Best Buy called the cops on Alex because he told another shopper that the Jawbone headset he was considering was poor quality and marked up $30 from the manufacturer’s price. Alex went to Best Buy to purchase a new Bluetooth headset because the Jawbone he recently purchased from Verizon wasn’t cutting it. While browsing the headsets, he struck up a conversation with another customer who was checking out the Jawbone. Alex told his fellow customer that he had been disappointed in the quality of the Jawbone, and that Best Buy was charging $30 more than the manufacturer or Verizon. A sales associate overheard this and told the manager, who asked Alex to leave the store, then threatened to call the police, then did.
Alex called Best Buy’s corporate number, but was on hold so long that the police arrived before he could speak with anyone. After getting the manager’s information, he left the store, then called Best Buy corporate again, where he spoke with a supervisor who told her that no, actually it’s NOT Best Buy’s policy to call the cops whenever a customer shares her experiences with another customer, unless it’s “disruptive.” Alex’s email:
Dear Consumerist,I absolutely love reading your blog and have learned a great deal about the horrors of Best Buy “customer service.” But never in a thousand years did I think I’d be sending in my very own Best Buy horror story.
I had recently purchased the Jawbone headset from my local Verizon store based on good reviews, but I quickly discovered my supreme dissatisfaction with it and was looking to replace it with a different brand. On March 5, 2008, at around 9 PM, I entered the Best Buy store in East Brunswick, NJ to see their selection of bluetooth headsets.
The selection of headsets at this Best Buy was dismal, and the merchandising was less than appealing, but that’s not why I’m writing. While I was browsing the selection, another customer picked up the Jawbone headset and was taking a look at it. I shared my disappointing experience with the headset and also alerted him to the fact that Best Buy was charging an additional $30 on top of both the manufacturer’s price online and Verizon’s price. All of this was said within earshot of a sales associate, and I walked away after sharing my experience.
Within 30 seconds, a manager named Tom approached me and asked me to leave the store. I thought he was joking, since I had done absolutely nothing wrong, and I asked Tom for the reason why I needed to leave. According to Tom, “it was policy.”
I was incredulous. I’ve worked far too many retail jobs to know the extent of “power” a manager has over customers, and my intuition told me he was pissed that I lost him a potential sale. I refused to leave the store, based on the fact that I had done nothing wrong and that this so-called policy was pulled out of his ass. Tom walked away and directed an associate to call the police.
I was shocked that Tom treated me like a thief–the cops were coming! I asked Tom for the Best Buy customer service number and immediately called to speak with someone that would knock some sense into trigger-happy Tom. Of course, I had to wait for what seemed like forever to speak with a representative, but before I could actually talk to a live person, the cops came.
Two cops and about four Best Buy associates in tough guy poses stood at the front of the store, obviously creating a dramatic scene. I was calmly waiting for a customer service rep to pick up the phone. I gave up on the customer service line, got the store’s phone number and Tom’s full name and title and left as per police request.
I have never been so humiliated and infuriated in my life. I felt like my First Amendment rights were violated–all I did was tell a fellow customer my experiences with a product! When I got home I FINALLY spoke to Daniel, a supervisor at Best Buy’s customer service line, and he was shocked and appalled at Tom’s actions. Daniel confirmed that Tom COULD have asked me to leave, had I been disruptive, then stated that Tom had no right to police a conversation between two customers, regardless of what was said. Daniel apologized profusely, took all of my contact information down, and noted that I had requested to receive a follow up email from a district manager that would deal with the investigation and formal complaint.
As far as I’m concerned, Tom can rot in hell. But I know how retail works, and he’ll most likely get some insignificant writeup and a slap on the wrist. What I really want is a massive gift card because of Tom’s flagrant abuse of “policy” and for embarrassing the hell out of me in front of the whole store. What steps can I take to get Best Buy to make a customer happy, formally apologize, and give me a free gift card?
Thanks so much. I love the blog and tell all of my friends about it! Keep up the amazing work!
Best,
Alex
We’re not big on demanding apologies; money is better. Alex should wait to hear back from the manager he spoke with. If he doesn’t hear back or is unsatisfied with Best Buy’s response, he should check out The Ultimate Consumerist Guide To Fighting Back to get help writing a formal complaint letter or launching an EECB.
