Best Buy Sued By Ohio 579
liryon writes "The Register is reporting that the state of Ohio has sued national electronics retailer Best Buy for misleading customers by repackaging used goods and then selling them as new, and for failing to pay rebate claims. The Register report can be found here, and the original story is here. I guess this is what you get for deciding the customer is not always right." See also the Ohio AG's press release.
Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Interesting)
I never quite worked up the nerve to approach him and ask him about it, but I did ask a couple of Best Buy servicepeons I happened to encounter while eating in the nearby Subway one day. Apparently the fellow had bought a video camera, damaged it in a fashion not covered under warranty (apparently dropped it over the side of a boat into a lake or something, I can't remember exactly now) and then got upset when Best Buy refused to honor the service plan.
So now he's getting his money's worth back by carrying out this oddball protest. Takes all kinds, I suppose.
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been told, and this is as close as I can get to quoting "Yeah, like in 6 months they won't sell a 20 gig hard drive anymore, so if you brought yours back, we'd replace it for the next compatible model, and you'd get an upgrade to 40gigs or so for free!" This was completely in a *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge* kind of way. Completely dishonest, and completely false.
I have a nephew who works at Best Buy, and these sorts of speeches are encouraged.
Anyhow, I got screwed over a monitor. Back when 14"-15" were the norm, I payed about $500 bucks for a nice NEC 17", from FutureShop (the Canadian answer to Best Buy). Being a poor college student, $500 bucks was a lot of cash, so another $50 for the extended warranty seemed like a wise idea.
A month down the road, the monitor starts going bad. It shuts itself off after a half an hour, sometimes not coming back on. So I lugged the thing back to FutureShop, and put it on the service desk. It was hot and that fucking thing was heavy.
I was told, that since it's still under manufacturers warranty, that they couldn't exchange it for me. I argued for a good hour with every jackass in the store. I showed them my replacement plan, which said nothing about "manufacturers warranty". I said replace it, and YOU deal with the manufacturer.
But no, I ended up having to ship it back to NEC at my own expense, who cross shipped me a refurbed monitor.
The next paragraph is even more offtopic!
The story goes on, the replacement had the same problem, as did the replacement after that. All I can say was that NEC was top notch. They kept good records of what went on, and never gave me a hassle. I remember the girl on the other end of the phone, after putting in my name, going "Oh, this is the 3rd one?". We talked about climate and where it is, and why they were overheating, etc.. The last time I called, the girl brought up my file, and immediately began apologizing. Turns out that particular model had a design flaw that made it overheat at higher resolutions. They hooked me up with it's replacement, which lasted me until early this year, when it started to ghost images.
Anyways. Every time I see the Simpson's episode where Homer is having Moe reinsert the crayon into his brain to make him stupid, and they know Homer is stupid enough when he exclaims "EXTENDED WARRANTEE! HOW CAN I LOSE!", I can't help but be reminded of my Future Shop adventures.
Manufacturers are so much better to deal with, and for most electronics, offer decent warrantees. Hell, Sony repaired a CD walkman for me for free, and it was six months out of warantee.
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Interesting)
I was screwed by Future Shop with my first laptop, a P133. The guy gave me the same story, if they don't make the laptop anymore, they'll replace it with a similar model, so I dropped money for the warranty (it was 1998, I was still new to buying hardware). The laptop kept overheating until one day the hinges fused together, making it impossible to open it without breaking the hinges.
I took it back, and they kept aruging it was "Physical defect not covered under warranty". I tried to explain to both the technician and the manager that heat can fuse materials together, causing the hinge to break (or it could of been lack of lubricant). The manager broken down enough to take it in. He called a week later (in his broken english) to say he had someone look at it and it was overheating, however they would not fix the hinge issue or replace it. He kept saying they would not cover the hinges, like a broken record, almost as if he felt guilty... When I picked up the laptop the hinges were broken but it didn't overheat, and they didn't even fix it, they had a local computer shop take a look. I was disappointed and I now have this laptop in a bag in the corner of my room collecting dust (there's lots that could be done if the screen was able stand up).
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:3, Interesting)
Here's what you can do with it....go ahead and break it apart, and make one of those electronic picture frames with it...even better fit it with a wireless nic card (assuming you have wireless networking at home)...and you can dynamically set new pictures in it. A friend of mine has done this..gave it to his Mom for her B-Day with pics of him a
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Interesting)
Most customers fail to realize that they are 'protesting' to a kid who probably has the same complaints they do, but management ties their hands. If I could have, I would have given every last person exactly what they wanted.
Circuit City has gone under many changes since I left. They used to have older, more knowledgeable people, but since they stopped paying their sales people on commission, high school and college students have filled in the ranks. This greatly reduces the quality of service since the more experienced and educated people can not afford to work there and support their families.
Their service plans are another example. People are actually fired for not meeting their quota on service plans. If you read the fine print and can comprehend it, there are actually certain pieces of hardware that everyone should get a service plan on, but it is useless for almost everything under $200 and stand alone commodity items. It's also good for people who don't have a clue what they are doing, and the manufacturer's support and warranty lifetime is too short (like computers).
All-in-all if you have a problem with something in any store, take it up with a manager. Even they may not have the authority to fix you problem, but you have better odds with them than the kid on the floor. Also, the quality of service is much better at locally owned and operated stores. You probably will pay more, but you are supporting your community instead of a large, heartless corporation that uses off-shore tax havens to avoid paying their taxes.
Those warranties aren't _all_ bad... (Score:4, Interesting)
So, a few years later it developed a problem. Not it's fourth, but one severe enough to warrant my mom getting so pissed that the customer service people treated it like one (It overheated to the point where it melted the varnish on our computer desk). Anyway, it was replaced again, with a P4 2.2 GHz Compaq laptop.
So, we've gone through a total of 3 computers for a grand total of about $2000 ($1000 for the first one + ~$150 extra for the second, + ~$350 extra for the third, plus 3 service agreements -- not quite sure how much they cost). I'd say it's been a pretty good deal.
Ironically, the Compaq has been really, really reliable, especially considering how crappy every other Compaq I've ever seen has been. But we still have a year left, and rest assured it will have four problems by then, if I have to inflict them myself! : )
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Interesting)
The drive lasted for about an hour, after which it made some horrible grinding noises, made my entire computer case shake and jump, and then came to a sudden halt with a loud "bang!". Needless to say it was damaged beyond repair.
I took it back to the store the next day, whereupon they refused to replace it, saying that I had to send it back to the manufacturer. I pointed out their own guarrantee said *they* would replace it (boldly printed out on the wall above the cash register), not to mention the little matter of state law and 'defective sales', but they refused.
Noting that there were about a dozen other customers in the store, I started shouting about the problem loud enough for everyone to hear. The customers started perking up - I would have, too - and the manager started to become frantic. At this point she shouted "hey, buddy, I'm not trying to Jew you!"
