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iM@k · Oct 18, 2007, 11:29 PM

After four years of slaving for Best Buy, I'm moving on to bigger and better things.

While I still stand by what positive things I have said about them in the past, I have seen the negatives that I had heard about (and until recently, had not seen at my store) start to happen.

The other deciding factor was that early in the summer we lost a lot of staff (They saw the negatives coming and jumped ship), which resulted in me working 10hr shifts, 6 days a week. At first it was awesome because of all the over time, but as we're going into the holiday season, and hardly any of the opening have been filled, I'm dreading the even longer hours I'd have to work if I stay. I also don't want to be the drowned rat who did know when to jump.

I already have a few job interviews lined up, my first one is tomorrow.

Wish me luck, and pray that I can get out of BB before Nov. 25th!

pinenuts · Oct 19, 2007, 12:31 AM

What did you do for them, and why did you do it for so long?

- - e r i k - - · Oct 19, 2007, 12:32 AM

Never stay in retail for more than three months. *shudder*

Chuckit · Oct 19, 2007, 12:46 AM

Your incentive wasn't just that it was Best Buy?

iM@k · Oct 19, 2007, 01:34 AM

Originally Posted by pinenuts

What did you do for them, and why did you do it for so long?

When I started it was only supposed to be until I found something, better, I wasn't planning on working there more then a few months.

But, the GM at the time was a wonderful woman who everyone liked (We all called her 'Mom") and as we were one the of the new small market stores, the way we operated back then, was with much more ease and it was truly about the customer.

So since I liked it, I stayed.

Then, they rolled out the Geek Squad program at my store, and I was promoted to the Double Agent position, going to peoples homes to fix the computers, Something I really liked doing. It was literally my dream job!

A few months later, 'Mom" was demoted and sent to another store. The reason given was that upper management didn't think she was a good fit as GM, but liked her as an employee, so they didn't can her.

The new GM hated everybody, and demoted me back to the sales floor, but kept me at the same pay (No reason was given for this, but I was told it was only temporary).

Well Long story short, things Sloooooowly started to degrade. It was only till this summer when the others realized it and left, that I saw it too.

turtle777 · Oct 19, 2007, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

Never stay in retail for more than three months. *shudder*

QFT.

-t

pinenuts · Oct 19, 2007, 01:55 AM

I have heard over and over how Best Buy fires good GMs and hires people who hate employees so the employees leave.

Why do they do that and why do I hear this same story over and over?

Kevin · Oct 19, 2007, 04:26 AM

Originally Posted by pinenuts

I have heard over and over how Best Buy fires good GMs and hires people who hate employees so the employees leave.

Why do they do that and why do I hear this same story over and over?

Probably from disgruntled employees.

Chuckit · Oct 19, 2007, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by pinenuts

I have heard over and over how Best Buy fires good GMs and hires people who hate employees so the employees leave.

Why do they do that and why do I hear this same story over and over?

Probably because Best Buy has a different idea of "good" than most people.

TheWOAT · Oct 19, 2007, 11:27 AM

To keep wages down and to make sure the store is full of naive fresh recruits who think its a decent job, the type of people who will try their best to sell extended warranties and never question the retarded team building exercises.

starman · Oct 19, 2007, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

Never stay in retail for more than three months. *shudder*

Meh. I was at an art store for eight years and loved it. Best retail job I ever had, and I still keep in touch with some of the people I worked with. Sometimes you get lucky.

theDreamer · Oct 19, 2007, 12:05 PM

I worked in retail or about 8 months total in two 4 month blocks, same store, same location, same people, only a few low level employees were gone or quit.
The job was fine at first, certain other employees basically were horrible and hate me because I liked to work so they would pull practical jokes on me, ironically they got fired because they started taking over hour lunches and other things.

In my second round of retail (the second 4 month block) the place just seemed different and was really a horrible place to go to everyday, even though most of the upper end people were the same they changed for some reason. I worked at a Sears Hardware, and the second block was after K-mart bought out Sears or whatever that whole fun thing; so a lot of changes happened and the store was going down hill. I left and moved on to better things.

Chuckit · Oct 19, 2007, 12:17 PM

It's not ironic when people who don't like to work get fired — it makes perfect sense.

- - e r i k - - · Oct 19, 2007, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by starman

Meh. I was at an art store for eight years and loved it. Best retail job I ever had, and I still keep in touch with some of the people I worked with. Sometimes you get lucky.

You worked in retail for over eight years? How is that lucky?

brassplayersrock² · Oct 19, 2007, 09:39 PM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

You worked in retail for over eight years? How is that lucky?

I'll give you a clue

"I still keep in touch with some of the people I worked with."