(Photo: ob1left)
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Actually, in short, State and Federal commerce law states that a business cannot exclude a patron of services unless the business has a specific interest in refusing service. In this particular case, seeing as there is no BB policy on chatting with customers, no laws were broken by Alex and she was not causing any kind of disturbance whatsoever, the Best Buy Manager was “legally wrong” in doing what he did.
Alex is 100% in the right to complain right to corporate about the way she was treated by the manager. What if she had been a minority? Since the manager provided absolutely no reason for asking her to leave, Best Buy could have had a monster civil lawsuit on their hands because of one dumb ass employee.
Lets see how the manager was able to show off his stupidity:
1. Made up an undefined “policy”.
2. Humiliated a customer for absolutely no reason.
3. Made a frivolous 911 call, tying up police resources (which is a crime by the way)
4. Most likely lost two potential sales because he was angry that he MIGHT have lost one. (the other person could have easily put down the overpriced headset and chosen another)
If I were Alex, I would have forced the manager to explain to the police in detail which “policy” she had violated and why he decided it was necessary to waste the police departments time and resources.
If Best Buy is smart, they’ll reprimand this d-bag manager as quickly as possible and make things right with Alex (however they decide to do that).
interesting.
I used to work in Wireless at Best Buy and told ALL my customers this…
good thing management never caught me i guess.
Whatever, she deserves the card. If she had asked for an apology only, you guys might be saying “ask for something more than an apology!” The gift card is the apology, something that a lot of people here don’t understand. The OP is understandably furious, so she’s also understandably asking for some kind of retribution on the same level as her anger.
@Doofio:
You, FTW.
Both sides are at fault here;
Alex is at fault for refusing to leave at the manager’s request. Private property is just that, private property. They have the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason so long as they avoid certain types of discrimination .
Best Buy is also in the wrong for actually calling the police to do their dirty work. Who calls the police just to kick someone out of their store? Of course, this is assuming that Alex did not act recklessly, and was acting professionally.
Alex, you deserve nothing more than a wholehearted apology. I’d even go so far as to suggest that you may have “planned” this in advance, so an apology may actually be a bit too much. Next time, stick with the marbles on the stairs in Vegas.
She is asking for a massive giftcard, I’m assuming, because it hurts BB more if this incident costs them money. Losing money is the only thing that gets some companies to pay attention. However, I agree that the way Alex worded that particular request was a little unpleasant.
BB may, in theory and practice, have the right to ask you to leave for any reason. But isn’t this particular situation kind of a stretch? This guy was being a braindead company tool. Are we all so keen to just bend over and take it when someone tries to enforce rules in a nonsensical way? I mean, go right ahead if you want to allow power-tripping schmucks to treat you like crap and then go brag to their friends later about what a badass he was at work today. But don’t be surprised if others don’t agree.
Scam of the year, by Alex.
1. Accost Best Buy customer
2. Cry and Whine when told to stop
3. Demands money for her hurt feelings…
How would you like it if someone told you that the product you liked was a piece of crap? Not everyone is so eager to hear from some anonymous hag and her opinion of a Jawbone.
@Riddar: Great, you get an A on the law school exam. Of course, the point isn’t whether the manager was within his legal rights, but whether he was following any sort of corporate policy, and/or acting like a complete ass.
I’m usually pretty cynical and tight-fisted on this stuff, but I can see exactly why Alex is so mad – it’s just this sort of purely senseless wielding of “power” that can make you feel frustrated and embarassed.
I think she should get a 5% credit to her account and a $15 Sharper Image gift card. Seems to be all the rage these days.
Sorry, Alex. You lost me at “first amendment” and “gift card”.
Wow, I agree with a lot of people. Here’s the breakdown:
1) She SHOULDN’T of been asked to leave (IF she was just speaking with a fellow consumer)
2) They SHOULDN’T of called security (IF she wasn’t creating a scene)
3) She SHOULD notify Best Buy, but we all freakin know that hardly ever pans out.
4) She shouldn’t be trying to weasel a gift card. Take your business elsewhere.
I’m all for businesses trying to do right by the customers, but if that happened to me, no gift card would change my mind.
You guys, she could always use the gift card online and that way never have to step foot in another Best Buy, but when howie_in_az puts it [i]that[/i] way, hmmmmm.
