Don't You Just Love Best Buy

[jaw04005]

I walked in to my local Best Buy today to purchase an Epson C84 printer for my cousin. A "salesman" (if you want to call him that) asked me if I needed help, and I said well I'm just here to pick up a printer, could you show me where the Epson printers are? He takes off and i follow him to a few rows over, and preceded to look for the C84. I picked up the C84, and the dude is still watching me, and then goes "You got something against HP printers?", I said "I've had better luck with Epson printers as far as color printing goes", and he said "whatever, man.". So anyways, I began walking back down the aisle towards the checkout in the store, and he approached me again and said "So, are you for or against extended service plans?", I said "I don't think I need an extended service plan for a $70 printer.". By this time, he had already pissed me off enough.. I handed the printer back to him and walked out of the store. That store has to have the worst customer service. I drove down to CompUSA, and an Epson rep was there. I told him the story, and he said "Best Buy can really pick em'". LOL. Anyone ever had a GOOD experience with Best Buy?

Josh

[bousozoku]

I usually have good experiences with Best Buy because I don't ask for help and don't take it when it's offered. :D

I also don't buy hardware there. However, I just got 50 DVD-Rs for $50 with an instant rebate. :)

[abhishekit]

yah..i like bestbuy for buying music...i even once got them to do a price match on a music cd with walmart!!! howz that..huh?;)

[JesseJames]

I knew a guy who use to work at a Best Buy. He said that you're pushed to push stuff. Especially the service plans.
He said he hated it and left. To save his soul. :p

[Dippo]

They always try to sell you a service plan and the sales people always think every customer is a computer moron.

I went to go buy a Canon printer there a couple of months ago and the guy treated me like a moron because I walked up there and just picked up a printer and tried to walk to the checkouts.

He stopped me and started asking me all types of questions about what type of printer I wanted and was telling how the other printers were better...etc

I guess he didn't realize that I had spent days online comparing printers...

It really depend on who you talk to, some employees are bad some are good.

[mislabeledstar]

Originally posted by joshuawaire
I drove down to CompUSA,

Josh

I wouldn't say CompUSA is any better..............

[bitfactory]

a) i got into an argument with a checkout guy after refusing to get the extended warranty on a cheap $75 dvd player. i asked him why i should spend a 1/3 of the cost of the dvd player to protect it. if it dies after a year, big deal, i'll buy another one. he rolled his eyes which pissed me off even more.

b) last winter i bought an xbox controller there and the woman tried to sell me an extended warranty for it (its $19, folks... and the warranty was like 6 or 7 bucks.)

c) i bought a 27-inch WEGA at a best buy about 1 year ago and was pressured by (1) the guy who rang it up in the back (2) the guy who pushed the cart up front (3) the security guy at the front door who checks receipts... they were all over me like white on rice.

i don't buy anything from best buy now. i go to either hhgregg or some boutique shops around town. write them a letter like i did and tell them you refuse to shop there if you have to answer the same high-pressure sales pitch from three different people.

also - i saw a story on extended warranties (like the ones sold by best buy) - and they attributed a VERY high percentage of the company's bottom line to the extended warranty. then they calculated out what percentage of people actually USE the warranty... less than 3 percent of people who bought the extended warranties on electronic equipment actually used them (or needed them). sad, really.

[stoid]

Almost like the time I was shopping for a digital camera at Best Buy. I asked about the megapixels of a certain model, and the guy told me that it had 2.1x Optical and 3x digital. I told him that I appreciated his help and promptly left.

[sp00rk]

Originally posted by mislabeledstar
I wouldn't say CompUSA is any better..............

lol yeah. i remember one time this lady came into CompUSA and asked a sales rep on how she could burn a CD on her new imac. the sales rep had to search for a 'getting started with mac os x book' and look it up. after a couple minutes of thumbing threw the pages i had to step in and tell the lady myself.

[Macmaniac]

We bought our iMac at CompUSA about 2 years ago, and they were pretty friendly and helpful..... but when it comes to warranties, it is cut throat. The sales rep spent almost an hour convincing my dad to get a CompUSA extended warranty on our iMac, the warranty was $350!!! Well my dad being an unexperienced computer user eventually caved in and got it. Then when we got home and unpacked everything my dad read the info on AppleCare and saw it was only $170 for the same warranty. Well now my dad being the good Scot he is promptly signed up for AppleCare and canceled CompUSA's warranty.
My recommendation is to buy through an independent dealer if you can, they are usually much more knowledgeable, and they are much more likely to help you with your problems later.

[Sun Baked]

Originally posted by JesseJames
I knew a guy who use to work at a Best Buy. He said that you're pushed to push stuff. Especially the service plans.
He said he hated it and left. To save his soul. :p Wait a minute, they actually hired somebody with a soul... that must have been a mistake.

---

And remember the extended warranties are the company's profit.

Every time you refuse to buy one your taking money out of some CEOs pocket.

