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OT: Circuit City ... out of business
Richard Wolowicz, Photographer
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Brossard | QC | Canada | Posted: 6:58 PM on 01.16.09 |
->> Was reading the USB Reader thread and clicked through one of the links only to get a page from Circuit City announcing that it's going out of business.
Announced today:
http://www.circuitcity.com
Economic times ? |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 7:23 PM on 01.16.09 |
| ->> Yes, they just notified the affiliates a little while ago. The company's been in trouble for years, and they weren't able to get financing to tide them over while reorganizing under bankruptcy. |
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Jeff Martin, Photographer
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wellington | OH | usa | Posted: 7:54 PM on 01.16.09 |
->> Economic times ?
Or piss poor business practices. They were the king of 'bait and switch' 30 yrs ago and never improved. I took my daughter up for their 60% off, goiing out of business sale. The prices were still higher than Office Max. The kid working there said..."why do you think we're goin out of business?" |
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Walter Calahan, Photographer
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Westminster | MD | USA | Posted: 8:00 PM on 01.16.09 |
| ->> Nobody will miss them. Never had a good experience in their stores. Usually walked out empty handed to shop somewhere else. Poorly run business. Has nothing to do with the economy expect that there is no money to bail them out. |
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Tom Knier, Photographer
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Lancaster | PA | USA | Posted: 8:02 PM on 01.16.09 |
->> I feel bad for anybody who bought stuff before Christmas.
If it quits working, what are people to do after they go belly-up? |
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Greg Francis, Photographer
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Rochester | NY | USA | Posted: 8:58 PM on 01.16.09 |
| ->> Within the last two years the Execs at Circuit City were the ones that fired all the salespeople with seniority to 'save' on expenses and salaries. Remember that story. |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 9:04 PM on 01.16.09 |
->> Tom,
Since manufacturers provide the warranties, people will go to them - unless they made the mistake of buying their even more over-priced house brands.
Chuck |
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Nic Coury, Photographer
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Monterey | CA | | Posted: 9:17 PM on 01.16.09 |
->> Their employees are dumber than bags of hammers.
I don't feel sorry for them at all. |
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Chris Stanfield, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Atlanta | GA | USA | Posted: 10:24 PM on 01.16.09 |
->> Dear Nic,
That might be the most insensitive comment I've ever read on this website. Congratulations. More than 30,000 men and women drove home this week to face their families and had to tell them they no longer had jobs. Respectfully (but just barley), what the hell is wrong with you? |
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Chris Stanfield, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Atlanta | GA | USA | Posted: 10:31 PM on 01.16.09 |
| ->> barely, rather... |
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Clark Brooks, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 11:24 PM on 01.16.09 |
| ->> I have no love for Circuit Chitty either. 15 years or so ago bought a laptop there and the monitor went out. I took it in for a warranty repair. They kept it for three week instead of the two they promised and returned it with the monitor and base separate. They said couldn't and wouldn't fix it because they were afraid they would get shocked... now that was from the manager - the memory still boils my blood - *WTF* ...so my new $1900.00 laptop became a paperweight. I called BBB and complain - no doubt on deaf ears - because no one every contacted me. From then on I would tell people to shop any where but Circuit Chitty - it must of worked - FINALLY. I have only a few enemies and I would not even recommend them shopping there. In my book, the company is getting just what it deserves. |
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Scott Greenlee, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Crescent Springs | KY | United States | Posted: 12:22 AM on 01.17.09 |
| ->> Nic, I take offense to that because one of my friends is/was a manager at a Circuit. It's not his or any other store level employees fault that corporate drove the company in the ground. Now my friend is out of job because of it. Yes, they were a terrible company, but that doesn't mean you should should be glad that 30k people lost their job. In these times you should be grateful that most of us photographers run our own business and don't have to rely on corporate CEO's to make sure that we have a job the following week. Are you going to be excited when all newspapers fail too? |
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Patrick Fallon, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 12:27 AM on 01.17.09 |
->> 30,000 people lost their jobs - how many of those people hired photographers I wonder? Say for a upcoming wedding, senior portraits for their kids, action photos, subscribed to a newspaper [let alone the advertising of Circuit City IN the newspaper], etc.
It effects all of us. |
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Jeffrey Furticella, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Charlotte | NC | US | Posted: 12:41 AM on 01.17.09 |
->> "Their employees are dumber than bags of hammers.
I don't feel sorry for them at all."