@Doofio:
Discriminatory? Are you joking? For Alex to prove that Best Buy’s actions were discriminatory, she’d have to;
1)Hire an attorney and file a class-action lawsuit
2)Find other people that share a unique inherent quality (race, religion, etc.) with herself
3)Prove that Best Buy routinely refused to the right to serve them and removed them from the premises
Sorry, but interstate commerce has little to do with the right to refuse service. How do you think Southwest was able to kick the “short skirt” lady off their plane without reprimand? Only public and government utilities are exempt from the right to refuse service. There should be nothing that limits this right from private business.
I think that Best Buy was in the wrong and the employee involved should be severely reprimanded and/or fired and Best Buy should make it clear to its employees that this type of thing will not be tolerated. What stood out most, though, was “What I really want is a massive gift card because of Tom’s flagrant abuse of “policy” and for embarrassing the hell out of me in front of the whole store.” At least she’s honest.
@Starfury: Sadly this is true
Sue for defamation of character
Both the employee and the manager handled this really poorly. Alex should not have been treated like that at all, and this is coming from a Best Buy employee.
But, as for the people of The Consumerist, this is another isolated issue that while unfortunate, is not common. We should not be making a big deal about it. The only reason why this story has been posted because it happened at a Best Buy and the editors of this site are clearly behind their quota for the month of “screw Best Buy” stories.
Alex, it is truly unfortunate that you were treated so poorly, you are well within your rights and reason to never want to go near a Best Buy again in your life. I sincerely hope that you get an apology from the manager (and possibly the employee), as well as the demanded gift card.
@Dobernala: According to federal law, if they do not receive public funding, a business has the right to refuse service for any reason, including skin color. There are still plenty of “exclusive” country clubs in the United States that refuse memberships to women. Of course, NJ state law may make this discrimination illegal.
That said, calling the police because a customer voiced an opinion seems like a waste of public money. If I lived in NJ, I’d be pissed.
Oh no, someone’s mad because she was tresspassing.
“Alex went to Best Buy to purchase a new Bluetooth headset because the Jawbone she recently purchased from Verizon wasn’t cutting it.”
So let’s clarify, you went to Best Buy to fix a problem created with a bad purchase from Verizon? 2 Companies with historically many consumer issues.
There’s your problem!
Bad Consumer!
Well I’m going to openly blame the victim and ask why the fuck would any Consumerist reader even think about shopping at Best Buy?
I’ve never had a horrible experience there, but I still avoid it at all costs because of the disturbing amount of bad stories that surface. Instead of having a bad experience and then complaining about it, I’m just avoiding it entirely.
It looks like the manager called the cops after the customer refused to comply with a request to leave the store. At that point the manager is justified in calling the cops. If you are told to get out, you gotta get out.
That’s not to say that the whole thing was silly, or that the customer shouldn’t complain, but the calling of the cops part was justified if she didn’t take a hike when told to.
@zentec:
No, they can’t. There is a difference between commercial property that’s been made open to the public, and residential or other private property.
An example:
[consumerist.com]
@zentec:
It became a first amendment issue the moment the police got involved.
@lorddave: Oh good, it sounds like you let others think and influence your decisions for you. Are you helping? Hint: no.
Disclaimer: This posting includes statements made by a former employee and current shareholder of Best Buy and may not reflect the opinions of the Best Buy Company, its employees, or shareholders. Information is provided ‘as is’ and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and may be delayed.
@TechnoDestructo: A mall is different. You can protest in the mall; you can’t protest inside Abercrombie and Fitch (no matter how much they’re destroying America).
First off I love my jawbone. It is by far the best Bluetooth headset on the market. I even bought my girlfriend a red one for Valentines day and she loves it also.
It is true that Best Buy does mark up the price. But then again, so does every retailer. For instance, a 2GB MicroSD card at the Verizon Wireless store is close to $40. At Best Buy it is about $10 lower. But on Newegg I can find one for $10.
A customer who is in the store and who is sharing their experiences with another customer about a product is just like if I was to write a bad review online on the companies website about a product and that person read it. Best Buy is definitely in the wrong here. Don’t we live in an age where thought and communication are encouraged?
Daniel apologized profusely, through the snickers, took all of my contact information down, wadded it up in a tiny ball and threw it in the nearest trash can and noted with a chuckle under his breath that I had requested to receive a follow up email from a district manager that would deal with the investigation and formal complaint.