Dead silence in the store. All eyes turned to the manager. You could hear the lost sales walking out the door.
After that the manager refunded me my money and told me never, ever to set foot in her store again. Not that I needed the warning; her attitude and their attempt to bend me over and fuck me up the ass was reason enough to avoid that place forever. And because I'm a vindictive son of a bitch who never forgives and never forgets, I not only will never set foot in that particular store again, but I'll never go to any of the other stores in the chain again either. That company lost me as a customer, permanently.
If only more people would make a fuss instead of being so goddamned concerned with potentially embarrassing themselves in public, companies might take customer service a bit more seriously.
Max
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Informative)
Aside from firing numerous sales people over the years, we often had to resort to showing them the service plan that they signed at the time of purchase stating the specifics of the plan.
Let that be a lesson to all of you. If you want to know what the "Extra warranty" actually covers, talk to a technician or even the tech supervisor to get a straight answer. This method won't always work in the all too often crooked world of sales, but you're far more likely to get a straight answer from them.
If ANYONE ever tells you that their service plan covers "Everything" you need to be suspect and dig a little deeper. Maybe even read the service plan for yourself! That three page pamphlet has some astonishingly clear information in it (and not just at Best Buy. Most other chains have similar informational pages)!
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Funny)
when I bought my laptop the sales guy actually told me the plan covered the screen if I dropped it and broke it. I almost laughed in his face. Looking back, I should have.
Sera
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Informative)
FTR, although it cost an unpleasant amount of money ($800 or $900), the repair was lightning fast and they even shipped it to a third location (where I was on a trip) once it was fixed (which was well before their estimate). IBM Rul0rz.
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd like to point this out as a fallacy and a fraud. It is no secret that no one reads the fine print. There is no such thing as fine print. For the greatest part everything is in the same font size. It's called fine print because it's obfuscated. Obfuscation is deception and is also FRAUD. Fine print is an art of fraud. There is no secret in this.
Is it really nothing more than dishonest greed and graft which prompts the courts to uphold fine print?
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:3, Insightful)
The reason why nobody knows what's in it is because they don't read it. If you actually read what you're agreeing to, it's generally not all that complicated. In fact, they usually say very clearly that the warranty does not cover accidents or abuse. I hardly want the courts to tell me that I'm not allowed to enter into an agreement with somebody else in order to protect people who are too stupid to read what they sign. I stand by my statement that he ha
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:4, Informative)
Your sales reps can't lie, then point to the warranty and say "but it is written there, so it doesn't matter what I actually said". Any first-year law student can provide you a clue if you need one. There is no point during a sale in which lying about a product (in this case, a warranty) is okay. EVER. You do not get any free "get out of jail cards" just because you give the customer a warranty pamphlet when you hand him the product.
The idea that a salesperson can say anything and that the "fine print" can indemnify them and their store from harm is a crock of urban myth horseshit. A common urban myth, it seems, but horseshit nevertheless.
Max
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:3, Insightful)
Thinking with a caveat emptor mentality only further reinforces that insurance is an art of fraud. How can I sell you a product which protects you from risk if it's accepted that you assume all of the risk?
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:4, Informative)
I purchased a TV/VCR combo from BestBuy about 8 years back, at the time it was $300 and that was a good bit of money to me, so I got the extended warranty. A bit more than 2 and a half years after that, any time I played a tape, the unit would run for about 5-10 minutes, and then shut itself off, and kick the tape out. So, with it still under warranty, I took it back, and had BestBuy take a look at it. They gave it a cleaning and gave it back to me. Three weeks later, it started acting up again, same problem. So, I took it back and they sent it out for repair this time. I get it back, and two weeks later had the same problem. Another trip to BestBuy, another trip out to the service center and I get it back for another week, and have the exact same problem. By this time I was getting rather upset, so I took it back, and, having read the contract, expected it to be replaced (requires three qualifying repairs). Well, it turns out that they used the word qualifying to mean that they had to send it out for repair three times. Instead of arguing this with the tech (pointless) I had him get a hold of the manager, and argued it with the manager, who did finally concede the point that this was silly, and looking very much like they were trying to slow roll me out of the warranty (which would have been up in a week or two).
In the end, the manager agreed, and replaced the unit. As the unit I had was no longer manufactured, they allowed me to pick the replacement (of similar price range) and I changed brands and have been happy since.
You can often get the managers to bend the rules in a situation like this, but you have to be smart.
1. Don't waste your time with the clerk/tech. They have a set of policies that they have to follow, getting pissed at them for doing their job is stupid. Ask for a manager.
2. Don't yell at the manager. This is the one person in the world who is able to help you, don't start by pissing him/her off. Be calm, and clear about what you want and why you think you deserve it. Usually the managers will have the latitude to change the rules to please a customer.
3. If the first manager isn't being helpful, get their manager, someone up the chain is likely to agree with you, if for no other reason than to get you to go away.
It never ceases to amaze me to see someone yelling at a manager or clerk. Consider how you would act on the other side, if you have some raving idiot yelling at you, because they can't understand the terms they agreed to, would you really feel inclined to help them? Usually, when you get involved in a shouting match, the two sides have a tendancy to polarize. On the other hand, if the person is being nice, and just trying to explain why they feel they are being taken advantage of, do you think you might now be inclined to listen to them and accept what they are saying? Usually, most people are generally nice, and if you are reasonable and personable with them, they will feel at least some obligation to help you.
As the old saying goes, "You catch more bees with honey than vinigar."
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Best Buy Protester (Score:3, Informative)
I stopped shopping locally (Score:4, Informative)
The only rebate I have been denied was for a ViewSonic monitor I bought from BestBuy about 5 years ago. Back then, the rebates stated that if you do not include all necessary documents, you can resubmit. I forgot to include the UPC symbol and that was a $100 mistake. 8 weeks later, I got the letter stating that I did not include all information and that it would not be paid. 8 weeks is longer than the 30-day return policy. I think nowadays, you have the right to resubmit in these cases. Do not really know but I have not ever bought another viewsonic since and I have not ever forgot to re-read the fine print to know exactly what to send. The rebate hand in the middle of the paragraph what to include. I read the bottom that said it needed the receipt and a sticker from the box. It was my fault but I am still mad about that it was a $100 and local retailers only have customer service going for them.
Re:I stopped shopping locally (Score:4, Insightful)
You know, you're supposed to claim all online purchases on your tax returns anyway. Also, I'd hardly call the 7% sales tax a penalty. It puts alot of money into the state. You don't want your state ending up like California; billions in debt.
Re:I stopped shopping locally (Score:5, Insightful)
Yah, but crazy thing, I can't find anything I've bought online or through mailorder, no matter how hard I look.
You don't want your state ending up like California; billions in debt
You're right, I don't. They should rein in their spending if they are spending more than they are taking in.
Re:I stopped shopping locally (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I stopped shopping locally (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I stopped shopping locally (Score:3, Insightful)
She loves it and I don't have to mess with it, yet we don't lose the "income".
