Why I Hate Best Buy

I like technology.  At one point I was a Certified Electronics Technician and a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.  I spent a full year of my higher education studying electronics and building things like AM/FM radios, wireless transmitters, and even my own Digital Multimeter.  I've built my own circuit boards from scratch including using acid to etch the circuit traces, I've built my own computers, wired numerous vehicles with audio systems, worked in the IT industry for over a decade, held the title of "Engineer" at more than one point in my career, and am the guy who friends and family members call when they need someone to wire their home theater or troubleshoot a PC problem.  I'm what you might call a geek.  I admit this and don't feel it is a derogatory term.

With all of that said... I hate Best Buy.  In fact, of all of the techie (or dare I say geeky) people I know... none of them like Best Buy.  People like me tend to treat Best Buy as nothing more than a showroom for Amazon, Newegg, or Monoprice because we know enough to prevent us from actually buying anything from Best Buy.

It isn't that Best Buy doesn't have what I want - because they often do.  One of their primary problems is their prices are outrageous and even their sale prices are above what I can find the same product for elsewhere.  When it comes to accessories like cables and television mounts they are often times 500% to 1000% more expensive than their online counterparts.

However prices alone aren't even the reason I hate Best Buy.  I hate them because of the atmosphere they have created.  I hate them because of their policies.  I hate them because of their high-pressure sales tactics, continual desire to upsell everything, and sales staff that act as if they are well versed in electronics and that the customer could not possibly know more than they do.  I hate that they go out of their way to manipulate customers by using shady tactics to make less expensive televisions look worse than the more expensive alternatives or how they have product displays meant to convince people that products from Monster Cable or Bose are somehow superior than anything else.

Most of all however, I just hate that Best Buy makes you feel like you need to take a shower after you visit one of their stores.  Their customer service is horrid.  They push extended service contracts on EVERYTHING even when it makes no sense, and their salespeople are always trying to push add-ons or accessories to items that the customer simply doesn't need.

The last time I was at Best Buy I overheard one of their salespeople brag about how he was actually an employee of Apple and not of Best Buy.  Whether that is true I have no idea, but he spent the next ten minutes name dropping other Apple Employees in the area and calling himself an Engineer while customers who were looking at Apple products were ignored.

Over in the television department I had a salesman try to push me to DirecTV and bragging about their new channel lineups and how they had the NFL Sunday Ticket package before he actually knew what I had for television service or before he could be bothered to ask if I was a football fan.  He then went on to talk about the new 3D televisions as he rattled off specifications as if I should be impressed.  After I responded and informed him that I felt passive 3D technology was superior to the active system he was pushing (and I provided him reasons to support my viewpoint), he suddenly realized I wasn't just another ignorant consumer before he said in a passive-aggressive manner "maybe you should work here".

Yea right.  That would be a great career move.  Thanks, but no thanks.

I also noticed during my recent visit that a six foot HDMI cable was selling for $49.99.  Over in the videogame department, a different brand of HDMI cable was selling for $59.99.  I would love to hear the logic behind why they feel a HDMI cable for a videogame system is worth $10 more than an overpriced HDMI cable for a television, but frankly I didn't have the patience to ask one of the salesman for an explanation.  It is a digital signal - there is no need to go crazy for name brand expensive ultra high-end cables because every comparison test I have ever seen says they aren't worth the price, yet do you think Best Buy would offer a bargain cable that might appeal to the consumer?  Of course not.

The saddest part is another customer was in the process of buying one of those $50 cables and I didn't have the heart to tell them they could buy a cable that works just as well as is just as good of quality over at Monoprice for under $5.  In fact you can even get your choice of color and the cable will run $3.50 (or about 93% less cost). 

Then I noticed the price of their flat panel television mounts.  For the larger televisions, the price ranged from $129.99 to $199.99!  Are you serious.... $200 for a television mount?  I bought one a few years back from Monoprice and it ran under $25... including shipping.  That mount that Best Buy wants $200 for was a low profile mount - a generic version of that same style mount costs under $12 at Monoprice.

I understand brick and mortar stores need to charge a bit more.  I get it.  What I don't understand is why Best Buy often charges 10, 15, or 20 times as much for a nearly identical product.  Obviously nobody who is "in the know" would ever buy these types of items from Best Buy, so the only thing I can assume is that they are selling cables and wall mounts and speaker wire to people who simply don't know any better.  Is this a good business model?  Rely upon uneducated consumers as your target market?

