Are employers desparate? Circuit City rant inside

[Mikal]

Some years back, I worked at Radio Shack for the Xmas season. They did have training manuals on the different varieties of goods they sell. I don't know if they still do.

The funniest part was when they asked me to become a store manager for them! (Let's see, work 56 hours per week for $16k and a miniscule cut of the profits......NO THANKS!)

 

[AaronP]

its like this, they don't need smart employees, because the smart geek people like us already know what we need, and we really don't need their help.

The dumb masses of the country though.... They need a little prodding, and that's what the CC employees do. I have heard some really funny stuff, and out right lies at places like CC and Best Buy, i just take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Infidelity]

While they may not know what exactly you are looking for they tried to point you in the right direction. I.E. routers.. routers section or cables-cables section. They do not need experienced people there because most of the customers at CC or CompUSA are not looking for a specific little parts. I believe the average person with medium knowledge of computers would find those stores and staff helpful. On the otherhand, Radio Shack staff would know all this and help you right away.

 

[AaronP]

ahh null modem cable, those were the days, I used to play Doom over one of those with my friend. They are so 1993.

 

[Stark]

Well, it looks like you won't have Circuit Chitty to complain about for much longer:

Circuit City on Friday reported an 82 percent drop in fiscal first-quarter earnings

I worked there for a couple years. Generally speaking, the smart people don't work in the computer department. The margin (and higher spiffs) is in video, audio, and 12volt. Heck, even the boombox salespeople make more than soho.

 

[CinderElmo]

AaronP I forgot all about playing Doom over the null modem cable!!! Those were the days...so true.

Of course, I haven't moved on much...still stuck in Q2.



It is so true about CC, C-USA, etc...those workers are just kids most of the time and kids just want to get through the day so they can go hang out with their friends (I was there too). It is easier to point you down the aisle "I think the null-modem cables are over there"...rather than actually READING manuals on their products. Let's be real here. (I liked the earlier panties-on-the-bedpost analogy!)

As soon as they get good at knowing their products, they realize they are too good for the dump they are working in...and then it is time to bring in the green recruits raw off the nintendo circuit.

 

[brxndxn]

I also normally have found the Radio Shack people to be very sharp. I've asked for crazy things - a male to male serial port adapter, thermal grease, super bright leds - and they've always known exactly what they are. Also, their prices for stupid cables like USB cables are about 1/3 as cheap as a normal store... $7.99 for a USB cable instead of $25.99...

 

[UNCjigga]

No one else was gonna go there so I guess I'll say it:

SARGE! You DO live in Mississippi!! Having the worst education system in the lower 48 has to have some effect on the people who live there, no? How many of those CC or WalMart employees do you think have a decent computer at home that they use themselves? The quality of service you can expect in Mississippi isn't exactly the same service you'll get in better-developed areas. Just grin and bear it, or move out!

 

[Infidelity]

"I also normally have found the Radio Shack people to be very sharp. I've asked for crazy things - a male to male serial port adapter, thermal grease, super bright leds -"

Those ain't crazy things at all but quite common.

 

[SgtBuddy]

<< SARGE! You DO live in Mississippi!! >>



Them thar are fightin words!!! I would never claim to &quot;live&quot; in Miss!

I am just in Mississucky for temporary duty at Keesler AFB. My home station is Tyndall AFB, Fla.

I am sure this will turn into a Mississippi doesn't suck thread...oh joy.

I am looking forward to leaving though. The customer service here isn't the greatest. What ever happend to Southern hospitatility. I am sure the huge influx of casino goers has an impact. This place is flooded with rude tourists. (not to mention us rude military people....geesh that's what leeshes are for!)

Heh! Just kidding people, I am sure there are many reasons why Florida sucks...(Chuckle)

Anyway, I am off to The Shack to get a null modem cable...wish me luck.


The Sarge
USAF Tech Controller

 

[SpideyCU]

OK, just to add my $0.02 to this mess (I love a good rant!), here goes. People are saying that these folks are hired to sell and not to know about computers. Well, they're selling computer parts, they should have some basic knowledge. Coercing someone into purchasing something they don't need may be all that employers think their salespeople need to know, but actually being able to answer legitimate questions from customers (who aren't inbreds...oops!) seems like a reasonable request. And, just to add to everyone's fun stories...

Mind you I have nothing against Radio Shack. As an electrical engineer I spent quite a few bucks there during college for parts. Most of the people I ran into were knowledgable, but there are always the oddballs. For example, there were no other computer-esque stores around and my friend needed an IDE cable (actually, I did check Circuit City too, heh!). So he called up Radio Shack and asked if they sold IDE cables. The lady told him to hold and went to check. About 4 minutes later she gets back on the phone and tells him (the words still ring in my mind, it was classic):

&quot;Uh, no, we don't have any of those. But we do have some yellow Ethernet cables that should work just fine.&quot;

...

My friend just slowly replied &quot;OK...thanks...&quot; and hung up. By that point I was on the floor laughing and crying (he had the call on speakerphone). I don't know what went through that woman's mind, or what she thought he asked for, but man that knocked me over.

OK, so ya had to be there.

 

[Aihyah]

btw, all you had to do was ask where the computer cables were. null modem = draw a blank for anyone born after home networks became affordable. hell, i barely heard of null modem cables b4 they were gone.

 

[tigerbait]

<< The margin (and higher spiffs) is in video, audio, and 12volt. Heck, even the boombox salespeople make more than soho >>


heheh... I'm also a former CC employee. This also coincides with what was said about being salesman first and knowledgable second. I used to try to sell the stuff I thought was best, but soon learned that the thing to do was sell what had the best spiff first. &quot;You haven't heard of RCA Divx players? THey are sooo much better than Sony.&quot; heheh.

I can just imagine that person, if they found the null modem cable, they'd surely offer you three year ESP for only $59.99.

 

[JohnnyKnoxville]

I'm amazed they can even get these morons to walk up to you and say &quot;can I help you?&quot;

 

[Cyberian]

<< You think the salesguy at CC is going to be home reading sales manuals, when he could be at the local bar, sweet talking some little hottie, bragging on his possible promo to Asst. Manager and trying to think of ways to get her panties hanging on his bed post?
>>



Bingo!!

Unless the CC clerk is going to make that his career, he gets paid just as much whether he studies the manuals or not.
How many of these salespeople plan to stay with CC until they retire?
Try finding a parallel cable to go from a PC to an A-B switchbox!

 

[SgtBuddy]

Went to the Shack today and came home with a new RS-232 Serial Cable and a Null Modem Adapter.

It was a pleasant visit to the Radio Shack. I went in and a young man (geesh...don' they have child labor laws?) asked if I needed any help. I decided to play a game:

&quot;I need a null modem cable for a friend&quot;, I said.

&quot;Right over here&quot;, he said

He took me to the cable section and asked what I needed it for. I said a friend asked me to come get one for his router. He asked if I needed 9, 25, or 30 pin (Winchester) connectors. I said 9. He didn't have the cable, but suggested I get a normal serial cable and the adapter. I was intrigued (sp?). This gentleman seemed to know....stuff.

Hmmm.

I pushed the limits.

&quot;What is the deal with this little adapater, how does it make the cable different?&quot; I ask. He then explains to me, in laymans terms, the correct physical and functional interface the the RS-232 connection. He told me how it is (was) used to connect two computers togehter. He even used the acronyms DCE and DTE. Holy cow! He didn't go over my head. Ok, Ok, I build RS232 connections in my sleep (don't ask why I didn't do it for this, no tools here...they are in Fla).

He didn't go into the electrical interface properties or the RS-232...geesh, I felt shorthanded. heh!

I was really amazed. I asked him why he was stuck (no offense) in a Radio Shack. He said no one would hire him without any experience. Shame.

He knew his stuff. He interacted with a dumbass (I can act) customer. He called me sir. Ugh. I am only 26. I don't look old, do I. (My next rant is in work...my weedwacker engine of a brain can only do one at a time...it has to deal with the aged amoung us)

Anyway, problem solved...except I still can't talk to my router. hmmm I guess I will have to crack open the book.

The Sarge, young Sarge, yes you are, you are so young, you look even younger, yes you do!

 

[indd]

I just left Circuit City a week or two ago after starting around Christmas last year.

