They do detailing now? Yikes.

[Dan]

I think it's interesting how so many people view companies like Best Buy as giant, lumbering, behemoths who can't get out of their own way. Just because they do alot of things means that they can't do any of them well?



And the whole "I wouldn't let them touch my car" sentiment just doesn't sit right with me. Why wouldn't you? Do you KNOW the technician who works on the cars? Do you KNOW that he's incompetent. Do you KNOW that he is poorly trained, unmotivated, and sloppy? Maybe you do, but I'm sure in most cases you don't.



Who's to say that same technician doesn't get fired from best buy and then gets a new job doing oil changes at the shop where you take your car five times a year?



If you have firsthand knowledge of negative experience with best buy, then that's one thing. But I'm guessing that alot of the haters are just buying into the stereotype that big companies are bad, and small businesses are better.



What is the concern here? Are we worried that small, independent detailers will lose business? If so, then those detailers need to differentiate themselves in a tangible way so that customers know why they are paying a higher price and what they are getting. Don't hate Best Buy because they recognized an opportunity and horizontally integrated themselves to increase profits and enhance their product offering. Sounds like good business to me.



Are we worried that EVERY Best Buy employee is an untrained hack who is garaunteed to swirl every car he touches? That's a ridiculous accusation. There are autopians that work at Best Buy, and there are hacks that work at professional detail shops. You'll never know which is which until you try.



Does anyone have a picture of a car detailed at Best Buy? Does anyone have PROOF that the employees have no training?



Sorry for the rant. I just can't believe that there is so much anti-best buy sentiment here.



In my head, I've summarized this entire thread as follows:



Yeah, Best Buy is an enormous corporation that is one of the market leaders in electronics retailing. Their market savvy and business practices have propelled them to become one of the largest and most profitable electroncis retailers in the history of the known universe. But uhhh.....just don't let them touch your car.....they're all idiots.



Doesn't that sound ridiculous?

Hey, take a look up in your browser in the url bar. I'm pretty sure no one around here takes their cars to the quick lube place either, you gotta be high to do that.



While Best Buy may move a lot of product, its because of pricing and selection, certainly not expertise. The detailing is along the same lines as the doctors offices wal-mart is opening up, yeah, health care at wal-mart.....

 

[imported_rydawg1]

I saw this today at my local Best Buy. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry....

WOW!

Is this the Manchester or Salem store?

 

[Kean]

And the whole "I wouldn't let them touch my car" sentiment just doesn't sit right with me. Why wouldn't you? Do you KNOW the technician who works on the cars? Do you KNOW that he's incompetent. Do you KNOW that he is poorly trained, unmotivated, and sloppy? Maybe you do, but I'm sure in most cases you don't.

....I honestly don’t believe that GS's performance in this area will much different than the local car wash offering the same services nor do I believe that they will receive special (proper) training. That is one reason why I wouldn't let them touch my car. Also, if I were to seek the services of a professional detailer, I would be dealing with one person or a small crew. The fact that I don't KNOW anything about the tech who will be performing the work, their methods, training, experience or reputation is reason enough for me not to trust them. .....it only takes one time to screw something up (even just washing). For the masses who use these types of services on a regular basis though, I'm sure it's fine.

Who's to say that same technician doesn't get fired from best buy and then gets a new job doing oil changes at the shop where you take your car five times a year?

....the exact reason I don't take my car to these types of shops. I do all of my own maintenance but in the rare cases I do take my car to a mechanic/shop, I know the person or crew who is working on it.

If you have firsthand knowledge of negative experience with best buy, then that's one thing. But I'm guessing that alot of the haters are just buying into the stereotype that big companies are bad, and small businesses are better.



What is the concern here? Are we worried that small, independent detailers will lose business? If so, then those detailers need to differentiate themselves in a tangible way so that customers know why they are paying a higher price and what they are getting. Don't hate Best Buy because they recognized an opportunity and horizontally integrated themselves to increase profits and enhance their product offering. Sounds like good business to me.

