Written by Sharon Vaknin

Going to a retail store for consumer electronics purchases can be both exciting and frustrating. After working at Best Buy for two years, I have a few opinions to share that you might want to consider before your next shopping trip.

1. We have no formal training in the field of consumer electronics.
Upon transferring to the computer department from home theater, I expressed concern to the manager: “Will there be time for someone to train me on laptops/desktops? What do these specifications mean?” His reply was simple: “Just do your best. A good salesperson can just read the labels and compare specs.” Ouch.

Salespeople are not necessarily experts in the products sold in their departments, even if they are expert salespeople. Though many express a strong interest in the products they sell, your time spent at a retail store fishing for information about a future TV purchase could be better spent online researching the products yourself (I heard CNET has pretty great reviews).

“You need those HDMI cables, you know you do.”

(Credit: Amazon)

2. We make little off the big-ticket items, so we smother you with accessories.
Remember the story “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie“? Well, if you tell a salesman you’re going to buy a TV, he’s going to want to sell you a DVD player to go with it. Once he sells you the DVD player, he’s going to want to get you to buy an HDMI cable, too.

Managers at Best Buy (and possibly all retailers) tell employees that the store profits surprisingly little from video game consoles and computers. Cables, accessories, mice, and other components, however, have a huge profit margin– stores can make about $120 from a $150 Monster HDMI cable. Angry yet? The point is, we’re going to work really hard to convince you to purchase that big item, but once you’ve said “OK” you’ve opened Pandora’s Box.

Here’s my advice: Grab the big item, and run. Purchase all accessories online, including memory cards, cables, traveling cases, and so on. Amazon, Monoprice, and Newegg are all reputable discount Web sites. You’ll find what you need at a much lower price.

3. There are times when you should purchase extended warranties.
There’s no telling if a product will break down, but some are more apt to have problems than others. Not all stores offer extended warranties, but if they do, think about it before you decline the offer.

Manufacturers usually offer 90 days to one year of limited parts and labor. Take note of the word “limited.” Those warranties only cover manufacturer’s defects, so if your speakers blow out, the manufacturer will consider it misuse. Manufacturers do not cover “wear and tear,” while most store-provided warranties do. Other store warranties present coverage for accidental damage like spills and broken parts. So if you’re clumsy, go for the extended warranty.

If you’re unwaveringly against extended warranties, you may consider putting your purchase on a credit card that doubles the manufacturer’s warranty upon purchase.

4. It doesn’t matter whether we make commission, we’re all equally pushy.
When I worked at Best Buy, many customers would say, “You just want me to buy this stuff ’cause you’re on commission” (I wasn’t). For employees not on commission, hours are based on whether sales goals are reached. If I didn’t meet my goal for the day, I’d see a cut in hours. On the other hand, if I landed a $40,000 sale, my hours increased.

What does this mean for you? If you want the best customer service, don’t let the salesperson know you are “comparing prices” or “shopping around”–that’s a red flag for them. Sure, you’ll be helped if you’re the only one on the sales floor, but customers who show a genuine interest in purchasing something get the special treatment. Lead the salesperson on a little bit–trust me, you’ll get a lot more help that way.

5. No receipt? No problem!
If you’ve lost your receipt and you’re worried you’ll be stuck with that sad excuse for a monitor, you’re in luck. As long as you made your purchase with a credit or debit card, most stores can look up your receipt within minutes. If you paid cash, and the item is relatively inexpensive (about $50 or less), the retailer may still be able to do the return, but you may get store credit instead of cash back.

I called a few stores, and here are their policies:

Fry’s Electronics: Receipt lookup, very difficult no-receipt return
Best Buy: Receipt lookup, no-receipt return
Target: Receipt lookup, no-receipt return
RadioShack: Receipt lookup, no-receipt return
OfficeMax: Difficult receipt lookup, but it’s possible

Note that you must meet all other conditions of the return policy.

6. We offer expensive services I think a 12-year-old could perform.
In Best Buy’s computer department, where we didn’t profit from system sales, there was lots of pressure to sell not only accessories, but Geek Squad services. Some of these services were just embarrassing to sell. Customers are encouraged to purchase the optimization service in which the technician removes preinstalled programs to boost performance. Oh! Don’t forget you’ll need a recovery disc in case you need to restore the hard drive. That’ll be $60, please. Cha-ching.

“Would you like some Geek Squad with that PC?”

(Credit: Geek Squad)

These are services you could probably do yourself in about 15 minutes. Removing those preinstalled programs is as simple as removing any other program through the “Settings” folder. Instructions for making a recovery disc are provided by all manufacturers who don’t supply the disc in-box.

