124151155
Apr 16, 11:58 PM
If I lived in the states, I'd just buy it outright (Sign up then cancel) and move to a real carrier.
In Australia you can buy iPhones outright from apple, unlocked. I'll probably be doing that.
In Australia you can buy iPhones outright from apple, unlocked. I'll probably be doing that.
MartiNZ
May 4, 05:40 AM
If you ask Hastings101, he might call it cheesy.
Fantastic, from so early in the thread and it should really have been /thread right there :). And yet no one got on board!
The ad is definitely that, but that's not to say it doesn't do a great marketing job.
Personally (redundant word, I know), I'm still holding back from the device for having no idea for what I would use it. Small World not having been downsized to the iPhone really just doesn't seem like enough of a use case! Maybe when the sequel comes out lol.
Fantastic, from so early in the thread and it should really have been /thread right there :). And yet no one got on board!
The ad is definitely that, but that's not to say it doesn't do a great marketing job.
Personally (redundant word, I know), I'm still holding back from the device for having no idea for what I would use it. Small World not having been downsized to the iPhone really just doesn't seem like enough of a use case! Maybe when the sequel comes out lol.
SPEEDwithJJ
Mar 17, 12:43 AM
Are you a Best Buy Reward Zone member? If yes, did you use your account when you check out the iPad?
weldon
Oct 17, 01:54 PM
I realize that the discussion has gone off towards the relative merits of each format, but I'm going to go back to the original statement that Apple is going to support both...
This is non-news. Because Apple is involved in content creation (Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, etc.), they are going to support both formats so that people can author discs for HD-DVD and Blu-ray and create fancy menus, etc. It's no big leap to go from supporting authoring content targeted at both formats to supporting hardware to play and burn both formats.
This is non-news. Because Apple is involved in content creation (Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, etc.), they are going to support both formats so that people can author discs for HD-DVD and Blu-ray and create fancy menus, etc. It's no big leap to go from supporting authoring content targeted at both formats to supporting hardware to play and burn both formats.
Much Ado
Jan 9, 02:03 PM
Ah... now what do I do?
I feel trapped in this one thread, such that if i stray but a step outside of it, then the whole world will devour me with news of Apple's new wonderproduct, (which i bet will be an anti-climax after all of this.)
*sigh*
I'm still in the dark over here.
MA.
I feel trapped in this one thread, such that if i stray but a step outside of it, then the whole world will devour me with news of Apple's new wonderproduct, (which i bet will be an anti-climax after all of this.)
*sigh*
I'm still in the dark over here.
MA.
tdhurst
Jan 12, 08:04 PM
Whoa. You honestly think that there isn't anyone in the print media that pulled stuff like that? You haven't read a lot of the more satirical magazines.
And by saying "haven't been fully accepted yet" you really mean "the big print media guys are still in their transition." They all know print is basically dead, they've been trying to transition for years. Some morons with a blog turning off tvs at a tech conference are not going to stop this transition. If anything it will lead to conferences learning how to properly vet online media like they do with print media.
Give me an example of a prank pulled of this magnitude at this large of a show by someone in the print media that was not immediately fired, please.
And I do agree with your point about the transition and that all media need to be vetted to attend events.
And by saying "haven't been fully accepted yet" you really mean "the big print media guys are still in their transition." They all know print is basically dead, they've been trying to transition for years. Some morons with a blog turning off tvs at a tech conference are not going to stop this transition. If anything it will lead to conferences learning how to properly vet online media like they do with print media.
Give me an example of a prank pulled of this magnitude at this large of a show by someone in the print media that was not immediately fired, please.
And I do agree with your point about the transition and that all media need to be vetted to attend events.
ClimbingTheLog
Oct 3, 07:43 AM
When will this hacking nerd do something REALLY positive and productive to the world?
Last time I heard, his occupation was to break into companies' IPR without any legal permission to do so...not commendable, to say the least.
Right, there are only billions of people who can watch DVD's on computers of their choice now because of his efforts who couldn't before, spawning all kinds of video editing, DVR, and high-quality conversion systems that couldn't have existed without his work.
He defeated a system designed to take away fair use rights from the citizenry and hasn't done anything productive? OK, if you don't care about your rights maybe you have a point.
Last time I heard, his occupation was to break into companies' IPR without any legal permission to do so...not commendable, to say the least.
Right, there are only billions of people who can watch DVD's on computers of their choice now because of his efforts who couldn't before, spawning all kinds of video editing, DVR, and high-quality conversion systems that couldn't have existed without his work.
