Just open the damn case and let me buy my Nano
August 23rd, 2006
It’s not everyday you get to go shopping for a flat screen HD television,
Xbox 360, Madden ‘07, Project Gotham Racing, wireless controllers, an iPod
HiFi Speakers and an iPod. Spike and I were getting to live that dream at
Best Buy purchasing all the video and audio needs for a client’s upcoming
mobile tour. Everything was going fine until we came to the MP3 department.
The MP3 guy told us to wait a minute while he finished with a customer and
as this was going on, other customers joined us waiting for him. After a few
minuites, the Best Buy salesperson returned and asked all of us what we
wanted. I said a Nano, the young guy said the $299 iPod. The MP3 guy then
asked, “Why an iPod?”
I was stunned at first. Spike says that we’re Apple guys. The young guy
looks horrified. We then receive a lecture about “did we know that only
songs from iTunes can play on an iPod and that if you have Napster,
Rhapsody, etc, chances are it won’t play on the iPod.” The young guy actually
gets down on one knee he is totally confused now. So I asked him if he
burned his CD’s to his hard drive? His answer was “Yes.” Well, then, you can
use an iPod. And then MP3 guy says, “Not necessarily” WTF? Then I somehow
find myself in an argument about Napster’s format. Next - and I see it
coming - he directs our attention to the Creative Zen “It’s a better value,”
he says. At this point our Nano is still locked in the case, and I’m
thinking “Where’s my Apple friendly CompUSA guys?” Leave it to Spike to be
the calm one, he pipes up “hey man can we just get our Nano?” As our
salesperson walks us to the department’s checkout, another women walks up to
him and asked “Who do I see about buying an iPod?”
All this made Spike and I wonder was this just a case of honest concern
about customers MP3 purchase or is it something else. Whatever it is, it
flipped my switch and I became a citizen marketer going to battle on the
front line, going hand-to-hand combat with a salesperson over trying to help
a stranger make an MP3 player purchase.
Other posts by Geno.
Jackie Huba says:
Geno,
August 23rd, 2006 at 8:40 amDo you think that Best Buy sales guy gets a commission or incentive for selling a Creative Zen? Maybe that’s why he was trying so hard to persuade people out of buying the iPod.
Geno says:
Jackie he could, that would explain things a little. It was an odd experience for me. I don’t usually go to Best Buy but they were offering a Madden special. It might be a long time before I make another purchase at Best Buy.
August 23rd, 2006 at 10:21 amFI Chris says:
I used to work at Best Buy. Their salespeople do not get commissions (or any other kind of incentives); in fact, we were supposed to inform customers of that during our sales. The closest they get to any kind of a sales bonus is the top three PSP and PRP (service plan) sellers get recognized (i.e. pointed out to everyone else, but not actually given anything of real value) at the monthly store meetings. So he may have actually been concerned with getting his customer the best product, although not going about it very well. Or he could have been a fanboy with a retail sales job; I knew plenty of them, too.
August 23rd, 2006 at 1:48 pmFI Chris says:
Having said the above, I have to confess: one of my biggest pet peeves was when customers would come in without having done any research at all on the product they came to purchase. They just wanted whatever it was because their friends or neighbors had one and society dictated that they must have one, too. At that point, they would ask me to tell them what they needed. You can’t imagine the number of times I was tempted to say, “If you don’t know what you’re going to do with it, you don’t need it at all. Go away.” It sounds like the kid hadn’t looked into what he wanted from an mp3 player or how their respective differences might affect his experience with the product. And yet, he was willing to fork over $300 for it. Buyer beware, indeed. On the other hand, you and Spike knew exactly what you wanted and why you wanted it. Those were my favorite kind of customer.
There, that’s better. Thanks.
August 23rd, 2006 at 2:02 pmStan Lee says:
What we have here it seems is a channel incentive program. They’re pretty common, especially when you are a challenger brand.
I worked on one for Ericsson many years ago. Phone dealers earned points for every Ericsson they sold.
They were regularly incentivised to recommend Ericsson over Nokia or Motorola.
The biggest incentive I remember was tickets to the soccer World Cup. To win these you needed to build a high point score. To do this you needed to sell a lot of Ericsson phones.
Best…Stan
August 23rd, 2006 at 3:10 pmJennifer says:
regardless of whether or not this guy was winning an all-expense-paid trip to who-knows-where, it seems that this boils down more to 1) a lousy customer service experience provided by Best Buy and 2) a clash of the brand advocates. You know I am by no means an Apple fan. In fact, I grumble about my stupid iPod every chance I get. Sometimes Apple fans are so quick to leap in and defend their brand that it makes non-supporters all the more resistant… the fact that there is NOTHING if it is not an Apple and there can be no discussion can be frustrating. And, being someone in contact with informed and uninformed customers on a daily basis, it’s likely that he has frustrating customers every day and it just came out. In general, I think it comes down to the fact that brand advocates need to pick their battles. It’s great to love and evangelize your brand… but don’t bother doing it to the people who aren’t going to change their minds. We need to find room as brand fans to agree to disagree from time to time.
August 24th, 2006 at 12:20 pmNathan says:
While I agree that the extent by which this BestBuy employee went to try to get you to purchase the Creative Zen is a bit extreme, I’m suprised at the level of complaint you’re dishing out.
Now, I love a good rant. But really, we aught to be thanking the employee for his initial desire to try to sell the competitors product, and slapping him for being so adament as to give a bad experience. Customers aught to be informed, but they aught not be aggitated. And certainly, as Jennifer stated, if someone obviously has their mind made up, don’t pester them (I used this method often in sales).
All in all, competition is a great thing and the Creative Zen is really the only solid competitor to the iPod. All of my friends own an iPod. I decided to buy a Creative Zen to support competition (and because it supported more video formats). I made this purchase at CircuitCity and got the same situation but reversed.
August 31st, 2006 at 9:08 ama@a.com says:
I can assure you there are no incentives to sell one item or another there.
December 10th, 2006 at 8:32 am