The recent news about the Circuit City bankruptcy tends to blame it on the economy and competition from the internet. Sorry folks, seems to me this was clearly due to wounds inflicted by it’s own poor management. The only good news is that there doesn’t appear to be any taxpayer bailout money involved.
I used to be a Circuit City regular years ago. There was once near my hours and I’d check out the Sunday circulars every week. That was when I was still buying DVDs and their discount bin was also a regular stop. It was convenient and easy to run in and get something, especially with their in-store pickup. I probably stopped in at least twice a month.
Then things started to change. My local store was remodeled and it appears the overall concept was to force the customer to walk all over the store. First to find what they were looking for and then to find someone to take payment. Even their in-store pickup became an adventure. Sure, I can see making me walk past those big screen TVs to get to the DVDs, but even then the sale DVDs would be hidden elsewhere in the store.
Then they fired over three-thousand experienced workers (read as paid more than newbies) and replaced them with lower paid people. By then my visits were infrequent so this change didn’t bother me until Christmas season last year. I stopped in to get a couple DVDs and actually found them, but I left without them. I couldn’t find anyplace to pay. I’m not saying long lines, I’m saying no central registers. I would have had to wait for one of those commissioned sales people to finish with there customers and pay in one of the departments. I haven’t been back since.
Circuit City didn’t fail because of the economy or competition. They failed because of management decisions that caused a terrible customer experience but still at brick and mortar prices. OK, competition was an reason, but just the fact any exists is enough to keep me out of the store. My prediction is the death spiral will continue and they won’t be around in a year, so avoid the Circuit City gift cards.
Circuit City Implosion
The recent news about the Circuit City bankruptcy tends to blame it on the economy and competition from the internet. Sorry folks, seems to me this was clearly due to wounds inflicted by it’s own poor management. The only good news is that there doesn’t appear to be any taxpayer bailout money involved.
I used to be a Circuit City regular years ago. There was once near my hours and I’d check out the Sunday circulars every week. That was when I was still buying DVDs and their discount bin was also a regular stop. It was convenient and easy to run in and get something, especially with their in-store pickup. I probably stopped in at least twice a month.
Then things started to change. My local store was remodeled and it appears the overall concept was to force the customer to walk all over the store. First to find what they were looking for and then to find someone to take payment. Even their in-store pickup became an adventure. Sure, I can see making me walk past those big screen TVs to get to the DVDs, but even then the sale DVDs would be hidden elsewhere in the store.
Then they fired over three-thousand experienced workers (read as paid more than newbies) and replaced them with lower paid people. By then my visits were infrequent so this change didn’t bother me until Christmas season last year. I stopped in to get a couple DVDs and actually found them, but I left without them. I couldn’t find anyplace to pay. I’m not saying long lines, I’m saying no central registers. I would have had to wait for one of those commissioned sales people to finish with there customers and pay in one of the departments. I haven’t been back since.
Circuit City didn’t fail because of the economy or competition. They failed because of management decisions that caused a terrible customer experience but still at brick and mortar prices. OK, competition was an reason, but just the fact any exists is enough to keep me out of the store. My prediction is the death spiral will continue and they won’t be around in a year, so avoid the Circuit City gift cards.
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