The next major change which I believe was the beginning of the end was to stop carrying major appliances. There was no major mark up and there was nothing to make big profits off of but it was a sound constant income. People are always going to need stoves and refrigerators. They ended up using the floor space to sell small electronics and software. You know the stuff most people buy online for much less.
I never understood the decision and for years after people would come in looking for major appliances and we would turn them away. Circuit City tried to get one hot item back, window air conditioners. We would sell over 200 units in 2 days during the middle of the week if the weather was hot. Let me repeat, they sold 200 AC units in a Wisconsin market. Circuit City tried to carry just air conditioners but it never caught back on.
He also talks about the mismanaged transition from commission-based sales to self-service—the precursor to their infamous laying-off of everyone with skills. But one point that comes across in his story, whether intentional or not, is that maybe Circuit City's original commission model of sales was never a good idea for big box electronics retailing in the first place, because it just doesn't work on smaller consumer electronics.
When I started in 1997 Circuit City was expanding stores like crazy, most of which were close to a Best Buy or any other major electronic big box. The major difference between a Best buy and Circuit City was Circuit City was more upscale. The sales guys wore sport coats and were paid a nice commission. Because each person’s paycheck was impacted by how much they sold and didn’t get returned, salesmen know they had to learn the products and go around helping people. If they didn’t learn or maintain good sales numbers they were weeded out. The only down side as a shopper is a sales guy pushing expensive accessories and extended warranties but they knew the products (for the most part). This meant Circuit City’s main focus was expert knowledge and customer service. This is great for big ticket items like TVs, computers and sound systems. No so great for items like batteries or cordless phones. People like to just grab it off the shelf and get out without getting [shaken] down for a warranty.
On another blog, a former retail manager for a department store says that Circuit City stunted its own growth with bad store floorplans and a tendency to hold on to showroom-style layouts instead of packing the shelves and aisles with merchandise.
I know when my store came under threat of Best Buy we responded by forgoing the showroom style and going full big box. Pack the shelves with merchandise, and focus on self service. Honestly It worked. During the whole time I was there we had 20-30% sales increases every year, and never really even noticed Best Buy’s impact on our sales. People don’t want to ask for assistance these days… They just want to walk in, grab what they want, and get out.
...In my opinion Circuit City would have done well to employ this strategy, and probably would not be in the jam they are in now if they had simply changed with the times. Get the merchandise out on the sales floor, and come up with a sensible floor plan… Those two things work wonders in any modern retail environment.
So what do you think? Any other ex-CC employees, or retail employees in general, care to pitch in with what you think the company did wrong?
"Circuit City… Fail???" [Guillotine]
"Why Circuit City Failed, an insider’s look." [TheRealAustin]
(Photo: F33)
It depends on your market how you have to set up your store, it also would help if they had updated some of their older stores that were selling well, instead of opening poorly researched new ones.
Here is to one of the best working environments in Columbia, MO!
]]>This article is true in every sense.
But it was corporate decisions and indecisions that kept killing the company. It started with canning appliances to save money on shipments to the stores(yes, that was the main reason to get rid of appliances, so they did not have to send more trucks nationwide to the stores) instead they could sell smaller electronics, many of which they owned themselves or bought rights to.
Ionic fans, Nexxtech and other tons of mistakes Circuit City made made mistakes of buying or starting up themselves. Yes that is correct Circuit City owned most of the shitty companies they sold.
Then their overcharged and under performing ESP/CCA or extended plans that were never honored unless you knew how to yell or get a hold of the CEO. The company they had to fix/honor those things always tried to screw the customer and it took an honest associate to help you get what you paid for.
Getting rid of commission hurt the company the most, it got rid of trained salesmen that cared about making money for themselves and canned the good sellers for the average salesperson.(Some might ask, isn't this bad?) Yes and no, those people as long as they were not crooked had your best interest at heart. A sale of cheaper product made them more money then no product bought. Of course there was quite a few salesmen on commission that were complete swine and tried to screw people over.
After they got rid of the good salesmen stock dropped a lot. They had to survive with the average salesmen and new hires. Sounds bad until you realize it kept getting worse. Eventually those guys/gals would be pushed out for an entirely hourly group of people there to just collect a paycheck. Sales plummeted. I remember back in 99/2000 a weekend would net close to 80-100k+, 2004-08 would have budgets of 60k for the whole weekend in our market.
Customers got tired of dealing with the idiots that Circuit City hired, it was not the idiots fault. They never got proper training or proper pay when they did get trained.
Circuit City was a corrupt company, if you talked about facts and the way you or fellow associates are mistreated by the company they would try and fire you. Luckily for me, I was smarter then most of the corporate staff and never let them have anything on me that was worth firing for. Literally my last writeup before becoming a manager at another store was going to the bathroom without asking, that was what they were coming down to. The HR person from corporate was amazed someone tried to write me up and fire me for that. I became manager for one reason only, I knew the Store Director and he was an honest man and was customer focused(ie would do things in the customers favor instead of always in the companies).
Back to Circuits corruption and trying to screw people over. PTO(paid time off) was this new vacation system that was amazing if you believed what the sheep told you from corporate. It would get rid of you saving and using sick/vacation pay. Instead you could use it for anything you want when you accrue it. And you would get more hours of PTO then you would from the old system.
