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Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What?November 1, 2009 So I went shopping at Best Buy over the weekend and was standing at the cash register paying for my new headset when a conversation took place between two employees over my left shoulder that got the attention of the cashier ringing me up. This young woman was clearly distracted by her coworkers, but not so much that I cared. My transaction was moving along just fine. However, I did care when she asked one of those two workers behind me if she’d just heard him correctly. What happened next has got to be one of the most unfathomable occurrences in the history of retail. She asked him if he had just called the other woman to whom he was talking the most offensive, derogatory term that could be used to describe a female and one so bad that I can't say, let alone write it. I thought, “How does something like that even happen?” 1) How does an employee let such profanity leave his mouth on the selling floor where customers can hear? And 2) how does someone repeat it in the presence of another customer (in this case, me) not standing more than 12 inches away? Clearly, there are several major things wrong systemically and operationally at Best Buy, I suspect at both the store and organizational levels. A few things come to mind…1. Hiring: Is there something wrong with their selection process? If this kind of thing is going on beyond this one situation in this one store, then the answer is yes. But even so, large-scale problem or not, I would imagine that they’d want to fix it because their goal can’t possibly be to have candidates degrade the values of the brand and appall the customers shopping there. 2. Training: Are the employees trained and if so, what are they being taught if it’s not Retail 101: Decorum on the Selling Floor and Customer Service 102: Loyalty, Repeat Business and its Relationship to a Positive Shopping Experience? I’ve always been a big believer that training should be as much about clearly communicating the “rules of engagement” as it is about teaching, learning and acquiring skills. This would be a very good example of why. 3. Supervising: Where the heck was the guy or gal who is supposed to be minding the store? Because for something like that to happen, it suggests that the employees were feeling way too comfortable. Or, I suppose alternatively, the manager could be role-modeling standards just as low, which is equally as big a problem. 4. Managing: I’m curious as to where the biggest lack of judgment is here. Is it management for not having the right policies, infrastructure and communication channels in place? Is it the in-store managers who are not ensuring that company standards are met by enforcing basic protocols? Is it the employees for lacking the maturity and professionalism to manage themselves on the floor in front of customers? I don’t know. It’s a great case study… one for the textbooks for sure. But wherever the flaw, in Best Buy's case at this point, they clearly need a mechanism to manage the problem out before it reaches any more of its customers. Posted by Donna Flagg on November 1, 2009 | Comments (8) Industries: Human Resources
November 1, 2009
In response to: Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What? Retailbug commented: Another possibility is that the employees don't really care what most people think of them. Most of them get hired for the least amount of money, and are given the most amount of work, so something like being in a bad mood or having a potty mouth isn't going to matter that much as long as they perform their more important tasks; like charging you. Besides, no one ever said Best Buy was some kind of electronics boutique.
November 2, 2009
In response to: Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What? Jett commented: Basic civility is a far cry from a "boutique."
November 3, 2009
In response to: Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What? Carol M commented: I read this with great interest and familiarity. My husband and I were at Best Buy for the 2nd time in 2 weeks trying to return a TV that quit after less than 2 years. We had spent hours on the phone getting everything set up and finally got approval to exchange the TV. On the first visit all went fairly well although we were shuffled around between 3 different workers. When we asked if someone could come to our house and take out the old TV and install the new TV (after all it was their product that failed) we were told only if we paid them an additional $99.00. My husband was quite upset about this and was trying to talk to them explaining why this was a problem. The employee kept interupting my husband and acting like we were total idiots. What happened to "the customer is always right?" After my husband vented a bit we left knowing we would have to return with the old TV and then we could pick up the new TV. We are older people, not exactly spry and we were told it was up to us to wrangle the TV into the store and to get the new TV and take it home. Not an easy task for 2 people in their 60's with arthritis, etc. Anyhow we managed to do that the following week....and even though we could not get anyone to go to our car and put the TV on the cart and bring it into the store....(they said it was a security risk)we managed to get it to the service counter. The girl who was helping us obviously had NO clue about how to do the exchange. After asking a co-worker 3 times for help and 45 minutes of us waiting....she finally muddled through. I can't believe they do not train their people better...and like you said....where are the managers. While we were standing in line, one man in front of us starting yelling "I want a manager here now" and the woman behind us complained that she would never buy from them again. Well we certainly will never buy from them again either. They have good prices but NO service. I would rather pay more money and get the service I need when something goes wrong. We now have a TV sitting in the box at home and are waiting for the satellite people to come install it (at a cost to us of course).
November 3, 2009
In response to: Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What? Joe- N.Carolina commented: I too went thru a terrible customer service event at this company last year
November 3, 2009
In response to: Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What? Some Buttinsky commented: It's amazing you heard anything in that zoo. Usually the noise level is deafening. How were the headphones? I've been in the headphone game recently, and after much searching find that price doesn't really matter, it's all about the fit of the "ear bud." And these fall off easily.
November 3, 2009
In response to: Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What? Donna commented: Indeed. Makes me wonder if their fate will mirror Circuit City's. They are certainly well on their way from a front line perspective...
November 17, 2009
In response to: Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What? Jeff commented: You should try living in Miami where you are greeted by these situations on a daily basis. The newspaper has written several articles about the incivility, lack of manners, and just plain obliviousness of service personnel, but nothing ever changes. You would think with the current economic situation management would have some leverage, but apparently not. But ultimately, you get what you pay for, it's either low prices with no service or higher prices with service. America as a service economy, hum...not a bright future for any of us.
November 17, 2009
In response to: Profanity on the Selling Floor: Best Buy Say What? Donna commented: Yes, you would think...!
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