Between that remark, the inane thread rudely soliciting assignment going rate figures, and numerous other examples on these message boards, I'd venture to say that you can make the same remark about a number of photographers, though I'd certainly never wish one of them to lose their job.
Maybe the hardware industry will experience a boom.
- furt |
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David A. Cantor, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Toledo | OH | USA | Posted: 1:09 AM on 01.17.09 |
->> I know a bunch of my former readers had great disdain for my work, so......
Here's Nic's boss's e-mail:
bradley@mcweekly.com
Why don't we encourage Mr. Bradley Zeve to have Nic join the 21,000 of us journalists who lost their jobs last year to tweak his compassion meter........maybe it will make him a better journalist in his next "coolest job ever".
Just a thought...... |
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William Purnell, Photographer
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Wichita | Ks | | Posted: 1:11 AM on 01.17.09 |
->> I feel bad for anyone losing thier jobs, its a sad time for anyone that relies on a paycheck for sure.
However I would have to agree they werent the best in the way of competing, or with customer service. Although I'm sure this was a matter of company policy, not directly related to the store employees.
I am waiting for Ultimate Electronics to be next. I bought a dvd player there a few weeks ago, took it back within 2hrs because it didnt work, they basically said "tough", they dont give immediate refunds. I would have to wait for a check from home office for $129.99 and it could take up to 6wks. |
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Nic Coury, Photographer
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Monterey | CA | | Posted: 3:18 AM on 01.17.09 |
->> Well to try and (not probably do a very good job) save some face, but
what I meant was not that I was happy they lost their jobs, because I'm not happy at all, it's a hard market out there.
But I'm speaking from a customers point of view in that I've never been treated more than a wallet when I've been in there. They didn't care about my problems, just how they could get more money out of me.
I'm in the mindset that a person needs to do their job to the best of their ability and not just make a paycheck, though I know many people out there, that's their goal. I'm not saying money is bad, but have pride in the work you do. I learned that in the Boy Scouts. Even if it's job you dislike, it's servicing someone else so do it to the best you can.
I am one to commend the manager of a person doing a great job and treating customers well at their workplace and the opposite. If a person at a store isn't treating me well, I'll let their manager know that too.
My comment was indeed a bit obtuse, so I am sorry if it offended anyone, but there is terrible customer service all over the place and my comments were more of a general disdain for the work ethic in this country after a bad experience earlier this week. |
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Nic Coury, Photographer
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Monterey | CA | | Posted: 3:24 AM on 01.17.09 |
->> The "Them" in my first post referred to the store Circuit City by the way, not the employees themselves. It was a poorly run business.
I was speaking to the terrible service I've received time and time again I've gone in there. |
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Guy Rhodes, Photographer
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East Chicago | IN | USA | Posted: 6:19 AM on 01.17.09 |
->> I actually had lots of good experiences with Circuit City. I knew several people personally that worked at more than one location who were very into technology, actually knew what they were talking about, and genuinely cared that the customer was getting the item that would best suit their needs.
Nic, despite your rebuttal, your "bag of hammers" remark really touched a nerve with me for these reasons. |
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Rainier Ehrhardt, Photographer
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Augusta | GA | USA | Posted: 7:10 AM on 01.17.09 |
| ->> All I know is that Circuit City was a major advertiser with our paper and now they are gone. |
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Jim Colburn, Photo Editor, Photographer
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McAllen | TX | USA | Posted: 7:16 AM on 01.17.09 |
->> I always had decent results at Circuit City but I never go into a big box store expecting a great degree of expertise.
It's going to make my life difficult. If we ever needed to shoot inside an electronics store Circuit City was the one that made it easy. No, "I've got to clear it with corporate and it'll take a few days," just, "Sure, come on over."
And they were a big advertiser... |
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Michael Fischer, Photographer
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Spencer | Ia | USA | Posted: 8:20 PM on 01.17.09 |
->> I've followed Circuit City for years. They were the pioneer big box in the elctronics/appliance segment. When Richard Sharp ran them, they were a force. They were who Best Buy longed to be.
But success proved to be their undoing. Looking for greener pastures, they began Auto Nation. And that was successful, but that success had a price. They would take their eye off of the ball. They would eventually spin off the auto business, but by then Best Buy had surpassed them. The guys that had made them successful had cashed in their chips and left.
The head began to rot. The body was left hanging in the wind. Time after time senior management would make stupid decisions, which the guys at Best Buy were no doubt laughing at.