Alex

macfantn · Oct 21, 2007, 11:13 AM

i worked in retail for 8 hours once, almost killed myself.

mdc · Oct 21, 2007, 11:37 AM

During 11th grade we had to do job work experience for three days. I was out of the country for a a good bit of the time so I didn't have a chance to sign up. I got back a day or two before the work experience was to start, so I went with a friend to a large computer retailer that he was going to work at.

The retail aspect of it made me promise myself that I would do whatever it took to never work retail.
A few years later I had to stop by a call center and those few minutes made me make myself another promise.

- - e r i k - - · Oct 21, 2007, 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock²

I'll give you a clue

"I still keep in touch with some of the people I worked with."

Alex

I keep in touch with my non-retail colleagues as well. Err...?

brassplayersrock² · Oct 21, 2007, 07:24 PM

why do you keep in touch with them?

- - e r i k - - · Oct 21, 2007, 07:28 PM

Because some of them are my friends still?

brassplayersrock² · Oct 21, 2007, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

You worked in retail for over eight years? How is that lucky?

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

Because some of them are my friends still?

put one and one together and you can get one reason why he might think working where he did was lucky. retail or not

IceEnclosure · Oct 22, 2007, 01:10 AM

I worked at Pier 1 Imports for 3 years when I was 19, it was my second job. I was kind of a stockroom guy but I also worked on the floor and registers from time to time. Wasn't so bad at all. Mindless jobs have their place I think.

My first job was bussing tables and a short short stint washing dishes. Everyone on earth should have to be a dishwasher for a month of their life.

- - e r i k - - · Oct 22, 2007, 01:25 AM

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock²

put one and one together and you can get one reason why he might think working where he did was lucky. retail or not

What has that to do with working in retail? Because you can make friends that makes up for having a crap job?

Kevin · Oct 22, 2007, 02:14 AM

My first job was working retail in Sears Hardware. I did that for about 3 years. Worked mostly with young females.. (boss was a perv) I'd have to do most of the helping of the older grumpier men cause "women don't know tools" While that isn't true. The girls I worked with surely didn't. I got a job at Wal-Mart with it FIRST open up in 1990 around here (They payed better than Sears did actually). Worked it 7 months. 4 months of that was just helping putting it all together. After that I pretty much got out of there.

The NEXT retail job I had was Office Max. Which wasn't really a retail job so much for me. I didn't have to wear a tie and smock, but a blue knit "Copy Max" shirt. I did the graphic design on an old 7300 running 0S 7.5 Using Quark, Pagemaker, Photoshop, and Illustrator. It was actually a blast, and I learned a lot about design the cause I had a lot of free time. I worked for Fenton glass right after that doing their web page and brochures. Then they layed off a bunch of people, and hired their web provider to do the page. That didn't work out, and by they time they were begging me to come back, I already had a job at the newspaper.. and I could go on and on like this. It's been a fun trip. The only place I regret working at is Wal-Mart.

MacosNerd · Oct 22, 2007, 07:44 AM

I worked at a number of small computer stores, back in the day. This was when they not being crushed by the super stores like comp-usa. It was pre-internet and we had setup a couple of computers with a shareware library for people to come and copy software. Great setup, got people in the door.

I then worked at egg head software for a few years, that also was a pretty good experience. I remember the day they came out with the "QUE" card, which was like the discount cards that are offered everywhere. If you signed up for one (which was free) you saved 5% off of purchases. Of course what most people didn't realize was that the night before they rolled this out, they jacked the price up by 5%

I miss working there, much more exciting then sitting in a cubicle for 10 hours a day. Sniff, the good ol days. Of course those good ol days consisted of working two jobs, and going to school at night. 18 hour days were the norm, that part of the good ol days I don't miss

starman · Oct 22, 2007, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

You worked in retail for over eight years? How is that lucky?

Retail gets a bad rap because bosses are usually assh*les and the conditions suck, but I fell into a good store with good people and never once had a problem.

starman · Oct 22, 2007, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

What has that to do with working in retail? Because you can make friends that makes up for having a crap job?

Who are you to say it was a "crap job"? It was a FUN job. Now Sam Goody, THAT was a crap job.

- - e r i k - - · Oct 22, 2007, 06:28 PM

Good for you. You can get lucky in retail. But for most it's a black hole that sucks you in, removes your ambition and motivation and locks you in a low-pay "managerial" position.

Seems that some retail is better than others though.

MacosNerd · Oct 22, 2007, 06:37 PM

I have to say I enjoyed working in the computers stores. Yes dealing with the public can be frustrating, but it was so different then sitting in a cubicle I looked forward to it. I'm tempted to jump back into it once in a while, but its difficult when you have a family. You know shuttling the kids from one practice session, to some sort of play date etc.