IamA Best Buy Employee Preparing For Black Friday AMAA!

When do the dragons show up?

Damnit, I wish I knew, but I never see them, all I see are wieners everywhere!

Is it true your boss wears a fake mould of a scar on his eye?

I wouldn't have it any other way.

What is the craziest thing you are told to prepare for?

We are told to pretty much be prepared for anything to happen. Fights, theft, yelling, scamming they happen every year in some way, but we were also instructed not to interfere with anything.

I've been with Best Buy for 8 years, believe me when I say this: you're probably going to be fired for this if anyone finds out who you are. Good luck.

Hmm, while you may be right, I have not posted any confidential information (if I have please let me know). Also I read the confidentiality policy before doing this, and I'm pretty sure I'm in compliance with it.

How early do you expect people to line up?

Starting today we have three tents set up outside my store! It's crazy! Honestly if you plan on getting a doorbuster I would say no later than 11 am on Thursday.

Why is my Best Buy a furniture store? I'm so very confused about this.

Really? Where? It's true that we have some furniture, as in TV stands and office desks, but mostly it's all electronics!

Bloomfield Hills, MI. They moved from a HUGE store across from the Pontiac Mall, into a fairly small store in a strip mall. And then cut the store in half and split it with a local furniture store chain. Needless to say, I miss shopping there.. They sell almost no electronics now.

That's a bummer! One of the only reasons I love working for best buy is because i like electronics. I wonder if the alternative was just closing the store? Anyways sorry for the loss! Do you have any other store like HH Gregg, I doubt you have a Frys?

Sadly, they are the only electronics chain in the state, aside from a really crappy Microcenter down in Detroit. I do have an actual question though, does the stuff in Magnolia go on sale on Black Friday? :3

That sucks. But Magnolia stuff totally goes on sale. In fact the Magnolia "Black Friday" sale started today, so the prices they are now are the prices they will be. Which means 55" 4K tvs from Samsung and Sony are $2999 and and 80" Sharp went down by 1,000. Those are the only ones I know off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are some killer audio deals too!

Dude, I did 6 years of black friday at the BB. There's no "Preparing for it" Sure, you get the product out on the race track and get your stuff in order. When it comes down to it, you just deal with the horde. You should have seen it BEFORE they implemented the ticket system. It was first come, first serve.

Yeah, I can't even begin to imagine what that was like. Thanks for your Best Buy service. :)

Are the employees supposed to be prepared to get in a fight, or for customers to fight each other?

We are instructed not to get into fights in any way, but last year we did have an employee get punched in the face by a customer! We also have several police officers throughout the store to deal with those situations!

Would you be fired for hitting back? I worked as a host at a bar and grill, and one of our waiters was fired, because a drunk guy got pissed and hit him, and he hit back and knocked the guy on his ass.

We would absolutely be fired for hitting a customer. They take it really seriously, we are not allowed to touch a customer under any circumstances!

How can you sleep at night after selling somebody a Monster Cable HDMI cable?

Well my mattress is so comfortable being that it is so stuffed with the money I practically steal from old people.

On a more serious note, not all bby employees are out to gouge customers. I rarely sell monster hdmi. dynex all day everyday, since they are the cheapest ones we sell.

Are the deals even worth it?

Some of them are pretty good, but they can also be the toughest products to get your hands on since they require tickets. In all honesty the best deals this Black Friday are at Wal-Mart with the 70" Vizio TV for 1,000. But the 50" vizio we have for 599.99 is pretty good as well!

Honestly, I find that this years TV deals aren't anything fantastic. If you shopped around for deals throughout the year you could've already gotten these prices.

As for the doorbusters. I definitely am curious, but I just don't want to wait in line.

Yeah, I agree. The only ones that are actually the lowest I've seen are the samsung f7100 models

Are you allowed to wear football pads as an employee?

no :/

Why does it smell so bad during Black Friday at every store? Do people poop in there or something?

Haha, I wouldn't be surprised! It's probably a combination of the people who have been sleeping outside for a week, and the employees fear. :)

How many PS4s will be available at your store?

For Black Friday? Probably none. All the PS4 pre-orders that didn't get picked up were sold today, and I don't think we are expecting any more in until December.

edit: Source on that info

Is it true that you used to work in blockbuster?

