I want to relate an experience I had yesterday at Best Buy trying to buy a notebook computer. I recount it in all its gory detail to make a point about customer service or lack thereof. It goes like this:
I ask Dave, a friendly young saleman to look up the best price a specific computer had sold for. You should know that any Best Buy employee can look up the store’s best price on any product simply by punching the code into the store computer. Dave quotes me a previous sale price $200 less than the current store price. I ask Dave if I can buy it at the lowest sale price instead of waiting until they run the sale again. He says no. I then ask if they would match the Amazon online price, which was slightly higher. He asks the floor supervisor, Jim, if the store would match the Amazon price. Jim, a sour faced young man, says no. I ask sour faced Jim if he had any suggestion how I might get the sale price without having to wait for the next sale. Jim’s reply: “Buy the computer & if in the next 14 days it goes on sale, we’ll give you the credit” I said “Well, what if the sale is day 15?” Sour faced Jim says “We won’t give you the credit”. Fine, that’s the company policy, I accept it. Any other ideas Jim? “No.”
Sensing that Jim just had no use for a guy like me looking to make a deal, I went to speak to the store computer department manager, a nice enough fellow named John. I introduce myself and ask John if I could purchase a notebook computer that had been on sale for $200 less than the current price. John says “That price was below cost & I can’t give it to you. But, I’ll split the difference & take $100 off the price.” Good, we’re heading in the right direction. I’m sensing great customer service. So I plod ahead. I respond, “Thanks Jim, that’s a generous offer but could you do any better? I can buy it at Amazon for a little less.” Jim then asks to see the Amazon printout I have. I oblige. Jim takes the printout & goes backstage to speak to a colleague. He & his associate return and John says “It’s your lucky day, we’ll sell it to you for the Amazon price.” I accept. He extends his hand & I shake it. DEAL! Wow, Jim (& his crony) know, or were taught, that it is easier to keep a current customer than get a new one and, therefore, do what you can to keep your current customer happy. I’m thinking “I love Best Buy.”
Now before you get ahead of the story & think I am going to slam sour faced Jim for his brusque manner, let me explain how John turned out to be the idiot of the tale and Best Buy the loser. (Sour faced Jim stayed the same.)
John takes me back to, who else but, sour faced Jim & says “Give this man the computer at the Amazon price of $” Jim proceeds to ask me about purchasing extended warranties, spyware & virus protection. “No thanks Jim, just the computer”. Now we’re getting to the good part.
As sour faced Jim starts the paperwork, he asks to see the Amazon printout, which I again produce. Jim, obvioulsy miffed at my going up the chain of command to get this great price (or because I turned down his extended warranty & spyware), decides to call John. He informs John “Did you know the Amazon price was after rebate?” I’m told to wait. I sense Jim is trying to sabotage the deal but I have faith in John’s customer service sensitivity and, more importantly, being a man of his word.
John then appears & says “I’m sorry, we can’t match that price because of the rebate. You didn’t tell me.” Whoa now horsey, what’s that you say? I remind John that I had come to him to get the lowest Best Buy sale price & had only mentioned the Amazon price to get closer to it as we were negotiating. Upon his request, I had handed over the printout which had both prices, the second price clearly stating “Price After Rebate” in bold print & rebate $100 underlined just above it. He had shown it to another Best Buy person before agreeing to the price. I say to John “You saw the printout which clearly said price after rebate, why did I have to tell you?” John’s reply: “It was my mistake, sorry.” I say, “John, are you now telling me you won’t honor the price?” He answers “I can’t do it”. Still he tries to persuade me to buy anyway with this reasoning: “If you buy it, you will save the extra money because you are a Rewards member.” I tell John “that’s not the point, you are going back on your word over $40. Surely $40 won’t break Best Buy’s back”. My wife, always the realist, says to me, “so he didn’t keep to the price, it’s only $40 and you are still getting a good deal, just buy it.” I refuse on principle (what else). Those you have been in similar circumstances know what I’m feeling. (I even think I saw sour faced Jim unsour his face for a moment when I said I was taking my business elsewhere, which only added to my displeasure.)
Now, I am sure there are many who would side with my wife and have eaten the $40 difference (which I would get back on rewards anyhow). But the point is I relied on John, his word, his handshake. Reneging on a deal, especially of such small magnitude, is the height of poor customer service. It will kill a customer’s trust faster than a swatter to a fly. Customer trust is what branding is all about. Once lost, it is difficult to regain.
The result was a lost purchase for me temporarily because I will buy the computer somewhere else but a lost sale for Best Buy permanently. It’s not like the next customer will buy an extra one to make up for the one I didn’t buy. The store sales number for the month will forever be less my sale. But more than that Best Buy lost a customer & my future sales. A pissed off buyer will not buy from you again just for spite, which is irrational & therefore not remedied with logic or commercials. As my wife can testify, this story will also be repeated by me when the occasion arises. More badwill will be spread.
Now, I am not saying I will never buy at Best Buy again (never say never). In the short run, definitely not. Over time, I will check their prices. But if they do have the lowest price, I will take it to Circuit City or another competitor & let them match it. Only if they have a product no one else has at a price no one can beat will I buy from Best Buy. Not likley. And all over a paltry $40. Such is the power of principle, betrayal, lost trust, $40 & poor customer service.
Now handshake John & sour faced Jim will not feel any effect unless I write to Best Buy corporate it makes it to their files. If Best Buy had a customer feedback policy they would know about employees like sour face & handshake and make it their business to educate them on the cost of poor customer service.
Best Buy might take a lesson from Verizon, who have given authority to all their customer service reps to authorize instant credits to customers up to whatever the small amount. Why? Because Verizon realizes that a few bucks is worth the price of a satisfied customer.
not for nothing.. but, Best Buy isnt filled with the sharpest crayons in the box (mainly because everyone who work in management is younger than 20 and believe that Best Buy is life). Personally, I would never shop their for computer electronics because they dont care about you, nor me, nor anyone except how many accessories they can sell.
IF I am going to buy a laptop, I want it customized and I want it straight from the manufacture… no middle man.
In terms of services from retail stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City, etc… Waste of $$. Chances are if it does break, they will find away to void the warrenty.
Moral of the story…. visit www.bestbuysux.org and join the club
[RULE #1] NEVER BUY A COMPUTER AT BEST BUY
[RULE #2] SEE RULE # 1
[RULE #3] BUY CUSTOM BUILT ONLY
I’LL SEND YOU AN EMAIL FOR MORE INFO.
Sorry, not sure where you’re located, in closeness to “Frye’s Electronics” of Portland, Oregon. But, I would never have any computer………….. lap, and/or, table top built for me, any other place. Buying a personal computer from the likes of “Breast Size”, “Surrogate City”, “Car Gouys”, etc. is EXACTLY the same, as buying a decent, healthy, dog at a pet store………………. once the door hits your ass, you OWN the dog, so don’t come looking for help, if it turns out unhealthy, not the whole, breed specified or bites your hand when you offer to feed it. These so called “CUSTOMER ASSOCIATES” at the above mentioned stores, only are putting in the hours, in order to earn enough to buy wheel-well lighting for thier lowered Honda Civics and hopefully, have enough of their check LEFT to score a 6-pack of Zima……………
As an EX employee of Best Lies, I can assure you that Best Lies associates will ALWAYS feel out a customer to see if they are going to buy extra garbage (ie extended warranties, jerk squad services etc…). If not, products will magically disappear and be “out of stock” or any lowered price that the customer is quoted is recanted. The corporate side of Best Buy likes to deny that this occurs, but these actions are a direct result of management that makes the employees feel like dirt if they don’t keep numbers that get the managers a bonus. The employees recieve 8 dollars per hour whether the numbers are made or not - that means they HAVE NO INCENTIVE TO KEEP ANY CUSTOMERS - at least in the short run….they could be out of a job when the company tanks, but most bby employees work there for only 6 months anyways….
wow, thanks sigh, ARNOTT, Advnewaya & truth for your great comments. And i had been a naive Best Buy customer all these years. You all have shined a light in a dark place.
My deepest thanks.
