MB and MBP... Interesting Info

[flilow06]

I don't get the point actually. I'm not just saying this because I work there but we get all of the new stuff that comes out in timely manners ie: HDTVs, Wii, Xbox360 including Elite, PS3, Windows Vista computers (the day the came out we even had a midnight launch), Apple TV, Airport, new PC titles (command and conqueror, WoW, etc), Sidekick 3, RZR, SLVR, this is just to name a few. We just sell stuff but we get everything new in the technology world that comes out and we sell a lot of it. Today I just sold 3 Macbooks the $1400 models including Apple Care in 2 of them and I just stock stuff on the shelves. Our tech shop is constantly filled with costumers (with there Dell computers). The reason why the stores closed down has nothing to do with moving with the crowd or anything its because the cost of advertising was enough for Carlos Slim (get use to the name hes 2nd richest person in the world $2 billion behind bill gates) to realize there making little to no profit so him and/or his reps simply closed them down.

Don't let me get started on BB in Cali they only pay you 8.10/hr with absolutely no commission, you would think a company that made $40 million in pure profit off unused gift cards can at least offer commission for selling warranties and such but no, this is how Walmart and BB are some of the richest retailers today, higher disposable employees for pennies and offer 2 cent discounts off suggested retail prices.

I think you're confused on a few things. Walmart IS the richest retailer today because they hire "box-pushers" and sell products 2 cents above cost, in unimaginable volume. Best Buy works on the complete opposite scale, hiring "customer service specialists" and selling products, on the one thing you were correct about, at or a little below suggested retail prices. BB concentrates on marginal dollars generated mainly from services (geed squad, warranties, installation). This is the niche BB has created by evolving.

It's got nothing to do with product. Comp is still offering services BB offered five years ago, with the same service counter. They haven't changed! You don't think it's strange how you do receive the same products as us, yet you don't sell even close to what we do. Why is this? Because they haven't evolved! The stores are old and haven't been updated, there's no advertising whatsoever, sales tactics are out of date, etc. The stores were closed down because they weren't profitable... period. Why is your store still open? As you said, because it's not close to a BB... Comp is not competitive enough to survive anymore. Three Macbooks in a day? I'll sell three notebooks in ten minutes on a Thurs. during lunchtime or past six o' clock.

As you said, you don't work on the floor primarily, which is why I can understand you're pushing the whole commission idea. Another retail idea that's five years long gone! Customers don't want these employees on commission, it doesn't work in this game. Why do you think Circuit City is non-commission now? Because they've copied BB in everything they've done. They started "Firedog" after we started "Geed Squad." They've even bought a lot of those "disposable" employees you spoke of in order to foster the same culture and SOP BB has in its stores!

Go into a Magnolia section of your Cali BB, those employees are making minimum $12/hr. Go into the comp. dept and speak to a Best Buy for Business rep, they're making a minimum $14/hr. Sure you've got your regular part timers making $8 or $9 here and there. Those are the employees that come and go on their own, making themselves disposable by choice.

Carlos Slim? Try 20 billion dollars behind Gates... oh yea, and after Buffet.

 

[Bentley]

I think you're confused on a few things. Walmart IS the richest retailer today because they hire "box-pushers" and sell products 2 cents above cost, in unimaginable volume. Best Buy works on the complete opposite scale, hiring "customer service specialists" and selling products, on the one thing you were correct about, at or a little below suggested retail prices. BB concentrates on marginal dollars generated mainly from services (geed squad, warranties, installation). This is the niche BB has created by evolving.

It's got nothing to do with product. Comp is still offering services BB offered five years ago, with the same service counter. They haven't changed! You don't think it's strange how you do receive the same products as us, yet you don't sell even close to what we do. Why is this? Because they haven't evolved! The stores are old and haven't been updated, there's no advertising whatsoever, sales tactics are out of date, etc. The stores were closed down because they weren't profitable... period. Why is your store still open? As you said, because it's not close to a BB... Comp is not competitive enough to survive anymore. Three Macbooks in a day? I'll sell three notebooks in ten minutes on a Thurs. during lunchtime or past six o' clock.

As you said, you don't work on the floor primarily, which is why I can understand you're pushing the whole commission idea. Another retail idea that's five years long gone! Customers don't want these employees on commission, it doesn't work in this game. Why do you think Circuit City is non-commission now? Because they've copied BB in everything they've done. They started "Firedog" after we started "Geed Squad." They've even bought a lot of those "disposable" employees you spoke of in order to foster the same culture and SOP BB has in its stores!

