Watch Best Buy! They have put extended warranty/protection agreements on sales without asking me and when I said take it off actually argued with me. They are sleezy!

The last line is the best,"...she stated that she wanted to make fun of him." Excellent. Nothing like the threat of humiliation from co-workers to prevent it from happening again.

I had something very similar happen to me when I went to buy an HDTV. I was in the store in the morning and had them check the number in stock, which was listed as 7. I came back after work to pick it up, and noticed that the conveniently placed box had a big crushed corner. I asked the salesperson to check for another and he reported that they magically went out of them during the day.

I actually suspect that the problem was "they don't get commissioned and he doesn't care enough to get the forklift guy to get one off the storage shelves."

It's a sad, sad day when the only place to buy electronics at a B&M is Best Buy - especially with stories like this. Circuit City going under means I have no other options in my town.

@whatdoyoucare: Yeah, baby, these streets are MEAN. :)

So, you go into a store and can't find something, the sales clerk can't find it either but a different one can, it then becomes a conspiracy? What a tool...

Ehhh... I'm on the fence with this one too.

@Xerloq:

I guess I can look at that as a benefit of living in small towns, I'm already use to there not being any options on buying electronics. Of course I just buy electronics online anyway so I doubt I would go into a Best Buy if it was across the street from my house.

@Fawkes: Must be a slow news day.

I believe it. I work in a warehouse and stuff gets misplaced. The guy who works back there probably knows where it is, but not the sales people. Although the sales people actually ask the warehouse guys where it would be so this type of thing is avoided.

@Xerloq: It's a new economy. Things are so different from when Best Buy and Circuit City went head-to-head in the 80s and 90s.

Now it's Best Buy vs. Newegg and Amazon, not Best Buy vs. Sears and Macy's. Best Buy can't compete on price because of their overhead, so they compete on convenience. If you can wait the week for shipping, you can almost always find it cheaper online. If you can't- well, you're best buy's target customer.

@Fawkes: I agree. The salesperson who was originally looking for might have actually been unable to find it. He coulda been looking in the wrong place, didn't notice it, etc. But the second person was. IIRC, BB has people assigned to pulling merchandise for in-store pickups, so they probably have a better idea of where things are.

For all the OP knows, somebody had recently returned the product and it had been entered back into the inventory, but had not been put back in the correct place yet. OP comes in, salesman sees there's one left but can't find it since it's not where it's supposed to be. OP goes online, person responsible for pulling the product goes "oh, it's right here in the pile of stuff that needs to go back on the floor".

If there's only one left in stock, then there's a whole array of possibilities that could result in this particular situation.

What about Fry's and ABT? Are either of those worthy B&M alternatives to Best Buy. There's one near my parent's place, but I've never been. I guess now I'm more inclined.

@bonzombiekitty: ETA: Also, the OP specifically says that he was told that the product was in the wrong place and so the original guy wouldn't have known where it was.

Hehehehe - Reminds me of my LAST Best Buy experience: Wanted a to buy an Angel box set for the wife, found it online at local BB - went to local store for ultimate disappointment ! The icing ? BB saleszombie sez "Yeah, like the website has like ZERO representation of what we have in-store or like in inventory" Me:"uh, what's the point of having a website then ?! Not so helpful - right ?" BB saleszombie: (long uncomfortable silence)

Fawkes,calling the guy a tool doesn't make you look any smarter and I doubt you'd ridicule him face to face.

Anyway, I could go either way on this too, since many BB workers share a combination of laziness and incompetence. Hard to tell if it's nature or nurture.

@Fawkes: Just what I came here to say. Maybe the second salesperson had seen it sitting in the wrong place earlier. Maybe the first person just didn't see it.

Incompetence on part of the salesperson, yes, but what do you expect at that payrate? Good solution on the online ordering. Why not take it one step further and ask to speak with a manager? They would have a different take on the matter. Worse yet, fill out the online survey listed at the bottom of your receipt. They'll take those results seriously.

I had a somewhat annoying experience with Best Buy's inventory management last Friday as well... They had a Squeezebox Boom on sale in-store only for $30 off, so I looked up which stores had it online, and ran out to the one near my office during lunch. Well, their system said they should have one, but the salesman couldn't find it, so I was out of luck. He did give me a list of some other stores that did have it though (which also matched the list I got online), which was nice.

When I was back at work, I called the one closest to my house to put it on hold. They looked it up on their computer, said they should have one, and then went to verify it. Well, they couldn't find it either.

Finally, I called one that's kind of out of the way for me, but I figured I could put it on hold and get it on Sat. Well, they actually had it, but wouldn't hold it overnight, so I had to drive out there during rush hour to get it.