As I said price is not the only reason I hate Best Buy.  I also hate the fact that they feel the need to "optimize" computers via their in-house Geek Squad technicians (and I use the term technician loosely here).  I've actually heard of experiences where people have tried to buy laptops from Best Buy but they have been unable to because Best Buy refuses to sell one without them adding unnecessary fees to it for their optimization service.

When it comes to LCD or Plasma calibration services it is even more idiotic.  Best Buy charges ignorant consumers $200 to "calibrate" their television which could be done by any owner within 10 or 15 minutes simply by searching for their specific model of television on a website like AVSForum and following the suggested settings.  The worse (and shadiest) part of this is that Best Buy has been caught on several occasions showing calibrated and non-calibrated televisions side by side in an effort to convince people to spend the extra money, but it has been discovered that they show a High Definition (HD) signal on the calibrated set while they show a Standard Definition (SD) signal on the non-calibrated set.  Some people have no shame.

I have also noticed that they can charge anywhere from $39.99 to $99.99 to perform basic tasks on a PC such as installing anti-virus software or applying OS patches and updates.  In many cases if they install software all they do is insert the disk, click next, next, next, finish... and charge the customer $40.  I fail to see how this is at all reasonable - especially when they rely upon consumers not knowing any better.

Of course if you do end up purchasing something from Best Buy, be prepared to be bombarded at the checkout as the clerk makes one final push to convince you that the service plan is a great idea.  Then of course there is a rewards program that you should be a member of, there is a great deal on their on-demand video service or a discount on DirecTV that you need to be aware of.  Do you need any batteries or a gift card to go along with that?  Fifteen minutes later you might be able to head for the exit only to have the "Security" guard ask to see your receipt because you happen to walk a total of 20 feet from the cash register to the door and obviously that suggests you must have been trying to steal something.

When it comes to returns, things don't get any better.  I was once near their service desk when a rather angry customer was trying to return a dishwasher.  He had paid for one model, but after driving home and installing the dishwasher, it was discovered Best Buy had given him the wrong model.  He apparently tried to resolve the issue over the phone, but since Best Buy didn't believe him he had no choice but to uninstall the dishwasher, drive all the way back to Best Buy, and then argue with a manager about how their screwup was their fault and he should be compensated.

Did I mention the guy had a two hour drive to his home?  Yea... I imagine I would be slightly upset as well, yet the part of the conversation I was hearing involved the manager trying to blame the customer for not checking the model number on the box against his receipt.  This is the mentality at Best Buy - when in doubt, just blame the customer.

I could go on for hours.  I have at least a half dozen similar stories about Best Buy customer service, and at least a half dozen examples of how they have either gone out of their way to lose a sale, or they have not delivered on promises made during the time of sale... but rather than start adding chapter numbers to this post I'll just summarize by saying there are many good reasons why I don't buy things at Best Buy and why I do my best to convince others to avoid them as well.

The reality is I don't know many people in my circle of friends who actually buy things at Best Buy.  Those that do shop there are generally not the type of people who are well informed about technology, or they are merely going there to buy gift cards for kids or grandkids.  I realize my experiences are not reflective of the community as a whole, but I can't help but feel that Best Buy exists in spite of themselves.

I never hear positive news about Best Buy.  I never hear people brag about how they love the store.  I don't hear about how someone got an amazing deal or how they were treated so well.  I also don't read good news about Best Buy, their stock price, their finances, or their prospects.  This all has convinced me that if Best Buy continues doing the same things as they have been doing - they will continue to lose customers and they will continue circling the drain as they follow in the footsteps of other electronics retailers like Ultimate Electronics or Circuit City.

The funny thing is - I'm not the only person saying these types of things about Best Buy.  I recently read an article on the Forbes website written by Larry Downes that makes many of the same points as I have made here.  Downes has his own real-world examples of why Best Buy is a failure, but he also cites specific data about their financial condition, their declining revenue, and some of their recent missteps. 

Mr. Downes actually suggests that Best Buy is actually going out of business - even if they don't know it yet.  I felt it was a great read, and surely worth a few minutes of your time if you are at all interested in the subject matter.

Cliché of the Day: You Get What You Pay For

Have you ever heard someone say "you get what you pay for"?  I may be naive, but for the most part when I pay for something... I do actually get something in return.  Thus if I paid for it, I would get it - and this phrase is essentially worthless.