Go into a Magnolia section of your Cali BB, those employees are making minimum $12/hr. Go into the comp. dept and speak to a Best Buy for Business rep, they're making a minimum $14/hr. Sure you've got your regular part timers making $8 or $9 here and there. Those are the employees that come and go on their own, making themselves disposable by choice.

Carlos Slim? Try 20 billion dollars behind Gates... oh yea, and after Buffet.

So Im guessing you work at BB right? Cool we got a few employees from the closest BB working at our store, need I say more why they work here now? Thats were all my info about BB came from coming from people who use to work there. They never mentioned any positions there making $12 or $14/hr but they worked selling computers there and the first thing that was mentioned was a lack of commission. What do you mean customers don't want to see employees on commission? I'd say (from experience) that 3/5 customers that buy high priced items (TVs, computers, monitors, actually ask me if I get commission after I help them decide which computers they want. You can get $20 for selling a monster cable for a TV, $200 for selling a mitsubishi tv, $20 for selling a monitor we have a list that constantly changes of items we can sell and get money from and thats NOT including the commission we get from the warranties on top of those items. To make my point even more valid I'd say about 25% or more of our store are employees from Circuit City, why you ask? I guess its because they followed BB's great business practices (may be great for BB but not for the employees), like how they cut a bunch of people who were getting paid commission wages which was $20+/hr.

And heres Carlos Slim
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Slim_Helú
and here he is "creating the future"/investing http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2007/05/05/how-billionaires-invest.aspx
and if you don't like wiki (because omg anyone can edit it) then a google search will tell you the same thing.

As realistic as selling 3 laptops (never said what price/brand) in 10 minutes on your lunch break sounds, I sold 3 Macbooks the $1400 models in less than 30. It may have not been 10 minutes but like I said I stock stuff I don't go looking for customers to sell computers too because I'd rather have the people who work in computer sales get the sale instead. Why you said customers don't want to see employees get commission is by far beyond me probably something they tell everyone at training?

I also know that Walmart is the richest retailer, they reason why I said some of the richest is because I said used BB and WM together, BB not being the 2nd richest retail store. Not sure why you didn't get that.

I actually don't think its strange why we sell the same products as us and you sell more. How are you going to convince me BB is better without giving me facts and figures? Telling me you guys sell more, have better business tactics without actually numbers or what you guys do better than us isn't very convincing. Consider avg sales per day, margin, warranties, location.

BTW have you guys started selling Macs yet?

 

[flilow06]

So Im guessing you work at BB right? Cool we got a few employees from the closest BB working at our store, need I say more why they work here now? Thats were all my info about BB came from coming from people who use to work there. They never mentioned any positions there making $12 or $14/hr but they worked selling computers there and the first thing that was mentioned was a lack of commission. What do you mean customers don't want to see employees on commission? I'd say (from experience) that 3/5 customers that buy high priced items (TVs, computers, monitors, actually ask me if I get commission after I help them decide which computers they want. You can get $20 for selling a monster cable for a TV, $200 for selling a mitsubishi tv, $20 for selling a monitor we have a list that constantly changes of items we can sell and get money from and thats NOT including the commission we get from the warranties on top of those items. To make my point even more valid I'd say about 25% or more of our store are employees from Circuit City, why you ask? I guess its because they followed BB's great business practices (may be great for BB but not for the employees), like how they cut a bunch of people who were getting paid commission wages which was $20+/hr.

And heres Carlos Slim
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Slim_Helú
and here he is "creating the future"/investing http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2007/05/05/how-billionaires-invest.aspx
and if you don't like wiki (because omg anyone can edit it) then a google search will tell you the same thing.

As realistic as selling 3 laptops (never said what price/brand) in 10 minutes on your lunch break sounds, I sold 3 Macbooks the $1400 models in less than 30. It may have not been 10 minutes but like I said I stock stuff I don't go looking for customers to sell computers too because I'd rather have the people who work in computer sales get the sale instead. Why you said customers don't want to see employees get commission is by far beyond me probably something they tell everyone at training?

I also know that Walmart is the richest retailer, they reason why I said some of the richest is because I said used BB and WM together, BB not being the 2nd richest retail store. Not sure why you didn't get that.

I actually don't think its strange why we sell the same products as us and you sell more. How are you going to convince me BB is better without giving me facts and figures? Telling me you guys sell more, have better business tactics without actually numbers or what you guys do better than us isn't very convincing. Consider avg sales per day, margin, warranties, location.

BTW have you guys started selling Macs yet?

