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Michael CM1

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 4, 2008
5,681
276
I bought my mom an iPhone 5 yesterday. I got it at Best Buy. So I'm checking out, adding a car lightning charger and a case. Cashier remarked about how it was about time such a charger was available, with which I agreed if it hadn't been for a while. He mentioned he loved his GS3 and said the iPhone 5 was just the 4S with a larger screen and a new connector. He also said if he won an iPhone, he would probably just sell it.

I'm guessing he was in a joking way saying I should've gotten a GS3, and I guess part of it was a comment about having to buy new cables. It was just banter between two geeks, harmless and all.

Then I get home and I think about it. If I own an older iPhone and the new lightning cable is such an issue for the iPhone 5, how exactly will it help me to buy a GS3? That would mean needing new cables plus having a stockpile of worthless apps.

Again, no malice or anything. It just struck me as something not thought out well. I mean you know how we always think things out well around here. :)
 

Adutrumque

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2012
1,438
2
Sweden
For speculations I don't think that the lightning cable will be exchanged for a long period of time.
It's fast. It's easy and most importantly, it does the job.

What strikes me the most is why would a cashier make a joke that intrigues the buyer to think of another buy? You have nothing in common, you two, and still he plays this "joke" off.

I don't know. I've said it before and I'm gonna tell you again, it's all comes down to preferences. Whether you like the iPhone or not, is your choice and your opinion.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,378
24,117
Wales, United Kingdom
What strikes me the most is why would a cashier make a joke that intrigues the buyer to think of another buy? You have nothing in common, you two, and still he plays this "joke" off.

I don't know. I've said it before and I'm gonna tell you again, it's all comes down to preferences. Whether you like the iPhone or not, is your choice and your opinion.
I agree and think if I was that lads manager and overheard such a remark to a customer, he'd be in a bit of trouble. I really don't get the competitiveness some people have with things like mobile phones. Most people buy what they like and it shouldn't offend others IMO. I've encountered quite a few people who own android devices and feel they need to tell me how rubbish my iPhone 5 is. I think its downright rude and none of their business quite frankly. It makes no difference to me whether my mates have Nokia's, HTC's, Samsung's, its their choice. Not that its really a topic of conversation between us to be honest. There seems to be such a desire born on the internet where some want companies to fail and they feel its their mission to convince everybody that their opinion is the right one. I think there are more important things to worry about in life lol :)
 

clyde2801

macrumors 601
I agree and think if I was that lads manager and overheard such a remark to a customer, he'd be in a bit of trouble. I really don't get the competitiveness some people have with things like mobile phones. Most people buy what they like and it shouldn't offend others IMO. I've encountered quite a few people who own android devices and feel they need to tell me how rubbish my iPhone 5 is. I think its downright rude and none of their business quite frankly. It makes no difference to me whether my mates have Nokia's, HTC's, Samsung's, its their choice. Not that its really a topic of conversation between us to be honest. There seems to be such a desire born on the internet where some want companies to fail and they feel its their mission to convince everybody that their opinion is the right one. I think there are more important things to worry about in life lol :)

We are talking Best Buy. If his manager overheard him, he'd probably be commended for encouraging people to buy something other than an iPhone. If it were in a cellular store, he'd probably get a promotion.

And I think the comment where 'some want companies to fail' can be squarely directed at Apple enthusiasts regarding Microsoft. Then again, I may be spending too much time on MacDailyNews....:eek:
 

bonskovsky

macrumors 6502
Dec 31, 2012
453
2
Why would be get in trouble for commenting about buying another phone? People do that all the time, their not zombies.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,378
24,117
Wales, United Kingdom
We are talking Best Buy. If his manager overheard him, he'd probably be commended for encouraging people to buy something other than an iPhone. If it were in a cellular store, he'd probably get a promotion.