First.. (Score:5, Funny)
Doesnt look too good for The Yellow Tag.
Re:First.. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:First.. (Score:5, Interesting)
If thats the definition of "firing customers", then it does happen.
Re:First.. (Score:5, Funny)
Here's a "banker" joke that i heard from my banker recently:
An older guy walks into a bank and walks up to the lady teller.
old man: "I want to make a goddamn deposit!!!"
lady teller: "Excuse me?"
old man: "I want to make a goddamn deposit!!!"
lady teller: "You can't talk to me that way sir, let me get my manager"
bank manager: "Yes, How can I help you sir?"
old man: "I want to make a goddamn deposit for a million dollars!"
bank manager: "Is this bitch bothering you?" (points to teller)
Won't matter. Expect a settlement. (Score:5, Interesting)
While I'd really like watching the state collect a huge sum of money for each violation, it would be tough to prove every single violation. The State knows it, BestBuy knows it.
In the end, I expect a big settlement. Best Buy will admit that they have done nothing wrong, and agree that they won't do something wrong again in the future.
The lawyers involved will recieve a payment of 200 million, the state will recieve a check for 5 million. Oh, and the people actually harmed will get some in-store settlement checks.
They'll end up giving out settlement checks for $4.93 to each customer who is or was a resident of Ohio during the time of their doing-nothing-wrong, and end up with a quarter of them actually redeemed, usually spent on items costing ten times the settlement check, ensuring continued profits for the company.
Just once, I'd like to see the lawyers and state paid with in-store credit settlement checks.
frob
Go get 'em Ohio! (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a problem with Best Buy at all times of the year but especially at Christmas when they block off lanes so you can only enter/exit in one spot. That way they have an easier time trapping you in there to tell you that they do not work on commissions but that they are happy to help you look for everything they offer.
The second to last time I went to Best Buy I was looking for a wlan CF card for my iPaq. I went to Circuit City first and they had one for $40. I wasn't a huge fan of the maker (never heard of them) so I went to the Best Buy (less than 2 mi as the crow flies). I went into the area with the CF cards and looked at their gigantic selection of two CF cards. Both were over $75. Immediately the vultures descended on me. For once I had a question, "where are the rest of your CF wifi cards?" "That's it." "Wow, these are expensive." I was then dismissed with a wave of the hand and an insult about my lack of wifi CF card knowledge. I told them to start shopping at Circuit City, their discount couldn't even help to match their prices.
So last night I go in there to pick up a SD card reader. Their selection was, again, fantastically lacking. Five card readers. Two took SD the rest were for Sony format. $35.00 was the cheap one. Huh? Newegg.com here I come. So as I am leaving I am asked why I am leaving without buying anything, "Not here for Madden 2k5?" "No, I was here for an inexpensive SD card reader, it's obvious you don't carry those."
Now I was lying a bit when I said it was $35. It *was* $35 but I was not-so-politely informed that I could buy it at $35 and wait X weeks for my refund to come in the mail. Sorry about that Best Buy but I could get I online for $14 including shipping and no need to wait for my money to come back. Perhaps Ohio should force Best Buy to pay interest on the money while you wait for a rebate... Don't they make you pay back all the interest accrued if you don't have it all paid off when their 0% APR offer is done? It would be nice for them to taste their own medicine for once. Perhaps they would care about their customers more if they did.
For Best Buy being on nearly every block here in Minnesota (there are 5+ within a 5 mile radius of me) they suck. How the hell did they get so popular? People are really willing to put up w/lack of choice and expensive prices?
I'm sorry, I forgot I was in Microsoft-taught hell.
Re:Go get 'em Ohio! (Score:4, Informative)
Almost makes me want to forgive them for trying to shove DIVX down our throats. Almost.
Re:Go get 'em Ohio! (Score:5, Interesting)
Uh no, they don't. From Circuit City's site
and they never have either.What you can do is use CC rebates in addition to price matching (PM) to get great deals, but there isn't a store anywhere that will match a competitors rebates.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Go get 'em Ohio! (Score:3, Informative)
I've had to return exactly one CD because it was too scratched up to play or rip, and they happil
Re:Go get 'em Ohio! (Score:3, Interesting)
So basically, for me, Best Buy is a last resort for such items.
Re:Go get 'em Ohio! (Score:3, Funny)
Hell, I was putting together a computer the other day and the motherboards at MC were cheaper than Fry's. And there's *never* a line at the return counter. And the employees don't have that creepy vibe like the Fry's ones do. I swear to god, that place is run by pod people or they all have brain slugs or *something*.
Rebates (Score:2)
Re:Rebates (Score:4, Insightful)
1. Instead of offering a $20 rebate and redeeming 50% of those, why not just offere a straight at the counter $10 discount. Pisses off less people
2. I bought a TV-tuner card a couple years ago because it advertised a $50 rebate. Buy it, open it up to read to rebate information inside the box only to find out the rebate expired months before I purchased it. Was I pissed off? Damn straight.
Re:Rebates (Score:4, Funny)
Never
saw
nothin'
Thats so strange, when I was a kid out of the blue I got 5 darkwing duck knapsacks sent to me. I had no idea where they game from, but I was extremely happy to have them!
Implied warranties ... (Score:3, Funny)
A quote... (Score:5, Informative)
Top 5 things Best Buy doesn't want you to know
I should have posted this long ago. As a former employee, here is an insider's look at the top 5 things from the HT department of Best Buy (where I worked) that I guarantee they do not want their customers to know.
5. Barely legal bait and switch schemes. They push the limits of the laws with many of their flyer ads with some cheap product, like a 40 dollar DVD player to get you in the store, in hopes of encouraging you to buy something better, ie more expensive. That's the salesmen's job under any circumstance, so it doesn't change with these cheapo sales events either.
4. Open box items are usually returned items, not something that just happened to get opened in store, which rarely happens. I've seen many store employees try to avoid saying it was returned, in fear of losing the sale. Also most employees don't take the time to properly label the open box tags so you may think you are getting all accessories when you are not.
3. I've discussed this before, but here is more on this subject. As part of employee training, monster cables are drilled into employee's heads as a part of all applicable sales add ons from day one. In fact it is part of the "Total Solution" mechanism in place that all employess are to follow during their sales routine. Employees are told straight up that monster's products are superior, but never given any detailed reason why this is supposedly so. The employees I witnessed would typically memorize much of the fluff that was written on the package, on their own behalf, as a way to more quickly answer customer questions, preserve "expert" status, and eliminate possible reservations that the customer might have about spending more on something that was already provided in the box. In fact, this was often lied about. Employees don't like telling customers that zipcords come with their dvd player when asked. If they employees are forced into telling a customer, they will be quick to point how poor in quality they are in comparison to monster's products. One manager would actually say "The only thing (the customer) better be using zipcords cords for is to hold their trunk shut after they've just bought something". AR cables and recoton cables are seen as a failure of doing a proper sale at Best Buy and used only as a last ditch effort to get the customer to buy a little something extra. If an employee doesn't ask you "do you want cables, an antenna, blank discs, tapes, etc. with that?" when you are buying an applicable product, then they are simply not doing their job as instructed.
2. Employee know how. There was a recent Home Theater magazine article on the knowledge of Circuit City, Ultimate Electronics, and Best Buy employees. The rag was trying to determine how well each store knew their stuff. I knew what the results of this absolutely retarded article were going to be before I even began reading it, but as a former employee I read it anyway for curiousity's sake. The results, of course, depended on the individual knowledge of the employee that the writers happened to speak to.
Best Buys's policy is for each employee to know as much as they can about the products they sell in their primary area of responsibility. Yet, in order to do so they have to research the product almost entirely on their own time. During slow times throughout the day when you would think an employee could do a little studying, typically this is when the merchandising manager obegins running around being his/her most concerned about the store's cleanliness and the straighntess of the product on the shelves etc., so employees rarely get to know their products that well and also because of the constant product turnover. Also keep in mind when selling something such as a DVD player you can
Re:A quote... (Score:4, Insightful)
PSP. This little acronym stands for Perfomance Service Plan, or better known to most as an extended warranty. It is the single biggest thing harped on by managers to their sales staff to be absolutely certain to sell.
Now, I realize that these service plans are absolute CRAP to me and you. But imagine the poor bugger who buys an eMachine? Their hardware dies within a year, almost every time. What are they to do? That plan comes in real handy. Sure, it's cheaper to fix that box on your own. But these people are what we call "idiots." It's cheaper, for them, to not learn about their computer, and pay someone else to deal with it. Sure, these are the same people who never update their Home edition, who don't know much else besides email and a browser, but that's not the issue. For these people, the service rape... er plan, is fine.
Re:A quote... (Score:4, Insightful)
Besides those, most of the rest of your complaints are that salesmen are expected to try to sell stuff. Big deal. I may not particularly like being on the receiving end of it, but I recognize that's what they're there for (and getting paid to do). If I wanted to avoid them, I'd just tell them to leave me alone, or go elsewhere.
Re:A quote... (Score:5, Informative)
"Sorry, it's out of stock" (This is minutes after the store opened on a Sunday)
or:
"Sorry, we didn't get any in yet"
This was followed by our job to try and sell them the step up, that would always cost a bit more and downtalk the one that was in teh ad.
That is your bair and switch scam.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:A quote... (Score:4, Informative)
No, "Open Box" means opened in the store. If the product has been previously sold the correct term is "used".
Re:A quote... (Score:3, Interesting)
How is this "pushing the limits of the laws?" Getting you into the store is the whole point of having a sale, regardless of the store.
By making it next to impossible to actually walk out of the store having purchaced only that item (using various sales tactics).
When it gets close enough to impossible, it becomes an illegal bait and switch. At Best Buy, they like to run up as close to that line as they think they can get away with.
Re:A quote... (Score:3, Informative)
As for sales knowledge, it's not uncommon for salespeople in these kinds of stores not to know shit about the products they
Re:A quote... (Score:5, Informative)
your wish has been answered: http://www.bestbuysux.org/ [bestbuysux.org]
click through the disclaimer, then go to employee comments on the left hand menu. lots of good stories from employees and customers.
Re:A quote... (Score:5, Funny)
Yeeowch!
Re:A quote... (Score:4, Interesting)
Somebody worked in TV's eh? For me it was ink instead of monster cable, but just about everything else was the same.
Managers expected me to attach 5(!!!!) extra ink cartridges to every printer sale. That's plain Bul lshit!
Re:A quote... (Score:3, Interesting)
When I got to the store the camera was 30 dollars more expensive. I asked the salesman if there were any other offers not shown with the current price, and he said no. I went to one of their compu
Don't waste your time. (Score:4, Funny)
Walk in, tell them what you saw in their ad, tell them what it comes with, tell them that's all your going to pay and that's all you want, no shit, and you want to be holding the item FIRST and inspect it FIRST before you hand over any payment.
Q. "But we can't give it to you at that price without..."
A. "FUCK YOU. Good day." (walk out)
Q. "That price only includes A, B, and C, not D, E, and F, I guess the ad was wrong..."
A. "FUCK YOU. Good day." (walk out)
Q. "We don't have it in stock, but we've backordered it for you..."
A. "FUCK YOU. Good day." (walk out)
Q. "You're going to need X, Y, and Z in order to make it work. Now I know you didn't ask for them, but..."
A. "FUCK YOU. Good day." (walk out)
Q. "That price is acutally only after rebate/only applies to gray market model/only applies to members of our sales club..."
A. "FUCK YOU. Good day." (walk out)
It's easy. Salespeople are assholes or pimply-faced teenagers without a clue anyway, they don't come in any other flavor. Use and abuse them and get what you want, ream them hard in the ass if you can, or walk out with your money and don't give it to the chickenshits.
Re:A quote... (Score:3, Informative)
Also the PSP fixed my wife's 100-disc CD changer at least 3 times whenever she moved and it would stop working.
And most recently, my panasonic cordless phone system was totally replaced when it failed a about 2 years after purchasing it. That was
Monster cables are a scam!@# (Score:5, Informative)
Anyways, the ignorance finally showed with the release of the TOSLink fiber optic cables used that carry the digital data (SPDIF format I believe).
Monster and other companies sell high grade TOSLink fiber optic cables that, according to the packaging, provide better sound than the factory throw ins.
It costs more than your SC to SC multimode fiber optic patch cords that you would use for a gige switch. Shit, probably more than a SM MRTJ cable for 10gig...
But the truth is, it works just as good as the cheapo. ZERO difference. It is all ones and zeros. I have a 10$ cable I used between a PC and my MD deck, and also between two MD decks. The secret is, there is a hidden option to enter a service mode where you can video the errors received on both toslink and the optical pickup.
The fact it, it is false advertising. Sure it might have more plastic wrapped around it and look cooler, but it is all just a plastic lightpipe (unlike computer cables which are indeed glass). I saw zero errors on the most budget cable out there.
Don't, (jibbie wack), don't believe the hype.
Re:A quote... (Score:3, Funny)
Went there a couple of weeks ago to buy an iPod. Of course, the iPods were behind some sort of bullet-proof protected glass, so I had to get a salesperson even to look at the friggin' box. Once I found one and told them I wanted to look at the iPods, they started telling me how awesome they were. What a great deal they were. How much Apple kicks ass.
Ok, fine, I say. I'll take it. Let's check out.
Immediately, they change gears and tell me how easy the thing breaks, how bad the b
Finally- (Score:5, Interesting)
Gives the people at http://www.bestbuysux.org/ [bestbuysux.org]
some hope....Maybe other states will look into doing the same....Read some of the stories-it's pretty shocking.....
Last time I went in there, they treated me like a total crook, and had the blue shirts follow me wherever I went....Bastards!
-thewldisntenuff
Bestbuysux.org (Score:3, Interesting)
The customer is not *always* right (Score:5, Insightful)
Having been a Best Buy employee for three very long months in 1999, I can tell you that respect for the customer is *far* from BBUY's focus--it's all about PSPs, PSPs, PSPs--that's Product Support Plan, or BBUY's in-house extended warranty. I was told to lie about service policies, suggest that the product would be broken and unusable in a year without the PSP, and even offer discounts off of an item's price up to the amount of the PSP (and I worked in PC & Home Office, so the PSP was $199)--ANYTHING to get the customer to buy the damn thing.
That place is as close to evil as any company that exists. Not honoring rebates is probably in one of their SOP manuals.
About time (Score:3, Insightful)
It is kind of funny that Best Buy's shit service is the one thing preventing it from having a total monopoly. Does anyone else feel that CC has a huge edge in terms of service? I'd imagine in some cases it is the lesser of evils, but still, Best Buy needs to re-evaluate themselves. Too bad to see we are seemingly in an era where customer service has gone by the wayside...
But the customer isn't always right (Score:5, Funny)
Been there, seen it, got the boxers to prove it... (Score:4, Funny)
Many moons ago, I was working part time in Marks and Spencer's [marksandspencer.com] warehouse, Oxford, while I was attending a local tech. college.
Marks and Spencer for those of you who are not UK-centric, is a department store, supposedly of above average quality which prides itself on the level of customer service they provide. They have/had a very liberal returns policy, and were famous for standing behind their products.
Picture the scene: It is January the 2nd. The customer service desk is swamped with people returning unwanted Christmas gifts for cash. As I am taking a trolley load of packaging down to the waste compactor in the basement, one of the customer service assistants is peering quizzically at the inside of a pair of boxer shorts that have been presented for refund.
Her facial expression, and her words, will stay with me until the day I die:
"I'm very sorry sir, we can't accept these shorts: They are soiled".
T&K.
I just went into Best Buy yesterday ... (Score:5, Interesting)
I wanted a bluetooth keyboard for my notebook and some other accessories. I got all the accessories and then I was looking at the keyboards. The sales girl came and said that if I'm going to get a keyboard, I should get the extended warranty.
She didn't even try to see how interested I was in the keyboards or try to convince me to buy one. When I said "that's okay", she said I should read about it and shoved a brochure in front of me. I said "no thanks", and she angrily shoved it even closer and said "I really should at least read it; it's a great deal". I ignored her and she kept trying. I finally just abandoned my cart full of things I'd already decided to buy right in front of her and walked out of the store.
In summary, I didn't RTFA, but I hope this lawsuit breaks them.
Re:I just went into Best Buy yesterday ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I just went into Best Buy yesterday ... (Score:3, Interesting)
The only thing I've ever bought there was a pair of small chest freezers for about $180 each. The PSP they wanted to sell me was $80 for EACH freezer.
45%? WTF? It was completely insane.
Re:I just went into Best Buy yesterday ... (Score:3, Funny)
Although (Score:5, Informative)
I feel for both sides (Score:4, Informative)
I used to work at Best Buy. On one hand I feel for the state. Best Buy's practices are sometimes a bit draconian. Especially with regards to service plans and rebates. This would cause major trouble for us as employees when Jimbo would come in looking for his $200 computer only to find that in actuallity he would have to spend $800 that day and would need to fill out thre different rebate forms. It would usually be at this point where a manager would start urging us to "sell dem service plans"
By the same token some customers were dumb as bricks and I would be surpriesed if they could get the return address correct, let alone a rebate or understanding a service plan.
We did try to sell returned merchindise as new. We never lied, but hell if we would voulenteer that information. I still feel kinda guilty about it.
GOOD! (Score:3, Interesting)
and for failing to pay rebate claims.
THANK GOD
Best Buy is absolutely CROOKED [simple-sam.com].
Kansas City (Score:3, Interesting)
When I was looking at it, I created one partition, and out of curiousity, did a "format
There were many normally-named(not garbage names like what there would be if the hard drive were new) files and directories on that hard drive that my teacher knew nothing about, making it obviously used.
I will never set foot in Best Buy again. (Score:5, Interesting)
Since my roommate and I found a substitute for the unit in the interim, the unit sat unmoved and unopened in my parents' house for approximately 120 days. (Yeah, I know. I probably should have checked it out, but I mean, i didn't really have the room to open this thing, especially when I didn't immediately require its use.) When I opened the unit that was given to me as a replacement, it turned out to be defective, with considerable cosmetic damage in the form of cracks and warps in the case. On January 6, 2004, I returned to the Best Buy store in Columbia, MD to have it repaired or replaced according to the PSP, the salesperson at the store told me that the PSP did not cover physical damage. I told the store salesperson that the unit was in that condition when I opened it. Then the salesperson said that the situation would be different if the unit did not function. I then told the salespeople that I did not turn the unit on, so I did not know if it functioned at all. Once it was determined that the unit did not function, the store salesperson agreed to send the unit to their authorized repair facility, saying that they would contact me when it was returned. They did not contact me. On February 3, 2004, I finally contacted the store myself--at which time I found that the unit had been in their possession for the past 3 weeks--and they told me it was repaired and I could pick up the unit. When I arrived, the store salesperson told me that the unit was not able to be repaired. When I asked for the unit to be replaced according to the PSP, they told me that I must have caused the damage myself, and that it was therefore not covered under the PSP. This is unacceptable, as the salesperson who sold me the unit and the PSP told me that if anything goes wrong with the TV, I could return it for repair or replacement, and since the full disclosure of the terms of the PSP were not given to me until after I purchased it.
So yeah, I probably should have checked it out to make sure it was ok, but I didn't really feel the need - the box had no signs of damage or trauma, was sealed, etc, etc. But that will surely be a lesson to me not to trust Best Buy ever again, ESPECIALLY not their so-called "service plan."
For more stories - FAR more offensive and appalling than this one, I might add - check out http://www.bestbuysux.org/ [bestbuysux.org].
Re:I will never set foot in Best Buy again. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:I will never set foot in Best Buy again. (Score:4, Insightful)
I got my tv at bestbuy (Score:5, Interesting)
Heck, they wouldnt even help me and my buds load the thing into the van. _WE_ lifted it onto the trolley bed. WE pushed it outside. WE loaded it onto the bed.
A wonder they gave me an evil eye when i shoved to trolley back into the store. There were SIX employees just watching me and my friends at work.
Yargh. Bestbuy sucks.
Heck, they used to have good deals on dvds, now they dont even have that anymore.
Having worked at an Ohio BBuy.... (Score:5, Informative)
Recovering BBuy lackey xxxxxx, stores xxx and xxx.
(Wouldn't they like to know... afterall, I am an eyewitness to their illegal actions)
working at best buy (Score:4, Interesting)
Geek Squad absolutely RAPED a friend of mine. (Score:3, Interesting)
This was a PC that didn't *need* anything, except a fresh install of Windows and a more clueful user.
As I used to live in Minneapolis (the birthplace of the Geek Squad), I recall when they were trustworthy, and cool. The guy who started it occasionally came on MPR and answered call in questions with mostly good advice..
Geek Squa
Never had a problem (Score:4, Interesting)
I have a best buy card, I buy stuff with rebates all the time, I've successfully used the PSPs. This was all shopping in NY, and OH stores. I have never had a problem with a rebate, return, or anything like that.
I can only conclude that either I've been very lucky for the last 6 years, or else there are alot of morons out there who can't fill out rebates properly and don't know how to finesse their way into a successful return/exchange.
Finally, a chance to rant about best buy! (Score:4, Interesting)
1. While laptop shopping I asked one of the computer people how much video memory a particular model had (it wasn't clearly stated on the tag). After looking it up on the computer he replies "Ah, here it is, um, it has eh 64, um M.....B, yeah that's it". Now it's hard to convey here in writing, but it was obvious from the tone of his voice and the way he said it that he had absolutely no idea what MB stood for. Long story short, I subsequently bought a laptop from CompUSA.
2. While waiting at a counter in the computer section, I overhear a 'salesperson' talking with a customer who had asked if he knew the difference between a serial port and a USB port. He did not.
3. Another conversation overheard, a 'salesperson' clearly did not know the difference between a hard drive or any other drive on the computer, nor their relative capacities.
4. A nightmare situation evolved after I foolishly tried to sign up for SBC Yahoo DSL service at a Best Buy. (hint, just go straight to SBC or Yahoo if you want this) The deal called for a free starter kit which included a modem to be provided by the store. Unfotunately they gave me a cable modem and I didn't realize it (I'll take some tiny amount of blame for that one) until I got home. It turns out they didn't even have the DSL modems in stock (and never did) and that SBC will send it out later. This guy claimed to have the service himself at home - which leads me to wonder if he even knows the difference between DSL and cable? Doubtful.
I sued them and won! (Score:5, Interesting)
The price is wrong, bitch.
2 stories (Score:5, Interesting)
So, the "delivery" day came and went. No call. I called them up -- the unit hadn't even left the store where it originated from. I asked my local store if I could drive up to get it. They say, "shouldn't be a problem, but call their store first to make sure".
Sound advice. So I called. The person said "Sure! That's no problem what so ever. We have it back in the warehouse."
So, I called my local BB to let them know I actually was picking it up, they said no problem.
I ended up driving through one of the worst thunderstorms of the year to get to this store.
I get there, and after about 30 minutes of hassel, I find out I can't pick up the unit. Even though had my receipts, showing I had purchased the item. My computer was not even a 2 minute walk away, after a 1 hour drive, in the back warehouse. I fought with them for another 30 minutes... no good.
Apparently, since I "bought" the computer at the other store, they had to recieve the merchandise and scan it into their system before I could have it. This made sense to me
Needless to say I wasn't happy. And the manager knew it.
They ended up giving me a $50 gift card for my troubles, and the word of the manager that he would personally deliver my unit to my local best buy in the morning, after which it was all mine.
Sure enough, he did. I was still pretty pissed, however, I felt the manager did what he could. I could understand why I couldn't pick it up (the inventory was not technically their anymore, but my local stores, who needed to scan it into the system), but not why they didn't tell me that before.
Second story. When I first started shopping around for the aforementioned notebook PC, I went to BB. I was looking at the model I was most interested in, but the screen was totally screwed up. It *looked* to me like someone had jacked around with the font settings, and made it unreadable.
So, out of curiousity, I thought I'd see what the computer personel said. I knew from the minute this guy opened his mouth he had no clue what so ever.
He squinted at the screen, trying to read the fonts. Thought about it a minute and said "nothings wrong"
I said "You're kidding, right? Did you notice the fonts?"
"Yeah. I can read them just fine," he said
"Well, I can't. And I have perfect vision"
He said, "Well, I have 20/15"
I almost said "So, a person has to have better than normal vision to use this computer?" but instead I left it as is. I sort of shadowed the fellow for the next 15 minutes or so, to hear some of the "fascinating insights" he had about computers when talking with other customers. After one, I spoke with the customer after the fact and made sure he was *properly* informed before I finally left the store.
Anyway
Read the contract people...geez (Score:3, Insightful)
And then people wonder when something breaks why they don't get what the employee said and instead best buy follows what the contract says.
People are morons, customers are NOT always right (they aren't even occassionally right).
Woo Hoo! Justice is on it's way! (Score:4, Informative)
Personally I've been missled by their sales associates. I purchased a 40gig Nomad MP3 player. At the time of purchase the sales associate said that I should buy a service plan. His argument was that the batteries are expensive to replace. And with the service plan I just bring in the device and they replace the battery.
Sounded resonable.
Six months later the battery dies.
I bring back the unit and explain that I had the service plan and that I needed a replacement battery. I was told that Best Buy would only replace the entire unit.
Oh and by the way
What! Crazy!
I bought that item on sale. There's no way I can get something comperable and maintain the value of purchasing something on sale.
Okay
Refund the money I spent on this service plan. It is clearly designed so that I can never utilize it.
Best Buy's response: NO
I ended up having to pay $40 for another battery.
Which, by the way, is what I spent on the service plan.
I will never
ever.
--The Dude
I love these articles (Score:4, Interesting)
Slashdotters without retail experience: "I went into Best Buy to purchase a wireless router, and the sales drone dared to try and sell me a replacement plan on it! I laughed and told him that I had forgotten more about computers than he will ever know, and that because of this I knew that if my router breaks at anytime in the next 10 years, I can bring it back in to any Best Buy in the nation and demand a full refund, no questions asked!"
Slashdotters with retail experience: "To quote Ben Affleck, 'The customer is always an asshole!'"
Anyway, my retail horror story: After two years of tech work at CompUSSR, I was literally on my last day. About 3:00 in the afternoon a lady, her husband, and son bring in a computer they had purchased about a month ago. It was fuxored, wouldn't boot, etc; she wanted a brand new machine, and was going to part heaven and earth to get it.
CompUSSR policy at the time was no refunds/exchanges after 14 days. CompUSSR policy was also that if the customer had problems with their machines, they first needed to call our support 800 number to initially trouble shoot the problem. All you people with retail tech support experience, I'll pause to let you have a good laugh at that one........Anyway, needless to say that 9 times out of 10 when a customer brought their computer into us first with problems, we pretty muched dropped what we were doing and at least took a cursory look at it. Since I was just treading water anyway running out the clock, I volunteered.
Well, it turns out this computers problem was a trashed Internet Explorer. The lady, who was hot to begin with, had went off with one of the managers, who was I'm sure repeating the mantra all sales managers do when a customer brings in a computer demanding an exchange: Upsale...Upsale...Upsale. I talked to the husband and son for a few minutes, and determined that they had attempted to install a new version of IE, but had apparently got scared half-way through and bailed on the process. With a shutdown-reboot. Nice.
OK, so we know what the problem is now, and I'm pretty confident I can fix the machine by running the setup of IE from a CD we had at the time. Might take a little hoop jumping here and there, but it can probably be done (You know I'll say this for CompUSA: the job sucked, but damned if I wasn't a fucking good tech by the time I got out of there. Those kind of jobs: you see it all). One problem: CompUSSR policy (you know whats coming now) states that we are only responsible for fixing hardware issues: software issues will cost you a flat fee of $99.95 (or whatever it was back then).
Well about this time the lady comes back over with the sales manager at her heel, and when she hears this she pretty much loses it. How dare I tell her it's going to cost $100 to fix this computer, we didn't do anything to it, it's your responsibility, this is ridiculous I want my money back, you're going to fix it for free, blah blah blah for near on 10 minutes straight.
So there I am, straight in this bitches crosshairs eating flaming death by the metric ton. The sales manager is about as useless as you might imagine in this situation, piping up only to remind the bitch every couple minutes that he can't give her a refund or exchange. I think the fucker actually left mid-argument to leave me to fend for myself. Eventually I get a word in edgwise, practically yell "Let me talk to my manager" and retreat to the safety of the tech department. Eventually Sales Manager finds his way back there, and it's agreed that I'm going to go ahead and fix her computer for free. At this point I don't even care, I just want the day to end.
An hour later I've got the thing working again, and take it out to the front couter to demonstrate as such for all parties. WonderBitch gives me a look the entire time like she can barely surpress her gag reflex at the mear knowledge of my existance. As I'm opening up every dam
SECURITY!! (Score:5, Informative)
Well, while she was taking her final I decided I would go to the local mall and hang out for awhile to burn some time. I ended up at Best Buy (most guys, when left to their own shopping accords with no woman at their hip and money to burn, will end up at an electronics store. Call it Jay's Law). Anyhow, I went inside and was glancing at everything: computer stuff, DVDs, video games, TVs, stereo stuff, etc., basically deciding what I wanted to get that day. I didn't have a cart on me in their defense just because I may have gotten a DVD or a stereo; I wasn't sure yet.
So, about 15 to 20 minutes into the excursion I notice a pretty big guy in tattoos looking at The Sims' latest expansion. A little odd, I decided, that this wanna-be biker guy was checking something like that out. I filed it in the back of my mind and went to look at digital cameras.
Not 5 minutes later I am leaving digicam land to examine TVs and, while deciding between one model and another (had my mind made up at this point as to what I wanted) who do I see but Mr. Tattoo "looking" at plasmas. Now I know I am being tailed. Having time to burn, I decide to have fun with this.
I abandon TVs, deciding any major purchases from this point on will be done at Sears or CC. I walk over to the car stereo section, and change the display test model to the most annoying rap station I could find, then proceed to blast Puff fitty cent or what-have-you at an annoying level. I get the "can I help you?" not too long afterwards and start chatting with the clerk about what subwoofer is the best. Dollar signs in his eyes, I proceed to listen with half an ear as he extols the latest and greatest 12" with case and built-in amp. Meanwhile, I catch tattoo guy moseying on over to check out - I shit you not - Celine Dion CDs that are stationed close to the stereo section!
Breaking the poor salesguys's heart, I interrupt his explanation of how badly I'll need a PSP on the sub and ask him straight up does tattoo guy work for you? He glanced over at the guy and looked back at me and gestured me over to the cable section and said "Yeah, he does. He's security."
I thanked him, walked out the door, and was halfway to my car when I felt a tap on my shoulder. There, in the parking lot, was a manager (the name tag alluded to that fact) and a blue-shirt I hadn't remembered. They asked me to come back inside. Having yet another half hour to burn and wanting to clear my name, I went back in. I was escorted to an office. I was asked why I was wandering from dept. to dept. aimlessly. I was asked where was the DVD I stole. On and on. Finally Minnesota's finest shows up. I plead ignorance, knowing I had done nothing wrong. Finally it comes down to tape (I am running behind at this point, and I don't have my cell on me to call my sister and let her know what's happening. Best Buy, of course, won't let me make the local call. Meh, whatever. I'm having fun.)
So, in true NFL action, it comes down to me and the tape. The tape ends up clearing me; at no point do I do anything with any DVD except look at the back of it. After all that, I am escorted from the store by the cop, who says this happens waaaay too often, and told by the manager that I am not allowed there ever.
Needless to say, I'll never browse or buy at a Best Buy again. Their loss; I went to Circuit City and was met with the best of sales staff and dropped $300 on a new TV.
One thing I do recommend when you get good customer service though is to talk to a manager or send a letter. Yeah, it takes 15 minutes from Doom 3 and a stamp, but the feeling afterwards is well worth it. I even got a hand-written letter from the CC employee and a $5 gift card for my feedback. To this day, that $5, the letter, and the amazing customer service has done more for their business for me than anything else. I continue to shop there to this day and extol their virtues to others.
Re:SECURITY!! (Score:3, Insightful)
A customer on either end of the spectrum will talk about your store with dozens of friends and coworkers. On which end of the spectrum would you like to place that customer? This is exactly why Nordstrom has such a fine reputation among department stores. Years ago my father pointed out one of the reasons he
Re:SECURITY!! (Score:3, Funny)
Other major retailers have tool and/or electronics departments that the stores hope those husbands would browse instead of sitting.
Re:SECURITY!! (Score:3, Interesting)
I wish someone with more legal expertise could post some info on that.
At the risk of being sued... (Score:5, Informative)
I can confirm their rebate practices are less than stellar. For years Best Buy had a "rebate center" in each department that consisted of a rudimentary wire recipe rack, for lack of a better description, with paper coupons from each respective manufacturer. Customers were supposed to use the coupon from the rebate center, send it directly to the manufacturer and wait patiently for 6-8 weeks for their rebate. It was totally hands-off for Best Buy.
Unfortunately, that didn't work very well. Stores were frequently out of the rebate coupons, didn't have the correct ones, the manufacturers would send the wrong ones or too few - whatever the case was, it turned out to be a tremendous headache. Not to mention the "recipe racks" were hard to keep organized and the rebates were freqently misplaced.
Fast-forward to ~1996. In an effort to streamline the process and take some burden off of the sales personnel, the merchandising dept (shelf-stockers) were handed a brand new, nifty, Rebate center that went in the front of the store, organized by department that really ended up just consolidating the recipe racks to a central location. The problem still existed of the missing, disorganized rebate coupons.
Later that year Best Buy decided to make a real effort to fix the rebate problem. That's when the current system was implemented. Corporate management decided to outsource the handling of rebates to Young America, Inc. (www.young-america.com [young-america.com]).