Support the CEOs, they can't live on their $30-100 million pay package -- they need their bonus to be able to affort that extra SUV for their 4th home.

[JDar]

Best Buy is fairly good in Houston but realize that is in comparison to Circuit City and Frys.:)

[Pilgrims Pro]

I only have a Circuit City close, but I have traveled to a Best Buy. I find them both the same. HORRID!!!!

Circuity City used to be really good, but about a year ago it went down hill quickly. Come to find out they fired/laid off all of the employees that worked on commission, and hired hourly employees. Now I understand why the don't like answering questions or helping you. They dont need too any more.

[oldschool]

Speaking of extended warranties, I bought a cable at radio shack for 10 dollars, just a cheap rca cable, and the cashier says to me "i'm just going to add the 30 cent extended warranty charge on here for this cable".


who needs extended warranties on cables? I don't even want to keep the bill!

[atacinus]

Hey! I work in computer sales at Best Buy. Well you know what, I really have nothing to defend...the coporate heirchy sucks...the sales people really don.t know what they.re talking about [i.m a healthy exception :-) ] and the extended warranties are something were supposed to push...we.re not paid on commission however, so i kinda tell my boss to go ******* himself. As far as treating everyone like they don.t know what they.re talking about...ummm...most people don.t. They come in and act like they.ve never seen a computer before. I have to explain how to point and click..ridiculous. OH, and i was going to post another thread and call it "i have sinned" but i.ll just say that now...tonight i was working and i get this young guy i.m talking to. He.s exasperated...computers never work for him...he.s not a 'gamer' he doesn.t need a suped up P4 system...he wants something that 'just works'...My head was screaming - "TELL HIM TO GO TO THE SOHO APPLE STORE!!!!"...but in the idea of keeping my job...i sold him a sony...Not terrible, I coulda stuck him with an emachine or something...but bygod, if someone ever was crying for a mac it was this guy...geez. I hate this job...I need to see if the SOHO store is hiring...maybe i.ll swing by sometime.

Eghh, whater.
Christien

[onealc]

I must admit that the Best Buys I've been in have actually been really good overall. You're right about them usually being too pushy about warranties. But, other than that, I've had really good experiences (no, I don't work there, nor do I have any family members who do, nor do I own stock in Best Buy, lol).

I've never had anything serviced there, just bought stuff. So far, so good. :)

[Powerbook G5]

Yeah, it's crazy. I was hounded to get an extended 5 year warrantee on a $29 Xbox controller, too. Where is the logic in that? I have also found that they tend to be low on the IQ when it comes to technical stuff. I usually don't like CompUSA much more, either, but the one here got a new Mac tech guy last year and I have to say he is really good. The guy is really enthusiastic about Apple and their products and they have been getting a lot better with their selection of Macintosh products.

[Koodauw]

Originally posted by atacinus OH, and i was going to post another thread and call it "i have sinned" but i.ll just say that now...tonight i was working and i get this young guy i.m talking to. He.s exasperated...computers never work for him...he.s not a 'gamer' he doesn.t need a suped up P4 system...he wants something that 'just works'...My head was screaming - "TELL HIM TO GO TO THE SOHO APPLE STORE!!!!"...but in the idea of keeping my job...i sold him a sony...Not terrible, I coulda stuck him with an emachine or something...but bygod, if someone ever was crying for a mac it was this guy...geez. I hate this job...I need to see if the SOHO store is hiring...maybe i.ll swing by sometime.

Eghh, whater.



Best Buy sells Macs on the website, why not refer him there? It won't count for your daily sales numbers, but you're still getting the company sales. I would think the boss would be cool with that. You dropped the ball....just kidding. Next time......

[Inspector Lee]

Had to pick up a cable modem last week to complete my wireless setup. I chose Best Buy over all the other electronic megalopolii (if that's the right word) based on proximity. I hadn't frequented one of these places in over a year and was immediately overwhelmed. The magnitude, the psych experiment lighting, everybody clutching their goods with that blank idiot stare - man, I paid and just got the hell out of there.

On a side note, has anyone had the audacity to ask for a service plan on the service plan?

[themadchemist]

read my sig. I HATE best buy.

[strider42]

Originally posted by bitfactory
c) i bought a 27-inch WEGA at a best buy about 1 year ago and was pressured by (1) the guy who rang it up in the back (2) the guy who pushed the cart up front (3) the security guy at the front door who checks receipts... they were all over me like white on rice.

I got the same TV from bestbuy, but my experience was much better. Why, because I went to the store to check it out and compare picture quality, look, etc, then ordered it online. No pressure sales. bestbuy had the best price out there on the TV that I could find, and they delivered for free, even brought it down a set up stairs for me. I buy almost everything online nowadays, and bestbuy is definitely one of those vendors I use because of their free shipping. I've bought plenty of movies from them too. I had no problem exchanging a movie I accidentally got in full screen for the widescreen version, even though I'd opened it. So my experience with best buy has been pretty good overall. I guess the key is to ignore and avoid the salespeople.

