Circuit City
Staff At Go ahead and help yourself - we're busy. Ripoff

I was on a trip to spend some disposable income, on several items in one place. I did end up purchasing these itmes there, about $500 worth, but during the visit, here are the issues I encountered:

1. It was clear I had several things I was carrying, and needed help getting an additional bigger, heavier item. An employee did offer to help, but only after I asked him to. He did bring the item with me to checkout, and proceeded to take my information for a credit check. Of course their computer "system" erased everything he typed in, and I had to enter it all over again with another person. At least this guy was trying though...

2. The second person I entered the data in with was rude, and very negative. He had to ask for my ID repeatedly, and photocopied it, and still needed to keep borrowing it for the information. He let me know it would be a few minutes, so I went shopping again...

3. I sought a specfic item, couldn't find it, and then asked this African American gentleman for help. His simply reply was "Sorry, I'm busy now" and walk away. No effort to get any other red-shirts to help (none were around). I eventually did find it myself, but that made me feel like that employee, and/or the people who keep him there knowing he has that attitude COULD CARE LESS whether I shop there or find what I want...

4. I came back for the credit check, it was turned down, so I payed in full (was just checking my credit) for the items. The guy at the register was unfriendly, wouldn't make eye contact, treated me like I was a criminal, not a customer. He saw I had big boxes, didn't offer any help out to my car, and he didn't even offer a receipt. When I asked for it he rolled his eyes like it was some big imposition. It's his job anyway... Duh!

You know, I can tell when I'm in an unhappy dysfunctional store environment - unfriendly staff, "too-busy" to help customers, unhelpful attitudes, even when asked for help. It's the sign of a BAD manager. A manager who shouldn't be one. A manager who should be let go and be made to be a peon again because they didn't learn the right lessons along the way, or at least needs to be sent to remedial leadership training.

I didn't take the purchases back, because I don't have time to go buy them all over again somewhere else, but I'm not going to shop there again. I will separately write the company, hopefully they'll have the district manager review it, and make appropriate changes, relieving him, retraining people on the basics, and no, I don't necessarily assume all the CC chain stores are like this, but this one gives them a bad name right now. Hopefully that will change.

A store should always treat customers like royalty, act happy to see them, listen to them, help them, and smile. Especially when they are in the process of buying things, customers should be rewarded with a helpful, positive attitude. If any employee can't do that, they don't belong, period. If a manager isn't managing that experience, they don't belong, period.

I'll post updates as I receive a CC response.

Company: Circuit City
Country: USA
State: Colorado
City: Aurora
Address: 1450 S Abilene St
Phone: 3033388867

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