With GCU's sub fee increasing so much & the continued processing errors with the 10% I'd like to see BB return to striving to provide the best they can offer. When the dedicated game reps were there with the trade in counters trades went smoother & faster plus you weren't in the same line as returns/exchanges. The cost issue can be negated by having the areas partly subsidized between advertisements & a "Powered by ___________" partnership. You're already providing some of the best trade in values out here but the entire process of getting thru the trades is less than adequate.

When Best Buy offers Deals of the Day, which normally is a deal for it is priced way lower than what it normally is, should the product be available? Why should a customer have to wait 5-7 days on a product that could easily be carried in the store? Product shouldnt be offered as a deal if the customer is going to have to wait for it. Offer deals on products that are ACTUALLY available, and if not be willing to offer rainchecks every once and a while, ecspecially to MyBestBuy members who are loyal shoppers.

While looking at laptops and tablets recently, I noticed some new Microsoft consultants in Best Buy.  They had Best Buy logos on their shirts so I'm assuming they are still Best Buy employees or sub-contracted employees.  To me, this seems kind of silly and odd at the same time because I'd hope that if you hired someone to work in your computers department they would know about Microsoft products.

 

I think this sort of spotlighting should be reserved for something more niche like Apple computers.  Being a Mac owner myself, I dread talking to Best Buy employees because a lot of the time you can tell they're not comfortable or knowledgable about Apple stuff and they're just giving you their best guess.  I wish Best Buy would put this same effort into hiring Apple Consultants and it really makes sense for Best Buy's sustainability as well because love them or hate them - Macs are on the rise, even outgrowing Windows computers' growth for over 20 consecutive quarters since 2007. 

 

As an investor, it strikes me as odd how Apple can continue to grow their "first time Mac owner" percentages (announced on just about every earnings call) at their stores when you've seen stores like Best Buy get so aggressive with pricing, offering some units at up to $100.  But at the end of the day, it's the experience.  People will forgo the savings for the knowledge, expertise and service and Best Buy should really take notice of this for their sustainability's sake. 

 

 

 

With inventions of items such as Square (that your store does sell) mobile register should be in play. A line for cash, and a line for credit transactions could help eliminate lengthy lines but even having mobile registers would be great for business. Having customers wait over 25 minutes due to customers being on the phone with banks and/or creditors is unacceptable. 

Furthermore, please advise associates to not give a sob story of why one should order directly from store vs. site-to-store (with corporate only get this and that) as these efforts will drive customers to order online and from other establishments.

 

Last but not least, please do work on providing stores with more instruction to help one another. I wanted to purchase a laptop that my closest store had sold out and inventory stated that other stores within 100 miles still had on site. I was willing to drive the distance that day to purchase item but I could not get guarantee the item will stillbe there upon my arrival. Is there any possibility of creating a better system to support customers willing to give Best Buy that effort of purchase/sale?

As a long time consumer at BestBuy I have seen the transition from many departments where there could be plenty of items to a now crowded area for computers/etc and a huge select space jus for "samsung" products. I mean..really? I'm surprised Apple doesn't have a larger area if you are going to do this! 

 

At first even I thought the idea would be worth going into. However, now I see that it really and truly isn't work the space used. I do have to start questioning Best Buy if the profits from the section is that high really? Cause at least out where I lve you rarely see people go into the section. 

 

So my suggestion is to just remolve the entire department and redistribute the departments respectively. Go back to the old system! 

(to my knowledge) 

 

In store orders can only be looked up via the consumer by calling a representative or by going to the store. 

 

Online orders though you can already view your ownself online, over the phone, or in the store doesn't really matter!

 

I would like to suggest that in store orders also are shown on the orders section of the website. As a person who normally purchases maybe 20-30% of my products in store and the rest of it online it can be frustrating at times. 

 

Reasons I can think of:

 

-let's be honest the receipt paper/ink fades fairly quickly

-some people may wish to keep it as more or less of a "history" page for easy access. 

-can be useful as it would list how many year of a warranty you have

-could print your own receipts instead of getting the store to email/print one out for you!

 

Things people could aruge the idea about:

-possibly somebody could state that the item wasn't shipped but picked up so how can it have tracker information?

 

my response: who says it needs to have a tracker bar? Just have a line that says something like "this item was purchased in store and so it was not shipped"

 

 

I'm not trying to insult the Geek Squad workforce, but it needs to be taken to the next level.

 

Best Buy should start hiring people to actually do repair work on-site. Most things are currently sent to the manufacturer. The only thing I see Geek Squad excelling in is installing bloatware and antivirus software. Everything else is sent out. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Best Buy should be a viable option for those graduating college. Why not? There are thousands of students entering the technology field each and every day, why not make Best Buy a competitive Tech environment to work in.