[mgargan1]

Yea... first off, I was trying to buy a cordless phone for my room, and the sales person asked if i picked out the product by myself. I told him that I did, and he told me that I NEEDED the warranty. He also said that I needed a digital phone. So he took me out of the checkout line, and showed me the phone I should buy ($300), I told him that I just wanted a phone for my room, and that I wouldn't be using it too too much. He said that I had to buy the $300 phone because it was the best one ever made. Okay, so I told him i wasn't going to buy that one in a million years. Then he said to buy the phone next to it. ($80). I asked him if i needed to buy a service plan on it, he said "Yes," so i said thank you, but i'm going to go down the street to circuit city where their phone don't require me to buy their warranty. (Even though it was the same thing.)

And the second thing, I work at a Gateway store, and I'd like to think that I'm a very low pressure sales person, and that makes me a very good salesperson. I am by far the geekiest salesman there, and to be quite honest, a lot of the sales people are not very up to date with computer technology. But, don't stereotype salesmen, cause there are some really good ones out there. Even at Best Buy, or CompUSA. Oh, one more thing, I also think that the people at Bestbuy might be a little more rude because they don't work on commission, and they have no motivation to actually sell the computer.

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Yeah, it's crazy. I was hounded to get an extended 5 year warrantee on a $29 Xbox controller, too. Where is the logic in that? I have also found that they tend to be low on the IQ when it comes to technical stuff. I usually don't like CompUSA much more, either, but the one here got a new Mac tech guy last year and I have to say he is really good. The guy is really enthusiastic about Apple and their products and they have been getting a lot better with their selection of Macintosh products.

As you mentioned, Best Buy's not the only store that can suck. Overall, though, I've had a much better experience at Circuit City than either Best Buy or CompUSA.

However, one time my friends and I went into the store and wanted to screw with the salesperson. We asked him how many floating point operations per second some random computer could process. He told us to be serious and to stop messing with him. I think he wanted us to leave. I just wanted to know how the eMachines stacked up. :rolleyes:

[Powerbook G5]

Go ahead and ask a salesperson at any of those stores even a simple question like what kind of RAM one of the computers takes and they'll be helplessly lost as to what you asked as if you had just spoken Greek in front of them more often than not.

[Zion Grail]

Only reason I ever get anything at Best Buy is due to the fact that they're the only ones in my area that carry iPod accessories.

Beyond that, I have no use for them.

[yamabushi]

I bought a cell phone at a local Best Buy that had a mail in rebate. Never got the rebate. I tried repeatedly to resolve the issue with the store and the corporate office to no avail. When I told the store manager that my family had purchased thousands of dollars worth of items from just from that specific store and would never shop there in the future he just laughed and told me to leave. I now make it a point to NEVER shop at any Best Buy. I also encourage all people and businesses I deal with to avoid shopping there.

[Horrortaxi]

I bought a pair of 6x9 car speakers for $20 and spent an undue amount of time arguing with the cashier about my refusal to buy the $20 extended warranty.

The one time I used a Best Buy extended warranty was on an Aiwa stereo a few years ago. The CD player stopped playing after a couple years. When I got the stereo back (several weeks later) the CD player worked but they'd banged up the case pretty good.

My wife recently tried to buy a digital camera at Best Buy. Their display cameras were useless. They're on very short cords, they don't have batteries, and they don't have memory. You can heft one in your hand but you can't really try one out. Also, you have to hip check a bunch of children, who can't possibly be serious customers, to get close enough to the cameras to see them. That's not Best Buy's fault though.

What killed Best Buy for me was their credit card. They always get the worst banks to handle their credit card. 6, 12, 18, 24 months without interest sounds great, but they seem to do everything possible to collect fees from you. No matter when I send them a payment it's late. They charge $15 to pay the bill over the phone. $15 to pay a bill on time is pretty crappy. I have Comp USA, Circuit City, Frys, and the Apple Store all within 10 minutes from home. Not to mention online shopping. Why do I need Best Buy?

I do wish that they sold Macs before I banned them though. :(

[mgargan1]

the best buy in Gaithersburg, MD sells mac's, everything but the 17" powerbook.

[virividox]

i prefer going to frys over all the big chain electronics vendors, they arent as pushy. hehe

[Chip NoVaMac]

I am not a fan of Best Buy.

I only buy from them to "screw" them now, and for the extended warranty (when I buy one). So it may actually be wash between the two.

I generally only buy when i can get the 12 to 24 month interest free financing. Unless things have changed since i worked for Micro Center in the 90's. Best Buy has to pay the credit card company when I pay off the card before the end of the term. In some cases this erases the profit on the sale.

