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Best Buy (Employment)

Terminal.app

Terminal.app

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 29, 2009
266
0
So after a few years of working various other retail jobs (i.e. Target and Kohl's) I went looking for something more electronics oriented and got hired at Best Buy, as a sales guy in computers/portables. My first day of orientation was last Monday, and I gotta say my first thought was "Oh s***, what did I get myself into here?!" :eek:

So what I'm wondering is...does anyone here actually hold a positive opinion of BB, and is it really as bad as they say? I know we've probably all heard the horror stories about the Geek Squad charging $200 to remove a virus, or charging $150 for an HDMI cable, etc. Any BB employees or former employees want to weigh in? I'm currently an "occasional seasonal" employee so they'll probably let me go after the holidays unless I apply to stay on, and I'm not sure I even want to stay, now. Especially if I'm going to get yelled at for not selling enough extended warranties. :(

Thoughts? Horror stories?
 
Terminal.app said:
So after a few years of working various other retail jobs (i.e. Target and Kohl's) I went looking for something more electronics oriented and got hired at Best Buy, as a sales guy in computers/portables. My first day of orientation was last Monday, and I gotta say my first thought was "Oh s***, what did I get myself into here?!" :eek:

So what I'm wondering is...does anyone here actually hold a positive opinion of BB, and is it really as bad as they say? I know we've probably all heard the horror stories about the Geek Squad charging $200 to remove a virus, or charging $150 for an HDMI cable, etc. Any BB employees or former employees want to weigh in? I'm currently an "occasional seasonal" employee so they'll probably let me go after the holidays unless I apply to stay on, and I'm not sure I even want to stay, now. Especially if I'm going to get yelled at for not selling enough extended warranties. :(

Thoughts? Horror stories?
Click to expand...

Here's a site full of em !!

http://www.black-ogre.com/bestbuysucks/
 
I'm not a Best Buy fan - usually I can get a better deal elsewhere. But like most internet message board nerds, my needs and abilities are different than the average person that walks into a Best Buy. So while I chuckle at the prices the Geek Squad quotes, or the $50 HDMI cable, I don't necessarily fault Best Buy for it, nor the people that work there.

I'm sure someone that knows a lot about car maintenance rolls his eyes at what I spend to have my brakes done, but whatever - I don't care to spend the time to educate myself on it. I'd rather just spend more money and have someone else deal with it. Computer dorks don't seem to understand that the vast majority of people feel exactly the same way about computers, AV equipment, and so on.
 
From past experiences, getting technical advice from Best Buy is like getting medical advice from the janitor at Walgreens. I'll use the internet to research what I want, order online for in store pickup and pick it up at the service desk so I don't have to deal with any salespeople.
 
The only good thing about Best Buy is instant gratification. I honestly like going in there and saying "I want this, here's my money." I have done that for 2 macs and 1 tv, but all the rest of my electronic purchases have been at Amazon.
 
A long time ago in a city far, far away...

I worked at a Best Buy. It was fun, the people were nice, the discount was massive. Not much else to say about that. It's like any other job.:)
 
I worked at Best Buy for 2 years. Let me start off by saying that the only good thing about working there was the employee discount especially on cables and accessories. Now for the bad part. Your managers/ supervisors will push you to no end to sell ridiculously prices Geek Squad services i.e. $69.99 for something called "Standard Security" where all they do is activate the product code on an AV software and do automatic updates. They will also push you to sell way over priced accessories such as a $29.99 USB cable. Now for the worst part......Having to sell Black Tie Protection Plans. Holy S**t!! Not to mention all the boring lectures on T.R.U.S.T. which is their sales model. Basically all your managers/supervisors care about is how much needless crap you can attach to a sale. They WILL cut your hours if you are not selling enough. Try out the job for the season but keep in mind it will prob be one of the worst retail jobs you have ever worked at.
 
