Best Buy and Apple - Together Again?

[menoinjun]

I don't understand how everyone seems to have bad experiences at CompUSA lately. All you have to do is go in and ask for the Apple Rep, and you will get better service and knowledge than you could imagine. Forget the CompUSA employees, it's the Apple reps you should be talking to.

There are over 170 of them...I can't imagine that everyone here goes to stores that don't have ASCs!!

 

[IndyGopher]

Why do you find it surprising that the Apple folks at CompUSA don't know what they're talking about, when the Apple folks at the Apple stores don't know what they are talking about?

The most you can hope for is someone who reads the sales material they have been handed since they started. I don't think Best Buy will be any different than the Apple stores or CompUSA.


Yes, there are always exceptions. I am sure there are several people at all three companies that know all about Macs. They are the minority.

 

[tazo]

I don't know, I think compusa would be better then best buy for retail sale of apples. Honestly, if you go into a best buy they don't know anything. I asked them where their latest model Clie was, something every salesman there should know. The salesman responds, who makes that? I mean honestly. Although I have had similar experiences at Compusa, the frequency with which they occur at Best Buy is frightening to say the least. IMHO Apple should stray away from retailers that would do more or less damage to the company image of professional excellence.

 

[Gus]

You guys must all be too young to remember when Apple had computers in all of the major retail outlets: Best Buy, Circuit City, and yes, even Wal-Mart. Best Buy was the worst place to go. I know there's somebody here who works for BB, but I'm sorry, everyone there is anti-Apple. Not just PC users, but people who do not understand, or care to understand Apple and its products. MANNY times, while strolling through the computer section, looking at iPods there, I had to stop and help somebody get things straight after a BB salesperson pretty much told them the opposite of the truth about the machine they were looking at. In the old partnership, it was VERY common to go there and see Macs that were not even turned on, or had had a system freeze, and just left hung for hours. They just didn't care about learning. Even worse was when I and a friend of mine applied to help sell the Macs, we were turned down because they "didn't care to sell any more Macs". This was in Winston-Salem, NC in 1996. Unless there are some full-time Apple types in the stores, this will fail miserably. Can you imagine grandma going to BestBuy and seeing a screen with a kernel panic on it for hours? Yeah, that would sell a lot of computers.

Regards,
Gus

 

[wsteineker]

Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by jzieske
I wish they did not sell extended plans on CD's my grandma got roped in to paying $2.50 for extended service on a $18 CD.
That is just SICK.

Ok, I'll admit that I've been with Best Buy less than a year, but I'm calling bullsh*t. We DO NOT sell service plans on items that cost less than $99. Period. End of story.

Whew. Now that that's out of the way, I'll admit something else. I am very aware of the existing stigma which dictates that Best Buy employees are all mindless retail zombies with absolutely no product knowledge whatsoever whose sole job it is to force you to buy high margin service plans and accessories. That being said, I have yet to encounter that in my store (Montgomery, AL #836). Granted it's a new store, but I've found that those associates who don't know have absolutely no problem asking a fellow associate who does. No bullsh*t. We don't work on commission, so we don't benefit at all when we promise the moon and then don't deliver. As for the training issue, let me promise you that Best Buy's corporate organization is also well aware of the aforementioned stigma and is working very hard to remedy the situation. Required training on every manufacturer's product line is now the standard in every Best Buy in the country. Whether or not the individual store follows directions is up to them, but corporate has gone out of its way to ensure that we sales associates are actually learning the product. It's a new concept (as depressing as that is), but I can see it working in my store from day to day. Have a little faith, people. Worst case scenario is that Apple gets more exposure to middle America, and there's not a damn thing wrong with that.

 

[edenwaith]

Re: CompUSA bites

Originally posted by Java
<off topic>
I know this is a bit off topic, but my CompUSA really stinks. They always have Apple products mislabed.
</off topic>

I cannot remember exactly which store it was (Best Buy, Office Max, Staples, or some similar store) was completely non-Mac. I even found a copy of Bugdom...which was for Windows 9x. I didn't even know that game had been ported to Windows! And it seems like it should have been at least a Hybrid CD. Nope, just Windows based. I think about the only non-Windows software I found was a hybrid version of StarOffice 6 for Windows and Linux.

And does anyone else get BEST and Best Buy confused?

 

[edenwaith]

Re: Macs ARE the BEST BUY, no doubt!

