var json_comments = new Array("
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bnelson333
May 10, 2009 2:10 PM
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Is it just me or does the picture totally look like snoop dog?

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6 replies
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nerdtalker
May 11, 2009 5:41 AM
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@bnelson333: That's what everyone said the first time it ran as well.

It must be snoop.

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Gilbert Tang, Jr.
May 10, 2009 10:51 PM
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@bnelson333: I was just about to say the same thing. Glad I'm not nuts.

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Ichiro51
May 10, 2009 7:02 PM
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@bnelson333: Matt Vasgersian has an opinion on this...

Oops, wrong blog.

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rpm773
May 10, 2009 2:31 PM
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@bnelson333: I don't know. I think he looks like Sugar Ray Leonard. Or maybe even Pepper Johnson.

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bainelaker
May 11, 2009 7:04 AM
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@rpm773: I, for one, am enjoying your Seinfeld reference. Heh. Pepper Johnson.

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PLATTWORX
May 10, 2009 2:20 PM
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He is correct. The President and upper management of Circuit City were idiots that ran the entire operation into the ground starting with that famous firing of top paid employees in the stores, who were also the most trained and provided the best customer service.


Circuit City never recovered from the horrid PR that move created. I visited their stores several times after and could barely find someone to ask a question to. I also stood in very long checkout lines twice because they had one register open and only one really nasty cashier who mumbled under her breath while ringing you out.


Maybe the economy just made the end come sooner. Why this guy was allowed to stay in control and distroy the place makes no sense.

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thrashanddestroy
May 10, 2009 2:27 PM
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@PLATTWORX: I worked for Circuit City before the mass exodus of said employees, and trust me, that isn't what sank them. It certainly didn't help, but there was rampant apathy and incompetence long before they cut the highest earners loose.

I credit part of their downfall with their elimination of commission-based sales. While I refuse to work for commission myself, you can't yank that carpet out from under your employees then expect them to continue to perform as if they still have incentive to sell only to receive a smaller paycheck.

When your manager tells you that your $3000+ sale \"doesn't matter\" because you didn't talk the customer into a $200 warranty, that tends to affect morale also.

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satoru
May 10, 2009 2:49 PM
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@thrashanddestroy: The elimination of commission based sales doesn't really explain how Circuit City failed but Best Buy is still around.

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Raiders757
May 11, 2009 2:08 PM
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@satoru:

I can't speak for every area of the country, but in my little neck of the woods, our local Best Buy has great service and non of the terrible horror stories I have heard about them seem to occur in our store.

Our Best Buy has a great selection and variety in every department. The CD and DVD section alone, Has a larger selection the our local overpriced FYE. That brings in all the loss leader consumers.

Right across the street from that store, was a Jerkit City. The service sucked and the selection was extremely lacking. The only thing they had a decent variety and large stock of, was televisions. After that, it was slim pickings.

It was the same way in the next city over. Best Buy had better service and selection, Jerkit City had shoddy service and little to nothing to offer.

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Shadowfire
May 10, 2009 5:16 PM
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@satoru: Because Best Buy is not commission based..?

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Shadowfire
May 10, 2009 5:17 PM
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@Shadowfire: Never mind... I somehow read your post backwards. The stupid is strong in this one. :P

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Swervo
May 10, 2009 2:23 PM
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@PLATTWORX: What's sad is that move not only got rid of the best people in the stores, but it also gave all the remaining employees incentives to be as bad at their jobs as they could be. Why work harder and try to be a good employee if it means either a) you'll never get a promotion or b) if you do get promoted, you'll be honored by getting canned.

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Anonymous
May 10, 2009 2:20 PM
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They're well-known in Photography circles as arguably the best store in the country. Their prices are competitive and I'd agree, the service was outstanding.

I finally was able to visit on a visit there for business & it's an amazing place. Little conveyors take your merchandise to the register (fun to watch themselves) and literally every DSLR I could imagine was on display to play with. (What other stores put $8k cameras in your hands to demo?)

I only had a brief time but the guys there knew more than any other salesperson in memory. They were eager to help, knowledgeable and friendly. They're my pick for my next major photography purchase. Definitely worth the visit.

Jeff

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larvaetron
May 10, 2009 2:22 PM
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Judging by the fact that I was once asked to show my driver's license while paying for a laptop hard drive with cash, I'd say yes.

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3 replies
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trujunglist
May 11, 2009 7:02 PM
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@larvaetron:

Sounds familiar. I reserved a $10 guitar hero guitar online and went into the store to pay for it. They refused to allow me to pay for it with my credit card without seeing ID. I showed them my ID, which had a faded picture on it. They said they refused to take it. I showed them several other cards with my picture on it. They refused to take it. I left the store and called the manager. He finally agreed to let me pay in cash for the item. All for a $10 fake plastic guitar.

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crutnacker
May 10, 2009 11:00 PM
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@larvaetron: Were you trying to break something larger than a $20?

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larvaetron
May 11, 2009 1:45 PM
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@crutnacker: The drive cost about $114 after tax, I handed them six $20s. Does that sound like something I should need a driver's license for?

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mgy
May 10, 2009 2:23 PM
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It might not help that every Circuit City I've ever been to was built like a dungeon, where lights were randomly burnt out, product was strewn about, and the place was just flat out dirty.

I mean, the salespeople were always morons, but I expect that. What I don't expect out of an electronics retailer is a store that looks like goodwill.

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littlebird802619
May 11, 2009 1:56 PM
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@mgy: GW's in our area are very nice, clean, spacious, loads of light, and nice merchandise. Gotta remember, GW is a bunch of little area independant companies under one corporate umbrella. don't judge a bad one as being typical of all of them. Depends on the supervising area, whether they're big or small. Southwestern PA is involved tons of different charitable orgs besides their own, and it shows in the stores. (former GW employee)

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Dansc29625
May 10, 2009 10:08 PM
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@mgy: I wish CC looked as nice as goodwill. The one near here is brand new and about the size of a CC. It is also clean, well lit, and a good place to pick up LP's.

