Circuit City

Usually, whenever you go into an electronics store, the best way to get an employee to help you is to go to the camera department and play with their most expensive camera.

I was in Circuit City one day last week, and I tried it.

I spent 45 minutes playing with cameras.

I then had to go to the front of the store and ask for help.

And it took 10 minutes for the person that was paged to come help me.

I wondered what took them so long. It wasn't like they were busy, maybe 10 people in the store, if that many. Two employees held a conversation in the nearby computer section for a good chunk of the time. And, it's not like it's hard to notice me.

The Washington Post answered my question (Hat Tip: Democracy for Utah):

Circuit City fired 3,400 of its highest-paid store employees in March, saying it needed to hire cheaper workers to shore up its bottom line. Now, the Richmond electronics retailer says it expects to post a first-quarter loss next month, and analysts are blaming the job cuts.

The company, which on Monday also revised its outlook for the first half of its fiscal year ending Feb. 29, 2008, cited poor sales of large flat-panel and projection televisions. Analysts said Circuit City had cast off some of its most experienced and successful people and was losing business to competitors who have better-trained employees.

"I think even though sales were soft in March, this is clearly why April sales were worse. They were replaced with less knowledgeable associates," said Tim Allen, an analyst with Jefferies & Co.