You may ask why they do it then. It is because their customer base can not generally keep up with the payment plans. If they didn't and their "bank" didn't make money then we would not see 12 to 24 month interest free financing. those of us that play them are a very small percentage of the total. They also hope that i will stumble.

As to their extended warranties, i have had two computer systems replaced with new with their lemon policy. A bus mate had his 15gb Ipod replaced with a 20gb when the battery died.

[SBG88]

I went into a bestbuy and saw them selling the 12 and 17inch pbooks. I needed a cable and went back 2 days later and noticed no pbooks and asked someone where they went. They don't sell them anymore, they only had them displayed for 1 week before they decided to stop selling them. (very laughable).

Anyway, if you are going to buy something you think you may or might have to return stay away from Compusa. They charge 15% to return anything unless you exchange for the same thing. Bestbuy does not.

[ITR 81]

Originally posted by mislabeledstar
I wouldn't say CompUSA is any better..............

CompUSA is more informed then BB here.

[flyfish29]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Yeah, it's crazy. I was hounded to get an extended 5 year warrantee on a $29 Xbox controller, too. Where is the logic in that?

This is because they make their best profits off of warrenties! Period! This is because most things that break are not covered under warrenties because they can say it was either normal wear and tear or abused. Especially on conrollers, printers, etc. Also, many peope don't remember they bought the warrenty on a controller after three or more years so they don't use the warrenty when it breaks...in fact they probably don't still have the game console after that many years.:D

[TimDaddy]

When I could finally afford my own computer in 2000, I decided to take a look at Macs. I grew up on Commodore 64/128, and we finally got a PC when I was about 14. I knew NOTHING about Macs. I went into Best Buy and looked around but found no Macs. I found a salesman and asked about the Macs. He gave me a little chuckle, rolled his eyes, and said "We haven't sold that crap in over five years." Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the iMac came out in 1998. Best Buy sold iMacs at one time. So, even if they only sold them for one day, it couldn't have been more than 2.5 years since they quit carrying Macs. He acted like I should have already known that they didn't carry them. And, you don't roll your eyes and laugh at a customer, and you don't tell them that the product that they have chosen is crap. If you don't sell that product, you lie your ass off and try and convince them that your product is better. i.e. "Yes, the iMac is a very good computer, but I think you will find that this computer is better because of a, b, & c." To laugh and call it crap is in my opinion an insult to my intelligence. And I don't have much of that to insult!

I hate the whole extended warranty battle as well. I recently began upgrading my kitchen. After researching products and prices, I chose Frigidaire stainless steel appliances and found the prices I wanted at H.H. Gregg. My first time ever in H.H. Gregg, a salesman found me and helped me find the dishwasher that I had chosen. When the transaction began, he started trying to sell me the warranty. I told him "I will absolutely not purchase a warranty. If you bug me about it, I'll leave here with my dishwasher, no warranty, and never return. If you don't say another word about the warranty, I will find you personally to make each purchase as I upgrade my kitchen over the next year or so." I have since also purchased a microwave from him, with no mention of an extended warranty. I plan to get my stove next month, and I intend to find the same salesman.

[Sun Baked]

Wal-Mart has opened some stand alone grocery stores here in town, and plans on opening lots more in a town near you soon.

They're beginning to branch off from the Sam's Club/Wal-Mart store concepts with small footprint stand-alone grocery stores.

Of the several different sections inside Wal-Marts, there's a good chance that electronics may be one of Wal-Marts next stand-alone concepts.

They are rather weak in that area right now, and they have shown a huge interest in bulking up the computer section.

They should be able to force Best Buy into bankruptcy rather quick.

[Pismo]

I work part time at a Best Buy as a computer technician. I am also the "mac expert" because everyone I work with only uses PC's and knows nothing about Macs. Well, it was late one night and a gentleman was asking about the G5. A salesman came over and asked me if I would talk to him and explain the features. Everything was going great until an idiot computer salesman came over and said, "You don't want a Mac." He then went on about saying that Macs sucked and PC's were better. This is what killed me...he showed the customer a $400 e-machine!!!! I was about to sell the guy a $3,000 computer package and this other idiot tries to talk him into a $400 piece of crap. Thank God I'm not on commision. The customer left empty handed and I got ready to go home for the night. I bet the manager would love to have known about this.

[Powerbook G5]

Computer salesmen are up there with used car salesmen on the ****list of life. The same thing happened at CompUSA, we were close to getting my sister a really nice eMac and some bozo came over and convinced her to get this 1.6 GHz Compaq that was actually more expensive when you figure in the cost of the monitor and all and the thing has gone through 3 CD burners, two ethernet cards, and I have had to fix it every time I go home for vacation.

[jeremy.king]

Being a well-informed consumer, and a former Best Buy employee, I see many of your complaints are indeed well founded and very true. I also have found, that Circuit City, American TV, CompUSA, Office *, and others to be no different.

My only advice for people is to learn the right things to say to dissuade a "sales guy" from pushing PSPs onto people.