Bottom line: try and figure it out for yourself before resorting to these costly services. With all the how-to Web sites out there, you’re sure to find the help you need.

7. Forget what your parents taught you–complaining usually gets you what you want.
If your customer service needs haven’t been met, and the associate refuses to make it right, don’t give up. Sometimes employees fall into a power trip in conjunction with their refusal to help. If you find yourself arguing with the employee, immediately ask for the manager. Upon speaking with him/her, calmly inform them of the matter. Never ask, “Will you be able to do this for me?”, but instead say, “I am a frequent customer here. How are you going to make this situation right so that I continue to visit your location?” The former makes it easy for the manager to say “Unfortunately, no;” the latter demands customer service.

The problem is usually solved in-store, but sometimes employees can be stubborn. Write down the names of everyone involved, and the store number, then call corporate. Deliver the same dialogue, but be sure to speak to a supervisor since those answering calls are associates who may not have the ability to help you.

Sharon Vaknin is the CNET Labs’ go-to intern. When she’s not testing MP3 players, blogging, or making the lab look presentable, she can be found playing computer games. Sharon formerly worked for Best Buy and is currently studying journalism at San Francisco State University. E-mail Sharon.

Written by holytaco

If you’re a Jew or a Mexican girl, there’s a specific day where you officially become an adult. For everyone else, becoming a grown-up is a gradual process, and most of the time you don’t realize that you’ve become an adult until it’s too late. So, for everyone who doesn’t get to have one of those awesome “you’re a grown-up now” parties, we’ve created this helpful list of 7 Signs That You’re an Adult.

1. You Pay for Things that You Can’t Hold in Your Hand

As a child, commerce is simple: you give the ice cream man a handful of change, and you receive a Ninja Turtle popsicle with gumball eyes. You can hold it in your hand. You can taste it. You can compare the position of the gumball eyes on the actual popsicle to the position that they’re supposed to be in, according to the picture on the wrapper, which you can also hold in your hand. Even after the popsicle is gun, while you’re chewing on the rock-hard gumball eyes, you can hold the sticky popsicle stick, the proof that you received something tangible in exchange for your money. As an adult, most of the things you pay for are seemingly unquantifiable. I’ve never held health insurance in my hand, nor have I ever proudly displayed my newly-purchased Account Maintenance to my friends, even though I pay two dollars for one every month. I don’t even know what a night/weekend minute looks like, but I’ve purchased hundreds of them as an adult.

2. You Feel the Emotion “Shame”

When you’re a kid and you shit your pants, you feel embarrassed, but when you’re an adult and you shit your pants, you feel shame. Shame means that you’ve done something that there’s absolutely no excuse for, and kids have an excuse for everything, in that they’re kids. They’re like David Lynch films: nobody expects them to make any sense, and sometimes they applaud them for actively not doing so. You may ask what the difference is between embarrassment and shame, so here’s a helpful gauge: If you’re unable to get an erection because of something that you’ve done, that there, that’s shame.

3. People Don’t Think It’s Cute When You F*ck Up

When I was a kid, my mom kept a bag of Skittles on top of a bookshelf in the livingroom. One day, I decided to climb the bookshelf and get to the Skittles. Predictably, the bookshelf couldn’t handle the weight of even my tiny body, and it promptly toppled over. I had just enough time to leap to safety before it crashed to the floor, spilling books and Skittles everywhere. I wasn’t in it for the books, so I quickly gathered up handfuls of Skittles and started cramming them into my mouth. My parents rushed in shortly after and, seeing that nothing was broken and I wasn’t injured, they giggled at my daring behavior, and took plenty of pictures of me sitting in the wreckage of the toppled bookshelf with mouthfuls of skittles before they cut me off and put the shelf back in its place. My boss has some Girl Scout Cookies on top of his bookshelf in his office, bt if I tried to pull that shit now, I’d be fired immediately.

4. You Stop Receiving Hand-Written Mail

Whenever you receive a hand-written letter as an adult, it’s usually followed by the phrase “shake it to see if it has any strange powder in it or something.” Plus, as a kid, mail is a lot like a hooker’s vagina: it probably won’t be opened unless there’s cash involved. There are only two reasons to send hand-written letters: to make you feel special, or to let you know you’re a f*cking asshole for parking your car in an inconvenient manner. And 95% of the time, your grandma is referring to the latter.