When you apply for a job at circuit city you take two big long tests. They ask the same questions over and over about integrity and how well you are at influencing other people. The people who &quot;pass&quot; the tests become salespeople regardless of their past experience. CC will provide all the training that you &quot;need&quot; to sell stuff.

People who work in aud/vid, SOHO, and 12-volt DO work off commission. Here's an example: my friend's dad bought an HP P4 for like $2k. The guy who sold it to him made like $7 off of that. The reason the salespeople push warranties so hard is that selling the $400 plan nets the person like $30 or so depending on the item.

Circuit City just started this new thing over the past year called ACE. It's the area that has a whole bunch of junk like video games, computer peripherals, phones, boomboxes and portable CD players. ACE also includes the music department.. Training for ACE employees talked about phones, portable CD players, and boomboxes. There was nothing in the training (boring videos and &quot;c-learning&quot about computers, even though the department has the CD-writers, blank media, UPS's, hard drives, video cards, etc. I left making like $6.50 in the ACE department.

In the SOHO department, there were probably 2 people who knew something about computers. They actually put together their own boxes. Sometimes when they had problems the salespeople would come to me (little as I knew) for computer help.. in fact the number one seller asked me questions all the time.

It's kind of messed up to see the salespeople in action. One guy had like fifty relatives and friends who recommended this or that brand of drive or phone..

On the whole I think most people there did NOT like working there. They were either in school or just had a lot of friends there. Most everyone I knew was talking about leaving for one reason or another. The store that I was working at is currently trying to reduce its workforce (I'm guessing because of that 82% profit hit they reported). The weird thing is that they're replacing a lot of those people with new hires.

As a side note, Belkin and Monster cables are all unbelievably marked up for consumers. At &quot;cost&quot; (prices that employees get stuff at) a $20 USB cable cost me like $2. $10 crossover cable costs $2. Same goes for audio stuff..

 

[tigerbait]

<<As a side note, Belkin and Monster cables are all unbelievably marked up for consumers. At &quot;cost&quot; (prices that employees get stuff at) a $20 USB cable cost me like $2. $10 crossover cable costs $2. Same goes for audio stuff.>>

You are definitely right. I stocked up on cables big time before I left that store. BTW, the training manuals are very thorough. You are supposed to take at least 3 weeks studying them before ever selling a thing. The problem is that most people don't read them and lie to the managers who in turn do not test their product knowledge, and remain ignorant.

 

[indd]

Training was funny. Everyone just told us to sit back there for two weeks and surf the web. So that's all that we did. Man, I must have missed the good manuals :Q I'm surprised they had anything decent. That c-learning stuff was all crap! It was like Disney trying to be educational.

 

[SgtBuddy]

I'm a member {butthead} uhuhuhhuhhuuuhuuuuhhhh {/butthead}

The Sarge

 

[Deeko]

<< Does this happen a lot in CC..sales people asking if you need help...heh...sarcasm...can't walk 2 feet into the place before be attacked my the maroon shirts!!!! >>


I work at Circuit City. All employees, other than ACE/music, are completely commissioned, if they can't sell you something, they make no money at all.

Also, alot of like the computer cables and accessories and stuff are in the ACE department. Sure, theres a few people like me that know what they're talking about in that department, but most of the people work in that department cause they don't really know anything about anything sold in the store, they just know how to look up on the computer if we have something or not.

 

[Demosthenes]

Wow, you were only making $6.50/hr in the Entertainment zone? I'm currently at $9.61+ESP commissions and on a good pay period that can almost hit $10/hr. I have been at the same store for a year.. but I have friends here making $9.50 who've only been working for.. 2 months. I can't believe they're paying us so much for this job!

 

[DietDrThunder]

Let me tell you what really chaps my backside about Circuit City. 6 months ago I didn't go through the Sunday newspaper adds until late afternoon. I came across an OfficeDepot add that had an HP 9350i 10x40x32 cd burner for $99. I called the store and they said they had one left. I decided to call Circuit City and see if they carried it since they have a good price matching policy. Lowest price - 10% of the difference. They did and they had 10 on the shelf. I went there and bought one. They had to bring the manager over to approve the price match. Everything was fine and as I was walking out I stopped and looked at something else. I overheard the manager tell the sales person to pull the rest of the cd writers off the shelf and instruct him to tell any customer who asks that they are out of stock. Boy, so much for price matching policy.