Natalie Albers

Dad and Me

10 Jan: Hearing his late father’s voice again, in a Best Buy store

Just a few days into 2019, one customer says Best Buy has already made his year by saving something he couldn’t replace: his late father’s voice.

Halidor Arkellsson is a longtime Best Buy customer whose father’s confusion about voicemail turned out to be a gift he treasured.

His father, Dale, liked that answering machines allowed him to talk until someone heard him and picked up the phone to continue the conversation. But when phone technology evolved to software-based voicemail and took away that interactive feature, Halidor’s dad didn’t immediately convert along with it.

Katie note card hero

02 Jan: ‘I weigh 325 pounds and that’s unacceptable to me’

Weight loss can be a roller coaster of an experience. But for Katie Rowsey, an actual roller coaster is what launched her journey to drop 162 pounds – and gain back her freedom.

A lifetime of struggling with weight and “yo-yo dieting” came to a head for Katie last year as she waited in line for a thrill ride, only to be turned down by the operator because her weight exceeded the safety limit.

In that moment, Katie — a Best Buy employee who supports the operations for stores located across seven states — found her reason to make a change.

Gael

02 Nov: Maryland employee has young customers dialed in

Any parent can tell you that shopping with kids in tow isn’t exactly relaxing. But one intuitive employee can make all the difference.

Just ask Abigail Rogers, a mom who was shopping for phones at the Best Buy store in Frederick, Maryland, with her two young daughters. She took to social media to recognize store associate Gael Alexis for “what could/should/would have been a dreadful and painful experience” that turned out “delightful” for everyone involved.

All because Gael knows her stuff when it comes to technology — and kids.

StJude_pic_blog

29 Oct: St. Jude, Best Buy join to fight childhood cancer this holiday season

Since 2013, Best Buy has joined St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® in the fight against cancer and other life-threatening childhood diseases. In that time, our generous customers have shown their support by donating nearly $60 million in our stores and online!

The St. Jude Thanks and Giving® campaign is back at Best Buy for the sixth year, and this holiday season we hope to do even more to support the lifesaving mission of St. Jude: Finding cures. Saving children.® Watch the video to learn why Best Buy supports St.

Best Buy campaign

29 Mar: Best Buy Employees Bring Tech Fun, $20 Million to St. Jude

If you shopped at Best Buy over the holiday season and gave to the St. Jude Thanks and Giving® campaign, this one’s for you. The dollars generously donated in our stores and online stacked up to a new record, and this week we were honored to donate $20 million to St. Jude on your behalf.

Best Buy employees and leaders from around the country traveled to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® in Memphis, Tennessee, to present the money, tour the family-focused facility, meet patients, and see miracles in the making.

Best Buy - air fryer

27 Mar: Air Fryer Makes Crispy Convenient

I’ll admit I was a total skeptic when I heard about air fryers. I like to keep my kitchen counters bare, and more importantly, I just couldn’t get my head around the concept of using air to fry food.

I’ve always craved texture over taste. I can enjoy a cookie if it’s soft in the middle and crunchy around the perimeter, I scoff at the notion of grilled fish in my tacos and I always select the crispiest bits of popcorn chicken (even the bits of chicken-less fried batter).

Best Buy - giving

20 Feb: With $20 Million Raised, Best Buy Remains Top St. Jude Partner

What does it take to raise $20 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®? Generous customers, passionate employees and big hearts. At Best Buy, all three came together over the holiday season – and the dollars donated set a new record for our company.

In addition, we just completed our fifth season participating in the St. Jude Thanks and Giving® campaign, and once again earned the top spot among all participating retailers. To date, Best Buy has raised nearly $60 million for St.

Best Buy - badges

14 Feb: A Future as Bright as their Badges

When most people vow, “to have and to hold, from this day forward,” they’re not usually talking about their Geek Squad badges.

But for a pair of newlywed Best Buy employees who are also Agents, the promise of forever applies to their shiny shields as well as their gleaming wedding bands.

“We both value this company and the work we have done over the years,” said Mona Gilbert, a market admin serving several Best Buy stores in Florida. “So, we thought it would be interesting to bring our Geek Squad badges to the wedding for photos, to remind us of the great memories and people we have met throughout our careers.”

Best Buy - treatments

03 Jan: St. Jude Treatments Turn Employee’s Grim Diagnosis into Bright Future

You can sum up Jeremy Finney’s approach to fighting cancer with this visual: At 16 years old, he rode his bike 8 miles each way to and from radiation treatments.

That’s grit.

He showed no symptoms of cancer until he woke up one morning with a grapefruit-sized tumor in his neck. As a swimmer, football player and cyclist, getting aggressive treatment for Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was the last activity Jeremy planned to squeeze into his busy schedule. But the next day he had his first of several surgeries and started treatment.

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30 Oct: Join Best Buy in Supporting St. Jude Families

 

When cancer strikes a family, life instantly turns upside down. Parents will stop at nothing to save their children’s lives. But, too often, that care comes at a cost: stress caused by time away from home and work, loss of income and mounting healthcare bills. That’s where St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® is different.

St. Jude wants families to worry only about helping their children live, and that’s why Best Buy participates in the St. Jude Thanks and Giving® campaign.

Best Buy - Wi-Fi

29 Sep: If Your Wi-Fi Makes You Cry, An Agent Can Help

My woes with home Wi-Fi started with monthly text messages from my wireless carrier days before the month was up: “FYI, you’ve used 90 percent of your shared data…”

Our inadequate Wi-Fi was responsible for mounting consternation, including but not limited to:

  • Whining from my gamer child: “MOOOOOM. This isn’t working! It’s BROKEN!”
  • Frustration from my husband, “Why can’t I do anything on my tablet?”
  • And the dreaded spinning “buffering” circle that displayed while streaming my fave home remodeling show.

We’d been eking by with a spotty wireless network, and we’d been doing it

for too long.

Backup Blog Photo Best Buy

31 Mar: Why World Backup Day Matters: A Real World Example

The year is 2012. My sweet and adorable 3-year-old asks if he can play with my phone.

I say no.

He protests.

I hold my ground: “No. It’s time for night-night.”

Turning my back, I shift my focus and attend to his brothers, another 3-year-old and a 5-year-old, and complete the gauntlet that is the bedtime routine of three little boys.

With lights out, mama’s out. My time to flip on cartoon-less TV and jump on the ol’ social media to catch up with friends.