I took it back. "Sorry sir, we don't take software that has been opened." I argue with them for about 10 minutes, and finally say to the teenage clerk, the Geek Squad guy, and the store manager, "I'll pay you $100 dollars if you can successfully install that game on a Mac" and remember, all of this was for $5 in store credit.

Finally they did it, but made me feel like they were doing me a favor.

PappyBlueRibs

CyberSkull

LightningCrash

futonhead

All I read on this site is complaint after complaint about Best Buy, moreso than any other company hands-down.

Why do you people still shop there?

ajones4

Con Seannery

After reading articles like this I want to kick someone in the shins really hard.

strider_mt2k

2864 word "story" on how HIS Best Buy screwed him out of sixty five cents

i wonder how many revisions it took to gather this mighty epic into it's current stab me in the fucking eyes please form

all this over yuma too

i only wish i could have been that manager

i would have followed Jason out to the parking with that sign

Black Bellamy

zyodei

tekumseh

But I still can't believe you bought the movie anyway.

consumingall

But that doesn't stop me from going into the Worst Buy stores in the mall and being a prick. Wasting their time with questions amid jabs of 'your prices are high' , 'what a poor selection of DVDs', etc.

Google BB if you want to see other examples of their unsavory tactics. But do the right thing and never buy from them again!

BugMeNot2

BY TOPGUN AT 01/26/08 07:04 AM
Repeat after me:
I will not shop Best Buy
I will not shop Best Buy
I will not shop Best Buy
I will not shop Best Buy

nbenko

Meaning if somehow the Camcorder broke for good and the manufacture warranty had expired, Best Buy would replace it.

So one day the Camera stops working correctly. I'm living in Jacksonville Florida at the time, so naturally I bring it to a Jacksonville Best Buy, where they ship it to the manufacturer for me. A few weeks later I come in and they tell me "We sent it to the manufacturer but they said it was a busted mother board and can't be fixed."

So they gave me store credit and I didn't find a camera I liked that day. I ended up moving back to Georgia and tried to go get a Camera from the local Best Buy. They said I couldn't get a Camera there because I brought it into a Jacksonville Best Buy. But they never gave me my camera back as it was still at the manufacturer's! So after 2 hours of waiting around aimlessly at customer service, they gave in and let me leave with a Camcorder. Worst retail experience I ever received.

aCigarette

No copies of C.R. were on the shelf though, so I asked a kid for a rain check (my experiences' sign didn't say "No rain checks"). The manager came and told me I could only have it if those movies were the ones listed in the circular.

I found a copy of Casino Royale on an end cap, so problem solved...except she told me that excluded it from the offer.

That's 2 attempts to avoid honoring the in-store ad in 2 minutes.

I told her she was wrong on both counts, it didn't matter what the circular said, or where in the store the DVD was, and I had nothing better to do with my time than see that it ended that way - be it in the store that night, or with lawyers later.

I won.

Jim

kocurejd

firesign

And good God, does Best Buy suck.

This story seems like something straight out of "Brazil."

rmgustaf

shadow735

You could have purchased the DVD from Amazon, from Wal-Mart, from Target, from any other competing retailer.

Even if I had to pay more, I'd have done it on principle. Hell - I'd have taken a copy of the ad to Wal-Mart and had a price-match with customer service that probably would work smoothly as they are too bored to fight you.

I've shopped in my local best buy a few times, and recognizing one of the managers each time I come in the store has gotten me a price match + a discounted product on two occasions.

YMMV, but I'd have told Brian "The Manager" to piss off.

Try reporting it to the BBB and consumer affairs or whatever you can in your state. It is likely Best Buy could be fined for failing to honor an in-store price.

Daniel-Bham

eggzackly. After all the bitching and the whining, this idjit still bought the item from them, when the same damn product can be purchased at the same price (give or take a buck or two) at five or six other stores within a stone's throw. Where there's a Best Buy, there's a Target, Circuit City, and all their cousins. Not to mention the online options.