I understand what people are getting at.  They are suggesting that if you spend a few bucks more, you will probably get a much better product, but does that really need explaining?  You mean to tell me if you spend MORE you get MORE?  You are also telling me if I buy the cheapest possible version of a product I will get the cheapest possible version?  Alert the media!

The whole idea of a tired cliché such as "you get what you pay for" is that it is used so often people fail to even take the time to really discern what the words actually mean.  Taken at face value it is mere common sense... you may as well hear people running around yelling "gravity exists" or "rain is wet". 

Of course when you start debating the merits of a cliché  there is always that one guy who has to proclaim "there is an exception to every rule".  I will admit there is an exception to "you get what you pay for" because in some cases you might actually get something for nothing, and therefore you actually got much more than you paid for.  In other cases you might pay for something and never actually get it... as is the case if you sent a check to a Nigerian Prince who promised you untold riches for a small fee to cover the import taxes.

However for the most part, the "exception to every rule"  cliché is no better than the "you get what you pay for"  cliché.  Frankly, there is an exception to the exception to every rule, which creates a double exception.  Does that mean they cancel each other out and create a positive exception?  What exactly is the opposite of exception in the first place.... is that an inception?  I suppose it could be a parcel (integral part) but that isn't nearly as interesting.

So let's discuss what is a rule and what isn't.  In the simplest example possible, we can look at the rule that states during a baseball game if the runner is tagged with the ball before they reach the base then they are out.  Is there really an exception to that rule?  Maybe some baseball expert will correct me, but I surely can't think of one.  If the defensive player doesn't have the ball or doesn't make the tag obviously it won't be an out, but that isn't the question being posed here.  Of course this is where someone will nitpick and suggest that if the umpire doesn't see the action properly they could make the wrong call and in that case the runner might be safe by mistake... but that is a stretch.  First of all what the umpire sees is a separate issue and we are merely focusing upon what the rule says, so for the sake of discussion we must admit the rule has no exception.  The rule itself is clear - the runner is out if the proper conditions are met, but there is no exception to that rule and allows the runner to be safe if some other condition is met.

Then again if there is an exception to it, is it really a rule or more of a suggestion?  Is a rule a fact, or just a general guideline?  It seems a rule should be clearly defined and not be open to interpretation... so then we start wondering who is doing the interpreting.  Clearly we need an expert opinion and we can't just take the word of anyone walking down the street... because most people offer their opinions for free and we all  know you get what you pay for.

Right?

The Silver Briefcase

For some reason I've always wanted to own a briefcase.  Not just any briefcase mind you, but one of those silver metal briefcases used in countless TV shows and movies.  It was often seen holding piles of cash (used for ransoms, bribes, or black market arms deals), various forms of illegal drugs, or in some cases a bomb with a visual countdown timer comprised of large red digits.

This all reminds me of something I've noticed about these briefcases though.  Did you ever notice when the "bad guys" passed a load of cash or drugs they always sent the case along with?  I guess when you are exchanging a few hundred grand perhaps it doesn't matter that you are giving up a $400 briefcase, but what if the drug dealer had a sentimental attachment to the case?  Can they just dump the cash or the drugs into a brown paper sack and send them on their way? Would they feel shortchanged if they gave up their nice shiny briefcase but in return they were given a hello kitty messenger bag?  What are the rules for bag exchanges during drug deals... this is information I just can't figure out via Wikipedia.

Also, why don't drug dealers ever use cheap duffel bags?  I have to tell you if I know I'm going to walk away from a deal with either a pile of cocaine or a pile of cash... I'm thinking I would rather have it in a backpack or something.  Because if a cop sees a guy walking down the street with a metal briefcase he might start asking questions.  On the other hand, if a cop sees someone walking around with a backpack... well that is just another guy with a backpack.  He blends in - that is the entire point right?

Ok so clearly I'm never going to actually own a silver metal briefcase, because I don't wish to be confused with a drug dealer and I don't want to deal with the hassles of the TSA if I ever decide to fly somewhere.  Plus, I'm more a function over form type of guy... so I'd much rather have something with a shoulder strap and something that I can easily stow a laptop in without needing to remember a random three digit combination.

You have to admit though... walking around with a silver briefcase would probably turn some heads.  Maybe not because people think it is cool, but people wondering if they were sucked into a time vortex and arrived back in 1987... you know - back when people actually used briefcases.

An Open Letter To Sears

Dear Sears Executive Management Team, Board of Directors, and any other employees who actually care:

I have a major problem with Sears, but I also have hopes and dreams that Sears can once again become a store in which customers actually seek it out rather than simply ending up there as a last resort.  Sears has so much potential, but it seems leadership lacks the ability of tapping that potential and in fact it seems they stomp it to the ground as often as possible in order to prevent customers from thinking Sears might be a great place to spend money.