And I think the comment where 'some want companies to fail' can be squarely directed at Apple enthusiasts regarding Microsoft. Then again, I may be spending too much time on MacDailyNews....:eek:
Thankfully our mobile stores are a little more professional than that. Never heard of 'Best Buy', I don't think we have them over here. My comment is just in reference to my own experiences with seeing criticisms online. I'm sure you get a minority of consumers masking their unhappiness by poking fun at other companies on any forum you visit. I certainly won't accept its just relevant to Apple, Android, or Microsoft users because its clearly everywhere. I guess I'm just happy enough with my own choice. :)

----------

Why would be get in trouble for commenting about buying another phone? People do that all the time, their not zombies.
If I 'asked' an assistant for their advice or opinion on something then great. But if I was going through a checkout and the cashier commented that what I was buying was inferior to something else, then its a little rude and unprofessional. Of course different companies have different levels of customer service and I'm a little unqualified to comment on 'Best Buy' as I have no experience with them. Personally if I had been in that situation I would probably have smiled and said I would buy it somewhere else. :)
 

Beeplance

macrumors 68000
Jul 29, 2012
1,564
500
My advice to people who always ask me whether to buy one phone or another: Buy the phone that you like. If you truly like the phone you're using, you won't bother about all these minor details.

Just my 2 cents.:)
 

clyde2801

macrumors 601
Thankfully our mobile stores are a little more professional than that. Never heard of 'Best Buy', I don't think we have them over here. My comment is just in reference to my own experiences with seeing criticisms online. I'm sure you get a minority of consumers masking their unhappiness by poking fun at other companies on any forum you visit. I certainly won't accept its just relevant to Apple, Android, or Microsoft users because its clearly everywhere. I guess I'm just happy enough with my own choice. :)

----------


If I 'asked' an assistant for their advice or opinion on something then great. But if I was going through a checkout and the cashier commented that what I was buying was inferior to something else, then its a little rude and unprofessional. Of course different companies have different levels of customer service and I'm a little unqualified to comment on 'Best Buy' as I have no experience with them. Personally if I had been in that situation I would probably have smiled and said I would buy it somewhere else. :)

I love how you Brits are so understated and polite; classy all the way. No sarcasm intended. Really.
 

blueroom

macrumors 603
Feb 15, 2009
6,381
26
Toronto, Canada
Brick and mortar sales people are a dying breed, inversely proportional to informed customers.

I rather put my head in a vice than ask a salesperson for their advice.
 

duffman9000

macrumors 68020
Sep 7, 2003
2,327
8,083
Deep in the Depths of CA
Don't put much stock into what Best Buy clowns tell you. I once I had these fools (2 salesmen and 1 cashier) tell that their PS3s died within a couple of days and I should buy the warranty. Years later nothing happened.
 

RotaryP7

macrumors 6502a
Aug 31, 2011
751
30
Miami, FL
For speculations I don't think that the lightning cable will be exchanged for a long period of time.
It's fast. It's easy and most importantly, it does the job.

What strikes me the most is why would a cashier make a joke that intrigues the buyer to think of another buy? You have nothing in common, you two, and still he plays this "joke" off.

I don't know. I've said it before and I'm gonna tell you again, it's all comes down to preferences. Whether you like the iPhone or not, is your choice and your opinion.

Because Best Buy employees get no commission on the sale. They just sell. :rolleyes:

Btw, I just won a Galaxy S3 at my job. I'll be selling it for an iPhone 5. :D
 

Michael CM1

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 4, 2008
5,681
276
As I said before, I don't think he was doing anything inappropriate, at least with my personality. I considered it at the worst smack talk. He probably could tell that I would be the type to enjoy that. He was also a cashier, not one of the people in the mobile area.

I just found it kind of weird how he saw the GS3 as better because of pretty much a bigger screen (I understand that) and not needing new cables. I spent a grand total of $40 on new cables for this phone for my mom, so now she has two for home and one in the car. The case I bought her was the same price, although she took it back and got another one that was $5 less.

The lightning connector is one of those short-term pains that people like us who buy about every darn product are going to have to deal with. The 30-pin connector lasted for nine years from its birth on a plain iPod. It ended up on three different iPods, the iPhones and iPads.

I think Apple did a decent job switching over, although maybe I would've not worried about the secrecy so much so third-party products such as docking devices wouldn't be hard as hell to find.