Of course Best Buy won. And then we lose too, because after giving them his money, he comes back here to whine to us some more about how Best Buy screwed him and he bent over and let them. Well, we didn't really lose, because we sure got our money's worth in entertainment value, LOL. This item's got 225 comments so far.

clickable

Balisong

Balisong

ryan.elliott

ampersand

ghostofczolgosz

wethackrey

[www.ihatebestbuy.com]

Imaginary_Friend

The complaints kept flowing in until eventually, Best Buy stockholders started to take notice. There were even some articles about it online (I believe, my memory is hazy on the particulars) and dozens of copycat sites sprung up. Since Best Buy couldn't keep a lid on all of the horror stories people were relating, they threw piles of money at the site owner to sell the domain name to Best Buy. (The amount was rumored to be in the hundred thousand dollar range.) The guy took the money and Best Buy wasted no time in publicly fellating themselves with the site you see today.

/End of history lesson.

Imaginary_Friend

How long have you been reading The Consumerist?

Seriously folks. Don't shop at Best Buy, I don't know how many times it has to be said...

ldavis480

Here's where my story ends differently. Unlike our stubborn friend, I knew a good thing when I saw it. As soon as I heard that offer, I said "thanks" quite cheerfully, and ended the call. I made the purchase and left the store. Got into my car, drove five minutes down the road to the next Best Buy, walked in, and returned the item for a full refund. Then I went home, ordered my widget from Amazon, and waited. The promised gift card arrived about two weeks later, and I spent it in due time on something entirely different. Hey, free money, I don't turn that down.

The extent of my inconvenience was that I had to wait a couple of days for my widget to arrive instead of being able to use it immediately; price was the same.

I realized immediately that I didn't owe Best Buy nuthin'. No one in the store gave a shit about me. I probably didn't even have to go through with the farce of buying and returning the item. I could've just walked out of the store without buying anything and just waited for the gift card. But it wasn't a big deal. Fifteen minutes later I had my refund anyway.

In the end, I got my widget at the price I wanted to pay, and I got a little $117 gift from Best Buy, which I consider decent compensation for irritating the feck out of me for a good 40 minutes. And now, I am the legal owner of Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition (I added a few bucks to make up the price). Thank you Best Buy!

clickable

CHAPTER 17. DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES

§ 17.12. DECEPTIVE ADVERTISING. (a) No person may
disseminate a statement he knows materially misrepresents the cost
or character of tangible personal property, a security, service, or
anything he may offer for the purpose of
(1) selling, contracting to sell, otherwise disposing
of, or contracting to dispose of the tangible personal property,
security, service, or anything he may offer; or
(2) inducing a person to contract with regard to the
tangible personal property, security, service, or anything he may
offer.(d) A person who violates a provision of Subsection (a) or
(b) of this Section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
is punishable by a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $200.

donm2303

wreckstar

Rusted

UpsetPanda

jamesshieh88

brokeincollege

I think we need to impose a 1:1 ratio of dollars to words for stories like this: if you are scammed $25, you may use 25 words to describe it. $1000 lost equals 1000 words to describe.

This post was pointless. Besy Buy sucks, so do their customers.

Xerloq

lol

mistajimmy

comicguy

bookling

I know that Best Buy _should_ honor their own ads, but they don't. Their prices are too high, their service is lousy, there's no reason at all to go there when other retail stores sell for lower prices and provide better service. Best Buy is unwilling to change their policies - so do yourselves a favor and avoid the place altogether. I promise - you can get anything they sell there somewhere else.

Lycus

It's a truism that Best Buy sucks, but the parking lot always seems to be full for some reason.

I agree with the others that were surprised that in spite of wasting all that time and aggravation there, that you still gave them your money. The only thing I would have given Brian was a well accessorized c-word.

john_nyc

Two weeks ago I bought a tobisha laptop for my sister, advertised as coming with 3G of RAM. Turn it on, check the system, only 2. I figured 2 was probably right, but the tag said 3 so i want three or the right computer.

