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Special: Best Buy in Thurrock

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21 May 2010 Jim knows his Blu-ray stuff JIM was so clued up on Blu-ray he ended up talking me and another customer through the technology at the same time. Looking for a Blu-ray player, I had headed to the TV department at the back of the store. I began to browse the products on display and found four likely Blu-ray players. The Panasonic (DMP-BD65EB-K) was £198.99, while the Sony (BDPS370B) and Panasonic (DMP-BD45EB-K) were both priced at £179.99. A Samsung model (BD-C5500) was selling for £159.99. Jim then joined me and asked if I needed any help. I told him that I had recently watched a Blu-ray movie at a friend’s house and that I was keen to get a player myself. Jim kicked off his sales pitch by asking me if I have an HD-ready TV and I said that I did. He also asked if I have an internet connection at home and after I confirmed that I did, Jim explained that I would be able to download extra content using the BD Live links on Blu-ray discs. Jim pointed out that Best Buy sold “a good selection of Blu-rays”. “The good thing is,” he said, “you can buy your Blu-ray player, then you can actually start your Blu-ray collection, and it’ll upscale your existing DVDs.” At that point, another customer, wanting to know about Blu-ray, butted into the conversation that Jim and I were having. Unflustered, Jim started to help the man, as well as me. Jim asked if I had music or video content stored on my computer, and I said that I did. “Then you can put that through your router and stream it on your TV – it’s called DLNA, which is Digital Lifestyle Network Alliance. “That’s a long mouthful, but it basically means you can connect everything together.” Jim showed me the Blu-ray discs area of the store and I thanked him for his help. Summary: Jim disclosed that he was a sci-fi movie buff, so I guessed he would know his stuff. Even when the other customer joined in the chat, he was able to answer both our questions and explain how to get the most out of, not only the Blu-ray player, but Blu-ray discs too. The only thing missing was a demonstration. Score: 9 out of 10 Hands-on with an iPod I WANTED to buy an iPod to replace my first generation unit, so headed to see what was available. Lewis greeted me and asked if he could help me. I explained that I was looking for an upgrade and did not know what was available. He asked if I had “a lot of music” and I said that I had quite a large CD collection. Pointing to a silver iPod Classic, which was priced at £175.99, Lewis said: “These iPods are made for high quantity.” He explained that the 160GB model could store up to around 40,000 songs, but he said this would depend on track length. I asked what other models were available and he mentioned the iPod Nano and iPod Touch, but he discounted them, as they had much smaller capacities. Lewis said the iPod Nano was only available with 8GB and 16GB capacities, whereas the iPod Touch offers 8GB, 32GB and 64GB. I asked if the iPod Classic could play video content and Lewis said it could, but that it could only support certain file types. He advised me to check out content on iTunes. Lewis told me that all iPods in the store were loaded with music and he said that I should listen to some tunes and get used to the navigation wheel. He said that the iPod was the only music player that allowed users to select tracks through scrolling. “Apple has a patent on it, so you’ll never see it on another device,” Lewis said. Summary: Lewis was friendly and helpful. He was able to talk me through the range of iPods and then rule out the ones that were not relevant. A very clever tactic was to encourage me to interact with the product. Other than failing to close the sale, Lewis did well. Score: 9 out of 10 Geeks lose the satnav I WANTED to buy a satnav, so I approached a member of the Geek Squad, who was on the shop floor, to ask if he could point me in the right direction (no pun intended). It became clear that he did not know where they were located, so he asked Zara for some help. Thankfully, Zara knew where the products were. After leading me and the Geek to the satnavs, I explained to Zara that I was fed up with using maps and that I wanted to buy my first satnav. “We sell TomTom and Garmin,” she said, “but I prefer TomTom. Some people like the Xbox 360 and some like the PlayStation 3 – it’s just my opinion.” She asked where I drive and I told her that my work takes me all over the UK and Ireland and into mainland Europe. Zara showed me the TomTom XL Classic at £139.99 and began to demonstrate it to me. She pointed out how straightforward satnavs were to use. She showed me the key features, how to plan a route and she pointed out that the unit had a speed camera alert feature. Summary: The member of the Geek Squad should have known where the satnavs were. Zara did a good job though. Her demonstration was very good and showed just how easy the units were to use. When she did not know the answer to a question, she found out. Score: 9 out of 10 Fahidda leaves me watching TV FAHIDDA talked me through the TV options, then headed off to see if the TV was in stock. Sadly, that was the last I ever saw of her. The TV department was reasonably busy with two members of staff serving customers and four other customers browsing. Fahidda joined me and asked if I needed any help. I explained that I was looking to buy a new TV and was interested in knowing what she could recommend. She asked if I had a particular brand in mind. I said I did not. “What do you like watching on TV?” she asked and I said that we watch sports and movies. Fahidda talked me through LCD, LED and plasma technology. She explained that plasma screens were ideal for fast movement, such as sport, but she pointed out that pixel burn out was an issue for