Fun times, but at least I finally managed to get it.

@whatdoyoucare: Somebody not being laughed at in the future is a great motivation for many folks. Ridicule can and does work on certain types of persons, and that sales person seems like he fits the profile.

In this case (judging as a former best buyer myself) I would say just plan ol' incompetence on the part of the sales person.

As I've mentioned before this sort of thing is a bit more sinister when you buy a PC and don't want any cables, ink or other accessories with it. They will go to the back and tell you they are so sorry but they must have just run out of it. They'll even offer to check the stock in the store across town.

No commission + harsh grading on accessory sales = it's easier for me to not sell it to you at all.

@SKURRY: Pretty much. I worked at a Best Buy for a while in college, and most of the sales people were more concerned with lying to customers to upsell than knowing if we had any of the actual product they were selling or where the product was in the store.

@Gene Gemperline: Oh wait - just discovered that ABT's only B&M location is in Glenview, IL. Relatively close, but still I guess it's mostly online-only.

I had a bizarre experience with Best Buy's online store as well. I bought an HDTV online and picked it up in store. about a month later, the tv stopped working. I had their repairman come and look at it. He told me to take it back and exchange it for another one. After I lugged it back to the store, the person at the service desk told me I can't do a one for one exchange. I have to return the item and repurchase it because in store inventory and online inventory are separate.

"They laid a few lines on me about how it was in the wrong place and he probably wouldn't know where it was"

Why would the salesman be made fun of for looking where something is supposed to be?

You can always call ahead and have them put their "hands on it" "I'll wait so you can make sure it is on hold for me, my name is _______" Either one of these would have prevented this problem.

"Stock must be off"

Why is that a weak answer, I know enough to not trust what the inventory indicates. (Salespeople, please don't say what the "computer says" when you mean what the "inventory records indicate," you sound like a hillbilly) There are so many ways for inventory to be off in a retail store that it is better not to to trust it.

I'm not surprised at all. Week-before-last I bought an upconverting DVD player in a local Best Buy store while their website said they had none in stock.

@Xerloq: Was CC ever truly an option? =D

It depends on the Best Buy.
One Best Buy I visited basically had the "reserve every single item for online purchase" policy -- every time they have a "hot" item on sale, the only way you could buy it is through online -- go to store, nothing on shelves/floor -- ask clerks, nobody could find it. One second later, another person with an online purchase receipt goes to the exact same clerk and gets it immediately.

Another Best Buy I went to has the "decline every single online purchase" policy -- buy it online, go to store, store says it's in stock, but would prefer not to have it logged as an online purchase -- so, you buy it immediately and they decline the online order.

Weird, but true.

@dangermike: All I know is that when I was shopping around for a TV last year, CC had prices from $50-200 less than BB. I picked up my 32" Samsung there for less than BB or even Amazon had it.

@Fawkes: I agree. A kid making $10 an hour made a mistake, that's all there is to it. Way to whine about nothing. Does this guy know there's a war going on?

@fantomesq: Incompetence for not being able to find something that was admittedly not placed where it should have been? Please.

In Canada we have Best Buy and Futureshop (which is also owned by Best Buy) and in some places they are literally across the street from each other.

The thing that bugs me is that when you check the in-store inventory on the web site, if it says "1" apparently that _might_ mean that it's the demo model. Which they won't sell to you (and which you probably wouldn't want anyway).

I have discussed this with managers more than once, that people who don't know this policy might see there is 1 left and drive out to the store only to be disappointed. If there is only the demo model left, the inventory on the web site for that store should say 0!

I know this is a bit OT but I'm kind of sick of people saying "Oh now that CC is gone, I'll have to shop at BB."
... CC wouldn't have gone under if this many people had been shopping there in the first place.

Also, I feel like this happens rather often. A friend works as a lowly salesperson at BB, and when people came in with their instore pickup salespeople had to honor it. Someone had a guarantee in their hand, versus another person just walking in and saying "give me this" with no "forced" incentive. It's silly, but true.

@Fawkes:

I am not a fan of Best Buy at all and won't shop there... even so, this story just didn't add up.

Where is the outrage over the sales guy (I am surprised no physical description was included or how he was just sitting around talking to his co-workers for a half hour while the guy stared at him) trying to sell him a more expensive item and a warranty?

Best Buys sucks for so many different reasons and this is not one of them. You had an employee who may have been new, didn't know where the item was even though he looked where it was supposed to be and in the back...

What a crock...