Sears is simply out of touch and yet it appears the management team doesn't even realize it. Watching this sad implosion is much like watching someone walk into a glass door and hit their head.  Rather than realizing the door is closed and they can't walk right through, they just keep pounding their head against the door again and again expecting a different result.

I'm sympathetic Sears... but my sympathy is short lived to people (or businesses) which don't learn from their mistakes.

One major issue with Sears is that you are trying to be all things to all people. You sell appliances, you sell electronics, you sell home furnishings, you sell baby items, you sell clothing for the entire family, you sell lawn and garden equipment, power machinery, tools, exercise equipment, vacuum cleaners, garage door openers, pool tables, grills, tires, car batteries, jewelry, shoes, kitchen gadgets, housewares, eyeglasses, photography sessions, and much, much more.

In my local store, you just added beds which required a sizable portion of the store to be removed in order to make way for a product which most likely will not do any better than the housewares it has supplanted.  How do I know this you ask?  Well for starters, within 1000 yards of my local Sears store you can find no less than FIVE other stores that sell mattresses.  I'm not talking about furniture stores here - I'm merely talking about stores that focus on beds and beds alone.
Don't believe me?  Here is a short list of the stores I'm referring to:

Beds and Beds
Klocker's Mattress World
Beds by Design
Select Comfort Sleep Systems
Comfort King Mattress Factory

One of these stores is in the same mall as Sears, and another one is about 100 yards away just across the parking lot.

In addition to the above, there are several furniture stores close by as well.  These include HOM Furniture as well as Slumberland Furniture.  There are also other big box retailers that offer beds including Sam's Club, Menards, Macys, JCPenny, and Big Lots.  The saddest part is that I'm listing these stores from memory which suggests there are probably a few others I'm not even aware of at the moment.

How about a little market research Sears? How about instead of trying to be all things to all people you define who your target customer is and what market you are trying to enter?  How about you define who your competition really is?  Are you trying to complete with Best Buy and Home Depot, or are you trying to compete with Montgomery Ward and Woolworths?  Sadly... it appears you are trying to compete with them all and you failed to get the memo that a few of them no longer exist.

Find something you do well, and stick with it. Even Walmart doesn't sell everything (you will notice they don't have a stellar tool selection, and they tend to shy away from most major appliances aside from the occasional dorm sized fridge or chest freezer). The fact is, Sears still has a reputation built around brands like Craftsman and Kenmore, so why is it so hard to focus on what people actually want?

Most people don't go to Sears to buy clothing... they go to Sears to buy something else and just happened to find a pair of jeans on the way out.  People also aren't looking for fine jewelry or perfume at Sears, nor do they want to buy a mattress from a store that stocks string trimmers two aisles away nor do they want to be assisted from a guy who was selling shoes ten minutes ago, and who will probably be talking to someone about a cordless drill an hour later. 

The average Sears store is a relic, and sadly is probably twice the size it would need to be.  Many are located in malls which are underperforming, and those that are truly standalone stores just aren't destinations any longer.  What Sears should do is focus upon appliances (both large and small if you must), lawn and garden, and tools.  Drop "the softer side of Sears" because it isn't working.  Kick the mattresses and the shoes to the curb, remove the glass cases full of gold plated Timex watches, and let someone else take the cheesy family photos and sell bargain eyeglasses to the kids.

It is time to understand that Sears hasn't been relevant for 20 years.  It is time to acknowledge your idea of what is trendy or what is hip really isn't.  Nobody wants to spend a premium for something that has Ty Pennington's name on it nor do people want the Kardashian name printed on the front of their shirt.  The average person who shops at Sears is not a designer nor a fan of People magazine... they don't care about the people you seem to think they care about.  For every piece of Kardashian clothing you sell, someone else is shaking their heads as they turn around and head towards Macys or Kohls. 

It is probably also worth noting that nobody under the age of 40 even knows who Jaclyn Smith is, so while your competition is snapping up celebrity names like Martha Stewart, Sean Comes, and Gwen Stefani, you are still trying to convince the world that trendy clothing should somehow be synonymous with a former 70s television star.  If that isn't a prime example of how Sears is no longer relevant I'm not sure what is.