He defeated a system designed to take away fair use rights from the citizenry and hasn't done anything productive? OK, if you don't care about your rights maybe you have a point.
esaleris
Apr 3, 08:43 PM
Sorry to hear it didn't get better at this point... I was hoping to hear that they busted down the door to find some idiot teenagers playing on the console.
I'm surprised the police have gone down this far with you over the matter. It's at least refreshing to know that they would attempt to find the item. My roommate in college got his laptop stolen and they were pretty damn apathetic.
They went to the house and a lady answered the door. She was more than willing to let the police in to search the place. After searching, they came up with nothing. Not even a single game, controller, anything. The house is a rental house. The guy with the pawn record had moved out two months ago. His lease was up December 31st and this new lady had moved in during January.
I'm surprised the police have gone down this far with you over the matter. It's at least refreshing to know that they would attempt to find the item. My roommate in college got his laptop stolen and they were pretty damn apathetic.
They went to the house and a lady answered the door. She was more than willing to let the police in to search the place. After searching, they came up with nothing. Not even a single game, controller, anything. The house is a rental house. The guy with the pawn record had moved out two months ago. His lease was up December 31st and this new lady had moved in during January.
Eraserhead
Apr 16, 04:28 PM
It's people who promote homosexuality through media, education, culture, and government that people should be afraid of.
And they are?
Last time I checked, it didn't take material wealth to have good character or to be exposed to it.
Of course not, but generally it does require being middle class. You can be a successful plumber or builder and a good role model. But if you are poor and out of work, or you have a low skilled job - such as working at McDonalds - you aren't likely to be a good role model.
And they are?
Last time I checked, it didn't take material wealth to have good character or to be exposed to it.
Of course not, but generally it does require being middle class. You can be a successful plumber or builder and a good role model. But if you are poor and out of work, or you have a low skilled job - such as working at McDonalds - you aren't likely to be a good role model.
gocardsfan1
May 3, 09:31 PM
So is this meant to be an ad for the iPad 2 or the future generations? All it does is make me more excited for upcoming models, not the iPad 2 itself. I don't doubt that it will be effective though.
swagi
Apr 29, 03:12 PM
And people kept telling me that OSX and iOS weren't going to merge in any meaningful manner for years ahead, if ever. Yeah right. I'd bet the one after this has them nearly fully merged and I mean towards iOS for the most part. OSX will be dumbed down to the lowest common brain cell and you won't be able to get free/open software anymore. It'll have to come through the App Store or not at all. Wait and see. That is the point I'll be moving on.
Thumbs up to you, man. I'll be passing the Lion for some flavour of Linux as well.
Thumbs up to you, man. I'll be passing the Lion for some flavour of Linux as well.
mj_1903
Oct 21, 04:24 AM
Dividends, yes that would be a good idea, what with $10 billion in cash on hand. Microsoft finally decided that their cash horde was becoming a bit of an embarrassment and declared one.
Microsoft only paid a dividend when their share growth stagnated.
Apple on the other hand has had stellar share growth recently so there is really no need to pay dividends.
Microsoft only paid a dividend when their share growth stagnated.
Apple on the other hand has had stellar share growth recently so there is really no need to pay dividends.
skinned66
Apr 16, 02:56 AM
And by that what do you mean. iPhones had little impact on phones like the BB Curve
Let us not compare Apples to turds.
Let us not compare Apples to turds.
rodpascoe
Sep 27, 04:01 PM
For those of you running Aperture on a Mac Pro, did you notice the new RAM requirement on http://www.apple.com/aperture/specs/? It says "2GB of RAM required for Mac Pro." I've been running Aperture just fine on my new Mac Pro with the standard 1GB of RAM. Like many new Mac Pro owners, I've been holding off on upgrading the RAM until it gets a little cheaper. The 1.5 update installer better not refuse to install on my Mac because of insufficient RAM; I'll be pretty upset if it does. :(
Russell
Same here, price is �300 for 2 1gig sticks here in the UK, so I've been waiting too. Would Apple release an upgrade that could conceivably be automatically installed via software update that would then cripple software you've paid �350 for? Hope not :(
Russell
Same here, price is �300 for 2 1gig sticks here in the UK, so I've been waiting too. Would Apple release an upgrade that could conceivably be automatically installed via software update that would then cripple software you've paid �350 for? Hope not :(
suzerain
Oct 2, 05:35 PM
I can't believe that people are disgruntled that we are forced to use iTunes with iPod.
iTunes is brilliant.
It's not as if we are forced to use something really crummy like WMP with the worlds favourite MP3 player.
& Microsoft.