I love all this falsified information being contributed to this thread. For the people who say "your hours will be cut for not selling this" or "they push you to no end about this", that's completely not true. It's a non-commissioned job so they can't give hours based on performance. If they do, you should know the phone number for HR. Of course they want you to sell accessories, services, and protection, though. It's how an electronics store actually creates a profit. Best Buy purchases their computers below cost; losing money on every single computer that leaves the store. If they didn't push the unwilling part-timers, the store would go out of business in a matter of days.
 
imaketouchtheme said:
I love all this falsified information being contributed to this thread. For the people who say "your hours will be cut for not selling this" or "they push you to no end about this", that's completely not true. It's a non-commissioned job so they can't give hours based on performance. If they do, you should know the phone number for HR. Of course they want you to sell accessories, services, and protection, though. It's how an electronics store actually creates a profit. Best Buy purchases their computers below cost; losing money on every single computer that leaves the store. If they didn't push the unwilling part-timers, the store would go out of business in a matter of days.
Click to expand...

Bullcrap they can't. If Person A sells $10,000 a day, and Person B sells $30,000 a day, they'll be giving Person B more hours. It's not comission, but they can certainly assign hours based on sales performance. It's quite common in noncomission retail stores.
 
imaketouchtheme said:
I love all this falsified information being contributed to this thread. For the people who say "your hours will be cut for not selling this" or "they push you to no end about this", that's completely not true. It's a non-commissioned job so they can't give hours based on performance. If they do, you should know the phone number for HR. Of course they want you to sell accessories, services, and protection, though. It's how an electronics store actually creates a profit. Best Buy purchases their computers below cost; losing money on every single computer that leaves the store. If they didn't push the unwilling part-timers, the store would go out of business in a matter of days.
Click to expand...

What perfect world do you live in?

Of course they assign hours based on employee performance. This is how ALL hourly businesses work; if you're a good employee, you get more hours than the random joe who's a bad employee.

A managers sale expectations may be too high; as many place's are, but this is really just because the manager is under fire from corporate for not meeting the required numbers--that's more down to the bean-counters in corporate who neglect the socioeconomic conditions of the area, the base of the clientèle, as well as the per-store capita when determining appropriate sale expectations for the store, which is usually ignored by them setting baseless district-wide minimums with ill regard for the outliers or individual store conditions. It's a common problem.
 
My advice would be "be honest". If you don't know the answer to a technical question, or you only know vaguely, don't make something up. Say "I don't know". Maybe say "let's go find out" and take the customer to a computer, pull up Google, and then both of you learn something. (That's assuming the store lets you do this. If not, Google it when you get home! Then you'll know for the next guy.)

My biggest beef with tech salespeople is when they are opinionated and clearly wrong. Like the one time I went into a computer store and asked for an ATI model xyz video card. The salesperson laughed at me and said that there was no such thing. I asked the lady behind the counter and she, too, insisted that I didn't know what I was talking about. They didn't even check. So I left that store, went to the one down the street, and picked up the exact card I was looking for. I should have gone back to them and waved it in their faces. :rolleyes:

So part of being honest is being open-minded. You don't know everything. So don't act like you do. Sure, every retail worker has their stories about stupid clueless customers. But never assume or act like you're better than they are just because you know tech and they don't. Conversely, you're going to get customers that do the same to you. They think they're hot shot experts and they want to see you get humiliated. Don't feel like you have to win that contest either. Being honest will help you avoid falling for that trap.

As far as the extended warranty, again, be honest. Don't tell me that buying the extended warranty means "you can bring it back for any reason and we'll just give you a brand new one, no questions asked!" if that's not the true coverage. Tell me exactly what I really get, how much it costs, and I'll decide. I'll probably say no, but there are others for whom that might be a worth while deal. And, if I say no, respect that decision and don't keep pestering. (I know, I know, the "make them say no three times" rule, but...)

Be honest, be helpful, do your best to help the customer find what they want. That's all I would ask for from any salesperson.
 
Don't let opinions here sway you. Just go to work and see how *you* like your job. It's not like you've signed a blood contract--you can quit anytime you want.