I am very sorry that you were embarrassed, but what do you think a “formal complaint” will accomplish, when these sorts of things go on all the time at Best Buy, if The Consumerist is any indication, and they are almost never resolved in the customer’s favor.
Take a good hard look at the last several Best Buy stories on Consumerist here: [consumerist.com] and see just how much they care about you as a customer.
@marsneedsrabbits: Look at their company growth and their stock prices and you’ll see that they must be doing something right with the customers in order to be like that :/
Two points being missed here:
A) Just because you legally CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD.
b) You can get 95+% of the face value on Ebay for the gift card.
http://www.bestbuysux.org used to have a ton of posts like this. It was pretty common place in certain regions to just kick a disgruntled customer out of the store if the MOD didn’t want to deal with the situation.
I worked for Jawbone and I want to crucify this himbo manager Tom. A few nights ago, Alex had only shared with one person how unbelievably crappy our bluetooth headset is, but now, thanks to this nimrod’s overreaction, the whole internet knows not to buy it. Thanks Tom – hope you get fired!
**Disclaimer**
While the above dramatization is staged, it illustrates how Best Buy’s antagonism is not limited to their customers. They also hate their vendors and will throw them and their reputation under the bus all in the name of further antagonizing one customer.
I remember a story about a guy who brought his laptop to best buy to compare prices. Now admittedly, it was a bit odd because he had strapped it to himself in front of him in an opened position so he could operate it while walking around. Best buy manager sees this, thinks he is a competitor taking down info (prices, model #s, SKUs etc etc) & demanded he left.
Yeah, I understand since it IS private property, the store manager can ask anyone to leave for just about any reason, but some of these Managers need to get a grip & stop overreacting. NOT everyone with a camera-equipped cellphone taking a snapshot of a product is some spy out to steal best buy’s secrets & one single customer who advises another constomer not to buy an item (because of his personal experience with said item) is not out of line.
IF this happened exactly the way alex described, then I think someone should post the store’s phone number so we can all give tom our opinions.
@savvy9999: That typically only happens when you are just a nobody on the street instead of someone in charge of a store/property.
The manager was in the right. Well legally at least. He asked the guy to leave, once he refused he was tresspassing and the police were called. Stores dont take kindly to people comming in and tell customers to shop elseware. But tossing them out when they do it in a private discussin is just dumb. maybe had he been standing there witha sign or yelling or something.
The poster sounds like an ass for asking for a big gift card for being humiliated. Next time dont tresspass and their wont be an issue. Leave like requested, then complain.
@savvy9999: Isn’t there some rule or law against frivolously using public resources to enforce non-existent corporate policies?
You’re mistaken. The police were called because the customer was trespassing. Yes, a private business (that’s open to the public) has the right to ask you to leave. If you refuse, you are now trespassing and that is, in fact, a police matter.
@Dobernala: Including your skin color? I think not.
Actually, yes. A store owner can demand that you leave his store because you are (insert skin color here) and the police are obligated to remove you. Now, he will then have made himself wide open to a well deserved lawsuit, which he will quickly lose. But that doesn’t change the fact that he still has the right.
@tme2nsb: wtf are you talking about? the manager can refuse service to anyone provided it isn’t based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age (certain exceptions apply like at bars).
That being said, the manager is still a douchebag who needs to be fired and then tarred/feathered. There is a difference between being legally correct and ethically correct.
@jimconsumer: actually yes, if the person being kicked out can prove that he was solely on the basis of the color of his skin he can sue and win. A store that’s open to the public must abide by anti-discrimination policies… otherwise there would be almost no point to civil rights.
It’s difficult to prove that this is the case, and usually only possible if they explicitly admit this or if there is a repeated pattern of discrimination.
Sony Store Manager Threatened to call the police on me because i told another customer that if she was going to purchase a PS3 She better not let it get dusty or Sony would not accept it under warranty, As they had done to me. I got his card and sub-subsequently lost it, Next time im in chicago look for the guy in the red jacket handing out Flyers in front of the Sony-style in Old Orchard Mall.
