I worked in a Best Buy computer department from 2004-2006. The pushy salesmanship is completely a product of management (and I'm sure it's pushed on them just as hard.) I remember being told that every customer had to be greeted within 15 feet of entering a department area, or 30 seconds after entering. We were also strongly rebuked for a simple 'Hey can I help you out with anything today?'. Management would hawk around, and if they saw you interact with a customer, and it end quickly they would quiz you: what was the customer's name, what were they looking for, why was the interaction so short. If you told them the customer specifically said they would like to be left alone, it wasn't acceptable; go back and try again. Management also encouraged us to flat out lie about products (I assume a lot of it was due to their lack of education about technical specifications, though it is certainly plausible due to malice.) As a part timer, if you didn't do exactly as you were told in the above areas, your hours would quickly get diminished (4-6 hours a week of the worst possible shifts). Threats of termination weren't uncommon either. All in all it was an interesting experience for a teenage job, though I vowed never to work retail again.