So tomorrow was my final day at "Circuit City" because as a customer best put it, starting tomorrow that store will no longer exist. Fortunately for me and most of my coworkers, I'll still be around until around mid-March. Right off the bat it's important to know that this was a part time job for me. I'm currently a student and was only working there to make some extra cash. It's also important to note that I have only been with CC for about 4-5 months. However regardless of my position with the store, I couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness.
The store I "currently" work in is not actually a "Circuit City". Instead it is known as "The City". These concept stores have popped up around the country and I felt were the right direction for Circuit City. I had always loathed the nearby regular Circuit City for numerous reasons (tidiness, help, organization), but these stores are different. Not only is the layout different, but the mindset is too. These stores are consistently more popular with the employees and more importantly the customers. In fact the top five grossing stores on Black Friday were all "City" stores. The mantra of The City stores was quite different. Everything was embarrassingly based around "keeping it real", a concept where coworkers (salespeople and managers alike) we're supposed to be able to freely keep each other in check while on the clock. The City was also about equality and funny terms....customers were guests, and employees were partners. I will never forget the day I met my manager and I put my hand out for a handshake. Instead of meeting my hand at the waist, he put his hand up as if to wave and asked for a high five. That about summed up the concept of The City: high fives.
The real reason I enjoyed working at The City was because it gave Circuit City hope. It made me, as well as other customers, believe this organization had hope. We had raving customer service reviews and people would often come in to get help from their specific favorite employee. However we were all wrong about Circuit City...we were lied to.
The concept of exceptional customer satisfaction was flawed. As employees we were required to hand out these small 3X3 inch cards stating our "promises" to the customers. The mentioned price matching, free shipping, and firedog installs. However they were extremely frustrating to hand out. Employees were watched like hawks to see if the cards were handed out and the days suddenly became less about selling and more about handing out these ridiculous cars. You can imagine how annoyed people would get hearing about the cards all day long and constantly being bombarded by every employee in the store discussing the same thing. This was at the time Circuit City started the "One Price Promise", which was in fact a great idea: make the in-store and online prices the same. Most employees saw a lot of hope for the company with this policy especially because of Best Buy's problems with this in the past. However at the same time the company closed 155 stores. Now many of us knew this was coming....what we didn't know was when. This is when my opinion on Circuit City drastically changed. One would think most of the stores would receive some type of preparation for the closings, or at least a personal word from company HR. Instead on that faithful Sunday, 155 managers checked their emails and read their fates to their crews. No warning, no visits from HR, no personal messages....emails. How could a company change the lives of so many people through an electronic mass message? We had been told for weeks that the company was about to do fine, and they lied through their teeth. The situation was simply poorly and distastefully executed.
Today that same fate was realized for the remaining employees of all Circuit City. When Circuit City closed the stores last time, all stores were having an employee meeting. This time the formality was skipped and most of us heard simply through the TV. 34,000 people will lose their job in the next couple months and most of them won't have anywhere to go. Circuit City is already denying any paid time off used past today (1/16), and has already shipped out liquidators to all stores. Overnight the second largest electronics retailer in the US vanished and as of tonight it no longer exists.
However in retrospect, perhaps the worst bash to Circuit City is from the customer. For the past 4 months since Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 the store has been battered and bruised. As an employee I have been called a liar, stupid, useless, insignificant, and moronic not because of my product knowledge, but because of the store's policies. Too many times has a news savvy customer come in and told what the price should be because of the bankruptcy issue. Let me put this out there: I do not receive commission. I understand that you want a good price, however I can not control the prices. I honestly don't care if you won't buy a product from the store because you are asking for 50% off. Customers need to be realistic. Customers also need to realize we are human too. All of us in this world are consumers, but not all of us are distributors. If you buy from us I'll be glad for your commitment to the store. However if you decide not to, I will not care. The customer needs to understand that the employee is not there to chauffeur you, he/she is just a convenient means to get information on your product and help you with your selection. If you hate Circuit City, fine...just don't hate the people that are trying to earn some type of living there.
Regardless of how you feel, it's the end of an era and there's no turning back for Circuit City anymore. I can only hope that the consumer has good thoughts of Circuit City when it dies. Although employees don't care too much whether you buy from us or not, we do want to help you out. I can only hope that during the last somber few weeks at the stores, the customers will help us back.
RIP Circuit City. You will be missed.
ps...sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes....im tired!