All went downhill when they took off the coats and ties.

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csdiego
May 10, 2009 4:54 PM
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@mgy: The Goodwill near me is a palace, always tidy and clean with plenty of natural light, especially compared with the trash-strewn dump that was the nearby Circuit City.

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TheObserver
May 10, 2009 4:07 PM
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@mgy:


I agree with you, you'd thunk an electronics store, for goodness sakes, would be all about flash and presentation. Circuit City stores looked like a chamber of horrors. You felt like jumping off a building if you had to go in there.


For sure all of the other factors like customer service, warranty overkill, etc. etc., all spelled doom for CC. But we all know that there are other intangibles from a psychological aspect, like design and layout that makes a huge difference (just ask the casino's of Las Vegas).

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jenjen
May 10, 2009 4:20 PM
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@TheObserver: Dunno if you've ever shopped at a Fry's electronics store, but they are definitely dungeonlike. I think it's deliberate - going for a basement lair kind of atmosphere.

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theblackdog
May 11, 2009 12:53 PM
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@jenjen: I find that if Frys electronics took over another retail store chain, their stores ended up looking dungeon-like (Tempe, AZ is the best example) but if they built the space themselves, they actually looked very nice (Phoenix, AZ on Thunderbird Rd.)

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TheObserver
May 10, 2009 10:46 PM
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@jenjen:
True, but I expect that at Fry's more than Circuit City.

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Ichiro51
May 10, 2009 5:51 PM
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@jenjen: The Fry's in Chicagoland is far from dungeon-like! Every time I go in there, it feels like a well-lit Sam's club for electronics.

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ajlei
May 10, 2009 3:36 PM
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@mgy: Actually, all the Goodwills around here are spacious and have a lot of natural light coming in them. On the other hand, the Circuit City I went to definitely had a dungeon-y vibe.

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scootinger
May 10, 2009 4:28 PM
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@ajlei: Ironically, there's a Goodwill store in my area (Midwest City, OK) that is an old Circuit City store.

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Hello_Secaucus
May 10, 2009 2:26 PM
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B&H is great. They have some good customer service and some yummy Israeli candy!

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HenryES
May 10, 2009 2:37 PM
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If bad customer service killed CC, how does that explain Best Buy's survival?

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8 replies
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kenposan
May 11, 2009 12:28 AM
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@HenryES:

I have never had an issue with BB so I don't quite understand all the hate. The customer service I've received has been pretty good.

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Raiders757
May 11, 2009 2:13 PM
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@kenposan:

I am guessing it's all in how the stores are managed, because I have never had issues with Best Buy. They have always went above and beyond to help out.

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ArcanaJ
May 10, 2009 5:42 PM
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@HenryES: Oh, I don't the Pest Buy's survival is assured.

On Friday I went to one and, thanks to their horrible customer service, left after 20 minutes having bought nothing.

Instead, I gave my money to Amazon and got a better netbook, a case and a mini mouse for the same price I would have spent at Pest.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
May 10, 2009 10:04 PM
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@ArcanaJ: I tried to buy a freaking DVD player at Best Buy and failed. Miserably. They had an entire wall labeled \"DVD players\" ... about six feet of which had actual stock. The cheapest player was over $150. (And, no, I hadn't stumbled into \"Blu-Ray\" by mistake.) And I couldn't get an associate's attention to find out if I'd arrived during some restocking apocalypse or something.

Ended up buying online. I needed it in a hurry, but with Circuit City gone, my local Target's stocking of electronics variable and weird, and Best Buy having issues ... I didn't really have a choice.

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ArcanaJ
May 10, 2009 10:52 PM
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@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): $150 for a basic DVD player? That's freakin' criminal.

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LetMeSayThisAboutThat...
May 11, 2009 4:31 AM
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@ArcanaJ: Not to mention freakin' unlikely.


They carry low end stuff (Insignia) like everyone else.
Not to mention most of the usual suspects, LG, Phillips, Sony, etc, etc.


They sell DVD players for under 40 bucks, but it's best buyer beware at that price.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
May 11, 2009 2:15 PM
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@LetMeSayThisAboutThat: As I said, it was a huge wall -- maybe 60 or 80 feet -- labeled \"DVD players\" of which one corner of about 6 feet was stocked. I had always in the past seen the low-end DVD players at Best Buy, but there were literally four or five models in stock, and they were ALL at the absolute top of the price scale.

I assume there was some kind of restocking disaster going on, but since I couldn't find an associate to ask, I never found out. And I wasn't paying $150 for a DVD player, no matter how many useless features it claimed to have.

It wasn't my day ... the cheapest one Target had in stock that day was $70 for one of the \"upscaling\" ones. But they, at least, had the empty shelves labeled with what was SUPPOSED to be there, so I could see the $40 model busy being NOT THERE.

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dragonfire81
May 10, 2009 9:42 PM
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@ArcanaJ: Well aside from Wal-Mart they are the only game in town and I think a Best Buy employee would be a bit more knowledgeable than a Wal-Mart electronics rep, but I could be wrong.

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ArcanaJ
May 10, 2009 10:51 PM
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@dragonfire81: \"I think a Best Buy employee would be a bit more knowledgeable than a Wal-Mart electronics rep...\"

Sometimes, but not by much. Better to do your research first and go for the best price, avoiding employee \"help\" all together.

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Dave-Farquhar
May 11, 2009 8:52 PM
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@ArcanaJ: That's true. I worked BB for two summers when I was in college. The first, selling computers. I knew my stuff, so much so that people would call and ask when I was working next. The second, they briefly moved me into home audio. My main qualifications for working in home audio were that the manager of home audio liked me, and I could read the little signs they put in front of the merchandise.


They moved me back into computers when they got tired of having to send customers over into home audio to talk to me about whatever weird computer issue they'd dug up.


The very best people at BB don't last very long. If you're good, someone's going to notice you and offer you a job working somewhere else for a lot more money.