Originally posted by superspaminacan
People WILL buy Macs at Best Buy. This is a smart move. Everytime I visit a store remotely related to electronics/computing that doesn't carry Apple wares I always make a point to mention to the manager that I came to their store EXPECTING they would carry Apple and leaving disappointed that they don't.

I just hope that if you do bother expressing your interest or opinions, someone actually listens. At a Staples store in the town where I used to live, they had about one piece of Mac software...Mac OS 10.0, and this was well after 10.1 had been released. I took the box up to the counter and explained that they should get rid of this copy and replace it with the (far better) current version. Well, they did the first part...getting rid of the copy of Mac OS X. But they never did get an updated version of it up on their shelves. Just another office store which only cowtows to the Windows crowd.

At a former job, when I expressed my displeasure with how old the Macs were getting in the small Mac lab, my supervisors didn't give one [rude expression] about it. The supervisor who did once give a damn about the macs passed away a few years ago, and that was about the last time they were updated. Sometimes a person's opinion does matter and is magnified by all of those unspoken voices. But sometimes, it is just thrown away as "just" one person's opinion. If no one else has spoken up, then what does it matter?

An example: I e-mailed Ubi Soft about a more current version of ChessMaster for the Mac (the last version I saw was 6000, and the PC is up to version 9000). I did receive a response, but it was just that there were no plans on bringing an updated version of CM to the Mac.

Well, I do own CM 6000, but for Windows since I bought it for $5! Last I saw (which was a few minutes ago), CM 6000 for the Mac was still selling for $40. I love the Mac, and want to support it, but I'm not going to spend 8x the amount of money for the same game. Oh, and CM 6000 and a few old DOS games are about the only reason I have Virtual PC. If I did bother with CM 6000 for the Mac, that would be one less reason for VPC (but I would still have to run CM 6000 in Classic mode). The ridiculous part is that Ubi Soft is still trying to charge so much for CM 6000. Now if they offered it for $5 or $10 for the Mac, then sure, I'd buy it! Oh, but they do have Chessmaster for Game Boy Advanced ($30) and Playstation 2 ($20). Would it hurt them to actually reduce the price of the Mac version?

 

[wsteineker]

Re: Macs ARE the BEST BUY, no doubt!

Originally posted by superspaminacan
People WILL buy Macs at Best Buy. This is a smart move. Everytime I visit a store remotely related to electronics/computing that doesn't carry Apple wares I always make a point to mention to the manager that I came to their store EXPECTING they would carry Apple and leaving disappointed that they don't.

I agree wholeheartedly. I currently work in the Computer department at Best Buy, and while my store is new and obviously atypical (see above posts), we have seen an enormous and altogether disproportionate number of requests for Apple hardware and Mac software. I'd say that roughly 15% of the people I've helped in my department own a Mac and have come in looking for upgrades (some f which we have) or software (whch we don't have). I honestly believe that, given the right amount of motivation, Best Buy would sell a whole lot of Apple computers. Just to give an example, I've sold 36 iPods in two weeks, which is more than all other MP3 player sales combined. And every time I've been sure to that mention ITMS for Windows is coming by the end of the year. People have no idea about stuff like that, and they're generally thrilled to hear it. There's finally a hunger for Apple hardware out there, and Best Buy (as well as other retailers) is just the place to get the word out.

 

[cb911]

it's got to be good that Apple and Macs will have more outlets right?

i know we sure need more resellers or Apple Stores here in Australia.

 

[edenwaith]

Re: Re: Macs ARE the BEST BUY, no doubt!

Originally posted by wsteineker
I agree wholeheartedly. I currently work in the Computer department at Best Buy, and while my store is new and obviously atypical (see above posts), ....

...and to complete my ranting for now...

I would love to see Apple getting its hardware out into more stores. These days, people do have much easier access to obtaining Apple goods via the internet, but there is still a whole slew of people who did not grow up with computers and do not participate in e-commerce too often. There are some people who are very happy to go to Local Computer Store X where they can buy the machine and also get the support for it if they need it. That computer will almost always be a PC since the hardware is so much easier to find. What about the Mac stores? They are around, or at least some resellers can be found, but not nearly on the scale of PCs.

I feel that the Apple Retail Stores are a good move for Apple, but they need to start dispersing their stores a little more than in the LA region. There are around 10 Apple Stores in California, yet the entire northwestern part of the continental US had not a single store for quite a long time (finally one in the Seattle region). And how about the international scene? Just finally starting. Good ideas, but perhaps a little too late or not quite fast enough. I just hope they can do well without needing to be shut down like many Gateway stores.

