Best Buy Firing Workers That Don't Harass You?

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I'm not too sure about this one. Firing people that don't push credit cards on customers? That sounds too draconian even for Best Buy.

If we go three shifts without a credit card application, we will be written up by management. If we go twelve straight shifts with no applications, we are automatically terminated, no questions asked! Plus, we are now required to check in with the manager on duty both at the beginning and end of our shifts to discuss our daily sales and financing goals, or risk being fired!
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Sounds like it's true. I know that they are forced to ask if you want the CC, protection plan, etc.. It's a huge thing. They'd rather do that than talk to them about the actual product.
 
I worked in retail long enough to know it is probably true, though I'd say it is a particular store doing it vs actual company policy.

Some people are naturally better at selling "plans", and by naturally I mean blonde, blue eyed, big boobed, and clueless selling to an old man pressing on his zipper. Unfortunately, that is TOO true. I see so many worthless bimbos at these big box stores, and that is why -- bar none. They can't actually help you in a tangible way, but they sell those incentives to guys. Maybe it works in reverse SOME, but not nearly as much.
 
I checked with a friend of mine who works there while going back to school and that is not the policy here, but he said that it would not surprise him if it was in some areas because they are under a lot of pressure to push the cards.
 
the way business is going down i wouldn't doubt this a bit, i mean you can get cheaper with shipping and tax if applicable on majority of items online than in store, plus they charge for delivery in local area as well, $35 is regular delivery charge and $75 for bigger item or TV itself. and edge to edge city limit is about 9 mile.
 
defuseme2k said:
I worked in retail long enough to know it is probably true, though I'd say it is a particular store doing it vs actual company policy.

Some people are naturally better at selling "plans", and by naturally I mean blonde, blue eyed, big boobed, and clueless selling to an old man pressing on his zipper. Unfortunately, that is TOO true. I see so many worthless bimbos at these big box stores, and that is why -- bar none. They can't actually help you in a tangible way, but they sell those incentives to guys. Maybe it works in reverse SOME, but not nearly as much.
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Worthless bimbos? Some hottie trying to sell me some goods [that I ain't never gonna buy] is more like entertainment that I don't have to pay for. Definitely NOT worthless.
 
This is indeed a new policy from best buy corporate. Best buy has always been a performance driven store. From my family/friends who have and still work there they confirm that they have several metrics they are responsible for. Best Buy salespeople are really just that, salespeople. They are not their to be your friend, nor are they there to inform you about their products, they are there to qualify you for all of the stuff they truly depend on their company employees to sell to you to keep the company as profitable as possible.

Not sure why this guy/girl came forward to complain. It's like a car salesman saying my boss refuses to leave money on the table and keeps getting mad when I don't offer packages with the cards I sell. It's your job, if you don't like selling then your simply in the wrong line of work. Best Buy sells all the shit you like, doesn't mean they want you to just go there and buy it. That company has strayed away from selling products for a profit long ago. They have those certain items to lure you into the store and they are counting on those credit apps, service plans, accessories, which by the way have a rediculously high markup to keep afloat.

The president keeps the company informed regularly through internal videos and word is the company is not "performing" and he is quick to remind, that although the job should be fun, they have a responsibility to not only their direct bosses but to their immediate stock holders to "perform"
 
Ever been to Sam's Club (Coscos, BJ's) same way.. try to sell their damn Plus/CC cards, wouldn't be surprised if it's the same at BB.
 
And thats why I don't shop at best buy...

(well that, and the fact that they are outclassed in every way, including pricing, selection, and information by the online retailers)

I always avoid retailers that harass me.

I walked into a Toyota dealer once (My Fiancé is a Toyota fan), and the sales guys wouldn't stop harassing me and trying to get me to make a deal now (when I was really only there to look and get information). I never went back.

I no longer go to Radio Shack unless I absolutely have to "becaue they keep" trying to push their extended warranties. (It's a god damned $12.99 3.5mm jack PC microphone. If it breaks, I'll buy another one!)

Same goes for Best Buy.

IMHO, the best sales person (in any establishment) is one that stays out of my way, and waits until I approach them with any questions, and doesn't try to push anything on me. I will go out of my way to avoid pushy salespeople.
 
I do know from working at Kohls, who push their own credit card, that employees who didn't get enough credit card signups received noticeably fewer hours.
 
