“Don’t I have to buy a phone from my provider to make sure it works?” “How will I know which phones can work on Verizon, AT&T, etc…”

-Out with the old, in with the new. If you walked in to my bbm store, I would tell you that you will walk out with your new phone completely set up and making phone calls. Why? Because I know everything there is to know about activating a cell phone. I have had proper training from At&t, Verizon ect. The plus is, I can give you a side by side comparison so that you can see what provider and what phone will be perfect for you.

“Will I screw up my contract if I do this?”

-Each provider and Best Buy has trained us for the individual activation centers (At&t, Verizon…) in order that we can analyze what changes you may need to make, if any. Also, so that you fully understand the terms and conditions of your new AND old contract. At the end of an activation, we make sure that you understand before signing anything, and that you receive copies of your new contract.

“Which phones can you buy yourself and which one’s are we required to buy from our plan provider.”

-Depending on the region that you live in, you will have an dynamic selection of new phones to choose from. There is an individual display of phones according to carrier, and carefully laid out prices so that you can understand cost, features, and phone specs. Also, we are more than willing to open up and power on any phone so that you have a working model to test out to see if you like it.

“What about all of those free phone credits I have, can I use them or only if getting the phone from my carrier?”

Example: If you are notified by your provider that you have received a $150 credit for a new phone, that translates to bbm terms as a “2 year upgrade.” What that means is, you get the straightforward 2 year agreement price written on the tag of the new phone. If the phone says free in the 2 year agreement section, it free…no mail in rebate. Nothing out of your pocket at the time of purchase. If it says $99.99 in the 2 year agreement section, its $99.99 at the time of purchase. No hidden costs, NO mail in rebates. Easy and convenient.

“If I buy a phone at a retail store, what are the limitations? Do I get service at the same
time? From anyone?”

Best Buy Mobile is committed to giving you the best options for a new phone, but most importantly, being there for the life of your phone. After I help a customer with their new phone, I make sure that they know that we are not on commission, therefore we will always be willing to spend as much time with them as they need to understand their device. I always encourage customers to write down questions as they come up in the days after their purchase and then bring those questions in so we can go over all of them. It does not matter what the question or trouble may be, we will work our hardest to resolve it. That was my training.

I hope I have resolved some of your concerns about the validity of Best Buy Mobile. We’d love you help you out with your phone needs in the future!

Thanks!

Abby
Store #1476
Virginia

No wait-line sheet, non commission, no mail in rebates, a better choice of phones and networks, no deductibles per service claim, and free data transfers. (Yes, we do data transfers)

Just 6 of many worthy reasons why mobile customers will shop Best Buy Mobile.

Abby
Best Buy Mobile
Store #1476 Virginia

The BB employees are so incompetent that we add data onto the customers plan and get pid for it cause 5+ times a week a customer comes in who bought the phone at BB and the BB employee did not put the data on the plan??

Got your Tweet that you uploaded the images of the Best Buy Mobile store… Here is a picture of the RadioShack, StoreOne test stores. This one is in downtown Fort Worth, TX. RadioShack Concept Store, StoreOne

Here is my critique and a revision of your photo with notes. Please let me know your thoughts.

Life-Digitized Best Buy Mobile Critique

-itsTripple
Life-digitized.net

While the phones were next to the laptops, I would have liked to see the products in action, truly interacting – maybe something like a demonstration area. There could be opportunity to further integrate Geek Squad expertise with in-store classes and/or demonstrations during high traffic times.

Overall, very pleased and surprised.

The Verizon little box stores have lots of people in them most of them trying to find a phone with nobody or maybe one haggard looking salesperson on the floor to assist them or answer questions. The phones are displayed on little shelves on the walls with a small description and a price.

There is no conversation with anyone about the different levels of services, costs, repair, etc. After you blindly choose your phone you queue up in the back of the store to await your turn to pay at the cash register. The cashiers are so overwhelmed by the lines that even if they knew something they wouldn’t be able to discuss it. If so many people didn’t walk out in discuss they would really be slammed.

The interior of the Verizon store is very utilitarian and not cool or hip or electronic looking – I would say the look is “cheap retail”. It is the type of place you dread – like the place where you get your driver’s license renewed.

The Best Buy Mobil Store sounds wonderful….sales people knowledgeable about technical features of the phone and the various services available in an unbiased setting. Great concept.

As someone else here pointed out, teens aren’t the only ones who are texting and sending photos and lusting after IPhones. More and more people I know in the parent and even grandparent age group are texting. It is pretty much the only way I can communicate with my kids. They don’t really email anymore and they never check the phone messages or answer the phone unless you text them to “answer the phone”. If you really want to connect with them you have to go to Facebook or My Space.

So here’s what I think will happen to the Best Buy Mobil Stores. Huge hit with all ages. Can’t wait to shop at one in real life.

Thanks for taking the time to write about BB Mobile stores. I see real advantages to being able to go to a single store and find multiple brands.

I hope that Best Buy will model service after what is available from Pacific Sales. Having to search for sales help and beg someone to take customers money just doesn’t cut it.

Great service may not be an issue in rural markets where retail mobile outlets are not plentiful. In large cities where there seems to be several mobile retail stores on every other street corner, good service will be critical to capture market share.

This is impressive, facts-based posting of your news so i find it credible. My local Best Buy has gotten much better in staff who listen to what I want, don’t rush and act like the best hotel staff i experience – making sure I have found what i was seeking and am satisfied. Kudos to your diligent work. For more profits consider asking us boomer women for more advice about what to see and how to sell it. We are great at word of mouth.

It was also cool to see the amount of unlocked phones that were available. I am talking about some handsets that I have never seen before and I consider myself fairly up to speed on mobile devices. I will be curious to see how those products and the aforementioned assortment will cater to the typically mall customer.

Finally, it was interesting to read Coach Adam’s post with the questions. It has been my experience that those questions are exactly the reason the market is ready for a store (in this case Best Buy Mobile) to effectively educate and serve consumers.