I get screwed, they say it was just a mistake -AND THEY ARE NOT GOING TO COMPROMISE!

Solution, I go and collect every computer that I had purchased within the alloted time to return it, with my reciepts, return to the store two hours later and tell them that I need to return almost 20 thousand dollars worth of computer equipment and the manager basically shits in his pants. Long story short my computer never could have 3G of RAM, so I tell him to upgrade another computer. They did it, no problem.

I still returned the computers. F BEST BUY!

FerrariRacer

joellevand

He was right on that one point only: no he didn't.

I have to ask -- why did you buy the movie anyway? CC usually (deliberately) has a store w/in walking distance of BB. Target is another option. So is Wal-Mart. For the love of God, don't let them bully you!

I have a BB story from 1999 which involved several calls to corporate and three bad attempts at getting what I wanted from the store before corporate finally kicked some ass for me. I was a retail manager myself at the time and in it for blood -- that this particular store was "under new management" a month later made me very happy, though I never shopped there again. I've actually learned my lesson -- nine years ago. I am joined by many fine people on this board who would never shop Best Buy either.

Join us, Jason. You won't be sorry.

joellevand

digitalbrian

I feel your pain!

dratoms

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing you to bring to your notice momentous negative attention being cast upon your organization due to the poor choices of a few of your associates. This letter is meant to champion for the many men whose voices are not being heard by your organization at this time.

As an avid reader of consumerist.com, a consumer advocacy website, I'm bombarded with customer service horror stories from customers of Best Buy and The Geek Squad.

Although I'm aware of the good-faith approach corporate Best Buy takes towards their customers, it seems that local managers often run amok.

This recent example (seen at [consumerist.com]), which clearly shows a false and deceptive ad, would result in a fine of $11,000 per day per advertisement (many per store) in fines from the FTC if reported by the readers of consumerist.com.

It is my humble suggestion to you then that Best Buy considers addressing customer service issues with a new devotion. Of particular use may be a complaint hotline.

Sincerely,

nevesis

You still BOUGHT something from those losers?

If you had any pride at all, not only would you NOT have bought the DVD, you would never, ever shop there again. C'mon how far away is the nearest Target, Wal Mart, Circuit City?

The manager was laughing at you when after he won the battle with corporate, and he was laughing even harder where he browbeat you into actually BUYING the DVD at full price.

If you're going to continue shopping at stores that treat you like that, you're an idiot with zero backbone.

BestBuy is still a scummy company, but in this case, you got what you deserved.

ativadelor

nevesis

amigabill

digdug

WTF?

Twitch

Kiska99692

Anon_Ymous

So, folks, there's no need to criticize him for having shopped there. He'd never had a problem before, so he had no reason to think other people's miseries at other stores would apply to him.

Now, he should be the wiser. If he goes back to Best Buy ever again, then he deserves all the mean-spirited comments. At this point though, the "you're a moron" posts are (a) premature and (b) immature.

nashvilledmk

About your little rant of incorrect wording..

The term "defuse" is actually the correct term to be used in this context. It means to "remove the triggering device from"; like defusing a bomb.. It's a little metaphorical as there is no real "device" in use, but the "device" being referred to is what is causing the situation to "blow up", which, in this case, would be the misleading advertisement. I don't even want to comment to ask how "diffusing" the situation would help anyone? To diffuse means basically to scatter about.. How would scattering the issue resolve it?

blowjustinup

To put into perspective why I fell this way I was an equally weekly shopper at the local Best Buy in Charlotte NC and needless to say they are know better there than they are now in Wilmington NC.
And needless to say I went there yesterday and nothing has changed.

bdsc3130

emjsea

Dear Best Buy,

I'd like you to know that I have not shopped at Best Buy in over a year. Why?

Consumerist.com

Your business practices are criminally insane. I don't care that I'm only one person and it won't affect you that much. I don't have to deal with these situations that other customers have to endure.

