I’ve heard a lot of retail stores are ailing, and as I was doing research on purchasing a Mac, I decided to stop at Best Buy to do some of my shopping there.
In our house, I’m the researcher. I peruse websites, look up reviews, and otherwise try to figure out the best way to spend our hard earned dollars.
As such, I’ve been responsible for over 90% of the electronics purchases over the last fifteen years.
I haven’t shopped at Best Buy in a couple of years. We bought our plasma TV there, but I bought our last TV and laptop directly from Dell.
My husband decided to stay home with the kids instead of dragging them an electronics store and trying to make them behave, so I was on my own.
Taking what I’d already learned about a Mac and my small list of questions, I drove to the nearest Best Buy.
I was somewhat surprised at how empty the parking lot was. Last time I was there, I had to park in Famous Footwear’s lot to get a spot. But, I was in the front ¼ of the parking lot, and that was just pulling in. Granted, this was on a Sunday afternoon, but even Sundays used to be so packed you had to walk far enough that your Fitbit thought you were exercising.
Shrugging, I enter the store, get my bearings, and head back to the computer section. There are two couples in the entire computer section. Two. No one else is there.
The first couple appears to be in their twenties, and they’re shopping gaming keyboards.
The other couple is probably in their sixties, and they have two salesmen helping them with a third watching the other two salesmen help them. There are two other Best Buy associates strolling through the computer area.
Interestingly, no one offers to help me or asks what brought me to the store.
I eventually find the Macs, and I take a few minutes lifting them (3 pounds in really light, by the way), and trying to decide how they’ll fit on my actual lap. As I’ve mentioned, my Alienware is a powerhouse, but it’s heavy. More of a portable desktop than a laptop.
After a few minutes perusing the stock, I still haven’t had a salesman help me, and I can’t figure out how to buy one. Is there a slip I take to the front? How do I get the configuration I want?
Finally, I chase down a salesman to ask the few questions I have. Like will Word documents play nicely between a Mac and Windows if both machines are running Word.
The salesman, who is literally doing nothing else, acts like he’s super busy and says he’ll see if he can get someone to help me.
I let him go and left the store.
I called Apple, asked them my three questions, then proceeded to order a computer and have it delivered to my home.
Not entirely sure what happened at Best Buy. Maybe the guy was genuinely busy. Maybe he didn’t know Mac products. Or maybe he was on his way to break, and I was interrupting him. Not sure, but if I can’t get a better experience in person, I’m going to enjoy the convenience of online shopping and buy stuff that way.
Just an FYI Best Buy. And based on your parking lot, someone needed to tell you that.
How about you? Ever had a frustrating experience at a retailer? What happened? How’d you handle it?