I don't need to give you facts or figures. If you don't already know yourself, do some research and see, ask your managers... Comp and Circuit are no longer OUR competition, we are YOUR competition. Here are some quick numbers though. My store alone is trending to do close to 100 million dollars in revenue in one year. How many Comp stores does it take to do that, in any location? While Comp is downsizing to 100 stores, we're at 800+ and growing internationally in Canada, China, Puerto Rico, and soon Mexico.

"From your experience?" You don't even work in sales?! I'm glad to see you guys get some pretty good perks working there. But what do you think the customer would prefer? Knowing they spent $200 on a Monster HDMI cable and you got $20 for it, or knowing they could have gotten the same quality out of an Audioquest (or similar) cable for at least $60 less made with the same manufacturing processes and materials? After going over a $300 software package and a $350 warranty we offer on every computer, I can't tell you how many customers ask me in a purposeful tone, "Do you work on commission?" One word... credibility.

I fully understood what you were saying about Walmart, what I was explaining is that Walmart is a whole 'nother Beast.

BTW, we've carried Macs for quite some time now.

 

[flilow06]

This thread is way off topic. It's been a fun discussion but I think we should wrap it up. Let's get back to some MB/MBP related material.

Throw in one last rebuttal if you like and let's leave it at that.

Good to see Comp has some passionate employees!

 

[Bentley]

I don't need to give you facts or figures. If you don't already know yourself, do some research and see, ask your managers... Comp and Circuit are no longer OUR competition, we are YOUR competition. Here are some quick numbers though. My store alone is trending to do close to 100 million dollars in revenue in one year. How many Comp stores does it take to do that, in any location? While Comp is downsizing to 100 stores, we're at 800+ and growing internationally in Canada, China, Puerto Rico, and soon Mexico.

"From your experience?" You don't even work in sales?! I'm glad to see you guys get some pretty good perks working there. But what do you think the customer would prefer? Knowing they spent $200 on a Monster HDMI cable and you got $20 for it, or knowing they could have gotten the same quality out of an Audioquest (or similar) cable for at least $60 less made with the same manufacturing processes and materials? After going over a $300 software package and a $350 warranty we offer on every computer, I can't tell you how many customers ask me in a purposeful tone, "Do you work on commission?" One word... credibility.

I fully understood what you were saying about Walmart, what I was explaining is that Walmart is a whole 'nother Beast.

BTW, we've carried Macs for quite some time now.

Your right this is getting off-topic but I'm going to continue the ownage. The reason I asked for facts was to figure out why BB is such a great store to shop instead of saying we do business better and we sell more... That doesn't tell me anything. 800, 900, 1000 stores who cares? Do you work at all of those best buys? I for one don't care how many stores we build/take down I work at 1 Comp and whatever happens at that store is all I care about I could care less at whats going on at the other ones. You are also not our competition being ur 45 minutes away yet we still get customers from Nor Cal, Circuit City is really our only but we get a lot of customers coming from CC.

Once again you bring up references that aren't realistic, a monster cable is like what $40-$60?. We don't raise the price so employees can get bonuses, the companies pay us for the sale. I mean come on if you can afford to spend $1000+ on a TV whats a $60 cable? If someone wanted a cheap cable they could just by it online for wholesale since about 99% of cables are cheap to produce thats how companies make "profit". Also the customer doesn't know what and/or how much we get for selling certain things and I'm sure they don't really care, the come in to buy what they want regardless of all that but some of them are kind of enough to ask me if I'm getting commission usually if they decide there going to come back and they want me to get the sale after spending half an hour helping them decide what they want, not in a why do you get commission tone but a you deserve it tone, if you get what I mean.

Also I don't have to work in sales just to get sales, I know about TVs and computers enough to help someone make a great decision (as in not bringing it back). Maybe it has to do with the customers you guys get but plenty of times I have had customers go up to a manager during and/or after a sale saying how much I helped them especially the ones who know nothing about computers and the ones who appreciate us not attempting to sell them that $1000 Sony for word processing and surfing the web.

The reason why I asked if you guys sold Macs yet is because before I bought mine I was at a BB with my gf and I wanted to show her the one I was getting and there were none on display I even asked if they had any on display and they said no. He didn't say nor deny if they sold them but a good guess would be if its not on display they don't sell them.

I guess you don't want to continue talking about Carlos Slim seeing how I was right to begin with. 100 million in revenues, nice, but did you ever wonder why in the heck don't they pay employees commission? I don't know how many, if any CompUSA's that would take but should I really care and I'm sure Carlos would love that right next to his 50 billion dollars. You shouldn't really use that as a defense as to why you guys are better because your only getting a fraction of a fraction of that money. Sometimes I wonder what BB and WM will do after we find life on another planet I can see it now.