-jf
Quite frankly Best Buy didn’t loose a thing, other than another idiot who has no real grasp of the retail world. Wake up buddy, the customer is NOT always right. I agree that after promising you the price, you should have gotten it. Frankly however, I never would have agreed to the deal in the first place. In fact, their bottom line that month was better because you walked out. By selling you a laptop BELOW cost they are loosing money, which is reflected in overall operating profit. There isn’t anything I hate more than a customer who insists they deserve to get a price matched from an online retailer with little to no overhead, get what they want and then refuse to spend the money needed to protect their investment or make it work for them fully at the establishment who agreed to give them that price. The bottom line is better off without them.
BBYLVR ….you have the right to your opinion but please try to understand the facts.
If you agree that I should have gotten the price, then Best Buy did not keep their word. That’s the point. For a store manager to go back on his word to a customer is much worse than me being an idiot, don’t you think?
Has this ever happened to you? How did you feel?
I didn’t insist on anything. I just asked a simple question—could I get it at the last sale price? They said no. OK, I missed the sale, my fault. Then I asked (not insist) if they would match Amazon ($100 more than the sale price). Was I an idiot for asking? Was that wrong? I dont know the price matching policy so I asked, what’s wrong with that? –just say no and I’m gone. How could I force him to say yes?
2 managers looked at the Amazon printout & they talked about it (in the back)& THEY decided to offer me the price. I acccepted. Was I an idiot for accepting? Was that wrong? I think I would have been a bigger idiot if I said “No, that price is too low, I’ll pay more. I don’t want you guys intentionally losing money” .
Remember the price they agreed to was still HIGHER than the sale price. Maybe I was an idiot for missing the sale price because then I would have gotten it for even less & they couldn’t have backed out. But why would BB sell below cost? That would be more idiotic dont you think?
If you would never have agreed to the price, then handshake John was an idiot for agreeing to it, whether or not I am also an idiot for accepting.
BTW, how do you know the price John gave me was BELOW cost? If it was below cost, isn’t handshake John a bigger idiot for selling below cost. What bigger BB idiot is hiring managers who offer goods below cost? And 2 managers said OK–what’s up with that? I thought 2 heads were better than one. Also the sale price was actually LOWER than the price John shook on. What idiot sets the BB sale price BELOW COST?
I must be an idiot for not understanding this unique pricing strategy.
Bottom line: I asked, they agreed, they reneged—wrong.
PS I ended up buying the computer from Circuit City on sale for a lower price than BB’s sale price I missed. Now I am a CCLVR and Best Buy’s bottom line will be great because I am no longer a customer. Stores do not only sell commodities, they sell goodwill. Seems the BB in my town is plum outta goodwill. Yours may be better & maybe that’s why you love them & that’s great.
I am not discounting your position on being promised a price and then having it revoked. I am pointing out that customers always seeking to haggle the price are not always viewed as the most valuable.
Often times merchants sell their goods below cost in order to have the lowest price available and get consumers in to their stores. In most cases computers and laptops are sold at or below cost from the start because marking them up would result in much higher pricing and who wants to have the highest prices? Then consumers won’t even bother visiting your store or buying the things companies make the most money on… accessories, service plans, and smaller electronics like cameras or printers.
My point is simply this… the people that work for Best Buy or Circuit City are not empowered to haggle. It is annoying and frustrating when people continually want you to lower the cost, throw something in, match an online price, etc… If they gave everyone that asked for it the lowest price and freebies there wouldn’t be anywhere to get electronics other than Walmart, God help us. It’s a give and take relationship.
And Best Buy does have a feedback policy. You can obtain the website from the bottom of any Best Buy receipt, or call 1-888-BEST-BUY. Your comments go directly to the store from the web and up to corporate if necessary.
Thanks BBYLVR for clearing things up. I appreciate your comment.
I understand your point about employees not being empowered to haggle. But BB does seem to have a company policy of matching their competitors’ prices. While this is not technically haggling, it provides a consumer with an opportunity to shop a price. So I shopped the price, as is my custom because I know the prices can fluctuate by several hundred dollars. I do it with all expensive purchases. This high end laptop was no exception. And I’m sure most people do the same. In fact, BB had the best price (on sale) & since I had been a longtime customer, I wanted to buy from BB. The problem was the sale just ended.
In fact, I went to the store with the sole purpose of trying to get the sale price (I missed it by a couple of days). The sale price was lower than Amazon. I was not aware that Amazon is not considered a competitor. Had I simply been told “no”, it would have been the end of the story & I would still be a BB customer. I would have just waited to the next sale, which is what an employee suggested I could do.
In the big picture, the mgr. keeping to his word, even if it meant losing $75 (which is what it all came down to), would have shown goodwill and kept me as a loyal customer. By not keeping his word, BB lost me as a customer. How could I feel comfortable dealing with BB if I had a real problem? I could no longer trust BB to do the right thing. I lost my TRUST. And remember, this came from a manager not a floor salesman, who btw, was completely friendly & helpful and suggested I speak to a manager about the sale price in the first place.
I think I acted as most consumers do. On expensive items, they try to look for the best price. For BB to have a company policy on matching competitors prices means they recognize this consumer behaviour. The business objective is to get and KEEP customers. Your word is your bond as the saying goes. Don’t give your word and not keep it, especially in business. Word of mouth travels fast, word of bad mouth travels faster. That is all I was saying.
PS thanks for the advice on the feedback policy.
Not for nothing but BB is on my “do not shop” list for several reasons but mainly for the following:
Ever bought a service plan with them for anything, good luck actually getting your item repaired. I sent a camera in for service and it took almost two months to get it back in completely inoperable condition after they disassembled it, determined that it couldn’t be reparied and reassembled it without a battery latch. The Customer service basicly told me to screw and there was nothing they would do about it. The only reason I brought it in was because the flash wasn’t working.. now I have a $450 paper weight…
Just though I’d let you know. Best Buy sucks in every way and they will never get my business again ever!
To Sellsius;
As a current BBY Employee, I can tell you that what they did was not right. However like BBYLover had mentioned previously is that any and all online competitors are not competitors in the retail market. While most larger online retailers should, in my opinion, be considered as such I digress. What the manager did was not ethical in my opinion, but many modern business practices aren’t in this day and age. I myself am one of those younger employees, I will not mention my age, but it is below 25. I can understand your side of the story, but let not one person’s attitude on a price reflect the entire company. As a consumer know that there are certain practices in business or a corporation that you cannot change and as such it may or may not be your prerogative to shop at a retailer. What I’m getting at is, that most customers like BBYLover mentioned are just out there to get the lowest deal and screw someone else over, but to be honest…and this always gets me when a customer does this; say C.City has an item on sale for $X dollars cheaper than BBY. And the two stores are right next to each other, why bother going to BBY in the first place to ask for a price match? If amazon.com had it for a certain price, buy it. If you wanted a shopping experience and a backed warranty to the product, go to bestbuy.
Regarding SEA’s view on Service Plans, as a current GS Agent, I will tell you that we strive our hardest to get an item repaired, if it came back un-repaird it is ALWAYS for a reason. Find out why next time. Have them put an escalation on the repair and make a deal out of being involved in the process and I guarantee you that your so called $450 paper weight will be a working camera again. And if the item couldn’t be repaired than if you had a service plan it is ALWAYS covered for a warrantied replacement of a camera of equal specification. Read that little Black and Yellow panphlet over next time and you’ll see that it wasn’t so much BBY’s fault for it not being repaired as it was your fault for not reading the warranty over and seeing that your guaranteed a new camera.
I have a hard time with BB just because of all the things already mentioned. I tend to go there for “wishlisting”, i.e. to look all the cool stuff I can’t afford. When I can afford it, I go to newegg.com or another reputable online retailer. No pressure, no haggling, and the lowest price (generally). Will I ever buy from BB? Sure, I think speakers are worth buying from a brick&mortar. BB really isn’t geared for tech savy people like us.. they are there to help dumb people with money to burn. Wish I could be dumb and rich, then I’d shop at BB.
You got caught in an obvious lie by passing off that amazon price, stop crying.
