6 Liquidation Sale Tips From A Circuit City Employee
Sam, a reader who says he is a current Circuit City employee, writes in to offer his advice on navigating the liquidation.
Sam says:
I have a few tips for people that are planning on shopping there during the "sale:"
1. All of what you have seen is correct, not much is actually on sale. Looking at items I remember from a couple weeks before, most everything is more expensive. Especially things like blank CDs, flash drives, and anything in the computer area. Cables are less expensive than usual, but still way more than online. Game systems are not a bad deal either.
2. You're right: We really don't care about you. I and anybody else will answer any questions about the product or return policy, or show you where something is. But that is it. I really can't do anything else for you under our new policies, and that is honestly fine with me. It is hard to care when you know the job is gone in 2 months anyway. It becomes even harder when you see how busy we are with prices being higher. It kills me to see these people scrambling over terrible prices when we were dead the past year.
3. This goes even more so for management. They have been stripped of all of their power, and are relegated to people that are allowed to have keys. Chances are they needed their job more than the part-timer like me, and they are not very happy about being jobless soon, and they are making it known.4. Bring a copy of the CC return policy from Consumerist in if you have a valid return. As you have seen already, a lot of the Customer Service and even managers don't know the real return policy for items bought before January 1.
5. No, we cannot change ANY PRICE in the store. Whatever it says in the computer is what we have to sell it at, regardless of what the sign says, or what the associate told you. It is all set by the liquidation company. I wish we could change it, but that is the way it is.
6. (And this is more of a rant:) Don't act happy that we are going out of business, please. I have had more than a few qualms with my job and the company the past few years, trust me. But I am still sad to see it go. I helped out a lot of very nice people, and I genuinely believe I helped them out and went above and beyond for them. I may be the exception, but I helped as much as I could and didn't sell people things that I didn't think they could use. Part of what is so depressing about working there right now is how smug people seem to be about us closing. You don't think the price on that camera is good? Neither do I, and I am sorry that I and 34,000 other people losing their jobs could not have saved you 12 more dollars on a camera. See how much better it gets in 6 months when Best Buy is the ONLY option for that TV you are looking for.
Poor Sam. We hope you land on your feet, buddy. Thanks for sharing your advice.
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Comments:
While I do think Circuit City deserved some of what they got, that's due to the stupid decisions of executive management.
I still feel bad for the people lower down the ladder who are losing their jobs and would never make fun of store level employees because the company is shutting down. I don't want any nasty return karma coming my way.
As another aside, I think it's an interesting lesson in retail psychology when you can mark something up, slap a 60% off tag on it and end up selling FOR MORE than you could at a so called "regular" price that happened to be LOWER than the discounted price.
I feel bad that you and thousands others are losing your jobs....but you might have been wise to skip the "We don't really care about you" tip #2 if you were going to go for the guilt trip in tip 6.
Pretty much the only thing that properly sums up my feelings on this is... :(
I echo the sentiments from consumerist, hope you land on your feet.
I was done with CC after DIVX (yes i did buy one) ... Forget BB .. Amazon and Newegg !
@backbroken: Bingo. Why should I feel bad for you having your job cut, when you readily admit that you don't care about the customers. Thats generally the way Circuit City has always been.
I am truly sorry that people are losing jobs, but there were going to be casualties in a completely mismanaged company. I certainly do not think that Best Buy is impervious to the same fate. Most Consumerist readers would not step foot in a Best Buy, let alone, buy a TV from them when you can get it online for hundreds cheaper.
I stand by my statement that we will all soon work for and buy from the Umbrella Corporation, as it will be the only company left.
@rdm: Exactly! There are many other options. Even ignoring internet shops like Newegg and Buydig, you've got 6th Ave, Electronics Expo, Sears, PC Richard (which always seems to have the best prices on TVs and lots of stock), J&R, and all the mom and pop shops.
I hear ya Sam. I worked at CC for 7years beginning my junior year of high school.. I like you did the best I could with what I had and did my best to provide the best service I could.. i worked my way up the ladder started in merch then moved over to commission. Got layed off in the 1st round in '07. Came back to work for thanksgivin and saw how shitty the new sale people were. I walked in making about 60% less then what I was makin prior to being layed off but needed the $$.. Finally graduated last july and got the hell out of CC.. They were a great company to work for from '99-'05 then after that they went for the gutter.. Sad day im going to miss going into CC>> believe me the grass will be greened on the other side and you will always appreciate the experience you got from workin at CC.. Good luck boss!
Are people shopping at CC liquidation really customers of CC? No, they are customers of Gordon Bros. Why should he care? Everyone who shows up are really vultures. Where were they when the prices were lower and actually owned by CC? I'm not defending CC, I really think they made some bad decisions, but, it seems pretty messed up that they are busier than ever with marked up prices disguised as a sale. 'This American Life' had an episode around christmas time where Ira talked to people at a mall and spoke to a worker at a store that was closing, it was really kind of heartbreaking, she said "People only come here when other people are suffering, where were you when we weren't closing?"