All of this was true, if you worked 10+ years for the company. What they did not tell you at first was, you lose holiday pay(time and half), you technically can only use your PTO if you were schedule. You cannot cash out your hours at the end of the year like vacation/sick pay. A person under 5 years of service lost about 80hours switching over to the new PTO plan. People 6-9 years lost 40hours of pay. People over 10+ years gained like 10hours of pay for the entire year if they worked 40hours.
All of this money saved for the company, yet stock prices never went up? Actually every time the company screwed associates/customers out of money going out stock prices never went up. Maybe because that money got rolled into bonuses instead of going to the company.
The last 3 CEO's were complete failures and only interested in making themselves rich, they never cared about the company or the families working the lower rungs of the business.
Those lower rungs of the business are how companies are successful.
The latest CEO Wattles has now killed 3 businesses: Movie Gallery, Ultimate Electronics and Circuit City. But don't worry he and his friends got rich. And how do you have 3billion dollars in assets at the beginning of summer and then have to borrow a billion dollars from the government? Oh that is right, bad leadership.
There is more, a lot more. Just get fired up writing about how a once great company was destroyed by the greedy assholes at corporate thinking of themselves first instead of the people working the stores and the customers.
]]>As far as the change in commission and losing sales people, that was a huge mistake as well. One sears is dancing all around and starting to make as well in their own ways.
]]>At least they live on in Canada.
]]>The "Tech" guy in the CC store actually said, "well there not supposed to last more than 9 months anyway."
Gee, why didn't you tell me that when I bought it. I was in the market for a computer for my mother, my son and a flat screen TV for myself. What do you think the odds are that I would ever go to CC again.
That is why they failed: poor attitude and customer service. I hate to see anyone lose a job but felt that what CC got they deserved.
]]>Ultimately, their business model was poorly-planned. And it's not like they had a difficult target to beat. Best Buy has plenty of shortcomings, many of them show up on this website frequently. They probably could have survived without appliances, but not without service. Best Buy rarely is a good buy, inventory/supply chain is spotty, and service just doesn't exist. Circuit City seemed to embrace Best Buy's faults and amplified them. Prices were worse, they were still using a 20+ year old inventory/sales system, and somehow even more useless employees than Best Buy.
I'm not looking forward to Best Buy being the only big box in town. At the same time, this does open the doors for the local stores to pick up some of the slack.
Anyone here remember the local/regional electronics stores of the 1980's/1990's? I remember going to them and going back to the same salesman every time I went in there. I'd even call ahead and make sure my particular salesman was on before heading over.
]]>As a former CC assistant manager (1999-2001), I'd like to add a few more insights.
The fuzzy logic used to justify dumping major appliances was that Home Depot & Lowes were lowering the profit margins through aggressive discounts including free home delivery and lower margins (prices) on mid-priced items (obviously someone failed to notice Amazon and eBay were doing an even better job cutting the profit margins on CDs, DVDs and video games).
DIVX was a downer in more ways than one. In addition to the financial hit CC took when the format tanked, the sales pitch used to cram it down peoples throats made a customer's visit to CC feel like they had been dragged into an Amway meeting from Hell. For almost a year, it was MANDATORY that ALL customers (even those looking for a microwave or a pack of batteries) receive a sales pitch on DIVX along with an attempt to lead them to the DIVX display. I remember more than once hearing from returning customers something to the effect of "If you mention that f*&!ing DIVX thing one more time I'm never coming to this g*d%@mn store again!"
At the same time CC dropped major appliances, the salespeople in "ACE" (Advanced Consumer Electronics, an acronym for boom boxes, cordless phones and clock radios) were changed from commission to hourly. When the opportunity to earn more than $5.50 an hour disappeared, so did their motivation to assist customers. With a Wal-Mart in the same shopping center, why waste the trip to CC if you're not going to get any help from a sales associate?
It's ironic: Circuit City was once considered a "catagory killer" in that it drove many mom-and-pop electronics stores out of business wherever it opened a new store. By shifting its business model to lower pay and less knowledgable salespeople, it instead became the victim.
]]>Like the rest of the posters, I found the floor layout alternately confusing and the organization of smaller items such as DVDs, Games, and CDs nearly impossible to find.
Like other posters, I too found a large number of employees milling about and generally being unhelpful.
IIRC, they limited their cell phone offerings to exclusively Verizon, this put them behind even Radio Shack, which offers plans, phones, and accessories from multiple vendors in most markets.
I remember shopping at CC for a printer for my wife. Like most items, I compared the online price to the in store price, only to find the online price $20 less. The salesman (one of the few nice ones I encountered) stated he couldn't match the online price with in store pickup, but he let me use a display computer to purchase the item online and pick it up in store instead. This struck me as unnecessary and, frankly, silly.
On principle, I stopped shopping at CC after they fired the second round of knowledgeable salespeople and bragged about it.
In general, I think that the digital age is slowly bleeding bricks and mortar electronics stores dry. I think the average consumer will still shop at BB or HH Gregg for large electronics, but the market starts to splinter below a certain price point, say $99.
The best way to think about it is to ask yourself this question: At what cost do I as the typical consumer want to put my hands on an item before I buy it, or be able to return said item to a B&M store if there's a problem?
