Why Best Buy and Target are actually struggling

Best Buy and Target used to be places I was happy to just walk around and window shop.

Maybe I would buy a coffee at the Target Starbucks or some candy from the Best Buy checkout. Sometimes I might even get suckered into making a purchase I didn’t really need. Both chains were full of merchandise I liked to look at, and if I needed to buy something, the experience was decent enough.

That has changed.

A few weeks ago, I went into Target to buy some toiletries for an upcoming cruise. One cashier was working, and the line for self-checkout stretched from the front of the store back to the pharmacy section.

I left and went to CVS (which is a horrible experience of its own when you need anything in a locked cabinet). 

Since any store can get caught shorthanded or experience an unexpected rush, I spot-checked that Target and another one about 45 minutes away. Wait times varied based on how crowded the store was, but understaffed checkout lines seemed to be a feature and not a bug.

Best Buy has even bigger customer service problems

Since we no longer live near a Best Buy, I have not shopped there in a while. Last night (Oct. 8), my wife and I needed to buy a cheap laptop because we had left one at home while traveling. 

We wanted the cheapest Windows laptop with 8GB of RAM. Ideally, we wanted a closeout or an open-box option, since this computer would be used for a few days and then become a backup.

In addition, it was going to be used with a monitor and a keyboard, so the size of the screen, touchscreen capability, and the keyboard feel did not matter.

I found the cheapest option on the floor, but the closeout section was in a locked cage where it was hard to read any of the specifications. Labels were horizontal, but the products were stored vertically, making reading any specifications on the label difficult.

In order to make a purchase, I needed an actual person to help me, because all the laptops were under some form of lock and key. 

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Best Buy had a desk in the computer section, but no actual person worked there. I could see people in blue shirts walking around the store, but it was over 15 minutes before one paid attention to me.

As the former general manager of a large toy store, I understand that you can’t always get to every customer immediately. You can, however, acknowledge the customer and make them feel welcome.

That never happened, and when I did get some attention, I was told if I wanted quick service, “I should have ordered online.”

It was a miserable experience, and I never actually learned if I might have been able to get a better deal on a clearance or open-box item. Had we not needed the computer for a crucial workday, we would have just left.

And I’m not alone.

Best Buy has faced significant customer service issues, with over 12,900 complaints filed in the past three years, highlighting widespread dissatisfaction, according to Better Business Bureau data.

Best Buy and Target lost their focus on customer service 

Americans don’t like standing in line. In fact, a 2022 Waitwhile.com survey was really definitive about how most people feel about lines.

“Our 2022 survey was definitive in its findings: people really don’t like waiting in line. We found that almost 70% of consumers associated waiting in line with negative feelings like boredom, annoyance, frustration, and impatience,” the company shared.

And it noted that technology has not kept up with customer preferences.

Although the vast majority of consumers said they prefer virtual queues to physical lines, Waitwhile’s survey found poor adoption of digital queue management solutions by businesses. Only 15% of consumers said they were able to wait virtually the last time they encountered a line.

The waiting is the hardest part (2023 Waitwhile survey):

• Having to wait in line is a pervasive problem. A surprising 90% of consumers report having to wait in line at least a few times a month, and 64% of consumers say they have to wait in line multiple times a week.
• According to consumers, the retail industry is the worst offender. Americans spend more time waiting in line at retail stores than at restaurants, pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and banks combined.
• This marks the second year in a row that retail is the top industry where consumers regularly encounter lines. Notably, the time spent waiting in line at retail stores has increased by 30% since 2022.
• The vast majority of consumers still associate waiting in line with negative emotions. Nearly 67% of the consumers surveyed here report feeling impatient, bored, annoyed, frustrated, or disrespected when they have to wait.
• Notably, impatience skyrocketed this year – increasing by 176% – even as negative emotions have remained relatively stable YoY (67% this year vs. 69% in 2022). 

“The best customer service is if the customer doesn’t need to call you, doesn’t need to talk to you. It just works.”

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder

Target and Best Buy need to do better

“After 6-9 minutes, shoppers are likely to give up queuing and leave empty-handed,” according to research from Retail Sensing. 

In many cases, however, it’s more than just lines; it’s about experience. The late Tony Hsieh, former CEO of Zappos, nailed it in a simple quote:

“Your brand is not what you sell; it’s the experience you deliver.” 

Bill Gates approached it a different way:

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

That’s a simple way to understand what you have to fix. Some people might be fine waiting and not being acknowledged, but those probably aren’t the customers who walk out the door.

Author Micah Solomon said it’s more about mindset with stores.

“Customer service is not a cost center; it’s a revenue generator. Exceptional service leads to repeat business and referrals,” he said.

Related: 52-year-old discount chain closing locations in multiple states

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