They didn't have a micro SD card with a mini SD card adapter?

Last time I wandered into a Best Buy I glanced over at some of the flash media cards and nearly had a heart attack over what they were charging. Prices were between 2 and 3 times what I would find online.

Also, Kingston Memory makes a MicroSD card that's packaged with both a SD/MMC adapter AND a MiniSD adapter. It was pretty cool, and I'm looking forward to GrainOfRiceSD.

yeah, because if he'd let them, they'd have just spun him around, taken his wallet out of his pocket and swiped his credit card for that micro SD card. Way to be forceful about not buying something. Woo Hoo!

I can understand being upset about them not having what they said they have on the phone, and maybe that caused things to play out a little longer than they should have, but seriously, if an employee obviously doesn't know what they're talking about, why keep talking to them? Why not ask for the person you spoke to on the phone in the first place? If they were so sure they had the product in stock, maybe it's hidden somewhere only they know about? I've had that happen before. It's uncommon but not impossible.

Usually I try not to ask the help any questions, unless I happen to be bored that day and just want to test their knowledge.
As for the card, last time I needed a miniSD i found a micro that had 2 adapters with it. One micro to mini, one mini to standard. Worked fine putting micro into mini adapter.

It boggles my mind that anybody, anywhere, expects any employee of any retail store, to know anything about anything.

Most microSD cards come with the miniSD adapter, which would be move advantageous to have because you could use it in miniSD devices and microSD devices. They are often a little bit more expensive though. It still sounds like the BB employees were in the wrong, but if explained correctly it may have ultimately been the better choice for the purchase. Just sayin.

Wouldn't surprise me that they are trained to tell you they have something in stock when they don't. If you are not in the store, you won't buy something.
If they get you in the store, you will be more likely to buy something.

Once I went to Best Buy to purchase HD-DV tapes for an HD camcorder that my film company has. The packaging and name of the tapes had changed since the last time I purchased them so I asked an employee if they were the right ones and the answer I got was: "I didn't know HD cameras used tape."

@GavinEstecado: Yeah, I learned my lesson on that after going form a mini-sd phone to a micro-sd phone. They don't even appear to use mini-sd in phones anymore, so I'd say he's better off buying micro with an adapter, and then he has the flexibility to re-use the card in other devices later, if he'd like.

Based on some experiences I've had at some electronics stores, it wouldn't surprise me if they do have the right thing somewhere but the clueless staff don't know it and/or don't even keep it in the right place.

And then these stores wonder why so many of us have given up and use the online stores instead. Sheesh.

Perhaps I'll stop going to Best Buy for things that are readily available online without the headache.

Dingdingdingding! Tell him what he's won!

These days, I think of Best Buy and similar big-box brick-and-mortars as showrooms for the online retailers that get all my business. Higher prices, inept staff, sales tax, availability problems? No thanks.

"It's my favorite store for electronics."

Well there's yur problem...

Seriously though, I see how this could be potentially confusing even for employees. The issue is more that there are so many memory and connection protocols that need sorting out, than that the employees were confused.

At least the field has been leveled to just various SD and CF cards rather than the previous XD, SD, Smart Media, Micro-Drive memory stick, memory stick duo etc... The employees probably deal with customers all day long calling something by the wrong name and since they don't stock mini-sd cards, assumed you meant micro. Just because they don't know what you're specifically looking for doesn't mean they're unfamiliar with their own products.

@misokitty: "I didn't know HD cameras used tape."

At least he gave you an honest response.

@theblackdog: That's what I'm curious about. I mean still, shame on the BB employees for not knowing the difference, but I have yet to buy a micro or mini SD card that didn't come with adapters of some kind.

@GrandizerGo: I doubt it. Whoever was on the phone was probably just a cashier and didn't know the difference between what he was looking for.

Wait what's a miniSD card? If I was BB, I would've just stared at you confused until you left.

Sorry.

@wehsmith: "Usually I try not to ask the help any questions, unless I happen to be bored that day and just want to test their knowledge."

As a former retail employee, let me just say that I hate you and your kind. :)

That being said, I was the undisputed god of my department (home theater), so I usually ended up teaching them a thing or two before they left or correcting a false idea. My favorite fallacy: "Yay! Bo$e is teh greatest!"

Other than groceries, I buy everything from Amazon. I don't know what I would do without them. Too much of an inconvenience to go to the store. If you already know what you want, it really is a no brainer.

[www.bestbuy.com]

The only MicroSD card they sell comes with a MiniSD adapter so the associate was right you did need that one. He was wrong to say you were wrong but they were selling the correct product. They do have both in one package since it has the adapter..... Did you check the package. Do a check by zipcode and if they have it then it was there....

Lets see what is posted in the Update section!!!

Both are wrong. The consumer is wrong for not accepting that the microSD cards come with adapters and Best Buy is wrong for not explaining this fact.

@misokitty: I just use MiniDV in my HD camcorder. Glitches in the recordings are extremely rare. Though, since you're doing professional video, I can see why you might need to be especially vigilant against such glitches.

@Devidence: Too hard to look for it on the shelf and read the label or look at the picture?

@Matthew Berkhan: Bingo. I always buy micro and use an adapter if I must. Going up in size is easy, down not so much.

@DeeJayQueue: Because they're supposed to know what they're talking about, and the next guy who comes in might be tricked by these morons into buying the wrong product.

@theblackdog: That's what I'm thinking - I've never bought a retail micro SD card that didn't come with an adapter.