I think the answer for consumer electronics starts around $100. (Though, as time goes on, this starting point will rise). Items below that value are most often purchased online (in the case of music, iTunes and the like has to be killing CDs, which were once Best Buy's primary loss leader) or at a specialty store like GameStop for video games.
The key is, how good is your service and selection for those medium to higher ticket electronics items? At CC, the answer for both was: lousy. And they will cease to exist because of it.
]]>In a nutshell-
Appliances
DIVX
Eliminating Commission based sales
@KCChiefsFan: Sheesh, I thought my local CC was the only one with this problem. I'm still sorry to see them go out of business. Less choice and competition is almost always bad for the consumer in the end...
]]>I virgously shopped for a computer about a year ago and one of the things I noticed about Circut City was that they used alot of mail-in rebates and even with those rebates they were lucky to equal their competitors selling prices without mail-in rebates .
I always felt Circut City stores were a bit of a maze as well .I guess that's where really designing for self service comes in .
And must agree that deciding not to sell appliances before a boom at that was probably the end .
]]>But then they started giving over floorspace to DVDs, and then Best Buys started opening everywhere, and the selection went to hell.
The one thing that always bugged me is that they never remodeled the stores to have check-out lanes after they did away with the sales people -- there were still registers scattered all over the store, but they were never manned. You'd go up to one, and see employees look at you like you were crazy. Any time you went into CC, you'd see people wandering around with merchandise, trying to figure out if they were supposed to pay a the service desk.
]]>@KCChiefsFan: No, I never tried to take advantage of senior, neither did most of my co-workers. You are right that it was usually the managers, and the occassional smarmy sales guy, trying to oversell seniors and take advantage. The rest of us we generally trying to look for easy sales. Seniors, at least the ones that grew up in depression era times, did not part with money very easily and when they did were likely to return purchases that were too complicated, such as too many remotes, difficult set up menus, etc. With seniors, I generally tried to make sure they knew how to use the item in the store and knew what to expect when they got home. Keeping a sale that earned me $10 was better than having a $30 sale returned. Keep in mind, I was commissioned back then, the economy was better and most of the employees were better trained than now. I am sure a lot has changed since then.
]]>@shadax: A good friend of mine related how he got revenge on Circuit City. The CC near him in central NJ had burned him on some transaction -I think for a car stereo. The manager of the store wouldn't help him out at all. So friend was tweaked at them.
So about a year later he gets a letter from CC with a gift check (pre-gift cards) for a credit of $100 towards a purchase over $100. He thinks great he needed a new VCR so he would get one for $140 or so (yeah that long ago)!
Then a week later another letter comes saying that the promotion was mis-sent for his region and that the checks were not valid- will not be honored. He is now double mad. So he thinks and decides what to do. The letter and check was generic just his address on the envelope. He figures out that CC probably has his local store as Philadelphia region. The next time he visits a relative in the upper suburbs of New York City he takes the letter w/ $100 gift check to the local CC along with some cash to buy a vcr. He brings the item to the register and takes the letter/check out of the envelope, presents it to the cashier, and repockets envelope. Cashier tries to enter the check code and the register rejects it. He said he got a little testy and the cashier calls over the manager who reads the letter/check and then overrides the rejection as manager didn't know about the bad promotion being in a different region. My friend paid his extra $30-40 and skated out of there with the vcr. Score one for the little guy...
]]>I couldn't work at a big box retailer like CC or BB. Not in sales anyway. I've heard managers tell very old customers that they need A: The largest capacity Ipod they carry (for his maybe 100 song collection)or B: That a 50 inch TV would probably be regrettably small from five feet away (trying to sell a 60 inch TV) and basically everything in between. Sales at this type of store involves taking advantage of senior citizens that don't know any better (selling the 100 dollar monster cables and the 1000+ dollar bose speakers is probably the worst offenses I've seen)
I'm not implying that you ever did that, just that managers tell their underlings to do it on a daily basis.
]]>The difference? Best Buy does it better
]]>My experience with Bestbuy has always been that they are MUCH more organized than Circuit City. On top of that, the managers of their stores actually know what is going on, in stark contrast to Circuit City.
For example, on the day Halo 3 came out, I went in to CC to pick up my reserved copy. When I got there, the manager (only person around) had no idea what Halo 3 was, much less that it was coming out. After a retreat into the back room for 10 minutes, she finally found a box with Halo 3 inside. Unfortunately all of the discs were horribly scratched, and she wasn't being very helpful, so I went right over to Bestbuy. Bestbuy had a huge table set up right in front with Halo 3 on it, and a manager that had paired non-scratched discs together from seperate boxes, because he had noticed the problem and genuinely wanted to help his customers out.
On top of this, Bestbuy (mine atleast) has immaculate DVD/Blu-Ray and CD sections. There are always atleast 2 or 3 employees alphabetizing and fixing the problems that customers cause by not putting things back where they found them. Circuit City on the other hand, has employees that hang around at the back of the store to avoid work, managers that don't care one way or the other, and horrible DVD/CD sections that aren't in any sort of order.
Oh well, tomorrow is D-Day for me. Despite my better judgement, I bought a TV and an extended warranty from them two years ago. Tomorrow I have to call the warranty company and find out what compensation they are planning to give me for a TV that only lasted two years into a five year warranty.
