I wish the issues ended there. But, while other instances may not have been quite so extreme, the banner-name chains have seen more than their shares of complaints about and unfair pushing of .

A 2007 by Senior Writer Tom Spring found both Circuit City and Best Buy relentlessly tried to talk customers into buying store-made recovery discs with new laptops. Employees at three out of five Best Buys Spring visited went as far as to tell him he couldn't make the discs on his own and needed to pay the US$30 if he wanted to have them.

Spring later created the discs in his office in about an hour's time. The laptop's manual even had instructions. Best Buy responded by saying that the experience may have been the "result of miscommunication" and that the store-made discs were offered only as a "convenience to customers."

Wake Up, Retailers

There's always an explanation, but the fact remains that it's become more and more challenging to have a good experience at big box electronics store. In upgrading my own PC just recently, I tried going to the local CompUSA to pick up a few parts so I could have them in my hands that night. After a salesperson literally walked away while I was talking to him, I walked out, went home, and ordered the components online.