Funny BestBuy camera-buying story

[maineiac]

I want to share my recent experience at BestBuy. It's good for a laugh.

I'm in the market for a DSLR and was checking out the D90 at BestBuy. I hadn't figured out yet how to get into video mode, so I thought I'd ask the nearest BestBuy employee.

"Excuse me, can you tell me how I get into video mode on this camera?"

The employee looks at it, and doesn't waste a breath before pointing to the dial on the top.

"Turn it to M for Movie."

I hesitate. I may not know how to get to video function, but I at least know how NOT to do it! To humor him, I turn it to M and ask him why it's not taking video. He tells me it's because there's no card in the camera. Oh well, poor guy means well.

I put the D90 down and headed to a local camera shop where the employees were much, much, much more knowledgeable....they also got a kick out of my BestBuy story. Hope you do too.
Whit

 

[mtaylor]

I had a best buy salesman attempt the infamous downsell. I asked about the D90, and he Informed me I should buy a D40, because it's apparently a better camera. You see, it's smaller and stuff. It also comes with a lens. (He completely ignored that I was looking to upgrade from a D60, and had lenses already)

 

[Plato]

I want to share my recent experience at BestBuy. It's good for a laugh.

I'm in the market for a DSLR and was checking out the D90 at BestBuy. I hadn't figured out yet how to get into video mode, so I thought I'd ask the nearest BestBuy employee.

"Excuse me, can you tell me how I get into video mode on this camera?"

The employee looks at it, and doesn't waste a breath before pointing to the dial on the top.

"Turn it to M for Movie."

I hesitate. I may not know how to get to video function, but I at least know how NOT to do it! To humor him, I turn it to M and ask him why it's not taking video. He tells me it's because there's no card in the camera. Oh well, poor guy means well.

I put the D90 down and headed to a local camera shop where the employees were much, much, much more knowledgeable....they also got a kick out of my BestBuy story. Hope you do too.
Whit

I'm surprised. While I haven't purchased camera gear from BB (because they insist on selling kits), I have purchased other electronics and I found their personnel to be reasonably knowledgeable.

 

[PhotoXopher]

M for Movie

Well duh!

In all fairness, it's not very obvious unless you know where to look (Liveview). But I just wish that is a salesperson doesn't know something that they would just admit it.

 

[Garbz]

Sales person admit when they don't know something? Are there fairies and unicorns in Minnesota too? :lmao:

 

[chip]

when I go to Best Buy I never ask any technical questions. Most of the guys there don't know anything. They just want to sell you the extended warranty.

 

[ToddLange]

i should go apply for a position at bestbuy now, lols. i can be a big help in their camera section. lol.

 

[mrodgers]

when I go to Best Buy I never ask any technical questions. Most of the guys there don't know anything. They just want to sell you the extended warranty.

Probably more accurate would be to say, "Best Buy just wants them to sell you the extended warranty."

Is it a surprise to you folks to see some kid working a part time after school job at a retail outlet not know anything about cameras?

Do you go to the grocery store and expect everyone working there to be nutritionists?

The attitude I can foresee in this thread is the reason my wife, who works at Lowes, comes home pissed off all the time. People working in a retail store to make a little money to make ends meet. Imagine that, they aren't experts nor are they hired for their expertise. They are hired to run a cash register. My wife isn't concerned whether you should sheath your house with OSB or with plywood or how many square of shingles you need to roof your house. She is concerned over you giving her the correct amount of money that the register rings up, same as someone working at Best Buy. That's what they are hired for.

 

[Actor]

i should go apply for a position at bestbuy now, lols. i can be a big help in their camera section. lol.

I once interviewed for a position at an electronics store (not Best Buy) and was told they did not hire knowlegdable people because they tended to chat with the customers rather than sell them stuff.


My favorite story about Radio Shack. I once walked into the local store and was immediately intercepted by a sales person. "Can I help you find something?"

"A nul modem."

"We don't carry those."

Without breaking stride I walked over to the wall and pulled one off its peg.


My second fav story about R.S. I use this whenever I want to go in there and just browse.

"Can I help you find something?"

"Yes. A 16 input NAND gate with half negative logic."

They usually leave me alone after that. If not I can still get a lot of browsing done while they look for it.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

I've bought two things from bestbuy, a monitor and a keyboard.

I did my research before, and had them price-match it for me so I wouldn't have to drive two hours out of my way. in and out in 15 minutes

 

[mrodgers]

I've bought two things from bestbuy, a monitor and a keyboard.

I did my research before, and had them price-match it for me so I wouldn't have to drive two hours out of my way. in and out in 15 minutes

I'm the opposite. I drove 2 hours out of my way to go to Best Buy to buy my computer. Couldn't find the equivalent locally to be able to price match. All I have is Staples which is only 45 minutes away (45 minutes is considered local for where I live, haha)

 

[Foques]

mrodgers, if they work in the section, I expect them to know at least basics.

