Tonight I was completely disgusted by the lack of customer service I received at Best Buy; specifically the Best Buy on Harbison Blvd, Columbia, SC Store #264. Normally I wouldn’t use my blog to discuss things like this but I am very angry about the lack of who the customer is at big box stores I have to put fingers to keys.
I returned an FM transmitter to Best Buy tonight and decided to look at car stereos. I was willing to spend about $250 on a new stereo and installation. No, not the top of the line but in this economy any spending is GOOD spending. When I walked in to the car audio section there was a young lady working. I thought she was helping customers at first but it ended up she was just yucking it up with two boys. I was looking through the different stereos and turned to look at her. She didn’t even ‘notice’ me. So I turned back and thought I will give her a few more seconds to notice me. Well, the conversation with the little boys who can barely shave became more in-depth. She was very interested in where they went to high school and what kind of cars they drove. I decided to turn myself in her direction. I was practically in her conversation circle. The boys finally became uncomfortable enough with me giving the teacher stare that they decided to go. Of course it took 5 MINUTES for them to go! The young lady then turned to me, smiled, and said, “How may I help you?” I looked at her and said, “um… there is nothing you can help me with now.” I walked myself straight to customer service.
At this point I can almost excise teenage customer service… (almost) but then when the manager came to me I explained to him what happened. He looked concerned and I told him the store lost a $250 sale tonight because of her lack of action. He told me thank you and he was going to take care of it right then. I thanked him and began to walk to the door and he began to walk towards car audio. But instead of leaving the store I decided to go in to the CD area just to see if he was actually going to say something to her. Guess what? When he thought I was leaving the store he did a b-line towards the front of the store! He never had any intention of talking to her.
This angered me and that is why I am hear writing. Both of their actions made it very clear to me that customer service means NOTHING at Best Buy. It also showed me that the customer is an inconvenience for their time at work. It doesn’t matter that I drop 12 miles to the suburbs (I live in the city) to their store and chose them over other electronics stores or even online shopping.
My experience at Best Buy tonight is just furthering my determination to help the local small business owner who cares who their customers are. Maybe I should thank Best Buy #264 for their actions tonight because now maybe I can help someone on Main St. stay open a little longer.Best Buy don’t expect my business anytime soon….
Over the last week and a half, I have been thinking about all of the changes in my life over the last 6 months. Specifically, the changes in my professional life have made me a little reflective.
Change #1
I am no longer in public education. Its been a month since I left my position as a technology education specialist. The transition to Education Consultant for The WH PLATTS Company has been relatively smooth. I am learning the ways of the business world and the differences being out in the “real world.” (As opposed to the world of being a state employee) One thing I realized is that “I fit” in this position and I am on the verge of creating some great things. My new “family” tells me the sky is the limit and if I can make it happen, I can do it….which leads me to #2.
Change#2 – HUGE moment in my professional career
At this years SC EdTech I was honored to receive the SCAET/ISTE Making It Happen Technology Leadership Award. I was nominated by one person but a panel of my peers across the state chose me to receive this award. There are moments throughout the last 10 years that I have thought, “Why do I do this?” or even “is this what I am supposed to be doing?” The answer to the questions are: I am doing this to help everyone around me make a difference in a child’s life and yes, it is what I was supposed to be doing.
October 15, 2009 was a day that my peers said thank you by choosing me for this award. I have to admit, when I found out I was chosen, I thought, why me? What makes me so special? I am just me and I still feel that way but throughout the conference many people made me feel special for all of the times that I helped them out, shared a resource, brought people together to share experiences, or just listened.
I have never seen myself as a leader. I am just the girl who plays entirely too much on her computer and shares what she finds. I hope to NEVER utter the words, “Don’t they know who I am?!?” Who I am doesn’t matter, what matters is was I able to help further your understanding or skills. So I want to thank all of you in SC and in my PLN who helped me reach this point in my journey.
All of this has made me think about Seth Godin’s Tribes. One quote from the book that resonates in me is “Leadership is a choice. It is the choice to NOT DO NOTHING (p59).” By that definition, we can all be leaders in South Carolina and beyond to further technology integration in to our schools. If we choose to do nothing or not “make a ruckus (p19)”, we are hurting our students. We aren’t preparing them for the world they will live in.
