Shopping at Best Buy, Arthur noticed this odd shelf tag for DVD copies of “The Adventures of Tintin.” The double printing on the left indicates that something isn’t quite right with the sign. Yet it made its way onto the shelf in the real world, where people can see it, making everyone who has seen it just a little bit stupider. [More]
Retail Services
New Best Buy CEO Ends Up With $6.25 Million Even If He Isn't Able To Take The Job
By 8.22.12
Earlier this week, Best Buy unveiled a new CEO in the form of hotel/restaurant exec Hubert Joly. And now come the details of just how well Joly will be compensated — even if he is never able to actually do the job he’s been hired to do. [More]
Best Buy Staffers Chime In On Changes To Loss Prevention Policies
By 8.22.12
Yesterday, we posted the claims of a Best Buy employee who says that his store and others have been pulling loss prevention staffers (aka receipt checkers) from the front of the store, which he believes has resulted in an increase of shoplifting at these stores. We asked any other Best Buy employees to chime in on these claims — and y’all responded. [More]
Bank Of America Says It Has Stopped Creating Zombies From Dead Accounts
By 8.22.12
For years, we’ve been telling tales of terror abut bank customers whose supposedly dead bank accounts suddenly sprang back to life after some unwitting third party attempted to make a direct deposit or debit on the account. But realizing that this whole zombie thing is so overdone these days, Bank of America says it has put an end to the practice. [More]
At Geek Squad, Every Day Is Opposite Day
By 8.22.12
Diane took her notebook computer to Best Buy’s Geek Squad, not knowing that at the time that this was a terrible idea. She requested that whatever the geeks did, they were not to remove or back up her hard drive. She signed a waiver stating that she didn’t want her data backed up, and left instructions that they weren’t to do anything with the drive. Perhaps calling this “opposite day” is unfair: the geeks did follow her directions partway. They didn’t back up the drive, but they removed it and replaced it with a new one. [More]
Have Best Buy Staff Changes Led To Increase In Shoplifting?
By 8.21.12
Best Buy has been making more than a few changes in recent months, and one Best Buy employee writes in to tell us that he believes some staffing changes have led to an increase in stolen items going out the front door. [More]
Is It Sweet Or Creepy To Get A Discount For Having The Best Butt In The Restaurant?
By 8.21.12
Having a bad day and just want to drown your sorrows in say, a veggie bowl and fried pickles? Maybe your server will be as smooth as this fella, who added in a few compliments by way of a $0.02 total discount on a customer’s receipt for “Best Butt” and “Best Looking.” Creepy or sweet? Your call. [More]
This Amateurish Sign Pretty Much Sums Up All Of Best Buy's Problems
By 8.21.12
A lot of people here on the Internet love rage comics: simple, four-panel comics made with a pre-designed set of faces that tell stories of rageworthy situations ranging from tragic to mundane. I’ve never found them very funny, but clearly many people do. It’s unlikely, however, that they’re popular enough that the average Best Buy customer is going to recognize a rageface as a beloved icon. Even less likely if they’re hanging out at the Geek Squad counter. And that’s just one of the things that are wrong with this adorable homemade sign that Wes noticed on a recent visit to Best Buy. [More]
Where Booze Is Concerned, Americans Choose Beer Over Wine & Liquor
By 8.20.12
When faced with a chilled chardonnay, a dry martini or a frosty mug of ale, all Americans who drink have a choice that we are fond of making. A new report from venerable pollsters Gallup found that a majority of us drink alcohol in some form — 66% of Americans, to be exact — but there can be only one boozy winner, and it’s beer. [More]
New Best Buy CEO's Bold Vision Is Retail Equivalent Of "I'm Just Here To Help The Team"
By 8.20.12
As we mentioned earlier today, Best Buy has announced that hotel/restaurant exec Hubert Joly will soon be taking over as CEO of the embattled electronics retailer. Since then, Joly has made his first public remarks on the new gig, but if you were hoping for some exciting, bold vision of how he plans to restore Best Buy to greatness, well… you might be in for a letdown. [More]
A Look Back At Customer-On-Greeter Violence At Walmart
By 8.20.12
For most of us who shop at Walmart, the elderly greeters are merely something to smile at and say “hi” to as we enter the store — and to occasionally hand over your receipt for checking-over as you exit. But as any regular readers of Consumerist know, some folks out there seem to have a grudge against greeters and have opted for fisticuffs over anger management. [More]
Bet You Didn't Know Businesses Are Using A New Secret E-Score To Judge Your Buying Power
By 8.20.12
There are plenty of scores we know about — the score of the football game, the points your friend just scored against you in a word game on your phone and won’t stop crowing about — heck, some of us even still brag about our SAT scores. And of course, there are traditional credit scores. But there’s a new digital player in the scoring game, and it could be troublesome for many consumers, as it operates under the cover of almost complete secrecy. [More]
Best Buy Names New CEO, Even As Founder Angles To Buy Company Back
By 8.20.12
The CEO-go-round at Best Buy continues to spin, as the electronics company announced this morning that it had chosen a successor to CEO Brian “These dishes are” Dunn, who left the company under a cloud of scandal — all while company founder Richard “Don’t call me Sergeant” Schulze moves forward with his bid to arrange a buy-back of the business. [More]
Holiday Layaway Starting A Month Earlier This Year At Walmart, With A Few Changes
By 8.20.12
Walmart customers who rely on its layaway program to get all that holiday shopping done will surely be grateful for a little extra time this year to buy gifts and pay them off in time. The store announced that layaway will return a month earlier than it did last year, and tweaked a few of the program’s rules in the process. [More]
I Might Get My Craftsman String Trimmer Back Before It Snows
By 8.20.12
Patrick didn’t say where in the country he lives, but in most of the United States, people don’t need string trimmers year-round. Their grass and weeds grow from maybe late spring to maybe early fall. He bought a new Craftsman string trimmer from Sears back in April, just in time for the plants to start growing. He had a problem with it about a month ago, so he brought it in to the store so Sears could make good on that two-year warranty it came with. That’s when he learned that thanks to the glacial speed of repairs, he’ll be lucky if he sees his string trimmer again before the end of the summer. [More]
Student Group Tells Santa Fe To Ban Plastic Bags To Help "Everybody In The Universe"
By 8.17.12
Santa Fe believes the children are its future, and as such, its leaders say they are listening very seriously to a group of students who are urging the city to ban plastic bags in grocery stores and other places that use them. The kids have solid reasoning — as one fifth-grader said, “Stop using plastic bags and help everybody in the universe including people who are going to be alive in the future.” [More]
Dear Best Buy: This Is Why You Are Failing Online
By 8.17.12
The folks at Best Buy HQ may not be quite sure who should be running the company, but they all seem to agree that Amazon and other online retailers are the reason behind the company’s dwindling market share. Yes, that’s partly true, but there is no reason the nation’s largest electronics retailer shouldn’t also have a successful website. Unfortunately, Best Buy seems to be making even more mistakes — and providing worse service — to its online customers. [More]
Straight Talk Plays Three-Card Monte With Customer's Phone Number
By 8.17.12
You might need to get a pen and paper out to help diagram the byzantine shell game that the folks at Straight Talk (the Tracfone prepaid phone service sold through Walmart) have been playing with Consumerist reader John’s phone number. [More]