I worked in BBY and GeekSquad. When I was put in a certain area, I would make sure that I know as much as I can about the electronics I was going to sell. I mean, if I don't know crap about the product, how can I dare to sell it? it is just not logical.

Although, my recent visits to bestbuy have been nothing but a disappointment. Their personnel is just a bunch of morons.

I am building a new rig as my 64bit quadcore is just not powerful enough anymore. So I decided i'll do a custom build instead of buying stuff from them and upgrading it..

Went to the store looking for a GPU cooler, 600-650Watt PSU, Case, Razer mouse (it is comfy for editing.. built for precise gaming), and a 2- 1tb drives.

this idiot in "home office" walks up to us.
I tell him I need a GPU cooler and 600PSU.
He looks at me and brings me to external HDD section. I says no.. I need a PSU and a cooler.
He goes "oh, ok", and brings me to their desktop section and starts asking questions to sell me a PC.
I says, "dude, I don't need a computer. I need a PSU and a GPU cooler".
He takes me to a speaker stand. then, he figures that he doesn't know WTF i'm asking him for and gets a geek squad cretin.
that idiot takes me BACK to desktop section. 0_0

at that point I lose it (I was on the team that rolled out the Geek Squad, established rules and SOPs), whip out my screwdriver(i am an IT, always have screwdriver with me) and, while he yells that I can't take computers apart on the sales floor, drop the side panel and point at PSU. tell him "THIS IS PSU. THIS IS WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR. DO YOU HAVE IT, THAT WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR"
he goes "ahhh.." Goes to their 'precinct' to ask a supervisor, comes back "we don't carry those".

on my way out, I find my second half staring at the shelf FILLED with supplies ranging from 350-800watt. She turns to me and asks "aren't these what you are looking for?".

/moral of the story. Best buy doesn't give a sh1t. They don't train their Employees. And I am VERY curious how come geek squad is still alive when it is employed by morons like that.

 

[PhotoXopher]

Sales person admit when they don't know something? Are there fairies and unicorns in Minnesota too? :lmao:

Apparently, because I have had salespeople say "I'm not sure, hang on let me find out for you."

 

[ann]

I was in a Wolf's one afternoon, (wrong, but it was handy) and asked the salesperson about the basic diffences between a canon g9 and the nikon version(don't remember the code number) and she wasn't sure.

 

[mrodgers]

mrodgers, if they work in the section, I expect them to know at least basics.

And knowing how each and every product in a retail store works isn't what I consider "the basics". I would expect that going into a specialized camera shop, but not in a retail store. As I said, do you ask a grocery store clerk about nutrition? No, they are there to keep the shelves stocked and the folks at the registers are there to ring you up.

at that point I lose it (I was on the team that rolled out the Geek Squad, established rules and SOPs), whip out my screwdriver(i am an IT, always have screwdriver with me) and, while he yells that I can't take computers apart on the sales floor, drop the side panel and point at PSU. tell him "THIS IS PSU. THIS IS WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR. DO YOU HAVE IT, THAT WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR"
he goes "ahhh.." Goes to their 'precinct' to ask a supervisor, comes back "we don't carry those".

/moral of the story. Best buy doesn't give a sh1t. They don't train their Employees. And I am VERY curious how come geek squad is still alive when it is employed by morons like that.

So you created a scene and berated some kid just trying to get through his day making peanuts because of the way the big money management in another city thousands of miles away wants their employees trained and what knowledge they expect?

My wife told me last night about her screaming disrespecting customer who stood and yelled at her. A lady parked in front of the door blocking the entrance way with a truck and trailer full of building materials and expected my wife to return them. Policy is, my wife is not allowed to return anything unless they bring it into the store. Lowes has loaders for that, of which none would respond to the call. So, the rude customer took it out on my wife yelling and screaming in front of the store like an idiot while my wife continued to ring other customers through because she is not allowed to leave her work area to help the lady out anyways. Another customer had loaded his stuff up and was blocked in by the idiot lady. So, he came into the store to tell her to basically GTF out of the way and she proceeded to scream at him.

If it was me blocked in and she acted like that, her truck would have moved out of the way whether she got in to move it or my vehicle moved it. My wife just continued doing her job and watched the scene of the idiot lady finding it quite comical.

When snobby idiots go into a retail store thinking that everyone should bow down at their feet, think about what that person is there to do and what they are capable of doing for their piss-ant wages. They are not there to grovel to your high majestic mightiness, but simply to do a job that their employers expect and if their employers don't train them properly or let them control something, then it is not the poor sole on the store floor's fault and they don't deserve to be berated like that.