• upselling

    Best Buy Really Does Not Want To Let You Buy The Advertised Special

    Reader John writes in with a story about "upselling" at Best Buy. He saw a TomTom GPS unit for $99.99 on sale at Best Buy, so he headed over to the store to pick one up. What follows is his account of how much trouble it was to actually buy the item. We think we counted 9 times that John had to tell various and sundry Best Buy employees that, yes, he was sure that he didn't want to buy a slightly more expensive model of the same device. More »

    3:17 PM on Mon Nov 24 2008
    By Meg Marco
    32,276 views, 214 comments

    Most discussed blkhrt1: Funny thing about the whole: "No act or practice should be engaged in by an advertiser to discourage the purchase of more »

  • success stories

    EECB Convinces Best Buy To Pay For Damage To Car

    Here's a good example of how to write an effective Executive Email Carpet Bomb, or EECB, to break through the "please hold" purgatory of the company's phone system. Alicia's car's bumper was scratched by a Best Buy employee, and calling consumer relations as directed proved fruitless. Now she's got a check in her hands from Best Buy to pay for the repairs.

    We have quite a few stories now about Best Buy responding favorably to EECBs, which goes to show that if you can find a way to reach the company's executives—and you write a good EECB—your odds of having your problem favorably resolved improves considerably. More »

    6:34 PM on Thu Nov 20 2008
    By Chris Walters
    10,590 views, 48 comments

    Most discussed Mless: ...46" TV in a Fit? wow... more »

  • sad

    Geek Squad Calls To Ask If The Appointment That Never Happened Was Satisfactory

    Reader James is upset. His TV is broken and Geek Squad can't fix it. He bought the TV and Best Buy's performance service plan — which hypothetically should replace his TV in the event that it cannot be repaired. Now, after 2 months, 27 days, a botched repair job and 6 unreturned phone calls, James is annoyed. He's launched an Executive Email Carpet Bomb on Best Buy and CC'd us. The best part comes near the end of the letter, when Best Buy calls James to ask if he was satisfied with a Geek Squad appointment that had never even happened... More »

    3:18 PM on Wed Nov 19 2008
    By Meg Marco
    13,435 views, 49 comments

    Most discussed Incognito: Dear James, I bought my Toshiba laptop from Best Buy a year ago and they managed to sucker me into the more »

  • leaks

    Best Buy To Employees: Survive The Meltdown By Making Customer Service A Priority

    Today Best Buy announced that it was officially freaking out about the current financial meltdown: "In 42 years of retailing, we've never seen such difficult times for the consumer," Brian Dunn, president and chief operating officer of Best Buy, said in a statement. "People are making dramatic changes in how much they spend, and we're not immune from those forces." A Best Buy employee forwarded us an email that went out to all associates this morning — stressing that a renewed commitment to customer service was the way forward during these troubled times. More »

    11:49 AM on Wed Nov 12 2008
    By Meg Marco
    23,494 views, 125 comments

    Most discussed tmed: I am not amongst the consumerist haters of Best Buy, but I have never met a floor worker there who more »

  • phone numbers

    Secret Phone Numbers And Email Addresses To Reach Executives At 101+ Companies

    Inside, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses for over 100 different companies to inject your customer service complaints into their corporate executive offices, and get it well on the way to success. More »

    9:43 AM on Fri Nov 7 2008
    By Ben Popken
    13,270 views, 17 comments

    Most discussed caholla: Awww....I had one of those little telephones when I was a kid. When you'd pull it with the string it more »

  • best buy

    Best Buy Sells "New" Laptop Used By Employee

    Best Buy sold Clif a "new" laptop one of their employees had bought, used, and returned. They made up for it by giving him an actually new laptop with a slightly better configuration, then tried to upsell him to the Best Buy extended warranty. Two things I enjoyed about this story: 1) The clerk he went to return the laptop to was the same employee who had used the laptop (Clif knew this because he saw the guy's resume on the laptop) 2) Clif then subsequently asked to speak to the manager in private and explained the situation there. That's the classy way to do it.

    Worst? Buy [Clif Guy all the time] (Photo: Maulleigh)

    10:21 AM on Wed Nov 5 2008
    By Ben Popken
    17,500 views, 74 comments

    Most discussed Pylon83: I'm not really sure I see a "story" here. Seems that the employee pulled a fast one on the store, more »

  • extended warranties

    Best Buy Threatens To Replace A $2200 Sony Laptop With An Asus EeePC

    Is there a difference between a Sony TZ ultraportable laptop and an Asus Eee PC? Reader Ignacio bought Best Buy's accidental damage protection plan for his $2200 Sony TZ laptop, and when he did, indeed, drop it — Best Buy threatened to replace it with a $600 Asus Eee PC, and finally decided to issue a $1200 gift card — the price of a 15" Dell notebook. Fair? More »

    3:19 PM on Tue Nov 4 2008
    By Meg Marco
    72,958 views, 216 comments

    Most discussed ChrisC1234: He's getting screwed. However, he is still coming out better had he not bought the damage warranty at all more »

  • black friday

    Black Friday Is Getting Silly: Best Buy To Hold Essay Contest

    Retailers are scared this year, what with the whole economy coming crashing down around their ears and all, and the Black Friday marketing frenzy should be crazier than ever this year. Best Buy is even holding an essay contest. The topic? Why Black Friday shopping is an "important family ritual." Yes, seriously. More »

    2:22 PM on Tue Nov 4 2008
    By Meg Marco
    16,366 views, 81 comments

    Most discussed AbbottScrofa: Every year my uncle somehow manages to get his hands on the black friday circulars a couple of days before more »

  • poll

    TVs Will Be Cheap, But Will Anyone Buy Them?

    Everyone seems to agree— this year will be the year of the cheap big-screen tv. The only question remains... will anyone buy them? More »

    1:19 PM on Mon Nov 3 2008
    By Meg Marco
    20,210 views, 107 comments

  • Best Buy Caught Using Sneaky Sneaky Tricks To Sell HDTV Calibration Service

    I've read some bad Best Buy stories in my time here at The Consumerist, but this one really takes the asshole cake. To sell its special HDTV calibration service, this Best Buy in NC set up two identical model HDTVs, both showing ESPN. As seen in the picture tipster Robert took, the "calibrated" one is noticeably better. That's because it's showing ESPN HD and the one on the left is showing just regular ESPN. You can also see how a set of box have been placed in front of the non-calibrated tv on the left so you can't see that's it not ESPN HD. That, my friends, is quintessential deceptive marketing. Robert's story of what he saw, and the rivers of bullshit and non-answer that came out of the Best Buy employees' mouths when he confronted them about it, inside... More »

    9:31 AM on Mon Nov 3 2008
    By Ben Popken
    75,586 views, 198 comments

    Most discussed mariospants: Haha, classic. They didn't honestly believe they would get away with this, did they? more »