I sorry to hear that you couldn’t negotiate a better price, but it is retail store not a bazaar. If you really wanted the other price you should shop Amazon, otherwise you can pay the extra dough up front and get it today at your local BB. Its sad to hear also that the manager failed to read the printout completely and therefore because you’re a “customer” you’re entitled to getting the better price no matter what and that $40 that BB will lose with you shouldn’t matter to a big company like that, no matter that 10 or more people “like you” might come in each day in each store. I guess they were crazy for thinking they had the right to a profit! LOL! I bet you would sue them too if you tripped over something, even if you weren’t hurt!
Umm.. What part of RETAIL do you not understand? There are no sheep wandering the aisles, no straw on the ground and we are not conducting business in tents. What you see is what you get. If you don’t like the price BUY IT SOMEWHERE ELSE! Your account of your actions are the reason why I got stomach ulcers when I worked retail. It makes no difference to the employee. Jim had you pegged within 5 seconds and knew you would make him no money and just be a source of annoyance while the managers gave him the evil eye while you refused to buy any add-ons.
im a cc employee and i must say as much as i would like to refute the service of the competitorim inclined to agree with the retailer with the exception of him going back on his word. if he made a deal he should stick to it, that much i agree with. however it is true that most desk/laptop computers are sold at or below cost (its called a loss-leader think back to consumer ed in high school) and cc nor bb are not-for-profit organizations. if the price is too high get it elsewhere, this is why we have monopoly laws.
I work at an electronics store(not best buy) and, I do my best to help my customers. I am a geek for digital photography and digital media and try to make it easy for them so they become more involved.
I am also the number one sales person in the store.. and I don’t trick my customers. I sell warranties but, I buy them too… its not a gimmick.
and the person with the stomach ulcer said it best… I run and hide form customers like you… it wouldn’t matter what was done you would always be trying to wiggle more money off. We don’t get to decide those prices.. its a policy, a company one at that… and believe it or not.. we get it trouble if we break it.
for crying out loud… you missed the sale, you want an online rebate instantly and are unwilling to purchase any accessores… how are we suppose to make any money? If its a friggin HP the margin is like 2.6%
However… if I had promised the money off I would have honored it.. but i wouldn’t have been dumb enough to promise it in the first place.
I used to work at best buy, so I know how much it sucks working there. They make you cram those warenties down peoples throats, its just awful. Best Buy just has piss poor customer service. That’s why I buy my computers from the only company rated #1 in customer service: Apple.
Lots of correct info, and Cartman has it right. Employees and even management have little flexibility there. I’ve worked a few different jobs selling tech gear, home theaters, etc. - BB included - and can attest to the utter inability of employees to do much of anything in regards to price. Price matching policies are in place under the hopes that instead of buying from Circuit City, Good Guys (did they tank?), or whatever other brick and mortar you’ll come in to buy that television or whatever at an unprofitable price, and buy a warranty, some connecting cables, media, SOMETHING to turn the sale into a profit. I’ve been out of retail a couple years now, but when I was there the policy on online matching was a flat, “no, sorry”. Hard to compete with such low overhead AND you’re not being charged shipping (why didn’t you buy from Amazon anyhow?).
I understand your position that word is word, but “Handshake John” wasn’t helping you out because he liked you, he was just following store policy. If someone caught wind that he was matching rebated online dealer’s prices he’d be in for quite a bit of trouble. His justification? He was doing all he could to keep a haggler who is anti-warranty and likely goes elsewhere for any add-ons that may give some margin.
And be sure that for employees BB is a world of negative reinforcement. You steer the customer away from unnecessary extended warranties, overpriced gold-plated name-brand cabling, etc - you have them leave with smiles on their faces and come back giving thanks for helping them get exactly what they need and no more - you get chastised. You push them towards the overpriced and unnecessary. Thrust extended warranties at them. Give them Monster cabling for that $80 DVD player they’ll be attaching to their 5-year-olds 20″ TV. What do you, the employee get then? No commission. No bonus. No raise. No applaud. No handshake. You get to vacuum and dust and come in tomorrow to do it again for your minimum wage + $.50.
I can understand your anger towards BestBuy for not following through on their word, but as one of the guys above said…a lot of times, it’s not their fault. I work in a retail store just like BestBuy, however we sell furniture too, and more high quality merch. Also, our salespeople are payed 100% on commission, meaning they are actually trying to make a sale based on knowledge and experience with the product being sold. If we don’t make sales, we don’t make money. So we try to sell everything we can. Sometimes, a discount just isn’t possible though.
For computers, there is absolutely NO markup at all. Even at my employee cost (95% off markup) I only save about 100 dollars on high end computers, so why should you expect more? I understand being a long time customer is great, but it shouldn’t warrant you a better deal than the salespeople can manage. I’m so used to people coming in and speaking to me right off the bat (which is great that I have returning customers,) but a few of them have been pushed onto other, newere, salespeople. Why? Because of situations just like this. They think that because they’ve been shopping with me for so long, they deserve a discount. This is fine, but when they have previously gotten discounts from me on serveral occations, I start to feel used. It’s probably the same for the guy you spoke with. Although he’s not making commission, he probably gets sick of hagglers. In my opinion, the only place you should be alowed to haggle is at garage sales and car dealerships. It’s just not right to walk into a retail store and ask for a discount. Would you walk into a store like Sears or Old Navy or ToysRus and ask for money off your final bill? No. So why should you be asking about a computer? You want a discount, buy it from Dell.
I don’t mean to insult you, but you should look at it from someone elses point of view before criticizing them.
What you have to understand is that retail stores like Circuit City and Best Buy are simply not segmented towards your kind of customer. When I say “your kind” I mean no offense. I only mean to say that they are there to educate people that don’t normally know what they need and discover what they do need through lifestyle questions. If you want a low price buy it online, don’t go in and haggle on a $100 or $40 for that matter. If you don’t want to pay the extra or can’t afford the extra bit you shouldn’t be buying it in the first place.
Yes, the PC Supervisor was wrong for agreeing to it without fully reading the rebate information. Frankly, agreeing to meet you half way should have been enough though. These retail stores don’t make anymore than 5% margin on any given laptop or desktop, which is why the price they were doing for you I can guarantee was cheaper than employee cost. Someone said earlier that Best Buy was better off without your sale, and sadly its true. They would have lost dollars and if they did it for you, then they would have to do it for everyone. Then where would they be? Policies are in place for a reason.
Why would they want a return customer that didn’t make them any money anyways. Sure you generate revenue, but selling product at cost does not help a business with overhead grow.
You want a big box with a decent reputation, fairly nice and knowledgable associates and a big selection? Then pay full price, otherwise they’d be out of business and then you would have to buy online. This is the state of commoditization in the retail world when handling PCs. For now if you want a deal you’ll have to go online or find a commisioned floor.
I think most of the nay-sayers here are missing the point. Sellsius° is already a good customer. He’s a rewards member which proves he’s a regular customer as well. And there is nothing wrong with trying to get a good deal on an expensive purchase, especially if a manager agrees to it. Frankly, I’m not sure what planet some of you guys live on. When I’m shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars on a product why would I think to myself as some of you seem to suggest, “Dang, I’m really getting raped here, but poor Best Buy needs my money more than I do because they’re a business..”
We are the consumers. We have the money. We have the power. After the three month nightmare I’ve been going through with CompUSA to get them to honor their extended warranty on my very expensive PDA I have zero loyalty to any corporation whatsoever who conducts business in such a customer-hostile way. They are not entitled to my money. Make demands. Sellsius° was 100% in the right.
BBYLVR posted earlier that companies selling below the normal price listed in the stores is a loss for them. Not really. You realize how inflated prices are for electronics? I bet they didn’t even lose money on that sale either. It’s SO inexpensive to custom build a computer compared to the pre-builds they sell at Best Buy. Frankly, Best Buy gets plenty of profit from each computer they sell, I’m sure. Hence why they are somewhat of a cold corporate business with bad customer support. They have money to throw around. They’re a high-end electronics dealer. I guarantee you go to a local computer store that isn’t some major chain and they can make a better computer for way less and still turn a profit. It doesn’t hurt Best Buy to lose out on $40. I bet $100 wouldn’t hurt. Heck, I bet even $200 wouldn’t hurt. Those computers are expensive!