This is VERY common practice. Though actually having a policy to terminate is ballsy for bestbuy.

Yet this type of thing is an unspoken rule, managers will chew out employees that don't do certain mandatory things with each transaction.

Tech Hardware is pretty low profit, usually. They make a vast majority of profit from the add -ons like CC and warranties. These services are low cost and high profit... no wonder.
 
When I say common... don't mean Best Buy, but virtually every store chain you can think of. Target etc always ask if you have a rewards card, CC etc. Many stores do this, with high pressure on their low skilled/pay employees.
 
AQ_OC said:
Worthless bimbos? Some hottie trying to sell me some goods [that I ain't never gonna buy] is more like entertainment that I don't have to pay for. Definitely NOT worthless.
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Simple things for simple minds............ I kid. I kid.

I'm not sure how they increase sales. I know what I want before I buy things, I do my research ahead of time.
 
dandirk said:
This is VERY common practice. Though actually having a policy to terminate is ballsy for bestbuy.

Yet this type of thing is an unspoken rule, managers will chew out employees that don't do certain mandatory things with each transaction.

Tech Hardware is pretty low profit, usually. They make a vast majority of profit from the add -ons like CC and warranties. These services are low cost and high profit... no wonder.
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The beautiful thing for them is that they can straddle that fine line between having a policy of it and simply "holding their sales staff accountable"

The policy with best buy is that they need to offer the total solution to the customer. That included;

Protection plan
credit card
reward zone program
accessories
in store/in-home services

All of these things are measurable and score carded. They don't have a official policy on a specific metric but the policy has always been whoever is best at offering and attaching the total solution doesn't get written up, fired, gets more hours etc.. etc.. whoever doesn't is held accountable up to termination.

They could easily come out with a public comment saying they have no such policy and they wont be lying, however it's till not untrue. LOL gotta love that plausible deniablity type of stuff.
 
Wshmaster0 said:
Ever been to Sam's Club (Coscos, BJ's) same way.. try to sell their damn Plus/CC cards, wouldn't be surprised if it's the same at BB.
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I actually HAD to ask if I could buy the extended warranty on an item I purchased from Sams Club a few months ago, so this also differs from store to store.
 
Lord_Exodia said:
This is indeed a new policy from best buy corporate. Best buy has always been a performance driven store. From my family/friends who have and still work there they confirm that they have several metrics they are responsible for. Best Buy salespeople are really just that, salespeople. They are not their to be your friend, nor are they there to inform you about their products, they are there to qualify you for all of the stuff they truly depend on their company employees to sell to you to keep the company as profitable as possible.

Not sure why this guy/girl came forward to complain. It's like a car salesman saying my boss refuses to leave money on the table and keeps getting mad when I don't offer packages with the cards I sell. It's your job, if you don't like selling then your simply in the wrong line of work. Best Buy sells all the shit you like, doesn't mean they want you to just go there and buy it. That company has strayed away from selling products for a profit long ago. They have those certain items to lure you into the store and they are counting on those credit apps, service plans, accessories, which by the way have a rediculously high markup to keep afloat.

The president keeps the company informed regularly through internal videos and word is the company is not "performing" and he is quick to remind, that although the job should be fun, they have a responsibility to not only their direct bosses but to their immediate stock holders to "perform"
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I see what you're saying. I used to manage the photo department at a wal-mart when I was a kid. Nobody cared how many expensive cameras I could sell, it was about convincing them to return and have the photo's developed, not to mention the batteries and camera cases etc. Believe it or not, memory cards were the big money maker. I see Best Buy doing the same thing, convince people they should get what they're looking for, but getting something a little extra with a little help from a best buy credit card. There are so many impulsive idiots out there buying crap they don't need that I would wager to say it is practical and reasonable to expect a rate of success here from employees.

However, I don't think that being offended by it is wrong either. You're trying to make money, yes, but ethically speaking you're trying to convince people to take on more debt than they planned. Ultimately it is the customer's responsibility for going in with a budget, an idea of how much they're looking to spend, and sticking to it, but you can't rule out that Best Buy is going after those people also, and I can see how it would make employees and customers uncomfortable. After all, there's profit to be made by an honest business as well.
 
