as a circuit city employee i was amazed and whole heartedly disappointed in the American people today(day 1 of our liquidation sale). we were more busy than we've been since 2 black fridays ago. what infuriates me is that the american dream as a whole has shifted from "work as hard as u can and anything is possible " to " get as much as u can for nothing".
being the first day of our liquidation sale NOTHING IS REALLY ON SALE(except ps3s and ipods )but for some reason these customers braved 30degree weather and parking lots packed to the brim to get a "deal". if they had come in earlier in the week they would have gotten the same deals ...and maybe 34,000 Americans would still have jobs.
what's even more ridiculous are the vultures that have been in the stores for the past year or so saying " i can get that online cheaper" ... well can u go to "online" and actually see the tv? can you go to "online " and talk to someone ab your choice?can you return it to "online " without shipping/restocking fees if u don't like it or if it's defective? and last if you can get it from "online " wtf are you doing here wasting my time?".
as an employee of 5yrs i know cc has made of the dumbest decisions ever but seeing this whole thing unfold has just really got me down.losing my job has nothing to do with my anger, i'm more worried ab people who have families and no other experience to fall back on. has America become the land of idiots who have no regard for anyone but ourselves... speak on it t-dub

1/17/2009 7:06:28 PM

You've worked retail for five years and you're still surprised at this behavior? I agree with you: people are rude motherfuckers when they think a deal is to be had.

I saw the same thing the first day of Linens N Things' liquidation sale, when almost nothing was really on sale. Everything was naturally 20% off, but you could have gotten the same price by using coupons, which we were no longer accepting. We did roughly $30k in sales the first day, after weeks of $2-3k days.

1/17/2009 7:23:24 PM

Quote :

"what infuriates me is that the american dream as a whole has shifted from "work as hard as u can and anything is possible " to " get as much as u can for nothing". "

Why do you hate capitalism?

There's nothing wrong with people being vultures, trying to maximize their profit.

Also, can you let me know, feel free to PM me, when stuff REALLY starts to go on sale? I need a new monitor and an AppleTV.

1/17/2009 7:28:56 PM

Whats funny is a sale does not mean a discount; and legally stores that put something "on sale" are not obligated to actually discount it from the price they offered 2 weeks ago.

I remember when i worked at harris teeter peaches would be selling for $1.29/lb. A week later that would go on VIC "Sale" for a $1.19 with $1.99 listed as teh "regular" price. I always laughed at people who all of a sudden were buying up the peaches since they were on "sale".

1/17/2009 7:32:04 PM

PS3's are on sale? Looks like it's my lucky day.

But seriously, it sucks to lose your job, but Circuit City is a shithole. It has been for a long time. Don't act like the company had any sort of integrity or societal value. It's an overpriced, soul-crushing big box store that placed no value on customer service whatsoever. They went out of business. Capitalism worked.

1/17/2009 7:36:54 PM

Quote :

"Why do you hate capitalism? There's nothing wrong with people being vultures, trying to maximize their profit. Also, can you let me know, feel free to PM me, when stuff REALLY starts to go on sale? I need a new monitor and an AppleTV."

my point is that $ can't be your only motivation. those same people complain ab poor service.what if your employer did the same shit u're advocating " well we can have some one in india or china do this for a lot less than you" with out thinking of the reasons it's cheaper . but i ain't mad, i'll post up a thread probably in the classifieds when the real sales start i got my eye on that 58" plasma i need something to watch while i'm unemployed.

Quote :

" But seriously, it sucks to lose your job, but Circuit City is a shithole. It has been for a long time. Don't act like the company had any sort of integrity or societal value. It's an overpriced, soul-crushing big box store that placed no value on customer service whatsoever. They went out of business. Capitalism worked."

i agree we did nothing to differitiate ourselves from any one else and made some of the worst decisions possible as a company... doesn't change the fact that we had 10 million dumbasses show up thinking they were going to get something for nothing and most of them barely got a "deal".

1/17/2009 8:01:48 PM

out of curiosity, what are ipod touches selling for so far?

1/17/2009 9:02:50 PM

pm me when the HD plasmas get cheap

1/17/2009 9:25:25 PM

Circuit City down, Best Buy to follow.

Radio Shack can stick around. I love going in there, browsing the plasma screens, getting the lone salesperson/owner excited, and then buying 1 resistor.

