-upon girl at the register who just wants everyone to die so she can go somewhere else and be hopelessly bored. They really, really need to put those people on commission.

A freind of mine at work dates a girl who works at our local Best Buy, I'll have to ask her the names of the 3 pimply guys
_________________
"Jesus... is NOT a zombie... I shouldn't have to tell you that."

- "Bones"

chris wrote:

Best Buy has the WORST customer service anywhere. I've gone into them in three different cities and it's always the same thing. Three pimply guys talking about Playstation or cars who absolutely can't be bothered with your stupid retail shit and one hopelessly put-upon girl at the register who just wants everyone to die so she can go somewhere else and be hopelessly bored. They really, really need to put those people on commission.

I don't know if I can agree with that. Bigger commissions don't necessarily translate into better customer service. As it is, I already have to spend my time smiling politely and saying "no" to all sorts of warranties and service plans when I go into a Best Buy. Now imagine being pushed to spend more money because the employee helping you is paid on commission - is he or she really listening to what you need, or is he/she trying to make an extra few dollars off of you? I tend to find that it's the latter when I'm talking to someone whose income is based on commission, and I hate being pushed.

Good customer service is helped by decent pay, but a manager has to also convey that he expects his team to treat the customers well, and follow through somehow with employees who don't. You start by hiring people who don't suck at it, and work at training them in it where they need improvement.

We were lucky at the bookstore - the woman who did a lot of the interviewing and hiring found the cream of the crop. But there were a few people who were hired here and there who didn't have the first clue about helping customers. We corrected them and showed them what we expected, and because it was a good place to work at, and the crew was filled with awesome people, they learned.

But commission isn't the way to go - to bring about a change in their crappy customer service (and I completely agree that it sucks - it's bad on this coast, too), the managers have to train people on how to do it right.

Those three pimply guys? Their boss needs to walk over to them and break them up, give them things to do away from one another, because a customer's not likely to interrupt their conversation. Maybe send one of them over to open another register, so the girl won't be so put-upon. Sad to say, not all retail minions know this stuff by instinct. But if the higher-ups don't recognize this, it's their own fault (or their corporate overlords' faults) when customers start going elsewhere instead.

(ohgodthreadjackover)
_________________
Well, I guess you left me with some feathers in my hand.

chris wrote:

Best Buy has the WORST customer service anywhere. I've gone into them in three different cities and it's always the same thing. [...]

Maybe its a regional thing. I have no complaints about the attendant who handled my purchase today. When I entered the store, I was afraid I'd have to stand in line among the overly populated diagonal checkout stations that greeted me.

The young lady who rang me up was already in the midst of stuffing more iPods into the locked cabinet when I started looking at the Nano, and she helpfully volunteered that there were more colors than the ugly pastel green on display. And she stopped what she was doing (by quickly locking up the boxes that she was unpacking) and rang me up at a free register right around the corner.

(Also, this time, there wasn't this or that attendant asking me every 2-3 minutes whether I needed help.)

Anyway, we can see what happens if a repair/replacement is needed later.
_________________
"If you allow yourself to be offended, then you're a bit of [a] nitwit."
(Christopher Moore)

Lauren wrote:

chris wrote: Best Buy has the WORST customer service anywhere. I've gone into them in three different cities and it's always the same thing. Three pimply guys talking about Playstation or cars who absolutely can't be bothered with your stupid retail shit and one hopelessly put-upon girl at the register who just wants everyone to die so she can go somewhere else and be hopelessly bored. They really, really need to put those people on commission. ....Those three pimply guys? Their boss needs to walk over to them and break them up, give them things to do away from one another, because a customer's not likely to interrupt their conversation. Maybe send one of them over to open another register, so the girl won't be so put-upon. Sad to say, not all retail minions know this stuff by instinct. But if the higher-ups don't recognize this, it's their own fault (or their corporate overlords' faults) when customers start going elsewhere instead. (ohgodthreadjackover)

I was in the local Futureshop the other day (Canadian equivalent of Best Buy - same company) and while I was browsing the plasma tv's (just browsing-can't actually afford one) the group of FOUR pimply guys continued their conversation for a moment as though I weren't even there, then when they deigned to notice me, their first question was "Hey, do you like beer? We're talking about beer."

Well, yes - as a matter of fact I do like beer. Quite a lot. WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH TVoh, wait, that's a dumb question...

But still...what the hell happened to customer service?
_________________
"Smacking yourself with a thawed meat-hammer never has a desired effect." - Jinxted

"Life's too short to get wrapped around the axle about the little things." - SK

-The First Law of Geography: Everything is Connected to Everything Else.

Wingnut wrote:

But still...what the hell happened to customer service?

Unfortunately he passed away about 10 years ago.
_________________
"If you allow yourself to be offended, then you're a bit of [a] nitwit."
(Christopher Moore)

The problem with people who get bad service at best buy is that they don't have big enough boobs.

I've never had a problem getting service. I've never had a problem returning anything. I've also never been charged the restocking fee.

Boob power yay!

See, AG, just get some boobs of your own and then you'll be set... then again, with a set of your own, you probably would lose interest in going out to places like Best Buy, or in leaving the house in general...
_________________
"Jesus... is NOT a zombie... I shouldn't have to tell you that."

- "Bones"

leprrkan wrote:

See, AG, just get some boobs of your own and then you'll be set... then again, with a set of your own, you probably would lose interest in going out to places like Best Buy, or in leaving the house in general...

He could just take somebody with him that's got their own set-
right, leads to not leaving the house...

The trouble with Deive's theory is that, yesterday when I was shopping, I wasn't even wearing my boobs.
_________________
"If you allow yourself to be offended, then you're a bit of [a] nitwit."
(Christopher Moore)

Do what I did at Best Buy, Chris... Holler "Maybe I can get someone at Circuit City to help me pick out a (whatever very expensive item you're near)!"
_________________
"Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a
delusional minority and by the mainstream media which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."

Joelibris wrote:

Do what I did at Best Buy, Chris... Holler "Maybe I can get someone at Circuit City to help me pick out a (whatever very expensive item you're near)!"

Yeah, especially given that CompUSA is folding after the holidays.
_________________
"If you allow yourself to be offended, then you're a bit of [a] nitwit."
(Christopher Moore)

mllefifi wrote:

The trouble with Deive's theory is that, yesterday when I was shopping, I wasn't even wearing my boobs.

I know. And what if you're there to get some boobs? Some electric boobs, like in that old Elton John song?

You know I read it in a magaaaazeee-ee-eee-eeen. B-B-Bennie and the Jets.*






* A written stutter... You know, the older I get, the more it occurs to me that Bernie Taupin was a nitwit. No? "If I were a sculptor, but then again, no." Dude, you are supposed to polish up your false starts on the rewrite!

Last edited by chris on Sat Dec 08, 2007 5:43 pm; edited 2 times in total