Yeah I spent a horrible few months a couple years ago working as a merchandiser at Futureshop. It started out as kind of a neccesity, kind of a joke, and then turned into an even bigger one. Those guys are so scared of confronting employees you can pretty much get away with anything. I rolled in there late every day and never had a reason. The best part was that I lived about 3 or less min. away and my boss saw me at the intersection every morning mon-fri. Then he'd see me take a right while he went straight. Then he'd see me walk in 15 min. later with a delicious gorumet coffee in my hand. I have a lot of good stories from working there and I strongly suggest everyone have a job they don't need, don't really want, and don't really care about at least once in your life.
That said, Futureshop is indeed owned by Best Buy and has been for the last few years. A few years ago Futureshop was embarking on an expansion into the states, while Best Buy was about to open it's first stores in Canada. The home electronics industry was about to turn into a big war because although Best Buy is a far bigger competitor, Futureshop is big enough that it can get the same pricing deals, but American consumers hadn't caught onto their shit yet (while they were well aware of Best Buy's reputation).
Best Buy figured it'd be cheaper to just buy them out, and they did. They maintain the two stores because in their minds they are two different brands. They believe Futureshop represents the 'higher grade' store, with commisioned sales people with the 'knowledge' to help you with your questions, while Best Buy hires high school retards. Don't be fooled, the only thing those mother fuckers know is how to bilk people because they have to considering the high-pressure management tactics.
I'm not the kind of person to not shop at places for any reason other then inconvienience and I try very hard not to deal with either. They sell convienience more than anything, but I personally find some of their tactics fucking disgusting.