Sorry but I’m not trying to go against you on the article but there are a few parts that I don’t agree with you on.
[1] You can’t use one bad experience and say that every bestbuy store are alike. That’s the same thing as saying every Muslim is a terrorist. There are some people that don’t have the right people skills to deal with customer and then there the policy that employee have to follow.
You can’t drive over the speed limit w/o getting a ticket for speeding and a sale person can not lower the retail price w/o getting approval from the manager.
[2] John was wrong for not noticing the after rebate part. Also, from what I was told BestBuy can not match any online price. But still John should of had stick to the price he gave you.
[3] Will Amazon lower the current price if you showed them that two months ago they sold it at a cheaper price? Can you negotiate price at Amazon? I’m not aware of such a thing but I could be wrong. If Bestbuy prices for computers are set in stone I guess there wouldn’t be any problems. I’ve negotiate with alot of great manager from bestbuy and everytime I’ve alway got a great deal. Think about the shipping and handling for overnight shipping or the 2-3 weeks wait to get it from Amazon or any online store. From how i see it, that makes up from the $20 extra bucks that I have to give bestbuy and best thing is I get it the same day.
I’ve shop at Bestbuy for years and will continue to shop there for many more years to come. I rather deal with the poor customer service at bestbuy or any local retail store when it comes to warrenty issues.
I think the issue here is that some people are just a pain in the rear. You wanted a cheaper deal than what they can give you. Try going 80mph on a 30 mph zone and let me know if you can bargain the speeding ticket.
Thanks D Cootey and the rest that understood my point—which is a man should stand by his word.
Did you know that bestbuy.com prices can be different depending on whether you access the site from home or at a best buy store computer? If you see a item on bestbuy.com and want to buy it in store, either order it for instore pickup or print the web page and take it with you to the store in case the in store price is different.
why the hell would you BARGAIN at a retail store? the second you started that shit, every employee in the department knows you’re going to be a nuisance. the price on the tag is the price. it’s not a flea market. if Amazon had the better price, and that’s all you cared about, then why didn’t you just leave the store and buy it on Amazon? Because you wanted it NOW, and best buy had it NOW. or maybe you wanted an easier place to return it if it didnt work correctly. there’s always a reason why people still buy stuff at retail stores, and it’s not because they’re the cheapest. pay the premium (in this case a paltry $40) or get the hell out of the store. cheap stingy crybabies like you are a pain in the ass. over $40 too…pathetic.
Wow, you are an asshole. I work at a mom & pop retailer and I would’ve kicked you to the curb. Since when is it proper to jew down the price at an electronics retailer?
If you can get it cheaper at Amazon, BUY IT AT FUCKING AMAZON.
This brings me to another point. You say they should be happy with just giving you your $40? That they should be going out of their way to accommodate you? Well guess what? You know what that does? It forces companies out of business. I worked as a technician at a Gateway Country store for 3 1/2 years and nothing pissed me off more than a customer demanding cash or a rebate for some perceived slight or dragging out the “customer is always right” crap. We HATE it when you say that. Just because you say it doesn’t make it true. Gateway went out of retail business because it threw $50 credits to customers who looked at them funny just to fulfill their idiotic policy of “customer satisfaction”.
Lets take a look at the situation here: Did you make a purchase? No. Did they try and accomodate you? Yes. Did you make any attempt to wotk with the sales staff to add to your sale? No. Did you make a totally unreasonable request by trying to get a sale price when there was no sale? Yes.
You, sir, are entitled to NOTHING!
I bought my presario v2305 at a best buy and i had the worst service i have ever had in my life… i had to take my laptop back 2 times and now i am dreading taking it back for the 3rd time the first time i walked in told them what was wrong (until now i was having very good service), then they asked if i had bought the $300 service plan to give me 2 years more of warranty and i said no then he continued the paperwork and said he had to send it away and it will be back in 2-3 weeks and i said ok… 2 weeks later i get a e-mail from ups with a tracking # and in 2 days i see that one of the employees at the store has signed for the package so i go to the best buy store and ask them for my laptop and show them the paperwork that i was told to show them to pick it up, and i am told its not there and i say that i saw that it was signed for and he says i can assure you its not here… about one hour of arguing and i even showed him the status and the employee name that signed for it on my friends laptop and he continues to say no, so i ask for a mangier and i explain to her that all of these 3 people at the geek squad counter are saying its not here when i see that someone at this location signed for it and ask her if she could just go in the back and look unlike the other 3 people who just sat there and told me no so she comes back in 15 minutes with a box and it has my laptop in it, and i open it and it boots and i am looking at it and am making sure everything has been fixed when one of the geek squad people walk over to me and them me to hurry up and that he is busy and needs me to quickly sign something and covers the entire long receipt with his arm while pointing to where he is telling me to sign so i ask him to explain what it is so i don’t waste time reading the 2 foot long receipt paper and he says that its just nothing important just a standard form, so now i want to know what this is and read it and the forum says that i should sign it when i am completely satisfied so i say i wont sign until i am satisfied and i knew that i couldn’t get my hour and a half of wasted time back so all i wanted was a working laptop and while i was checking out my laptop he continued to say just sign it i am busy i have things to do and i replied you are doing your work now you are helping me i am a customer and by annoying me you are making me take longer and not doing your job and continued to look at my computer and thought that i had to get out of this store … it has been 2 hours and i sign it and leave, a few days later i realize they forgot to put the rubber feet on so i figure no big deal and then more problems and after a few months almost every component aside from the keyboard stops working so back to the best buy i walk in and say i have a list of problems and here it is and i get asked if i have that service plan and i answer no and he said sorry i cant help you and i say that i have a 1 year warranty and that its only been 6 months and after 20 minutes he agrees to take it and send it into HP and i ask how long will it be and he says 4-5 weeks and i say it was 2-3 weeks last time and he says it has always been 4-5 weeks… after about 5 minutes i realize it is a pointless argument and say ok thats fine and he does the paperwork and i leave and in 4 weeks i call best buy to see if it has arrived and nothing and a few days later i call hp to check the status… it has been delayed so i check the status with hp every 2 or so days from 4 weeks on and then i get a call asking what is wrong with it and i say there is a list and apparently there is no list… best buy lost it and never told me for 4 weeks until hp told me there was no list so i told them what was wrong and they said ok and that they will fix it, then one time when i called hp there was a parts shortage for LCD screens so it will be delayed, after about 4 days of no one at hp knowing what happened to it or where it was i called them and was told it was signed for at best buy so i go to best buy and tell them it is there and again they say no so i explain to the guy what happened last time and if he could just walk into the back and check… he just sat on his lazy a$$ and said no i argued with him and 3 other employees and 2 mangers, nobody would go into the back for me and after 2:30 hours i had to leave for my weekly family dinner then next day i call hp and get tracking #’s and phone #’s to people at hp that could prove that it was signed for at that store and i thought with all of this proof they couldn’t possibly say no so i walk in and ask to speak to a manager and the employee asks why and i say just get me a manager and i speak with a manager who tells a employee to look it up on the computer and he does and no results and i show them the proof and say this has happened before and it has always turned out to be in the back room and i argue with them for 20 minutes and they send a employee back and he finds nothing so i ask if its not where is it, and i say its either here or stolen and if it has been stolen i have the persons name who signed for it right here and argue for longer and wait and wait and try to find someone and no one comes and one sales person sees me waiting and i tell him i have been here for an hour and a half already and he runs into a door marked employees only and runs back with a chair for me and i thank him and he runs right back to work… i am amazed, someone who actually cares then i see one of the guys that told me no try to walk by me and i am in a hallway like area and i use myself to block him (i am 6′3″ 230 pounds) he tried to sqeeze past me as i told him to stop running away from me and that now its almost been 2 hours and says ill be right back and i let him by and never see him again and find a manager and convince him that its there… he looks around for 20 more minutes and finally comes back with my laptop and i check it out and he walks away to deal with another customer and i get some time to check out my laptop fully this time and it is good and working and then i have to look around for this manager to get the receipt i have to sign before i can leave with my laptop so after 15 minutes and getting 5 employees to help me find him he comes out of a meeting and gives me the receipt to sign and i leave nearly 3 hours later with my laptop working well. about a week later i received a phone call telling me that my laptop is ready for pickup. A few weeks ago it started to have problems and now both the wireless internet card and LAN card are broken so now i am dreading my 3rd trip to that best buy store, i would almost rather not have internet on this computer than have to deal with them again. The day i walked into the store with $1000 in cash in hand wanting to purchase this laptop i received excellent service and no hassles but once they securely had my money they didn’t give a care even though there could have been several more purchases over the years from dvd media to new laptops to me recommending friends to buy their next laptop from there all lost because of pathetic customer service they are really shooting themselves in the foot. it wouldn’t of cost them anything to have kept my business it would of cost them less to keep my business. i cannot believe they could run a store like that and stay in business they should be trained to respect the customer and act as if they own the store. A friend of mine has the same laptop as mine and it has the same problems that mine has but hr bought it at a different store, and when his had problems he took it into the store and they checked it out and then they handed him a entirely new laptop and it took him a total time of 15 minutes. why couldn’t best buy just do that??? when i called customer service to tell them about how that specific store is run all they did was try to keep me quiet about the whole incident with a laptop knapsack and a $50 gift card and asked me if i wanted the mentioned employees to be fired. i said no because firing them would be no help to me. all i want is decent customer service similar to the service my friend received, it wouldn’t have cost them anything extra. covering for the lousy customer service cost them more that decent service would have.
