IEatApples
Jan 8, 10:17 PM
Updated iMac (without screen issues)… make an option for a quad! :)
I know the chance for the iMac to be updated is small, but this is what the Buyer's Guide says: Days Since Update - 154 (Avg = 185)
I'm just saying, but is it really that far-fetched that we'll see Penryn iMacs on the 15th? :confused:
… Oh, and I want the iPhone to come to Norway!!! :D
I know the chance for the iMac to be updated is small, but this is what the Buyer's Guide says: Days Since Update - 154 (Avg = 185)
I'm just saying, but is it really that far-fetched that we'll see Penryn iMacs on the 15th? :confused:
… Oh, and I want the iPhone to come to Norway!!! :D
DoFoT9
May 15, 11:52 PM
ok. i might try and set it up next weekend. we'll see. only 2 more weeks here though! thank goodness!
haha yay! lucky :D let me know how it goes!
haha yay! lucky :D let me know how it goes!
gugy
Nov 16, 12:39 PM
this is totally bull. Apple is in no position to stab Intel in their back at this time. Plus, Intel is being very reliable delivering on schedule the chips Apple needs. Maybe in few years if their relationship deteriorate I might consider seeing Apple moving into AMD. But it is not happening anytime soon.
QuarterSwede
Mar 17, 06:24 PM
iPhone 4's are everywhere here in CA. They used to be unique, now the only comment is... "oh you have the one with a bad antenna."
I get that from time to time and my response is that I actually get better reception than any phone I've owned (Sony Ericssons included). Antenna-gate is a complete non issue for me.
I get that from time to time and my response is that I actually get better reception than any phone I've owned (Sony Ericssons included). Antenna-gate is a complete non issue for me.
more...
Surf Monkey
Mar 17, 01:21 AM
He probably did pocket the cash, since he asked if everything was cool when he handed me the bag, that def ran through my mind a few times.
Sure he did. That's why he had the system print a receipt. To cover his tracks.
Sure he did. That's why he had the system print a receipt. To cover his tracks.
TheMonarch
Sep 7, 10:20 PM
if the price is right he'll care about anything
Bling bling? ;)
Bling bling? ;)
more...
Patrick J
Apr 15, 04:20 PM
Not if the pictures were taken with an iPhone :D
Specially without flash ;)
Specially without flash ;)
roadbloc
Apr 7, 10:19 AM
I've heard that disk images will be automatically mountable. Another OS X/Linux feature that should have been in the last two features in the very least.
Live integration is also what I'm hearing. It'll be interesting to see how that ones pans out because I hate Live Essentials, but I know some people who love it.
Live integration is also what I'm hearing. It'll be interesting to see how that ones pans out because I hate Live Essentials, but I know some people who love it.
more...
bwiissofly
Apr 11, 12:58 AM
16GB WIFI only iPad 2.
I went back and forth with the idea of "needing" 3G but I have an iPhone, hardly ever travel, everywhere I go has WIFI and I have a MacBook and an iMac. I figure with the money I save, I can use on accessories...or just save :-).
Plus, my friend works at Best Buy and gives me half off accessories.
Any recommendations on apps that are must haves?
I went back and forth with the idea of "needing" 3G but I have an iPhone, hardly ever travel, everywhere I go has WIFI and I have a MacBook and an iMac. I figure with the money I save, I can use on accessories...or just save :-).
Plus, my friend works at Best Buy and gives me half off accessories.
Any recommendations on apps that are must haves?
Sky Blue
Mar 28, 02:22 PM
It's a little cheeky, sure, but the Design Award isn't really anything but marketing opportunity for the devs.
more...
msb3079
Apr 25, 03:45 PM
I'd much rather have a slightly bigger screen (mostly for less "dead" space) than performance improvements, when I'm happy with current performance. WTF do you people do on your phones anyway...??
TeppefallGuy
Aug 2, 11:22 AM
I'm sorry but most people (I'd say 99.9%) can't hear the difference between a CD and a 128kbps AAC file.
Heck, we got people still using 128kbps MP3 for crying out loud. If they heard any difference (or if it really sounded like crap) we'd see them using 256kbps MP3 instead. Granted, the encoder makes a huge difference, but most files you see on P2P networks are 128kbps.
128 M4A (on my system) cuts the top and bottom out and leaves the middle range intact. Maybe it�s my Sennheiser setup or something but 128 actively alters electronic music, rap and nu metal/rapcore. If you only listen to iTunes you�re in for a shock if you go to a concert.
I think M4A was designed for pop pop pop music :)
Heck, we got people still using 128kbps MP3 for crying out loud. If they heard any difference (or if it really sounded like crap) we'd see them using 256kbps MP3 instead. Granted, the encoder makes a huge difference, but most files you see on P2P networks are 128kbps.
128 M4A (on my system) cuts the top and bottom out and leaves the middle range intact. Maybe it�s my Sennheiser setup or something but 128 actively alters electronic music, rap and nu metal/rapcore. If you only listen to iTunes you�re in for a shock if you go to a concert.
