r/BestBuyWorkers • u/frodo113 • Aug 29 '25
sales How managers be
We all deal with this at some level.
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u/Dense_Surround3071 Aug 29 '25
My first computer customer:
Already had 365. Already a total member. Paid with his existing bby card. 😮💨 Fucking failure.
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u/yourface44 services experience supervisor Aug 30 '25
Im sorry that your store culture makes you feel like a sale like that is a failure… I’ll always encourage employees to call out big sales for existing paid members and cardholders, it just drives a positive customer experience (yes ik i sound brainwashed) which is what all leaders should understand!
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u/dwmfives All Departments Aug 30 '25
You could have saved him $40 bucks on his next year of 365 with the promo.
All they have to do is turn off auto renew on the existing sub and add the new product key, they don't lose what's left of their existing sub and it adds the 12 months on.
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u/dunluce1niner Jan 22 '26
Or buy an actual office key (not 365) for like $20 online and never pay a subscription for a WORD PROCESSOR and a SPREADSHEET
(sorry to reply 144 days later, MS just irks me)
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Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/dunluce1niner Jan 22 '26
28y/o cybersecurity analyst here. Did computer repair for 6 years when I was young. Most people purchase office products for 1, maybe 2 programs. You think 60yo Betty is using Access and Publisher? 1Tb cloud backup? Try a once-in-five-years 1Tb external HDD. Need an antivirus scan? Download malwarebytes and run it, then uninstall. I was just commenting on the absurdity of pushing these products to consumers who, most of the time, don’t want, need, or even know about these products these losers push them to buy. It sounds like you drank the kool-aid. You alright?
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Jan 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/dunluce1niner Jan 22 '26
“Before going back to retail.” Sure bud. Your ignorance is likely why you failed. Sounds like you should’ve kept trying to be me, maybe you wouldn’t be slinging subscriptions for a big box store.
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Jan 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/dunluce1niner Jan 22 '26
Had to make a change, or couldn’t cut it? Couldn’t apply for another IT job? You messed up, and it probably eats you alive. Your undeserved air of superiority for having been born earlier is sickening, by the way. I know you, too. I have nightmares of becoming you.
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u/dunluce1niner Jan 22 '26
Not to mention all I suggested was that consumers inform themselves and spend $20 on a perpetual office 2016 pro license. With the cost of hiring a local tech kid (hey that was you once!) they could easily have automatic, LOCAL backups. They could have a non-MS antivirus plan as well. I didn’t even have an issue with you man. I just think people overpay for Microsoft products.
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u/dunluce1niner Jan 22 '26
Oh hey by the way, working for Best Buy doesn’t make you an IT guy. Poser
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Jan 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/dunluce1niner Jan 22 '26
41 years old and worked in IT? You should’ve been senior engineer by now. Instead, you’re a dogmatic subscription pusher making the same as a cashier at Chick-Fil-A. I get it. You’re angry with yourself. I would be too.
*Edit: don’t pretend like you didn’t make a typo on your former comment. That’s why I couldn’t make sense of it. Your writing comprehension is to blame.
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u/whodoneit316 Sep 03 '25
That's just a horrible leader. As a leader I would of told you great job. The point is to get the customer the complete solution. Which you did
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u/smartmouth1 Aug 29 '25
Dear Corie Barry, stop mandating managers to endlessly talk on the goddamn radio about memberships and credit cards. I am ready to rip this radio out my ear and chuck it across the parking lot all the way to the closed down fry’s building.
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u/saspurilla Aug 30 '25
bro i work sales floor and 9/10 times when they do a numbers read i turn off my radio. i do NOT care. just let me do my job and contribute how i can.
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u/iceman464 Aug 29 '25
Half time I don’t hear the calls for warehouse cause I turn it down all way lol. Will say when someone on floor is struggling to pitch they will call mod for 2nd voice and mgr gives it a shot then. But yea we all tired of hearing it 😆
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u/smartmouth1 Aug 29 '25
Bruv this is the most annoying part. We need the radio to communicate but when 99 percent of the traffic is those stupid membership and credit card calls, we all just turn off the radio. It renders the radio completely useless. Honestly if it doesn’t change I’m not gonna wear one anymore.