Tech meme Cartman–
You guys have your opinion & that’s Ok but I know BB does have price matching—only I didnt go to BB school & didn’t know that Amazon is not a matchable price. OK I was wrong for not knowing. But hey I just asked. We live in America guys and I think it’s Ok to ask. The manager could have just said no, we don’t match Amazon and I’d be gone. No sweat. But he talked with another guy in the back, maybe his boss, & both came out and said “it’s your lucky day” we will give it to you at the Amazon price. Was I asking too much for the guy to keep his word. Maybe you guys are right & I shouldn’t have expected him to honor his word. Maybe that’s old school.
I agree with the post above by BBYLVR. I am no fan of Best Buy, but it does appear to me that you broke a basic unwritten rule of negotiating, which is to negotiate fairly and openly. An advertised price that is inclusive of a rebate one that is not are two very different things. Unless you knew that BB was also offering the same rebate, you’re basically demanding that they sell you an apple for the price of an orange. I have no idea what your intent was, but on the face of it, that appears to me just as dishonest as a used car salesman who tries to sell you a car that “runs great” and then excludes a list of 40 defects in the fine print. Consumers don’t like it when retailers pull fast ones like that, so why should the retailer have to put up with anything less? I agree that a deal is a deal, but I think any reasonable person would agree that a deal based upon anything less than full disclosure isn’t quite a deal at all– it’s one party taking advantage of another. I think the dictionary of that is “ripoff.”
Brian,
I didn’t demand anything—I just asked a question on price matching Amazon because I missed the BB sale (the BB sale price I missed happened to be even lower than Amazon!). I admit it was my fault I missed the sale. But I had just started shopping the laptops. But I came back to BB because I was a regular customer—I was in the rewards program.
I was open. I gave the Amazon printout to the manager to examine & it clearly said “after rebate”. I didn’t hide anything. I know these guys can read, can’t they?. And it was 2 guys who looked at it.
Besides, how could I negotiate unfairly? They know their products and price points better than me. I’m not that clever to outwit the store manager on their own products. The guy didn’t keep his word but he wasn’t an idiot.
All they had to do was simply say NO. What’s so complicated about that? If you gave your word to someone, would you take it back for $40? That’s the point.
sellsius°
I’ve worked at Best Buy in Personal Computers Home Office fairly happily for some time now and I can tell you simply that it is a non-commisioned floor. Associates and Supervisors have no real power over pricing. The bottom line comes down to management. Herein lies the problem. I can tell you all day that I would price match something if you provide a printout but I have to follow standard operating procedure. If you had come to me to check out I would have had to make a copy of the printout and file it accordingly in order to do a price reduction. Not to mention a managers override would have been necessary to even total out the purchase at which case the manager on duty would have seen the printout and had a problem with the rebate.
It would be the same thing if you came in and we got your purchase together and before we got to the register you asked “Can I use my VISA if it has my wifes name on it?”
If I didn’t know any better (which sales associates don’t at my store because they don’t have register training) I would say “Sure, that won’t be a problem”
sellsius°
I’ve worked at Best Buy in Personal Computers Home Office fairly happily for some time now and I can tell you simply that it is a non-commisioned floor. Associates and Supervisors have no real power over pricing. The bottom line comes down to management. Herein lies the problem. I can tell you all day that I would price match something if you provide a printout but I have to follow standard operating procedure. If you had come to me to check out I would have had to make a copy of the printout and file it accordingly in order to do a price reduction. Not to mention a managers override would have been necessary to even total out the purchase at which case the manager on duty would have seen the printout and had a problem with the rebate.
It would be the same thing if you came in and we got your purchase together and before we got to the register you asked “Can I use my VISA if it has my wifes name on it?”
If I didn’t know any better (which sales associates don’t at my store because they don’t have register training) I would say “Sure, that won’t be a problem”
Would the front lanes permit it? Not a chance in hell. Unfortunately, it’s not starndard operating procedure.
We are trying to be there for every customer as much as possible, but realistically there are always going to be some customers that are dissatisfied. If you would have bought accessories or service they may have been able to make up the difference since there is obviously margin in those things.
I understand you are a rewards customer and Best Buy appreciates your business, but it wouldn’t matter to me if you spent $1,000 or $10,000 dollars. There is no special treatment for certain customers other than the reward points you are already accumulating.
Standard operating procedures and policies are in place so that everyone can be treated fairly, not so 1 out 10 customers can get a better deal than the rest.
The world is not a complicated place until people try to be difficult. If you go to a store to buy an item you pay the stated price. Why do people have to be a jerks; just pay the stated price or go somewhere else. If you decide to buy a computer at Best Buy instead of online than you deserve what you get.
I understand sellsius’s point of how the manager shouldn’t go back on his word, and I also understand Tyler’s issue with the service he got on his laptop, but here are my opinions on those:
1.) Again, I understand sellsius’s point, but if he went back on his word after seeing the rebate, you could have (if you didn’t already) called 1-888-BESTBUY and mentioned what happened. If the manager couldn’t have given you the rebate from Amazon then he shouldn’t have offered you the lower price from Amazon to begin with.
2.) I understand the frustration that Tyler went through (as a BB employee I see it now and then), but when you called to complain and they asked if you wanted the employees fired, you just said no, as that wouldn’t solve anything. Maybe it wouldn’t have, but you could have asked that the store manager could have been talked to (if he wasn’t aleady involved) so he/she knows what went on, or have higherups talk to the store manager.
I hear quite a few complaints now and then, but I also hear the same amount, if not more, compliments about our service. Not every store is the same. Just because you got bad service at one store doesn’t mean it’s like that everywhere. I know that BB is rated one of the top 10 for worst customer service, but I’m curious to know how many stores they shopped at for that rating.
THey stated in the main 10 best and worst list that we’re insistant for selling service plans. For the most part, if they offer you a plan and you don’t want it, that’s fine. If they ask you again at the front lanes, it’s probably incase it wasn’t mentioned at the sale. In the case of Tyler’s laptop, is there another Best Buy nearby? Where I live there are 5 Best Buys within a 30 minute radius of where I live. If I didn’t work there and had bad experience with one I’d just go to another.
My bottom line, while I do understand these issues, you…and CRMLowdown for that matter…can’t base customer service off one bad experience. When I ask people if they found everything okay, at least 80% of the time they did and say that the service was fantastic. You can’t judge customer service by one bad experience.