I used to work at Costco, and can confirm this type of business practice to be true. One day I was getting harassed to push more American Express cards, but I actually said that I had an issue pushing credit cards to people who could barely speak english because it was just plain wrong, and well, they didn't take that too well. Got sat down in an office where it was 1 vs. 3 and was asked if I had an issue with the credit card. After I went into an in-depth analysis about how lending credit to people who shouldn't and can't handle it is a bad idea ( hmmmmm can anyone say housing market crash and subsequent economic recession?), I was lectured on the benefits of the card, the stupid cash back rewards and all the services they have access to with it. They didn't even acknowledge my argument, fed me the BS benefits to the card that they make you take training classes on, and then asked me again if I had an issue with it. I just shut my mouth, told them no. I liked having a job.
 
Its tax write of for corporate. Its done to get tax shelters and can be fired if you don't customers for donations. I am against this practice. Its alienating your customers. I often fet response "No, I donate to (you can fill the blank)".
 
A few years back, I worked for Staples as an in-between job. They wouldn't fire you for not selling warranties...They would just schedule you for one day a week until you quit. I thought the warranties they were pushing were basically snake oil, so I didn't do a really hard sell. At the same time, those plans are almost pure profit for them, so I can see why they want the plans to be a priority. If I remember correctly, ink, paper, usb cables, and warranties were all huge profit centers for Staples.
 
After being very helpful to an older couple at my local Best Buy in regards to just telling them some of my personal and proffessional experience with laptops and giving them some pointers while I was just browsing around. The little wanna be IT geeks were giving me ugly looks the whole time and kept butting in asking if they could help "Us" The old couple was very thankful for my input and then I got approached by the wanna be squad and asked me why I was stealing their sales and asked me to leave the store.

Didn't realize giving people some free, friendly computer advice was such a crime in BB. I'll never purchase anything from those assholes or the company again
 
I worked at Best Buy before I graduated college and this is NOT the case. This may be the case at a specific best buy with a Dbag manager, but this is not a company wide thing. I signed up maybe 1 person for the card in my year of working there.
 
Zarathustra[H];1037299083 said:
And thats why I don't shop at best buy...
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as no one should.

if you hate a company, stop giving them your money. sends a pretty powerful message as long as eveyone does the same.

the problem is- is that people talk about how much they hate best buy (or walmart, or mcdonalds, etc) as they are walking out the door with an armful of stuff they just bought.
 
Steve said:
I'm not too sure about this one. Firing people that don't push credit cards on customers? That sounds too draconian even for Best Buy.
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Doesn't sound totally unbelievable, my wife works for FedEx Office (Kinko's) and she's expected to sell at least one key item of the the week, or there is a chat with the manager, even if that product is a stapler, or printer paper (which makes you wonder if Fed Ex knows what kind of customers goes to the store), or an 8GB flash drive, when they already have a 16-32GB for less money.

And having worked at Fry's, I can believe certain BB stores, competing with the other BB store down the street, would behave in this manner, I would take their arse to court if they fired me under those grounds though.
 
There is absolutely nothing any of you can purchase at Best Buy that you can't get elsewhere cheaper, be it locally or online. Not just cheaper but 50% / 100% cheaper. I've seen the same model LCD's $1000 more expensive not even including tax in store at Best Buy vs online, newegg, etc. I would like to think you guys are working hard to keep not only your own money but that of your friends and family and that means keep them from places like Best Buy.
 
dandirk said:
When I say common... don't mean Best Buy, but virtually every store chain you can think of. Target etc always ask if you have a rewards card, CC etc. Many stores do this, with high pressure on their low skilled/pay employees.
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I've never taken up an offer for such when checking out. How many people actually sign up for these things? I guess more than I would have expected.
 
I worked there for a year. Nothing surprises me. I haven't set foot in a Best Buy in about 6 years and hope I never have to again. It's a terrible job if you actually care about customers and can't bring yourself to sell someone a $60 HDMI cable when you just picked up one from Monoprice for $2.25. Or telling someone that they should get Norton AV when you know that MSE is so much better and free. Don't forget pushing worthless magazine subscriptions. If you can do that looking at a customer with a straight face you should be an actor, not a salesperson.

Amazon Prime FTW - never looked back.
 
I can vouch for the CC deal, considering I work there currently. They use metrics to see who does well and who does not, the latter of which gets reprimanded.
 