Hmm...personally, I don't have a problem with the 'iTunes' part, I have a problem with the 'forced' part. Any company (yes, even Apple) is capable of making a big mistake, at some point...
iTunes is brilliant.
It's not as if we are forced to use something really crummy like WMP with the worlds favourite MP3 player.
& Microsoft.
Hmm...personally, I don't have a problem with the 'iTunes' part, I have a problem with the 'forced' part. Any company (yes, even Apple) is capable of making a big mistake, at some point...
johndallas999
Apr 25, 01:00 PM
What is the hole above the ear piece?
DTphonehome
Mar 24, 03:06 PM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)
Amazing longevity. A truly robust platform that brought Apple into the 21st century. Especially when you consider the competition at the time! I seem to remember Mac OS X was touted as Apple's platform "for the next 20 years" when it was introduced. So it's only halfway finished!
Amazing longevity. A truly robust platform that brought Apple into the 21st century. Especially when you consider the competition at the time! I seem to remember Mac OS X was touted as Apple's platform "for the next 20 years" when it was introduced. So it's only halfway finished!
rhett7660
Apr 21, 12:09 PM
Could have been worse guys, they could have put in a Facebook "Like" button. :D
They actually one upped Facebook. We also have a dislike button!
They actually one upped Facebook. We also have a dislike button!
iBlue
Apr 27, 01:07 AM
Web-surfing baboons might not agree with your assessment, but I'm pretty sure humans would. Those boxes are not supposed to be there.
:D
The boxes were there for me under Firefox and I was under the impression they were supposed to be. However I was pleasantly surprised to find them no longer there last night, so this must be fixed :)
It seems so. The boxes are gone. Now for the entire ratings system. :p
:D
The boxes were there for me under Firefox and I was under the impression they were supposed to be. However I was pleasantly surprised to find them no longer there last night, so this must be fixed :)
It seems so. The boxes are gone. Now for the entire ratings system. :p
Huntn
May 5, 06:20 PM
Guns are within my scope of practice (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/rchoi/detail?entry_id=88328)
Couple this with the fact that the NRA has prevented any studies on guns and their impact on American society and I think we can all rest assured that we're heading towards a society ruled by the American Taliban. Heavy sarcasm intended.
If guns are so important to society, why is it taboo to have an adult conversation about their impact on that society?
Why? In the mind of the NRA:
Step 1: Talk about guns.
Step 10: Ban and confiscate guns.
Therefore they resist even common sense initiatives supported by police such as gun fingerprinting.
Couple this with the fact that the NRA has prevented any studies on guns and their impact on American society and I think we can all rest assured that we're heading towards a society ruled by the American Taliban. Heavy sarcasm intended.
If guns are so important to society, why is it taboo to have an adult conversation about their impact on that society?
Why? In the mind of the NRA:
Step 1: Talk about guns.
Step 10: Ban and confiscate guns.
Therefore they resist even common sense initiatives supported by police such as gun fingerprinting.
uburoibob
Jan 13, 07:27 PM
I gotta say, Gizmodo sucks big time cuz of this. Once in my CoolSites bookmark folder, they are now off my radar. Goodbye Gizmodo...:mad:
azentropy
Oct 7, 05:58 PM
Great ad.
I'm still hopeful that when my contract is up next year that I'll have choices than AT&T to get an iPhone on. For the most part AT&T has been fine where I currently live and work. However I'm been looking at homes in a different area of town and noticed I was getting horrible coverage.
I'm still hopeful that when my contract is up next year that I'll have choices than AT&T to get an iPhone on. For the most part AT&T has been fine where I currently live and work. However I'm been looking at homes in a different area of town and noticed I was getting horrible coverage.
triceretops
Mar 24, 11:01 PM
Wish this post would have gone up earlier. We could have had a cake.:mad:
Joshuarocks
Apr 8, 07:36 PM
I'm a current employee at Best Buy and thought I'd offer my two cents on a few issues.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
The only "Worst Buy" I am against is the one in Owings Mills, MD where they discriminated against me just because of a small disability. Pending a court case with corporate on this matter.. and I used to work for them back in 2005 and left them on a great note. Eligible for re-hire.. then tried to go back to them(Owings Mills) and the manager was very disrespectful and also discriminatory.
I plan to have that store shut down permanently.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
The only "Worst Buy" I am against is the one in Owings Mills, MD where they discriminated against me just because of a small disability. Pending a court case with corporate on this matter.. and I used to work for them back in 2005 and left them on a great note. Eligible for re-hire.. then tried to go back to them(Owings Mills) and the manager was very disrespectful and also discriminatory.
I plan to have that store shut down permanently.
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