Sounds like you tried to pull a fast one and got caught. there is no margin in hardware and stores would rather see you walk than buy. If I had an apple I bought for $2 and wanted to sell it at $2.20 and someone else is selling it for $1.80. would I lower my price to give “give good customer service”? NO. because I am here to make money. period.
The rebait scam, I hate it. But worse you tried to scam these saps into a really low price, you are a scumbag customer.
Jake-
what’s the point of price matching—is it a real thing or just a phony ploy to get you to buy? I thought it was an honest policy. Price matching means the price is not set & you can buy it below the stated price.
David-
You are right. But I didn’t call BB to complain or write any nasty letters because I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble or risk them losing their job. I just vented here. I just chalked it up to bad customer service.
Yes,David you also make a very good point on judging by one experience. Maybe I was wrong to just write them off over this one thing. This was only my first experience dealing with management. The guys on the floor have always been cool (except for sour face Jim). So I have to rethink my stand. Thanks.
Blue Bleeding—I see what you’re saying & it makes sense. Then how do you explain the mgr going back on his word? Was it because I didn’t buy the extended warranty?
I have to laugh at two points raised here:
1) The price with a rebate isn’t the real price - that is saying the rebates don’t work and are fundamentally a scam. Duh & ha! They don’t and a scam - look at the breakage rates - even BB is phasing them out (finally.) It would be nice to see a class-action suit.
2) No puke at the store level knows what the cost of the laptop is finally. Yes - they have their lists, but with kickbacks - err, bonus incentives - no one but accountants and the high-levels who negotiate with the manufacturers really know what the real price will be to BB until after all sales within a period are completed and incentives returned. For a schmuck at the store level to smugly state the price is ‘below our cost’ simply shows why he/she isn’t smart enough to work at corporate.
I my experience with Best Buy, they deliberately lied to me so that I would purchase the “Extended Warranty”. I’ve posted an article about it on my blog.
Eric
I think that’s what happened to me. Had I taken the extended warranty from SOur Faced Jim he would have processed the sale. When I declined, he called the manager to kill the deal the mgr made with me. SOme secrethandshake told the mgr I didn’t buy the warranty.
I’m not taking the side of Best Buy, but they were clearly in the right here. I want to say that you had no right asking for a better deal only because I worked at Guitar Center where negotiating on equipment was common, and that’s a retail store; but maybe haggling is a (nasty) practice that you’re used to doing. So be it.
The employee was doing his job and saw that the price was after the rebate. At no point in the beginning paragraphs of your post did I see that you too had mentioned that the price was after a rebate. You don’t read the fine print, then that’s your fault and not Best Buy’s. Perhaps the manager was wanting to save a sale and make a common customer happy which is why he acted out of haste, and in a good way of course because it was in your favor. But as they say, haste makes waste, and it was sourface guy that took the time to read the fine print, and save his job.
The majority of salespeople have goals to meet, and that includes both gross sales and gross profit. Profit is basically anything above the list price. It’s not the customer’s problem to care about the salesperson and how they make a living, but think about it in theory. Let’s say that you made the deal. Unfortunately Jim and John both get fired due to this. Maybe they already had made lots of mistakes and this was the last straw. In any case your favorite salespeople aren’t there anymore. Now you have new faces in the store. You haggle with them, get to get items below cost. Now since those salespeople aren’t meeting their goals, maybe some quit or get fired due to not meeting their goals. 2 things can happen here: 1. The store closes due to losing money from people who can’t afford what they want and ask for lower prices for what they want or threaten to shop elsewhere. 2. Eventually the store goes through a never-ending cycle of hiring and firing employees because they try to be customer-friendly but end up doing poor sales due to giving customers too many breaks. In the first case, you’re probably going to go to Circuit City or elsewhere, where the same process continues. Stores go by the wayside one by one due to customers demanding lower prices than advertised. Where will you shop then? Maybe one or two places where haggling is not an option, and even if you’d try they can prohibit you from ever shopping there again, because in America any business reserves the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. In the second case eventually the store would track your purchase history, and not only prohibit you from shopping there, but also alert the other stores in the chain, and perhaps their competitors. I say competitors because while working at Guitar Center, we would alert the competition (and vice-versa) if someone was trying to sell us a stolen guitar.
I understand that your point in this was the principle of the handshake, but you made a shady deal by not informing John that the price you wanted was after a rebate. You shook on a shady deal and hoped that they wouldn’t catch the mistake. That really doesn’t make you look like the innocent party. If I were there and made the deal I would have made it a no-return policy with no warranty optional, and taken the original box that the computer came in so there would be less chance of you being able to get it repaired from the manufacturer. You’d get the deal with less features, even though I’d be losing money on it, but making the rest of my days there profitable by not having you there anymore. You want it cheaper? Then you’re getting what you pay for, and it won’t be much.
I agree with what a lot of other people said. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it, or look into getting something cheaper instead. Haggling not only makes you look cheap but desperate as well.
You DID get excellent customer service, but you can’t associate getting a deal as being equal to good customer service. I’m a repeat customer at the local gas station, but do they give me deals on gas? When was the last time you tried haggling over the price of gas? How hard did the attendant laugh or how quick did he tell you never to come back? If you did manage to haggle over the price of gas, I think everyone who posted here needs to know where you got it so we can do the same and run them out of business.
You said that you did ask and that you felt that was ok. I honestly feel the same that it’s ok to ask. However, when they agreed, then checked things again to make sure that they were doing things properly, then corrected themselves to ensure their employment, you refused to shop there again.
Do you see the problem here?
Eric
I hear what you’re saying and I agree with you except that’s not what happened. I did show the manager the Amazon printout that clearly had 2 prices—the price before rebate & the price after—I think the rebate was $50 or $100. And the manager was not hasty. He took the printout and went back to the office to confer with another man, maybe it was his boss. So 2 intelligent people looked at it and both came out & Handshake John said “it’s your lucky day” and shook hands on the price. Now, even if these 2 guys somehow missed the rebate, the issue they had was with the “price”. That was the bottom line. As I mentioned in the post, I came into the store hoping to get the laptop at the sale price which I missed (my fault). I was hoping that since I was a loyal customer they would sell it to me at that sale price. Now remember that BB sale price was LOWER than the Amazon price. They said a definite No to that & I said fine. That’s when I asked about the price match. You with me so far?
Now the store price policy has two components: 1. price matching and 2. If you buy the product and it later goes on sale w/in 30 days, you can get the sale price. So you see it’s not neogtiating a price—its BB saying we can give it to you for less under certain conditions. So it’s me ASKING to get a price match with Amazon. Now, I didn’t know that Amazon is not included in that price matching deal. It’s the store’s job to tell me: “Hey you big dummy can’t you read the fine print—NO online vendors.” That would have been the end of it. Why even look at an Amazon printout in the first place if the store policy is NO AMAZON. See what I mean.
I completely understand the store has to have a policy—but a policy is not LAW. There are exceptions and managers have some leeway. In fact, it was the salesman (not Jim) who told me to ask the manager. The manager walked with me back to Sour Face Jim and told Jim to give me the Amazon price. The salesman didn’t say to the mgr “You can’t do that, it’s against store policy.”
Bottom Line for me: You’re the manager, you make a decision for the customer—keep your word. Otherwise don’t give your word.
Consumer report December 2006 is showing for Walk In Sales that Best Buy is # 27 (3rd from the bottom along with wal mart, compusa) Top for electronic sales for walk in stores:
1) Local independent stores,
2 Costco,
3 Ritz Camera ,
4 Tweeter,
5 Ultimate Electronics.
Now for Internet sales ratings:
dell.com
In order of best to bottom
1) crutchfield.com
2) costco.com
3) buydig.com
4) amazon.com
5) buy.com
6) jr.com
7) circuitcity.com
9. Bestbuy.com
Of course with each store there are different variables rated. Best buy was rated worse in customer support for internet sales , and for walk in no rating for customer
support.
Thanks for the blog entry: I didn’t even know you could negotiate with online sales comparisons.
Hi Sandra.