Phil Schonover, who resigned last fall, was the last CEO and is generally considered the guy who put them under, but the company was in trouble long before Phil got there.
The employees at the store level were doomed. Bad decisions based on senior management decisions makes it easy for good employees to leave, and poor ones to stay.
Jim Colburn's expectations are correct. You need people that specialize. You guys may not use the local independents, but that's where the expertise is. Bad news: You have to pay for it. Sorta like when someone wants a good image, they need to pay for it.
I feel for the good employees at Circuit City. They didn't have a prayer. Done it by stupid, arrogant people making big salaries.
Sorta sounds like some of the media CEOs, doesn't it? |
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Nick Layman, Photographer
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Albuquerque | NM | USA | Posted: 9:35 PM on 01.17.09 |
| ->> I find a bag of hammers quite smart. They might be useful in getting out of this economic mess. The way the country is going we might go back to homesteading. I much rather carry a bag of hammers to build my log cabing rather then a camera bag. |
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David Seelig, Photographer
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Hailey | ID | USA | Posted: 10:20 PM on 01.17.09 |
->> To Nic
If you have bad bosses lack of training guess how you will perform your job. Nobody should ever be glad anyone is out of a job. Karma can hurt you bad. |
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Mark Loundy, Photo Editor
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N. Scott Trimble, Photographer
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Lake Oswego | OR | USA | Posted: 12:55 AM on 01.18.09 |
| ->> the were arses. I hated everything about that company and their service. good riddance. |
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Baron Sekiya, Photographer
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Kailua-Kona | HI | USA | Posted: 2:49 AM on 01.18.09 |
->> We had a Circuit City being built in Kona when they decided to pull the plug on the build-out of new stores last year.
Of course I have wishful dreams that Trader Joe's would decide to take-over the unfinished building. Though it might be four-buck-chuck here in Hawaii. |
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Nic Coury, Photographer
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Monterey | CA | | Posted: 6:17 AM on 01.18.09 |
| ->> Can we rename this thread "Most Number of Inappropriate Marks?" |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 2:05 PM on 01.18.09 |
->> Nic,
Not even close, my friend...not even close.
Chuck |
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Curtis Clegg, Photographer
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Belvidere | IL | USA | Posted: 2:12 PM on 01.18.09 |
->> I got a glimpse into the business practices of Circuit City about twenty years ago, and it taught me some lessons that I'll always remember.
In the early 90s VCRs were still pretty expensive, and the brand-name ones were still over $300. Circuit City had a big sale on an off-brand VCR (around $175 I think) so I figured I would buy one of those, along with the extended warranty and I'd still be ahead financially as opposed to buying a Sony or Panasonic, plus I'd have the peace of mind that Circuit City would repair it at no charge if it broke in a three-year period.
The salesman was obviously a little surprised when I said I wanted the extended warranty with the VCR. He then sheepishly told me that the extended warranties weren't available on the off-brand VCRs, only the name-brand ones. I took my business elsewhere.
I learned two things from that experience: To be wary of Circuit City's business practices, and that extended warranties are only for items that retailers don't expect to malfunction. |
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Kevin Leas, Photographer, Assistant
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Rochester | NY | USA | Posted: 5:24 PM on 01.18.09 |
->> I wonder if the liquidators that have taken over are going to follow the same practices that occurred at CompUSA's closing sales...
"All hard drives 50% off!" Er, after they put new price tags on top of the old ones, marking the prices up to full MSRP before applying the discount. I took one hard drive, peeled away the $109.95 price tag that was on it, and there was a tag underneath (yes, with the same SKU) that said $89.95.
Hmmmmm...