I'll keep my business with Amazon, Target, or Newegg. If you have it and they don't, I don't buy it.

pHusion

"Okay, you won't honor the sale? Alright. Brian, what I need you to do is just hang here for a second while I finish this transaction. Just stand over here for a minute."

Buy the movie you like with Saw IV.

Walk out of the door and swing back into the entrance.

"Excuse me, "Brian the Manager". I'd like to return this movie. It's unopened so I can return it for a full refund."

I'm sure it's probably going to ring up somewhere in a ballpark of you getting a decent deal.

As you're walking out you could then just turn around and say, "I told you I was getting that f*cking movie and I wasn't going to pay full price."

pHusion

violetdove

You deserved the smug look from Brian the Manager, because obviously, you are a few ants short of a picnic.

wboswell

I haven't been in a Best Buy since 2001 because of their bullshit attitudes. I understand retail prices are going to be higher than online, but it's the customer service that kills going to their stores. They are arrogant, rude, and never helpful.

I am blogging this story to help spread the word that Best Buy is a bunch of fucktards.

AmericaTheBrave

mannymix03

Dude, it's Best Buy. Are you seriously surprised that they treated you like crap?

Oh man, I have NEVER been talked to by a store manager like that in my life. I worked in retail and I worked in advertising and I know what it's like on both ends of the business. This is just unbelievable at this point for me.

I'm not the least bit surprised - you are exactly the kind of shopper that Best Buy wants to lose as a customer. Not only do they not care about your satisfaction, they actually want you to shop somewhere else.

I set the movies down on the counter and grab my cell phone and dial the 1-888-BEST-BUY on the back of my reward zone membership.

I haven't even read the rest of the story, but I can predict how this is going to go... they don;t really seem to care, they won't do anything about it, the manager's decision is final, and they won't tell you how to contact anyone else in the entire company outside the immediate floor supervisor at the call center.

He tells me the store manager has final say over all transactions in the store.

One

The guy tells me he can't help me to resolve the matter

Two

the guy on the phone finally makes me an offer to send me a $15 gift card in the mail to make up the difference

Dang - I was so close.

I begrudgingly go and buy one copy of the movie for $19.99 and leave the store because I needed the birthday present regardless of the outcome.

Um, WHAT???!!!! You get treated like crap by the store employees, and after an hour and a half of frustration the manager gives you a smug look that infuriates you, and the way you punish him is by buying something? WTF?

TinyBug

Seriously guy, when you take something to the register and they say they're not going to do the deal due to a typographical error of some sort (which the sign was), you haggle for an hour and a half over $15? Personally, I just say "oh, nevermind then" put the stuff down and leave and go buy them somewhere else.

My time is worth a lot more than saving $15 on a couple of DVD's.

Yes, you can come home and complain to people that you didn't get the deal you expected. That's fair. Going on a 1.5hr tirade over a $15 discount that wasn't translated from a flyer very well, is a bit absurd even for this site.

I know the grumpy customer should always be right in a lot of situations, but seriously this one's not something I can muster any sympathy for. You were probably "screwed" because of your attitude. "My" best buy, I mean COME ON. Unless you're in a small town or in a small store, do you really think the employees recognize you or even care? The girl at the burrito place knows that I want the super el pastor with black beans and super hot salsa every time I come in because it's a good habit for restaurants to remember frequent customers. Service wins in restaurants. BestBuy is not a service industry, so what incentive does a retail jockey have to care about who you are? He's not getting a better tip and you're probably going to jump to the lowest prices somewhere else at the drop of a hat, so there's no need to cultivate a relationship. You'll show up and buy something if it's either convenient or cheap and they know it and don't have to do much about it. You started off on the wrong foot with your language and all your flourishing "I took out my REWARD ZONE card" nonsense that seems to make me think that you feel entitled to a bag of awesome every time you choose to purchase something at YOUR BestBuy. Please.

I don't think this is going to lose BestBuy a lot of customers over a grumpy ranter. Maybe they'll lose you, but you did end up still buying the DVD... so I'm guessing you'll still go back to BestBuy.