....I agree although I don’t think the majority of folks are looking at it in this light. Without divulging too much info, I deal with BB (incld. Geek Squad) as one of our customers. I'm privy to nuts & bolts processes and see areas where they are lacking. ....but then again, what company doesn't have areas where they can improve. However, as a consumer I do purchase product from them from time to time. If their price is right, I prefer a B&M store for my large electronic purchases. Returns and exchanges are much easier and convenient.

Are we worried that EVERY Best Buy employee is an untrained hack who is garaunteed to swirl every car he touches? That's a ridiculous accusation. There are autopians that work at Best Buy, and there are hacks that work at professional detail shops. You'll never know which is which until you try.

....I disagree. The difference with a professional detailer I would choose for the first time is that they would have an established reputation. I would never leave my car with a detailer without any knowledge of their background or quality of work.



As for being "Autopians", it's a general word for a huge pool of members of varying backgrounds, experience, knowledge, etc. We all also have varying degrees of expectations and opinions regarding detailing. Personally, after reading through these forums for years, I wouldn’t let half (I'm being kind) of the members here work on my vehicles. Truthfully, there are only a handful of professional detailers and enthusiasts here that I trust.

Does anyone have a picture of a car detailed at Best Buy? Does anyone have PROOF that the employees have no training?



Sorry for the rant. I just can't believe that there is so much anti-best buy sentiment here.



In my head, I've summarized this entire thread as follows:



Yeah, Best Buy is an enormous corporation that is one of the market leaders in electronics retailing. Their market savvy and business practices have propelled them to become one of the largest and most profitable electroncis retailers in the history of the known universe. But uhhh.....just don't let them touch your car.....they're all idiots.



Doesn't that sound ridiculous?

....I think you may be making more out of this than what it is. I'm sure everyone here who has expressed doubt has their own reasons why they wouldn't trust BB/GS to detail their car (mine are listed above). I also don't believe we are all anti-BB/big company. .....especially in my case since I work for one.



BB/GS is offering a service to the masses. As such, I would not expect that their new detailers would be highly paid specialists in this field, would undergo some form extensive/specialized training or be of the same caliber as those professional detailers (someone like me) would seek the services of. ....that would be costly and stupid when the majority of your customers are likely to expect the same results as their local car wash. It's a good move on their part and in a time when most companies are looking outside of the box for answers to cost savings & increasing revenue, it shows some innovative thinking.

 

[Kean]

Last time I bought anything at BB, the guy (of course) hit me up with the extended warranty question. I politely, but firmly, declined. The guy wouldn't give it up. I asked for his manager to come speak with both of us. I explained that I would no longer be purchasing the TV I had in my cart, as they would not respect my wishes and continued to push the Extended Warranty. Now you would think that the supervisor would tell the sales guy to back off, right? I overheard him saying that they were to *always* push the EW's, even if the customer walks away from the deal because of it. There must be *huge* profits in those deals to be willing to lose sales.



I don't buy from BB any more, or any other company that high pressures me from entry to exit.



Although an EW on a detail couldn't be *too* bad......

....EW's, related services, acc's, etc. are huge profit makers. The profit margin on some big ticket electronics is usually thin (in some cases zero). Personally, I never buy an EW. Most manufacturers already have a 1 year warranty and if you do eventually have issues, they will likely occur well within that time. I'm surprised they did that to you though. I have always declined the warranty and never had an issue. ....I once had to tell someone "no" twice though.

 

[Less]

While Best Buy may move a lot of product, its because of pricing and selection, certainly not expertise. The detailing is along the same lines as the doctors offices wal-mart is opening up, yeah, health care at wal-mart.....

How can you say that?



First of all, pricing and selection are EASY to sell. If all it takes to build a successful business the size of Best Buy was low prices, everyone would do it. The problem is, businesses that sell solely on price 'usually' fail because 1) They don't make enough margin to cover their costs or 2) eventually people realize that lower prices = lower quality (generally speaking) and as your products prove to be cheap, your store loses credibility.



Best Buy has hundreds of stores throughout the continent. They didn't just do that by under-selling the mom and pop store across the street. Somebody at best buy knows a little something about the products. Expertise plays a HUGE role in Best Buy's success.