Just something to think about.
Best Bust is not the only place to buy a TV, so I am not too sad about CC going out of business. This sort of thing is the nature of our society. the 34,000 people are resilient and will pick themselves up.
Honestly, I was hoping it'd be Worst Buy first. I can't stand the way they push extended warranties there. They'll rag on the product you're buying. I remember they said the touch-screen of the DS breaks a lot so I should get a service plan. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. However, I'm not a vicious person and they're mindless drones forced to say what they say to keep their jobs. I just say that they're corporate purchases and I'm prohibited from buying anything more. That shuts them up really quick.
It's hard to have ANY sympathy for a store that has always tried hard to "bait and switch" their own policies...
Item not ready in 24 minutes.. Policy says you get a $24 gift card. Well, they try to say "24 minutes from when you entered the store" and have to argue with managers, showing them printouts of their own policy, that it is 24 minutes from the time stamp on your email.
"Price Match" .. That's baloney. I tried to price match something that Best Buy had been selling for $10 cheaper. They go online to the best buy website, and select "in-store-pickup" to find out that "They are unavailable at the local store, so we won't match the price"
Door Nazis who, if you don't show them your receipt, get verbally and even physically abusive (Just last week, a Door Nazi grabbed me as I was leaving, and only let go when I screamed on the top of my lungs "HELP I'M BEING ATTACKED!!" and everybody in the area (busy retail area) started looking.
So, while the poster may be the "model employee for the customers" the other 99.99% of Circuit City, to quote "Bender," can bite my shiny metal ass.
Well, the people who regularly shop at Circuit City pretty much do only have Best Buy now. The only one of those B&M stores you listed in my city of 115,000 is Sears, and you should be really ashamed of yourself for even listing them as an option. Do you not even read this site?
@rdm: I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that it's the store closing and loss of job that has soured his attitude.
My company is being sold off right now and none of us know if we will have a job in 1 month. It does create a horrible mood/atmosphere being in that type of situation.
Thanks for the tips. Sounds like they can be summarized in four words: Don't waste your time.
I was once a mgr. for a store that was liquidated. I will NEVER do it again no matter what the severance package is. The customers were mean and horrible even though we tried to stay positive. I wish more customers learned what it means for a store to be liquidated and how little (as in no) control we have over the price and state of the merchandise. The liquidator controls everything, they have some dbag oversee it, and that guy makes a commission on the store sales. That person usually does not budge on price or policy decisions, even when you have a customer who threatens to camp out in the store once you've explained that you can't return the item. (Police were called...they left with their broken merchandise.)
At long last, Circuit City gets to join The Good Guys! and Silo in electronics retailer Heaven...
I've had good customer experiences at all of these places when they were in their prime, but all of them fell into an unfortunate downward spiral that killed them off.
@Yankees368: The key point in #2 is not that he doesn't care about customers in general, it's that it is difficult to care about customers when you're days at the job are literally numbered. That if customers had been coming to the stores with these sorts of numbers over the last several months (when prices were actually lower), not only would they have gotten more courteous service with employees with more power to accommodate them (as CC might not have been driven to shut down), but said employees would not have been stripped of any and all potential job satisfaction.
@jnrcorp:
For some reason, NY/NJ seems to have a lot more mini-chains than lots of other places. Here in MD, if you don't want to buy online or Best Buy, you are pretty much limited to Sears/Costco/ect (which have a much smaller selection).
Places like CC and Best Buy are useful when you need something NOW.
@Dooley:
Overreact much? The attitude in your fourth paragraph makes me weep for legitimate consumerism.
@backbroken: Agreed. By the time I got through "I really can't do anything else for you... and that is honestly fine with me," "(Management) are not very happy... and they are making it known," and "Whatever it says in the computer is what we have to sell it at, regardless of what the sign says," I was pretty smug about this closing, despite the fact that I don't even shop there.
I'd love someone to post a timetable of when the discounts go up in the tiered way. When it hits 40% on CDs that's when I hit it, even if its picked over there's usually a find or two.
Good for this guy to write that last bit about losing his job. I hope the tone changes here about that. All the assholes that are laughing about CC closing are getting the virtual middle finger from me, on behalf of all the employees losing their jobs.
@smallestmills: Were you able to say your piece though, since it didn't really matter anyway? I'd have some words for those customers who made my last weeks of employment hard because they want 5% off their TV.
I'd be an ass to each and every "customer" that came in if I knew I wouldn't have a job. What is the point in doing anything if you know you are going to lose your job anyway. My advice to you sir: have some fun, Clerks style!
#6 I, for one, am always happy to see a horribly run, overpriced company that could care less about it's customers go out of business. Circuit City was always a plague on the electronic market and it's finally going away. This just shows capitalism works.
