Ron Mexico
Vienna, VA
Male, 36
I worked at the Westwood, CA Best Buy, just long enough to qualify for the employee discount, buy a bunch of stuff for me and my friends, and then bail. I worked in the "Digital Imaging" section (think: digital cameras and assorted accessories). I can't complain too much...the discount was meh. Working in this Best Buy meant I got to see two celebs in the store (Alan Alda just off his West Wing Emmy nom), Ryan Phillipe, and a pre-HIMYM Neal Patrick Harris at the Harris Teeter.
I think that most any business has the right to refuse patronage to anyone. If someone is a known showroomer, it's possible, but I think in this day and age still unlikely for the vast majority of stores. Also, it's really unlikely for someone to be known as a known showroomer unless that person is chronically around; there's multiple shifts of people working at BB.
Of course, you do have to keep in mind that the stores are run by managers, and there's a lot of stores where different people have different interpretations of what is appropriate. So I'd say that usually a known showroomer is unlikely to be tossed out of any randomly selected BB, but it is possible that given all the BBs out there that a known showroomer might have been asked to leave. But again, very rare.
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Sometimes this is done, if the item is deemed to be in new or like new condition. You might see items with a yellow "Open Item" tag that would be a clear indication that the item was opened and returned, which might have a modest discount to account for the ripped up packaging. I don't think that Best Buy tries to place returned items back as new usually, but I could be wrong.
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I haven't been formally trained in security procedures, but I believe that the security guard's actions are more for show (and to weed out bad shoplifters who might get visibly nervous and give themselves away with a simple confrontation) rather than a serious attempt to match your receipt against your items. It's also possible the security person saw your checkout and might already know what was in your bag. If your BB got very busy, it'd be difficult to check every single bag thoroughly and inconvenience customers - but on the flip side, shoplifting costs all retailers significant losses, which then gets passed down to customers in the form of higher prices.
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Best Buy is in a very, very difficult position. They are stuck because they have a high cost operation (relative to internet retailers, who don't have to pay for overhead like rent, electricity, etc.) so they can't compete for consumer dollars based on cost. Free, expedient shipping which has become the staple of Internet retailing is often even more convenient than picking up at the store. The internet even beats out Best Buy in terms of service because you can get great customer reviews online, and companies like Amazon often bend over backwards to make customers happy. The only time Best Buy really can win is with customers who need stuff urgently and can't wait for online delivery, or from individuals who want to see and touch what they buy (and want to buy their stuff from where they shopped). Not a lot of customers there. Sooooo...Best Buy could get really knowledgeable sales people, but they're expensive, which drives up costs - and it's not clear if people are willing to pay for that knowledgeable salesperson....often a buyer will just get all the info they need on how to buy a TV or home theater, and just go home and order online. This is killing Best Buy's business.
Really knowledgeable salespeople don't want to work at Best Buy because it doesn't pay well, and it doesn't pay on commission. So as a result, you should expect that the salespeople aren't necessarily experts on specific models, though they should have some basic understanding. So for example, they might not know the contrast ratio of a certain HDTV off the top of their head, or the megapixel count of a specific camera, but they should generally understand what those things are, and why they're important (BTW, more megapixels does NOT necessarily mean better quality).
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Ah, the Black Friday con. So if you believe the newspapers (and I do), in general Black Friday is kind of a con. Black Friday's origins, I believe, stem from the notion that BF was the start of the Xmas holiday shopping season - when retailers who were highly dependent on making a profit for the year during the holiday shopping season had their finances turn from the red (financial losses) into the black (profits). Obviously, it's turned into a new "holiday" celebrating America's unrelenting penchant for materialism. In general, BB and other retailers like Wal-Mart and Target put out a few "door-buster" type specials of merchandise that is artificially cheap (like 50" LED LCD TVs for $400) in the hopes of luring people to try to get those door busters - though most fail because they aren't the diehards that get in line out in the cold hours before, and there's only a few in stock of the door-busters. Retailers try to create a frenzy of buying though in general, with the exception of the door-buster specials, the prices are okay, not phenomenal (I believe, in general, the best prices are to be had online with different retailers like Amazon). If you're shopping for specific merchandise that you absolutely must have on BF, it's not a bad time to shop, though it really varies depending on what you want to buy. For example, toys are generally best bought closer to Xmas, not on BF. I'd advise checking out sites like dealnews.com to read more about the best deals and how to get them. Some items are very seasonal too - for example, with TVs, it's often good to buy last year's models when the new models are coming out (much like cars). If you are really on the hunt for something, but can afford to be patient, i'd advise monitoring sites like dealnews.com and slickdeals.net for the item that you want.
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The interview I had was with the department manager (for digital imaging) and one of the store managers. It was pretty relaxed; it felt more like a general fit interview. There wasn't a lot of questions testing my knowledge of the product, which kind of surprised me.
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Funny question....they might be. IF you are purchasing a bunch of stuff, and that stuff includes a bunch of high margin items, a manager might be able to work with you on a deal; if you're buying grey area stuff like open box items, there's possibly even more latitude for the department manager to work with you. So for example, if you're buying a new TV and audio receiver, and all the cables and speaker wiring (which are very high margin, either from outrageously priced Monster cables or their internal brand stuff), the Home Theater manager might be able to give you a deal. If you don't ask, you don't get, so don't be shy about asking...Best Buy knows that they're competing against tough retailers, Walmart, Target, and Amazon, and they don't want to lose big juicy sales.
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