If they ask you if you want one, say "No thanks."

If they say you need one, simply respond "Thank you for your concern, but no thanks, unless you are willing to buy one for me." That'll get a response for sure!

If they call you a tard for picking one product over another, again "Thanks."

I have often seen customers get defensive, which will actually cause the sales person to keep trying for some reason.

The problem is that many consumers walk into a BB with no knowledge and expect to pay the lowest price possible for a product, and on top of that expect the sales people to be educated. Economics says this can't happen if you are paying your associates $7/hr because all the knowledgable people have better paying jobs. This is like asking a McDonalds cook to tell you how to make a good filet mignon. It all comes a price? Do you want cheaper stuff, or knowledgable sales people?

Aside...PSPs (Service Plans) are not bad investments on certain products. The keyword there is certain. Appliances and computers come to mind, even cell phones. Yeah, you paid $50 for your phone, but have you ever shopped for a new battery? They are pretty expensive. A PSP gives you a free one every year. I even washed (yeah, in a washing machine) my cell phone and they replaced it no questions asked (probably due to my good looks :) ). You can even get replacement laptop batteries once a year, so I think of certain PSPs as a good investment if you actually use the benefits of said plan.

The problem started when people actually started buying these for stupid products like phones and game controllers. So if I am a BB exec, I say "why not?". If our guys ask 100 people if they want one and 10 bite, I just sold 10 more than if my employees didn't ask at all. I think its sort of like rebates. Many companies offer huge rebates because they expect a certain percentage of those people to NOT even bother sending in the rebates.

Finally...anyone else remember when Circuit City used to be commissioned based? Talk about a headache!

[Bear]

Originally posted by Sun Baked
Wal-Mart has opened some stand alone grocery stores here in town, and plans on opening lots more in a town near you soon.

They're beginning to branch off from the Sam's Club/Wal-Mart store concepts with small footprint stand-alone grocery stores.

Of the several different sections inside Wal-Marts, there's a good chance that electronics may be one of Wal-Marts next stand-alone concepts.

They are rather weak in that area right now, and they have shown a huge interest in bulking up the computer section.

They should be able to force Best Buy into bankruptcy rather quick. You know that the Wal*Mart technical drones are not any better than the Best Buy drones.

I don't mind if Wal*Mart kills Best Buy, but they better not kill the independent stores that know what they're doing. Maybe they'll even kill Circuit City.

As for CompUSA, well they have their uses. and the people their seem to be a little more technical. And besides having Apple employees, you can often find reps from other manufacturers at the store. Although, the HP printer rep didn't want to answer my question - he gave a canned [non]response. The epson rep was good as weel as the guy from Netgear (I think it was).

[agreenster]

Yeah, people at Best Buy are pretty annoying.

I went the other day to pick up a mouse (Your basic USB infared thingamabob) and the dude asked me what it was for. I said my laptop. He was intrigued. What kind of laptop? Powerbook. "Oh, that wont work on a Mac." I said "OSX has built in drivers for most (if not all) mice." He said well, I guess we'll be seeing you again when it doesnt work. I said, "Sure I'll come back to let you know."

I walked out of the store, got my laptop from the car plugged it in, and walked back into the store with it. (turnaround time of 3 minutes.) Dude was like, "Oh. I guess it did work."

Yeah, they also tried to sell me the service plan on the 29 dollar mouse.

My wife bought me an iPod from there this Christmas and the dude there was stupid enough to say that iPods werent mac compatible. Can you believe that stupid *****? What a moron. I did get the plan on the iPod though. I'd like to be able to take it back if the battery goes kaput or something. The plan is nice for more expensive thangs.

Best Buy people DO work on comission. My friend worked there and made lots of money off of idiot computer shoppers.

[damson34]

Yeah I just quit Best Buy. It isnt a good company to work for. I signed up to go to work at 6 am for merchandising and then all the sudden they are telling me I have to be there at 12 am or i will get fired. I believe if they hired me under the arrangments I was to be there at 6 then I am going to be there at 6, if they had asked I might have done it when i could. Also there employee discount sucks. 1.00 off a DVD. I was told when I started that i got roughly 50% off car stereo equipment, about $600 off laptops, and anywhere from $300-1,200 off tvs, have yet to find one product in the store where i even got a fourth off what they said.

[Apmonia]

Originally posted by agreenster


Best Buy people DO work on comission. My friend worked there and made lots of money off of idiot computer shoppers. [/B]


Best Buy employees (unfortunately) do not work on commission, not in any department. In fact, the only people that work on "commission" are the managers, who force us (yes, I work at there, it sucks) to sell Service Plans. And as for ALL Best Buy salespeople being idiots: this is not the case. Just like with any other place of employment (think of your own) there are people who are intellectually challenged and there are those who are not. I will agree though that some people do not need service plans or anything like that, but there are those out there who can't fix their own computers and need those plans. And for the charge that Best Buy employees do not like to sell Mac and try to discourage people from buying them: it's absolutely true. Most of the guys I work with won't even recommend iPods to people saying they are "too hard to use and figure out," instead recommending (and usually selling) the Samsung Napster thing. But, what can one do, it's a paycheck and I get to play with computers all day. It could be worse.

apmonia

[cubist]

When I shop at BB, if anyone asks if I want help, I say "No thanks."