 

[question fear]

Re: Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by wsteineker
Ok, I'll admit that I've been with Best Buy less than a year, but I'm calling bullsh*t. We DO NOT sell service plans on items that cost less than $99. Period. End of story.

no comment on the rest of your post, but i also work for best buy and we do sell service plans for items under 99.00.
go to your media dept and pick up the product REPLACEMENT plan pamphlet, it lists how much it costs based on the price of the item being purchased.
I think on items over 99.00 its a service plan, but you can get a replacement plan if its for less. when i worked in media we were supposed to sell them for 20.00 cd players.
--carly

 

[wsteineker]

Re: Re: Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by question fear
no comment on the rest of your post, but i also work for best buy and we do sell service plans for items under 99.00.
go to your media dept and pick up the product REPLACEMENT plan pamphlet, it lists how much it costs based on the price of the item being purchased.
I think on items over 99.00 its a service plan, but you can get a replacement plan if its for less. when i worked in media we were supposed to sell them for 20.00 cd players.
--carly

[Best Buy Employee Shop Talk] You're absolutely right about the Replacement Plans, but my post was directed at PSPs only. Furthermore, PRPs are rarely offered anywhere besides the register at the point of purchase, and are under no circumstances to be presented as an extended warranty. Either way, I've NEVER heard of a PRP or PSP for a CD.[/Best Buy Employee Shop Talk]

 

[iJon]

Re: Re: Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by question fear
no comment on the rest of your post, but i also work for best buy and we do sell service plans for items under 99.00.
go to your media dept and pick up the product REPLACEMENT plan pamphlet, it lists how much it costs based on the price of the item being purchased.
I think on items over 99.00 its a service plan, but you can get a replacement plan if its for less. when i worked in media we were supposed to sell them for 20.00 cd players.
--carly

, where is the irony in this post. we have a huge post about best buy being the place to sell them, staff knowing their stuff, then we find out they dont even know their own service plans. thanks for the post, very funny and eye awakning.

iJon

 

[wsteineker]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by iJon
, where is the irony in this post. we have a huge post about best buy being the place to sell them, staff knowing their stuff, then we find out they dont even know their own service plans. thanks for the post, very funny and eye awakning.

iJon

Yo iJon, read my above post. And next time, try not to be such an ******* when you *attempt* to call someone out.

[mod edit]I can't believe u guys get THIS heated in a Mac user discussion board...

 

[iJon]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by wsteineker
Yo iJon, read my above post. And next time, try not to be such an ******* when you *attempt* to call someone out.

yeah yeah, i was still typing when you posted. i thought it was funny, thats all, didnt mean to "call" you out.

iJon

 

[wsteineker]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by iJon
yeah yeah, i was still typing when you posted. i thought it was funny, thats all, didnt mean to "call" you out.

iJon

Alright then, fair enough. I'll let it slide this time. Seriously though, I really believe that this could be the coolest thing that Apple's done in a long time. It may only be because I'd get to work with Apple hardware all day long, but still...

 

[iJon]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by wsteineker
Alright then, fair enough. I'll let it slide this time. Seriously though, I really believe that this could be the coolest thing that Apple's done in a long time. It may only be because I'd get to work with Apple hardware all day long, but still...

lol, its all good, its late and that was really funny, didnt know you were posting. although i do disagree with the best buy thing for many reasons, but we wont know what happens till it happens.

iJon

 

[raeingoth]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Extended Warrenties on CD's

Originally posted by wsteineker
[Best Buy Employee Shop Talk] Either way, I've NEVER heard of a PRP or PSP for a CD.[/Best Buy Employee Shop Talk]

That's because there is no such thing as a PRP for a CD. You can not even manually put in a PRP SKU and register it for a CD. That is unheard of and I think whoever said that was off their rocker or just trying to cause a stir. I will say that some of their PRPs or PSPs can be a little silly, as some products are cheaper than the actual PSP/PRP (e.g. some wireless/house phones, cd players, some clearance items obviously).
And PRPs are offered outside of the register, in Media, Audio, and Wireless would be the big ones off hand (at least that's SOP supposedly).