Maybe, maybe not. ;)

Be safe. Dont get trampled by consumerist dick bags. I rather pay full price than to deal with that chaos. Though that 80 deal is tempting.

Thanks! I'll definitely try to be safe! That'd definitely the lesson I've learned from working here too! I'd much rather trade the price for the inconvenience of shopping that day.

What are you expecting on that day? Trouble? Total chaos?

Every year it's total chaos! The week leading up to it is crazy too! We literally have so much product coming into to the store that it makes it difficult to move around in the warehouse, and sometimes on the floor. The line generally has over 1000 people in it before opening. Fortunately they don't all swarm in at once.

What department are you in? I worked for Best Buy in 2010 on Black Friday. I worked in Home Theater and there were these pre-packaged bundles that we were supposed to try and sell to people in line.

I found it pretty hard to explain to a person why they needed to spend 200 more dollars on a bag full of HDMI cables, surge protectors and screen cleaner on black Friday when all they wanted was a cheap deal.

Also, I was getting barely over minimum wage, so I never understood the incentive to up-sell people. If you want me to sell people shit they may or may not need, give me some commission.

Anyway, don't you just love the people that come in at 11am with a paper and say WHERE THE FUCK IS THIS ITEM? WHY DON'T YOU HAVE IT? IT'S IN THIS ADVERTISEMENT RIGHT HERE! Then you calmly have to point out that the advertisement says there are only 5 of them available, they have been purchased already, and that the store opened 6 hours ago.

I work in Home Theater as well. It can definitely seem dumb to try and sell the "grab and go" people the accessories! We are doing the same thing this year, but I won't really have to deal with that.

As for those people, honestly at this point all I can do is laugh. Then they demand to speak to a manager, like they can make the product magically appear!

Do you hope to survive the craziness?

I'll do my best! It is going to be an insane night, with no sleep, and lots of running around!

Don't go quietly into the night BestBuyThrowaway, we'll never forget you! And neither will the coworker who has to steamvac the carpet to clean up the bloodpool after you have been trampled to death by hordes of mouthbreathers and sexually frustrated gamers.

Aw, thanks! I can't wait for all those events to happen.

How do you feel about us opening the day before black Friday this year? (Geek Squad employee here)

I don't really have an opinion either way to be honest. I see why some people are upset, and I see why some people are happy. Good luck!

Do you guys encourage campers or are they violating some company policy?

I honestly don't know. We don't really encourage it.

Have you ever been on the other side of the situation? I have never gone shopping on Black Friday-- the benefits just don't outweigh the negatives imo. However, there are certain members of my family who make it an annual tradition.

Not really. I have gone shopping on black friday, but never as one of the first people in line. I usually go later in the day if at all.

A friend of mine applied to a Best Buy recently in hopes of getting the job due to them hopefully needing more people for Black Friday. He ended up getting the job but does Best Buy ever let people go shortly after Black Friday once they don't need the help anymore?

Hmm, They are very rarely let go directly after Black Friday since the entire Holiday Season in really busy. They usually stay on until about January. But there are always opportunities for seasonal employees to become part time after the holidays (It's what happened to me!). Tell your friend to keep an eye on job postings and to apply if he likes the job.

I'm looking to get my mom a 32 TV on the cheap. Best deal?

This is probably the best deal It's 169.99 on black friday but it a door buster. Idk though it might be a little bigger than you're looking for in which case the 32" Samsung for 227 is an okay deal.

In my store, We have a 32 insignia for 169.99. It's been flying off the shelves. Check and see if your local store has that sale too.

Good suggestion!

What is black Friday, when is it,where is it(America I'm assuming),why's is it there, what's on sale, and how cheap do some things get ?

Black Friday is a retail holiday that happens the day after Thanksgiving. Retailers do have some pretty large markdowns, quite a few products that are 50% off or more. It does occur in the US, and it's there because historically it's when companies go from being in the red to in the "black" hence the name. It is also kind of the official kick off to the holiday shopping season.

No question really, just wanted to say good luck on Black Friday & know that your patience in retail is really appreciated. Not everyone can do it. I'm sorry that Black Friday even exists, I feel disgusted as a consumer that people even have to work Thanksgiving to stay open for customers or to prep for the sale to come on Friday. Much love, dude!