]]>You know, I hadn't set foot in radioshack in years and years either, probably since Wolfenstein 3D came out in what, '92? I had always enjoyed their stores as a kid because of the RC cars and little fun things to mess with. But, as time went on and the internet developed, I saw less and less need to even go to one.
That is until about 2 years ago when I was involved in a project in Mammoth, CA, which is a pretty small ski town with small ski towns near it and not much else. We were having equipment problems because the batteries kept getting too cold and the equipment would experience a voltage drop and lose power. So, we went to the only electronics store in town, radioshack, and rigged up a crazy device that somehow worked. And the guy at the counter knew what to do, because I sure as hell didn't, and my co-worker only had a vague idea. So, thanks to radioshack, the project wasn't a complete failure!
@SamikshaAepytus: I was thinking DIVX too. When they announced they were going under I researched it and found that they took an approximately $115million dollar loss on that format. That is alot of profits to burn. I am surprised that they even went there with that format but I guess they were trying to be the next best thing in movie viewing.
As for me, I wrote them off around about 1989 when they baited and switched me on a radar dectector advertisement...
]]>Prices were extremely high, even with multiple competitors in an area. Check out was a nightmare, at the store closest to me you could easily wait 15-20mins just to checkout. Even asking associates on the floor to help ring would just be met with a shrug and "Im not a cashier" or "I wasn't trained to ring register" (seriously...isn't that the first step of training for everyone?).
My first laptop was purchased from CC, with a warranty and it was a horrible experience the few times I had to get it worked on. From massive delays, poor communication to finally them shipping my laptop back in worse shape than it started - I vowed to never shop there again.
I stopped in today to see how the store was and I know, they're in liquidation mode but it was just as bad as normal. No associates, massive checkout lines and prices that were sky high.
One has to wonder how management can even have jobs when they ruin their best businesses (home appliances), fire their best employees (and then insult them by offering them their jobs back for a 1/3rd or less pay) and finally give themselves nice fat bonuses while rome burns. Sorry to the employees but lets hope no one hires your bosses
]]>ECost saved me $150 on my Onkyo 7.1 setup - $150 less than the El Segundo Fry's! :)
]]>Too bad the over zealous salespeople weren't above harassing me about adding speakers or a walkman to my CD purchase. Nothing like forcing product on a middle schooler. Yuck.
]]>I don't think it's real estate. Almost every circuit city I can think of is near - sometimes across the street or next door to - a Best Buy.
I think it's more that you can buy most of what they sell at a number of b&m and online retailers. My LCD TV came from target. My DSLR came from Office Depot. My computer monitor came from buy.com.
]]>I really don't want to know what UPS would do to my TV... As it is, my local UPS driver flings boxes onto my porch and doesn't bother ringing the doorbell. Granted, a TV would probably be too heavy for him to fling, but I could totally see myself coming home, in the rain, only to find the TV box lying face down (you know, the "wrong way") in my driveway where he shoved it off the truck before driving off.
I'll gladly pay the local sales tax in exchange for having the store deliver the item.
]]>@sybann: Circuit - crap. Long day.
]]>Either that or you would go there and the ad item would not be in stock, just a sign up with an empty display. Real good way to keep your business CC. Watch as the employee then tries to direct you to a similar but slightly higher priced item!
I have NEVER seen a retailer have this many ad "misprints" in my whole life. Most retailers have 1-2 a year if that, and even then the sign is posted right on the door or announced on the front page of their website.
]]>BTW: If you are an adult woman you were invisible in Curcuit City. I are one and could never get a sales person to pay any attention to me. I have walked out of THREE of these places never to return because no one would help me. I had one guy turn his back on me when I asked about a computer printer.
Guess who makes the buying decisions in most households?
]]>Fortunately, there's Frys as well as an independently owned electronics shop near me. Both carry cables and related stuff for relatively low prices. (although in Frys, you have to look in their generic "wiring" section and not the TV section, otherwise you'll only find the standard overpriced garbage.)
]]>Casual users of electronics also like to stick to whats familiar, if they know how to work the camera they have now then why learn a new one? Same with GPS units and even DVD players.
]]>Even before they closed up, I have to agree with your assessment of the stores. They felt very...unsafe. Like I had just wandered into the wrong section of town or something - and this was a store that was in a relatively good neighborhood, too!
Besides that, most of the clerks didn't speak English - or even Spanish or Korean (the 2 main minorities living in the area.) I could never ask for help because none of the clerks could understand me. The last time I was in a KMart, a customer was yelling at the cashier in Spanish, while the cashier was yelling back in Vietnamese. There were no other registers open, so everyone just sat in line for a few minutes before dropping their stuff on the floor and walking out.
]]>As others said you can't find the register, when you do find it its closed or there was no one there. However there was always a circle of 5 employees standing around doing nothing, pretending not to notice the customer at the register, god forbid they have to actually work! They clearly didn't want to take your money. Even Sears opted for register islands, so no matter where you are in the store, you can pay and leave, and you always know where to pay.
Overall CC just was the store you did not want to be in, it was dark, poorly organized and very uninviting. There is no doubt some people were turned off by the atmosphere. At least with BB its properly lit, and you can find everything, and you know where to pay.
]]>The local appliance stores do very well here, we don't have best buy in our immediate city, the nearest one is about 45 min away and the only other place to buy appliances is Sears. As for that ask ANYONE here even that little old lady on the street and they will tell you that Sears sucks.