plasmas and something for me to consider. Fahidda said that LCD TVs were more energy-efficient than plasma and that LED sets were more slim line and heralded LED as “the best technology for movies and sports”. I said I’d like to look at LED sets. Fahidda asked what size I was looking to buy. I said that I currently owned a 32in set but was looking for something bigger. “The biggest is a 46in set,” she said, but I said that would be too big. I suggested a 40in model. Fahidda showed me a 40in Samsung LED set (UB40B6000), which was priced at £898.99. “Do you want to take it away today?” she asked. I said that I would need to check with my partner first. She then told me that she would go and see if the product was in stock – after four-and-a-half minutes of waiting, she had not returned and I noticed that she was serving other customers. Summary: Fahidda gave a very basic overview of the different technologies. When I told her I wanted to buy an LED set, she showed me one model, but did not really explain any of its features and then simply walked off. Score: 2 out of 10 No one to sell white goods IT WAS a lonely experience in the major domestic appliances area in this new store. It was eerie walking along the rows of washing machines. While the consumer electronics areas were bustling with both customers and staff, I was the only person in the whites area. And there were no members of staff in sight. I was after a new washer-dryer. Two machines looked ideal for my needs. The 1,400-spin Hoover model (DYNW854) had a washing capacity of 8kg and a drying capacity of 5kg. It was priced at £499.99. Meanwhile, the 1,400rpm spin Hotpoint model could take an 8kg load for washing, while its drying capacity was 6kg. It was on sale at £523.99. Some point-of-sale material indicated that the store could deliver the new appliance and take the old one away. Ask a Blueshirt for details, the poster said. If only. With no staff anywhere near where I was standing, I left the department thoroughly disappointed. Summary: On the run-up to its grand opening, Best Buy has made much of its Blueshirt sales team. However, in this example, there were no staff to be seen. How can a store expect to sell white goods, when there are no staff on hand to help customers? Score: 0 out of 10 Tim swears by Sonos SWEARING to get across how good a special offer was did not impress me, as Tim had done quite well up to then. I wanted to buy the Sonos wireless system, so had started to browse the products on display in the home audio department of the store. The system was blaring out Fearne Cotton’s Radio 1 show. Tim joined and apologised for keeping me waiting. He explained that a couple of staff had phoned in sick that morning. I told Tim I had seen Sonos advertised in magazines. “Basically, this is the wireless music system for your home.” said Tim. He explained that the Sonos system could share my wireless network, which would then give me access to around 25,000 internet radio stations, while Napster, at £5 a month, “would enable you to stream up to 9.1 million MP3s. Tim said he would demonstrate it for me but he said someone had forgotten to charge the remote. He showed me the Sonos ZonePlayer S5, an all-in-one unit, which was priced at £349, but he explained that the product currently had £100 off as one of the store’s opening promotions. “We’re doing it for £249.99. Sonos stuff is never discounted, so I think we pissed them off.” Summary: Other than the swearing incident, Tim did a good job. I’m sure it was not his fault that the Sonos controller was not working. I got the impression that had he been able to demonstrate it, I would have bought the system. Tim’s mention of the promotion was an attempt to close the sale. Score: 8 out of 10 Ignored over a netbook I WAS looking to buy a netbook so that I could check my emails and Facebook when I am out and about. In the PC area of the store, I started looking at two netbooks. A female member of staff was standing just yards from me as I began to see if my chunkyhands were OK on the keyboards. The Dell Mini (1011 Red) and the Acer Aspire One (AOD250 Blue) were priced at £199 and £249.99 respectively. According to the price tickets, these were very similar, with both having a 10.1in screen, 1GB memory and 160GB hard drive. By now the sales assistant had wandered off to talk to a colleague in a different department. As she was deep in conversation with her chum, I decided to leave, disappointed at being ignored. Summary: We often say that ignoring customers is a form of retail suicide. Staff chatting to each other should be saved for the staff room – chatting on the sales floor is unprofessional when there are customers to serve. Score: 0 out of 10 Summary SO MUCH has been written in ERT and the national press about Best Buy’s arrival and I hoped our day in Thurrock would be a great experience. Sadly, I was left disappointed. My team’s day in the Best Buy store was a real mixed bag, with some great examples of customer service, but too many bad experiences, which I am sure will be of concern to Kam Prajapati, the store’s general manager. We witnessed great enthusiasm and service from Lewis, Jim, Tim and Zara, but we were disappointed to be ignored by a member of staff when we were looking at the display of netbooks. It was also disappointing that no staff were in sight in the major domestic appliances area, while Fahidda’s disappearance was just odd. Best Buy hailed its first store opening in the UK as a resounding success and the company announced that the opening weekend was the biggest ever opening weekend for a Best Buy store anywhere in the world by volume of sales. Well done, Best Buy, but, based on my team’s visit, there is lot more work to be done to get all staff up to the same level. The customer is king and retailers of all sizes, even the giant-sized, would do well to remember that.