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SomeoneGNU
May 10, 2009 3:28 PM
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@HenryES:


When two stores carry the same product and have the same crappy service - go to the one with cheaper prices, more staffed (even though the staff is horrible), and locations. To many, Best Buy is horrible but it was still better than Circuit City.

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kathyl
May 10, 2009 4:20 PM
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@SomeoneGNU: And to the rest, doing your own research (instead of having access to knowledgeable salespeople) and shopping online at one of the few trusted retailers, all while giving up the thrill of immediate gratification, was the way to avoid both Best Buy and Circuit City. That's what I ended up doing.

When I did need something immediately, I got it from the closest BB or CC outlet, and I held my nose the entire time. Those occasional trips were good, though, because they reminded me why I moved all of my purchases to online retailers in the first place. Like a vaccination.

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Troy Hardin
May 10, 2009 3:08 PM
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@HenryES: I was going to post exactly this. I actually prefered the maginally better CS at CC over the horrid service at BB

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yoni242
May 10, 2009 2:43 PM
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@bnelson33 Thats Snoop. Its a good photo shop.


Circuit City failed because they sucked at customer service. I got a computer there once and had I not had some backround in computers I would have left very confused and without a computer. You can't run a business with bad customer service. You want your customers to keep coming back for more business not for returns and aggervation. Not every retail company can please everyone but the ones that have a high overall rating put customer service first. Better not to sell the cusomter something then have them leave mad.

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HappyMothersDay_GitEmSteveDave
May 10, 2009 4:45 PM
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@yoni242: Are you calling the person who took the pict a liar?

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yoni242
May 10, 2009 2:46 PM
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@HenryES, Best Buy wont last long. Just wait and see. They are heading down the same road as CC. You cant do business like that. Customers are what make your business and when you piss them off you have no business. Best Buy is starting to do just that
.

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donjumpsuit
May 11, 2009 2:22 AM
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@yoni242:I priced a tv at best buy from online retailers is was $1499(no tax, free ship), at bestbuy $1799. I talked to the price match guy, he checked the site and made up some bull about them charging tax, and offered me the tv for $1599. Needless to say, the next day it dropped online to $1439, and I purchased it, saving $300. Two days later, the best but website has it reduced to $1519. Don't these stores realize it's a digital age, and they need to be more aggressive with thier pricing AND notify regional stores with pending price drops?

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valthun
May 11, 2009 8:23 PM
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@donjumpsuit: I find myself a regular shopper at BB. The reasons are mostly for the games. On PC especially they have the best in store selection. However now that I have setup Amazon Prime, I may stop making those purchases at BB. I don't mind that I get ignored at BB. Pretty much I know what I am going in for, an I don't want the interaction.

Besides when I get 50 dollars a month in Best Buy cards from my job, why not shop there? I just save up and buy big ticket items essentially for free for me.

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csdiego
May 10, 2009 4:57 PM
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@yoni242: Best Buy was always sleazier than CC if you go by the cheating on warranties and other advanced customer-harrassment tactics. Before CC was gutted I found it a much more honest and helpful place to shop and took all my electronics business there. I wouldn't touch BB with a pole back then, and still wouldn't now.

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ajlei
May 10, 2009 3:43 PM
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@yoni242: I'd like to agree but I think at this point, they'd have to commit nothing short of murder. For every Best Buy hating customer, there are going to be a lot more non-computer-savvy people looking to want to buy something today rather than wait for Newegg. And from what I've seen, a lot of non-geeky people just don't like going to Fry's.

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Dave-Farquhar
May 11, 2009 9:19 PM
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@ajlei: I think you're right, if only because BB is the last one standing. There's no other national chain in many parts of the country competing with it. Where I live, Ultimate Electronics still has a presence, but they only have 32 stores in 11 states. BB has 10 stores in St. Louis alone.


Any regional chain trying to expand and rival BB at this point would face a long, upward battle. Best Buy, Circuit City, and Tipton all arrived in St. Louis (and much of the rest of the midwest) right around the same time in the mid 1980s, and in the midwest at least, it was a pretty new concept. Tipton didn't last long and got replaced by Silo (maybe Silo bought Tipton, or maybe Tipton went under and Silo bought the old stores). Silo survived into the early 1990s. In 1994-95 when I worked for BB, CC was the larger company in terms of market share, number of stores, and profitability. But a long series of missteps allowed BB to catch up, and now they're practically a monopoly.


They are struggling a bit with profitability, and that's the chink in their armor. But, being a monopoly, they should be able to manage to find a way to be profitable at some point soon.

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Shaggy
May 10, 2009 2:59 PM
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Oh man did they suck! Each Sunday I would read their ads (because the had some good loss leader pricing) and then go to BB and get the price match because every time I would actually go to CC none of the ad items were ever marked or even displayed in a way to make them easy to find. If the idea of a loss leader is to get people into the store so they will have additional spend, then you have to make it easy for them to find the stuff they come in for, otherwise they will too pissed at having to go on a treasure hunt just to find what they come in for. Best Buy sucks as well, but if I want something now and don't want to wait for Amazon, where am I going to go, Radio Shack? Fry's is good here in California, but there are only a few around.

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Outrun1986
May 10, 2009 6:40 PM
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@Shaggy: Not to mention the fact that they would often have a big \"misprint\" sign on the store stating that the price on the ad item was not valid since it was a misprint. This happened nearly every week at CC, and they would just put a small sign on the ad rack, so it could be easily missed by customers. I have never seen one company have so many ad misprints like this, most companies have 1-2 a year if that.

I learned just not to waste my time with CC's ad items... or alternatively go to BB for a price match if it was something that was really needed.

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econobiker
May 11, 2009 2:49 PM
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@Outrun1986: Circuit city \"misprints\" equaled \"bait and switch\"...

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IfThenElvis
May 10, 2009 3:05 PM
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Surely it's more a function of the big box electronics chain no longer being a viable business model. Geeks shop on the internet - only big screen family TVs do well at retail and then have to compete on price against Walmart and Costco.

B&H is a busy one store destination model drawing from a huge hinterland - not a cookie cutter chain.

