Circuit City Lost A Sale Because Of Poor Service

I also agree with you about my Circuit City here in Indiana. Just
yesterday I was in the store purchasing a laptop that I was willing to
spend quite a deal of money on. I looked at this purchase to be not
only a quick sale but also an investment for myself. I walked into
the store already knowing what computer that I wanted because of the
fact that I saw it online and was promissed that this store had it.
While waiting almost 20 min. for someone to approach me I went looking
for someone. Finally this guy came up to me and said yeah what do you
need? You have to be kidding me right? If I went up to a customer and
asked what do you need while doing their investment where I work i
would be terminated. To sum things up they told me that they do not
have the computer in the store. I then asked him if he could look at
the web site and tell me why it says that it is there.
After I called him out about the lie he found one right out in the
open clear as day. This purchase that was suppposed to only take a
half hour now took almost twice as long. I just got pissed and left
saying that if it was too much effort for him to get it out of the
back room then I can take my business elsewhere and that I did. I
walked out of Best Buy spending almost 7,000 dollars. I couldnt resist
a new TV either. So sad for Circuit City wonder what the comission
would of been on that sale for the guy that didnt want to help me!

It is a difficult balance between attentive and irritating, isn't it?
I know when I go to a store, I hate salepeople that get in my face and
won't leave me alone. On the other hand, it is also frustrating when
you actually need a saleperson and they are no where to be found. I
work in sales myself, and part of the job is finding that balance
point. Sometimes you err on the side of caution and don't approach a
customer because they seem to be absorbed in what they are looking at,
when all the time they are wishing someone would come help them.
Sometimes you go the other way and halfway through explaining the
features of the newest whatever it is you realize they just want you
to shut up and walk away. Salespeople aren't mind readers, and as a
consumer I wouldn't let one walk past me once when I needed help, let
alone three times. If you need help, you can always open your mouth
and say the magic words, "Excuse me, I have a question." Even if that
specific person can't help you, I bet they could find someone who can,
if you give them a chance.

You obviously work for the co. I think that you guys should take
initiative and aproach the customer. I am there to spend alot of money
and if you are not willing to extend a hand out and help me, then you
are in the wrong business. I have worked in customer service for 7 yrs
and I would never just turn my back on money. That is my livelyhood.

I've had similar experiences with Circuit City in Michigan. I think I
had even gone up to the CS desk and asked them to send someone to help
me, and they never did. It wasn't very busy that day, either, and like
you said, there were employees milling about and chatting. I also told
the guard on the way out. He was very interested in getting someone
for me, but by then I wasn't interested.

This is one issue that I tend to sympathize with store employees on.
They just can't seem to win. There are people who HATE being asked by
every employee if they need help. Then there are those that get huffy
if no one does.

As for this particular case, the question is, did the original poster
ASK for help? If not, then sorry, not the employee's fault.

And yes, the security guard is probably not an employee of Circuit
City. And his job is not to make sure that customers don't leave
unhappy - it's to make sure they don't leave with merchandise hidden
on them. The appropriate person to address your parting remarks to was
the store manager.

I agree with you guys too. It is a part of the empoyees job to greet
customers. At Staples we were supposed to greet everyone within 10
feet of us. I work at Office Depot now and we are also required to
greet customers and ask if they need assistance. It's just good
customer service!

Also, some people feel uncomfortable seeking out an employee
themselves because they are shy or whatever, but when you ask them for
help they will tell you what they needed. As a retail employee you
should want to make sure your customer leaves with everything they
needed/wanted.

Hey you just stood there, how are they supposed to know you were
finished looking. Do you think they can read your mind.

Did you ask for assistance or just stand there expecting someone to
approach you? Sounds to me like you need to take responsiblity for
your own actions and learn to stand up for yourself instead of
complaining afterward.

Telling the security guard would in fact accomplish nothing - more
likely than not he works for a separate company hired out by Circuit
City - so he probably didn't care

I dont know about this one. I tend to have little sympathy for a
person who cant ask for help. I know its frustrating when you feel
like you're being ignored but perhaps the employees were truely busy
and trying to assist other customers. Your letter gives no indication
as to how busy it was so its hard to say what the problem was.

If it is important to you to have top notch service (which lets face
it is doesnt happen in most chain stores) then you are better off
going with a smaller company that can give you more personalized
assistance.