@rushevents: Ah, the old 'accessory sales', cousin of the upsell. It irritates me to no end when a sales clerk tries to sell me a bunch of crap I have expressed no interest in, especially if I have to say no more than once. It's mortifying for everyone involved: they know I don't need or want it, but they have to say the words anyway because their boss tells them to. Actually, I think one of the underappreciated pluses of online shopping is one can avoid these kinds of dehumanizing interactions.

The thing is, there are stores where even if I came in with one product in mind, I would consider another suggestion from the sales staff. Funny though, none of these stores are national retailers. These retailers make minimal investment in the expertise of their staff. At the same time, they motivate them with incentives to make transactions that don't benefit the consumer.

the website not being accurate is totally possible. we have a similar system at gamestop but the website lookup says you should call the store to make sure, because website inventory lookup does not update in real time like our in store system does.

Something similar happened to me. I went to my local Best Buy to pick up NHL 09, but they didn't have it. I then went home and saw that a Best Buy 15 miles away had it, so I ordered it on store pickup. I got an email saying that they couldn't find it at the store. At this point, I just wanted to get it at GameStop or somewhere else, but I stupidly ordered it online with Gift Cards, which would take 14 days to get their value back. Of course, their website said nothing will be charged until the item is actually confirmed in the store. I went back to bestbuy.com, and magically the game was now unavailable at the store I had chosen. This happened three times to me and each time I had to call their customer service number to have the store changed. Finally one 15 miles in the other direction had the game. A huge hassle that could have been avoided if their website inventory was correct.

Having worked at Best Buy, I would probably say it is mostly laziness, not incompetence, on the part of the sales person. If an item isn't where it's supposed to be and the salesman isn't getting anything out of the sale, wouldn't he be more inclined to make up an excuse rather than go out of his way to find an item?

OP here and hte problem I had was right from the get go he didn't want to look for it telling me long before he even checked that the website is often off.

@JRB: I've worked in retail a long time, either it's:

A) The kid is lazy/incompetant/product's in the wrong spot

or

B) They don't do real-time inventory tracking

So what's the big deal? This shit happens all the time in *every* B&M retailer out there (except usually Wal-Mart cause they *do* use real-time inventory tracking)

Can we expect a story tomorrow about Foot Locker not having those 11.5 Jordans when their computer says they do?

O_o

this whole post seemed like a veiled Apple advertisement. Either that or I'm just over sensitive

Perhaps you've never worked retail. The inventory system is always off. especially towards the end of the year. Memory cards are also a pretty hot item to steal. Or, some customer could have moved it to the other side of the store. Who the hell knows! Don't go through life scoffing at everyone.

OK, here's the real question...So the buyer was on the website, saw that he could click & pick up at the store, but chose to "run" down and buy it off the shelf instead???

Why didn't the buyer just buy it online and pick it up? Could've avoided the whole thing, and I could have had my 5 minutes back, so my decision is the buyer is to blame for 1) not buying online and 2) for having ANY expectations that a BB employee could actually help successfully complete a transaction.

@Bush2008: Then why was the next employee able to easily locate the item?

I mean, I'll give you everything you said, I worked the inventory at a bookstore for over a year. But if one of us couldn't find something we would radio around to see if anybody had seen it, so when another co-worker DID know where it was, then we could locate it for the customer without hassle.

Same thing happened to my friend with buying CoD:World at War. I got him a BB gift card for Christmas and he was trying to pick it up, but they were always all out when he went. So finally, he bought it online to have it shipped, but the site said it was available for instore pickup at the BB near his house, even though he had been there not an hour before and they were all out.

So wouldn't you know, he makes the purchase gets his email, goes to the store and picks it up. Ridiculous.

@pjstevens77: I often will check stock but not purchase for pickup because I don't know for sure it's what I want. Maybe that's what happened here.

@Fawkes: Agreed. This guy is a douche. I love the gratuitous inclusion of the model of computer he used and the fact that the printer had "Wi-Fi." As if Wi-Fi is some form of magic from another dimension.

This happened to me the weekend before Thanksgiving with a 50" plasma TV. The only difference is the TV was $100 cheaper online...

@SKURRY: Even if it doesn't work quite like that, there's probably a place where the item is "supposed" to be. If someone else decides to move them to make room for some other item, it's going to screw with everyone else if they weren't moved to some other visible location.

That being said, it can also depend of what the store's actual inventory system says. I know that when I worked in retail, unless it was furniture or something, if it said there were only 1-2 available in stock, you had to assume there was at least some possibility that the product in question had been stolen, or sold before your customer arrived. Also, the possibility that an item had been mis-shipped as another item and had not been discovered (or corrected in system), thus throwing off the inventories by bulk units is always remotely possible.