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j-o-h-n
May 11, 2009 11:47 AM
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@IfThenElvis: And, you would think that eventually people would catch on about big tv's too -- our Samsung was ~$1000 cheaper at Amazon than Best Buy.

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YouDidWhatNow?
May 10, 2009 3:08 PM
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B&H is definitely a good example of how to do things right. I don't live anywhere near NY, but I recently purchased a new reciever and 67\" TV from B&H.


You can't just do one thing right and succeed - like have great customer service but bad selection or prices...just as you can't just have low prices and expect to succeed in spite of horrible customer service.


B&H and other companies like NewEgg are successful because they not only have very competitive prices, but they also have great customer service, and excellent selection. As for knowledgable sales staff, I can't personally comment - I would not ever expect a salesperson to know anything, so I wouldn't bother asking. But, others seem to think that's a plus for B&H too, so there you go.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
May 10, 2009 10:09 PM
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@YouDidWhatNow?: We shop at a regional furniture/some electronics retailer that has good (but not fantastic) prices but EXCEPTIONAL customer service, great selection, etc. And that customer service is not just in the store, but with the delivery guys, on the phone, with the warranty people, with their warehouse ... the entire experience. When I have to deal with them for anything, I know it's going to be easy, pleasant, and the person I'm talking with will either be able to solve my problem immediately or will get me to a manager within 120 seconds.

That level of customer service and hassle-free purchasing is worth the small price premium we pay over having to drive waaaaaaaay out of town to the furniture warehouse place.

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blash
May 10, 2009 4:49 PM
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@YouDidWhatNow?: Exactly. I had good experiences buying a $60 USB drive from Newegg a while back, with awesome service and shipping. I raved about it to my RA on my dorm floor and he bought $500 worth of computer parts from them when his old computer died.

Same story with B&H - I'd almost never buy from anyone else.

It's about time that retailers understood the only reason why they didn't learn about the value of good customer service in whatever business school they went to is because there isn't an equation for it yet.

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SamTheGeek
May 10, 2009 4:03 PM
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@YouDidWhatNow?: I've always liked B&H too. They seem to pride themselves on downselling. I guess they figure that repeat business makes them more money than one large sale.

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dbshaw
May 10, 2009 3:15 PM
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B&H rocks. When I wanted a digital projector, they were the only store that had all their projectors set up in a darkened area of the store so you could actually see what the image looked like.

Also when I was there saw two associates training on the floor. One was grilling the other, pointing at various digital cameras and saying 'Tell me about this one.'

I don't know that their prices are the best but they know what they are talking about. Good place to start shopping.

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u1itn0w2day
May 10, 2009 3:16 PM
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I always felt Circut City prices were on the high side . And they used alot of those stupid MAIL-IN rebates . Computers seemed to be the worst using alot of rebates . Service was always SLOW in coming , you were lucky to find an available employee .

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ryan_h
May 10, 2009 3:25 PM
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Circuit City was screwed up as long as I have known it. The most un-ethical place I ever worked. Left there in '99. too much employee theft, people not being paid what they were promised in their interview, manager/associate \"relations\" at work like whoa, and all these wanna-be used car salesmen pitching electronics. I have never actually hated a previous place of employment after leaving.

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Darklighter
May 10, 2009 3:27 PM
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Actually, B&H is open Friday, they just close early. They're closed all of Saturday, because Shabbat runs from sundown Friday until Saturday evening.

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Greasy Thumb Guzik
May 10, 2009 3:49 PM
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@Darklighter:
Yeah, you would think someone named Carey Greenberg-Berger would understand how the orthodox business hours work more that some mishagoyim!

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feckingmorons
May 10, 2009 7:20 PM
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@Greasy Thumb Guzik: Of course this goy knows they are open on Sunday :)

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Greasy Thumb Guzik
May 10, 2009 7:53 PM
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@feckingmorons:
It's not that you goys know they & other orthodox businesses are open on Sundays, it's that they close on Friday afternoons & are closed on Saturday.
When I was a kid way back in the 50s, most of the kosher delis & sausage makers that were still on the west side of Chicago also opened up late Saturday night for a few hours. And Lazar's still did that for a few years when they moved north to Peterson Park.

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Tamar Weinberg
May 10, 2009 11:19 PM
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@Greasy Thumb Guzik: re - \"When I was a kid way back in the 50s, most of the kosher delis & sausage makers that were still on the west side of Chicago also opened up late Saturday night for a few hours.\"

This is still true in nearly all Jewish communities throughout the US. A big chunk of restaurants will open 1-2 hours after Shabbat but only normally during the winter seasons before the clocks change. Otherwise, when Shabbat ends at 9:30 or so, it's kind of pointless to open so late unless the eatery is open until 1-2AM.

You don't see that of anything but eateries though. It'd also not really benefit anyone to have B&H open at 7, 8, 9PM on a Saturday night when most (all?) of the other nearby stores are closed.

With regards to B&H, they are open from 9AM until 2PM on Fridays regardless of what season it is (except on Jewish holidays, of course).

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madanthony
May 10, 2009 3:35 PM
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I don't know how great a comparison B&M is - they sell a lot of high end and pro gear and cater to that kind of customer, who spend a lot of money. They have one location (and a good sized mail/web business). They are in NY, where there are a lot of pros and businesses.

CC's lack of customer service didn't help, but Best Buy is surviving and they aren't any better. I think CC was killed by the low margins on consumer electronics, run-down locations, and competition from internet retailers on the high end and mass-market stores like Target and Wal-Mart on the low end.

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AvenueOfTheStrongest
May 11, 2009 3:54 PM
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@madanthony: I bought a $200ish 35mm camera there a few years ago. Fantastic piece of equipment, very helpful sales people, and an overall great experience.

They do have a lot of high end pro stuff also. Part of the fun of that store is gawking at the more extreme equipment.

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Trai_Dep
May 10, 2009 4:04 PM
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@madanthony: You should visit their site. B&H Photo has a wide range of items, from $3 cables, to $200 cameras to the high-end stuff. They're a LOT more than a high-end boutique.