I hear ya man I worked for Comp USA for about a week after the liquidators came in and the people who were smiling and talking about what great deals were happening were the worst, they didn't care about you or your job. I wish i could give you a hug man and let you know that it will be alright
It is sad the front-line workers who work directly with customers in the store will be out of a job soon. I don't know but I seriously suspect the executives will all collect some type of bonus/severance/parachute/happy meal payout and go on to ruin other companies.
ONE LIQUIDATION SALE TIP FROM A READER
1. Shop somewhere else.
@downwithmonstercable: You should be much more upset at the people shopping at the liquidated stores.
@jnrcorp: Sears? Seriously? Not a chance. Nevermind their shittacular rep here, they don't have prices or selection to match even Best Buy. And it's great that yall have so many more options brick and mortar back east, but over on the west coast, those don't exist.
Actually, when I was looking for wide flat screens, Best Buy had the cheapest prices -- I think it was right after Father's day. Frys, Circuit City and even some online offers did't compare to the cheaper offers from Best Buy. Although, I have to say, I love Fry's for most other stuff. Circuit city has never attracted me, and even though I'm sorry you're losing your job, blame corporate for their stupidity.
What is the point in doing anything if you know you are going to lose your job anyway.
Because the liquidators will fire your ass without blinking an eye. Their job is to get the most cash that they can out of the stock that's still there, and some retard pissing about the store and getting in the way of that goal will be gone, very quickly.
My brother worked part-time at Linens-n-Things while they were being liquidated, and he managed to make a better salary with the liquidators, plus, he got to walk away with some merchandise that wasn't on the books for pennies on the dollar.
This has been a long time coming... the attitudes of the people that choose to work there were terrible. This is just karma sticking it to CC just like they used to stick it to their customers.
HA HA!
I stand by my statement that we will all soon work for and buy from WalMart, as it will be the only company left.
There. Fixed that for ya.
@shadax: Buying a DS as a corporate purchase?!? I am interested in working for your company, good sir. Where may I submit a resume?
He's right! Soon I'll only be able to buy TVs at Best Buy.
And K-Mart.
And Wal-Mart.
And Target.
And a couple of dozen other stores in my area, both big and small.
What a moron. CC always treated it's customers like dirt and few are sad to see them go.
Good ridance
Living in Richmond, VA, I can tell you that CC's demise has hit many people here very hard. Their corporate offices here put many people to work. These are not just retail workers, but IT, Creative, marketing, business, managerial professionals, etc... it's a very big blow to the job market here. As an IT professional, I have many friends who are out of work, or soon will be, due to this. It's pretty scary being here and knowing how many people are now looking for work in a rapidly diminshing job market.
@downwithmonstercable: Laughing about the company and not having sympathy for the employees are not the same thing.
I will absolutely be happy when a company goes out of business as a result of their own poor management. That doesn't mean I'm happy people are losing their jobs, but I'm not going to pretend to be sad about a bad company going out of business because I feel sad for it's employees.
You'd think the employees would hate the company management just as much as we do.
@rdm:
No, my attitude changed once I saw the hordes of customers coming in to buy things that were more expensive than normal. I know it wasn't true of most Circuit City employees, but I was generally helpful and always looked to save people money. I like teaching people about how computers work, why they don't need certain stuff, etc. It was fun to pass on some of that knowledge.
The liquidator is there for a couple of hours a day, and we run into the Office Space problem here: My only real motivation is to not be hassled, and that will only make me work hard enough to not lose my job.
Again, these are feelings that came about after we started closing. Before we were closing, I liked helping people and would send them somewhere else or to Newegg if they asked me about prices on cables and stuff like that.
I bent the rules frequently to people that were nice and just looking to save a little bit of money. You may not believe me about that; and that is fine. As I always said, I have been a consumer long before I worked for Circuit, and I want you to be happy in the same way I was happy.
But, when you come into my store, and say how it was about time we closed with how terrible we were, and bitch and moan about not saving a few more dollars on a router or something, damn right it puts me in a bad mood.
Lol, yeah if I were scammed by CC into DIVX, then I would probably never go there again either...
@Corporate_guy: Don't worry, they are included in my virtual middle finger. The vulture types at least. The regular joe who's there just because he needs something is legit IMO.
@Sweetz: Why would you be happy though? Wouldn't it be better for the bad managers to get the shaft, while the company stays afloat? Less competition in the market is bad, 34,000 lost jobs are bad, etc. Yeah it's the ultimate ego killer when your company fails and it's fun to point at the execs and say "I told you so" ... but when the company ultimately fails, it's a worst case scenario, because nobody wins.
I'm sorry you're losing your job but you're damn right I'm going to find the best possible price on (insert item here), especially when dealing with CC was a hassle, at best. Best Buy is not our only other option, btw, and it's attitudes like this that cause entire companies to go out of business.