Just like any job, a large part of your experience will depend on whether your supervisor(s) and you get along or not. I didn't have a bad experience when I worked at Best Buy like 15 years ago. I only left because I finally found a better paying job with benefits after college.

I remember being somewhat satisfied when I could explain to a customer what a particular device was capable of and directing them to what satisfies their needs. A lot of big box electronics store employees can't do that--and it makes for a unpleasant experience for them.
 
imaketouchtheme said:
I love all this falsified information being contributed to this thread. For the people who say "your hours will be cut for not selling this" or "they push you to no end about this", that's completely not true. It's a non-commissioned job so they can't give hours based on performance. If they do, you should know the phone number for HR. Of course they want you to sell accessories, services, and protection, though. It's how an electronics store actually creates a profit. Best Buy purchases their computers below cost; losing money on every single computer that leaves the store. If they didn't push the unwilling part-timers, the store would go out of business in a matter of days.
Click to expand...

Best Buy sucks. Trust me. I work there. & it's true about # of hours based on performance. It really sucks. Only good thing is the discount.

I see my manager almost daily and feel a bit sorry for the guy; rather a bit pissed cause he trickles the anger I'm sure he gets from his higher ups to us...he's all about the numbers at the store and looks soooo stressed. He has a nice paycheck, but he's admitted to us that he drinks (alone) nightly and we all know he's got no friends or a GF...for him making $60k a year, I personally am not down for that salary at the behest of being overweight and being stressed out all the time.
 
HappyDude20 said:
Best Buy sucks. Trust me. I work there.
Click to expand...

Heh - based on this and your other posts, I'm beginning to picture you like this: :)

4.jpg
 
dmr727 said:
Heh - based on this and your other posts, I'm beginning to picture you like this: :)

4.jpg
Click to expand...

lmao.

Well...

It's not that I hate BB, it's just that I don't like my manager. Truth be told, it's very chill at BB. At least my store. I'm allowed to be on my cell phone at all times and really make a subsoncious approach at hot girls that walk into the store. This is how I pass the time. But my manager hates that I don't focus on attaching Black Tie or whatever else. The difference between my manager and I is that I dont take my work home with me. Yet, myself and others will get txt messages from him late at night where he mentions %'s and #'s we gotta hit.

For example, last week our manager was gone hiring other managers for other BB stores in the So Cal area. During this time our store just got sooo chill. W/ him not being there we just relaxed.

My buddies have told me that I've found a little niche of finding a place to work that allows me to be on my phone all day and flirt w/ girls all day; which I wholeheartedly agree. But I've noticed that the people w/ most Black Tie get the most hours.
 
HappyDude20 said:
lmao.

Well...

It's not that I hate BB, it's just that I don't like my manager. Truth be told, it's very chill at BB. At least my store. I'm allowed to be on my cell phone at all times and really make a subsoncious approach at hot girls that walk into the store. This is how I pass the time. But my manager hates that I don't focus on attaching Black Tie or whatever else. The difference between my manager and I is that I dont take my work home with me. Yet, myself and others will get txt messages from him late at night where he mentions %'s and #'s we gotta hit.

For example, last week our manager was gone hiring other managers for other BB stores in the So Cal area. During this time our store just got sooo chill. W/ him not being there we just relaxed.

My buddies have told me that I've found a little niche of finding a place to work that allows me to be on my phone all day and flirt w/ girls all day; which I wholeheartedly agree. But I've noticed that the people w/ most Black Tie get the most hours.
Click to expand...

That sucks dude. It's like your manager is trying to run a store and not a hang out spot for teens. :rolleyes:

Seriously if you understood business you would understand that flirting with girls all day and texting or calling friends doesn't make money. He is paying you hourly to sell, not to chat and flirt. Therefore he is going to respect and give more hours to those who SELL and not those who act like kids on their days off.
 
renewed said:
That sucks dude. It's like your manager is trying to run a store and not a hang out spot for teens. :rolleyes:

Seriously if you understood business you would understand that flirting with girls all day and texting or calling friends doesn't make money. He is paying you hourly to sell, not to chat and flirt. Therefore he is going to respect and give more hours to those who SELL and not those who act like kids on their days off.
Click to expand...

