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Salesmen at Best Buy = Thieves

Alx9876

Alx9876

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 26, 2008
519
37
NorCal
Hey everyone,

I was at Best buy earlier today to check out a few of the Macbook and Macbook Pro's in person and could not help but overhear this man in his early 50's buying a 13 inch Macbook Pro.

The problem I had was with the sales guy at Best buy talking his ear off about all the crap you need to purchase after the laptop such as pay us $40 more to optimize your new laptop, battery coverage for when the Macbook pro's goes out on you in one year six months, more warranty coverage you probably don't need. It will cost you $200 to change out the battery and another $200 to buy the new battery. All Best Buy salesmen words.

So I am here to ask and discuss whether or not I am right or wrong to be upset at the Best Buy sales guy.

Keep in mind we are in a Depression across the US and this is not the time to pay extra money you might not have for B S like this.

Macbooks last time I checked do not need to be optimized overnight upon purchase nor do the batteries go out in 1 year 6 months.

With Vista and PC's yeah I would probably agree but with Apple I do not. So I want to present this to the experts here.

If I'm wrong I will man up and say I was wrong but I do think the guy at Best Buy took major advantage of the older customer. I take this personally because while he's sweet talking you, The sales guy is really legally stealing from you at the same time.

My cousin has a 5 year old white Macbook that is still going strong with the same battery. I bought my iMac long time ago but I did not buy into all the crap they were selling me.

I have Applecare for my iMac.

On one hand I know it's there job to do this but on the other it's wrong.
 
I've personally witnessed the same kind of rip-off scam talk from WorstBuy employees. And every time I have seen it (maybe a half dozen times) I've spoiled the transaction by first laughing out loud, then when the prospective customer looks over at me I just shake my head, or maybe mouth the word "no". Works every time. Once I was asked to leave the store, but I didn't mind. I still got the job done and saved the naive customer from buying additional worthless crap they didn't need.

Haven't been to WorstBuy in a long time though. Doesn't surprise me those dirtbags continue to lie their asses off to up their sales.
 
He's a salesman, his job is to sell. If he doesn't sell things he'll lose his job.

It's up to you to take in the information he's giving you and determine the correct balance of features vs. price.

belvdr said:
Exactly. Also, we're not in a depression.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's true too. Technically the US is out of recession too.

Here in Australia we were never even in a recession.

If you can't afford it, don't buy it but don't call a guy doing his job a thief just because he's trying to sell you as much as he can. He's not stealing anything from you.
 
I can afford anything I need to buy at Best Buy but I will not pay extra money for crap features when I know better.

My money but doesn't mean I need to give it away. :)

Besides this isn't about me. The older customer could afford it but was it mandatory?

That's what I'm getting at.

Yes the guy is legally stealing from you if he keeps on insisting on it and will not take "NO!" for an answer the first 3 times you tell him. Personally I buy what I need but will get hostile if need be if they do not leave well enough alone.
 
Sales people are sales people and even if they are not on commission they push up-sales because they have to. That is one way they, their boss, their department, their store, their district, and their region is ranked by corporate. Apple stores do the same thing. I remember when my parents got their iMac and were up-sold MobileMe and something else they didn't need (I can't remember what it was off the top of my head) by the Apple rep.


Lethal
 
Yea, he's a salesperson, but there's a BIG difference between selling people and flat out lying to people. Last time I checked Best Buy isn't on commission. You would think being honest and upfront in the process of making a sale will benefit more in the long run.

Most people don't do research when buying electronics, they go in hoping to be able to trust the sales people. Best Buy's current advertising campaign, is a prime example of this. One sales person per store (or more) just hurts those stores in the community. I know that that's one of the things that killed the Circuit City in Bloomington, MN. Word was out, you couldn't trust the sales people and they were one of the first C.C. stores to close.

just my .02¢

Happy Holidays

Coachingguy
 
on the one hand he is just doing his job selling as much as possible

on the other hand its kind of shady if he is pushing stuff that the person doesn't really need

But at the end of the day I guess its the customer's fault for not being completely educated, its common knowledge that salespeople have the companies' best interest in mind and are there to make money over anything else..... with that knowledge you should do your research and not go solely by what the salesperson tells you.
 