1/17/2009 9:41:06 PM

Quote :

"Radio Shack can stick around. I love going in there, browsing the plasma screens, getting the lone salesperson/owner excited, and then buying 1 resistor. "

lol

I worked part time at Best Buy for 5 years, and I was actually surprised at how aggressive they were with constantly changing. Over the 5 years I was there, there was never a time when we weren't expecting upgrades or additions to the store. And even us regular part-timers had access to details sales data and trends, if we wanted to see them. The only information managers have that normal employees don't are future plans and staffing budgets (although this is easy to find out once a manager trusted you).

[Edited on January 17, 2009 at 9:51 PM. Reason : ]

1/17/2009 9:49:12 PM

Quote :

"if they had come in earlier in the week they would have gotten the same deals ...and maybe 34,000 Americans would still have jobs."

It sure is easier to blame the stupid customer instead of:

Quote :

"as an employee of 5yrs i know cc has made of the dumbest decisions ever"

Quote :

"what's even more ridiculous are the vultures that have been in the stores for the past year or so saying " i can get that online cheaper""

The entire concept behind the free market is to produce things as efficiently as possible. I personally will pay more for a product if I know that the store I'm purchasing it from will back it up with service and will take the time to give me the information I need. But, quite frankly, I never find that in a big store like Circut City or Best Buy, or Lowes, or Home Depot. Brick and mortar stores can't compete on price, and aren't doing a good job competing on service.

So why again should I shop at Circut City?


I do feel bad for people who are loosing their jobs, including yourself, but it isn't my responsibility to subsidize a corporate chain who provides sub-par service and above normal prices.



Finally:

Quote :

"doesn't change the fact that we had 10 million dumbasses show up thinking they were going to get something for nothing and most of them barely got a "deal"."

who is the dumbass? The idiots who showed up at your store, or the people who weren't smart enough to figure out how to get those same idiots in the door in the first place?

1/17/2009 10:26:04 PM

I have to agree with what everyone else said

Quote :

""work as hard as u can and anything is possible " to " get as much as u can for nothing""

Who said these folks haven't been working as hard as possible and are expecting to see things sell for a price that they are finally willing (or able) to pay for it.

What did you expect, people wouldn't by those overpriced toys they've wanted for years at a steep discount?

There is something mildly flawed with your business model when I can get the $1950 plasma you are selling in your store shipped to my home with a 3 yr warranty included for $1450.

1/17/2009 10:33:07 PM

I see no reason why working hard entitles you to shit.

1/17/2009 11:05:01 PM

Quote :

"the american dream as a whole has shifted from "work as hard as u can and anything is possible " to " get as much as u can for nothing". "

the American dream is possible because people work hard for their money and try to make it go as far as possible. Circuit City as been doing their damndest to kill the American dream of the lower and middle class people that wanted to do business there, and I'm glad to see them go.

1/17/2009 11:11:47 PM

^ how do you figure? CC's prices were very similar to Best Buy's, and other major electronics retailers. The main reason they went under, as I see it, was that they weren't aggressive enough in branching out to new revenue streams. They lagged Best Buy in Geek Squad, home theatre installs (and installs in general), as well as cell phones.

Here's one of best buy's training vids too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSkzNTxi-5Y These came out quarterly, and were usually very entertaining (this is not one of the better ones from what I remember).

They were always very well produced, and did a decent job kind showing the regular employees the overall direction of the company. I wonder if CC did anything like this?

1/18/2009 1:04:42 AM

Quote :

"my point is that $ can't be your only motivation"

This is dumb, money is the be all and end all of motivating factors in most situations. You can say what you want but every single decision you make at some point comes down to money

1/18/2009 2:56:42 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMiBVlXctM8

Watch this.

Liquidation sales are for fucking suckers. It's all complete bullshit and it just shows how fucking stupid the American people are.

1/18/2009 3:37:59 AM

Quote :

"can you return it to "online " without shipping/restocking fees if u don't like it or if it's defective?"

I thought CC did charge restocking fees. Well, whatever. They usually had bad customer service and high prices IMO. I'm not sad to see them go.

1/18/2009 9:15:54 AM

Circuit city:kmart::bestbuy:walmart/target

Stores are dirtier, not as well organized and not as well stocked in my experience.

1/18/2009 11:00:40 AM

My last experience shopping at Circuit City (buying a TV):

I did all the actual shopping at Best Buy. The TV section at the Crossroads CC is like being in a small cave. It's dark and you can't stand more than about 5 feet away from the TV.

Went to CC for the actual purchase because they were cheaper.

Pay for the TV and wait at the counter for them to bring it out.

Continue waiting.

Continue waiting.

Continue waiting.

Continue waiting.

