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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bajanqueen
I go online and educate myself then go to the store or stores that I am interested in see what they can do for me (check out the prices online for the stores too if they have a site). I hate to waste my time and the time of others. So I go prepared.
I agree 100%. If I'm checking something out & know that I will not be buying on that day, I tell the sales person up front & tell them that if a paying customer comes in to leave me. Even if a sales person is on salary, there are records that show how many sales they closed.
I think people here are forgetting that online shopping and using Best Buy as a showroom for online purchases isn't really a new concept. Technology geeks, which make up a vast majority of posters of message boards such as this, have been doing that for years. What IS killing Best Buy is the fact they have not adapted to today's technology trends and they really no longer offer anything exclusive that cannot be found elsewhere. A prime example of brick-and-mortar done right is the Apple Store, which is doing very well right now. Best Buy can turn itself around by being engaged with the current trends and being more customer focused. Fry's and MicroCenter have been competing very well against the online retailers for years and they do this by knowing their customer and marketing their stores accordingly.
For me, I left Best Buy alone due to its terrible customer service. Period. Just horrible customer service. You walk in and wander around for 30 minutes trying to find what you need without so much as a "Are you finding everything ok?". Employees literally go out of their way to avoid being bothered with you.
I dont care if they're minimum wage or not, if they dont want to be there, then go home. But dont stand there pretending to be a customer service associate, and then act like the customers are invisible when they walk through the door. If you're that pissy about making minimum wage (while undoubtedly receiving perks and employee discounts on the hottest electronics before the public is availed to them), then take off the $9 loud blue polo and go home.
I go online and educate myself then go to the store or stores that I am interested in see what they can do for me (check out the prices online for the stores too if they have a site). I hate to waste my time and the time of others. So I go prepared.
If you go in a few stores and end up buying online did you waste the salepersons time?
I don't think its possible to waste your time when you are researching and looking for the best price for a product you are purchasing with your hard earned money.
Best Buy should be more flexible like HHG and be willing to negotiate price on large ticket purchases such as appliances and flat screen TVs. Also, in Georgia, stores such as Brandsmart and Fry's often have better prices. Wish they could put a Fry's Electronics in Charlotte.
I think people here are forgetting that online shopping and using Best Buy as a showroom for online purchases isn't really a new concept. Technology geeks, which make up a vast majority of posters of message boards such as this, have been doing that for years. What IS killing Best Buy is the fact they have not adapted to today's technology trends and they really no longer offer anything exclusive that cannot be found elsewhere. A prime example is the Apple Store, which is doing very well right now. Best Buy can turn itself around by being engaged with the current trends and being more customer focused. Fry's and MicroCenter have been competing very well against the online retailers for years and they do this by knowing their customer and marketing their stores accordingly.
I agree. Blaming the consumer for buying online isn't going to fix the real problem. Best Buy is responsible for a lot of small electronic stores closing because they figured out how to give the customer a better buying experience. Now Amazon and online stores are doing the same thing to them....
The amazing thing about Apple is their flexibility. They didn't sit on their hands once they found their niche in the computer market. They branched into music players and itunes...
Best Buy should be more flexible like HHG and be willing to negotiate price on large ticket purchases such as appliances and flat screen TVs. Also, in Georgia, stores such as Brandsmart and Fry's often have better prices. Wish they could put a Fry's Electronics in Charlotte.
If Austin, Texas can support a Fry's, I am sure Charlotte could. If Fry's came to Charlotte I doubt I would ever set foot in Best Buy again.
I think people here are forgetting that online shopping and using Best Buy as a showroom for online purchases isn't really a new concept. Technology geeks, which make up a vast majority of posters of message boards such as this, have been doing that for years. What IS killing Best Buy is the fact they have not adapted to today's technology trends and they really no longer offer anything exclusive that cannot be found elsewhere. A prime example of brick-and-mortar done right is the Apple Store, which is doing very well right now. Best Buy can turn itself around by being engaged with the current trends and being more customer focused. Fry's and MicroCenter have been competing very well against the online retailers for years and they do this by knowing their customer and marketing their stores accordingly.
I agree. I think people forget that pre-Internet, this is how people did reseach and shopped for most items. Example electronics - you could only get so much from a review in a magazine, so people would go the stores to get the look and feel of an item with no intent to buy at the moment because they were still researching different models and then prices. In this manner, they would talk to sales people for advice, specs, etc... again, with no intent to buy at that moment. After all of the visits, IF a purchase was made, only one store got the sale. The others in the process got nothing. Same goes for home and garden items, power tools, etc... So what's the difference today? For BB and other B&Ms, this is the reason they have sales people with knowledge of the products in their departments. To assist but also to try and get you to buy them. Otherwise, they'd be setup like the old catalog sotres such as Consumer Distributors or to a lesser extent, Service Merchandise. The help there were only order takers - they read your slip an got your item.
Like most big box retailers, BB put the mom & pop retailers out of business by offering low service in return for low prices via volume. People said mom & pop need to adapt. Now, on-line come along that promises even lower service in return for lower prices and we are suppose to shed a tear for Best Buy because they can't adapt? I'd say that Best Buy, with a live honest go goodness human inside their store, has a stellar opportunity convince that person to make the sale now over going home and dealing with on-line sales. Amazon does after all compete with 1000s of other websites.
As companies fall, there are less competitors so no reason to run sales. Amazon has already backed off on the sales (as seen this past holiday season). Further proof: Netflix outpriced Blockbuster. Blockbuster was restructured/bought out. Netflix hiked up prices since their true competitor was in the dumps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bchris02
What IS killing Best Buy is the fact they have not adapted to today's technology trends and they really no longer offer anything exclusive that cannot be found elsewhere. A prime example of brick-and-mortar done right is the Apple Store, which is doing very well right now. Best Buy can turn itself around by being engaged with the current trends and being more customer focused. Fry's and MicroCenter have been competing very well against the online retailers for years and they do this by knowing their customer and marketing their stores accordingly.
And what is that trend? The only trend is the perceived "no tax" and digital purchases (which Best Buy sells on their site).
Frys and MicroCrenter (heck Brandsmart) haven't really been competing in the big box world. They don't have enough store fronts to be a force. If they were profitable, they would be expanding (which they aren't).
As to Apple, they control the pricing and supply/demand so no retailer can beat them out (outside of tax evading). The stores are successful since they get new product in faster and they offer in-store tech support. Apple has a cult following. Thus the success they have had since the ipod was released.
Quote:
If Fry's came to Charlotte I doubt I would ever set foot in Best Buy again.
And what is that trend? The only trend is the perceived "no tax" and digital purchases (which Best Buy sells on their site).
People aren't buying PCs like they used to. Best Buy no longer carries higher end PC equipment either. Their selection is really no better than Staples or Office Depot. The hot items now consumers are buying are iPads, iPhones and other mobile gadgets, which stores like the Apple Store dominate that market. At the rate its going, by the end of this decade the home desktop PC will more than likely be extinct. CDs and DVDs, which used to take up at least 1/3 of the entire Best Buy store are going digital, especially CDs. PC games are all but dead and Xbox 360/PS3 games can be purchased anywhere. This leaves only TVs, appliances, and home theater systems as areas where Best Buy still has relevance.
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