You have to be very price-wary. Some of their smaller parts are outrageously expensive - like a PC ATX power supply $90 which NewEgg sells for $30. Their software prices are no big deal either. The BB near me (Sterling VA) has Macs on display but no software.

BB's almost like the 7-Eleven of electronics stores. CompUSA and Micro Center are both better, but for me they're a lot further away.

[krimson]

i went to get a crap recton video cable for my gf's tv, and the cashier asked if i wanted the $5 warranty on a $6.25 cable, so i asked her if the words stupid was written on my forehead, she got offended, and the supervisor (i was at lane 1 next to the securtity desk) heard what I said and came over and asked me to leave. So i picked up the bag (with cable inside) and left... without giving her the $10 in my hand.

[TimDaddy]

Originally posted by krimson
So i picked up the bag (with cable inside) and left... without giving her the $10 in my hand.

I don't condone theft, but, Hell, you just did what the man said! Good job following directions! :D

[slipper]

Originally posted by joshuawaire
"You got something against HP printers?", I said "

"So, are you for or against extended service plans?"
what are you against best buy... huh, huh??? huh!?:D

[krimson]

Originally posted by TimDaddy
I don't condone theft, but, Hell, you just did what the man said! Good job following directions! :D

heh, it wasn't a conscious thing, and I didn't realize that happened until i got home, and wondered why i had $10 in the bag instead of a recipt.

[trueice]

As a CompUSA employee I can tell you a couple things, ask any sales person at my particular store how many of us buy the service plans. I guarantee you it is all of us. As far as general knowledge goes, we are on commission so it pays for us to know a little (most times alot) more than the competition. Here is a little known secret to the general masses that believe they are smart by not getting service plans...the tech shop. That is the reason why other computer stores (Computer City) failed they had no tech shop. There is more money made from there than the service plans and an even higher markup.

Are we paid to sell them, definitely, do I make much off of them, not at all, and I actually believe in them. Especially, for things like laptops, pdas, cameras...when it comes to desktops it depends on your computer knowledge and how much time you want to invest. To be honest with you we generally think people are crazy walking out the door with no service on $500 printers and $1000+ laptops.

You also have people that are like one of the previous post that dont see the value of service plans, but then they go on to replace a drive three times (time and money) and countless other things.

As far as what the CompUSA service plans (TAP) cover, on PM I usually would rather have the non-tech go with applecare, on a PB or IB, there are things that applecare does not cover that our service plans do. I usually inform people that we are about $100 more than everyone else because we cover more, even more than the mfrs. We actually cover physical breakage of the screen (two times) and battery replacements for laptops, and the battery does NOT need to be dead. If they are pretty new to computers or to Macs, then applecare is definitely the way to go.
I have no problems with people buying the service plans from the mfrs. just check and compare what they cover, e.g. Toshiba is less than ours and covers physically broken screens, however, you can only get a machined repaired for any reason, once a year.

The service plan I have the hardest time selling is for LCD monitors, I have seen a lot of dead pixels before but not on the higher end brands.

Only thing I ask is that people actually listen to the presentation or sales push, however you may call it, and become informed it may turn out to your advantage. You couldnt imagine how many people come in months later where something has happened that would have been covered and they didnt want to even hear about the plan "...or they would walk out"
Any questions im in the Denver store on Colorado Blvd.


PS- No offense is meant to anyone that I semi-quoted I hear those things all the time, and it was easier to attempt a rebutt at what had been said.
BTW I only make $2 extra by selling a laptop kit.

[damson34]

yeah i bought a service plan from CompUSA when I bought my first iBook. I was told if three things go wrong with my iBook then they will consider it a lemon and replace it. Well 6 things later they still wont replace it. I had mouse pad issues and motherboard issues, it was bad. Well I bought the 700mhz for about 1099 they had it marked down for EOL and said they would bump me up to the next model as well when I bought the plan. After threatining law suits i waled out of there with only 1099, no new iBook like promised so all I was able to get was a little 700mhz eMac. Was not to happy.

[Lancetx]

I've never bought an extended service plan on anything (not even Applecare) and have only had it come back to bite me once and that was on a $350 stereo receiver back almost 10 years ago now when it went out after only 2 years.

When you factor in everything I've purchased over the past few years (including TVs, DVD/CD players, stereos, computers, phones, etc), I'm easily at least $2,000 ahead by not having spent the money it would have cost to buy service plans on all of those items. $2,000 can certainly upgrade/replace a lot of stuff, so that is why I just never go for any of them.