Thank you for the great responses. I agree with almost everyone here 99%

Merry Christmas everyone. :)
 
Sound more to me like he got his commission and brownie points with the manager handed over on a silver platter by a customer that failed to do his homework: quite different from thievery. I challenge you to find a brick and mortar computer retailer that doesn't have pushy and deceptive salespeople.
 
He can try to sell as much as he wants, but no salesman should ever lie like that to a customer. The battery in macbooks lasts for 5 years (give or take), and is there anything that they can do to "optimize" the computer anyway?
 
joehahn said:
He can try to sell as much as he wants, but no salesman should ever lie like that to a customer. The battery in macbooks lasts for 5 years (give or take), and is there anything that they can do to "optimize" the computer anyway?
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^^LOL, That's what I was thinking to. :D
 
...I usually wait until the salesperson walks away and then tell the "unsuspecting" customer to check those "facts" on the internet before/after the purchase (while they are still with-in the return period) so they can make an informed decision if they want to keep ALL the items or return any of them...
 
There's also a chance that the salesperson was just ignorant of what he was selling. Let's face it, you can't expect a $10/hr employee, or any employee really for that matter to be the be all and end all of anything that plugs into a wall outlet. He could have just been repeating something he read on the interweb. After all, there's a lot of bad information all over. Many think just because it's online it must be right. Look at all the people that argue points based on what they read on Wikipedia not realizing where the info from wikipedia comes from.

With regards to the upsell, yeah it's his job to sell. It's difficult though to determine if he's down right lying, or truly believes what he's saying is correct.
 
A friend of mine worked at Best Buy years ago so I don't know if it's still the case, but they weren't on commission for selling the product. They did get commission (or brownie points) for selling extras like the extended warranty.

I just bought something there the other day and the salesperson didn't mention the extended warranty but the cashier did.
 
Rt&Dzine said:
A friend of mine worked at Best Buy years ago so I don't know if it's still the case, but they weren't on commission for selling the product. They did get commission (or brownie points) for selling extras like the extended warranty.

I just bought something there the other day and the salesperson didn't mention the extended warranty but the cashier did.
Click to expand...

That's my understanding as well... that they get recognized/compensated in some way for extended warranties. I remember when they used to push magazine subscription sales at the counter. I usually made a scene when they tried this as I thought it was extremely tacky to be at an electronics store and have to worry about high pressure sales of Time Magazine subscriptions.
 
The Best buy employees that tick me off are the ones who don't know what you ask them but they refuse to admit the fact. I did buy a Macbook Pro from them and the service was amazing. I did get the protection plan and my battery died in 7 months. I used to get five hours then I got 1 and Snow Leopard said battery needed service too. So overall I'm a happy customer when it comes to their protection plans.
 
mingoglia said:
That's my understanding as well... that they get recognized/compensated in some way for extended warranties. I remember when they used to push magazine subscription sales at the counter. I usually made a scene when they tried this as I thought it was extremely tacky to be at an electronics store and have to worry about high pressure sales of Time Magazine subscriptions.
Click to expand...

My understanding as well, I can't say it shocked me.
 
For the most part, Best Buy employees are a bunch of young clueless idiots who don't mind trying to rip you off at any chance they get. Just one case in point would be hdmi cables- they will try and sell you a "monster" hdmi cable for $80, when you can buy a comparable hdmi cable for less than $8 on amazon or monoprice.

Nothing there is really a deal anyway- if I were to buy a computer I would rather go to the apple store, if it were a tv I would go somewhere like costco with a fair return policy- anything else I would find online like at amazon.
 
mingoglia said:
That's my understanding as well... that they get recognized/compensated in some way for extended warranties. I remember when they used to push magazine subscription sales at the counter. I usually made a scene when they tried this as I thought it was extremely tacky to be at an electronics store and have to worry about high pressure sales of Time Magazine subscriptions.
Click to expand...
Way to be a jerk, dude. You think the cashiers like giving the same "do you wanna sign up for this" spiel a hundred times a shift? You think making a scene like a child in the front of the store will some how work its way up the food chain to BB's corporate headquarters? If it's anything like when I worked retail all the cashiers had quotas and if you missed you could get written up. And if the store missed its quota the store manager could get written up (and if the SM got a write up you better believe everyone else would get a write up too 'cause crap rolls down hill). At the very least talk to the store manager or get the number of the district manager and politely tell them that you don't like the hard sell tactics at the register.