I did not know that online vendors were excluded from price matching at BB and other brick & mortar retail stores. That’s why I asked. Had they said no, that’s not our policy, that would have been the end of it. I believe it costs you nothing to ask.
If there were no handshake that took place, and/or they told you about the rebate before they agreed on it, would you still have left as a satisfied customer and continued to shop there? I’m just curious.
I don’t understand why you believe that it’s the store’s job to tell you the fine print though. That’s irresponsibility on your part. Can you clarify this for me please?
Eric
Yes. Mistakes can happen. I had been a long time BB customer.
But it wasn’t a bang-bang under pressure mistake thing. I came into the store early evening, no traffic, they had time to review, think & decide. Then renege.
It’s not like I think it’s their job to explain fine print—that’s why they have fine print– so they dont have to tell you all the exceptions. But I think it’s not unreasonable to answer a question on the matching policy. If I ask “can you match Amazon?”, a simple NO answers the question. I don’t expect them to say “Whether we accept Amazon or not is in the fine print, go read it.” Does this help?
Also, if Amazon is a definite no-no for store policy, don;t even bother taking the amazon printout. Just say “sorry no”. Now, here’s where a lot of people miss the point. It has nothing to do with Amazon. It has to do with PRICE. The mgrs conferenced & decided whether they would give me the price. They decided Yes. Then they reneged and blamed it on the rebate (not amazon), when that excuse seems unreasonable given 2 intelligent people examined the printout, the 2 prices were clear (I even think rebate was in BOLD print)& I had just turned down the extended warranties.
Ok. I do apologize for the things that I said earlier and coming off like I didn’t support you. What you said makes sense. Perhaps they were just trying to go the extra mile at first but then realized their mistake. They may have lost you as a customer but at least they have their jobs (wish I could say the same but I left my job a month ago) I think because of working in retail, I think those who ask for discounts are shysters (sp?). Then again if you were in the same position, how would you feel and handle the above situation without getting negged from your manager? Where did you end up getting your laptop again? Did you explain what you went through with Best Buy? I hope it all worked out for you.
Thanks Eric. I really appreciate that. I ended up buying from Circuit City about a week or so later. (No I did not relay the experience). Yes, things worked out fine. I bought the same model Toshiba on sale (which was the old BB sale price). After 3 days, it shut down unexpectedly and I took it back and they immediately gave me a new one, no questions asked. No problems since.
Quit crying. I’m not going to read all of your comments and replies, but it appears as though you’ve never worked retail. Price breaks come with quantity… Not just one laptop. I’ve known BB won’t accept web deals for years. You have to take the fact that these websites don’t have a front end to keep up, a place to try out the product before buying, or the people to help you make a decision, informed or not. That costs money, that is why the price is higher. I can do without your type of customer in my world. I hate nothing more than having my manager have to cut my legs out from under me when dealing with a whiny customer. Policy is policy. If a car salesman slips and tells you he’ll sell you a car for a price that might have been mis-stated, give him the benefit of the doubt. And if you’re worried about 40 dollars, maybe you should consider not spending the money on a laptop. Buy food or clothes for your children…..
sellsius° Nov 9th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
“Thanks D Cootey and the rest that understood my point—which is a man should stand by his word.”
A man’s word is not binding if it was obtained using deception and I’m sorry to say that you haven’t a leg to stand on in this.
I Disagree
If no online deals, then why did the manager waste his time even looking at the Amazon printout? All he had to do was say “No online deals”. Easy, end of story. What happened goes to show it was never about Amazon. If it was about Amazon, a “We dont match Amazon” would have ended it. It was about price, nothing more. The mgr agreed on a price, which happened to match amazon. Asking a question should be an OK thing to do, even in retail, with a price matching policy. I asked & they answered Yes. Nothing was hidden & they know their price points better than me.
PS I have worked in retail. Yes, policy is policy but it is not LAW. Managers make exceptions all the time.
DosJock
Where is the deception? If I hand a manager the Amazon printout (which clearly says rebate–I have to go online to find it—but you know rebate is NOT in fine print at Amazon) & he reads it & another mgt guy reads it, where did I hide anything?
How could I trick 2 intelligent managers who know their price points & store policy better than me—that’s just untrue. Please explain the deception.
I also had a bad experience with Best Buy, and I *have* resolved never to buy from them again. What good is not being a customer if you end up shopping from them again anyway? They aren’t looking at the short-view of things, but the long-view, and if you’re still part of that long-view, your complaint is meaningless.
I was also screwed over by Sears. I don’t buy from them now. When I went to get a HDTV widescreen, Sears had it $50 cheaper than the local appliance store. I still bought it from the local store. It’s not being irrational, it’s sticking to your guns, and realizing that if you come back at all, you’re not doing them any harm.
So far, Sears and Best Buy are on my “crap list.” I don’t put stores on there lightly, but I do intend to never buy from either again.
I got a good deal from Best Buy on a plasma TV, or so I thought! Turns out it is a crappy deal if they refuse to deliver and install it at any point in time that you can actually be there. They gave me a window - between 11 and 1 on Wednesday. I said my hubby is home all morning until 11:30, then I arrive at home at 4:00, so between 11:30 and 4 is the only time we cannot be there. They insist that the 11-1 window is the ONLY window they will offer me - at all -any day! A store that cannot accommodate a schedule for a customer who just spent $2,200 deserves to have their doors shut. Consumers unite and quite feeding these morons our dollars!! I plan to use any and all platforms possible to share this information and open the eyes of the American public!
NOW,THIS IS A HORROR STORY. 05.11.2005,MY HUSBAND,WENT TOO BEST BUY IN GREENSBORO,NC,. HE PURCHASED A HP PAVILLION PC A1000N,HE ALSO PURCHASED THE EXTENDED WARRENTY FROM BEST BUY. EVERTHING WAS GREAT,UNTIL,I HOOKED-UP A HP SEE THUR SCANNER 4600. IT TOOK-OUT 5 PORTS,THE MOTHERBOARD,DAUGHTERBOARD ,VIDIEO CARD. THIS WAS THE FIRST BENCH REPAIR BY HP. HP DID SEVERAL BENCH REPAIRS.WHEN THE ONE YEAR WARRENTY WAS OUT, 2 DRIVES WERE REPLACED-MY POCKET. NOW IF YOU THINK FOR ONE SECOND.EVERTHING WAS FINE,GUESS AGAIN. AFTER7 BENCH REPAIRS BY BEST BUY. THIS COMPUTER STAYED IN REPOARS,MORE THAN MY HOME.ON 11.02.2006,I SAID DO NOT REPAIR IT,REPLACE IT. I AM NOT THE NICEST PERSON ON THE EARTH. SO I GO TOO BEST BUY.AND TOOKED THEM NO MORE. THE GEEK SQAD GAVE A PIECE OF PAPER AND SAID ,TAKE THIS TOO THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT AND GIVE TOO THE SALEMAN. I DID SO. I WAS SO STRESSED OUT. I WENT BACK TOO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ASK IF I COULD GET A COMPUTER-I WANT-I AGRESSED TOO PAY,THE ANSWER IS NO. SO I PICK OUT COMPAQ PRESARIO MEDIA CENTER DESKTOP PC. GUESS WHAT IT DOES WORK!
NOW,THIS IS A HORROR STORY. 05.11.2005,MY HUSBAND,WENT TOO BEST BUY IN GREENSBORO,NC,. HE PURCHASED A HP PAVILLION PC A1000N,HE ALSO PURCHASED THE EXTENDED WARRENTY FROM BEST BUY. EVERTHING WAS GREAT,UNTIL,I HOOKED-UP A HP SEE THUR SCANNER 4600. IT TOOK-OUT 5 PORTS,THE MOTHERBOARD,DAUGHTERBOARD ,VIDIEO CARD. THIS WAS THE FIRST BENCH REPAIR BY HP. HP DID SEVERAL BENCH REPAIRS.WHEN THE ONE YEAR WARRENTY WAS OUT, 2 DRIVES WERE REPLACED-MY POCKET. NOW IF YOU THINK FOR ONE SECOND.EVERTHING WAS FINE,GUESS AGAIN. AFTER7 BENCH REPAIRS BY BEST BUY. THIS COMPUTER STAYED IN REPOARS,MORE THAN MY HOME.ON 11.02.2006,I SAID DO NOT REPAIR IT,REPLACE IT. I AM NOT THE NICEST PERSON ON THE EARTH. SO I GO TOO BEST BUY.AND TOOKED THEM NO MORE. THE GEEK SQAD GAVE A PIECE OF PAPER AND SAID ,TAKE THIS TOO THE COMPUTER DEPARTMENT AND GIVE TOO THE SALEMAN. I DID SO. I WAS SO STRESSED OUT. I WENT BACK TOO CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ASK IF I COULD GET A COMPUTER-I WANT-I AGRESSED TOO PAY,THE ANSWER IS NO. SO I PICK OUT COMPAQ PRESARIO MEDIA CENTER DESKTOP PC. GUESS WHAT IT DOES NOT WORK.