Young America did a decent job of handling the rebate outsourcing for a very brief time. I can't speak intelligently of their corporate structure, governance, or policies. However, all of this rebate outsourcing occured during an explosive growth period in Best Buy's corporate history. They are currently opening about 50-60 stores per year in 2004. Between 1993 and 1997 they more than doubled thei size. They had a corporate paradigm shift during all of this when they realized that they were outgrowing their ability to manage it and continue providing the kind of service that enabled them to grow at that rate.
Unfortunately, it seems, the growth spurt never stopped. Eventually the over-riding vision was to break the $20 billion revenue mark. Add-on accessories and service plans became the pot of gold at the end of their rainbow and rebates became the tool to get the sale. This all happened in the mid to late 90's when computer prices were falling rapidly, DVD players were becoming affordable, and the dotcom boom was impending - manufacturers were pushing rebates like mad thus Best Buy was too.
Outsourcing the rebate processing was a mistake for Best Buy. Not that Young America can't handle the volume or the execution - It's because it enables Best Buy to take the hands-off approach and essentially tell its customers that it can't help them because it's being handled by another company. This presents the largest problem for them - they won't stand behind their rebates. Anyone that has tried to resolve a rebate issue should be able to attest that managers at the store level will not do very much to assist in the matter other than hand out the 800-number to Young America. This is unfortunate because the consumer purchased a product from Best Buy and typically makes no distinction between a manufacturer's rebate and where they purchased the product. Consumers rightfully expect a retailer to stand behind the offer they willfully advertised in a weekly sales flyer, not give a brush off that they aren't responsible because the rebate was offered by the manufacturer and is being handled by a third party.
It's not that they willfully and maliciously try to swindle their customers - They truly believe that it absolves them of the responsibility to provide the customer satisfaction in regards to reba
it's simple... (Score:4, Interesting)
Customers defrauding the business... (Score:3, Interesting)
People "recycling" hardware.
Best Buy is not taking used products and putting it on the shelf, the customer is.
Allow me to explain.
Joe Q. Customer has an sound card he wants to replace. So, he goes to his local Best Buy and gets a brand new sound card - carefully opens the box, using Un-Do to release the adhesive on the tape, pulls out the new card and puts his old one back in its place. He glues the box shut, re-applies the tape to hold the flap shut, takes it and has it shrink-wrapped at the local Kinkos and then puts the labels back on the shrink wrapping. Looks like a new box.
Then, Joe Q. Customer takes the box back and returns it. The customer service rep doesn't open it up because its "factory sealed". It goes back on the shelf.
Best buy isn't the one ripping you off, they're the victim. The perp counts on you buying the old technology, being the victim and its left to YOU to explain it to Best Buy.
A number of years ago I went to return a factory sealed package of Office 97 software at an office supply store, our office didn't need it. I watched as the Customer Service Manager broke the factory seal and checked all the contents of the package. This was back when a heafty printed manual was included with software.
When I asked what she was doing, she stated that she had customers buying software opening it, taking the CD and Manuals out and replacing it with campbells soup cans, then returning it.
Now that you know, if it happens to you, you can inform the Best Buy weenies that both of you have been scammed.
This is why manufacturers of prodcuts put them in see-through plastic so you can see the product you're buying, and you must destroy the packaging to get the item out.
Lesson: Always pay with a credit card because then you can dispute the charge if the merchant is unwilling to work with you.
As an Ohioan, I say FINALLY. (Score:3, Informative)
Here's [icantfocus.com] my Best Buy horror story.
1. Purchased HP N5450 Laptop + Extended Warranty
2. Power jack dies after a year and a half.
3. Take to Best Buy on Dec. 22, 2002 for repair.
4. Wait 2 weeks. They order motherboard and don't use it.
5. Wait another 2 weeks. The order jack and resolder the motherboard.
6. Pick up laptop on Jan 17, 2003. Boots fine in the store.
7. Return home. Laptop stops working after the 15 minutes.
8. Return to Best Buy that night. Laptop boots. Got excuse about power surge.
9. Return home. Laptop still won't boot plugged into UPS.
10. Remove battery. Won't boot in the morning.
11. Return to Best Buy for re-repair.
12. Call manager on Jan 20, 2003. Will "rush repair".
13. Call repair center on Jan 27, 2003. Laptop hasn't even been touched.
14. Motherboard arriving today, Jan 29, 2003.
15. Install mobo today ot tomorrow.
16. Ship back to Best Buy on Thirsday, Jan 30th, 2003.
17. Best Buy called today, Monday, Feb. 3rd, 2003.
18. Arrive at store. Laptop is there. They forgot the fucking power adapter!!!!!!. Now keep in mind, they asked for the power adapter to be sent with the laptop this time. It's in the computer and on the packing list when it was sent. And of course, the repair checklist was check marked and verified on the "verify accessories" option.
19. After numerous "nothing I can do" excuses, they "find" an adapter.
20. Plug it in. Power it up. It appears to work.
21. Return home.
22. Plug laptop in. No fucking sound. I should've checked at the store, but I figured it was at 0% volume where we usually leave it.
23. Shut down laptop. Try turning it on and using the front panel controls as a CD player. Nothing. Not one fucking thing on the front display works.
24. Call Consumer Relations at 1-888-BESTBUY (1-888-237-8289)
25. Talk to tier 1 idiot. Ask for manager.
26. Talk to manager. "Take it back for them to check". Yeah, wait for them to ship it back to their service center for another 2 weeks. Fuck you.
27. Won't give me Regional Supervisor name. Click
After another trip and a lot of bitching, they finally replace the laptop.
I have another friend who is suffering from almost the same treatment. soldering the power jack. Nice.
And still people shop there.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Sure the store layout is "neat" but they don't always have the best price (computer stores selling OEM parts have better prices), warranties at Best Buy suck, the Extended Service Plans are almost never honoured and the sales staff are too overconfident in their knowledge and abilities.
I never set foot in a Best Buy or Future Shop (they're now BB too) knowing this. I buy all my computer stuff at a local dealer(s) and my appliances with Sears who have great Consumers Report ratings.
Only when BB's stock takes a nose dive from the 45 or so its trading at right now will their business model change == when consumers get a clue! It seems the the "baby boomer" generation who are cash rich and relatively computer illiterate are responsible for boosting Best Buy's sales. In time, 10 to 15 years or so, if BB's practices continue, they will take a nosedive.
Best buy didn't give me my Broadband Modem rebate (Score:3, Insightful)
I just let it go because I had read online that Best Buy sucks as far as honoring rebates is concerned. I am glad to see someone is taking action.
SG
Re:Serves 'em right (Score:3, Insightful)
Umm, dude? I hate to tell you this, but they're here [bestbuycanada.ca] already. In fact there's a store in Markham, at Markville Mall [cffloorplans.ca] (scroll down to see them on the floor plan)
Re:Watchout Frys... (Score:3, Informative)
We don't. Fry's seems to be a strictly Left Half of Country operation. I wish they'd hurry up and expand out this way.