So the next time you are in a similar situation why not take a breath, put yourself in their shoes, and hopefully decide to not be a man-child because working retail is sucky enough w/o grown adults throwing temper tantrums in the check out lane.

/rant

Virt said:
For the most part, Best Buy employees are a bunch of young clueless idiots who don't mind trying to rip you off at any chance they get. Just one case in point would be hdmi cables- they will try and sell you a "monster" hdmi cable for $80, when you can buy a comparable hdmi cable for less than $8 on amazon or monoprice.
Click to expand...
You seriously think the guy working the floor at BB sets the prices?


Lethal
 
LethalWolfe said:
Way to be a jerk, dude. You think the cashiers like giving the same "do you wanna sign up for this" spiel a hundred times a shift? You think making a scene like a child in the front of the store will some how work its way up the food chain to BB's corporate headquarters? If it's anything like when I worked retail all the cashiers had quotas and if you missed you could get written up. And if the store missed its quota the store manager could get written up (and if the SM got a write up you better believe everyone else would get a write up too 'cause crap rolls down hill). At the very least talk to the store manager or get the number of the district manager and politely tell them that you don't like the hard sell tactics at the register.

So the next time you are in a similar situation why not take a breath, put yourself in their shoes, and hopefully decide to not be a man-child because working retail is sucky enough w/o grown adults throwing temper tantrums in the check out lane.

/rant


Lethal
Click to expand...

Well said.

I was at Target, Ikea, and Home Depot today, and at all three, the cashiers asked if I wanted to save 15% (or something like that) by signing up for their credit cards.

They know I don't want to sign up.

I know they don't really want to ask if I want to sign up.

So I smile, and say "no thank you". No need to make the cashier feel worse than they already feel about being forced to ask you a question.
 
LethalWolfe said:
Way to be a jerk, dude. You think the cashiers like giving the same "do you wanna sign up for this" spiel a hundred times a shift? You think making a scene like a child in the front of the store will some how work its way up the food chain to BB's corporate headquarters? ...

Lethal
Click to expand...

Apparently it does. I say this because they STOPPED pushing them at the counter. I doubt this was a result of just me, though they heard it a lot from me as I'm a business customer and spend a lot of cash per year there. It's a bunch of people like me that get things changed. Perhaps they just decided to stop pushing it? We'll never know. I do know they haven't discontinued their magazine sales as they still have them listed at the counter and you can sign up through the credit card reader/signer device at the register.

A bit off topic, but similar. We have lax gun laws here in AZ. A law was passed that allowed you to carry a firearm in a restaurant that served alcohol UNLESS a sign was posted at the front entrance and by the liquor license. I frequently go into a Red Robin by my office and sit at the bar with my business partner for lunch. After going there for a few months at least once or twice a week they put up the sign stating no firearms. The sign was right there across from me, mocking me as I sat and ate lunch. :p I told the manager that although I do not carry a firearm in public, I believe it's our right to be able to if we chose so.... particularly concealed where it's not going to make anyone nervous. I didn't go there for a few weeks. The next time I went back the sign was gone.

The same thing happened at the Denny's by my house. I take my kids there every couple of weeks and they started posting the sign there (even though they didn't even serve alcohol). I told the manager the same thing and I started going to another Denny's further from the house. Well a couple of months went by and I went there a couple weeks back because I didn't have time to go to the further one and sure enough, they too took the sign down.

Could all of this be a coincidence? There's a good chance. But it sure can't hurt. BTW, in my original post I mentioned making a "scene". That was probably a bit carried away... but it was a firm remark pointing out that I do have options when it comes to where I spend $$$. These business owners have every right to run their business within the boundaries of the law. As such, they have every right to post "no guns" signs... Just like them though I and others like me have the right to take our business elsewhere.
 
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