Retail opinion. I don't normally comment on the retail sector but the last two weeks have caused me to form a very strong opinion about three companies: Amazon.com, Apple and Best Buy. Basically, I've had several exceptionally positive experiences at Best Buy recently. I was impressed by the breadth and depth of knowledge displayed by several members of Geek Squad, sales associates and management at the flag ship Houston location.
This caused me to shift many of my online purchases from Amazon.com to Best Buy. The specific issues that caused me to shift purchases were product knowledge, technical support, price match policy, convenience and feeling like they cared about me as a customer. I think the new CEO of Best Buy is successfully turning around the retailer and that it is poised for relative outperformance against its peers (Amazon and Apple in particular).
While I like Amazon, I find their customer reviews hit or miss. I occasionally buy precision instruments and the reviews are heavily skewed by the end user occupation and intended use. So you have to hope that several people with different occupations/intended uses chime on the same product to get a well rounded view of the equipment. I had to fight with Amazon to get a #3.50 credit related to their shipping error. And I mean that. I had to fight tooth and nail to get that refund and they processed it as a goodwill credit not a shipping error.
I hate Apple's attitude towards customers. If you go to an Apple store you will see a massive complex dedicated to a relatively small range of products. You will hear staff hype the iPhone 5 even though it's inferior to the 4S and is 1.5 years behind the Samsung Galaxy S3. You will have to consult a "genius" if you want to do anything with your iPod other than listen to music. You still can't use an iPod as a flash drive and Apple has done NOTHING to remove DRMs put on pre-2009 iTunes purchases. Apple thinks their customers are morons and that customer data is Apple Data. If it wasn't for fanboys and hipsters, Apple would be selling off HARD right now. It's only a matter of time because they lose their cool factor. And, trust me, cool factor is the ONLY reason anyone is buying an iPhone right now.
AI
