I just went to Best Buy at Santana Row (in San Jose) to pick up a game I bought online. I didn’t expect it to be a learning experience, but it was. I learned that I should not shop at Best Buy.
Just a few numbers from the experience:
- Time of arrival at Best Buy – 8:30 pm Sunday, November 23rd
- Amount of money spent at Best Buy – $8.65
- Time spent browsing in the store – 20 minutes
- Number of people in line when I got in the “Store Pick up” line – 2 (not counting myself)
- Number of people who cut in line while I was waiting – 1
- Number of people at the counter serving people – 1
- Time it took for me to get to the front of the line – 30 minutes
- Time it took for me to give the girl my name, and for her to find my item – approximately 2 minutes
- Time of departure from Best Buy – 9:25 pm
I waited in line for 30 minutes so I could get my $8 game, and I will not be going back. Best Buy got a little bit of money from me and alienated me as a customer.
Compare that to the fact that I spent about $100 on Steam this week during which I was visiting with my family for Thanksgiving. I didn’t have to wait in line, got what I as a customer consider some great deals, and was left feeling very happy.
My experience with Amazon this week was much like Steam. Great buys and I’m happy about the whole experience.
Man I love the internet.