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Trencher93
May 10, 2009 3:37 PM
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Hey, I loved CC in the late 90s when they had cheap CDs. I built a substantial chunk of my music collection there. They had better selection than most music stores, and loss-leader prices. There is some music I want on CD because it sounds better than MP3s.

Of course, I never bought anything else... I guess this contributed to them going out of business.

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sven.kirk
May 10, 2009 3:39 PM
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Main weakness of the article is comparing ONE store to a corporation/chain. If you compare any chain that way, the same outcome would apply. Operational costs and functions are totally different between one store and a chain.

I am not saying that CC would wave survived if they had better whatever, or not fired whoever. They are DEAD. Get over it.

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Trai_Dep
May 10, 2009 4:14 PM
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@sven.kirk: Bigger isn't better. Often the opposite. And if their web site offers everything that a consumer-hating chain does, with similar prices & shipping rates without the tricks, shams and hostility, who cares how many stores they have? The UPS guy delivers your box to the same doorstep either way, and in one case you're rewarding excellent corporate practices and the other, you're buying them bullets to later fire randomly into a crowd.
Why wouldn't you want to frequent the better place? :)

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madanthony
May 10, 2009 4:30 PM
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@Trai_Dep:

because some customers want to see an item in front of them before they make a purchase decision? Sure, some sites like NewEgg and Amazon do a great job of giving you pictures, but it's nice to see what the picture on a tv actually looks like or how a camera feels in your hands or the like.

And sometimes you need an item NOW and don't have time to wait for the UPS guy.

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Trai_Dep
May 10, 2009 5:15 PM
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@madanthony: I often visit the crappy chains to fondle their merchandise, then go to B&H Photo and give them my money.
And, except for batteries, a print cartridge or a cable, there's no real reason to need an item over $50 this very instant. The people that fall into this trap are confusing \"need\" with \"want\", a good-consumer cardinal sin.

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Stephen Peters
May 10, 2009 7:11 PM
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@Trai_Dep: Well, there was this one time I pretty much needed a new power supply this very instant... :-)

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Trai_Dep
May 10, 2009 10:48 PM
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@Stephen Peters: Yeah, I'd count that as an exception, too.
Although, for those, I like Fry's better. They're very up-front about their DIY/Triple-check your purchase before exiting or you'll cry like a little girl* attitude, which I'm OK with. It's the CC, BB & Wal-Mart places, who pretend to be customer-oriented while bait & switching or cramming unneeded warrantees that annoy.

* Not that there's anything wrong with that: just make sure your bitter, helpless, baby-like sobs are manful sobs. Err, man-baby, bitter sobs.

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madanthony
May 10, 2009 6:22 PM
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@Trai_Dep:

and you are assuming that everyone buying electronics is a consumer. I work in IT, and occasionally we've needed to run out and buy stuff in order to keep business units functioning.

When the head of the department that brings in most of your organization's revenue needs a laptop today for the trip he's taking tomorrow, you don't start debating needs and wants.

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Trai_Dep
May 10, 2009 9:47 PM
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@madanthony: You realize, of course, that this blog is called The Consumerist?
Although, if Chris, Carey and Captain Duvel Moneycats ever open up The ITFunctionariesKeepingDep'tHeadsPreppedForLastMinuteTripsist.com, your tip would be totally appropriate.
Although, considering the personnel involved, I'd bet GleefullyEatingRodentsWithFriedCrunchyOatmealCoatingsist.com will come first.

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DerangedRoleModel
May 10, 2009 3:40 PM
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Also, before you even account for CC's lack of organization, Best Buy simply carried more items, among them appliances.

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bohemian
May 10, 2009 3:40 PM
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We do not have a CC where we live. We make trips frequently to the real city that does. Twice we went into CC, looked around and left. There were no highly desirable products or good deals on anything. It was like they took all the items we would have overlooked at Best Buy and stocked a store with them.

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Zclyh3
May 10, 2009 3:55 PM
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I remember one time during the after Christmas sale, CC wouldn't pricematch the Godfather Trilogy from Fry's for $30. They said they don't do one day pricematches. The girl in the front counter was an idiot and his superior was too. I have no sympathy for Circuit City going under. Business in business and if you can't cut it, that's just too bad.

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Trai_Dep
May 10, 2009 3:58 PM
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I discovered by accident (via PriceGrabber) that B&H Photo (www.bhphoto.com) has a robust online store as well. Words can't express how well they exceed my already absurd expectations. It's my fav for shopping for all things digital. So, it's not just for Manhattanites!
Whoa - hawking two different sites? I wanna coupon!!

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Barney_The Plug_ Frank
May 10, 2009 4:28 PM
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It's a stretch to compare B&H to Circuit City. One is a local electronic retailer and the latter is nation-wide retailer w/ hundreds of stores. The point about good customer service can never be emphasized enough though.

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runchadrun
May 10, 2009 4:31 PM
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We buy almost all of our AV equiment at work from B&H (and we buy a lot of it.) They have good service over the phone, their prices are great, and they take purchase orders.

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AgitatedDot
May 10, 2009 4:32 PM
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Closed on Friday? WTF? That should be illegal! All of the stores need to be open 7 days a week.

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Russ Savage
May 10, 2009 4:38 PM
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B&H is hardly dirt cheap. their prices are often right at msrp, and you can always find the item much cheaper elsewhere on the web..

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Trai_Dep
May 10, 2009 5:25 PM
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@Russ Savage: Pffft.
Scope out PriceGrabber and you'll find B&H is very competitive. Not always the lowest, but often times they are, and when not, close enough (peace of mind and trouble-free purchases have great value).
PriceGrabber is excellent because it weeds out the deceptive pricing scams that lower-order sites use (low sticker price then obscene shipping & handling charges, or missing parts, or by-design crappy service) to con the rubes.
Err, you're not one of the rubes, are you?

