Circuit City Continues Death Spiral, Really Wants You to Stop Calling It “Circuit Shitty” [Circuit City]
Spurred by its latest quarter of dismal failure—a net loss of $239.2 million—Circuit City has instigated a "comprehensive analysis of its business," which will "start with improving the customer experience in our stores," says new mayor James Marcum. (For comparison, a hard hit for Best Buy this quarter was a $202 million profit.)
So, while they're actively shopping for buyers of the beleaguered company since the Blockbuster deal fell through, you can probably expect more of its new Best Buy-like "The City" stores. I still trip balls every time I see the one smack next to Best Buy in midtown Manhattan. It's gotta be the most painful block in the city.
That said, the customer service in most Circuit City stores does seem to outpace Best Buy's in crappiness, which is largely because they don't pay starting employees as much as they used to, a few employees have told me. I still go there occasionally because they undercut Best Buy's prices with some frequency, but sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't mind paying a buck or two more for slightly less aggravation, at least until the cheapskate kicks in. [WSJ, Image via qnr]