Best Buy Reviews

I worked at Best Buy full-time for more than a year

Pros – Was fortunate to work the opening shift most days, so half of my work was done by the time the store opened. Had a decent amount of leeway from my supervisor to work on what I wanted to. Your work doesn't follow you home. Good discount.

Cons – Holiday hours weren't great but that's to be expected in retail. Also the usual workplace drama, which especially happens with teenage employees present. Difficult to get the position you want if you don't brown-nose a little bit.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Best Buy

Pros – discount is great, spent more than I made

Cons – to many to list--main one is empty promises to people who really think they have a chance to move up.

I have been working at Best Buy full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Great pay for the job, and good community of coworkers in each store that I worked in.

Cons – Horribly pressured management who will make you miserable. High pressure sales without commision. Stressful work environment.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Best Buy full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – My exposure was corporate (not the stores): The culture is energizing, the industry is fast moving and exciting, the focus by sr. leadership is on the right thing (the field), and if you are excited about fixing things there is much broker (great opportunity).

The new executive leadership (about 70% are new). The president has fundementally shifted the senior ranks of the company and holding them accountable. The issue (see more in cons) is that the culture below them is an opt-in or opt-out culture....many of those below are just ducking their heads waiting for all of the change to go away and hoping that nobody really reinforces the end to ROWE (results oriented work environment).

Cons – Culture: The culture is so extremely relationship based that if you have not been with the company during their hayday (last 15-20 years) it is next to impossible to get anything done. New leaders (even at exective level) have a very hard time getting things done.....VERY political with politics based on years of service.

Leadership: The company (especially at the VP level and below) are stuck - stuck in the way things have always been done; stuck because of the systems and the way things were done; and in scramble mode. Every two years the strategy turns back to the previous and the issues that are really holding the company back are not addressed...because of most often turf.

Work: Priorities change daily, not a lot gets completed well (if you pride yourself on quality work done right....this isn't the place for you), and there are so many problems that everyone is constantly scrambling to make sure all of the bandaids are sticking vs. really solving the issues.

The Cuts: BBY had no choice but to cut fast and deep.....the CAO promised not to let down wallstreet and cutting heads was the only way to say their past few quarters. But they cut many really talented workers with many years of experience.

Advice to Senior Management – You just got rid of your entire Lean Six Sigma team, much of your L&D org., half of your talent mgmt. group, all of your OD team, and your HR group is really disfunctional. My advise.....balance your focus on wallstreet and cutting expenses with re-enforcing your core. You desperately needed LSS and to build a process honoring culture.....the loss of talent significantly hindered your ability to build this process efficiency capability.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Best Buy full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Worked in a guys toystore.

Cons – Company only cares about results on reports

Advice to Senior Management – Start caring for your employee they will start caring for customers and customers care about the company

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Best Buy part-time for more than a year

Pros – good management overall
monthly and quarterly bonuses based on department and store performance
hard to get fired in most stores
geek squad is the only animal of its kind

Cons – unfair pay in some positions
company WANTS to care about employees but can no longer afford to
policies change about every month if not more frequently
job duties are restricted to your position REGARDLESS OF YOUR SKILL IN ANY OTHER AREA 9 times out of 10

Advice to Senior Management – Ask employees and customers about new policies before rolling them out to avoid making as many mistakes and having to go behind and fix them therefore changing everything all over again... again.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Best Buy part-time for more than a year

Pros – Great management, likable work environment, always something to do.

Cons – Customers are not fun here. It's like they walk in and suddenly common sense doesn't exist nor does the ability to hear what the associate is saying to you. With that being said, I worked at a Best Buy in one of the more poorer areas of town. It's probably much better in other areas of the city.

Advice to Senior Management – I suggest you start moving up and promoting the people who deserve it and recognizing who has done what. At my store, a lot of the credit would go to certain supervisors who were just all talk and no work when really it was their employees who stayed late and did the work or other supervisors.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Best Buy full-time for more than a year

Pros – The starting pay is usually pretty decent, and hours, even as a part time employee were good. There are a lot of opportunities to bonus and obtain extra incentive through Path to Excellence points. The knowledge you gain by working in your department is pretty substantial.

Cons – Management is...awful. It's hard to explain whether it was their general attitude or the fact that they acted like your boss, instead of leading you in the right direction. It fluctuated while I was there, but generally they had a pretty bad demeanor.

Advice to Senior Management – You must remove yourself from the pedestals you think you're on. Come down to our level and coach, don't just boss us around.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Best Buy full-time for more than a year

Pros – Discount - the discount could be really good or hardly nothing at all, depending on the product.

Team members - Many of the people you work with can become life-long friends, there are a few pretentious pricks too.

High-technology Environment - Always being surrounded by the newest technology is pretty cool, especially for people interested in having the latest and greatest gadgets.

Consistent Pay - Best Buy is NOT commission-based, so getting paid the same whether you sell 1 item or 100 items is reassuring and less pressure on you.

Scheduling Flexibility - They are very good for working with you on your availability. Their working hours are flexible, especially when attending college.

Cons – Micromanagement - There are many managers and supervisors who tend to scrutinize you at any chance they get. After you make a sale and make the customer happy, they will always ask you "What you could have done better". Their answer is usually followed by either 1) pointing out something that you did wrong and lower your self-esteem or 2) asking the customer "more questions" so that they can sell them MORE items they don't need or force them to, whichl ultimately would have angered him/her.

Favoritism - As with any job, managemment tends to choose favorites. One employee I know in particular is getting way more than me and getting promoted because his older brother is a manager and that he sells a lot to customers by tricking them (putting extended warranties on customer's purchase without them realizing it), lying to them and also sneaking his numbers into everyone's else's sale when they are unaware.

"Reportomania" - Leadership tends to place an extreme amount of emphasis on sales reporting, and the reports are sometimes skewed and not accurate measures of an employee's skills and abilities. They will consistently criticize you, on a daily basis, if you haven't met your "goals". Often times, the reason for not hitting your goals are due to reasons beyond your control.

Questionable Integrity - Many management leaders make exceptions to company policies and procedures for bizarre reasons. For example: A part-time employee I work with never opens or closes, (even though that is against our company procedure) and only works weekends during prime-time hours. This employee sells a lot, then leaves. Our store measures "productivity" based on Rev/Hr. This employee hardly works but sells a lot and does nothing else. The other full-time and part-time employees open/close, sell, as well as perform other store duties. The general consensus is that leadership has told me and a few others that "they can do whatever they want because they sell a lot".

Advice to Senior Management – - Stop harassing for employees for things they can't control.
- Stop putting so much emphasis on skewed sales reports.
- Stop making it a high-pressure, simulated commission environment
- Take responsibility for what you say and do
- Be more fair
- Listen to your employees when they tell you things and reasons why they can't meet their goals
- Stop having inflated egos

Just because you have the title, "Manager/Supervisor", does not automatically endow you with wisdom or respect. You gain wisdom by working with your employees and gain respect by being fair with your employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Best Buy full-time for more than a year

Pros – Good benefits but I dont think the company is what it used to be.

Cons – People will throw you under the bus if it means they will get ahead. Some of the most stuck up employees I have seen.

Advice to Senior Management – If an employee is being treated bad by their manager and HR is contacted please do something about it! Don't ignore the issue. You are losing good talent because of mismanagement.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend