Best Buy Calls You An "Asshole" For Not Showing Your Receipt
After driving all over Chicagoland with his 7 month old son looking for a DirecTV receiver, reader Bobby was called an asshole for not stopping and showing his receipt to a Best Buy employee. He's a little ticked off, and he CC'd us on his letter to Best Buy. Let's listen in:
We join Bobby as he drives to his third Best Buy of the day (the first one supposedly had 5 receivers in stock but the employees couldn't find any of them and told him to drive to the second one -- where the same thing happened.)
Even though it's a pretty short drive in terms of miles, it took almost an hour due to highway traffic. Finally I got to the Bucktown store, made my purchase, and started to leave.
The security person at the door asked to see my receipt, and I told him no. (My son desperately needed a nap, and I know that while you have the right to ask for my receipt, I have the right to say no.) I kept walking, and the security person followed me out of the store. He kept asking, in more and more urgent tones, to see my receipt. I answered no a couple of times and he asked again, and then I said "you may not" and he called me an asshole. I don't begrudge you asking customers to see their receipts. As long as you recognize that I'm under no obligation to show it, and you take no for an answer when it's given.
I called the store a little later, and spoke to a manager who apologized, agreed that was unacceptable behavior, and said she'd have a conversation with the security guard.
But I don't think that was enough. Best Buy repeatedly failed to do the minimum you'd expect a professional corporation to do....
I unnecessarily wasted at least two hours of my time today, and was called profane names for my trouble.
Oh receipt checkers, when will you learn...?
We're curious, what do you think is fair compensation for being called an asshole? Or is having profanities hurled at you and your child just the price you pay for not following Best Buy's "rules." Tell us in the comments.
(Photo: Ian Muttoo )
This is a test using rich text formatting and html links. It's the generic "company" ad that should appear on all posts with the Company category if they don't have an ad attached to a specific company.
Post a comment
Comments:
I'd really like to know their whole process with the receipt checking. 90% of the time they just wave me through, especially when there is a non-white leaving at the same time (regardless of the race of the receipt checker). By Best Buy standards, though, this guy is employee of the month for caring enough to not only harass this guy in the parking lot, but to curse at him, too! Best Buy, the company that cares!
I'd just want an apology. A gift card would be nice, but not needed, as it'd likely be $5 and thus I'd end up spending more anyhow.
Also, unless you're in a hell of a hurry or you've got some "private" items (not that BB sells any), I don't see the problem with stopping for 20 seconds to let them check your bag.
I don't think BB owes this guy anything beyond an apology, but it has been the right kind of apology. I think the manager needs to get the receipt checker to apologize in writing to the guy.
It sounds like the buyer kept a level head through the whole thing and the BB employee's behavior was very unprofessional and he needs to be held accountable for his actions, not hide behind the protection of a manager's corporate apology.
A plaque above the door saying that receipt check is optional, and a gift certificate.
I'm sorry, I still don't think showing your receipt is a big deal. It's an extra 5 seconds out of your day, and it will always avoid hassles like this.
No, I don't feel like my rights are violated by showing my receipt, or I feel like I did something wrong.
It's better than getting all huffy over it getting blowing out of proportion.
Granted, he shouldn't have been sworn it, but that's not my point.
@Roclawzi:
It's been two years since I set foot in a Best Buy (I have my reasons) but they used to ask to check my receipt all the time. While I am white, I am also realatively young and therefore must be up to no good.
I'm pretty sure if I got called an asshole I would have immediately turned back around and had a manager take care of the situation right then and there. Next, I would have said, "if seeing my receipt is so important, meet me at the return desk where I'll be happy to show it to you, as you and the manager watch someone refund my money."
I'm pretty sure a $25-$50 gift card to cover lost time, gas & mileage would suffice.
LOL! I LOVE the "Reciept showing refuasl" stories here on consumerist. This one is awesome!
For me, compensation for being called an asshole by a store's employee..... fire that employee!
I'm serious. There is NO excuse for cursing at a customer.
Can someone enlighten me, why is it that you have the right to decline to show them your receipt?
I have read countless posts on this issue but I am still slow on catching up.
That's fine if you want to show your receipt, you are entitled to give up your right to unlawful search and the whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing our country's legal system was founded on. You can't, however, expect ohers to do the same.
@post_break: Because the store does not have a right to detain you unless you have broken a law. Thus, one cannot be forced to show a receipt.
Asshole isn't profane; its vulgar. God damn asshole would be profane.
Thanks for clearing that up, I'll be sure to flex my right the next time I go to a store who tries to stop you at the exit.
Since the OP wasted time going to three stores, and seemingly had checked stock first, this should justify compensation all by itself.
I'm thinking BB locates the product and ships to the customer, 20% discount on the product and free shipping.
After all, it's not very 'green' of BB to make a customer waste expensive gas and pollute the enviroment unnecesarily because they have a faulty inventory system.
@ScubaSteveKzoo: What if there is a long line to EXIT the store because of receipt checking (ergo, much longer than 5 seconds)? Is it still not a big deal?
@post_break: The store picks the wrong part of your trip in the store to confirm you are not stealing.
When you leave the register, you already own the item, so they can't really say 'show me the receipt or you can't leave with that' because you already own it!
They could maybe say, 'show me the receipt or I'll ban you' but that still should allow you to leave unmolested since banning you just means you have to leave the store anyway.
I can't believe that somehow the OP thinks that he is 'owed' something by Best Buy because an employee called him a name. That's a major problem in consumer sentiment today - just because you got offended doesn't mean that you should be paid for it. Recognize that there are some idiotic people out there, and Best Buy isn't exactly paying out the nose for its employees.
$100 Visa gift card so you don't have to use it at Best Try.
@ScubaSteveKzoo: No doubt it's no big deal to show your receipt.
But it should be equally 'no big deal' not to show it. Employees do not have the right to get abusive.
Why oh why do people shop at this store?!
@post_break: Uh, because there is no law requiring you to show the receipt. You've just come out of the line from the checkout counter and paid for the items and you've set no alarms off. Therefore there is no due cause to be treated as if you have broken a law.
Personally, I make a bee line to the returns counter when I'm asked for a receipt. Last time this happened I was at the counter not more than 3 feet from the door checker. He watched an employee bring my $500 stereo receiver up to the counter. He watched me pay for the item. Then he has to actually stop and demand I show my receipt. I say No. He asks again. I bee line it to the returns and leave them with no sale.
I wish a could understand why stores want to see your receipt. They look at it without even looking in the bag. What, am I going to falsify a receipt so I can steal something? Isn't that what those security tags are for? I wish I understood business psychology a little more.
@wgrune: You really still believe that the entirety of the justice system is "innocent until proven guilty?" I'm an optimist, but not an idealist.
Showing your receipt is not the same as an "unlawful search" in my book. They start doing pat-downs and x-rays and I'm out.
I wouldn't run a store like this just for the headaches of pissed off customers. That's worth some shrink.
What an asshole, why not just stop for 20 seconds, throw your constitutional rights to the curb and be treated like a criminal. And you had a baby with you! Way to teach your son! He should learn at this young age that anyone whith a whiff of authorit-aaaa has the right to harass you, the sooner he learns that the better we'll all be.
And I bet you failed to take the other customers who sheepishly waited at the door for 2 minutes for the guard to come back so that they could have there receipts checked. Ass hole sounds just about spot on!
/sarcasm
I got the same treatment at the Woodbridge store in New Jersey.
I politely declined to show my receipt as I was in a hurry, and the security guy was already pillaging another customers private over the shoulder bag. He started screaming at me, yelled that it wasnt his "fucking problem" that I was in a hurry, and "why did I have to be such a bitch?" As I turned in disbelief he ripped the receipt out of my hand, crumpled it up and tossed it on the ground. Then his manager walked over and began yelling at me.
Long story short, I sent my account of the incident to Best Buy corporate and all I got was put on their mailing list. Havent been in a Best Buy in over a year, nor has any of my family.
@ScubaSteveKzoo: If you had been indoctrinated to believe being molested was alright, and you didn't feel violated, would that make it right?
It is clearly the consumer's fault here for not complying with the directive of the high-school drop out/rent-a-cop on a power trip.
@ScubaSteveKzoo: To me showing them a receipt is doing them a favor that is optional. They don't own the item anymore, and as far as I can see the worst they can do is kick me out the door, which is where I'm headed anyway.
@brainwav:
Just so you know that there are more of us out there, I completely agree with you. On the couple times where I really haven't had that 20 seconds, I've given a polite, "I'm sorry, but I'm really in a big hurry", a smile, and then walked away. Never had a problem like that.
I think (and I'm totally assuming here, and this is NOT directly at the OP) that some of these pretentious a-holes who refuse to show receipt really do practically show up the system by proving that they "are entitled to NOT give up your right to unlawful search and the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing our country's legal system was founded on." Which makes you look even more pretentious, and, yes, suspicious.
@surgesilk: I apologize for vulgarity when asked, never profanity. Crude or indecent things, yeah. But profane-my impiety is my business
For the uninitiated --- is the "I don't need to show you my receipt" equal in all US States? I can do this at a Best Buy, or Walmart or Costco in NY?
@ScubaSteveKzoo: I'm waiting for a pat down receipt check story. It's only a matter of time; can't wait to hear about the guy who presses charges for assault and sues.
I haven't been to Best Buy since they comboed the receipt check policy with the godforsaken "I'm not on commission, but let me hover over you like a hawk while you idly browse DVDs" form of "customer service".
If Circuit City would ever get its act together, they'd put Best Buy out of business in a few years. Unfortunately, they're even worse.
@post_break: Can someone enlighten me, why is it that you have the right to decline to show them your receipt?
Because absent a criminal investigation, I'm under no obligation to justify or prove ownership of MY property to anyone, no matter how trivial or inconsequential their request may be.
The rent-a-cop should be terminated.
@cybercjh: Because people are stupid and/or lazy and/or ignorant. (There's a difference between stupid and ignorant: An ignorant person can be taught, a stupid person actively refuses to be taught something.)
I finally stopped going into Best Buy after I approached the register with a $40 item and said "Look, I just want to buy this and leave. I don't want a magazine subscription, I don't want an extended warranty, I don't want a points card, I just want to pay for this and leave. Don't waste your time trying to sell me something else, because if you do, I'm leaving this here and walking out." The clerk tried to sell me the replacement plan anyway. When I asked for a manager (so I could tell them why they lost my business) she told me that the clerks are required to offer it regardless of anything else, in defiance of all logic. I've already refused to buy it, why are you insisting on harassing me about it? The real kicker is when the manager insisted that they lose money on the replacement plan. I asked her to stop lying to me, since if they lost money on them, they wouldn't offer them. Sure, in one SPECIFIC case they'd lose money, but all the others that never get used are gravy and more than make up for a single loss.
I left the item on the counter and walked out. I haven't set foot in one since. I went across the lot and bought the item at Staples, where they allow you to just pay for the item and leave.
@Cwicseolfor: Well costco you have to decide whether you care about violating your agreement and invalidating your membership.
But the other stores, I don't see why anywhere in the US you shouldn't be able to exit a store with items you own without getting a beat down or verbal abuse.
Since everyone's insisting that no swear words get out on TV, etc. maybe jail time's in order if you swear at a kid, since those words do *so* much damage, right?
And let me ask most of you out there.... do you really believe that when a manager says they will reprimand an employee .... that he really does it?
Me, personally... I think managers probably get so many complaints that they figure most (if not all) are unwarranted..... & dismisses them & does NOT reprimand an employee. I personally want confirmation(proof) that something was done.
@girly:
No, the store picks the right time to find out if you are stealing. It's not about whether you paid for the item that you have, it's about finding the few people who haven't paid for the items they have.
If a potential thief walks into the store and sees everyone having his receipt checked on the way out, then he is much less likely to try to walk out with stolen merchandise in a BB bag. Receipts (especially those dated that day) are much harder to fake than bags.
@ScubaSteveKzoo: Nobody said anything about a lawsuit, and I was drawing a parallel. Use your brain and think about it. Don't expect WMU to teach you that either, I assume you're from the Zoo...
When you get to the point where you feel normal giving up your rights, you will loose those rights very quickly, never to be had again.
I have to say that I've stopped worrying about receipt checkers after learning that it has nothing to do with shoplifting, and is rather about cutting down on employee theft (i.e. cashiers giving friends free merchandise), and is mostly a deterrent in that regard.
Being called an asshole by a security guard demanding to see a receipt which by now they should know to back off after the first refusal? I think the guard should be reprimanded, written up, forced to take an anger management course in order to keep his job, or fired. Throw in a few gift cards to the customer as well.
But thats for the modern day sensitive customers in my opinion. If some security guard called me an asshole, it would have made me smile that I got the best of his anger, and I would possibly have goaded him more at that point to see if he would have gotten physical. In that case, helloooooo lawsuit!
@basket548: I say they picked the wrong time because they no longer own the item. At that point they are merely requesting my cooperation, not requiring it to complete the transaction that is already complete.
Any employee that swears in the hearing of customers should get reprimanded - swearing at a customer? Now that's worth a gift certificate.