When a BB employees tells you they're not on commission, yes they are, for their jobs. The perform-or-be-fired threat is very demoralizing, as well as promotes aggressive tactics which drives customers away. Is BB really so desperate?
 
mgulbran said:
That just sends my money out of the community as well.
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If best buy is the community, then we don't need it.

Quite frankly, I couldn't give a rats ass about my community.

I buy the product that I perceive has the best quality I can afford. I always research the product before selecting a retailer.

Then I choose a retailer based on what their price is for that product, and whether or not they have been reported as a scam artist.

I don't make my purchasing decisions based on community, or even country.

If a German or Japanese product is best, that's what I buy. I actually prefer ordering online to brick and mortars and not having to deal with the bs sales people.

You know, if everything else were the same, I might make a choice that supports my community, but if Its even slightly less convenient, slightly more expensive or slightly worse quality, by loyalties to my community, my country and my brands go out the window quicker than you can say "competition".

These things simply don't factor in for me unless all else is equal, in which case they become a tie breaker.

I didn't even think the buy American / Buy Local movement was still around today. In the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter. I buy things for me, not for my community.

Come to think of it, I don't interact much with my community at all. I hate all my neighbors, I don't go to any town events (in fact I avoid them and they annoy me when they want to close down streets for some dumbass fair). I drive to work in a different town, and I drive to visit my friends in other towns.

My community - as it were - could completely cease to exist and I either wouldn't notice or I would be happier for it :p
 
This is the typical crap that goes on in retail stores today. The problem is you have a bunch of upper level bosses that just graduated college with a BA degree and worked as a bartender the last 4 years and they're going by the playbook that was given to them by their professors.....who also have never had a real job. I work part time for a retail chain and my wife is a manager of one and its ridiculous. Almost all of our upper level bosses have never managed a store. They spent over a million dollars recently by flying every store manager and regional boss to Vegas for a week long meeting that 99% of it could've been covered in an email. They have 2 hour long conference calls 2-3 times a week. Its idiotic!

It's kinda like where I work delivering beer. I fill out more paperwork in a single day than an accountant. Yet the only person that ever sees it is the auditor that comes up once a year from corporate office to make sure we're doing it.

These companies could make a lot more money if they fired 75% if their upper level bosses and let store managers do their jobs.
 
I bought my girlfriend a new screen at Future Shop a few months ago, the guy kept trying to sell us crap, it was kinda funny she was like

GF: Maybe we shoul.....
Me : No.
Salesguy : "insert reason why you should about dead pixel"
GF: Babe it might be a goo..
Me: No.
Salesguy : "Bla bla bla dead pixels, bla bla bla after X amount of years you'll get at least 10 bla bla bla"
GF: Wow, we really should take th..
Me: No.


I actually had a mini geek fight with the guy about dead pixels, I mean, are you really trying to tell me that in a few years my screen will magicly create a crap load of dead pixels? Reaaallly?

Meh, last thing I'll ever buy there.
 
From my time working at Target, 13 years, Target is big on the credit card stuff as well.

The big difference... target employees are required to offer you a target card..... not to get you to sign up for one. That is so long as they are trying to sell they are OK.

Of course if you want to get better then average on your review you better wear red and khaki (at your own expense) and get some red card sales.
 
They don't seem to get that crap like this is why I will order from Newegg and wait 3 days for something rather than walk into one of their stores.
 
It sounds like a job not worth having to be honest.


Who would put up with that nonsense? I'd laugh in the persons face if they told me that crap.
 
brshoemak said:
I worked there for a year. Nothing surprises me. I haven't set foot in a Best Buy in about 6 years and hope I never have to again. It's a terrible job if you actually care about customers and can't bring yourself to sell someone a $60 HDMI cable when you just picked up one from Monoprice for $2.25. Or telling someone that they should get Norton AV when you know that MSE is so much better and free. Don't forget pushing worthless magazine subscriptions. If you can do that looking at a customer with a straight face you should be an actor, not a salesperson.

Amazon Prime FTW - never looked back.
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Hehehehhe. I did that one time. Old couple wanted a usb extender, had one in their hand for 30 dollars. I told them about monoprice, and showed them the price of a similar cable on it - 2.50 I think it was.

I felt snarky.
 
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