This past Sunday, the 9th of August I went to the store on Temecula Parkway to buy a laptop.  I had your recent advertisement in hand and your competitors as well.  I knew what I wanted but I had a few questions.  As I walked up to the PC area I saw 4 or 5 employees were standing at the register and numerous customers walking the PC isles.  I waited my turn to ask my questions.  A short blond girl answered the first two then as I was taking notes she rejoined her fellow employees at the register. I then went up to them and asked if one of them could stay with me, answer my questions and help me choose and buy a laptop only to be told that they didn’t work on commission.  Hello, as if that made any difference in how I’m treated.  That happened twice, once Sunday and once Monday then again Tuesday but I’ll get to that in a moment.  It appeared as though I was impeding upon their social life. I wish I had a boss that would let me ignore the employees while still earning my regular salary and benefits.  I split tot Office Depot where the associate stayed with me to answer my questions.  At Office Depot they made themselves useful not invisible. I was so very disappointed that the Best Buy associates seemed to value my business so little.  Conversely I work very hard for my money and would like to spend it with someone that does their part to earn and keep my business. After I left the store on Monday I also went to local warehouse store with a C.  C had a great deal on printers but a rather poor selection on laptops and I really needed a laptop.  I then went to Office Depot and saw firsthand the behaviors of a properly trained and motivated staff of associates.  I was very impressed with the patience and knowledge of the Office Depot staff as they took the time to answer my questions and recommend laptops to meet my perceived needs.  The problem was that I was now totally confused with too much information and feared I was about to pay too much for a laptop that was not going to meet my needs 6 months from now.    Against my better judgment I went back to Best Buy hoping to find an associate that would exhibit the traits and personable helpfulness that I found at Office Depot.  No such luck.  Once again the staff at Best Buy hovered at the register chit chatting amongst themselves and heaven forbid they should have to leave their friends to interact with a time wasting customer such as myself.  I think my handful of PC circulars and advertisements gave me away as a time waster.  I waited next to the register to be recognized then asked for help choosing a laptop.  The gal then grilled me as to how I was going to use it then I was told to buy a particular HP unit. I told her I didn’t want that recommended HP unit because it had a tray load CD and I wanted a slot load and I wanted battery life from 5 to 7 hours not 2 as I spend a lot of time meeting with clients longer than 2 hours.  I spoke too much, off to the register she went and there I was following her only to be told that they now don’t have what I needed. Baloney!  I know for a fact that they do have a 500 GB, slot, 5 hour battery with an Intel chip but she just didn’t want to deal with me anymore as I was apparently too time consuming.  I left, again.  I was totally pissed off.  I’m ready to dump their stock and send out nasty-grams to all concerned.  I’m talking 190 over 140 pissed off. How could someone, in this Economy, care so little for a sale?  I can’t remember dealing with a sales associate who seemingly went out of their way to display such a total lack of interest in helping a customer.  I went home without a new laptop and then I got it from my wife. Now she’s upset.  She said I had to go back with her the next day and buy the laptop from Best Buy and just get over the rude treatment so I can save 100 bucks.  Today at 5:00 pm My wife, 15 year old son and I went back to Best Buy. There was Megan with the long dirty blond hair and the rather large gal with all the answers, no hair and zero time to devote to the customer.  I walked in thinking I was lucky that there was no one else in the PC area and I would finally get some help buying my laptop.  I asked my first 2 questions and told the gal, "not Megan" that I had narrowed it down to 3 laptops.  The sales gal then answered the questions, walked me to a different laptop then when I turned around she was Gone.  I looked up to see "Megan wiht the dirty blond hair" as she walked over to a gal that just walked in to the PC dept and asked if she could help her or answer any questions.  Dang!  Three trips there in 3 days and no one ever walked up to me offering to help.  I’m not fat, not ugly; I don’t smell nor am I a leering letch.  Go Figure. Megan then stayed with that gal for the full 9 minutes I waited for my chubby expert to return.  I watched while Megan helped the new gal with her laptop then as there was a lull in their conversation I asked if she could call her co-worker as I needed to wrap it up and buy my laptop.  