Good experience buying consumer electronics - it is possible!
We just got back from our local H.H. Gregg store, where we went in to do some research on basic home theater setups. We had no intention of making a purchase today, and said as much to Brian, the pleasant and laid-back sales associate who first approached us. He told us his name and that he'd be glad to answer any questions, then pretty much disappeared. (We consider this a good thing.)
We perused a wide selection of home A/V solutions in the clean, tidy, logically laid-out store, and were even able to listen to some of the A/V setups without going deaf or trying to compete against all the other noise in the store, as would be the case in similar stores (*cough*bestbuy*cough*). When we discovered a display of a prior-year system that seemed likely to meet a lot of our needs and began studying it more carefully, another nearby associate drifted over to see if we had questions. We did, and he helpfully answered them. He then excused himself from us, saying he was simply filling in and if we wished to make a purchase or needed more info, we could follow up with Brian. In other words, helpful and knowledgeable people respectfully not scooping each other's commissions but still helping the customers. (!)
Long story short, we ended up with a different prior year system - an open-box model with Blu-Ray and a very nice price. Brian appeared at the opportune moment, having heard from his coworker that we seemed to have made our decision. He guided us to a terminal at a desk, and offered us a place to sit while he dug up the manuals for our new system. He asked if we were familiar with their service plan, and we put on our skeptical faces. He proceeded to explain that their service plan was created by H.H. Gregg working with an insurance company, and it covers lightning/surge damage (exclusive of a direct hit to your house), any performance issues, and even inadvertent drop-tests of the remote. He explained everything clearly, but was not pushy about it in the slightest. Given that this was an older display model, we chose to pay the very reasonable price for the protection plan.
Our transaction complete, we pulled the car up and loaded everything in. Brian thanked us, gave us his card and sent us on our way. From start to finish, the experience was refreshingly easy and pleasant, and we are (so far) delighted with our purchase. This was our second fully satisfying experience at H.H. Gregg, and we will certainly go back for thirds next time we need something they sell.
We perused a wide selection of home A/V solutions in the clean, tidy, logically laid-out store, and were even able to listen to some of the A/V setups without going deaf or trying to compete against all the other noise in the store, as would be the case in similar stores (*cough*bestbuy*cough*). When we discovered a display of a prior-year system that seemed likely to meet a lot of our needs and began studying it more carefully, another nearby associate drifted over to see if we had questions. We did, and he helpfully answered them. He then excused himself from us, saying he was simply filling in and if we wished to make a purchase or needed more info, we could follow up with Brian. In other words, helpful and knowledgeable people respectfully not scooping each other's commissions but still helping the customers. (!)
Long story short, we ended up with a different prior year system - an open-box model with Blu-Ray and a very nice price. Brian appeared at the opportune moment, having heard from his coworker that we seemed to have made our decision. He guided us to a terminal at a desk, and offered us a place to sit while he dug up the manuals for our new system. He asked if we were familiar with their service plan, and we put on our skeptical faces. He proceeded to explain that their service plan was created by H.H. Gregg working with an insurance company, and it covers lightning/surge damage (exclusive of a direct hit to your house), any performance issues, and even inadvertent drop-tests of the remote. He explained everything clearly, but was not pushy about it in the slightest. Given that this was an older display model, we chose to pay the very reasonable price for the protection plan.
Our transaction complete, we pulled the car up and loaded everything in. Brian thanked us, gave us his card and sent us on our way. From start to finish, the experience was refreshingly easy and pleasant, and we are (so far) delighted with our purchase. This was our second fully satisfying experience at H.H. Gregg, and we will certainly go back for thirds next time we need something they sell.