Post-Best-Buy-Syndrome

[Braxton36]

I had to go to Best Buy on Saturday. You probably have one nearby. They're getting to be like Walmarts. And cockroaches. They just show up.

As I walked around aimlessly looking for a wall-mounted telephone (they had three models among the hundreds of others that did everything but brush your teeth) hoping that someone would point me in the right direction (they have dozens of harried employees - most of whom look like they've recently been graduated from pull-ups to regular underwear) and away from that god-awful music (you know you're getting old when you can't understand the lyrics except for the bad words).

It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I have lived beyond my time of technological ability. I thought about my grandparents (all four born c. 1900) and wondered what one thing in this enormous store they could find that would make any sense to them. And how could I explain?

A microwave oven?
(We use ours to make popcorn and cook bacon... used to be called a frying pan)
A vacuum system?
(It used to be called a "Hoover" - the concept is the same, they just look like somebody's science project now. Does alot that a broom and a rag does.)
An entertainment system?
(Well it's a television, and it plays music, and records and plays movies and television shows. I'm not sure that some don't polish shoes and clean up after the dog, too. I do know that they come with remote controls that look like you could launch an entire air force with them and a set of instructions that have about as many words as the Encyclopedia Britannica used to have. In four languages.)
A digital camera?
(It's a Kodak. Same thing. Just now you don't have to worry about everyone in the drug store passing around your embarrassing pictures.)
A copier/printer/scanner?
(Think photostat machine or mimeograph without the purple stains and the lurid smell.)
Digital everything else?
(Short for disposable - the backs don't open up - just plan on throwing them out when they break.)

I'm going to go lie down now.

 

[Pilgrim]

I'm somewhat in the opposite party - I enjoy using new technologies. I'm not the first adopter, but my background in electronic media and my propensity for do-it-yourself make me a real fan of new electronic technologies.

My biggest problem is making the budget match the impulse - meaning I stifle a lot of impulses. OTOH, OFAS (Our Favorite Auction Site) enables some purchases that wouldn't be possible otherwise.

PDA - love it! I have a Sony Clie (I know they're outdated, but mine is the last model with color swiveling LCD screen and Wireless-B access) that I couldn't do business without. I haven't used a paper calendar since 1998.

Cell phone - on my hip all day, every day.

Laptop - yup, carry one with me on every trip.

All the normal home stuff - mwave oven, DVD, HDTV, satellite, got it. I even have backward compatibility with a high-end Laserdisc player and plenty of VHS decks.

Now if I could just figure out the software to dub those VHS tapes into DVD format on my media center computer....it seems like it ought to be transparent but it's stumping me after hours of study.

And I admit - there's a lot of electronic stuff out there that I simply don't need.

 

[Zach R.]

I agree, there is nothing wrong with new technology. I also carry a cell phone on my hip everyday, and I own TWO laptops.

I'm sure there were people in the '20s complaining about all of these noisy automobiles taking over the horse and buggy industry, or people going more to the nickleodeons than the theater.

 

[Paisley]

You know, Pakistani peasants have DVD players now. I suppose I ought to get one, too.

 

[Midnight Palace]

On a somewhat related note, I'm really starting to hate going to Best Buys and Walmarts because of the AMOUNT to people in there!!! Everywhere you turn someone is right in your face, then people let their kids run loose, and stop right in the middle of a main aisle with a full cart that makes it impossible to get around them on either side. I also can't stand when (has this happened to anyone else?) you're looking at something on a rack or shelf, and someone stands RIGHT next to you to look at the same thing, and I mean like "I-can-smell-what-you-ate-for-breakfast" close!!! Its like they have no concept that someone else is present. :rage: :rage:

sigh...ok, rant over lol

 

[DancingSweetie]

I hate Best Buy, I don't go there anymore. Their stuff is overpriced and the salespeople don't know anything about anything.

 

[Midnight Palace]

You're right, plus I can't stand when they don't have DVDs on the official release date. I recently had to go all over creation just to find the 2-Disc SE Double Indemnity. Its like places like BB and WM had absolutely no idea it was released.....but they have 2,000 copies of RoboCop

 

[MK]

.

(they have dozens of harried employees - most of whom look like they've recently been graduated from pull-ups to regular underwear) and away from that god-awful music (you know you're getting old when you can't understand the lyrics except for the bad words).

I like technology....but I agree on their employees. I really don't like having to listen to multiple sound systems all at one time playing different things. I often times will go over and turn a few down. One is enough.

 

[McPeppers]

I like technology....but I agree on their employees. I really don't like having to listen to multiple sound systems all at one time playing different things. I often times will go over and turn a few down. One is enough.