So much technology gets held back by people trying to hold on to something that can be made MUCH BETTER by dealing with a little short-term inconvenience. I think the optical drive still has life, maybe even a long one. But in computing, it makes a TON of sense to not include one if you can fit other things in a device or make it smaller and lighter. The same is happening with SSDs starting to take over. Their main holdup is the availability of drives at affordable prices for high-enough capacities.

Hell, take a look at phones. I keep hearing cellphone companies talk about something (last thing was 3G) making calls clearer. They still sound like the same 16k audio they've been using forever. If you have ever heard Skype, you know what a CLEAR CALL sounds like. Don't even get me started on CDs.

Anyway, it was a weird experience and I'm glad you guys got something out of it. Sometimes I think these GS3 fanboys are like me from my youth, loving Windows because OOH I CAN CUSTOMIZE EVERYTHING. While building a PC from parts is quite fun, it's less fun when it doesn't work. Apple builds things to the point where I lose a little choice on options, but I gain a whole lot of reliability.
 

Appl3FTW

macrumors 603
Nov 15, 2012
5,552
1,252
he's just jealous he's stuck with the piece of crap GS3... more like GSsuck
 

bdoople

macrumors member
Apr 18, 2012
69
0
Cincinnati, OH
Thankfully our mobile stores are a little more professional than that. Never heard of 'Best Buy', I don't think we have them over here. My comment is just in reference to my own experiences with seeing criticisms online. I'm sure you get a minority of consumers masking their unhappiness by poking fun at other companies on any forum you visit. I certainly won't accept its just relevant to Apple, Android, or Microsoft users because its clearly everywhere. I guess I'm just happy enough with my own choice. :)

Best Buy is America's Carphone Warehouse.
 
Last edited:

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
16,378
24,117
Wales, United Kingdom
Best Buy is America's Carphone Warehouse.
Yeah the link above mentions that, cheers. I bought my iPhone through Carphone Warehouse here as they offered the best deals shortly after launch. I also found whilst the mass media were reporting that iPhones were difficult to get hold of, mine arrived soon after ordering it in store (4 days in fact). I used them initially for advice, but the staff are generally enthusiastic about most handsets. Having read a bit about 'Best Buy' it seems the feedback is a little better for their British equivalent. Talk Talk is another story. :)
 

Kashsystems

macrumors 6502
Jul 23, 2012
358
1
Just like to add this in. Retail outlets earn less commissions on iPhone sales. I knew a cellular store owner who hated selling iPhones because of that. Also he did not have the overpriced accessories to make up for that commission lost.

Now in this case the person was just giving his opinion. If he really wanted to make his manager happy he should have come up with additional items to add to that purchase.

People should pick what they like. I for example hope those 4.8 inch iPhone rumors are true because I don't want an Android phone but old age is getting tired of smaller screen sizes.
 

SnowLeopard2008

macrumors 604
Jul 4, 2008
6,772
17
Silicon Valley
The iPhone 5 is not merely a bigger screen and a new connector. Even with just those two new things, it's a BETTER screen than the previous (which was already the BEST) and a FASTER connector.

iPhone 5's display is even better than before. The processor is second to none and beats the hell out of Samsung's Exynos. Camera is better. Speakers are better. More microphones, better microphones. Thinner design, better build quality, better materials. Let's not forget about software. Samsung put their POS UI layer on Android. And a bunch of half baked features that don't really do anything apart from being a spec sheet filler. Not to mention they hardly ever work.

If one were to prefer Android, I'd recommend something from HTC or the Nexus line. Even Motorola. All Samsung does is bash the iPhone. But the funny part is that they are currently under the iPhone's foot. Their ads are hilarious. It's a sight to see that a company is bragging so much about some crap they found in some random gutter in a 5th world country. I almost feel sorry for them. Ignorance is bliss.
 

slowsupra

macrumors member
Jan 21, 2013
35
0
The "should have got an Android" kids today are the "where is my update?" kids in 6 months just ignore them (and don't support Best Buy)
 
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