After about 30 minutes: "We don't have your TV." The TV was shown as being in inventory, but no one could find it in the warehouse.

Wait another 30 minutes or so while the manager calls other local stores looking for the TV. He finds one at Crabtree.

Go to Crabtree the next morning and wait at the counter for them to bring it out.

Continue waiting.

Continue waiting.

Continue waiting.

Continue waiting.

They finally bring it out. Apparently, it takes 30 minutes to find anything in a CC warehouse.

1/18/2009 11:33:28 AM

Quote :

"being the first day of our liquidation sale NOTHING IS REALLY ON SALE"

so who is the real vulture, the people trying to get a good deal or the corp trying to trick people into buying things by advertising a "sale"

1/18/2009 3:43:43 PM

you're 25 and a college graduate and you worked at circuit city for 5 years doing retail?

i'm not sure you should really be mad at anyone but yourself

1/18/2009 3:46:12 PM

Quote :

" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMiBVlXctM8 Watch this. Liquidation sales are for fucking suckers. It's all complete bullshit and it just shows how fucking stupid the American people are."

Holy shit.

How is this not illegal???

As for the cutomers, it is pure psychology and deception at play, which fools people into buying the stuff.

1/18/2009 4:05:17 PM

CC screwed themselves when they quit doing commissioned sales.

They took people who were knowledgeable and passionate about their jobs and replaced them with drones that they could pay $8/hr.

Quote :

""work as hard as u can and anything is possible " to " get as much as u can for nothing""

with the economy being shit right now I don't see why this surprises you. I always that the American Dream was to get as much as you can for nothing now anyways. I mean that is the whole theory behind Black Friday amirite?

You show me someone who honestly would rather work hard for 20 years and save up say a couple million $$ versus winning it overnight in a lottery.

1/18/2009 4:25:50 PM

working hard normally ends with pain

1/18/2009 5:58:06 PM

Quote :

"CC screwed themselves when they quit doing commissioned sales. They took people who were knowledgeable and passionate about their jobs and replaced them with drones that they could pay $8/hr. "

None of the major retails stores now are on commissioned sales. This isn't what killed them.

1/18/2009 5:59:51 PM

sales is all about knowing the best methods to convince the customer that your product is the best deal. even if its by using psychology to manipulate them.

face it, hard work doesnt really pay off that much anymore.

1/18/2009 6:59:08 PM

"hard" work is all relative anyway.

1/18/2009 7:06:09 PM

people demanding deals and lower prices (price matching with internet sales) is perfectly fine. People can't afford to and are tired of paying bloated prices. It's amazing that a "$1,700" TV is really worth something closer to $1,000, and you complain that people don't want to pay that bloated price?

I see it all the time with textile based products. My dad works in textile manufacturing, and I have a pretty good idea of what certain products cost to make, and trust me, these clothing stores (and other related products) are raping people with their prices.

1/18/2009 9:30:56 PM

The only time I ever went into a Circuit City was in the relatively new one out at Beaver Creek in Apex. I was going in to buy a laptop. The fucking sales people were so rude that I left and went to Best Buy where people are helpful and generally well informed.

CC is a piece of shit store that should have died out years ago. They just couldn't compete with Best Buy or HH Gregg, etc.

1/18/2009 10:22:14 PM

Quote :

"work as hard as u can and anything is possible"

lol, you're 25?

i'm fairly certain this has not been a reality since before you were born

and i mean wellll before that

now go ahead and show me a few outliers to reality so you can feel good about yourself

1/18/2009 10:30:42 PM

I worked at my local Best Buy a while back, and so to avoid really annoying former coworkers I shop at Circuit City.

And every time I went there, I was astounded that they were still in business. Everything about them sucks.

I'm just sorry that this now leaves Best Buy with a near-monopoly. They suck too, but for much fewer reasons.


And for real--the "deals" sucked this weekend. They even suck from the grave.

1/18/2009 10:54:08 PM

Quote :

"CC screwed themselves when they quit doing commissioned sales."

Circuit City was doomed long before they did this, or when they fired their top-paid sales staff, or any of the other cost-cutting measures in recent years. By definition, those measures were done because they were already behind.

The simple fact is, CC simply never had the "cool factor" that Best Buy capitalized on so well. Granted, I haven't been in a CC store in years, but last time I did, it was like being walking back into the 80's - drab colors, boring displays, not enough interactivity. When you walk into a Best Buy, it's a sensory overload which often leads to "wow, look at all this shit I MUST BUY STUFF". Like it or not, people, now-a-days, like to go to big, well-lit, bright stores with lots of flashing lights, walls of TV, and stereo systems you can crank as loud as you want without anybody even noticing. Circuit City, even the name, is like the Sears of electronics - it's just old, boring, and about a generation too late.