I think M4A was designed for pop pop pop music :)
more...
peapody
Apr 7, 08:59 PM
Just got a bamboo plant for my desk...not the vase/pebbles...
also a red velvet whoopie pie, and a vanilla cake whoopie pie..
Both things from Reading Terminal Market in Philly...:D
I always heard it is bad luck to get yourself a lucky bamboo plant - but I guess that is only if you are superstitious!
Got myself an old school firewire ipod charger for my 3g 15gb!
also a red velvet whoopie pie, and a vanilla cake whoopie pie..
Both things from Reading Terminal Market in Philly...:D
I always heard it is bad luck to get yourself a lucky bamboo plant - but I guess that is only if you are superstitious!
Got myself an old school firewire ipod charger for my 3g 15gb!
Piggie
Mar 29, 07:10 AM
I think I will put together an award ceremony for the best designed car in the world 2011.
But only if the car maker allows me to stock their car in my showroom with my nice fat mark-up. Otherwise their car will be excluded from the event.
Not that I'm bitter or petty or anything you understand!
But only if the car maker allows me to stock their car in my showroom with my nice fat mark-up. Otherwise their car will be excluded from the event.
Not that I'm bitter or petty or anything you understand!
more...
wnurse
Aug 10, 05:54 PM
Please tell me where I said that I thought that Apple monitors were better than Dell monitors in anything other than asthetics? I have not made any claim anywhere!
All I said was that tech specs in some places were listed different so something about the panel seems to be different. Yes I bought an Apple monitor, yes I'm an Apple fanboy because I like the look of their electronics, but no I never stated that Apple's monitors were functionally better. On the contrary my statements are to the effect that Dell montiors show functionally better specs, so logically aren't they (not Apple) using the better panel.
Also, what say you to blonde redhead's post about Apple and Dell using different suppliers? Is that correct, or more disinformation.
Get off your soap box, have a cup of tea (or whatever will calm your attitude) and let's have a civil discussion.
Sorry took so late to get back to you..
1. I'm not even sure you were the one that said Dell monitors suck (notice i said "i get annonyed when people.. not I get annonyed when stoid". Anyway, as to different suppliers?.. I was not the one that made that observation/comment. I suppose whoever made that comment can verify for you if that is correct.
All I said was that tech specs in some places were listed different so something about the panel seems to be different. Yes I bought an Apple monitor, yes I'm an Apple fanboy because I like the look of their electronics, but no I never stated that Apple's monitors were functionally better. On the contrary my statements are to the effect that Dell montiors show functionally better specs, so logically aren't they (not Apple) using the better panel.
Also, what say you to blonde redhead's post about Apple and Dell using different suppliers? Is that correct, or more disinformation.
Get off your soap box, have a cup of tea (or whatever will calm your attitude) and let's have a civil discussion.
Sorry took so late to get back to you..
1. I'm not even sure you were the one that said Dell monitors suck (notice i said "i get annonyed when people.. not I get annonyed when stoid". Anyway, as to different suppliers?.. I was not the one that made that observation/comment. I suppose whoever made that comment can verify for you if that is correct.
AP_piano295
Apr 25, 02:36 PM
my question is what would you have McDonalds employees do.
You are asking teenagers to get involved in a fight and try to break it up.
Not really something you expect the average person of the street to do why should teenagers working and McDonalds be any different.
Heck most of the time betting/ fights are over before the brain finishes processing "Is that really happening?" followed by "Should I do anything?" Most of the time they get stuck in an endless loop of not sure what to do and the fight or flight responses takes over.
While the people doing the beating deserve to rot in jail at the same time I would not expect the employees to do anything other than really call the cops. This is one would you expect a person of the street to do something other than really call the cops and it is still over by the time the above loop is completed.
Well I don't know about you but if I saw someone beating the **** out of someone else while I'm working I would certainly get involved. And I would expect the same consideration from others.
If your employed somewhere part of your job is keeping the peace.
You are asking teenagers to get involved in a fight and try to break it up.
Not really something you expect the average person of the street to do why should teenagers working and McDonalds be any different.
Heck most of the time betting/ fights are over before the brain finishes processing "Is that really happening?" followed by "Should I do anything?" Most of the time they get stuck in an endless loop of not sure what to do and the fight or flight responses takes over.
While the people doing the beating deserve to rot in jail at the same time I would not expect the employees to do anything other than really call the cops. This is one would you expect a person of the street to do something other than really call the cops and it is still over by the time the above loop is completed.
Well I don't know about you but if I saw someone beating the **** out of someone else while I'm working I would certainly get involved. And I would expect the same consideration from others.
If your employed somewhere part of your job is keeping the peace.
more...
NAG
Jan 12, 05:59 PM
You do realize that Zod lost every time, right? :p
RoboCop001
Apr 5, 03:33 PM
lol. But when is the Apple Store app going to be released in Canada? Is it available anywhere outside the USA yet?
QuarterSwede
Apr 25, 12:21 PM
Fake. Display looks like paper / printed.
It looks like a retina display to me. People often thought the display was paper on first glance on the demo units after the iPhone 4 announcement.