I do understand he is a running a business. For him it is his career, for me a job. Since day one he stated how much I should be selling (daily) for the company to not be losing money. The environment is very commission styled though it isn't in reality.

That's where the discrepancy rests between him and I...and he knows this. The only reason I'm still around is I attach Black Tie to everything. Everything. Even $4 headphones you're never gonna use.

Best Buy isn't lousy, but it isn't awesome. Except for the girls.

Ah the girls.

Ah the white girls.
 
HappyDude20 said:
I do understand he is a running a business. For him it is his career, for me a job. Since day one he stated how much I should be selling (daily) for the company to not be losing money. The environment is very commission styled though it isn't in reality.

That's where the discrepancy rests between him and I...and he knows this. The only reason I'm still around is I attach Black Tie to everything. Everything. Even $4 headphones you're never gonna use.

Best Buy isn't lousy, but it isn't awesome. Except for the girls.

Ah the girls.

Ah the white girls.
Click to expand...

I'd have a beer with ya but I wouldn't hire you.
 
I worked at Best Buy for a season, and what made me eventually quit was:

1. School.
2. The Managers
3. The People

I really loved the job at first and was eager to sell stuff, but eventually the people that worked there just had no energy and hated life. To some, it was really degrading that a 16 year old was working the same job as they were, so they kinda hated on that.

I pretty much just ignored them until the higher-ups in the store started to give my supervisor more and more departments. He started scheduling me crazy hours like during school and other times that there was NO way I could work. Every time that I tried to quit, he'd try to work with me, but 4 AP classes and a job was still too much. I eventually had to go over his head and ask the only chill manager if I could leave. I also was driven by the fact that the only cool guy in my department was quitting, and I would be pretty much the only person in that department that had been there for more than 3 months. Anyways...

What I learned:
  • Pretty much everybody gets high, parties, or gets drunk on the weekends, so if you don't then prepare to be alone in that.
  • Some people are very self-centered.
  • As other posters have said, people can tell if you are lying, so just tell the truth, even if it means you won't make a sell.
  • The discount is alright, but gets you nothing when it comes to computers, games, or MP3s.
  • Make it the best it can be. Don't be a downer.
 
renewed said:
I'd have a beer with ya but I wouldn't hire you.
Click to expand...

In my defense, go to hell.

But in my defense, when I first started there I was very professional, wouldn't slouched kinda thing..but as the first month passed I realized I could have fun at work. So many cute girls walked in and instead of being my normal self I'd be in BB mode, selling accessories and stuff..

Then I started getting girls phone numbers while working, to which my manager replied he didn't like it and I could get fired if a secret shopper or higher up noticed.

Even working for them for 6 months now, I've been the top seller in my department for a while now. I get things done, I'm just more nonchalant about the things we sell really...but I do get excited when interesting people come into the store and wanna chat and perhaps buy some stuff along the way..

gusapple said:
What I learned:
  • Pretty much everybody gets high, parties, or gets drunk on the weekends, so if you don't then prepare to be alone in that.
  • Some people are very self-centered.
  • As other posters have said, people can tell if you are lying, so just tell the truth, even if it means you won't make a sell.
  • The discount is alright, but gets you nothing when it comes to computers, games, or MP3s.
  • Make it the best it can be. Don't be a downer.
Click to expand...

Truer words have never been spoken.

I don't see myself working with BB past the holidays. In other threads i've mentioned I'm moving to Tokyo for 6 months to teach at a high school...which I seriously can't wait for. I'm gonna be there w/ my best friend so I know we're gonna be partying every night. Then back home to Berkeley to finish up my B.A.

I'm gonna go smoke a joint now.

(kidding)
























...Bong.
 
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