Best Buy Firing Workers That Don't Harass You?

Maybe that is why Best Buy is so understaffed here? People will just quit and work somewhere else.
 
The real sad thing is... IT WORKS.

That to me is the most frustrating things about all this junk. People deal with it and continue to give $$.

Just like the person above said... they DON'T care where they buy something from. It comes down to price. I am sure hassle or sleezyness comes into play but at what worth? 1% of price, 5%, 10%? I am willing to guess most say they value non-price areas but when push comes to shove those are only worth %1.

Essentially we AMERICANS are telling these companies to fuck with us and we don't care as long as the price is low.

People in the USA only value $, period. They say they value customer service, hassle etc but that is a lie. Get more stuff with less money... PERIOD.

Me personally I put actual $ value to service, community, and product. Granted I am not perfect, I order from newegg all the time. But I have been going to the local microcenter too lately(though they do have poor service and try to well warranties). I try to find locally owned stores when I can.

Yet I do have a limit, 10-20% depending on the service or product is generally where I draw the line. Good service, helping local business owners is worth that much to me.
 
MrAgmoore said:
I never noticed this in Best Buy Canada?
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Unless were in a test market, walmart cashiers have to ask if you want their CC, been like that for about a year.
Firing employees every 12 days, can't see that, cost of training would cut into their profits, I assume.
 
This is really something that just gets under my skin, sometimes people just dont want to sign up for an application, big F(*)(#ing deal, once you fire them you just spend tons of money rehiring some other person whos going to do the same thing.
 
kinda feel sorry for them now because usually i get pissed by cashiers holding up the line by having someone do a credit application and I'll subtly tell em to F'off if they ask me.
 
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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This is true for lots of things...

Ever seen an IT Sales Rep? The new thing it to get gorgeous women to help sell software to IT companies (e.g. IBM). It works... It really does and those software companies know it.
 
I had worked for Best Buy back in 2008 for Christmas\Seasonal help Only. My Boss had told me that MY hours were very "Dependent" on what i sold,how many and Exteneded Warranties. The More i sold the more Hours he would give me. During the Recession of 2008 and it was very slow that season for everyone and no doubt got written up and finally got fired and had worked an average of about 15 hrs a week because i wasnt pushing sales and tech\geek squad services. I was hired for Geek Squad due to my knowlwdge of viruses\spyware removal and other hardware knowledge i have but was never told id be a salesmen which IM NOT...
 
The more desperate people get for jobs, the more they're willing to put up with in order to keep a job.

A high unemployment rate is fantastic for businesses.
 
That kind of thing is policy at a TON of retail spots, not just BB. The game shop people all used to be under the gun for selling hint guides and pre-orders, Target people have to push their cards, car rental people have to sell the extra protections, etc.
 
I work in an East Bay store and this is bullshit. I guarantee you there is only 1 or 2 stores that are actually doing this. By firing their employees or threatening them, they are screwing themselves over because they will lose trained personnel and respect from their entire store. If enough people complain to HR their management will go bye bye. I am really annoyed to hear that we need to push more apps every day in the morning meetings, but they don't hold our heads over the chopping block. That's retail.
 
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 have gone to sam's club so many times in my life, and never once have they ever pushed anything on us going in or coming out. I've only been to maybe 5 different sam's clubs, but still...even just the two I am use to going to...Coscos not sure, only been there once, but they didn't force anything.

AS for BB...damn annoying, but honestly if it's like this oh well. Good idea, just tell em you're gonna say no to everything they ask you to sign up for. Should work, and if their not blonde...they should not ask! hehe.
 
This must be a regional issue. Odds are if you look into practices of competitors in that region you'll see similar practices. I know in our area the Best Buy workforce does not aggressively push any services. They walk around the store and ask customers if they need help but that's about as far as they go for pushing services, they don't go any further than the customer allows them to continue from my experience. CC applications are a single question and nothing beyond that if the answer is no. Same with extended warranties.

dandirk said:
The real sad thing is... IT WORKS.

That to me is the most frustrating things about all this junk. People deal with it and continue to give $$.

Just like the person above said... they DON'T care where they buy something from. It comes down to price. I am sure hassle or sleezyness comes into play but at what worth? 1% of price, 5%, 10%? I am willing to guess most say they value non-price areas but when push comes to shove those are only worth %1.