I feel bad for all of those employees, though. One of my old roommates used to work there; thankfully he left just before that ridiculous "let's fire the more experienced employees to save money" fiasco. Circuit City's top execs really shot themselves in the feet; the majority of the people working for them really don't deserve the outcome that the company is facing. |
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T.J. Hamilton, Photographer
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Grand Rapids | MI | USA | Posted: 5:30 PM on 01.18.09 |
| ->> One good thing about their website, I liked the feedback section on the products that customers rated, it was pretty user friendly. |
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Mark Sutton, Photographer
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Herndon | VA | USA | Posted: 9:58 PM on 01.18.09 |
| ->> I went to their Moorestown, NJ store the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Ironically this store is only a few hundred feet from a Best Buy with only the access street dividing them. Well I walk into Circuit City looking for a camcorder, mainly because I couldn't find anywhere to park over at Best Buy, and there may have been 4 people in there shopping. I get a phone call and I tell the caller I’m at Circuit City looking for a camcorder and he tells me they are going out of business. The sales person then tells me that they are only going through a re-org. Yeah right. I drive over to the Best Buy and its like several hundred people just in line waiting to purchase it seemed like. When they built that Circuit City right next to the Best Buy a few years ago I wondered then how long can they stay in business doing dumb stuff like that? |
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Mark McIntyre, Photographer
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Greensboro | NC | USA | Posted: 10:51 PM on 01.18.09 |
| ->> Went to a Circuit City this afternoon looking for a big screen TV. Prices have jumped back to list price plus a liquidator discount of 10%. Which makes their TVs 15% higher than during the holidays. No deals yet. |
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Paul Nelson, Photographer
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Temperance | MI | USA | Posted: 4:08 PM on 01.19.09 |
| ->> Tried one out today - you're just about spot on Mark. Advertising 30%, but all I could find is 20% of music cds (everything else 10%). Still a lot of good electronics left to snap up, but depends when that discount hits the sweet spot. |
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Ron Erdrich, Photographer
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Abilene | TX | USA | Posted: 4:19 PM on 01.19.09 |
| ->> I went last night, most of the TVs were gone. I don't know why, a 10 percent discount really only eliminates tax and a couple of dollars. Their dvds were 20-percent off, however, and I found a few that were $10 and $6 that I really wanted to have. |
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Derick Hingle, Photographer
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Hammond | LA | USA | Posted: 12:28 AM on 01.20.09 |
| ->> Those $10 DVD's are probably the same ones at Walmart in the $5.00 and less bin...Trust me there are no deals yet, the liquidators just raise their prices from Circuit City's old prices and significant raise as well. You will end up paying more on their 30% off than you would regular price at best buy or walmart. The sale is a mind trick. You are not going to find many real deals until it is almost time for the store to close, by then a lot of people have fell for their sales tactics and there is not much of anything good left in the store, maybe some CD, movies and games. During the first series of store closings it was interesting because I took out my iphone and searched for prices of items that were supposed to be marked down by 60%, guess what, the online price at circuit city stores that were open was cheaper than the 30% price. Don't bother and tell others not to bother, force them to offer a realistic sale and don't fall for the 50% off gimmic. |
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Robin O'Shaughnessy, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Waco | TX | USA | Posted: 12:55 AM on 01.20.09 |
| ->> Thanks for the tip. I was thinking of swinging by the local store to see if I could pick up a new Canon p-n-s but now I'll be extra careful. |
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Phil Hawkins, Photographer
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Fresno | ca | usa | Posted: 2:11 AM on 01.20.09 |
->> I just left the CC store in Fresno, and people are not falling for it. The walls are still lined with TVs, shelves bulging with DVDs and computer parts are in full supply. Store was packed with people all walking around not buying anything.
Example: Canon 40D w/ the EF-S 17-85, f/4-5.6 is priced at $1,299! At a going out of business sale!! B&H; $1,238...
500gig WD internal hard drive; $99, at Tiger Direct, $64.
Sony P&S camera sitting in the little peg hole with no lens in it, and no body cap, gathering dust by the minute. Lovely.
Might this be one reason they are OOB? I still miss CompUSA... |
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Mike Brice, Photographer
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Toledo | OH | USA | Posted: 8:59 AM on 01.20.09 |
->> I would agree that their poor pricing for the limited selection they had was the primary reason I often shopped their but seldom bought.
Unlike many, the people at the store were actually very nice and helpful, but they couldn't do anything with the poor prices, so I would offer them a chance to match, and if they couldn't I would buy it somewhere else. |
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Chris Williams, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Stevenson Ranch | CA | USA | Posted: 11:32 AM on 01.20.09 |
->> Phil, Derick -
I've found the same issue at my local CC store. I've gone in 3 times since they started to liquidate to see if they start actually making some deals. As an example, I was looking at a 19" Sony Bravia LCD tv that I have seen priced at Best Buy for $399 (and even lower online elsewhere). CC "liquidation" price was $499!! Be careful everyone.
Chris |
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Curtis Clegg, Photographer
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Sycamore | IL | USA | Posted: 8:18 AM on 05.06.09 |
->> There is a good article on the Inc. website contrasting Circuit City's business model with that of B&H:
http://tinyurl.com/circuit-city-BH |
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