Circuit City reports Q1 loss as US shoppers unplug

Ailing US electronics retailer Circuit City yesterday posted a first quarter loss and another slide in revenues. The Richmond, Virginia-based firm reported that net loss widened to $164.8m, or $1 a share, for the period ended 31 May 2008, compared to $54.6m, or 33 cents, a year earlier. Sales at Circuit City dropped a painful …

[Doug Glass]

Well, There Ya Are

Doesn't surprise me a bit. I stopped shopping at Circuit City months ago mainly because the people who work (worked??) at the one closest to me are insulting, less than helpful, and not well suited to sell "techy" goods. In other words, if they can operate and explain the use of an electric tooth I'd be surprised. And oh yeah, their prices suck too.

Long live newegg.com.

[Anya]

No Surprise

About two years ago, this company fired all of its competent help - the people that had worked hard, learned the product lines, tried to get ahead and who, over time, had been rewarded for their hard work with salary increases. What was left were the minimum wage people that either had not worked at Circuit City very long, or that had never qualified for a raise.

Because of that incivility and boneheaded treatment of employees, I will never shop in Circuit City again. They have been death's darling for a couple of years now, I hope they go under soon; I wish them only the worst.

[Anonymous from Mars]

@Anya

Circuit City is still gradually weeding out the smart people.

We live in Richmond. My roommate works for their tech support hotline, Firedog. He says it's always a struggle to avoid being the one that gets fired that week (apparently competence can do that).

Just recently he had to train a 65 year-old woman who has never used a computer before how to use their hackeneyed programs. Two weeks ago, he also caught his boss (who had left early because he wasn't feeling well) at an OTB parlor.

On another note, I was one of the people who got canned back in the great employee purge. I learned that I didn't have a job when I came in for work one day and all the workstations at the NOC were gone. All of them.

[Iamfanboy]

Re: No Surprise

Yeah, at the Best Buy I used to work at there were a half-dozen former Circuit City employees who got fired under that rather idiotic policy. Needless to say, they were quite bitter about the whole thing.

How a company can expect to survive by firing their BEST employees is beyond me. It makes no sense whatsoever. But then again, I'm not the one who thought of it...

And I hope that Circuit City fails and serves as a business example in the future.

[JC]

Different Opinion

Since I do enough research on prospective products before going to a B&M, I don't really care how good or bad Circuit City's salepeople are, plus it's not like the typical Walmart or Bestbuy employee is the cream of the crop either.

I'd rather find myself shopping in a Circuit City, as I find both Walmart and Bestbuy to be even worse in several ways.

[soaklord]

Treat them like you treat websites...

Seriously! Do all your research ahead of time, make sure that they have the best price, go in, buy, go out again. I used their black Friday deal to get a heck of a television (Sharp 46" 1080p LCD for $1299). There hasn't been a better deal on a tv of that size since and even the Costco/Wal*Mart brands don't come close. But in the run up to Black Friday, I had to deal with some serious morons when I tried asking questions in store, so resorted to the fountain of all knowledge, you know Al Gore's creation... Any more, I am mostly happy if I can get the tool to ring me up in a decent amount of time and leave it at that.

[Alex Barwick]

Currys, Dixon , PC world.

Sounds like the UK group of stores who got rid of all their techi savvie staff and employed plebs, then wonder why less and less people buy from them and have to close stores and still not make a profit.