True enough, thats usually why I go in with a mental picture of what i want...get it...pay and leave. No browsing no asking questions...just straight simple purchases. In the age of the internet and Google you are given a vast resource of knowledge that you can use before going out to buy when theres the instance you dont know what you want. If you need to compare certain electronic products there is Cnet ... which can compare anything from a microwave to a flatscreen tv with HD.. and has Editor reviews and customer reviews...invaluable to those not "in the know"

Its saved me money too, knowing what I want and where to find it. Before I began doing research i would get lost in the aisles and find myself thinking "you know...I really could use a waterpik when i brush..." when all i wanted was a new pack of blades. Or leave Wal-Mart with a stand up lamp, a rolling deskchair, a "zen" fountain, and the original item of intent (a cheap area rug for what was then my dormroom). Since then I needed a boombox to take my Sirius radio out of my car and into the house. I went to walmart and walked straight to electronics..paid...and left all within 10 minutes.

I keep employee contact to a minimum because I cam in knowing all I needed to know but didnt need them to try to talk me into a bigger better version....or extra batteries... its plugged in 100% of the time so pff lol.

 

[Lady Day]

I dont think its the advances that make technology so frustrating, but the lack of etiquette when using them. I dont want to rehash old threads, but consideration for the sudden need to get to said technology seems to be the only reason for living instead of why you need said technology.

My two cents.

LD

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've been accused of being every kind of a Luddite because I'm not surrounded by the latest gadgets, but that's not really true. I don't have a problem with using technology that actually makes a meaningful contribution to my life -- I've got a computer because it's essential to my work, but it also has other value beyond that, in that it makes it easier for me to keep in touch with friends -- my best friend is deaf, and can't use a telephone. For us, Instant Messaging is a lifeline.

But what does bug me is when people badger me about how I need this gadget or that gadget just because it's the latest thing. I don't have a cellphone because I don't *want* people to be able to call me anywhere and any time. I don't have an iPod, because I *like* the sounds of the outside world when I'm out and about, and I don't feel any need to block them. I don't have a PDA because I can just as easily jot phone numbers and addresses down in a little book like I always have. I don't have a gigantic plasma TV with surround sound because even if I could afford one, it would look ridiculous in my little tiny living room. My little 19-inch screen is fine, thanks.

So I steer clear of Best Buy. Which is just as well, because they'd probably find me terribly terribly frustrating.

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

Best Buy - I don't go there unless I already know what I want and know they have, or will match, the best price.

New Technology - having worked developing some of it for last 5 years, I'm pretty cynical about it. There's a lot of stuff they put in there advertised as "great new technology" , like it's a feature, and even make you pay extra for it as "something new" (with a smile), when it's actually a vast degradation in quality, just to make production cheaper for the manufacturer.

One of the funniest, right before the demise of VCRs: the "autoclean" function. Automatically, every 10 hours or something of play, a little abrasive disc comes out and rubs against the spinning VCR head. What was the #1 by far leading cause of VCR death in the consumer reports articles? Abrasive head cleaners. It's like an automatic guaranteed expiration date, built in, and sold as a feature. Had a hard time finding one without it at that time.

There usually are "good" (i.e. somewhat well built , reliable - relatively speaking of course) DVD players, cellphones, etc out there, you just have to research it from consumer feedback on the web, and not listen to sales pitches in the stores.

Personally, I generally don't care for new technology, when I get it it's only because "it happens to be there" but except for the microwave, I could take it or leave it.

- Bobby

 

[fortworthgal]

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. I enjoy my microwave for defrosting or making popcorn, my satellite radio and television, my job is completely computer-based, and I do think that cell phones are very convenient and can be a lifesaver. However, some technology just isn't for me. I'm not a "gadget" person at all. My husband has a PDA whereas I just prefer a plain old paper address book or scratch pad. I could care less about plasma big flat screen TV sets (I have to admit I have always loathed large-screen TVs), or HDTV, or whatever. I balked at the idea of having XM Radio until we had it installed, and I have to admit that I do love it. But, I totally don't "get" the whole Ipod craze. I don't need to carry my music around with me. I think technology has afforded us many conveniences and I appreciate that, but honestly I just find some of them to be a little too over-the-top for my taste, and I just don't need them.

I do dislike Best Buy, for all the reasons previously mentioned. I try to avoid that store whenever possible.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

True enough, thats usually why I go in with a mental picture of what i want...get it...pay and leave. No browsing no asking questions...just straight simple purchases. Its saved me money too, knowing what I want and where to find it. I went to walmart and walked straight to electronics..paid...and left all within 10 minutes.

I keep employee contact to a minimum because I cam in knowing all I needed to know but didnt need them to try to talk me into a bigger better version....or extra batteries... its plugged in 100% of the time so pff lol.