So wait, let me get this straight - you went into Best Buy *AFTER* a sale was over, wanting to purchase an item at the sale price, and almost immediately, you start getting pissy because they didn’t bend over and kiss your ass to do it?
I didn’t read the rest of this tripe after discovering that.
Get a life, man. You have absolutely no reason to be unhappy with Best Buy - businesses don’t stay in business by giving away product.
No that’s not right Brian. I just asked the mgr a question and was given an answer. “No to the sale price”. Cool. Then I asked “what about matching this price” (I gave him the printout w/ price). He said, after talking to another mgr, OK deal at that price (which was in fact higher than the sales price). We shoke hands –that’s Handshake John. Then he said No Deal. That’s basically all the tripe.
I really didn’t get pissy (but you could say that). I just walked out without buying it at BB. The reason I walked out was because Handshake John went back on his word. I thought he should have kept it. No problem if you don’t understand where I was coming from. You have a right to your opinion.
Best Buys’ annual report makes a big deal about how they are committed to “Customer Centricity”. Here is what that means in real life. In August, 2006, I bought an Insignia (Best Buy own brand) receiver because of the strong recommendation of the sales clerk. In December, 2006, the receiver literally blew up. I returned it to the store and the Service Representative Amanada said, “Well, you didn’t buy the extended warranty and our warranty is only for 30 days, so you are just out of luck.”
I left the receiver and bought a Sony 800 at Circuit City. The Sony has a two year warranty.
Moral: Buy at Best Buy at your own peril!!!
I feel your pain. I just drove home from best buy (my third trip in 24 hours) promising myself never to shop there again (yes, I know, never say never). Here’s the short version … bought an xbox 360 premium package and video game last night. Took it home - didn’t work. System malfunction, bad hard drive. Instead of sending the hard drive back to microsoft and waiting for another, I drove back to Best Buy to exchange it. All was well. Though their customer service wasn’t quick, the guy was friendly, I was in and out in under a half hour. Got home, set up the 360 and, guess what … system malfunction, bad hard drive. OK, that’s almost funny. Took it back today. Explained myself to customer service. When asked if I wanted to exchange it, I politely told them “I think I’ll just take my money back and buy it from someone else unless you give me a reason not to?” I got the confused deer in the headlight stare from the young woman working the counter. She got her manager. Her manager asked “do you want to exchange it?” I repeated my statement, explaining that after spending 3 hours back and forth to this place, i don’t want to chance getting another bad system … she looked at me blankly. Told me “sir we can’t give a discount on these items” and offered nothing more. Nothing. Not an apology. Not a “sorry for your trouble.” Not even a “sucks for you.” So I took my money back.
I understand, big corporate stores feel they don’t need to value their customers, there’s always another one around the bend. But I can exercise my right not to shop there anymore. And my right to post emails and blogs wondering “what the hell ever happened to customer service?”
I find it highly amusing that all the peeps here that disagree with the
origanal posters opinion dont really seem to understand that he was not
trying to force the issue with best buy, he was offered something withought cohersion and didnt not in anyway try to “make” them do it.
it is neither his fault nor his responsibility to take a manageer and his boss by the hand and go over word for word another retailers ad and make sure they understand all the Highlights of said ad
if there to retarded to see the bold print in the ad and offer a better deal anyway they should be bigger than a child like mentality and stick by there offer. Only a poor sport would go back on an offer once it has been made. Its not about who was fiscally right in this situation its about who was being honest. which was clearly not best buy in this situation
i am truly sorry you even bothered shopping there to begin with
those accounts of what the sales people are like and your analogistic names are cute but very accurate it seems of every best buy i have ever been in. Ive been in best buys from california to maine and have never really been impressed with this chain of idiots
Dear SOUR customer:
Firstly Sour jim, as your inconsiderate self calls him, was in the right. There is a sale price for a reason, if you miss it then you miss it, be patient its not their fault YOU Missed it. Secondly, computers dont have much mark up in them so for it to be $200 off in the first place is a BIG deal. Companies count on selling other products to make up for what they lose on the computer. I will say they should have noticed the rebat before they got to the register though. Thirdly if it was a mail in rebate theres no way they can match that because best buy would not get reimbursed like amazon would. I do not know too much about amazon but I do know since they are a website they can have lower prices because their operating costs are lower than say a stores like best buy. Plus with amazon what if something goes wrong? Not only do you have to wait for the product to be shipped but then you have to send it back and wait even longer. You peoples perception of Best buy is all wrong, people are younger because they are more techno savy than you old people. I have never experienced any poor customer service from best buy and i have found they do have the BEST buy.
ONCE ANY OF YOU HAVE WORKED IN RETAIL THEN YOU CAN COMPLAIN!
I’m sorry you all have had bad experiences but you need to look at it from the other way around.
Thanks i await anyones reply or comments
As far as customer service goes, sour face Jim was just not a friendly person, that’s all. I think being friendly and smiling is part of good customer service but it’s no biggie to me & really has nothing to do with the point of the story. The story is really about Handshake John, the manager. Handshake John made a deal and then reneged.
My point of good customer service is don’t promise a customer a price and go back on your word because that customer may think that sucks and tell all his friends and maybe write a blog post about it.
If you think what Handshake John did was OK, that’s fine with me. You have a right to your opinion. Thanks for taking the time to comment Anonymous.
Here’s what I’ve learned from the Geek Squad at Best Buy:
1. You’re never going to get the same answer from any two geeks.
2. They will tell you only as much as you need to know about how much they can bend those warranty rules…cuz they just want you to leave them alone.
3. 3 geeks is not necessarily better than 2. They go behind the wall in the service area and figure out the best way to ‘deal’ w/ you.
4. DO NOT sign that acceptance form when they hand you your digital camera back for the 3rd time, cuz THEY’re not going to remind you that the 4th time is a charm…and enough reason for a new camera.
5. One of them will tell you 30 days, when another will inform you of a 90 day window from the last date of service.
I bought a Sony Mavica CD400 back in ‘02 along with the 4 yr. service plan. It needed repairs within the first year. I brought it in and they never stood by the delivery date, giving me one excuse after another. I’d check with them weekly and was repeatedly given the run around. One of them told me the camera didn’t even leave the store for repairs for two weeks! I think he was trying to be a good geek or maybe he wanted my husband to stop glaring at him, but that didn’t make us feel any better about their service.
For 3 yrs. after that, I tried to avoid that dreaded customer service (stupid me! I should’ve been IN their face and not accepted the camera when it was returned to me.)
When I started getting reminders to buy another extended warranty,
I brought it back for repairs. September ‘06 it was sent out, then after getting it back in October, I had to bring it BACK for the same problem! ***This is where I should not have accepted the camera and left it at the counter.****
I was told I had 30 days after that to bring it back for repairs, but another geek recently told me it was 90 days.
It was operating OK within the 30 days, but definitely NOT the 90…HAD I known there were 60 more days to fix this camera, I would’ve gone back.
After discussing the history of this camera with the Geek Squad today, they gave me the 1-888 “corporate” number and said maybe they would extend my warranty…cuz if anyone could help me, corporate could. I called and got an apology for the runaround.
I would’ve been happy if they gave me a gift card.
They just lost a good customer.