5. You Have to Wake Yourself Up On Time

Moms are Nature’s alarm clock. In fact, they’re way better than a man-made alarm clock that just drones on at the same tone periodically and annoys you into consciousness. A mom’s tone will change dramatically the third or fourth time she comes in to wake you up for school. Sometimes she’ll shake you, or even throw objects or liquids on you to get you out of bed. Sure, it’s annoying, but it works. As an adult, your man-made alarm clock is the only hope you have of getting to work on time. After several months with the same alarm clock, you’ll start to become immune to its sound, and you’ll begin to incorporate the droning beeps into your dreams, so that it’s easier to ignore. Like, you’ll be having a dream where you’re having awesome sex with Marisa Miller, and suddenly there will be a beeping in the distance. Marisa will be like, “Do you hear that beeping? It sounds like your alarm clock,” and you’ll be like, “Nah, it’s just a garbage truck backing up outside,” and then she’ll be like, “oh, okay, let’s just keep having awesome sex then.” Ultimately, it takes a great amount of will-power to get yourself out of that dream and off to work, and that just sucks.

6. You Choose to Wear Sweaters

When you’re a kid, wearing a sweater is like staying sober at your girlfriend’s family Christmas party: it’s incredibly uncomfortable and torturous, but ultimately it makes you much more presentable to the people around you. A kid would never willingly leave the house in a sweater, and even if your parents made you wear it to school, you’d have it off and in your backpack as soon as you rounded the corner on the way to the bus stop, no matter how cold it was outside. As adults, we’ve realized the benefits of a sweater: it hides unsightly coffee stains on an otherwise perfectly presentable shirt, and it also helps to conceal the awkward love-handles and other inexplicable bulges that come about as a result of age. To many adults, a sweater can be your greatest ally, just as long as it’s not the exact same sweater that you were forced into as a child.

7. You Worry About Not Getting a Boner

When you’re a kid, boners are like Starbucks: they can pop up anywhere, at any time, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. Just like an avalanche, they can be caused by something as small as a slight gust of wind. As a child, you live in constant fear of the boner. When you become an adult, boners become like that friend you had in college that you went out on a limb for and got a job at your office: you just have to hope that they show up when they’re supposed to and do an adequate job, because otherwise you’re going to look really, really bad.

Written by Kimberly Pruitt

I really like you. I do. You’re so nice, and sweet, and you listen to all my problems and respond with the appropriate compliments. But, well, I don’t really see a relationship in our future. It would be terrible if we let sex destroy this great friendship we have where I get everything I want and you get nothing you want. Don’t you think?

I knew you would understand. You always do.

We’re so perfect as friends, you know? I can tell you anything, and you know you can always come to me anytime you need to hear me bitch about work or how ugly I feel. You wouldn’t want to ruin a friendship like that just so you could be my boyfriend, and have me look at you with desire and longing in my eyes, if only once-would you? Of course not. Well, if we started dating, it would only complicate this wonderful setup I’ve got going here.

It’s just…you’re like my best friend, and I would hate for something you desperately want to change that. I mean, sure, we could go on some dates, maybe mess around a little and finally validate the six years you’ve spent languishing in this platonic nightmare, but then what? How could we ever go back to the way we were, where I take advantage of your clear attraction to me so I can have someone at my beck and call? That part of our friendship means so much to me.

No. We are just destined to be really, really good friends who only hang out when I don’t have a boyfriend, but still need male attention to boost my fragile and all-consuming ego.

Anything can happen once you bring romance in. Think about how awful my last relationship was at the end, remember? The guy I’d call you crying about at 3 a.m. because he wouldn’t answer my texts? The guy I met at the birthday party you threw me? I had insanely passionate sex with him for four months and now we don’t even talk anymore. God, I would die if something like that happened to us.

Plus, ick, can you even imagine getting naked in front of each other? I’ve known you so long, you’re more like a brother that I’ve drunkenly made out with twice and never mentioned again. It’d be way too weird. And if we did, then whenever you’d come shopping with me, or go to one of my performances or charity events, or take me for ice cream when I’ve had a bad day at work, you’d be looking at me like, “I’ve seen her breasts.” God, I can’t think of anything more awkward that that.

Oh, before I forget, my mom says hi.

Anyway, you would totally hate me as your girlfriend. I’d be all needy and dramatic and slowly growing to love you. If I was your girlfriend, I would never be able to tell you all about the other asshole guys I date and pretend I don’t see how much it crushes you. Let’s never lose that. That’s what makes us us.

Don’t worry. You’re so funny and smart and amazing, any girl but me would be lucky to date you. You’ll find someone, I know it. And when you do, I’ll be right by your side to suddenly become all flirty and affectionate with you in front of her, until she grows jealous and won’t believe it when you say we’re just friends. But when she dumps you, that’s just what we’ll be.

Best friends. Friends forever.