 

With colleges fast tracking degrees, why not offer competitive jobs to those graduating from them. Best Buy has the opportunity of a lifetime to create kind of service to it's customer base that no other major corporation does. Instead of outsourcing repair to the manufacturers. Do it in-house. It's cheaper, and keeps the money in Best Buy. In-house repair, of everything electronic.

 

 

Here's what I propose:

 

Geek Squad agents should be Technology professionals. Not entry level, on-the-job trained electronics shufflers.

 

Geek Squad should have 5 levels of personnel available at each Best Buy location:

 

• Geek Squad Clerks:. These are entry level personnel who do not perform any work on any equipment. These personnel should be trained in taking proper Computer Triage Reports from customers for a diagnosis to be made by the PC Repair Specialist. The clerk should also be trained in Computer Hardware and Components. A Geek Squad Clerk should know the difference between a Sata Hard Drive and a Solid State Hard Drive and other hardware that goes into a computer, and be able to make sales accordingly. Geek Squad Clerks will be the grunt force within Geek Squad. They should be the ones that deliver.

 

• Audio/Visual Specialist: The Audio/Visual Specialist ideal candidate shall hold a certificate or higher level degree in Electronics or have cable or satellite television installation experience. In-Store training can be allowed in this position.
  

 

• Geek Squad PC Repair Specialist.: The PC Repair Specialist will hold an Associates level degree or higher and Best Buy should prefer candidates with International Society of Certified Electronics Technicians (ISCET) OR Electronics Technician Association International (ETA-I) Certifications. This position would be available at each Best Buy store. PC Repair Specialists shall have training responsibilities for Geek Squad Clerks.

 

• Geek Squad Computer Support Technician The Computer Support Technician will hold an Associates level degree or higher and Best Buy should prefer candidates Associates Degree or higher in Information Technology. The candidate should have in-depth knowledge of operating systems,understand the concept of Desktop Support and programming languages. The Computer Support Technician shall have training responsibilities for A/V Specialists.

 

• Geek Squad Leader (Information Technology Manager): This is the manager of Geek Squad Personnel in Best Buy Stores, and the person who hires, trains, and checks repair work. The candidate should have a Bachelors degree or higher in Information Technology Management, and desires to continue education to Masters Degree or higher.

So, now that we have these positions, what should we do with Geek Squad? MAKE IT A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION! Yep. Put it up there with the likes of CDW, Xerox and other technology professional organizations who take care of the total technological needs of the business.

 

In-Store Changes Required for this change:

 

In order for this idea to be successful, Best Buy will need to change how it operates at the retail level. Currently in most, if not all Best Buy stores, customer service and Geek Squad are inter-twined and indistinguishable. It feels like Best Buy threw a penguin costume on it's former Customer Service personnel. Here's what I propose:

 

• Like the Magnolia Home Theater and Best Buy Mobile, Geek Squad needs its own dedicated portion of the store, complete with it's own POS system, appointment management system for it's PC Repair Specialists.
• Geek Squad should specialize in Technology as a whole. Technology is the core of what Best Buy does; professional-izing that in the services it provides solidifies this core value.
• Becoming a technology professional would require hiring knowledgeable, educated staff who have the ability to create and retain a customer base. Hiring a PC Repair Specialist for a local Best Buy Store who knows their stuff brings repeat customers.
• Compete with New Egg and Tiger Direct directly. Sell a wide variety of Video Cards and Memory, Mother Boards, Processors and other PC components of all types IN-STORE.  People go online to buy things because it's not available in store. Simple as that. The Geek Squad section of the store should showcase components, not computers. Displays should be dedicated to the latest NVIDA Video Cards, top of the line Corsair Memory and the Coolest Cooling Systems for computers. It should inspire and awe customers. The PC Repair Specialist should do a "Build of the Month" display where he or she builds the perfect computer.
• Reduce the amount of repair orders that leave the store and go over-seas to the manufacturer to be repaired by providing professional, on-site computer diagnostics and repair. Simple.
• Geek Squad service should be professional, geeky, and tech-y. Staff should be knowledgeable.

 

I see Best Buy's Geek Squad becoming SO much more. Let's get this suggestion to the right Corporate big-wig!

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Michael {removed per forum guidelines}

 

Don't get me wrong I am 100% for security and Identity Confirmation. It comes to a point though where when you have been on hold for so many hours on end and keep getting transferred to different people that you have to ask "Why are you asking me the same thing he/she did"

 

So I am suggesting this: You confirm with the person your identity and somehow this profile of information/confirmation is then sent to the person who is being transferred to. This way you can get right down to business and do not have to worry about wasting another 2-3 minutes on the details...