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Best Buy Invaded By Blue Shirt Improv Artists
deviantphil writes "About 80 Improv Everywhere agents invaded their local Best Buy store wearing blue shirts and Khakis. Eventually they were asked to leave, but not before capturing some great photos and video." From the article: "Security guards and managers started talking to each other frantically on their walkie-talkies and headsets. 'Thomas Crown Affair! Thomas Crown Affair!,' one employee shouted. They were worried that were using our fake uniforms to stage some type of elaborate heist. 'I want every available employee out on the floor RIGHT NOW!'" Their inspired cellphone symphony from this February is also well worth checking out.
Hmmmm.... Imagine if the entire population of Slashdot each received one. Think of the possibilities. Also, can't this be considered Slashdoting something physically.
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
These people rock, I heard a story about them a while back on NPR on This American Life http://207.70.82.73/pages/descriptions/05/286.html
FYI, this is the same group that did the fake U2 roof top concert the day before U2 actually plays in NY.
The cops took the whole thing really seriously, and gave a few people a lot of shit, if you read the whole page and watch all the videos.
They get freaked out when people show up, act oddly, and video tape stuff.
The manager *was* a total douche though: "You're violating my civil rights by filming in my store!".
In California, If a security person detains you, you can Sue, and will probably win.
Of course you have to ask to leave, and they imply that you can't ask.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
navy pinstripe suits indicated a bank, doublebreasted suits meant insurance, charcoal gray suits were brokerages.
Today it is trivial for 21-25 year old women; red shirt is a computer superstore, blue shirt is big box retailer, and
white shirts with a yellow smiley face means WalMartians...
Uh, if the cops bothered to show up they aren't going to fine you for calling. They really don't do that unless it's a prank. Hell, something like 1/3rd of their calls are basically nothing: loud noise, suspicious person. However, having the cops present isn't a bad idea; You never know when a confrontation might occur. Perhaps some manager freaking out about losing control of the situation loses his cool or something. It could happen.
The most interesting thing about the whole affair is the insight that it provides into people's thoughts. When something sufficiently strange is going on, people get completely confused and frustrated that they don't understand your motives. Because of this misunderstanding, they tend to assume the worst. At one point they were speculating that it was some elaborate heist. "Thomas Crown Affair", funny, but at the same time fitting, given what the employees knew. Although with 80 people I might rip off a better target than Best Buy - maybe a bank or something.
I also got a kick out of the human resources woman going undercover to take snap shots of those involved. Don't they have security cameras? Still, I can understand her feeling the need to do something, so that later she can explain it and not look lazy. There's a reason why the managers freaked out the most - they're used to having control. A regular employee just shrugs his shoulders and laughs. And as usual, the cops freak out the most and try to intimidate the guy with the camera.
I think the part that resonated with me the most was when a manager claimed that filming in Best Buy violated her "civil rights". Perhaps they were at the fringes of the law by partially concealing their cameras, but the right to privacy is not guarenteed in an essentially public place. And while it may be against Best Buy policy, unless you commit an actual crime in the legal sense, all they can do is ask you to leave.
However, I do think that at some point they should have just explained the whole thing rather than leave on such bad terms. They freaked people out and then left in an arrogant huff, that shows a basic lack of curtesy. On the whole, the act and documentation offer interesting insights into society, true performance art.
Hehe...I work there...and what's even funnier...Is that I work on the geek squad, and I am the biggest noob in this forum :)
Wanna know why some of the employees aren't helpful?
Best Buy is a shit place to work. Pay is crap, the rules that we have to abide by: crap.
And the customers? Well I assume that most people in this forum would be some of the better customers, seeing as how your all tech-savvy, but you try explaining to a stay-at-home mom with 8 kids why you can't back up her HDD b/c it is fried. The ignorant people ruin it for the rest. There is no energy or desire to be helpful after you get yelled at for an hour b/c someone screwed up their own computer and we were unable to fix it.
And as for the guys in the blue shirts...
well usually those same push, ignorant people reach them before they even reach us...
with that being said, I personally am never impolite, and I always try to help people because I've shopped there before I worked there, and I know how frustrating it can be.
So I apoligze to all of you who had bad experiences there, but it isn't going to change until the corporation changes.
Unfortunately...we can't do anyting about the ignorant.
(Random quote from some sci-fi movie or TV show)