MasterDave

maanwi

chrispcade

Trust me, I submitted at least 3 encounters as an amployee and read thousands more from customers. The 'sux' was the key word. It was founded way back in 1998, and I figured it was still chugging strong. Didn't even bother to load the link. I think someone else can surely vouch for me that I'm not making this up.

Sorry for the confusion, everyone!

ihavetogonow

violetdove

Hell a ski store I worked at had a kid quote a pair of skis over the phone for like $300 cheaper than they were and we had to honor that all on the guy's word when he came in.

rochec

The people at the head office often have terms like from/or/ etc that the store level does not understand.

robertw477

Of course, then you'd have to redeem it, but ... notsomuch the win you gave them. Maybe you could give it to someone else as an obligation-I-don't-really-like-you-that-much-
but-I'm-stuck-going-to-your-wedding present.

arkaycee

robertw477

Another reason to hate Best Buy.

arkaycee

foehngoes

robertw477

WNW

Nolo

Having worked in retail for a few years when I was in school (2 years at Sears, 3 at Hollywood Video), I can't imagine treating a customer like this, or the complete lack of adherence to truth in advertising law. Virtually every corporation in the country has specific policies to deal with cases where advertising differs from the computers' prices/deals. I don't see why that wouldn't have been regarded in this instance.

digicow

Chingo

However, you say you've worked in retail, I have to assume it was at least 5-10 years ago or for a small, privately owned store because at big box retailers they know that "The customer is always right" is a joke. If they followed that they'd all be out of business.

If I've learned anything in four years of retail it's that most customers are selfish, lying a-holes. I just work for a company now that doesn't let on to the customers that we know that.

Not that I think that this story is an example of that, this was just the peeps at Best Buy being douchebags.

rossismyname

Due to absolutely horrendous, disrespectful, and idiotic warranty service by the "Geek Squad" on my laptop, I will never shop at that stupid store again.

I went through every channel in Best Buy, apart from filing a lawsuit, and was largely told "sorry, I can't do anything about that, it's policy." They had actually broken my computer screen, or at least its cover (that was never made very clear) when sending it out for service. It was never broken in the first place. What REALLY got me there was that I was the first person to discover this, when I opened up the case in the store after they said it'd been serviced. In this case, they should have treated it like a special case, and done such nice things as ship the laptop to my house after fixing the screen, but all they did was treat it as if it were still a normal case, and I was a normal worthless customer.

When it came back with a new screen (or cover, depending), the screen also had dead pixels. They tried to give me some crap that the amount of dead pixels was acceptable.

They also wouldn't do anything like give me an extended warranty, or any other compensation, as they obviously did something like drop my laptop, which broke the screen.

The prevailing problem that I saw was that nobody at their stores takes ownership for anything that goes on. They just rely on what "policy" is. I never once felt like a valuable customer or even a respected human being, especially when the main problem was that THEY had broken my screen. Nobody took real ownership for that, and nobody gave me any sort of real apology, or made me feel like they were going to do something extra to make sure things were worked out.

Absolute crap. Online sites like Amazon and Newegg, always treat me well (Newegg especially), so I have decided to never shop at Best Buy again.

Sidenote:

Have people here been happy with service at Circuit City and other BB alternatives?

Robert Lee Anderson

downey

friedduck

mkernan

HOP

HOP

No, they won't. They don't link receipts or look them up to see if things have already been returned. It would work just as I said it would.

Deusfaux

Also the folks complaining about how long the article is...I didn't know we were paying for the Consumerist's bandwidth :)

doctor_cos

mistajimmy

Cowboys_fan

I had the misfortune of working for Best Buy in a customer service related role years back, on phones. Best Buy's policies suck, and they give employees no power and as little information as possible. The kid that answered probably either didn't have the information or had deliberately outdated information as it was, so couldn't help you in the way demanded.

