don't buy a mac mini!

I was at Best Buy hunting for some CD-Rs and saw an ernest looking sales type. Since my neighbor has been battling with any number of Windows induced maladies, I decided to act the part of a non-technical customer and see what is recommended:

What to do about a year old HP with XP that crashes several times a day, fills the screen with porno whenever anyone tries to use Explorer and runs at about ten percent the speed it did when it was new?

Get a new one

Can't I fix the old one?

Sure you can, but costs one hundred and fifty to four hundred dollars, so you might as well get a new one

How much does one cost that I can use my digital camera with and play music?

We have really cheap ones, but you don't want one. I would recommend about $500 to $600 if you have your own monitor.

And this is cheaper than fixing my PC?

You will never get it right and the new ones are much safer. A new car is better than an old one because it has better airbags, right ...?

What about the new Apple?

Apple's are garbage. I've been working with computers for over ten years and am an expert. You can't do your taxes or use the Internet. They make you use their email and you have to pay for it. And you can't use mp3s or CDs .... you have to buy from their music store. I used to sell them and I know how bad they are. You are paying for all of that advertising.

So there you have it from an expert

Comments

[paul]

which best buy location was this?

[Jennifer]

Out of curiosity, how old did this "expert" appear to be? Gotta love the logic...

[Steve Cisler]

I was in a Fry's San Jose, CA. looking at a big screen new iMac. I was seeing how much faster it was than my 2.5 yr. old iBook. I fiddled with it for a couple of minutes and then noticed a man by my right shoulder. I played a bit more and then said, to him, "go ahead. It's yours." And he said, "No, I'm just watching." I played some more and then he said in a Russian accent, "Is good for young girl?" We then discussed what she liked to do now, how old she was (9) and whether it might be too much machine. The sales guy came up and stood by listening and then made his pitch, "It's good for making your own movies, and pressing DVDs." He made little attempt to find out her needs and just stressed some of the high end features of this machine. From my short conversation with the guy--a PC user himself--this was too much machine for a novice 9 year old.

That was before the new little Mac came out.

[DRumsfeld]

The average IQ in BestBuy must be 80. Either that or the employees are so pissed and bored that they play games with customers. Ask them for advice on camcorders if you want really dumb answers.

[Orac]

Macs have always been given second-class treatment at all the chains. Usually, if the stores even bother to stock them at all, they're found in a neglected corner of the computer department, with just a couple of demos sitting there. Inevitably, the sales people are totally Windows-centric and make idiotic comments like the ones described in the vignette above. This is yet another reason that Apple Stores are so successful. They give great customer service and do not condescend. In my experience, they do not try to pressure customers to buy a new Mac, rather than repair the old one, and they usually know quite a bit about Windows PCs as well. (They have to, given that most iPods are owned by Windows users these days.)

[Mac Fan]

Sales people sell what makes them money and what they have knowledge of. If Apple were to give salespeople spiffs, like other manufacturers, the attitude towards Apple products would change. Also, Apple needs to show up at these locations with a rep with doughnuts and freebies and educate them on Macs. They typically do that on Saturday mornings before the store opens.

Of course, there are salespeople who will never give Apple a fair shake and there's nothing Apple can do to counter that, except do what they did at CompUSA and put Mac-minded people in the Mac section of the store. I don't know how successful that was at CompUSA.

That's why the Apple Stores are brilliant. We need them in every mall.

[Carl]

1st and ony mistake, talking to a person who works at best buy for computer help (unless they are on the geek squad, they have been cool so far)

I was at best buy tring to get some software to copy my old 60 Gig hard drive to my new 100+ Gig. I ask the guy which was better Norton Ghost or some other brand to do the copying. But the guy told me Ghost was for surfing the web and not haveing you ip address seen so get the other one. I was in awww. It would have been better for him to say I dont know. I lost all faith in best buy sales persons from that moment on.

[egraham23]

You Apple drones do realize that your proprietary hardware is very weak compared to that which is used on i86 platforms? And that that there is far less software available for the Mac OS? And that businesses require the sort of power and flexiblility that isn't available on an Apple computer? So long as you all realize that Macs are only useful to those who can't fully understand or utilize personal computer technology, we can proceed with this discussion. Otherwise, quit whining.

[sara]

hee hee

i really have to laugh at egraham23's response. he sounds like the clerk in best buy.

there are these game kiddies who are great fits to drone jobs in the business world.

[steve]

This link is just terribly funny satire. He even manages to mention floppies.

particularly good are the guy's credentials

[David]

BULLLLSHIT

[Elliot Yates]

I am sorry for posting this years late. I just saw it on Google.

"Apple's are garbage." - Many would disagree including myself

"I've been working with computers for over ten years and am an expert." - Good for you...though experts wouldn't say rubbish like that

"You can't do your taxes or use the Internet." - Wrong...Quickbooks and many financial applications have been developed for Mac and are used by numerous firms. Mac has Safari...arguably the best internet browser. It can support IE and Firefox so yes you can use the internet. Maybe you mean you cannot connect to the internet. Wrong...macs have excellent connectivity and the WIFI is the easiest to use from all platforms

"They make you use their email and you have to pay for it." - No the don't force you to use their email. .mac is an optional extra that is certainly not the only way of reading your email.

"And you can't use mp3s or CDs .... you have to buy from their music store." - Totally wrong again, of course you can use CDs and MP3s. You dont need to use the iTunes store, there are many other options, though iTunes is the most popular.

"I used to sell them and I know how bad they are." - Sounds like you never used one.

"You are paying for all of that advertising." - THAT IS BRINGING IN CUSTOMERS, meaning that macs are being developed faster.

I don't know how you think you are an expert, though you are clearly not.

Sort your facts out! BTW- totally agree with David's post,

BULLLLSHIT