Essentially we AMERICANS are telling these companies to fuck with us and we don't care as long as the price is low.

People in the USA only value $, period. They say they value customer service, hassle etc but that is a lie. Get more stuff with less money... PERIOD.

Me personally I put actual $ value to service, community, and product. Granted I am not perfect, I order from newegg all the time. But I have been going to the local microcenter too lately(though they do have poor service and try to well warranties). I try to find locally owned stores when I can.

Yet I do have a limit, 10-20% depending on the service or product is generally where I draw the line. Good service, helping local business owners is worth that much to me.
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Imo, Newegg offers all those things, great customer service, low hassle. If their shipping costs outside the lower 48 didn't make their price equal to or higher than Best Buy or Amazon I'd be shopping there a LOT more. Right now I look for a balance between cost and service. Paying more for something that I expect to keep a while or want to have extremely quick turn around for repair/replacement service is worth a LOT more to me than just getting the lowest $ price.
 
I posted this in the news two weeks ago and it applies here. The major thing EVERYONE hates is this:

Would you like a protection Plan? No.
An extended warranty plan? No.
Would you like the Geek Squad to install it? No.
Do you have a Reward Zone card? No.
Would you like to sign up for one? No.
Are you paying with your Reward Zone Master Card today? No.
Would you like to sign up for one? No.

We are currently out of stock on the product you wanted, we only have the version that comes preinstalled with options you don't ask for for an additional $4,000, would you like that one instead? Fuuuu!! :mad:
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I used to get harassed about selling credit when I was working for CC before they shut down too. We were always expected to offer it, but all of a sudden one day they started pushing really hard. It'd take five minutes to go through the entire spiel of extra crap we offered.
 
Steve said:
I posted this in the news two weeks ago and it applies here. The major thing EVERYONE hates is this:
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I'm trying to figure out when the last thing I bought anything from them was. The last two things I can remember buying from them was tony hawk's skateboard game on super clearance for like 15$ or something and a fridge. And there was a whole thread in genmay on the fridge experiance. BestBuy sucks fucking donkey balls.
 
A little trick that I've learned when dealing with bestbuy in particular is to shop online. You can check to see if a store has it in stock via the website, buy it there (it's usually cheaper too) and set it for in-store pickup.

You don't have to deal with pushy sales people, CC or warrenty offers. Just show them the reciept, pick it up and leave :)
 
This happens at other retailers like Sam's Club with what they call their Plus accounts. It is an upgraded membership that in most case's holds very little value for the average member. I knew someone working at Sam's and the management was writing cashiers up for not pushing them on members and in some cases, the employees were fired.

The only reason my friend was not fired because he openly resisted pushing them on the customers was that he was a top notch checker (when the tape checkers at the door checked his tapes, he missed nothing). It came down to firing an employee that refused to try to make them money in what he considered an unethical manner, but who also didn't lose them money by failing to ring up all the members items. Since loss through the door is such a huge issue, they kept him.

It was only the checkers that sold these at the time of sale, so no other employees in the store were subjected to the daily management harassment over this. My friend loved being a checker, but eventually switched departments over this. His new department loves him. Big surprise.
 
dR.Jester said:
People still shop brick and mortar? :confused:
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If it's something I can wait a few days I'll order it online, but often it's not. And other times, if you take in to account shipping or taxes if you are unlucky to be in a state were there's a company presence you may not be saving much at all.

It's not a tech product but it's a fresh example for me, I opted to buy running shoes at a local store instead of amazon because after shipping and taxes I only would have saved $6.
 
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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I was the top seller when I worked at Staples. Trust me, I don't fit that description.

We didn't have anyone who did nor did I see anyone from other stores. Guess I shoulda worked at best buy :p
 
Stone Cold said:
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?
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Best Buy has always instilled this mentality in their workers. It was this way going back to 1997 when I worked there. Though they weren't as harsh as this particular thread subject suggests. However, if they are facing declining sales then I can believe it. Best Buy can be ruthless as a company.
 
This is starting to happen with Home Depot as well. I REALLY hate working in retail. I need to bail soon
 
Only in times of high unemployment can companies get away with abuse like this. It's a GD shame what one must put up with just to make a living in this country sometimes.
 
