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Best Buy Strikes Out


There are a wealth of places to buy an LCD TV. Why would you ever buy from a store whose employee’s act as if they are condescending to do a HUGE favor by talking to you? That succinctly describes my experience at Best Buy. I chose the TV I wanted on their web site. I read reviews from several sources that said the Insignia was a very good value for the money. It was their store brand and it was priced very aggressively. $699.00 plus tax for a 1080p, 42” LCD TV is a good price. I first looked at the displays and immediately discovered that they were not displaying their own store brand. That cast some doubt as to how it would compare to the other brands. Of course their store brand was priced considerably cheaper than their name brand products so maybe they didn’t want you to see how good it was, instead of how bad it was, who knows since I never saw it.

I finally, after much looking, tracked down a surly little twit who begrudgingly asked me if he could help me. I find it quite interesting when someone nearly a foot shorter than me can convey looking down their nose quite so convincingly. Now as I am a genuine senior citizen, I am sure he assumed that I was dumber than dirt, particularly when electronics are in question. I asked him where the Insignia TV’s were displayed and he told me they didn’t have enough room to display them. This perceived lack of space was in spite of the fact that there were several vacant spaces on their show room wall. I asked about the $699.00 42” unit and he said they didn’t have any. I told him I had confirmed on the web site before I drove the 30 minutes to his location and the web site stated he did have it in stock. He, hmmphed and went to a terminal where he proceeded to pound away for a surprising amount of time(probably texting or emailing a peer) on the keyboard. He finally said, “yeah we have them, do you want one?” I asked him how big the box was and he asked what kind of vehicle I have. I told him a sedan and he said, “it won’t fit.” I asked him how big the box was and he said he didn’t know but it won’t fit. At this point I concluded that he really didn’t want to sell the loss leader TV and I left.

I still want a TV and I plan on getting one but it won’t be from Best Buy, I may be a senior citizen but I am not completely stupid, I can recognize bait and switch when I see it and surly just doesn’t cut it for me. I am aware TV’s are commodities but there is still no reason to be rude about it. I wonder if Best Buy will have to go the route of Circuit City before they discover that customer service or even pleasant sales people are a good thing. I will pay more for someone to, at least, pretend they want my business.

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