]]>@ds143: Funny then, that all of the Radio Shacks in Canada a few years back were converted into "The Source by Circuit City" but still sell essentially the same products as before. The Source stores are apparently unaffected by the death of CC. Weird, huh?
]]>Funny that Future Shop sells appliances and Best Buy does not...
]]>@Quake 'n' Shake: I've picked out my Home theater receiver and its an Onkyo, for me I'll have to buy online since there's no other store in my area that carries them.
]]>@xsmasher: Best Buy's DVD and games section (at least for my local store) is top notch when it comes to organization, and I don't have to wait for some shlub with the keys to unlock the game vault for me. However, the other problem with my local store is that they seem to have the most un-popular 360 titles sitting on the shelves instead of more recent releases.
]]>and this was way before our current financial situation
]]>I'm glad I nailed 6 different stores for $20 gift cards the day Mario Party 8 came out and was (of course) not in stock...That was awesome. Though I guess you could say I helped kill CC :)
]]>I understand the concern over theft. I wouldn't mind going to the customer service counter if only I knew the games where there. They had no signs indicating that new releases are behind the counter. Even the employee working in that section had no idea where the game was.
]]>Given as a former employee from 2000-2003:
I came into the company roughly 4 months before the removal of the major appliances. In fact, I worked in that section, so I got to see its demise first hand. I can agree with previous comments that getting rid of the appliances probably hurt them more than help them. There are certainly positives associated with removing them from a store (think inventory cost), but overall, it gets people in the doors. Appliances are NOT luxury items, and are items we all need, however, while the majority of CCs products are. Try going without a fridge/stove for a week if you feel differently.
Also, I was there for the *original* RIF of the talented sales staff. The CEO then (Alan McCullough) sent all stores a videotaped message, which covered several topics - but closed with a statement about having commissioned sales staff. And I quote, "We are committed to keeping commissioned sales staff." Almost a year exactly to the day later, they removed commissions, and laid off ANY AND ALL sales staff that made over a certainly hourly rate, converted from their last six months of commissioned sales. Luckily, I wasn't a great salesman, and was part time, or I would have been gone. This was the *original* laying off of talented workforce.
Obviously they didn't learn from their first time doing this, and did it again - more recently.
Getting rid of your top guns, and filling those gaps with a teenager getting his first job, wll not win you a customer base. Failure ensues.
]]>@HurtsSoGood: radioshcak isn't reallya go to place for components anymore. They have basics but there's way better online solutions. Their teh brick and mortar on dmeand store for that stuff. if you were mart and patient you'd buy online otherwise go to radioshack.
]]>When will retail places learn that they are going to have to reduce prices if they want to compete? Soon enough all sales are going to be internet based. I will pay decent money for quality stuff, but $30-80 for a pair of jeans? That is ridiculous!
Off with the retails head!
]]>It's as if they had hired George W. Bush as CEO or something.
]]>Which is why they bought Sears, a brand that had almost a 100 year reputation and strong "brand identity".
When the "greatest generation" is no longer with us, I figure Sears/Kmart to go with them.
]]>I always made my major electronics purchases at CC, and saved BB for the smaller stuff.
Sure their stores have been increasingly understaffed since the late 90's, but I have never had a problem with their service, even when a couple years ago I somehow was cursed with string of *3* defective new LCD TV's in a row when I went to buy a new set. No questions asked each time.
]]>Also, installing an OS on a computer was $100. That's right, just to put in the Windows disc and click okay a couple of times. We had one installer who would just tell everyone it needed an OS and he would re-install XP on everything. Managers loved him because everytime he did it he got $100 of profit. The model led to dishonest employees and managers turning a blind eye to it becasue it helped their numbers. Turns out that equals pissing customers off and sending them to Best Buy.
]]>I didn't mind it, per se, I was basically suggesting that it was a funny business practice, particularly in a big box store. Toys R Us always did the silly "bring the ticket to the counter", but at least it allowed children to peruse the shelves of new releases and pick one out. Having new games in plain sight vs. hidden simply must affect sales, and solving theft issues by hiding products that you want to sell is dumb practice. Might as well not even sell it.
]]>I remember going to one because we were in the mall and my wife picking up some CD she had a vague interest in. We headed to the front of the store only to realize there were not checkouts there, then we noticed what looked like one in the middle with two employees chatting...they wouldn't help us the checkout was closed. It wasn't worth while looking for someone to pay, we just left the CD on the closed checkout.
As snowburnt says at least with BB you know who to pay.
]]>Also, from what I am told, they receive a small kickback from every plan, and this goes for years.
Think office space, only corporate!
]]>When you have no sales force to drive the sale or the extended warranty and that was your only source of revenue, then you will die. Like they did.
]]>Radio Shack has very little crossover appeal with Newegg, and the people who shop there aren't tech savvy, but they go because it's close to where they are, they don't get overwhelmed by 40 options, and there is a human being to help them.
]]>In fact, I am typing this on an Acer laptop purchased at Circuit City for ridiculously cheap, one that came with a pile of rebates for a free printer, laptop bag, router, and crap antivirus software. The last one was useless to me, but the first three I did want and need. I had some trouble redeeming the rebates because the laptop I ended up with was the floor model, and they kept managing not to give me the UPC I needed, but eventually we went in there with all of our receipts and information and the manager processed all the rebates for us personally. I got all the money back. I'm also using a laptop chill mat I got there.