If you go to a store and ask a clerk "What is the difference between LCD and DLP televisions", you will probably get a pretty good answer. You may not get the absolute BEST answer. But you'll get enough of an answer for the average consumer to make an informed purchase decision.



Now, granted, because of BB's size and scope, it would be prohibitively expensive to hire an entire team of highly trained, extremely knowledgable experts for every single store. So they have to find the balance between 'how much information is out there' and 'how much do people need to know'.



So yes, there is a "lowest common denominator" approach here and it carries over into their detailing offering. You have to understand that the people on this forum are in the EXTREME minority when it comes to knowledge of car care. The overwhelming majority of people don't know the difference between a Best Buy detail and a legit paint correction.



I think we all need to check our egos a bit here. Doing the services that Best Buy is offering doesn't take very much skill at all. All it takes is some decent tools, lots of soap, and a little bit of care and patience and just about anyone can produce a 95% swirl free wash. Most of the world doesn't care about the other 5%, and those that do will find someone with the skills to do the job. If you care about the 5%, then Best Buy probably doesn't even want you as a customer.



And I don't see what's so wrong with Wal-Mart offering medical services. They're basically just leasing space in their store to legitimate medical service companies that employ qualified, licensed doctors. They are not doing complicated procedures, or surgeries. They are just offering basic medical services to a population that really values price and convenience.



Now we get back to the argument that says "the guy who goes to medical school and gets C's, still gets to be a doctor." Now, many of us, probably have good health care and have chosen a quality "A" level doctor for our families and ourselves.



But consider the situation I encountered earlier this summer. I spent a Saturday clearing alot of overgrown brush and bushes from the edge of my property. The next morning, I'm covered, literally COVERED, in poison ivy. Now, it's Sunday, and my "A" doctor isn't open until Monday at 10. Now, am I going to spend the next 30 hours scratching my skin off and then miss half a day of work just so I can go to 'that' doctor? No, all I need is any hack with a medical license who can prescribe some Prednisone. Wal-mart, here I come!



There are somethings where extra knowledge, skill, and experience just don't matter. You may have gotten straight A's in medical school, but the guy who got C's can diagnose and treat the flu just as well as you can. But can he do a lung transplant? Probably not Just like you could be the best detailer in history, but somebody could wake up tomorrow and with just a small investment be in busines doing 90% of what you do just as well. And while it's frustrating that there is a large market that will accept 90%, it's up to YOU to define that extra 10% and find a market that values it.



Again, sorry for the rant but it just puts me on tilt when people ***** about big companies because they don't do things the way small companies do. Or that they jump on the left-wing stereotype that Bigger = lower quality.

 

[Dan]

Your best buy experience must be vastly different than mine.



-I have gotten terrible advice, unsolicited too.

-Pressure to buy accessories I didn't want or need.

-No one around to check me out when I was ready to leave

-The BB web vs in store price games



And last but not least, having to show an employee how to use the cash register.



I'm fine with them not knowing much, but leave me alone to shop, be around when its time to checkout, and that's it. They can't even get that right.



With a rant like yours, I'm curious, do you work there or have any vested interest in the store?

 

[Less]

With a rant like yours, I'm curious, do you work there or have any vested interest in the store?

I had another whole rant written out. I'm not mad at anybody, I just find the true machinations of the retail industry really interesting and I enjoy having debates debunking the many misconceptions out there.



But really this thread is played out right now, so I'm not going to keep it going. But I do want to state for the record:



I do not now, nor have I ever worked at Best Buy. I've never worked for a company that does a shred of business with Best Buy. I don't own stock, or have any vested interest in Best Buy's success whatsoever. About six year's ago I had a buddy who worked there, and he let me use his employee discount to get a TV stand. That's it.

 

[CocheseUGA]

I think it's interesting how so many people view companies like Best Buy as giant, lumbering, behemoths who can't get out of their own way. Just because they do alot of things means that they can't do any of them well?



And the whole "I wouldn't let them touch my car" sentiment just doesn't sit right with me. Why wouldn't you? Do you KNOW the technician who works on the cars? Do you KNOW that he's incompetent. Do you KNOW that he is poorly trained, unmotivated, and sloppy? Maybe you do, but I'm sure in most cases you don't.



