Reader Travis would like to purchase an XM radio from Best Buy. Sadly for him, Best Buy refused to sell him the radio without first learning his phone number. Travis does not want to share his phone number with Best Buy, therefore Travis has no radio.

I recently had a situation with a Best Buy in Spokane Valley, WA. I was looking to purchase an XM satellite radio. I looked it all over and decided on which one I wanted. I picked up the box and took it to the front.

You don’t need to purchase a subscription, apparently you just call once you make the purchase and talk to XM and they set up your service. While trying to make the purchase, the cashier asked for my telephone number. I politely refused to give my telephone number.

She immediately developed an attitude (like so many you describe at Best Buy in your stories). She told me that she could not sell me the radio without my home phone number. I asked her where on the sign with the price tag that it said $149 + Phone Number. She said it doesn’t say that, but she could not sell it to me without my phone number. I then asked her if there was a manager who could come talk to me. The manager came over and had a brief conversation with the cashier and then refused to sell me the radio without my home phone number. Both developed the same nasty attitudes that are described so often by people with stories about Best Buy.

I politely left and walked across the street to Circuit City, but they didn’t sell the model I was interested in. Now I am torn…I will never give my phone number, but there is no where left locally to buy what I am looking for.

Does privacy not mean anything anymore? I guess what struck me as odd is that I just sensed the same attitude from the Best Buy cashiers that everyone else describes. I mean, they have a god complex or something. It is just strange. Does Best Buy teach it’s employees to be that way? It must or it wouldn’t be such a wide spread attitude.

Any ideas?

-Travis

Does anyone actually know why Best Buy needs your phone number in order to sell you an XM radio? We’ve never bought one, so maybe we’re missing some key piece of information that will M. Night Shyamalan this whole situation for us. Anyone?

(Photo:dlayphoto)

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