I agree with the lack of organization and the dark, dismal feel of the store; I also could never figure out where the checkouts were. One thing I really don't get is why they devoted so much floor space to DVDs and CDs, but that's because I really don't know anybody who shops that way. I buy my DVDs either at the local used-media place, which has a grand selection because we're a two-college town, or from Amazon. A good half of our local store is taken up with DVDs and CDs, which means their selection of computer accessories and software is inferior to, say, Office Depot.
]]>1. Theft
2. Theft
3. Internal and external shrink (ie: theft)
Seriously, I worked there fore three weeks before quitting, in 2004. My job was to organize video games and DVDs; on Monday night, my job was to put out new releases. Oh, and customer service (natch). At the beginning of my shift, I'd pull every game off the shelf, stack them in piles according to letter, and start shelving them in alphabetical order. By the time I was to J, no joke, A-I would be in disarray due to a mixture of customer and associate ... disregard? Stupidity? I could never really figure out how hard it was to pick up a game, look at it, decide it wasn't what you wanted, and put it back where you picked it up from.
So yeh, I lasted 5 shifts before I quit -- which was when I found out that this was going to be my main job through the holiday season. Um, no thanks.
But more to your point -- notice on Monday nights, I had to put out new releases. New video games NEVER went on display for release day because the few times we did, they'd be stolen within hours, by customers and employees. DVDs, instead, became hot items for stupid teenagers to steal to impress their friends. While my husband was working there part time, the week "Are We There Yet?" (of all things) came out, 8 copies were stolen. And that's a crappy movie. Imagine what'd happen to Halo 3.
And yes, I've heard the usual "put a sales associate there" line. You know what annoys me, as a customer? Walking into Game Stop or Best Buy and having associates hover me when I'm just checking out the games -- I've been known to walk out of stores when associates don't get the concept of "No thanks, I don't need help. I'm just looking."
Also, yes, you can have one associate there; but if they have to actually, you know, help a customer, what are they supposed to do then? Pull someone else over from another area (which is now unmaned?) to help? Please. There's theft of high-demand, small, and easy to conceal items. Pure and simple. If you don't like having to ask a customer service person for an item (and last time I checked, Game Stop and EB both keep new games behind the register as well) then buy from Amazon; they usually have a day of release delivery policy for new releases. You just pay more.
]]>I was so excited that I just closed a $19,000 sale. My manager fired me after that sell because I didn't sell a service plan on any of the phones. Bye C.C., Bye.
]]>If you work somewhere that doesn't welcome new ideas, forecast market trends or promotes based on seniority versus ability, run fast! Get out because I promise you it will end up as a Circuit City or CompUSA.
]]>you can't even imagine how much a pain it was to push those when a better product was sitting right next to it. In the early days of that 'wonder', I saw a co-worker get fired on the spot because he recommended the product that didn't have DIVX and a manager overheard him
]]>OTher than that, almost every CircuitCity experience sucked.
I hate Best Buy, but I'm glad that CC went under... I enjoy when shitty business models fail.
]]>True regarding the video games. The VG section was always just an amalgam of old/unpopular/unsold games, CC clearly not having the wisdom that like most media products, highest % of sales will be for new items. I'd come to the store the week after a major release date for a game... game can't be found, no employee in game area. It was always like the store was actually trying to lose my business, over a simple thing.
]]>37" LCD TV
Surround sound system
Car stereo
Laptop
Router
Mouse
2 iPods (the first one got Applejacked)
You mean that wasn't enough to keep them afloat?!?!?!
I always got good help and no hassle. I will miss them, even though I agree with most of the comments here that they really forgot how to run things in a service-oriented manner.
]]>Let's not forget DIVX...
Cicuit City has been advertising in the Des Moines area for a couple of years. They had a real push starting last year for the "in-store" pickup of online sales. Clearly, they were trying to hack away at Best Buy's dominance in the market.
One small problem…there is no Circuit Cityin Des Moines . The closest is about 3.5 hours away in Minneapolis.
]]>@jp7570:
Sorry, that wasa typo - the cashier rng up the printer initially at $499 ($100 above the advertised sale price).
]]>I believe Circuit City's problems began long before the March 2007 firing of their 3,400 knowledgeable hourly staff. I had tried to shop there over the past few years, but usually found the selection of product on the sales floor to be poor (too few choices, older technology, etc.). Employees seemed indifferent at best and usually non-existent (i.e. not on the sales floor). Customer service, in my experience, was very poor.
One of the few items I did purchase was an HP color laser printer in 2004 because it was on sale at $399 ($100 off the regular price - this was not a mail-in rebate) and also came with an additional $50 gift card. When the cashier rang the printer up, she did so at $399 and failed to give me the $50 gift card. Even though I had the ad with me and showed it to her, she insisted that was the price because that's what their computer said it was. I asked the manager to intervene but he was unaware of the sale. He called his boss and after 10 minutes they finally sold the printer at the advertised price and with the $50 gift card.