1/18/2009 11:02:41 PM

Soulless consumerism is the fault of stores like Circuit City, not the soulless consumers.

1/18/2009 11:06:56 PM

really the only two times i've had to shop at BB or CC in the last couple years i was trying to buy a $2000 tv on one occasion and $700 on a washer/dryer. both times i had to practically beg a salesman to come help me as i stood in the tv or appliance section.

1/19/2009 12:19:01 AM

Go to HHGregg, you'll have to beg the salesmen to leave you alone.

1/19/2009 12:40:19 AM

^^^^ I don't know about all that shit, nor do I care. I just thought CC had very expensive prices. Same with best buy, too.

^^ That's the only reason I would go to either.

1/19/2009 1:24:12 AM

Quote :

"my point is that $ can't be your only motivation. those same people complain ab poor service.what if your employer did the same shit u're advocating " well we can have some one in india or china do this for a lot less than you" with out thinking of the reasons it's cheaper . but i ain't mad, i'll post up a thread probably in the classifieds when the real sales start i got my eye on that 58" plasma i need something to watch while i'm unemployed."

uh, not long ago circuit city fired most of their senior (experience not age) employees in stores and replaced them all with kids (like yourself) who could do the job for cheaper. the only problem was that they couldn't do the job and customer service plummeted and circuit city couldn't compete with the growing competition.


so... basically its your fault they failed

1/19/2009 6:41:31 AM

Quote :

"CC screwed themselves when they quit doing commissioned sales."

yes. a good friend of mine was a damn good salesman for them and he made a very good living off of the commissions there. he was probably one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met when it comes to electronics. they switched to hourly and had to pay him some crazy hourly wage based on his commission pay during his career. they then fired him a month or so later because he was making too much money.

unbelievable.

for my personal CC story, I did all the research on the TV I wanted and I "vultured" all of the area stores. CC ended up having the best price, however I didnt buy it there. I walked out of the store and paid the extra $50 at Best Buy because the "salesman" would not stop pushing the extended warranty plan on me. I politely told him no about 4 times...he gets an attitude with me me about it and rolls his eyes when I told him I thought the warranty plans were for suckers. I went and spoke to the manager and walked out. I "vulture" because I work hard for my money. Im not going to give them shits away, b.

because of the internet, big retail is a dying breed. kinda like horse-drawn carriages once the automobile became mainstream and affordable. its just the natural progression. another business will spring up in its place.

1/19/2009 8:38:19 AM

I like all this American dream talk. So, if I were to leave the country I'd find a society that enjoys paying the highest price possible for things? Sounds to me like "the American dream" of working hard to achieve things carries over in this example. Consumers are working hard to find the best deal for the products they want to buy as opposed to lazily shelling out whatever the asking price is at the first store enter. Thus they achieve what they consider a good deal.

IMO Circuit City has done two things to differentiate themselves:
1) I want to buy a movie at CC. The movies are in a completely random order, as if they were just dumped on the floor by a bulldozer and a few good samaritan customers took the time to put them on the shelves. You either spend 30 minutes looking for your movie, or spend 3 minutes to drive to the nearest BB, which is always about a mile away from any CC.
2) I would check out their weekly ads for deals (I know, I'm such a horrible person). I'd see something that I wanted. I'd go to a CC and they'd be out of stock. Ok, it was a fluke. I repeat a similar process sometime after that only to find that the items I want aren't in stock again. Fool me once... shame on... shame on you. You fool me - you can't get fooled again.

Sure, the weekly ads are really only meant to get people into the store in hopes that they'll not only buy the item that's being advertised at a deal price, but to also potentially generate some impulse buys. CC thinks that only having the latter is enough. They've carefully removed the carrot from the end of the stick and expect the consumer to keep stopping by.

BB always had their weekly ad stuff in stock (for me at least).

Quote :

"what's even more ridiculous are the vultures that have been in the stores for the past year or so saying " i can get that online cheaper" ... well can u go to "online" and actually see the tv? can you go to "online " and talk to someone ab your choice?can you return it to "online " without shipping/restocking fees if u don't like it or if it's defective? and last if you can get it from "online " wtf are you doing here wasting my time?"."

They were probably trying to butter you up to get some sort of price matching. Plus I've typically made my decision by doing online research (in the form of reviews, customer reviews, best price, etc.) and only go to the store to purchase the exact model I've researched. I do concede that the majority of consumers probably don't do this... yet.

