HDTV: Cheap

I'm beginning to understand why Circuit City is going out of business. I was there yesterday with about 1,000 other people who dropped by to pick the bones of the erstwhile electronics retailer.

It had been a long time since I'd been there. Not because of the selection; I think most retailers have exactly the same stuff, in similar price ranges. I never went to Circuit City because it was generally an unpleasant experience. The store is sort of dark and it is laid out funny. A cross between old and new, sort of 1980's RadioShack meets 2005 BestBuy.

Yesterday, for probably the first time ever, the parking lot was full. I entered the store and saw a line of customers waiting to check out with all sorts of merchandise in their carts and in their arms.

(Kudos to the Circuit City employees working yesterday who couldn't have been more polite or helpful.)

I stood in line with my bargain under my arm (a 19" television that weighed about 7 lbs. - amazing!). I was there for about 15 minutes before I realized that: a) there were only two cashiers working, and b) the line was not moving AT ALL.

So then I began to notice that each transaction took 4 to 5 minutes. Four to five minutes to scan, swipe, sign and pay for each and every transaction. What the ... ? There was a lot of scanning and keystroking and talking. A lot.

When it was finally my turn, I saw that this was the most manual-labor-intensive checkout process I've seen from a modern retailer in a long, long time. A scanning gun must be used. More keystroking. An ID is inspected with each credit card (that's good, I think). A phone number must be given. A street address and ZIP code must be given. The paper register receipt had to be manually slid under a thin strip of plastic before I could sign the credit card receipt. The receipt then was pulled out from under the plastic signing pad, and the register tape had to be manually stamped, twice, with an inky stamp that said something-or-other.

It was all coming back to me. I remembered exactly the same process the last time I was there, which was Christmas, 2004. Nothing had changed.

Why would a customer subject themselves to this if they didn't have to? It seems minor, but it's really a pain. And you could just go somewhere else (Best Buy, Target, Amazon) and get the same merchandise for a lot less hassle.

I subjected myself to it in order to get a Sharp HDTV for $260. But that's the only reason.