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Russ Savage
May 10, 2009 7:26 PM
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@Trai_Dep: excuse me.. i've been scoping out pricegrabber for years, which is how I know that you can ALWAYS find prices 20-40% cheaper than B&H. Maybe you're the RUBE if you don't know this. Ever hear of adorama, or beach camera, or cameta? I've never had a problem, and I've ordered my entire professional kit from less hyped stores than b&h. It's obvious if a store is one of the nyc conners.. everyone knows that. there's many that aren't and offer significant savings.

don't believe me? try pricing the mark 1 canon 5d at all those places.. or anything else for that matter.

I was just giving my honest consumer opinion and you attack me. apparently you don't like other consumers finding the best deal.

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Trai_Dep
May 11, 2009 6:04 AM
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@Russ Savage: Well, you start off with \"their prices are often at MSRP\", a blatant falsehood, you can't really expect good things to follow, no?
Agree that PriceGrabber's a great resource, tho. And you'll note I never said B&H was always the cheapest, but the best value. Difference, there.

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corinthos
May 10, 2009 4:45 PM
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@scootinger: Mine had the big ugl reciepts and the ones you still had to manually sign. I always thought that was humorous that an electronics store had such outdated POS systems.

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Con Seannery '09: Illegal in 1 Giz
May 10, 2009 6:28 PM
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@corinthos: The whole damn store was a POS...oh, you meant point of sale...carry on.

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Bocachica
May 10, 2009 5:03 PM
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You can't complain about the customer service at Circuit City. There wasn't any.

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Skaperen
May 10, 2009 5:27 PM
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CompUSA succumbed to the same fate for similar reasons. I could never find anyone in their store. Not even customers.

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jpdanzig
May 10, 2009 5:34 PM
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I have to say that B&H's most significant advantage over CC or BB is the everyday low price.


I have found the B&H salesmen to be a mixed bag.


Some are very knowledgeable and helpful, and others clearly can't wait to be done with you so they can write up a higher ticket sale. Catching the eye of a B&H salesman to help you isn't the easiest thing either -- unless you're tall, blonde, and female.


I also agree with the other commenter who said BB will be next to fail. Their prices and service are about on a (sub)par with CC.

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Baccus83
May 10, 2009 5:43 PM
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Somewhat off topic, but...

\"For example, once I went in to buy a field video monitor to use for some interviews I was conducting. I expected to pay $600 until the salesperson said, 'Why don't you just get one of these cheap consumer portable DVD players?'\"

I hope this isn't for a professional job. Because any cinematographer worth his salt knows that using a \"cheap, consumer portable DVD player\" as a field monitor is only going to give you massive headaches once you're in the edit bay and realize all your color info is wrong. Plus, it's not going to let you see what's outside frame. What's the point?

Sounds to me like B&H didn't know what they were talking about... But that's just me.

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props_nyc
May 10, 2009 6:13 PM
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Sounds like b&h has made a turn for the better since i've last shopped there.

The customer service REALLY turned me off in my few experiences. I used to have to buy my company's photo equipment there (often needed replacement bulbs, extra cables, last minute type things), and every single time I used my company AMEX with MY NAME on it, they would insist on calling the company to verify that I was actually employed.

I had photo ID and nothing was out of the ordinary but they shuttled me off to the side desk (don't even get me started on their checkout process) and made me feel like a criminal.

The sales staff was never terribly friendly in my experience either. Can't say great things about the return process either.

Maybe I'll give them another shot, but I have a hard time believing that much has changed in three years.

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Mecharine
May 10, 2009 7:07 PM
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B&H is a great store. We bought a laptop from them (Toshiba P105) and brought it back 2 years later due to my sister frying the board. The technician there said he'll look it over to see if its fixable. When he called us back, he said he did a thorough check, and said that the laptop might need to have its board changed. He didnt even charge us anything, he told my dad that we could take it to Toshiba.

Most places would charge you just to tell you they cant repair something.

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scootinger
May 10, 2009 7:26 PM
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@jenjen: I suppose it depends. I've been in a couple of Fry's stores when I was on trips to the Dallas area. The store in Irving (fairly new) was definitely nice well-lit...on the other hand, the store in Dallas on the Northwest Highway feels old, dark, and indeed dungeon-like.

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dragonfire81
May 10, 2009 9:45 PM
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@scootinger: The Ciruit City near me was bad on several levels:

1) The store was not well lit and seemed dark and dreary

2) Stupidly low staffing levels. My wife and I wanted to buy something and we kept trying to get someone to get it out of the display for us but it was such a hassle we eventually gave up and left.

3) Empty shelves. Every time I went in there, there dozens of empty hooks and what product was there was very spaced out and there was usually no more than three deep of any particular item.

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carline711
May 10, 2009 7:48 PM
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for me, almost all the circuit-citys in my area popped up after a bestbuy had already established the area. it had to be honestly the worst planning i've ever seen. some how they would find a bb location and then find some place to place their cc and have it be in the hardest most out of the way location possible. couple that with having 0-1 register open for sales and often having to just use the customer service line for sales...

something about the layout of every cc i was in was awful too. it's almost as they just placed things in aisles and made sure you would run into crap non-stop

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Anonymous
May 10, 2009 7:52 PM
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I had a miserable experience in Circuit City on my last trip to the US - stock that they couldn't actually sell me because it was out of date, despite the large displays of the product right by the front door - and a complete lack of interest from the manager about making good on the store's display promise. Thing is, I'd have happily accepted even a token apology. I'm just sorry they've folded and so my pledge never to go there again will take no will power.

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Anonymous
May 10, 2009 8:06 PM
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It wasn't just customer service that led to the downfall of Circuit City, the operations of the company were horrible. CC was bleeding money out of it's ears with no plan in recovering money from items not sold since the mid-90's. Some of their distribution centers were full of old items that were just sitting there with no plan of being sold, or receiving credit from vendor, as well as incomplete defective item returns that cannot be returned to vendor for credit. Yes, a large part was Customer Service, and we're talking about a company who mainly ran off of loyalty from a customer base from the 80's, as oppose to Best Buy who has driven Circuit City into the ground with their young, \"hip\" approach to the iPod generation.