 

[SiliconAddict]

Best Buys new corp HQ (Or the Arks as I like to call the 3 building.) is about 3 blocks away from where I work here in Edina MN. Close enough where I was able to actually drop off a 1 page letter of complaint to them about 3 weeks ago. I go to Best Buy for many things. CD’s, DVD’s, software but NEVER for computer advice. I’ve been to numerous stores around the Minneapolis twin cities area and from time to time I listen to the crap the reps push on those poor bastard customers who don’t know any better. I swear I heard a tech tell this poor couple that by increasing the hard drive size you would increase the overall performance of your computer *slams head into keyboard. It wasn’t as entertaining as listening to a rep talk about how this USB 1 scanner was just as fast as a USB 2 scanner. He talked about how USB 2 could handle more devices or some other BS like that. (In that case I talked to the folks after the rep vanished.) It’s sickening to listen to how uninformed some (Repeat SOME. For those BB employees listening if you know your stuff more power to you and thank you for helping the customers get informed decisions.) of these people are.
That was the core summery of my little complaint. How does this apply to Apple?
Whenever I’ve gone into the Apple store at the Mall of America to talk tech with the reps there I’ve ALWAYS been impressed with the level of knowledge. If Apple just tosses hardware Best Buys ways and says sell this I would expect there to be some serious issues with presentation and knowledge of the product in each individual store. Apple has gotten a BAD rep the last few years and if not presented appropriately in these stores it could make things worse. Personally I would like to see staff trained and placed by apple in Best Buy stores. Even if that person in that store is an existing employee they should be given a crash course in Macs from the source.
Also I’m still a Windows user. I’ve gone into Best Buy and talked with them about computers. Whenever I’ve discussed Macs they generally do the typical Wintel user laugh and brush off of anything Apple made. This would NOT be a healthy environment to try and sell a Mac in. But on the other hand I’m not saying Best Buy or Apple needs to put a snobby elitist Apple user in their store either. I’m suggesting that a tolerance needs to be there to allow the possible sales of these products to occur.
This could be a match made in Heaven or Hell. It all depends on Apple’s strategy.

All I know is I will be keeping an eye on whoever is representing Apple in these stores. I still use a PC for now but damn if I won’t complain if someone is dismissing the use of a Mac simply because of a bias.
Heh I really want to see apple’s market share climb back into the 10%+ range. *shrugs* I like rooting for the underdog.

 

[iJon]

Originally posted by SiliconAddict
Best Buys new corp HQ (Or the Arks as I like to call the 3 building.) is about 3 blocks away from where I work here in Edina MN. Close enough where I was able to actually drop off a 1 page letter of complaint to them about 3 weeks ago. I go to Best Buy for many things. CD’s, DVD’s, software but NEVER for computer advice. I’ve been to numerous stores around the Minneapolis twin cities area and from time to time I listen to the crap the reps push on those poor bastard customers who don’t know any better. I swear I heard a tech tell this poor couple that by increasing the hard drive size you would increase the overall performance of your computer *slams head into keyboard. It wasn’t as entertaining as listening to a rep talk about how this USB 1 scanner was just as fast as a USB 2 scanner. He talked about how USB 2 could handle more devices or some other BS like that. (In that case I talked to the folks after the rep vanished.) It’s sickening to listen to how uninformed some (Repeat SOME. For those BB employees listening if you know your stuff more power to you and thank you for helping the customers get informed decisions.) of these people are.
That was the core summery of my little complaint. How does this apply to Apple?
Whenever I’ve gone into the Apple store at the Mall of America to talk tech with the reps there I’ve ALWAYS been impressed with the level of knowledge. If Apple just tosses hardware Best Buys ways and says sell this I would expect there to be some serious issues with presentation and knowledge of the product in each individual store. Apple has gotten a BAD rep the last few years and if not presented appropriately in these stores it could make things worse. Personally I would like to see staff trained and placed by apple in Best Buy stores. Even if that person in that store is an existing employee they should be given a crash course in Macs from the source.
Also I’m still a Windows user. I’ve gone into Best Buy and talked with them about computers. Whenever I’ve discussed Macs they generally do the typical Wintel user laugh and brush off of anything Apple made. This would NOT be a healthy environment to try and sell a Mac in. But on the other hand I’m not saying Best Buy or Apple needs to put a snobby elitist Apple user in their store either. I’m suggesting that a tolerance needs to be there to allow the possible sales of these products to occur.
This could be a match made in Heaven or Hell. It all depends on Apple’s strategy.

