So, Bestbuy is being sketchy (and that’s me putting it nicely) about whether or not the Sony Walkman 16GB will even be in this month. They cannot or will not tell me if the price will match what it has listed on their own website as “things fluctuate based on what our company decides is best.” O.K. I’ve worked in retail before. I can accept this.
What I cannot accept is that they must look at the box and read it to me to answer what kind of media it supports. I can read! Been doing it for years!. They have what, like six players that are not iPods! They can’t learn six items! I have been in charge of entire store sections and could tell you the developmental history of 80% of the items in my departments!
I also have a difficult time swallowing that they aren’t sure if they have any in stock and are unable to go to the back to check because “well, our trucks come in on Tuesday and Thursday, so try back then.” I am seriously starting to question the merits of even asking their employess about anything. : /
And what’s this nonsense about them no longer selling Office Space?! Huh! Has the company gone off the deep end?!
Maybe I’m just asking too much? I don’t think so. But then, I do make it a point to at least attempt to show curtesy to someone about to buy a product I’m selling.
Luckily, as I fumed and came close to calling a manager, in what I suspect would have been a futile attempt, to gain insight into why a giant blue sign had the audacity to proclaim “our knowledgable associates,” someone came to my rescue! It was an associate no less! Here was the promised one! He knew the file formats, what was and was not in stock, and what would be a comparable model! He even knew what firmware upgrades there were! This man single-handedly restored my faith in Bestbuy! Hooray!
So what did he suggest? This little puppy!
Sansa Fuze 8GB
The version I have is 8GB. It also comes in 4GB and other colors. At the time of purchase, Bestbuy only carried four colors total and were sold out of three. So I have a silver one. Which matches my phone. Not that it will stay silver long. I have stickers begging for a surface to cling to!
It has expandable memory, built in FM tuner, intuitive interface, easy to navigate menu, a scroll wheel to navigate with, and works amazingly well. The screen has very nice resolution for viewing pictures and video. A firmware upgrade (took me about three minutes to complete) gives you added file format versatility and include FLAC and WAV. The armband case will make using the power and hold button a little awkward for those with larger fingers, but works well to protect and carry the Sansa on your jogs. My only complaint so far is that the earbuds are too big for my ears. Which means, basically, I have zero complaints!
Needless to say, some people I know will be getting one of these on gift giving occasions. What? It works great and it’s fairly inexpensive ($99.99). Why branch out when I have found a diamond in the rough? That’s right! There is no reason! I have saved several birthdays and Christmas in June! Hazaa! Let the happy butt dance ensue!
Mental note: get name of that guy who was so awesome and help get him a raise. : )