Who's to say that same technician doesn't get fired from best buy and then gets a new job doing oil changes at the shop where you take your car five times a year?



If you have firsthand knowledge of negative experience with best buy, then that's one thing. But I'm guessing that alot of the haters are just buying into the stereotype that big companies are bad, and small businesses are better.



What is the concern here? Are we worried that small, independent detailers will lose business? If so, then those detailers need to differentiate themselves in a tangible way so that customers know why they are paying a higher price and what they are getting. Don't hate Best Buy because they recognized an opportunity and horizontally integrated themselves to increase profits and enhance their product offering. Sounds like good business to me.



Are we worried that EVERY Best Buy employee is an untrained hack who is garaunteed to swirl every car he touches? That's a ridiculous accusation. There are autopians that work at Best Buy, and there are hacks that work at professional detail shops. You'll never know which is which until you try.



Does anyone have a picture of a car detailed at Best Buy? Does anyone have PROOF that the employees have no training?



Sorry for the rant. I just can't believe that there is so much anti-best buy sentiment here.



In my head, I've summarized this entire thread as follows:



Yeah, Best Buy is an enormous corporation that is one of the market leaders in electronics retailing. Their market savvy and business practices have propelled them to become one of the largest and most profitable electroncis retailers in the history of the known universe. But uhhh.....just don't let them touch your car.....they're all idiots.



Doesn't that sound ridiculous?

I don't think you know the full aspect of how much of a failure Best Buy is as a company. Go read Consumerist, or any of the customer service websites devoted to how much suckage Best Buy seems to deal out. And while it seems to go in cycles, Best Buy has many more down period than ups.



I've seen how they butcher audio installs. You don't even have to pay extra for the broken clips and scratches, it's included! The examples detailed above, I've seen for myself. And the examples outlined in this thread, I've seen that as well.



I still buy stuff from Best Buy, but it's the stuff I can only get cheapest there, through their sales or price matching (which, in an of itself, is a point of contention). I love going in there and browsing. But having seen the work the audio and home install portions of the company does, I feel it safe to say I don't have any confidence in the detailing ability they will bestow upon their workforce - even experienced detailers. Are you going to get the occasional person who goes that extra mile and does it right? Sure. But they won't be there for long. They'll get frustrated at the low pay or crappy supplies, and move on.

 

[Less]

Look, between March and May of this year, Best Buy moved $10 BILLION worth of product from their shelves. From that, they yielded $153 million on net profits, AFTER taxes. If you want to call that a "failure" go right ahead, but I don't think many people would agree with you.



And when you talk about how they "butcher" audio installs, you're making very broad, global comments that you couldn't possibly know enough to make. Have you conducted a thorough review of audio installs from a representative sample of Best Buy stores? There are over 1100 stores in the US. How many have you actually been to? 5? 10? Sure some of them might have poorly trained employees and low quality standards. But for everyone one of those, there are ten stores that do perfectly acceptable work on 90% of their cars.



I haven't read the customer service surveys you referenced. But I'm sure they say what all customer service surveys say. There are a majority of people who are indifferent and then some small outliers who either had an overwhelmingly bad experience, or a surprisingly good one. All of those negative outliers, however many there are, are NOT on Best Buy's priority list. They frankly don't give a crap where you shop. And MOST negative feedback, is based on some kind of above-average, or expert knowledge of the product or service. And again, servicing customers who are that discriminating is too expensive.



Best Buy's detailers are trying to sell to the 95% of the world that just wants a clean and shiny car. They don't want the 5% of the world who know how to find swirls and know enough to scrutinize washing techniques.



This is probably the worst forum to have this debate since everyone seems to think that washing and waxing cars is an art form, and a delicate skill refined over years of experience. Sorry, but that's just not true. It's pretty easy to find a 20 year old kid, give him a decent wash mitt and some soap, and teach him, in about fifteen minutes, how to gently wash and dry a car. Will he be up to Autopian standards? Probably not. But will he do a 95% swirl free wash that MOST of the world would be thrilled with? Yeah.