All I know is I will be keeping an eye on whoever is representing Apple in these stores. I still use a PC for now but damn if I won’t complain if someone is dismissing the use of a Mac simply because of a bias.
Heh I really want to see apple’s market share climb back into the 10%+ range. *shrugs* I like rooting for the underdog.

i completly agree. and rumors say apple will put in their own people, which i dont see why they wouldnt, it would be suicide. but iwas talking to one of my friends and he told me apple puts there people in compusa, and i havent heard much better stories there. i could right a whole page on very indepth reasons why i feel this wouldnt work, but mainly i dont see a mac doing so well when a pc is in the next row. ive learned macs are best sold when pcs arent near, and you can focus on the mac specifically. because as they walk out of best buy, the will see all the hardware, software, and computers for cheaper prices, as well as the abundance of software and hardware. which is a main reason people dont choose macs, because of limited hardware and software selections.

iJon

 

[Atradies]

Another employee

Ok, trying to get a few things straight here. I also, like a couple other people here, work for BB, and have for 3 years now. In those three years I have noticed many problems with certain people making up certain information, but this is a very few people. And I will, like other employees seeing this, tell the customer the "truth" about a product, and not care about making the original associate look like an ass.

The store that I work at (Marin City, #132) surprisingly has a large following of Mac users there. The 2 highest qualified techs there were a couple of the guys trying to push this partnership with corporate. I talk with the computer department all of the time and they could for the most part care less if its a mac or not. They'll sell what's right for the individual. (Of course that can't be entirely true or we would have been sending everybody to an Apple Store, but you understand). And trust me to be there from time to time to make sure they are all up to par on there knowledge. Also, everyday I'm there, I will be making sure that the computers are up and running.

As for the whole thing with the PSPs and PRPs. PSPs are for product "usually" over 200 dollars and are for fixing or replacing product that is damaged from normal wear and tear. PRPs are for product "only" under 200 that are only for replacing the product within a 2 year time. Almost no questions asked on the PRP. The PRP is impossible to sell on a CD. Yes it can be sold on a CD player that's $20, but some things just aren't possible. I have a $150 remote that I would love to have gotten a PRP on, but not possible, so believe me, there was no PRP or especially PSP sold on a CD. Try Good Guys for that.

Also, somebody was mentioning the stores in Canada. Those would be called FutureShop.

Come into my store and test it when we start selling Macs.

 

[Atradies]

Think about it.

Originally posted by SiliconAddict
I swear I heard a tech tell this poor couple that by increasing the hard drive size you would increase the overall performance of your computer *slams head into keyboard.

Pretty smart tech if you ask me, considering it can be true. If you have say a 40GB HD and your constantly filling it up and having to dump files and back up files, your files are going to get extremely fragmented, slowing down "the overall performance of your computer", so if you have a larger HD, files don't fragment as easily or nearly as fast. And when they do fragment, its a lot easier to defragment.

Maybe try slamming that keyboard a bit harder next time.

 

[kirk26]

Originally posted by Freg3000
God I hope Best Buy will be better than my CompUSA.

I dont' know. The CompUSA where I live has a huge Mac section.

 

[Centris 650]

Re: Again?

Originally posted by jzieske
Didn't Apple and Best Buy try this once before, a few years ago and it failed.

I can only see it working with Apple sales people or else lots of training for current Best Buy employees.

One of the problems back then was that Apple wanted BB to carry ALL the different colors of the iMac when only the Blueberry and Strawberry iMacs were selling like crazy. BB didn't want to have to carry excess hardware that wasn't moving.

My BB store in Columbia (the one on Harbison Blvd not the one on Two Notch Rd.) is really good. I was in there about 2 weeks ago buying an emergency external HD. The guy was really helpful and really knowledgeable. I even told him that he was the best Best Buy employee I had ever worked with.

I think it's a good thing. The closest Apple Store is 4 hrs away in Atlanta or 4.5 hours to the one in NC. For this reason my parents have put off buying a new mac because they want to test out 17" imac in store before they buy one and they really don't want to drive 4 hrs to test drive a mac.

 

[daRAT]

Originally posted by Custom Pbook12
Best Buy and Apple, seems like a good combo, but i do think that i would still buy stuff from my local apple store, (even if the price is higher) just because i can talk circles around most of the people who work at best buy. the only good thing about it would be the possible accessories that are 3rd party, and more mac compatible software.

I agree, I have a very small Mac dealer near me, and try to do all my business with them. I have had bad experiences with Best Buy