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saul92703
May 10, 2009 8:29 PM
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I worked there for 2 years up until 06. I belive the fact that they still did mail in rebates was a huge customer deterrent. The customer service was fair, well atleast at my store it was. But over all it was as good as best buy's and deffenetly way better than Fry's.

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Bruce Blank
May 10, 2009 8:44 PM
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Actually, the upper management were not all idiots. Some of them were very clever. The CEO fired all of the best employees, (including myself)knowing full well that it would ultimately destroy the company. He then gave himself a raise that more or less equaled the money he saved. A year or so later, he leaves the company with an additional 1.8 million dollar \"bonus\", and leaves the sinking ship to someone else. Philip Schoonover did what most CEO's do...whatever is best for Philip Schoonover. He didn't destroy Circuit City out of incompetence... He destroyed it out of indifference.

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eh_remraf
May 10, 2009 8:50 PM
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As a former employee of circuit, management killed Circuit. Plain and simple.

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Eric Sarnoski
May 10, 2009 9:17 PM
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I have to agree with the former CC employees, management defintely killed it. Mid range quality products sold at high end prices. Most of the employees were not trained enough to undertand the equipment they were selling. Very limited brands. Pricing was missleading in most of their adds, everything was priced according to mail in rebates. They tryed to bait and switch me twice before I finally gave up going there all together. Ironically I think the management at CompUSA went through the same academy because it seemed that CC's management was literally following the same business model.


As a professional photographer I have dealt with B&H on several occasions. They do carry a lot of quality products , but their pricing is not always the best game in town. Their service has been good so far, but they have serious competition from another major photo equip supplier in the big apple so they need to be on their toes as a matter of economic necessity.


Once CompUSA went belly up, CC mgnt thought they were immune. So using B&H as a comparison to CC is incorrect.

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FLConsumer
May 10, 2009 9:47 PM
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YES, YES, YES -- BAD/NO customer service is what killed the place for me. Then add in their high prices and I refused to go into the place.

I'll gladly pay more for good customer service. BUT refuse to support any business which provides terrible service, regardless of how low their prices may be.

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edrebber
May 10, 2009 11:07 PM
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Stopped selling appliances just when the housing boom started. Thought they had to warehouse the appliances. Best buy forced the manufacturers to warehouse the appliances and made alot of money.


Many customers started downloading music for free off the internet or buying digtal copies off the internet. No way for Circuit City to compete with that.


Tried to cram their DVD Pay Per view hybrid DIVX during the first years of DVD. Confused and alienated customers who wound up being stuck with a poor DVD player when DIVX went out of business.


Started thier own bank FNANB and lost hundreds of millions due to high default rates.


The internet. Anyone can find out information about electronics. Didn't need expert sales associates any more.


LCD TVs and monitors are light enough ship and to buy on line. CRTs were too heavy and fragile to ship to individual consumers.


New business model where a sale was only profitable when a worthless warranty or over priced accessory was added on to the transaction. Circuit City couldn't make a profit on the main merchandise people were buying.

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econobiker
May 11, 2009 3:09 PM
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@edrebber: I echo the appliance deal plus the fact that Lowes started coming on strong on the appliances just when CC was bailing out from them...

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WaStateJustin
May 10, 2009 11:47 PM
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Without a doubt Circuit City suffered due to their poor customer service. The last time I went there I was looking for a specific case for my iPod touch. They had the case for the 1st generation but not my 2nd generation iPod.

Instead of offering to find another CC that had one in stock they told me I could buy the wrong one and use a dremel to cut a hole for the volume button.

I never went back again.

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Anonymous
May 11, 2009 12:03 AM
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They funny thing now is that many of the Circuity City day 2 day managers are running the new CompUSA stores in south Florida. They are just recycling crap. I have always stated you take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers. Many of the people I have spoken to that work there have expressed the concerns and are always threaten by \" If you dont like it, then just leave we have many applications of people lookn for work in our current economy. You have no value to them as an individual or a team-member. Great way to motivation your employees which is then unfortunately translated to bad customer service.

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AngryK9
May 11, 2009 1:21 AM
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Customer service at Best Buy is just as bad, and their prices are equally ridiculous. No, I believe that poor management and improper policy is what killed Circuit City. To blame it on customer service is to blame the employees that worked in the stores, which shifts the blame away from the upper echelon which is, probably, exactly what they want to do.


That is the problem with large corporations. The blame is always shifted down.

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Sanveann
May 11, 2009 1:28 AM
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I can only speak for the Circuit City in my town -- which closed years and years ago -- but the customer service was absolutely abysmal. The (few) times I attempted to buy anything there, it was absolutely impossible to get any of the salespeople to stop socializing and actually help me. My husband (who I didn't know at the time) told me he always had the exact same experience.

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Baronzemo
May 11, 2009 1:38 AM
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Ha! I had a stereo walkman that I bought that stupid customer warranty on & it crapped out on me a week before the warranty went out while I was out of town, I took it to the closest Circuit City but they wouldn't fix it w/o the paperwork so when I got back the dopes @ the nearest CC refused to fix it. I mailed it to the VP of CC & got a nice letter saying he's taking care of the situation, nothing to worry about & a year later I get the still-broken Walkman in a CC box. No letter. Nothing. After that, everytime I found a misprint in a Fry's ad I'd go to CC for the pricematch.

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baristabrawl
May 11, 2009 1:39 AM
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Is that Snoop Dog in the picture with the sign?

I hated their checkout procedure so I stopped going there YEARS ago. Who in their right mind has you wander around looking for a checkout person with no central checkout? Even Best Buy is better than that.

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parrotuya
May 11, 2009 1:54 AM
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As a self-service, knowledgeable consumer, I almost never interacted with Circuit City salespeople. So I never noticed how bad it was. I preferred Best Buy and Fry's Electronics anyway. But I do hate the receipt-checking that some of these stores do.

R.I.P. CC!

DOWn, baby, DOWn!