If you want that other 5%, then go somewhere else, because Best Buy thinks that you're too expensive to service. And they're not about to increase their costs, and eventually prices, just to make YOU 100% satisfied. they would much rather focus on the 50,000 people who are in the store RIGHT NOW, ready to buy something.



If you had a bad experience and you don't want to shop there, that's fine. But to say that your experience is representative of Best Buy as a whole, is completely ignorant.



$10 Billion in sales and $153 million on profits just this quarter, in this economy, speaks for itself.

 

[Kean]

I don't think you know the full aspect of how much of a failure Best Buy is as a company.

.....I can vouch for some aspects of the business I find that they do things wrong (or could use improvement), but would I consider them a failure? ....no way. They are the one of the reasons why some large companies (like the one I work for) are doing well these past 12 months despite the decline in the economy (record sales and increased market share). ....they must be doing something right.

 

[Kean]

Best Buy's detailers are trying to sell to the 95% of the world that just wants a clean and shiny car. They don't want the 5% of the world who know how to find swirls and know enough to scrutinize washing techniques.







This is probably the worst forum to have this debate since everyone seems to think that washing and waxing cars is an art form, and a delicate skill refined over years of experience. Sorry, but that's just not true. It's pretty easy to find a 20 year old kid, give him a decent wash mitt and some soap, and teach him, in about fifteen minutes, how to gently wash and dry a car. Will he be up to Autopian standards? Probably not. But will he do a 95% swirl free wash that MOST of the world would be thrilled with? Yeah.

.....I have seen the damage car washes can do by simply messing up a "simple" job like car washing. The Neanderthals who call themselves "techs" or "detailers" that you usually find at dealerships are some of the worst. ....and those guys are typically trusted with rotary buffers. These are folks that are using the same wash media, drying towels, etc. on multiple vehicles in volume. While their technique, tools and products may be adequate, I question that they would take the extra time & care needed to avoid cross-contamination, etc. Just from family members and friends alone (I'm not a professional), I have had to help correct damage caused by the use of these types of services. I would not consider these folks "Autopian" in any sense of the word but they were obviously not satisfied with the results. However, some didn't understand how the scratches/blemishes got their from just a simple wash. After explaining the various ways this can occur and finding out what methods they were using, then they understood. I'll even jump out on a limb and wager most of a typical pro detailers clientele initially seek their services for similar reasons.







btw, my Dad made the mistake of taking his truck to what was considered a "decent" car wash in a relatively rich town (they do quite a few relatively high-end cars). He really didn't feel like washing his truck that day so he had a weak moment and took it the car wash. .....it wasn't until he got home that he discovered significant scratches in oval patterns on his hood (in addition to the typical ones you might expect from these places). It was obvious the monkeys had a piece of grit/dirt stuck on the drying cloth and rubbed it into the paint. He took it back immediately and they (naturally) tried to deny it. They finally broke down and offered to correct it themselves. ....he promptly declined and called me. To make a long story short, I was able to effectively remove the scratches (I initially had doubts). ....my Dad was happy and lesson learned.

 

[Dan]

It's pretty easy to find a 20 year old kid, give him a decent wash mitt and some soap, and teach him, in about fifteen minutes, how to gently wash and dry a car. Will he be up to Autopian standards? Probably not. But will he do a 95% swirl free wash that MOST of the world would be thrilled with? Yeah.

Like I said earlier in this thread, it would be great if BB could pull off a decent standard of car cleaning. But by your own admissions, they do not want to try very hard. I don't think you can train someone to wash a car well in 15 minutes. You can tell them what they need to know in 15 minutes, but its going to take quite a while for them to master cleaning well and fast. Add in a mix of vehicles that will come in from totally trashed to totally expensive and you think 15 minutes will do? As was mentioned, plenty of new car dealers can't even do that, to the point that most autopians are putting signs in their cars to not wash.

 

[CocheseUGA]

.....I can vouch for some aspects of the business I find that they do things wrong (or could use improvement), but would I consider them a failure? ....no way. They are the one of the reasons why some large companies (like the one I work for) are doing well these past 12 months despite the decline in the economy (record sales and increased market share). ....they must be doing something right.

Failure as in internet term, not literal term. They are a good business model, especially if you're an investor. Failure, as in customer service and quality.