I took the printer home and opened it up to find it was a not a new printer - it was either a return or a B-stock (demo or factory refurb). There were no toner cartridges in it (even though the box clearly stated that toner cartridges were included) and had obviously been repackaged. Without the cartridges, this particular model would not initialize, so I apparently purchased a used, potentially defective printer which was sold as new. (I re-read the ad to make sure it was for a return or demo item. There was no "fine print" that indicated it was anything but a new unopened item.)
In less than an hour, I returned to the store with the printer and requested a replacement (new) or a refund. The same manager that I dealt with earlier now gives me a hard time about returning a open box item, pointing to the return policy on a sign near the "customer service desk" (a sign which is not visible when you are buying items). Eventually, the manager agrees to exchange it but there were no more in stock. Apparently this model is a discontinued item (guess I should have seen that coming). Checking on the phone with other area stores yielded no in-stock printers of the same model and the sale price was an in-store-only promotion (meaning that it could not be ordered from the website).
The only alternative seemed to be to return the printer and gift card and get my money back. The manager gave me a really hard time on this but eventually took the printer and gift card back. However, I was now charged a 15% restocking fee, which was about $60. I protested the charge but to no avail (I had paid by check - I wish I had paid by credit card because I could have disputed the charge).
As recommended by Consumerist, I began the EECB process, and even contacted every member of the Circuit City Board of Directors. To my surprise, I received a nicely-written response from one Board member that basically apologized but offered no solution. Eventually, I get a telephone call from an assistant in the executive office that says they will make an exception to their restocking policy in this case and send me a gift card in the amount of the restocking fee. I figure that would be the end of it.
A month later, I receive the card. (Seems like a long time to get it, but at least they sent it.) I go to another local Circuit City and find $61 worth of items (I was not about to spend any more than I had to). At checkout, the cashier discovers that the card is "dead" - it was never authorized by Circuit City and was worthless! I leave the store with nothing and since it is the weekend, Circuit City's corporate offices are closed. Monday morning I call the assistant that I spoke with and she says the only thing they can do is re-send a new card. I ask for the card I have to be re-authorized, but for some reason that was not possible. After almost 3 weeks, I received the replacement card. I return to Circuit City and have the cashier check the validity of the card before I buy anything. This time it is valid. I use it to get a few cables and DVD's. That was in 2004 and I never purchased from Circuit City again.
The list of errors on Circuit City's part was lengthy - misrepresenting items as "new", not honoring an exchange or return, charging a restocking fee for defective products, and totally FUBAR-ing crediting the restocking fee.
That kind of cascading incompetence can only be attributable to poor leadership and management practices. In my experience, Circuit City failed at every level - sales, store management, customer service, and corporate. Anyone that reports that Circuit City failed because of the poor US economy is not reporting the whole story. As the economists say "a rising tide lifts all ships", so when the economy was good Circuit City could still just get by. But as Warren Buffet has said, "when the tide goes out you can see who was swimming naked". Circuit City's poor management and retail practices did them in.
The only advantage to having Circuit City around was that it was one more competitor for Best Buy. While Sears, Walmart, and others compete at some level, there is no comparable national electronics retailer other than Best Buy. Other regional chains such as Tweeter are also dropping off the map, so there are fewer and fewer choices for the consumer. Hopefully, this will encourage the rise of the local "mom-and-pop" stores that were once prevalent, prior to the rise of the Big Box retailers.
]]>as much as i'd like to credit the canning of the experienced workforce for their demise, that was just another bad decision that contributed. i doubt keeping their workers would've made enough difference to keep them alive.
]]>Same timeframe I did as well. One of the big changes (Circuit City trying to save money) was the drop in commission for all products. I learned the product, I knew the product, and I could explain easily why certain receivers were better matches for certain speakers or why certain products looked or sounded better with more than just the CC line we were told to say.
When the commissions dropped it became very hard to justify why I should spend the time educating a customer why one product was simply better. Instead of doing the wrong thing (sticking around for an ever decreasing paycheck which would have been easy) and selling product I knew wouldn't work, I moved on. You're right I learned a lot but it was not my favorite job
]]>Secondly, the employees were by far the least knowledgeable about products. I don't want to paint all of them with a broad stroke, but seriously, I had awful experiences at Circuit City. First of all, know one ever staffed the registers. I had to tack down employees to pay for something. Many times I left and just went to another store like Target or Best Buy.
None of the employees were interested in helping the customer. I think this indicates that the morale was low. I guess they had no incentive to be helpful.
I remember when I was trying to buy Mario Galaxy (a highly-anticipated video game) the evening of the release. I scanned the shelves and could not find a copy. I tracked down a teenage employee working in the video game section. He had no clue what the game was. He was completely unwilling to assist me. I ended up going to the customer service counter and asking there. Turns out all of their copies were there. (Why the hell were they there, and how come the employees staffing the video game section were not informed of this?!)
Seriously, it was a miserable place to shop. My sympathies go out to the employees who have lost their jobs, but Circuit City does not deserve to be in business.
]]>i think the last time i shopped at a CC was in 1996 or so, when my dad told me he had seen a fairly rare smashing pumpkins single i was looking for there.
that's pretty sad.
]]>I have a problem with sales people dressed in sports coats...or professional salespeople in general who work for commission. While it may be true that they need to be on top of their game to help, it intimidates me and makes me wary of buying things from them. I don't like making big purchases unless I know exactly what I want. when I see a sales person in a sport coat I think of a used car salesman who'll do anything to make a sale.
