Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY): Will This Company’s Horrible Customer Service Sink Samsung?

It seems obvious that Samsung’s strategy here is to quickly and relatively inexpensively establish a retail presence to challenge Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s . But one of the reasons Apple stores have been so successful — beyond the quality of the products, of course — is that they’re teaming with a friendly and knowledgeable staff that’s eager to please. Suffice it to say, at least in my opinion, that the same cannot be said of Best Buy.

The one saving grace is that Samsung is purportedly going to both staff and train the employees in its boutiques. Again, according to the Journal, “For the first time, [Samsung] is recruiting and training a fleet of retail workers who will staff the majority of the boutiques.”

But the question of who will pay and supervise them once onboard will ultimately dictate the outcome. If Best Buy managers and personnel are responsible for this, are we really to expect something dramatically different than the status quo? And if Samsung is going to, then it seems inevitable that the company will demand a bigger cut of the sales — something that Best Buy swears isn’t the case.

Either way, I can’t help seeing this partnership being anything but a short-term boost to Best Buy and a potential stain on Samsung’s increasingly sterling reputation. This is why I believe that the biggest beneficiary of the deal could ultimately turn out to be Apple.

The article Will Best Buy’s Horrible Customer Service Sink Samsung? originally appeared on Fool.com.

John Maxfield owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Amazon.com, Apple, and Costco Wholesale.

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