If you’re looking for a bargain on a 55″ TV, you might think that choosing an “open-box” item would be less expensive than a brand new one, especially since the used TV lacks a remote control or owner’s manual. But then you might never have looked at the shelves at your local Best Buy. [More]
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New Best Buy CEO To See What It's Like To Actually Work For Best Buy
By 9.4.12
New Best Buy CEO Hubert “Don’t Call Me Q*bert” Joly is settling into his comfy new digs at the company’s HQ this week, but the former hotel & restaurant chain exec says he plans to jump into the Best Buy pool with both feet by finding out what it’s like to work for the retailer he now runs. [More]
Best Buy Finally Agrees To Let Founder Schulze Poke Around All Up In Its Business
By 8.27.12
He begged, he pleaded, he wrote passionate letters asking for Best Buy to let him back in, and now it appears founder and former chairman Richard Schulze is finally getting his way. Or he’s at least going to be allowed to check out the information he needs to make a bid to buy the company. [More]
'Sale' Is Not French For 'Charge $15 More'
By 8.23.12
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Help! Neither Best Buy Nor Asus Will Give Me A Laptop That Works
By 8.16.12
For the month of August, consumer advocate Christopher Elliott will occasionally be sharing some of the questions and problems he receives from readers. In this week’s case, Giovanna bought an Asus laptop at Best Buy that startedly began shutting down at random times. Since then, she’s been caught in a cycle of unsuccessful warranty replacements — but now that warranty is about to end. Will either party step up to just provide her with a working computer? [More]
Best Buy Founder Writes Lovelorn Letter To Board In Buyout Quest: "I Am Not Going Away"
By 8.16.12
Remember how Best Buy’s founder Richard Schulze was all about buying the company back? Well, it kinda seems like Best Buy is playing a bit hard to get, as Schulze had to write a letter to the board basically begging it to accept his proposal or at least to hand over the financial info he needs to put together an offer. And he sort of ends up sounding like a stalker who won’t let you break up with him. [More]
Best Buy Accepts Pre-Orders For Jaws, Sells All Copies To Other People
By 8.15.12
The movie “Jaws” is out on Blu-Ray. Please try to contain your excitement. Reader Mark was pretty excited at the news, actually: he wanted Best Buy’s own exclusive version, and placed a pre-order for in-store pickup. He went to the store, waited around for an hour or so, and then finally learned: oh, yeah, all of the pre-ordered copies had been sold off the shelves accidentally. And an employee told Mark that this wasn’t the only store where that had happened. [More]
What's To Come Of All The Space Left Over By Shrinking Big Box Stores?
By 8.10.12
In recent years, a number of big box retailers and department store chains have begun the process of closing stores and cutting the size of some existing outlets. But since there isn’t exactly a huge rush by other retailers to snap up those spaces, are we going to inundated with empty ghost stores that stand as a reminder of the big box boom? [More]
Report: Apple Store Employees Now Allowed To Price-Match iPhones
By 8.10.12
The worst kept secret in telephony is that there is a new Apple iPhone coming in the fall. Thus, some of the big box retailers that offer the current version of the device are starting to offer discounts to clear inventory. Apple stores are not advertising any such price drops, but a new report claims that employees have been given authorization to offer price matches. [More]
Free Shipping And Free Delivery Are Different Things
By 8.9.12
Kenny took advantage of a free shipping promotion from Best Buy to shop for a ginormous television. He found one that he liked, but the order had a $70 shipping charge. Wait, what? Turns out that getting a ginormous item like a 51″ TV counts as “delivery,” like a home appliance, not “shipping,” like a smaller TV. That makes sense, but it’s a distinction that should be made clear to the casual customer surfing the site. [More]
