Best Buy Bends After Screwing Blogger

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Jorge spends over $2000 for a new JVC TV from Best Buy, based on an ad which said the price included a stand. TV arrives, no stand. Jorge goes to his Best Buy in Denver, Co, asks for it, and the assistant manager refuses to honor the ad.

Jorge spends over $2000 for a new JVC TV from Best Buy, based on an ad which said the price included a stand. TV arrives, no stand. Jorge goes to his Best Buy in Denver, Co, asks for it, and the assistant manager refuses to honor the ad.

They discuss, more Best Buy employees gather round, and Best Buy’s hostility and unprofessionalism escalates.

The assistant manager insists that the item rang up incorrectly and that’s why Best Buy can’t give him a stand. Jorge says that it’s not his fault that the item rang up the way it did. Jorge asks to speak to a manager.

The assistant manager refuses to let Jorge speak to her manager and says that her direct manager is 1-800-BESTBUY. A Geek Squad employee steps in to say that Jorge was becoming hostile with his associate and Jorge would have to leave.

This goes round and round until Jorge leaves with all his documentation. He goes home and starts a blog…


…and starts firing off letters to every Best Buy exec he can find, to JVC, various government bodies, and submits his site to Digg and several blogs (thereby fulfilling several of the maxims listed in our post, “HOW TO: Fight Companies Online And Win“)

The next day, the real manager of the Best Buy calls to offer the stand for free. Victory. Though Best Buy is making Jorge drive 45 minutes away to a warehouse to pick it up.

Secrets of Jorge’s success:

• Wrote a compelling and detailed description of what happened, focusing on the blow-by-blow facts
• Included full names of employees involved in the situation
• Started blog about
• Which Included compelling evidence: scan of ad and receipt
• Enabled comments
• Submitted blog to Digg and various sites
• Blasted letters of complaint on every conceivable vector he could find

    Company execs
    BBB for the Best Buy HQ
    BBB for Denver, Co
    FTC
    Colorado Attorney General – John Suthers
    Geek Squad – Corporate Headquarters
    JVC – USA Corporate Headquarters
    Local investigative reporter

The only thing he could’ve done better would’ve been to include Google AdSense!

— BEN POPKEN

Best Buy Scam [Jorge’s Blog] (Thanks to Chris!)

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