As a side note, I've noticed a few places charge more in the store than they do online because they are charging you a "we ate the cost of the shipping and handling" fee that you would have had to pay had you ordered it and had it shipped to your house. It's more transparent when shopping appliances at Lowe's / Home Depot.

One last thing. I hate the new layout that BB has adopted (see BB at Crabtree vs. BB in Cary for examples). Put all your aisle diagonal and make stuff harder to find. It's like they are trying to copy CC.

[Edited on January 19, 2009 at 8:57 AM. Reason : -]

1/19/2009 8:51:49 AM

Quote :

"what's even more ridiculous are the vultures that have been in the stores for the past year or so saying " i can get that online cheaper" ... well can u go to "online" and actually see the tv?"

As somebody who has expensive taste in electronics and a family and limited budget, I am one of the people that will go to a box store, look at something, and then buy it the cheapest place possible. Sorry that your not competitive and its often cheaper online. Thats not my damn problem. Hell I've used online from you to purchase things too. I got my Panasonic 42" Plasma TV online for $665 dollars and picked up at one of your stores. (Normal instore price today at BB for this TV is still $1100 on "sale") Funny how I called in advance to confirm it was in stock, the order was received and told them I was on the way; I drove 45 minutes to the store, and I STILL had to wait around in your store for a fucking hour for the dumbasses to find the fucking thing. God I can't imagine why customers would want to deal with that shit on a regular basis.

1/19/2009 10:06:24 AM

but where can i get cheap, plastic shit?

1/19/2009 11:14:01 AM

The original post in this thread is so out of touch and poorly reasoned that I don't even know where to start.

1/19/2009 11:34:08 AM

JCASHFAN pretty much stole my entire post so fuck it.

1/19/2009 12:07:50 PM

Although I believe the fault goes both ways. . .

Quote :

"Soulless consumerism is the fault of stores like Circuit City, not the soulless consumers."

Besides, America was built on soulless consumerism. We were "found" by a guy trying to get the cheapest spices from India, we were exploited by investors seeking to make a profit off of our natural resources, and we were populated by people who were convinced that they could do better for themselves, economically, here than there.

[Edited on January 19, 2009 at 12:09 PM. Reason : ^ sorry man. I soloed Friday btw]

1/19/2009 12:08:51 PM

btw the intent of this thread isn't to talk about what did cc in... they did their selves in. it's about people not knowing what they are actually paying for and not knowing what they should pay.
the reason gas stations are more expensive is bc u're not paying for the bag of chips u're paying for the convenience of getting them at 3am, same thing as retail. my complaint is that i've literally had people come into buy a tv and say " i wanted to talk to someone ab the tv and see it in person,i'm kinda iffy on having it shipped and i really want it today... can u match amazon?"NO! those are the exact reasons amazon can offer it for 400 less u asshole. and as for the other part im just can't believe how these same people don't know a sale when they see it. like i said with the exception of ipods and ps3(both 10% off the msrps) THERE IS NO SALE right now stay the fuck home .

[Edited on January 19, 2009 at 1:44 PM. Reason : .]

1/19/2009 1:36:42 PM

^ Dude, be nice. They have no way of knowing that you cannot match Amazon without asking. The markets we interact with in our daily lives operate any number of ways and understanding why some operate one way while others operate another way would be futile. As such, if someone asks you a question with an obvious answer, just answer it and say good-day.

Afterall, all the reasons you say the TV should cost more at CC (shipping/storage/returns/service) in other markets can make items cheaper in the store than online. As just one example, a car dealership will sometimes take a loss on an older model vehicle to make room for the incoming year vehicles. While TVs do not have model years, it is conceivable that newer models would be sufficiently better to make getting rid of old models a good idea.

1/19/2009 3:26:13 PM

Quote :

"The original post in this thread is so out of touch and poorly reasoned that I don't even know where to start."

QFT

Quote :

"i'm fairly certain this has not been a reality since before you were born and i mean wellll before that now go ahead and show me a few outliers to reality so you can feel good about yourself"

How about the millions of immigrants from all over the world who moved to the US from abject poverty and within a generation were middle to upper middle class?

outliers my ass. The american dream is only dead to you whiny suburban white kids who have several generations of being in the US and can't appreciate the fact that you have every advantage and blame everyone else for your failures except yourself.

1/19/2009 3:48:44 PM

Oh, snap!

1/19/2009 7:33:12 PM

^^couldn't agree more with that statement

1/19/2009 7:49:00 PM