Doesn't the status bar look taller? I remember a thread on here talking about how they overheard engineers discussing iOS 5 and that was one of the things that would be different. It was going to allow for an SBSettings type of thing and maybe a place for notifications to scroll? Anyways, cool. But I think this is fake.
It looks about the same as my iPhone 4's status bar.
It looks like a retina display to me. People often thought the display was paper on first glance on the demo units after the iPhone 4 announcement.
Doesn't the status bar look taller? I remember a thread on here talking about how they overheard engineers discussing iOS 5 and that was one of the things that would be different. It was going to allow for an SBSettings type of thing and maybe a place for notifications to scroll? Anyways, cool. But I think this is fake.
It looks about the same as my iPhone 4's status bar.
leekohler
Apr 27, 02:19 PM
:o
Back to the issue at hand, McDonalds....
I literally almost threw up towards the end of the video. Do you think the perpetrators were aware of the victim's transgender status? I could barely make out what they were saying in the video as I had to listen to it quietly...
Also- Let's realistically think about what the employees can/should have done... My initial instinct/gut reaction is for the manager to lock the doors to prevent the girls from running. Then you need to realize that McDonalds surely has policies in place for times like this, and the risk of an employee getting injured attempting to apprehend a criminal is a lawsuit waiting to happen....
Another gut reaction is that if the manager had a shotgun under the counter, this situation never would have devolved into the poor victim convulsing on the floor.
My last gut reaction is that Baltimore finally made it to my list of places to never return to.
I think if I were her, I would consider moving to a different city as well. I can only imagine that these girls have relatives who will most likely harass her. It's sad to say, but it happens a lot.
Back to the issue at hand, McDonalds....
I literally almost threw up towards the end of the video. Do you think the perpetrators were aware of the victim's transgender status? I could barely make out what they were saying in the video as I had to listen to it quietly...
Also- Let's realistically think about what the employees can/should have done... My initial instinct/gut reaction is for the manager to lock the doors to prevent the girls from running. Then you need to realize that McDonalds surely has policies in place for times like this, and the risk of an employee getting injured attempting to apprehend a criminal is a lawsuit waiting to happen....
Another gut reaction is that if the manager had a shotgun under the counter, this situation never would have devolved into the poor victim convulsing on the floor.
My last gut reaction is that Baltimore finally made it to my list of places to never return to.
I think if I were her, I would consider moving to a different city as well. I can only imagine that these girls have relatives who will most likely harass her. It's sad to say, but it happens a lot.
yg17
Apr 13, 12:52 PM
And I can get a knife or fork at one of dozens of restaurants inside the terminal post security. What's your point?
George Carlin, once again, is right:
And if you didn�t take a weapon on board, relax. After you�ve been flying about an hour, they�re gonna bring you a knife and fork! They actually give you a ****ing knife. It�s only a table knife, but you could kill a pilot with a table knife. It might take a couple of minutes. Especially if he�s hefty. But you could get the job done. If you really wanted to kill the prick. ****, there are a lot of things you could use to kill a guy. You could probably beat a guy to death with the Sunday New York Times, couldn�t you? Suppose you just have really big hands? Couldn�t you strangle a flight attendant? ****, you could probably strangle two of them, one with each hand. That is, if you were lucky enough to catch �em in that little kitchen area. Just before they break out the ****in� peanuts. But you could get the job done. If you really cared enough.
George Carlin, once again, is right:
And if you didn�t take a weapon on board, relax. After you�ve been flying about an hour, they�re gonna bring you a knife and fork! They actually give you a ****ing knife. It�s only a table knife, but you could kill a pilot with a table knife. It might take a couple of minutes. Especially if he�s hefty. But you could get the job done. If you really wanted to kill the prick. ****, there are a lot of things you could use to kill a guy. You could probably beat a guy to death with the Sunday New York Times, couldn�t you? Suppose you just have really big hands? Couldn�t you strangle a flight attendant? ****, you could probably strangle two of them, one with each hand. That is, if you were lucky enough to catch �em in that little kitchen area. Just before they break out the ****in� peanuts. But you could get the job done. If you really cared enough.
BBEmployee
Apr 8, 02:42 PM
I'm a current employee at Best Buy and thought I'd offer my two cents on a few issues.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
Phil A.
Apr 29, 04:25 PM
Speaking of bad iCal, why is it I can't flip pages in the Calendar app on my iPad by actually flicking the pages (a la iBooks)? Instead I have to tap on arrow buttons? What's up with that???
I thought it was only me that was annoyed by that one! I'm surprised they've not addressed it yet, and it's incredibly unintuitive to have to tap a little button at the bottom of the page instead of flipping the page like you do in iBooks
I thought it was only me that was annoyed by that one! I'm surprised they've not addressed it yet, and it's incredibly unintuitive to have to tap a little button at the bottom of the page instead of flipping the page like you do in iBooks
dissdnt
Apr 15, 03:12 PM
Yah it's a 3d render, and photoshop added grain, doesn't look anything like real camera grain.
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