 

[CocheseUGA]

Look, between March and May of this year, Best Buy moved $10 BILLION worth of product from their shelves. From that, they yielded $153 million on net profits, AFTER taxes. If you want to call that a "failure" go right ahead, but I don't think many people would agree with you.



And when you talk about how they "butcher" audio installs, you're making very broad, global comments that you couldn't possibly know enough to make. Have you conducted a thorough review of audio installs from a representative sample of Best Buy stores? There are over 1100 stores in the US. How many have you actually been to? 5? 10? Sure some of them might have poorly trained employees and low quality standards. But for everyone one of those, there are ten stores that do perfectly acceptable work on 90% of their cars.



I haven't read the customer service surveys you referenced. But I'm sure they say what all customer service surveys say. There are a majority of people who are indifferent and then some small outliers who either had an overwhelmingly bad experience, or a surprisingly good one. All of those negative outliers, however many there are, are NOT on Best Buy's priority list. They frankly don't give a crap where you shop. And MOST negative feedback, is based on some kind of above-average, or expert knowledge of the product or service. And again, servicing customers who are that discriminating is too expensive.



Best Buy's detailers are trying to sell to the 95% of the world that just wants a clean and shiny car. They don't want the 5% of the world who know how to find swirls and know enough to scrutinize washing techniques.



This is probably the worst forum to have this debate since everyone seems to think that washing and waxing cars is an art form, and a delicate skill refined over years of experience. Sorry, but that's just not true. It's pretty easy to find a 20 year old kid, give him a decent wash mitt and some soap, and teach him, in about fifteen minutes, how to gently wash and dry a car. Will he be up to Autopian standards? Probably not. But will he do a 95% swirl free wash that MOST of the world would be thrilled with? Yeah.



If you want that other 5%, then go somewhere else, because Best Buy thinks that you're too expensive to service. And they're not about to increase their costs, and eventually prices, just to make YOU 100% satisfied. they would much rather focus on the 50,000 people who are in the store RIGHT NOW, ready to buy something.



If you had a bad experience and you don't want to shop there, that's fine. But to say that your experience is representative of Best Buy as a whole, is completely ignorant.



$10 Billion in sales and $153 million on profits just this quarter, in this economy, speaks for itself.

See above. They make money. That's great. But that also makes them one of the places I'm least likely to buy from due to poor customer service.



If you're not familiar with why they have earned that reputation, perhaps you shouldn't be arguing against it. Or at least go and do some research on the subject. THAT'S ignorance. I'm not sure why you're so adamant to prove me wrong. You say you have no stake in it, do you argue for argument's sake?



Best Buy has a bad rep for a reason. While people are more likely to report on a bad experience than a good one, that holds true for everyone. Even a simple Google of it yields far more results than anyone else. Surely, these people have gone to the same 5 or 6 stores, right? Every other store has to be perfect, surely? No.



I'd wager I've visited around 30-35 stores. While that's a small percentage of the number of physical Best Buy stores, it's more than enough to give an indication, as a consumer, about their business practices, specifically in the realm of what they consider customer service. I found it funny that in every single one of these stores, I experienced the same thing. At some point you go from a coincidence to being SOP.



I personally know people who have gotten car audio installs at around 10 stores. Only one was done to acceptable standards. One had driven the car around for about 50 miles and claimed to not know how that happened. It would be one thing if these were isolated incidences. But, after doing a bit of digging, they weren't.



If 95% of the world wants a clean and shiny car, the swirl 'o whirl down the street does the same job for $3.99. They're going to find a very small market who are willing to pay $50 for a $3.99 result.



But I don't know what I'm talking about? Me? You make a lot of assumptions, and it looks like you do it about a fair number of things.

 

[Less]

This discussion is really putting me on tilt. I can't understand how you can all ignore the indisputable evidence right in front of your faces.