Thanks! It means a lot to hear that, and I really appreciate. I'm grateful to have a job!

Over the summer I was passively entertaining the idea of a new TV. I saw the prices, and took some notes.

I was in BB yesterday looking at the selection, and noticed that all the prices were significantly higher than over the summer (like 40%). I asked a salesman and he said "Oh, just wait for Thursday night! There will be lots of options for 30% off!"

My scam-o-meter spiked.

Is this a normal BB tactic? Inch up the prices over time so that a big discount is really a non-sale?

Do you have any specific examples? It seems, to me at least, that prices have been slowly going down throughout the year. They start high when the tvs are first released, but get discounted as time goes on. Prices definitely do tend to fluctuate with sales every single week though, so I really don't know.

Can you save me a spot in line?

No cuts, no buts, no coconuts! :)

Are you happy working in home theatre? What department would you like to work in most?

I love my coworkers, they are all really awesome, but if I had a choice I wouldn't work in home theater. TVs are cool, but I barely watch tv, so I could tell you the specs of almost every single one, but I don't really have a passion for it. I would love to work in digital imaging!

i work at the best buy call center im not looking forward to it at all lol

Good luck!

One time i was high and drove by a Best Buy and thought "every single thing I could ever want is inside that building"

That's how i feel going into work everyday. It has everything!

What is the best deal Best Buy is offering?

Probably the doorbuster 55" LG 1080p 120Hz for $500.

Is it true that most retail stores make the newer workers do Black Friday and the senior staff has an option not to come in?

No way, at least not in my store. Black Friday is an all hands on deck kind of day. While it may be true that senior staff comes in later that is because selling doorbusters is easy to do, but the customers coming in later are generally for more complicated purchases.

I see you live in mn. Grettings fellow minnesotan. I wish the best of luck this Friday.

Thanks! If you're working or shopping good luck, if you are spending time with family i hope you have a wonderful day, and a fantastic holiday!

Do customers or co-workers ever shout your name like Cartman does from South Park: Kyyyyyyyyyyyylllllllleeee!

All the time!

MCSA for 1171 here. We're in for some shit. Hold onto your butts.

Good luck to you!

What's the command to activate the intercom from in-store phones? At Walmart it was #96.

I can imagine it going bad really fast if I told you

What are the best things for someone to go for who isn't willing to camp outside days ahead of time?

That's an awesome question! It depends on what you want, and in all reality you might be better off getting them from bestbuy.com. Since you don't want to deal with the crowds, a lot of the stuff will be online excluding the doorbusters.

What, in your opinion, is the best thing to go for on Black Friday?

It depends, what are you looking for? TV, computer, camera, tablet, speakers? Klipsch speakers are on an awesome sale. 4K TVs are a good price considering where they were, there are some cool dslr deals, but i don't know that much about computers.

Is there ever security during Black Friday? I hear a lot of stories about how crazy stuff happens, but never "and then the security guards came over and did something". I think it should be mandatory.

Of course! It's just that there isn't always enough for the size of the store.

Former 221 employee here.

I worked 4 black friday shifts in PCHO. I've seen some crazy stuff. Fights over 20 dollar mp3 players, a woman getting arrested because she was zapping people with a cow prod which turned out to be a 94 year old lady, a guy died crossing the highway after he took some CD's and ran.

What department will you be stationed? Also I'm curious if they are making you work 12-16 hours in one shift. I can only wish you the best, I know how it is. Here is something I made a few years back.

PLEASE TURN DOWN YOUR VOLUME skip to 1:20 for motivational pep and 1:54 for the video. Black Friday 2009

I'll be in Home Theater. And split shifts are the new cool thing.

Thanks! I hope you have a great holiday!

I need a new hard drive. Should I got to best buy this BB for one?

Well, we do price match, so if you want it soon, just do some research for the cheapest price.

Yes, why don't you quit that asshat of a company with customer service that sucks beyond belief and get a job with a company that actually upholds their warranties.

Best Buy sucks.

Sorry man! Gotta pay for school somehow! I wish they had taken better care of you though, sorry for that!