In Idaho Falls, Idaho, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is doing something quite neat. The largest electronics retailer in the U.S. is providing free technology classes to customers in order to demystify all the high-tech gadgets like digital cameras, HDTVs and even the digital television converters that will allow recent, non-digital televisions to receive digital over-the-air TV broadcasts. Seeing as though the 60+ year old analog television signals will be gone as of next February, this is quite an important deal to millions of American consumers.Just picking up a newer digital camera can leave many customers feeling like a rocket scientist. The amount of features crammed into these tiny devices can overwhelm the average customer -- and reading the owner's manuals that seemingly were created by engineers for engineers can leave some feeling lost and alone with that new piece of equipment. So, like home improvement chain The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD), Best Buy in Idaho Falls will offer free seminars on how to use all this new techie stuff. Think of it as the "owner's manual" for the average customer.
This is a great idea -- and Best Buy should roll out this "free tech classes" idea to every store it operates in the U.S. if is hasn't already. This is a very unique way to build customer loyalty above and beyond the service levels Best Buy already has. Best Buy employee Stina Hardin from the Idaho Falls location says "They want to take advantage of the full features of everything they buy of this new technology. We want to let them be empowered to know that this is a little new but you can handle it you can do it." That says it all -- and it's part of the reason Best Buy's progressive thinking has made it the first stop in consumer electronics for millions of customers.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-16-2008 @ 4:40PM
Clarence Carrier said...
I have bought from best Buy 5 major items in last 8 years. last item was 4 years ago. All 5 items I got the shaft. TV didn't even power on first time. Took 9 days to correct. Direct TV dish. Parts missing. 4 days. DVD player. Didn't work. Never corrected,etc, etc. They are the worst retailers I have EVER known. I will NEVER enter their stores again and will tell everyone I know!!!!
3-16-2008 @ 4:55PM
Joni said...
Very smart & great move for consumers & business!They already offer free testing of computers etc.through the store & geek squad & I always am greeted & offered help when frequenting & as a cardmember get lots of perks that result in free mdse.,plus they have great prices & usually the best perks too!This will give them even more of my business & if other co's were smart they'd do the same,you should be shown how to use all this high tech stuff!
3-16-2008 @ 5:01PM
Chelsea said...
I love Best Buy. I just bought a Gateway computer fully loaded there for under $600.
I shop at Best Buyt through an online shopping mall that gives you back between 5-55% CASH on all your purchases at over 1100 stores online including Best, Buy, Bare Necessities, Sephora, Apple, The Gap, Target (great for soo much),Macy's. I also wait for sales so I get my cash back and the lowest
price.
http://www.dailyoink.com The site is ugly, but well worth it.
3-16-2008 @ 5:58PM
JLS said...
Great idea on how to classes .No longer at the mercy of my grandson
3-16-2008 @ 6:06PM
Mike said...
Progressive thinking hasen't made Best Buy what they are. It's people's wrong perception that they are cheap. They have the absolute worst (read dumb) sales people in the industry.
3-16-2008 @ 6:20PM
nycmuscleasian said...
BestBuy better first educate their own sales staff! Althought I have bought many items from BestBuy, I have always relied on my own internet research than on their sales staff. EVERY SINGLE experience I have had with ANY BESTBUY sales staff were pathetic. They all seem to have very poor and amature leve of knowledge of technology and products they sell, even members of the Geek Squad. BsetBuy maybe just "educating" the consumer lots of false information so their poorly trained sales staff can paddle easier sales!
3-16-2008 @ 6:29PM
gottachin said...
After waiting for 2 hours for them to confirm a straight out of the box printer did not work, I was done with Best Buy. Their customer service could not be worse.
3-16-2008 @ 6:59PM
Linda said...
I bought a LG washer and dryer from best buy a week ago and they never worked, called tech service 3 times and they could never figure out the problem, besides that the dryer was used , because when I turned it on lint blew out of the dryer and the filters were dirty in both machines. I called them and they said they been to repair and they should work fine. They were returned yesterday. Now on a good point they upgraded the washer and dryer to another brand, had them delivered and installed free of charge and took back the other washer and dryer. When they upgraded the washer and dryer, I was not charged the difference in price.
3-16-2008 @ 7:49PM
Joyce said...
I went into Best Buy just the other day to find out what I would need in order to set up a printer that is connected to my husband's desktop so that I could use it with my wireless laptop as well. I had purchase both the wireless router and laptop from best buy. The only thing I could get out of them was that I could ask the geek squad FOR A FEE! This store has the worst customer service/help of any I have ever used. Will never buy from them again.
3-16-2008 @ 8:20PM
Matt Severyn said...
I bought a vcr at Best Buy. It didn't work. I took it back the next day. It was a cheap stereo vcr for a bedroom. They gave me one that still works 3 yrs and refunded me about $26.00 cause that "next day" when I brought the broken one in it was on sale. I thought that was pretty good. I bought 4 speakers at Circuit City. They didn't have 2. A friend went back to get the other two a few weeks later for me and they gave him 4. I returned the extra two speakers. They were "snotty" and NEVER even said thank you. Circuit City you suck!
3-16-2008 @ 9:02PM
Trevor, from VA said...
The hell with Best But. They're always about 10% higher than Sears on every major electronis purchase I've made in the last 2 or 3 years. They offer to match, but that's BS. They suck.
3-16-2008 @ 10:43PM
hog head alamo said...
Best Buy had a camera on sale so I went to look at it. They did not have it displayed and told me that I had to buy the camera sight unseen. If they saw the tape on the box broken, they would charge me a 15% restocking fee if I didnt buy it. They said they were all sold out but if anyone returned one, they'd gladly come looking for me if I was still in the store. I told them I would have to think about that one, I wasnt sure I wanted to buy a camera that I could not open and look at first. As I walked around the store, the sales clerk came chasing after me, someone had changed their minds about buying it so they would gladly sell it to me. While the sales clerk was looking for me though, he started playing with the tape on the box and broke it. Now, I'm mad as hell as I thought they would try to blame me for the tape being 'broken'. I took the camera box to the counter and opened it. I wanted to see what it looked like up close as I'd only seen a picture of it in a sale ad. The sales clerk threw the biggest fit screaming at me 'what are you doing? You cannot open the box! You broke the tape, so now you will either have to buy it or pay the restocking fee!!'. I started screaming back at him and told him that he was the one who broke the damn tape and I was NOT going to buy something without looking at it first to make sure it wasnt damaged. The lowlife scum bag called store security on me, I guess I embarrassed him with my screaming but he started it. I will NEVER go to Best Buy ever again! They can all go to hell and personally, I hope they go out of business! I read that their business wasnt that good and that they may shut their doors permanently. I hope they do, the stupid ignorant morons! The way they treat their customers is beyond abusive!
3-16-2008 @ 10:49PM
Football fan said...
Oh, and I never did buy that camera. They tried to stick me with the restocking fee anyway. I told them to sue me and walked out the door. My final thoughts for them....... I would not give them the sweat off of my butt if they were dying of thirst!
Those free 'how to' classes, I think its a last ditch effort to save their sorry butts before going out of business.
3-20-2008 @ 3:59PM
Tigre said...
MicroCenter has been offering tech classes every since they rolled into town and BB is just now starting to offer this... pfft.
After GeekSquad tried to force me into paying a diagnostic fee for my computer I will never go to them. MicroCenter not only installed the memory I gave them they didn't force a diagnostic on me and their prices were cheaper. I prefer MircoCenter, Circuit City, & Sears.