The few people I've known that have bought them have had hell getting claims settled with them most of the time too, so I just always avoid them. I've also come up with a great excuse to use when I'm pestered to buy one at a store, I just tell them that I'm going to be reimbursed by my employer for the purchase and I'm not authorized to purchase an extended warranty on it...that stops them in their tracks every time and avoids any potential confrontations with extra pushy salespeople.

[TimDaddy]

I personally am not a fan of extended warranties. I have bought several and never utilized a single one. New products typically have a higher defect rate. As the bugs are worked out and production is ramped up, the defect rate declines. Obviously, nothing lasts forever, so further down the line the problem rate goes back up. The manufacturers warranty usually covers the early time frame. Extended warranties cover the time in the middle when problems are fewer. That way, most of the service plans are never used, as in my personal experience. Your products may start to wear out and break down later in life, usually when the extended warranty it up. I am not saying that a service plan is a waste of money. If there is no way you can afford to replace your product, you may need one. This is more important if your particular model is brand new. It has been documented, for example, that nearly every time an automoblie goes through a major model change, the defect rate rises on the first year of the new generation. (The introduction of the 2000 Toyota Avalon was the only time in history that the defect rate actually went down after a major model change of a mass-produced car.) Cars typically have good warranties that will cover this, and safety issues will mandate a recall. But, the same effect often happens with other products. This may be a good time to take that extended warranty.
I found this graph that illustrates the product failure rate over time.

[Makosuke]

This topic seems to be moving toward extended warranty discussion, so I'll add my thoughts.

That graph is exactly how I view extended service plans on *most* of my purchases (none of which, thankfully, have been from BestBuy or any other mega-electronics chain--I don't even have one in my area); if it's a desktop computer and it doesn't break in the first year under the manufacturer's warranty, it's highly unlikely that it's going to up and die for the next couple of years I'll be using it--there's just not that much going on in there.

As for technical glitches, that's what I do for a living, and I NEVER call tech support, since for most of the people I know and where I work I *am* tech support, so there's no benefit there for me. This is not necessarily the case for novice users, though, which is a good point that trueice made.

Exceptions: if the warranty is cheap, long, and the item has moving parts or is more likely to fail (a microwave, vaccuum, or new product for example), I'll go ahead and buy it--I have a microwave being serviced under the extended warranty right now for example, but the warranty only cost $25 for three years. Worth the bit of cash for the piece of mind.

And, I'd probably get Applecare on a laptop since, being banged around, it's a lot more likely to fail as time goes on than a desktop (that is, the valley in the graph above is shorter). I'd never buy a hard drive without a 3 year warranty, either, since I know those a prone to failure.

[Roger1]

I don't mind Best Buy too much. My kids love it when I take them there to play video games. Recently I bought a used pc, and needed an OS to put on it. So I went to price Windows, to see how much it is. Well they had xp home for $199, a little pricey for an old box used for email and games. So I see a copy of ME sitting there. How much? I ask. $199. Hmm, a little high for me. No sale that day. I wonder if I can get a service plan on software?

[Powerbook G5]

ME is absolutely horrid, definitely stay away from that one no matter what the price

[yamabushi]

I completely agree. If you ever get a computer with ME your best bet is to install a new OS. Windows 98SE, 2000, or XP Pro would be better versions to go with.

Best Buy pushes whatever they feel like selling you at whatever price they can get away with.

They also have refused to honor their promised rebates, which is both unethical and illegal.

[sigamy]

I'm not going to shop at Best Buy anymore.

I purchased a 13" TV, a Leapfrog wireless video transmitter and a swivel stand for my wife for Christmas. $300 total, paid cash.

Well, the TV was too big for our small kitchen counter so we decided to return it. Went to Best Buy a few days after Christmas and waited for about 30 minutes in the return line.

I get up to the counter and give the items back and hand my receipt over. He does his thing and then asks for my address so that he can send a check in the mail. I said "What? I paid cash for these items". He said that any returns over $250 have to be paid as a check. I said ok then, you are going to give me $250 in cash and then write a check for $50. He says, "nope, once the amount is over $250 we have to write a check for the total."

I was furious. Best Buy had now become a bank. After standing in line for 30 minutes I couldn't even think straight so I just agreed. Now they had the returned products and they had my $300 sitting in an interest earning account making 6% return for them! I couldn't believe it. Unethical in my view.

I won't purchase from Best Buy Bank again.

[Powerbook G5]

Capitalism, don't you love it? :D

[Lucky736]

I've worked for Best Buy, Comp USA, and Circuit City.

