Unreal experience at B&H today

Today was the first day that they were open again after passover. I go into the store and notice a whole bunch of folks standing on lines, but didn't pay too much attention. Went upstairs and got my lenscoat. Go back downstairs to pay and pay within 30 seconds.

Then I'm told by a customer service rep that the lines that I noticed upon walking in are not multiple lines, it's just one long line for pickup. The line stretched from the door to the back of the store where the video cameras are, looped up and down every isle and then finally went past the registers through the ropes through checkout. There had to be at LEAST 500 people in front of me waiting to pick up their stuff.

Wow.

i would've loved to see a photo of that!

I was there also. It was crazy but the Sunday b4 they closed was even worse. I was glad what I wanted was out of stock. I went to Gotham audio on 38th st and got it for same price. And they made me a custom audio cable while I waited.

so the order I placed today probably won't get here by the weekend then...

Amazing. Now I know when not to visit. Speaks to the sheer size of the commercial success B&H has achieved.

S.Horton wrote in post #12306308
Amazing. Now I know when not to visit. Speaks to the sheer size of the commercial success B&H has achieved.

And general incompetency, which is unfortunate. Anyone who has ever stood in line in a Circuit City (before they closed obviously) on Black Friday knows what I'm talking about here One little clog in the pipe makes for VERY unhappy customers.

Reminds me of the late 70s and the gas lines.

so what, Apple has this type of thing at least TWICE a year and in MULTIPLE countries!

HyperYagami wrote in post #12307821
so what, Apple has this type of thing at least TWICE a year and in MULTIPLE countries!

look at the size of the companies...u are comparing apples to oranges...and the only reason why that happens for apple is because they purposefully dont have enough product supply

I would be happy just to see the store in person. Never been to NY.....

MOkoFOko wrote in post #12307632
And general incompetency, which is unfortunate. Anyone who has ever stood in line in a Circuit City (before they closed obviously) on Black Friday knows what I'm talking about here One little clog in the pipe makes for VERY unhappy customers.

Well, in this case you're wrong. This was not incompetency. It was sheer volume. The one thing I didn't mention is that I was through that line and out the door with my item in 20 minutes. The place is a well-oiled machine.

I agree. I placed an order yesterday around 1130. I didnt expect it to ship yesterday since they probably had a TON of orders from their closing but to my surprise, it did! Being in DC I get the package overnight with standard shipping. Yippee!

MOkoFOko wrote in post #12307632
And general incompetency, which is unfortunate. Anyone who has ever stood in line in a Circuit City (before they closed obviously) on Black Friday knows what I'm talking about here One little clog in the pipe makes for VERY unhappy customers.

I must admit I enjoy reading posts from you, but in this case you are completely incorrect and the facts are stacked against you. (Sound familiar? Good for the goose, my friend. )

Have you ever been to B&H? Unfortunately, I live nearby and have spent not only an inordinate amount of time there, but way too many tens of thousands of dollars.

To my limited knowledge, there is no store anywhere that runs as well as B&H, no store that has an overhead conveyor system to transport your goods to the pickup area behind the register, no store with their specialized inventory, with the ability to ship your order the same day without high pressure callbacks and upsells, etc.

Incompetence? You're not even hitting the side of the barn with that comment, let alone being way out in left field.

TaDa wrote in post #12308357
Well, in this case you're wrong. This was incompetency. It was sheer volume. The one thing I didn't mention is that I was through that line and out the door with my item in 20 minutes. The place is a well-oiled machine.

Oh, and Pedro, you'd be wrong also, as you've carelessly typed "This was incompetency" and thus agreed with MoKo, when you obviously meant this was NOT incompetency. Sheesh.

Shame on you.

me

MDJAK wrote in post #12308748
To my limited knowledge, there is no store anywhere that runs as well as B&H, no store that has an overhead conveyor system to transport your goods to the pickup area behind the register, no store with their specialized inventory, with the ability to ship your order the same day without high pressure callbacks and upsells, etc.

Remember Best Products...having never been to B&H myself, it sounds similar to what I rmember Best products having/doing. It was basically a warehouse on the first floor with the retail on the first..had a vacuum tube system to run the orders upstairs (like bank drivethroughs) and a conveyor running down behind the registers bringing your product...havent seen anything like since they closed shop years ago...

MDJAK wrote in post #12308748
Have you ever been to B&H? Unfortunately, I live nearby and have spent not only an inordinate amount of time there, but way too many tens of thousands of dollars.

To my limited knowledge, there is no store anywhere that runs as well as B&H, no store that has an overhead conveyor system to transport your goods to the pickup area behind the register, no store with their specialized inventory, with the ability to ship your order the same day without high pressure callbacks and upsells, etc.

Incompetence? You're not even hitting the side of the barn with that comment, let alone being way out in left field.

Thank you. Very much appreciated. We know there will be much higher than average customer traffic the days just before and just after one of our two extended holiday breaks. We make every effort (although suggestions are always welcome and appreciated) to anticipate this and make whatever adjustments we can to ameliorate it.

That said, no company can reasonably be expected to operate as if every day was Christmas Eve. We have to work with our averages and do what we can to be efficient on the relatively rare super-busy days. Even Macy's cannot simply make their store larger on Christmas Eve. Like them we add manpower and do other things to make the customer's visit as pleasant as can be though.