Best Buy is just like any other corporate business in this country. They're only here to help themselves to as much of your wallet they can get. This is just another in the long line of ways they attempt to motivate their employes thru negative means. It's not like they'll actually offer a share of the profit instead. Flat Rate hourly pay + laughable bonus based on shrinkage (if that's even offered anymore) = horrid place to work. Anyone who actually has sales skills should only work there long enough to find another job that actually pays them for their merits.

Only brick and mortar i buy electronics from anymore is Costco. At least I don't get hassled about stuff there and they double the manufacturer warranty for free. Otherwise I just buy everything online after proper research.
 
The company I work for has a program where, if you don't meet performance expectations for about 3-6 months, depending on the rest of your performance, you can get fired.

But they also provide no-nonsense incentives for performing well; the average person gets paid about $2 an hour more for making their goals; the ones who really excel get about $4 an hour more.
 
Gnasher said:
This is one of the reasons unions are needed.
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No, if best buy wants to commit corporate suicide they don't need union help. They can do it on their own. Best buy has every right to judge an employee's effectivness as they see fit. If Best buy wants to make it your primary job to push credit card apps and you don't preform, then you should be fired. If you don't want to push credit card apps then don't get a job where that's what you've evidently been hired to do.
 
redavenab said:
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.
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That might have happened at the store YOU worked at, but it definitely didn't happen at the one I used to work at, and I highly doubt was any kind of corporate policy. Your manager was probably just a prick. Kohls has monetary incentives (albeit small ones) for CC apps and email sign-ups.
 
haha. I was just at Busted Buy yesterday, and they ran the whole gamut of harassment with me.
extended warranties, bestbuy cards, credit cards, etc
no matter. It was easy to deal with. I just said "no extras, no, no." Done.

they're just trying to take advantage of the small percentage of people who are too weak to say no.
 
Doesn't surprise me in the slightest. I don't mind being asked if I want to buy extra crap. Whatever it's their job to do it I'm not going to get angry at sales people for doing their job. That said, if I say no I mean no. I'm not going to change my mind if you keep asking. I will however leave items sitting on the cashier counter and walk out of the store.
 
Cool, another reason I can use to convince people to not shop at Best Buy. I already have Geek Squad and their absolutely horrendous customer service to use.
 
Chimay said:
Only brick and mortar i buy electronics from anymore is Costco. At least I don't get hassled about stuff there and they double the manufacturer warranty for free. Otherwise I just buy everything online after proper research.
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If it all electronics? I thought it was just computers, TVs, and projectors?
 
When I worked there about 5 years ago, I never heard of anyone getting fired. But anyone who didn't get 5 credit apps in a month would have to go to a "training" meeting on a Saturday at 6 am, no matter when they actually had to work that day.

The managers would constantly say "it's not punishment it's training". I'll let you decide on that one. :rolleyes:
 
Metrocall said:
When I worked there about 5 years ago, I never heard of anyone getting fired. But anyone who didn't get 5 credit apps in a month would have to go to a "training" meeting on a Saturday at 6 am, no matter when they actually had to work that day.

The managers would constantly say "it's not punishment it's training". I'll let you decide on that one. :rolleyes:
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Fortunately I worked in the tech services department. Eventually I went to the service center for a couple of months. When they downsized it I went back to one of the stores. At that point they made it more and more sales driven. Fortunately I got out of there before it got too bad.
 
I've never worked retail, I am blessed.

I would hate having to foist unwanted services or products on people who have no interest in them.
 
Fail said:
I've never worked retail, I am blessed.

I would hate having to foist unwanted services or products on people who have no interest in them.
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I worked at Wal-Mart for a little bit, thankfully it was just stocking shelves so no need to worry about pushing stuff on customers. Actually I worked 3rd shift so no need to worry about that many customers period, I was perfectly happy with that. I did apply for a job at Best Buy once, but I think my complete honesty about how I'd never lie to a customer and never force them to buy something they didn't need kind of killed my chances.
 
It's true as a former employee of a recently opened connected store, BB receives $35 for every customer they sign up from HSBC. It was openly pushed and told we would be under scrutiny if we didn't push it on everyone.
 
Tooterfish said:
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.
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This hasn't been the case in a long time. A long, long time. I'd like to go back there though.
 
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