Best Buy- A decent company. Yes they push service plans, yes I was one of the top salespeople in the company, yes I moved up, and yes I left. I don't like pushing people. I genuinely gave a damn when people took something home and it didn't work. I wanted everything that I sold them to somehow make things easier for them. Whether it was a computer, a cell phone, a TV with all the right stuff so they wouldn't have to make 10 trips cuse some idiot didn't tell them something was int he box. If you want to buy a warranty great, if not great. I'm sure once people saw I didn't push it they asked themselves twice do I really need it and sometimes bought it. A laptop? God I hope so, you do carry it around right? A desktop or a Tube TV? Seriously now.... how many time is this thing ever going to move, c'mon people don't be dumb...... PSP is great on some things, and whatever I did see usually got fixed the first time, and if it happened again they swapped it usually. But still, don't be dumb and buy it on dumb thing....

Comp USA- Well...... again, I ended up selling tons of Macs and Laptops...... why? B/c I couldn't stand the though of trying to sell a warranty on some desktop POS that was ridiculously priced. That and I think Applecare is great. I think it presents an excellent value and that the tech support it includes is great as well, only had to use it once for that but............... people gace a damn. Back to Comp USA though. They cater to business customers more than typical consumers it seems, but again. If someone didn't want it I wouldn't sell it. You know why? If I don't come across like an ass, which I am not, then that same customer will come back to me to buy things. I make money, they are happy with things they were going to buy anyway, and I didn't sell them on BS I sold them things they needed and still made the same $$$$$

Circuit City- What a joke. Computer warranties start 1 year AFTER the manufacturer warranty. So for the first year you still have to send it off anyway. Replacement plans are mailed in now, no longer swapped in store. Laptop warranties do NOT cover batteries or screens. I was there when it was commission, I was there when it wasn't. There is a reason the company has gone down the tubes. Soon it will be Best Circuit. TV warranties? Lol. The people who come fix your TV's have no idea what they are talking about, and have MANUALS on how to fix them. I don't want some guy learning on my TV!!!!!!! I have customers that call me, my personal customers, and people who used to be my customers who go in and ask for me at Comp USA from two years ago or Best Buy from 3 and 4 years ago who used to be regular customers. I send them to people I know will take care of them now, and it still makes me feel good to know that not 1 single person did I ever BS into a sale, funny huh, that's the mentality all 3 of these companies started with, it's too bad that it all went down the pooper.


Mike

[Heb1228]

I've been waiting for this thread... I work as a salesman at one of the stores that is getting constant mention here. Here's my off-the-record thoughts on different stores/salespeople/"warranties..."

Here's what I notice about different stores (generalities of course, your experience may differ).. Best Buy has a very clean, neat looking store with roomy isles and a somewhat skimpy selection of products as far as computer accessories (which is to be expected considering the range of products the store carries). Circuit City is not quite as neat and clean, but close. Less product selection there than Best Buy. CompUSA has by far the best product selection but sometimes their store looks kind of disorganized and messy. (I've only been in Fry's a few times and it seemed somewhere in the middle.)

If you want to talk to someone who knows what they are talking about (as far as computers)... CompUSA is by far your best bet. Now most of them won't be able to tell you anything about floating point calculations, but they do much more product training than the other stores. Every salesperson is different though. There are some people at Best Buy and Curcuit City that know their stuff too but they are much harder to come by.

Now on the warranties...

People who walk in the store with that attitude of "I hate warranties and I'm not buying one no matter what they say" are idiots. It is impossible to know the value of without knowing the cost of it in the first place. A $30 warranty on an $80 printer is admittedly too high. I don't blame people that don't get somthing like that. But $30 on a $250 or $300 printer only makes sense. Think about it like this... What if there were two printers side by side that printed EXACTLY the same with EXACTLY the same ink costs and everything. The price on one is $279 and the other one is $249. The only difference between the printers is that the higher priced one is made of better parts that absolutely would not stop working on you for 3 years... the lower priced one was made of cheaper parts and may or may not work for the same amount of time.

I know some people would still buy the cheaper printer. Thats fine. Those are the people that save $20 on a new car by leaving off power windows and locks. I don't understand those people. Most reasonable people would go ahead and spend a little bit of extra money at the beginning to know they were gettign a better product... one that they KNOW will last.

Service plans on desktops... if you know how to work on a computer I can understand you not wanting one. (I would still get one though... I've had them on both of my PC desktops and its paid for itself both times, but hey whatever floats your boat.) If you don't know how to fix cimputers yourself... It doesn't make much sense not to get it.

Service plans on laptops... HELLO? You'd have to be an idiot not to. Seriously...

After working in a store and seeing the problems people have with computer equipment, I get replacement plans/service plans on almost all of the stuff I get there.

As for this stuff about "If its gonna break, it'll do it within a few weeks of when I buy it..." As I think of the components that have failed on my PCs... (2 CD drives, 1 hard drive, 1 power supply) every one of them has been somewhere in the 6-24 month range, not right after I bought it.

When salespeople offer you these kinds of things, it usually because we want our customers to be taken care of if they have problems with their equipment (which is not as uncommon as alot of people think).

Anyways... my two cents...