I whole-heartedly agree that what the manager did was reprehensible. I absolutely abhor power hungry pricks like that. There were many other ways to handle the situation, and his method was quite possibly the worst one. That being said, I think the OP went from victim to problem when she didn’t leave when asked. She went from having a legitimate gripe with a jerk-off manager to being a trespasser. They had every right to ask her to leave. I’m not sure what concept those who claim they had to have a reason to kick here out are utilizing, but I don’t believe it to be correct. Unless someone can provide a cite to some authority that says that Best Buy has to have a reason to ask someone to leave, I’m going to say that they are entirely incorrect. Shame on Best Buy (Well, the manager) for being a jerk, but shame on Alex for not leaving, thus making herself nearly as bad.
Hopefully this lady gets her apology AND the goodies…too often people complain that, “Oh, they gave me a giftcard, but what I really wanted was an apology…” and then one article later, someone is bitching that, “All I got was a crummy apology!” Make up your minds, people!
I’m sick of both sides. Best Buy is the retail version of a hot stove; if you don’t know well enough to keep from getting burned it’s your own damn fault.
(Though I secretly hope the customer gets something out of this because BB are outrageous pricks.)
It doesn’t matter if Best Buy was right or wrong in asking the customer to leave. Their roof, their rules. Period.
Once the customer was asked to leave and they refused then that’s trespassing and BB has every right to call the cops.
Cops aren’t going to ask why you were asked to leave…
“Were you asked to leave?”
“Yes.”
“Did you leave?”
“No.”
“Thank you, come with us.”
I work at Best Buy and I’m horrified and embarrassed reading this story. I have had the misfortune of dealing with complete pylons at other stores and this is just… ugh.
@Riddar:
It’s not a matter of opinion for someone to police what you can and cannot say. That’s your first amendment right. Best Buy is full of crap on this one….and all you people who are defending them for their “right” to do this are idiots.
The manager and salesperson should be fired NOT because of any ethical/legal/moral failure but simply because they SUCK at sales.
Anyone who works in retail and cannot deal with a bit of adversity- be it from the primary customer or everyone’s favorite “passerby” who likes to insert him/herself into the transaction- shouldn’t be in the biz.
From the original post there is no indication that the buyer was influenced at all by Alex’s sharing and in any case, since Alex had by now wandered off they were free to move in and attempt to close the sale.
Instead, they go medieval on Alex and create this giant clusterf*ck.
I think BB should pink slip both the salesperson and Tom The Manager and then send copies to Alex in lieu of a giftcard.
@ryanv1978:
Unfortunately, you’re wrong. The First Amendment does not apply to private citizens or businesses. There are scant few exceptions to this, such as the main area of malls, but for the most part, you have no right to freedom of speech in a private business.
This was going along fine until Alex mentions a violation of the First Amendment, and completely detonates any credibility. As others have mentioned, the Constitution was not amended so that you could shoot your mouth off in a private store. In my experience, those who cry that their rights are being violated in such silly scenarios are also those who bear more blame in these situations than they would have you believe. Really surprised she didn’t call “censorship” on this one, too. “Victim” blamed.
Was it the GM or the senior manager onsite, because the question is does he have the authority to kick her out. Was he legally the representative of Best Buy?
What about the matter of filing a false police report? Calling the cops for something like that means they had to lie about it and the person that did that could end up in a lot of hot water.
I’ll blame the customer, every single time.
Guess how you stop Best Buy from pulling their bullshit on you?
STOP. SHOPPING. AT. BEST BUY.
Best Buy will continue to dump shit all over its customers as long as they let them. They won’t stop until they close up their doors because it’s no longer lucrative for them to stay open.
You get exactly what you deserve when you step foot into Best Buy. Don’t blame the shitbag company, just stop shopping there and it will all go away.
By the way, is anybody really (I mean REALLY) surprised by this bullshit? Am I just that jaded? Some people read these “Best Buy cocks up another customer” stories and are absolutely incredulous that a company could be this way.
WAKE UP! Best Buy is a cockhole shitstain of a company that doesn’t deserve to stay open, so yes, it is the CUSTOMER’S FAULT.
I’m not saying what Best Buy does is ok or acceptable- anybody who thinks otherwise needs to bone up on their reading comprehension. But, there is no one else to blame besides the customer. Best Buy is a company, not a person with feelings or a conscience. They are in “The Game(TM)” to make money. If you stop shopping there, they stop making money, they stop shitting on you.
It’s easy.