Finally, when you start acknowledging that you can't be the best at everything and that you can't be all things to all people, perhaps you will also acknowledge that when someone else offers a better product, it is probably a good idea to sell it rather than try to make it.  Sorry, but slapping the Craftsman or Kenmore name on an otherwise inferior product is no way to build brand loyalty.  In fact it has the opposite effect.

This is why so many other premium brands restrict where the brand can be used. Audi doesn't put their logo on a Volkswagen.  Banana Republic doesn't stock Old Navy sweatshirts in their stores.  DeWalt has distanced themselves from Black & Decker.  Ralph Lauren sells his lower priced items under the Chaps brand.

Kenmore and Craftsman should be premium brands.  They should not be diluted to the point where they can be tossed on grill accessories or cheap garage cabinetry made out of MDF, or cheap imported tools.  Extending the brand does not necessarily improve the brand, and until you realize that you will continue to lose millions of dollars each and every quarter.  Or, as is the case with your most recent quarter... you will lose HUNDREDS of millions of dollars.  I won't claim to be an economist or long-term business strategist, but I somehow don't feel that business model is sustainable.

Oh and by the way... the 1980s called and asked if they could have their Sears logo back. This is the modern world, and it requires a modern look.  Hire a new marketing firm and step one should be a logo redesign.  Retro styling would serve it well, and a shift to "Sears and Roebuck" and or a shift straight to the "Roebuck" name with a premium twist might serve you well.  Sadly, taking your company backwards 100 years would actually result in modernizing the entire concept.  However please don't insult your customers by slapping up a new sign and pretending everything has changed.  You need to start from the ground up.  Modernize the stores, improve the customer experience, remove the high pressure sale tactics that make customers feel like they are walking the Midway at a carnival, focus on what you can do well, and maybe you will see your beloved customers return.

Sincerely,
Craig

Worth a Thousand Words

A few years ago when I became a father, I received a gift of a metal picture frame that says "Dad" on the bottom.  Inside the frame is a photograph of me holding my infant daughter while she sleeps.  It is a nice photo, and I understand the meaning behind it, but there is some confusion at work here.

The thing is, these types of picture frames always bother me because of the whole built-in purpose.  Since the frame says "Dad" I can't exactly just put a newer photo of my daughter in it without me being in the photo... because that would be odd.  Also, shouldn't the photo really be a photo of my dad rather than a picture of me as a dad?  Would it be weird to have a photo of me alone in it?  I mean I'm the dad... so isn't that what the frame is for?

If I had a frame that said daughter, I wouldn't expect me to be in the photo, but I would expect it to be a photo of my daughter.  Same is true if the frame said "Best Friend"... that wouldn't be a photo of me, but rather a photo of a best friend right?  Of course if the frame said "Best Friends" then I would expect to see an image of two people... one of which could be me.  If I saw a photo of just one person the context is just wrong and it wouldn't make sense unless that person happened to suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder.

So what about those frames that say "I Love You" on the bottom.  I would seem rather conceited if I put a photo of myself in one of those frames wouldn't I?  Even if I was in the photo with someone else it still would border on being a bit too vain.  So in that case I suspect it would be best to insert a photo of a loved one that I actually did love.

It gets even more confusing when the frame has a name on it.  So if I had a frame that said "Tom" on the bottom, I assume that means I would have a photo of Tom in the frame.  Of course this means I would need to know a Tom, but I suppose if worse came to worse I could just print out an image of that MySpace guy.

So if a picture frame with a name on it is designed to have a photo of that person in it, it seems that any frame that says "Dad" should have a picture of Dad in it... but not necessarily me, but rather it seems to make more sense to have a photo of my dad - or I should just put in a photo of me and then give the frame to my daughter.  She is only 2 1/2 years old... so I'm guessing she probably wouldn't put nearly as much thought into this as I do... so that would probably work.

On second thought... maybe the picture frame companies need to start including directions on these things to make it easier.  They do of course give you stock images in the frames most of the time (see photo above), but even those are confusing because in some dad frames it just shows one guy while in others it shows a man and child.  I even saw one that had two girls in it which is even more confusing, and one had a girl with a dog which suggests either they are being very liberal with the meaning of the term "dad" or they are from the deep South where that type of thing is considered normal.

I suppose I could be the only person on the planet who has ever given this subject much thought, but hey... if we allow people to just start putting random photos in random frames with no structure behind it before you know it the poles of the Earth could reverse, dogs will be sleeping with cats, and we might actually see a Republican say something positive about President Obama.

Yea I know - it will never happen.