Unfortunately I was never in the market for a large ticket item until recently so I never really got to be helped by one of these guys, so probably my opinion would be different if they had helped me.
]]>That's what blows my mind, how the hell Radioshack stays afloat and CC goes under. I think all the Radioshacks I've been in have been ghost towns of circuity and CB radio parts, with a few way over-priced computer accessories and radio-controlled cars thrown in.
]]>I have my doubts. I really expected it to go years ago, but it's still there. It also has nice market for some items you might not find at the big box stores
]]>The only reason I even cared about Circuit City was because they caried Onkyo products, whereas Best Buy does not. Now that Circuit City is gone, I'm forced to drive to Fry's Electronics. God I hate that place.
]]>What a dimwit.
]]>My circuit city just divided things into 3 piles - comedy, drama, and action. Happy hunting!
That being said, CC's selection of computer parts (memory, cards, speakers, mice) increased in size and quality after BB moved in, and I even bought my laptop there- although I had to fight off the protection plan, setup fee, add-on antivirus, and useless bundles every step of the way. And when I needed more memory for it? They had it in stock, CompUSA didn't. Not bad.
]]>The flipside of this is I only really need this particular service once every 2 or 3 years
]]>Lexmark.
]]>I wonder how Flight 1549 would have made out if USAIR had undertook the Circuit City employee cost management approach - I believe all the crew, including flight attendants, were over 50 - and their seasoning and experience made all the difference. (just making a point I know they're all under collective bargaining agreements thru unions)...
]]>but then i worked for them for awhile & know that they will never die. 1) they sit on a shit ton of cash reserves, which makes their stock impregnable. 2) the markup on their product is ridiculous (seriously - you know those watch batteries they sell for ~$5.50/ea.? they cost the store ~10¢). 3) they have perfect positioning for the electronic marketplace. offer a pricey name brand with little markup & an off-brand alternative for considerably less (with a huge margin). 4) they haven't spent hardly any money expanding their operations in 20 years. sure, it leaves most of their stores in the crappiest strip malls in town, but they don't have that added cost of capital (plus, you always know where to find them). ;)
so, in short, i don't think they're going anywhere anytime soon.
]]>I did buy things at CC, but only by checking their website, buying the item once I knew it was in stock, going to the store, picking up only the product I had picked out, and leaving. CC would never get "casual" sales out of me again. Shopping there was a chore, and I decided I wasn't interested.
]]>@meechybee: I knew when I first saw that movie I was reliving my days at CC. 8-12 hours of Spice Girls was enough to make me pray for a deep vein thrombosis.
]]>I worked at Circuit from 95 to 2000. Sales had started to slip a tiny amount in the late 90's, I however agree that cutting out Major Appliances was the road to failure. CC stock was $60, after the announcement to stop appliances it dropped to $21 and never really recovered. I never understood that decision. CC was the #1 electronics and #2 appliance retailer (only behind Sears). CC's arrogance and ignoring the competition just pushed them faster to failure. I hate to see less competition, but this company did nothing to survive and therefore deserved to go under. I learned a lot from CC, but it was the worst job I have every had.
]]>I'm not a big fan of BB (also suffers from poor stocking/product organization), but I like that I can get in and get out with minimal interference and with prices that are competitive.
]]>Amazon sells many brands of TVs now. Consumers can now check and compare prices for the same TVs from many different sites to see if they were getting a good deal or not. In many states, you don't have to pay taxes on goods you buy on Amazon (although, you should). Amazon has promotions for free white glove shipping, or instant savings. The downside is that you don't get to see a demo of the product. But the most logical thing to do is look at a TV in an electronics store then buy online which is what I've done in the past.
When you purchase a TV at Circuit City or any other in store retailer, you will pay an 8-10% sales tax. Then you have to figure out how to get the thing home whether it be strapping it down on your bros pick up truck or pay a delivery fee.
]]>Major appliances might not make much on margin, HOWEVER, they get people in the store. Which is why Lowe's and Home Depot are big sellers of major appliances. Its also a reason that Best Buy hasn't exited the major appliance business.
I know I won't purchase a fridge or range or dishwasher online sight-unseen. Especially not when buying online means paying for LTL freight (which is rather expensive, especially if you want lift gate service). So basically what Circuit City was selling was a bunch of merchandise that could be purchased online for less money and without the high pressure shake-down of a warranty. The major appliance business gets people in the store and might even keep the customer coming back to the store if their appliance experience was favorable.
Mind you, according to one of my former bosses at Lowe's (who had been in the appliance business for most of his adult life) told me that Circuit City was #2 in appliance sales (behind Sears) when they decided to throw in the towel. So they weren't failing at selling people new refridgerators and ranges.
]]>A lot of other companies should be very, very afraid since they're doing the same thing.
]]>that's why i think RADIOshack will be next on the list...
]]>Also, Circuit City never felt like it had anything in there, compared to Best Buy. Even though I hate Best Buy passionately, I could never be bothered to check Circuit City first because the selection was so much poorer. Less brands to compare, prices that weren't competitive. The one thing that I used to consistently buy at Circuit City was CDs because they were priced even lower than Best Buy, often at 11 dollars a pop. After the local CC stopped selling CDs, I just quit going. But I think I also consumed less CDs at that point.
]]>