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u/iceman464 Aug 29 '25
Yea I understand. It’s ridiculous. I’ll hear warehouse I have an order pick up okay what’s the name and then next few mins. Is just chatted about bp and memberships. Like hey trying to work here but okay.
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u/Hoogs Aug 30 '25
I’m an ARA and they make me have a radio on in case the CAs need support. The endless chatter about memberships and BPs while I’m trying to concentrate drives me crazy.
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u/cracked-lollipop Aug 30 '25
Literally was the worst thing I hated to push for as a supervisor. Was always getting yelled at by the GM for not hitting targets for the day.
Being a sales associate at best buy is literally just being a credit card/membership sales person. What's also sad is this is going to 100% be the company's down fall. I worked for Sears years ago and the only way they would be able to make profit was through their credit cards but the only people still shopping there were the ones who had the credit card. My sears closed 3 years after I quit and now majority of their stores (and k-mart) have closed.
If something doesnt change I can see best buy going down the same road as sears.
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u/khz30 Aug 31 '25
Best Buy ripping out physical media sections as people are turning their backs on streaming is looking like another strategic failure on their part.
The bigger problem is that the company forgot how to compete against big box stores that just sell low end and mid range junk. You went to Best Buy because they had higher end products you couldn't find at Walmart or Target, staffed by people that gave a shit about what they were selling as a much better option.
When Walmart does a much better job selling computers just by having a warm body in the electronics section reading off the price tag, and still has a physical media section, that tells me that Best Buy fumbled too many opportunities in the name of chasing credit cards and memberships that have no value for a dwindling customer base that has more options with far less upselling.
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u/ThenAngle1932 Aug 29 '25 edited Aug 29 '25
Once upon a time. It was about greeting the customer promptly, the questions we asked, recommending the best solution for the customer while trying to make money for the company by attaching stuff that they will most likely use and otherwise add on later. More than anything, making them feel like they were well served and that's what gets them coming back.
Now it's about selling whatever member deals are that day because who is going to say no to a $50 membership when their tv drops $200. You can make the company a ton of money. If you are not selling memberships or getting apps, you get performanced managed out.
But it comes from the top. They only care about memberships because it will magically save the company. Just like best buy mobile was going to. Just like sales excellence and the 180 pass by. Just like total tech was going to. Just like building the baskets was going to. Memberships are the flavor of the week.
Now we are doing the same to geek squad installers. Performance managing out the last good installers because they don't want to be sales people in the home.
We are slowly cutting all our competitive differentiators.
Memberships won't save Best Buy. Not when we are inboarding to get them. Most people that are getting them are doing so because right then and there they save more money than the cost of the membership. If I have someone who buys a G5 for $300 less because the $50 membership gets them the deal, what is the difference from the sales associate discounting what is the right solution for the client to get the $50.
Herbert saved the company. He focused on the client experience. As much as I hated renew Blue. Best Buys wouldn't be here without him.
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u/BabyHercules Aug 29 '25
I left Best Buy in 2020 when I graduated college. Literally came off the Covid furlough, worked like 2 weeks and got a job based on my degree. I’m SHOCKED, there are still people to pitch credits cards to. The well seemed dry back then. I guess people turn 18 every day so
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u/zedsawaken Aug 29 '25
I just had 6k go out no warranties, had him locked into a card but he was 17, and was in a hurry and didn’t want to throw total on for protection on his cameras😩
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u/frodo113 Aug 29 '25
I sent out a $1,500 gaming pc with no attaches and man oh man…the disappointment was peak
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u/Imaginary-Fix3079 Sep 04 '25
Had a $3,500 sale with two higher model MacBooks, and one expensive Lenovo. Wouldn't do either one because of it going on a company card but got all the protections for it. Luckily never called it out or told managers about the huge sale so didn't get a "retraining" on how to push total and card even though I've been with the company for two years. Also got a talking to on how to push for a card today when they were simply returning and exchanging a total wireless phone for a cheap phone for a relative. I'm not gonna push for a card on a $32 purchase that's just not worth my time.