07/08/10 Scientists have found life on another planet
07/09/10 Wal-Mart has decided to expand to different planets
07/10/10 Wal-Mart has built the first building/store on another planet

I'm not flaming you or anything, I'm just continuing with this because theres no new Mac news and some guy came in earlier who always asks the same questions told me "so when is the store closing down, I heard the company is going bankrupt" yet he doesn't realize its privately owned by a billionaire its people like that I just want to slap.

 

[eric]

your first paragraph answers it all...

The reason I asked for facts was to figure out why BB is such a great store to shop instead of saying we do business better and we sell more... That doesn't tell me anything. 800, 900, 1000 stores who cares? Do you work at all of those best buys? I for one don't care how many stores we build/take down I work at 1 Comp and whatever happens at that store is all I care about I could care less at whats going on at the other ones. You are also not our competition being ur 45 minutes away yet we still get customers from Nor Cal, Circuit City is really our only but we get a lot of customers coming from CC.

keep thinking locally!

i think filow has been making some superior points for sure, at least on the grand scale. what does it matter what one store does in the grand scheme of a company? how does that reflect on the rest of them? one must think in terms of an entire enterprise if you're going to discuss something as broad as retail competition. and in this case, bby is the 800 pound gorilla in the room when it comes to consumer electronics. cc and compusa, etc are minor annoyances at this point. will it change at some point? sure. but for now, that is the was it is.

 

[Bentley]

your first paragraph answers it all...



keep thinking locally!

i think filow has been making some superior points for sure, at least on the grand scale. what does it matter what one store does in the grand scheme of a company? how does that reflect on the rest of them? one must think in terms of an entire enterprise if you're going to discuss something as broad as retail competition. and in this case, bby is the 800 pound gorilla in the room when it comes to consumer electronics. cc and compusa, etc are minor annoyances at this point. will it change at some point? sure. but for now, that is the was it is.

Oh ya for sure, grand scale yeah, I was worried when they announced half the stores closing but after what happened it didn't affect us. But you would think I would be worried about the future but I probably won't be there long enough if they do end up closing Comp for good, but as for now they already announced and I think closed the stores they wanted to.

 

[eric]

well, filow did wish you luck in your store not closing...

it just makes sense now, your arguement v filow's, you're both speaking the same language about marginally different topics.

 

[acash0902]

filow06, i think you are right about your initial predictions

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0705laptops.html

 

[Hablabamos]

i think he's right too... check out the circuit city and best buy websites. there are no macbooks available for order online, and all of the stores in my area are out of stock too

 

[Ninjab3ar]

well, filow did wish you luck in your store not closing...

it just makes sense now, your arguement v filow's, you're both speaking the same language about marginally different topics.

Sorry for going completely off-topic, but nice avatar, Eric!!!

 

[flilow06]

filow06, i think you are right about your initial predictions

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0705laptops.html

Now I just hope other's predictions on Santa Rosa and LED's are right!

And then... MBP here I come!

A collection of some other rumor sites for reference:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/informed-speculation-apple-macbook-with-santa-rosa-coming-very-soon-258775.php
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/09/intel_rolls_out_santa_rosa_notebook_platform_macs_to_benefit.html
http://crunchgear.com/2007/05/09/rumors-no-santa-rosa-macbooks-oled-on-the-way/

 

[jerseyjim]

might be announced on the 14 and ship and be able to be bought on the 20th?

 

[Glenners]

Hmm that one site says there won't be any updates for the macbooks in months! I hope I don't regret waiting until after the wwdc to buy my macbook!

 

[acash0902]

here is some of the availability of the stores around me

 

[acash0902]

here is some more

Store Information Distance Availability Available
For Pick-Up?
Houston CompUSA Superstore
Houston, TX 77077 (281) 589-9300 15 Miles Out-Of-Stock No
Houston Galleria CompUSA Superstore
Houston, TX 77057 (713) 629-4333 23 Miles Limited Quantities No


sry couldn't get the picture the attachemnt would't work

 

[flilow06]

New AppleInsider article sounds a little more promising:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/11/next_macbook_update_a_yawner_ultra_portable_to_get_13_inch_display.html

 

[Bentley]

Still in receiving status for me and the Apple Rep hasn't released any new info yet.

 

[Glenners]

my bestbuy still has macbooks in stock.

 

[AndrewUK84]

Hmm I was looking at getting a Mac Book Pro, but after this news I think I will at least hold on until the end of June to see if any new models are released then.

Would hate to buy my MBP now and one month later a new model comes out.

Also does the Apple Care warranty cover the battery for extra 2 years?