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PsiCop
May 11, 2009 2:08 AM
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I never did business with CC after their mass layoff. I simply refused to set foot in the store.

But in my experience Best Buy is not a very good alternative, either. Fry's is better, but that was handy only when I lived in LA (I'm on the opposite coast now).

I've shopped in NYC more than a few times, and there are some good retailers there. I only bought in B&H once, and it was just a routine sale, so I don't really know how their service is. I do know that nearly all the stores of that sort in NYC, are better places to shop than CC or BB or any of the rest. Trouble is, I only get into the city maybe twice a year and then by bus or train, so my purchases there are limited.

Really, now I do most of my electronics, computer-related and music/DVD buying online. I can't really say I miss the retail experience all that much. CC and its mass layoff soured me on it.

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UniComp
May 11, 2009 2:19 AM
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Meh, good riddance.

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BonnieHylas
May 11, 2009 3:26 AM
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I love B&H. Though I've never been to their physical store, I've ordered online from them many times. When I was photography student in college, they always came through for me. I'd place an order one day and receive it the very next! Take note of their holiday schedule, though.

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charmaniac
May 11, 2009 4:19 AM
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Circuit City was infected with employees who just didn't give a damn. Last time I went there was a year and a half ago trying to buy a computer monitor.

They had their shitty firedog service logo piped into the feeds for all their computer monitors, and I couldn't change the resolution. I asked the guy if there was a way to check the resolution. With a smug demeanor, his answer was \"If you return the monitor, there is a 15% restocking fee.\"

I promptly went to Fry's and purchased the exact same monitor with no restocking fee and it was $20.00 cheaper.

I guess their motto of higher prices coupled with crappy customer service wasn't a viable business plan.

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Andrew Farris
May 11, 2009 5:03 AM
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No comparison between a store like B&H and Circuit City can have any relevance whatsoever on the failure to remain profitable for the entire Circuit City corporation. It is quite frankly astounding to here of anyone considered an 'expert' (self-professed or not) on customer service making a comparison between them.

Here is a clue why: apples have almost nothing in common with bicycle inner tubes despite both having 'stems'.

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Bruce Moldovan
May 11, 2009 10:18 AM
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There were three simple reasons I hated the Circuit City and never shopped there, and always went to Best Buy instead.


1. The aggressive sales force dying to make a commission.


2. Customers are all treated like theives, to their extreme inconvenience. Any item that cost over $10 you had to take a ticket, pay at the counter, and then wait half an hour or so for the sole minimum wage box-jockey in the back of the store to find your product and bring it out to you (when he's done with his smoke break).


3. Product selection was nowhere near as good as Best Buy. Circuit City was selling version 1.0 of something for $150.99 while Best Buy had version 2.0 for $99.99.


There was no rational reason to shop at Circuit City over Best Buy, even if you had to drive farther to get to a Best Buy store. Circuit City's business model, therefore, was trying to rip off irrational, extremely uninformed consumer who had a lot of time on their hands and were not easily offended. I never saw a Circuit City store with more than 10 or so cars in the parking lot (probably the employees) and I'm surprised they didn't go under years ago.

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edrebber
May 11, 2009 12:39 PM
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@Bruce Moldovan: They remodeled the stores several years ago so you didn't have to wait for the item to be retrieved from the back anymore.

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Matthew Tatum
May 11, 2009 12:11 PM
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Am I one of the only one that actually had good customer service at circuit city? I can cite several examples when they were helpful too.

One time I found the orange box on their website for $25. I took it in and saw that the price on the shelf was $40. I showed the clerk the ad and the box, and she sold it to me for the advertised price no questions asked.

Another example was when I went to purchase some RAM for my uncle's laptop. I had researched the type online, and since Circuit City was the closet place I went there. I went to the back of the store where the RAM is at, told an associate what kind and he told me my options then actually walked away and got the ram for me.

Yet another example was when my parents bought my car stereo there for my birthday. Installation was free, so I had it installed there. The associate was very nice, explained what he was going to do, and even helped me out with using the radio when I called him later.

I find it really odd that other circuit cities had horrible service when the ones in my area(DFW) were always amazing.

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provolone
May 11, 2009 1:04 PM
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Based on all of my experiences, Circuit City's main problem was customer service. I had enough bad experiences with their employees and \"rebates\" that in the end I would not have even considered purchasing from CC regardless of price. In this case, the bad economic environment only finished off a company that should have ceased to exist long ago.

Management probably did not help, as in my area they built a brand new location to move into just prior to announcing all stores were closing.

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SecureLocation
May 11, 2009 2:37 PM
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CC was a horror show. Ugly stores, scant product, numbnut staff. I don't think Best Buy is in any great danger, though. Shopping there isn't fun but where the hell else are you going to go?

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grebby
May 11, 2009 3:29 PM
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B&H is a good store but it's one store. Their business model and methods have evolved over time and work for them, but are not scalable. If they were to try opening a B&H branch in every strip mall in America, they would have a harder time than Circuit City.

BB and CC changed the marketplace and took a lot of business from places like Sears, Wards, Good Guys. Sears held on (barely) because electronics were only part of their business and they have trusted brands (Craftsman, Kenmore). The others are gone. Now CC is gone because the marketplace changed again. They were competing with Walmart, Target, Costco, Amazon, even companies like J&R and B&H. They tried to adapt but did the exact opposite of what was needed. They could not compete on price, so they had to excel at convenience, knowledge and customer service. They managed to fail at all three.

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econobiker
May 11, 2009 3:52 PM
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DIVX? anyone?

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John Tschohl
May 11, 2009 3:58 PM
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Lack of customer service is often the reason most businesses go bankrupt. I've been in the business of customer service for over 37 years, I know this to be true!


John Tschohl
President, Service Quality Institute
[www.customer-service.com]

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gparlett
May 11, 2009 4:19 PM
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Beards & Hats FTW!

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axiomatic
May 11, 2009 7:08 PM
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Did Bad Customer Service Doom Circuit City?

Nope. Bad management did.

I just call them as I see them....

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