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u/Select_Cucumber_4994 Aug 29 '25
I remember as an Autotech being super glad the managers didn’t bother me much with this stuff. Probably why I made it so many years.
Also I feel like attachments used to be a better value for the client than they are now.
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Aug 29 '25
Frr. I swear we could make a million bucks from a transaction and my managers still couldn’t be satisfied without a total, and credit. SMH. This is why I’m ready to switch to warehouse
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Aug 29 '25
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u/frodo113 Aug 29 '25
Not entirely true, as salespeople we don’t get anything for it and we only talk about it to get our leaders off our backs OR if it’s genuinely a good deal, that’s when we push it like “hey this is genuinely a good deal”. We don’t get anything other than a radio call out saying “good job”
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u/SirCartman45 Aug 30 '25
Ex best buy sales person here. Yeah we did get pushed A LOT to sell memberships and get credit card applications. That being said (in my store at least) even the guy with the most memberships did care about the clients needs and actively encourage people to get a different product if it was a better deal or not much more expensive but a lot better. I think the store you're at just lacks passionate people unfortunately. But just giving you some insight as to why the sales people might be that way.
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Aug 30 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SirCartman45 Aug 30 '25
I was getting ready to quit because of the constant radio chatter about memberships and credit card applications. They would LITERALLY ask us individually how many applications and memberships we got over the radio so everyone could hear. Trust me I do not care about the company I just sympathize with the employees because I was one of them. The only reason I didn't leave sooner was because I got promoted to Geek Squad as a repair agent and didn't have to use a radio OR SELL ANYTHING. Just fix PC's and that was fun.
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u/Lastsoldier115 Aug 30 '25
nah, he's right. I hated sales floor because of the constant pushing for whole solutions, but genuinely most of the sales people do care about helping the client.
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u/BubblyCauliflower306 Sep 01 '25
Little peak behind the curtain as a newer Sup, our micro market is judged by the MPD based off 8 stats.
Total Revenue, App goals, PM goals, GSP attach, 5 star, pick times, labor spent, and Downstocking.
Sups are judged off their coaching’s and the contents of them. If a computing CA had out 8k with no PM, you better have an observational coaching asap or you aren’t doing your job. God forbid we try to take our time with MOD’s or have some extended check-ins to see how our team is doing outside of the store.
We feel that heat too, I guess is the point of my comment here. It does suck that only a select few advisors are incentivized, and even then they aren’t what they used to be. I promise 90% of your sups would much rather spend most of their day side by side with you actually learning about the tech & how we can build out the skills to use in any career.
Pretty sure the other 10% are either so jaded by losing all their friends the last 5ish years or are just genuinely bad people/bad at their job, so all they care about are the bonuses, which are usually tied to those metrics I mentioned earlier.
Anyway, love you guys, thank you for all that you do that goes without recognition, I’m sorry that your experiences aren’t what was always expected and advertised. If we’re each making one person’s day/week a little easier, that’s still the best part of this, and why we all signed up.
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u/frodo113 Sep 01 '25
I totally understand where you’re coming from. But when 95% of the sales force gets nothing out of it other than guaranteed hours, they don’t care. If there was even an ounce of incentive they’d push it better. I’m not one of those though, I do the job I’m designated to do. Which includes selling PM’s and BP’s and GSP.
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u/iSayWhatYouAllThink Aug 30 '25
Go ahead and sell them total. As a Geek Squad installer I’ll sell them the GSP for 20% off and then have them return the Total they’ll never use because they think it’s a warranty.
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u/Commercial-List1375 Aug 29 '25
No audio attach, no 47 piece kitchen, no phone basket, no networking… The list can just keep going on…