It kinda caught my eye earlier this week when it was announced that Circuit City had filed for bankruptcy. I remember about 10-15 years ago, that chain being fairly awesome because they were basically a super-powered Radio Shack. I guess they weren’t satisfied with being a big fish in a small pond, so they tried to become the next Best Buy. In fact, I remember seeing a funny video online once (though I can’t find it again for the life of me) that made the joke that if you want to find a Circuit City, simply look across the street from any Best Buy.

What Circuit City (or Jerk-It City, as I affectionately refer them) became most known for are their employees. In order to increase revenue, Circuit City adopted the adamant policy of emaciating their human resources; the very people that interact with their customers. The few knowledgeable people that they do have on the floor never last long because their skills quickly send them to better pastures. After the turnover, all that’s left are the incompetent new-hires that don’t know a damn thing about what they’re selling. I should know; I was one of those idiots for a Christmas season.

I guess what gets me thinking about this whole thing was something I remembered when I interviewed for that seasonal job. The manager who interviewed me noticed that I’d previously worked for Montgomery Ward, shortly before it too shut down. He made a point to tell me that after Montgomery Ward went tits-up, their CEO became the new CEO for Circuit City. Well, good job, fellas… That’s your sign! Next time, hire on someone who’s carried a business upward, not run it into the ground.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 8:22 pm and is filed under Business, Humor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.