That is what Hemingway Jones and I call "The Commando Raid"

 

[Alighieri]

I am with the majority here. I never go into a Best Buy without knowing what I want and getting it. Though normally I get my electronics and items on Ebay. If you do the research you don't need to ask any of the teeny-boppers there about which system is good. I find http://www.avsforum.com/ very helpful.

Alighieri

 

[The D.A.]

That is what Hemingway Jones and I call "The Commando Raid"

Daisy--I love that!

Best Buy is a necessary evil in my town, as the only real alternative for electronics is (shudder) Wal-Mart. When in Best Buy recently, I found the sales people more attentive to me than usual. Usually I only get accosted four or five times a visit, but this time it seemed like I couldn't turn around without a salesperson asking me if I needed help. The same salespeople were coming back to me not five minutes after they had just asked me if I needed help and asking me again. Later in the week I related my experience to one of our interns, who used to work there. He said, "Oh, yeah, that's what they do when they think you're going to shoplift." I have no idea what it was about me that aroused their suspicions, but considering my profession I thought that was pretty funny.

As for technology, I find that I'm using less of it than I used to. I was the kind of guy who had to have all of the latest tech stuff--camera phones, PDAs, computers. If it was digital, I wanted it. I then realized that a lot of the stuff I just didn't need, and that some stuff just unnecessarily complicated things. For example, I wasted a lot of time trying to enter things into my PDA using the infuriating special alphabet. I now find that it's just a lot easier to write a date into a paper planner. I no longer update my computers every year because I find that I can do the things I want to do on older equipment. I just got a new cell phone, but I got it because it is small, not because it can take pictures and movies and who knows what else. I am by no means a Luddite, but I just don't see the need for a lot of the new technology that's out there.

 

[DronesDodz]

I like Best Buy, especially the day after Thanksgiving I usually end up with some great deals.
And about the technology concerns.....praise the lord for the internet....I would hate to write all my posts in the Fedora Lounge on paper and send them off by snail mail....
Christoph

 

[Twitch]

I absolutely no problem with tech and know what I'm looking for and how to describe it. I have had PCs since 1989 with DOS 1.0. We have a cell phone without camera that my wife keeps with her. I don't need one. We use like an hour a month talk time. I have cassette, CD, DVD players/recorders, VCRs, cordless phones, digital camera, and a satellite receiver from Dish. I have a turntable for records too.

No laptop, no I-pod, PSP, PDA, bigscreen or HD-TV, home theater or X-box. If I needed or really had a desire for any of these I'd get them. My El Dorado has AM/FM stereo with cassette and 12 disc CD player from the factory. No XM radio. I don't buy to collect movies on disc now or on tape before. I own less than 6 of only my favorite favorites.

I rarely listren to broadcast radio but do listen to the Yahoo radio on my PC which plays what you have previously rated as favorably from a huge secection of music categories.

The same problem exists in the couple Best Buys I've frequented- zombie workers. I recently went looking for a copy of Windows XP Media Center Edition. Browsed the shelves not seeing it. Asked somebody 10' from the shelf who directed me to another department supposedly responsible for software. The person boredly answered,"if it's not there we don't have it." Beings that she was at a computer terminal she didn't bother to offer to look up and see it it was a stocked item and/or if it could be ordered.

I went home, fired up my PC, went to Ebay and purchased the item.

Other have told me that some stores are worse than others so perhaps there is hope. I looked bestbuy.com up and noted consumers rating their in-store expperiences at various locations so that could be a help in order to stay away from bad experience stores.

I have an extreme dislike for stores like Best Buy, and banks today, that have that damned Disneyland line set up that doubles back and forth resulting in one end of the line even when there are several registers open. Why the hell can't I pick my line and take my chances if it moves fast or not?

I don't patronize Walmart becuse the stores are depressingly messy and the patrons are really low lifes. Same for K-Mart to me.[huh] In fact I seldom "shop" as such. When I need or want something if I don't plan to buy it online I seek it out, make a quick visit to the store, buy the one thing and get the hell out.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I hate Best Buy, I don't go there anymore. Their stuff is overpriced and the salespeople don't know anything about anything.

Alas, this is becoming more the rule than the exception these days in almost any nationally-known chain. Sales staff who don't know their product line, or worse, lie through their teeth to make a sale.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

You're right, plus I can't stand when they don't have DVDs on the official release date. I recently had to go all over creation just to find the 2-Disc SE Double Indemnity. Its like places like BB and WM had absolutely no idea it was released.....but they have 2,000 copies of RoboCop

One plus with Amazon.com - you usually get a discount for preordering and they usually ship so it reaches you on the release date...sometimes even a day before.