You know, I’m not above admitting when I’m wrong. Most of the time. And this is one of those times.
About ten years ago I had a really, really horrible experience at Best Buy. In short, they refused to honor one of their extended warranties on a stereo I purchased from them. I got lots of supportive mail and even more hate mail.
But now that I’m a number of years from it, I’m not sure the haters were so wrong. Oh, sure, they might have been a little… uh, uncooth?… in their replies. But why did I hate Best Buy anyway? They just made a big mistake. That’s all.
I realized that Best Buy wasn’t this big evil company when I stopped in one of their stores recently. I was looking around at cameras, planning to get another point and shoot digital one. I walked in and was greeted by a helpful security man at the door. “Good day sir,” he said to me from behind a glass wall. Very polite! I was surprised.
I then proceeded to the camera department, which was bright and colorful. A bevy of cameras awaited me, and I started browsing them. I was soon approached by a salesperson there and – like you I’m sure – my thoughts turned dark. But no! Things were okay. I told him I was looking at point and shoots, and Larry was most helpful. He walked me through the selection and eventually helped me settle on a Mustek – a brand oft overlooked by consumers, I learned. Oh sure, it was about $30 less than the Canon I’d been eyeing, but it was worth it. It runs on AA batteries and everything. Very fancy. And no pressure, again, from Larry.
Even my checkout experience was solid. There were 10 cashiers, all ready to help me, and a line in only one. The cashier greeted me, asked how my day was going, and took my order… all very, very politely and with no fuss. I was floored.
As I left Best Buy that day, with my camera in hand and new extended warranty (I saved $30, remember?), I realized that maybe this big “bad” company wasn’t so big and bad after all. Life’s too short to worry about this type of stuff, you know? If you just think less about stuff, it makes life so much nicer. I’m proud to declare that as of today, April 1st, I am a Best Buy fan.
Thank you, Best Buy!
Posted in Consumer Commentary
jk April 1, 2008, 2:16 pm
Skeptical jk thinks this is a joke.
Is it??
I have had nothing but positive experiences in their stores.
Maria April 1, 2008, 5:41 pm
April fools!
I’ve found at the Best Buy here you pretty much have to corner an employee and force them to help you. Then again, most employees at most stores are like that around here. They have mastered the “I’m pretending I don’t see you and acting really busy” move.