If EVERY single Best Buy employee, in EVERY single store was a complete failure in terms of customer service and quality, how the hell could they stay in business? Think about it. It's not like Best Buy is set up in the middle of the desert and it's the only place that sells batteries for 30 miles. There's over 1100 of these places, all set up in high traffic areas, near lots of other stores. Many of those other stores sell the exact same products. And many of those stores either have the same price, or will price match. So Best Buy is on a completely level playing field with it's competition in terms of location, price, and selection. So if their service was half as bad as you say, shoppers would avoid it easily and the business would fail. Instead, they've got profits in the triple digit millions while Circuit City and Tweeter are in bankruptcy.



And Kean - Your story about the car wash is pretty typical of other car wash stories that are on this forum. Look, just about everyone here tells their dealership "don't wash my car". None of us would dare take our cars through the tunnel wash. And only a brave few of us would even go to the touchless at the gas statioin. And even then, it's only when it's 10 degrees outside and there's an inch of salt on the car.



Everyone here KNOWS that dirty brushes, harsh chemicals, and poor technique lead to marred paint. Yet somehow, someway, on that first warm day of the year, there is a line half a mile long waiting to get into the tunnel wash.



Just because Best Buy, or the car wash, doesn't do a job that is satisfactory for YOU, doesn't mean that it's not satisfactory to SOME people. It just so happens that those particular people have $40 Billion dollars to spend on home electronics each year, and Best Buy has the products and services to satisfy those needs. What could possibly be wrong with that?

 

[Dan]

If EVERY single Best Buy employee, in EVERY single store was a complete failure in terms of customer service and quality, how the hell could they stay in business? Think about it. It's not like Best Buy is set up in the middle of the desert and it's the only place that sells batteries for 30 miles.

Wal-Mart seems to do just fine with that model. As does McDonalds, etc.....

 

[CocheseUGA]

Wal-Mart seems to do just fine with that model. As does McDonalds, etc.....

Yup. Profit =/= great service.



People go there because in a lot of places, it's the only place to shop for high-end electronics. People don't like buying a lot of things online.



But, it's not worth arguing. Some people think Forbes is a better source.

 

[Less]

Wal-Mart seems to do just fine with that model. As does McDonalds, etc.....

When you're doing business on the scale that Wal-Mart, McDonalds, and to a significantly lesser extent: Best Buy, do business, you have to be very aggressive in terms of price. The only way to do that is to be very aggressive in terms of your own costs. That means that you make sacrifices in terms of your quality. Could McDonalds hire an experienced chef with years of experience to cook their burgers? Sure they could. Would that ensure that 100% of their customers receive quality food. Probably pretty damn close.



But wait, it's just a burger. Could I hire some high-school kid who can barely spell his own name for one-tenth the cost and still get 99% of the quality. Yup, I sure can. Beyond that, can I now lower my price and drive up sales volume. Yeah, awesome!



I'm not denying that companies like Best Buy will widdle down their quality standards to find the lowest common denominator. But to say that EVERY employee in EVERY store is a failure at customer service is a gross exaggeration.



I would also like to point out the incredible irony of this discussion. Nearly every pro-detailer on this forum could tell you a story about a customer who paid for a simple basic service and then got pissed off when the car wasn't immaculately perfect. This is exactly the same thing.



I just wish you guys could realize that what you're experiencing is a complete mismatch of expectations. That's it. You sound so foolish when you try to pretend that YOUR experience is representative of an entire organization that is bigger than you can possibly fathom.



EVERY employee in ALL 30 stores you've been to was rude and incompetent? And what exactly makes the 9 out of 10 audio installs that you've witnessed "below acceptable standards". what do you consider "acceptable" standards anyway. Is it the same thing that I (knowing nothing about car audio) would consider acceptable? And so ONE of your buddy's cars got taken for a joyride, big deal. I'll bet you'd have trouble finding ONE automotive shop anywhere that hasn't had an irresponsible employee do something like that at some point in its history.



I don't see why everyone is so insistent that Best Buy washes cars "wrong". They just do it differently that you do it, and while there are significant disadvantages in that, it's certainly acceptable to their target market. If they wash a car, and the customer is happy, what could possibly be wrong with that?

 

[CocheseUGA]

What does it matter? Anything I write you aren't going to believe.

 

[topnotchtouch]

No thanks, wouldn't let the Geek Squad within a mile of my computer. Why would I let them touch my car?????????