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. SHARE with one another! Join learning networks… explore options for your own learning… I would not know half of what I know if it had not been for all of you who shared or asked questions that challenged my knowledge. So I challenge everyone who reads this, share something you do with technology with a colleague this week, show someone something new, or try something new. If you are bold enough to cause ruckus, why not challenge the internet filter or the evaluation committee’s decision if it didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Make a conscious choice to NOT DO NOTHING.
Remember, its not about the awards or celebrity. Its about the students. Let’s Make it Happen for them.
Those of you who follow me know that I am starting a new job/career tomorrow. I am no longer in a school or district level position. Now, as an education consultant I will be focusing on the used of SMART products in the classroom. My hope is still have a connection to web 2.0 tools teachers can use but again the primary focus is SMART.
My original title Snapshots of Technology Integration came from two things I enjoy; photography and technology integration. Do you think with the change of jobs that I need to refresh my blog title or in the sake of branding leave it as is. After all, I hope to continue to give little snapshots of how to integrate technology in to the classroom… It would just be with a more specific technology.
Tomorrow is the BIG day. The office is complete. My schedule is made. Tomorrow I am heading to Charleston for my first day as the Education Consultant for W.H. Platts.
It’s going to be an exciting first day! I know I will be meeting with sales to talk about the set up and schedule for SC EdTech. Then I will be meeting with the web admin to talk about how the Education page is going to be set up on the W.H. Platts web site. Very exciting stuff!
I am not sure if I will be able to sleep tonight… it will feel like the first day of school or maybe the night before Christmas.
How does the internet see you? Today my friend @gkwood shared a tweet with me about a new site called Personas. It is part of the current exhibit, Metropath(ologies) on display at MIT Media Lab. It creates a data portrait of your digital footprint.
So I ask again, how does the internet see you? Here is a snapshot of how the internet sees me.
I would like to take this time to share with you about me moving forward. People have been talking and asking… and now I can share.
I have been given the opportunity to work with a private company in Charleston, SC as an Education Consultant. In this position, I will be developing and implementing training, as well as creating consulting services with a focus on best practices for technology integration in all content areas in North and South Carolina. The really great part is I will be able to focus on one thing for 90% of the time. The focus will be SMART products (SMART Interactive Whiteboards, SMART Response, SMART Slate and so on). This is a once and a lifetime chance to build something new from my experiences and knowledge in instructional technology.
There are many wonderful things about this new opportunity. I will be working from home. Who would have thought living in Columbia, SC would be a perfect location? But it will allow me to easily travel between the home office in Charleston and North Carolina schools. Of course there is the salary, the perks, the incentives, and benefits but what is the best is the fact that this company believes in me. They believe I am the one person who can successfully build their education division. Wow, what a boost! I am so excited about creating, molding, shaping, and growing this opportunity.
My last day is September 11 and I am going to be very busy preparing my schools for the transition. With all of the excitement there is sadness. I will miss working with all of my teachers on a daily basis.
Now with this change… my blog will be getting a face lift over the next few months. I will change my focus and, yes, be writing more often sharing my experiences in my new job.
I just wanted to share my love of this thing they call ‘the internet’! Tonight I was catching up on the tweets I follow on Twitter and my friend, @Shirley8153, tweeted the following:
I thought hmm… Bob McFerrin. I love him! So I click on the link. It takes me to a blog post and video of him using pentatonic scale with an audience at the “Notes & Neurons: In Search of a Common Chorus” event. This particular event was taking illustrating music’s interaction with the brain and our emotions.Who cares, right? What I love about it is… this he was at the World Science Festival. Now I am engrossed in the happenings/highlights at the festival. I am learning… on my own time, in my own way, experiencing an event that I cannot attend, didn’t know occurred, or even would not have attended.
That is what I love about the internet and social networking. In a matter of a few clicks I am engrossed in something I would have never found on my own. Thank you, Shirley for expanding my learning.
