Best Buy Mobile...idiots?

[anon(52425)]

Seriously... A call into 3 stores today asking about whether they will have the Nexus S in stock and if they are doing preorders yielded me this: "
"uhh, what's the Nexus S?"
"uhh, never heard of it, call back on Wednesday"

And my favorite...

"you're thinking of the Nexus One, and I don't think any place sells it anymore."

I kid you not guys. WTH? Do these guys not stay on top of the latest news, I mean especially when this phone is going to be carried exclusively by BB???

Sigh. The above makes me glad I turned down the BB Mobile job offer I got a few weeks back. YEESH.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

To be honest, some of them may have actually been instructed to say this by their supervisors or whatnot. Now, I'm not ruling out the fact that indeed they may just be naive, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were told to shoulder off any questions about the Nexus S until a certain point.

 

[anon(52425)]

Hmmm, maybe. I called a 4th store that is about 40 miles away and I was able to talk to a guy who did in fact know about the S and answered all my questions thoroughly.

 

[ragnarokx]

Having worked in a similar retail store when I was younger, I can tell you that employees do not know what they are going to carry until they open the box. Unless they're doing preorders, or have some big promotion for the item, there is no product-prep ahead of time. You might get lucky and get someone who knows about a product due to personal interest, but it's not like these unskilled employees (again, which I used to be one of) have board meetings every week. Usually it's hard enough to get through the day, let alone do research about future products. Even if there is a preorder, they still might not know about it because things like that are not stressed as much as running and stocking the store (sad but true). You are always better off getting your information from sites like this or from their own website.

 

[anon(52425)]

It just irks me that these guys work in mobile sales and they don't have any knowledge of upcoming products. I mean it's 5 days away and BB is the only place to get it and nobody had a clue. Oh well. Not a huge deal as I always get my info from tech sites but it would be nice to actually talk to someone who has the slightest clue.

 

[JoseN305]

I use to work in one and the people that got hired in the mobile section were young women who knew nothing about phones. They were there as eye candy to lure guys in. Not saying that happens at all stores but everyone in this forum is more qualified than those sales peeps.

 

[20blks]

Hmmm, maybe. I called a 4th store that is about 40 miles away and I was able to talk to a guy who did in fact know about the S and answered all my questions thoroughly.

Why not give us the answers?

 

[big_time2]

A lot of people have no idea this phone is even coming out. Besides those of use who read gadget blogs, not many people have idea this phone even exists.

If this were Verizon's Droid, or ATT's iPhone, which get promoted like crazy, every one would know about it, not just Best Buy's reps.

 

[Bushido Brown]

I had to practically beg the guy at my local Best Buy to sell me a Droid 2, because he had no idea the phone existed. He insisted that I was talking about the DX, which they didn't have in stock at the time. It wasn't even on the release date, it was about 4 days after the fact.

Luckily, a coworker of his overheard us, and politely directed him to the cabinet that had about 40 Droid 2's inside of it

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

I had to practically beg the guy at my local Best Buy to sell me a Droid 2, because he had no idea the phone existed. He insisted that I was talking about the DX, which they didn't have in stock at the time. It wasn't even on the release date, it was about 4 days after the fact.

Luckily, a coworker of his overheard us, and politely directed him to the cabinet that had about 40 Droid 2's inside of it

Was this guy at least new? Dear lord, where are they getting these people...

 

[anon(52425)]

Why not give us the answers?

Well there isnt to much to tell really, I just wanted confirmation really that they were going to have it. A phone a bought earlier in the year was sold at BB and I was told they would have it. When I went in on day 1 to buy it I was told that the information given was false and they were not one of the mobile locations slated to carry it.

Anyway, no early open and no pre-sales. They rep that I did talk to sounded like he didnt expect much of a hype with this phone as most dont know what it is. Accessories are to include cases (silicone) and ZAGG IS. I asked about a desktop dock and he said that nowhere in his inventory did it say anything about a dock. My guess is later down the line. He confirmed the pricing which we already know and basically said I would be good to come in at open in no hurry and pick one up. He said his location was getting between 30-40.

 

[Chris Kerrigan]

Well there isnt to much to tell really, I just wanted confirmation really that they were going to have it. A phone a bought earlier in the year was sold at BB and I was told they would have it. When I went in on day 1 to buy it I was told that the information given was false and they were not one of the mobile locations slated to carry it.

Anyway, no early open and no pre-sales. They rep that I did talk to sounded like he didnt expect much of a hype with this phone as most dont know what it is. Accessories are to include cases (silicone) and ZAGG IS. I asked about a desktop dock and he said that nowhere in his inventory did it say anything about a dock. My guess is later down the line. He confirmed the pricing which we already know and basically said I would be good to come in at open in no hurry and pick one up. He said his location was getting between 30-40.

I'm not surprised at the no hype comment. I mean, it's not going to really get the advertising that say some of the Droid line of phones is going to get or anything like that. But I do expect this to outsell the Nexus One based on the simple fact that it's going to be available in Best Buy and not online only.

 

[big_time2]

Was this guy at least new? Dear lord, where are they getting these people...

I would think that these sales reps at Best Buy get some sort of a daily update, or an email or something. Something like, "-new phones released this week...., -new phones going on sale this week..., etc." I can imagine that they've missed out on a lot of sales because reps told a bunch of customers that certain phones were not out yet.

 

[anon(52425)]

I would think that these sales reps at Best Buy get some sort of a daily update, or an email or something. Something like, "-new phones released this week...., -new phones going on sale this week..., etc." I can imagine that they've missed out on a lot of sales because reps told a bunch of customers that certain phones were not out yet.

I agree completely. And every rep I talked to said that they didnt see anything mentioned in their daily work-ups (which I am guessing is their news and information source). Not to beat this thread to death but I was at the mall today and they had a Best Buy Mobile store (I have never seen these and didnt think they had stand alone stores). Anyway, I had a nice chat with 2 reps and they knew all about it. Much better than getting the dear in the headlights look.

 

[RichieHD#AC]

Eh, BB Mobile is flaky sometimes. I hope I win that Nexus S contest here at AC so I don't have to deal with salespeople.

 

[anon(52425)]

Ugh...So today I got the most bizarre answer. I was told that NO Best Buy stores will actually carry this phone (I KNOW THAT IS WRONG), and that their procedure is to sign up customers and they "force" ship the phone. Lol. I ended up hanging up on the guy.

 

[bcohen44]

I posted this in a different thread:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/samsung-nexus-s/48007-best-buy-availability.html#post475811

 

[Bushido Brown]

Was this guy at least new? Dear lord, where are they getting these people...

Possibly. I frequent that particular Best Buy, and I don't remember seeing him around. Had I not known otherwise, I could have easily walked out the door thinking that the phone had not been released

 

[anon(52425)]

So I have been following the launch closely today. Visited a store today to mess with it in person (wow what a great phone) and also followed a large group of people on the official BB Mobile Facebook page. Best Buy was probably the worst company to distribute this phone. I think someone else said it, Google should have sold this through their store, as it would have gone a lot smoother this time around.