Before you make demands of someone on a phone line, ask them what they CAN do, and BE NICE no matter how mad you are at the situation. This kid is paid maybe $8 an hour to take verbal abuse 8 + hours a day and is up to his eyeballs in student loans, so he may have a hard time caring about you saving $15. There's no way that kid could have "issued" you a gift card/discount right in the store - given remote locations and uncooperative on-site management, the request was neither reasonable nor rational.

BEING NICE - think of it as the social version of a discount card. It won't get you status points, but it will get you somewhere.

fat_chic

2) The tactic they used is a variation on bait and switch. They bait you with the 2 DVDs for $25 caption and you take the bait, discover it's not what you thought, but you buy the DVD anyway since you're now hooked.

vastrightwing

nemesiscw

jooverz

I agree. You should avoid the store because of deceptive advertising in general rather than the one sale they tried to rip you off on.

arcticJKL

JackieJoy

Don't complain about BB anymore. If you shop there and get screwed, ITS YOUR FAULT cause you walked in the door. YOU KNOW BETTER! I KNOW BETTER!

STOP SHOPPING AT BB DAMN IT!!!!

jwissick

After all this trouble, you STILL GAVE THE STORE YOUR MONEY. COME ON PEOPLE. VOTE WITH YOUR WALLET. IF YOU ARE REWARDING POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE BY GIVING THEM YOUR MONEY, YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

backbroken

rdldr1

gsmumbo

UpsetPanda

That was an interesting article, but could seriously benefit from being broken up into properly indented paragraphs.

WraithSama

rubberkeyhole

ivealwaysgotmail10

coren

coren

I wholeheartedly agree that in this case, Best Buy was clearly wrong and should have given the customer what he asked for.

However, the 'Customer is Always Right' adage is pure BS. Any store with that philosophy is risking demoralizing their associates - and demoralized employees result in poor half-assed customer service.

Customer service is not nor should it be bending over backwards to every half-witted belligerent asswipe who walks in the door. Why should the rude customers get an advantage over the more polite reasonable customers?

The phrase was never intended to be taken literally. It was simply meant to convey to potential customers that a particular store has exceptional customer service.

"The Customer is Not Always Right" philosophy was not what contributed to COMPUSA's downfall. But that's not to say crappy service didn't play a part in their downfall.

Swifty

snoop-blog

coren

akalish

I've always referred to Best Buy as the George Orwell electronics store, because to them, language means whatever they say it does. What a bunch of sleaze balls!

bearymore

Duh dude. What part of "Best Buy is evil" do you not understand? I sympathize you, but your constant amazement at this situation, at not understanding how this could happen on all different levels during the transaction is what amazes me. Anyone who reads the Consumerist even semi-regularly knows that Best Buy is an evil, evil company run by people who do not give a rat's ass about their customers or their loyalty. I'm glad you finally learned your lesson that BestBuy can't be trusted.

jjason82

gmoyle

EmperorOfCanada

MonsieurBon

Boulder Guy

snoop-blog

Why does anyone shop at WorstBuy anymore?

ibanix

MelL

dgcaste

I would expect better customer service towards a loyal customer that has been coming there for years. Not that best buy would ever notice, but I think the fact IS relevant (or it would be at most places)

EmperorOfCanada

str1cken

Instore advertising dosn't have to be honored by law or anyone if it didn't "bring you into the store" in the first place. So that is why the manager has every right to refuse to honor the clearly misprinted advertising.

Now of course, this still begs the question of why they still didn't just honor it anyway, especially after all of this. Clearly the 15 dollars is alot less than the bad press and bad word of mouth a single person can do and should have folded.

Having worked in retail for a number of years now, most times this happens and its not a blatant mistake (like a mis-pricing of 100dollars or something) then I/we (the store) would usually honor it, as long as the customer was at least nice about it.

Scazza

snoop-blog

hey it just made my day to know that you read my comments!

snoop-blog

Tyler Menezes

dgcaste

misslisa

Don't reward these companies with your money when they treat you this way. There are plenty of other stores out there.

jaysonjaz

jaysonjaz

ogremustcrush