Several people have mentioned adapters - when this story popped up, I grabbed my handy box o' flash (ah ah) and checked . . . none of the three microSD cards I've purchased came with a MiniSD adapter. Yes, they all have standard size SD, but not a mini in the bunch. I understand that some brands do come packaged with all the three bears, but that is not a given.

@theblackdog: They probably had several. I wouldn't blame BB employees; odds are most of them weren't working there the last time anyone asked for a mini SD.

@YouDidWhatNow?: 'Specially 'round these parts.

For me, it's not so much an expectation as a hope. A desperate hope that will most likely go unfulfilled. Like a sort of Second Coming of Customer Service.

@Secret Agent Man: I have to disagree. Whoever answered the phone specifically stated that BOTH microSD and miniSD cards were available, meaning that individual knew that there was a difference, and presumably understood exactly what that difference is. Or at least...one would hope, given their OBVIOUS NAMES.

The people the OP talked to in the store are a totally different story. They clearly had no clue whatsoever.

Hey Phil, Wal-Mart carries Mimi-SD cards.

This makes a lot of sense, I work in the "tech" department at a retail store and basically if you don't teach yourself you're not trained on any products sold. We're just trained to "attach, attach, attach". I'm not surprised that they didn't carry miniSD in the store, it's kind of rare, but I am surprised they didn't know the difference.

MiniSD is very rare, it is almost impossible to buy locally. I needed one for my Canon HV30 video camcorder so I can use it for stills in an emergency and had to buy it online. A majority of people don't even know MiniSD exists and will confuse it with MicroSD.

I really won't defend BestBuy, they are a crooked business, but MiniSD is such a low demand item you can't expect every employee at BestBuy being paid $6/hr to know about it, more over, this certainly is a hit story to talk about.

@Corporate_guy:

For best buy? Yes. The difference is I know they aren't electronics experts.

@Corporate_guy: Not all come with that adapter, and also it would be good to point out that most mini SD devices would likely not be compatible with micro SDHC, which might be accidentally purchased.

@Devidence: So basically you're an idiot who can't do his job? And you're proud of this?

@Devidence: That would have been an improvement over the service he got. I really prefer someone say "I don't know" rather than make it up.

@jayphat: Do they wear way too much makeup and pick on Drew?

The employees want a sale, period. If they don't sell what he wants and they just come out and tell him so, GUARANTEED no sale. But if they try to shove something else on him, they MIGHT get a sale. Who cares if it's what he really wants or not? Maybe it gets returned, who knows, but, like I said, there's a chance of a sale, where as if they're honest they're SOL.

@jayphat: don't say that too loud...you'll incite the wal-mart haters and then you'll have 8 replies telling you how you are an idiot for shopping at walmart and 60 telling you they will never step foot in a walmart.

But yea- WM, surprisingly, has a nice selection of flash cards and they even carry MiniDV tapes for not that much. Last time I needed a flash card I was shocked to see ALL flavors of memory on the rack (some of it was kinda expensive thou).

Best Buy is not a Tech Store, they are a department store. And people make mistakes all the time. I feel bad that the guy made an unnecessary trip, but sometimes that is the way the cookie crumbles.

@katstermonster:
My thought is that the person on the phone didn't know what the difference between the two was and was confused. A quick search on Bestbuy.com for 'Mini SD' brings up only an entry for MicroSD, leading me to at least assume not all locations carry miniSD cards.

Its entirely possible that the one confused employee answered the phone and that the people on the floor were just trying to help out.

I'm not typically one to defend BB here, and I'm not a fan of the place, but I don't really see how this is a huge deal. The OP knew what card he needed and didn't buy the wrong thing. To me it just looks like mis-communication and not some indictment of Best Buy and its systematic attempts to fool customers into buying and returning merchandise.

Every micro sd card I've seen at best buy has had the adaptors and I just checked their webiste and everyone best buy sales on their includes the adaptor as well.

So the best buy employees were right he did want the micro SD card + adaptor. It would have worked and isn't out dated technology like the mini sd card he ended up buying. However he certainly didn't want to buy it from best buy anyway since as many people have pointed out they overcharge 2-3x as much as you can purchase them for online.

Do you hear that? That is the sound of the smallest violin in the world.

While its not surprising that some employees do not know about miniSD, i find it astounding that the associates could not simply google miniSD (its in their employee toolkit).

Then again, random knowledge is why many of my co-workers come to me when they don't know about a product.

And yes, I do work @ BB.

You can also cut down on "glitching" by fast forwarding the dv tape all the way to the end and then rewinding it back to the beginning whenever you go to use a new tape... it'll help shed any particulates that may be there. I was actually one of the few knowledgable employees Best Buy once had, before I was fired for making too much money (I had been there for a few years, and had racked up some nice performance review raises...)

@Joshua Petersen: I disagree. He wanted the miniSD for a specific product. If that is what he wants, that is what he should get.

That is why we have Google in our employee toolkit. We can look up the specs for most anything that can be found on the web.

Thats when you make the call of advising the customer that he needs a different card or not. He has an older camera that uses a specific format, so he would be correct in what he needs.

yeah i am sure the card would have worked and it would have the adapter, but its the best buy guys fault for not explaining it

@GrandizerGo: I agree. This way they can also avoid bothering to look for the product and they can get off the phone quickly.

I stop into Best Buy about once a year. If I can't find what I'm looking for quickly, and the staff can't give accurate directions (I give them once chance), then I'm out of there.

Sorry for the double post, but I see many people saying that microSD cards come with adapters.

That is correct, but they do not come with adapters for miniSD. They come with adapters for full-size SD (basically just a SD card with a slot, and no memory itself, to put the microSD card into).