Megan then tells me that she is in the bathroom and will be right back. The chubby one was now gone 10-15 minutes, my family and I are put on ignore and we’re told she’s in the bathroom.  Where?  Which one?  at the Embassy Suites across town?   5 minutes later she’s still not there, the chubby one that is,  and then my son and wife who never complain nor speak ill of anyone tell me to just leave and buy my laptop at Office Depot as this store definitely does not want my business. My son, the sweetest kid in the world actually called my sales gal, the chubby one but now also Megan, idiots and not to spend a dime of my money with them.  Harsh and strong words from a kid that never talks bad about anyone. We ask Megan one more time for help and she tells us she is already helping someone and the other gal helping us will be right back. I guess the working on commish or helping and not helping is only when it’s convenient.  We didn’t see the new customer nor the chubby gal with the short black hair that was supposedly helping us. We left in a huff, I swore never to return no matter the level of the killer deal on the item upon which our lives may depend or with which our kids simply must have to compete with the other 11th and 12th graders at Great Oak.  As we enter the Parking Lot who do we see yakking with a gal in the parking lot but our rude chubby inattentive disrespectful sales gal.  I tell her that I was looking everywhere for her to finish buying my laptop and couldn’t find her and Megan said she was in the bathroom.  Funny place for a bathroom I tell her, in the parking lot. The portly poor excuse for a sales associate then tells me for the 60th time in 3 days that she does not work on commission.  That was the proverbial straw.  I asked her what the heck does that have   to do with helping me and her walking out while I was in the middle of buying a laptop from her.  She them said it again, that she doesn’t work on commission and at this point I had gathered a few witnesses as I began to tell her just what a complete idiot she was and working or not working on commission has absolutely no bearing on the level of service she delivers nor the respect and consideration with which she treats the customers. This doofus still didn’t get it.  After staring into her blank black eyes for 2 seconds I just climbed into the car and left for Office Depot where I bought the Laptop, Warranty, Printer and software package. Piss off best buy.    I spent about 100 more on the laptop.  Spent it with a smilng and slightly hysterical laugh as I now knew that I would never have to be insulted, degraded, ignored nor treated as a non-entity again by those unskilled, untrained and uncaring pathetic excuses for Best Buy sales associates ever again.  As God is my Witness, Please Lord, never let me be so tempted as to ever go there again!  I did call the store manager as we pulled out of the parking lot. The operator at Best Buy had to know the exact nature of my call before she transferred me to the store manager.  I asked her if there was more than one manager as I was calling for the THE big manager.  She still didn’t want to transfer the call till I told her I was a slightly irritable customer.  I know for a fact based upon her stalled silence that she had no idea what slightly irritable means so she just transferred me.   She probably transferred my call to her buddy in the TeeVee department to find out just what was my defect, or issue…. The supposed sales manager repeatedly told me that the behaviors I detailed were not how his associates were trained nor how they were to be behaving.  I then couldn’t help myself from saying that it’s a top down leadership failure and he’s ultimately responsible for the actions or lack of actions on the part of his associates and how does he plan on rectifying the deficient training.  His answer was what can he do to get me back in the store, "with about as much emotion and feeling as a zombie" I declined any overture up to and including a free laptop.  There is no inducement possible which would get me back into that store.  We left the store feeling disappointed and disillusioned that not only was an entire crew of teens and twentysomethings learning that this is acceptable behavior oir thyat they can get away with it but also knowing that I must make another trip to the other side of town to buy my laptop.  I can honestly say that Office Depot trains their associates well and properly, I was treated with decency, courtesy and respect and left feeling good about spending my hard earned money with them.  I will also call my broker and buy some of their stock as it’s surely going to rise just as surely as Best Buy’s will surely fall with the current low class staff.  I will also post this note on every blog I can find even remotely associated with bad employees, high tech retailers and PC dealers.  Shame on you Best Buy, C Gorman