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Don't You Just Love Best Buy

I bought a cell phone at a local Best Buy that had a mail in rebate. Never got the rebate. I tried repeatedly to resolve the issue with the store and the corporate office to no avail. When I told the store manager that my family had purchased thousands of dollars worth of items from just from that specific store and would never shop there in the future he just laughed and told me to leave. I now make it a point to NEVER shop at any Best Buy. I also encourage all people and businesses I deal with to avoid shopping there.
 
I bought a pair of 6x9 car speakers for $20 and spent an undue amount of time arguing with the cashier about my refusal to buy the $20 extended warranty.

The one time I used a Best Buy extended warranty was on an Aiwa stereo a few years ago. The CD player stopped playing after a couple years. When I got the stereo back (several weeks later) the CD player worked but they'd banged up the case pretty good.

My wife recently tried to buy a digital camera at Best Buy. Their display cameras were useless. They're on very short cords, they don't have batteries, and they don't have memory. You can heft one in your hand but you can't really try one out. Also, you have to hip check a bunch of children, who can't possibly be serious customers, to get close enough to the cameras to see them. That's not Best Buy's fault though.

What killed Best Buy for me was their credit card. They always get the worst banks to handle their credit card. 6, 12, 18, 24 months without interest sounds great, but they seem to do everything possible to collect fees from you. No matter when I send them a payment it's late. They charge $15 to pay the bill over the phone. $15 to pay a bill on time is pretty crappy. I have Comp USA, Circuit City, Frys, and the Apple Store all within 10 minutes from home. Not to mention online shopping. Why do I need Best Buy?

I do wish that they sold Macs before I banned them though. 🙁
 
I am not a fan of Best Buy.

I only buy from them to "screw" them now, and for the extended warranty (when I buy one). So it may actually be wash between the two.

I generally only buy when i can get the 12 to 24 month interest free financing. Unless things have changed since i worked for Micro Center in the 90's. Best Buy has to pay the credit card company when I pay off the card before the end of the term. In some cases this erases the profit on the sale.

You may ask why they do it then. It is because their customer base can not generally keep up with the payment plans. If they didn't and their "bank" didn't make money then we would not see 12 to 24 month interest free financing. those of us that play them are a very small percentage of the total. They also hope that i will stumble.

As to their extended warranties, i have had two computer systems replaced with new with their lemon policy. A bus mate had his 15gb Ipod replaced with a 20gb when the battery died.
 
I went into a bestbuy and saw them selling the 12 and 17inch pbooks. I needed a cable and went back 2 days later and noticed no pbooks and asked someone where they went. They don't sell them anymore, they only had them displayed for 1 week before they decided to stop selling them. (very laughable).

Anyway, if you are going to buy something you think you may or might have to return stay away from Compusa. They charge 15% to return anything unless you exchange for the same thing. Bestbuy does not.
 
Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Yeah, it's crazy. I was hounded to get an extended 5 year warrantee on a $29 Xbox controller, too. Where is the logic in that?
Click to expand...

This is because they make their best profits off of warrenties! Period! This is because most things that break are not covered under warrenties because they can say it was either normal wear and tear or abused. Especially on conrollers, printers, etc. Also, many peope don't remember they bought the warrenty on a controller after three or more years so they don't use the warrenty when it breaks...in fact they probably don't still have the game console after that many years.😀
 
When I could finally afford my own computer in 2000, I decided to take a look at Macs. I grew up on Commodore 64/128, and we finally got a PC when I was about 14. I knew NOTHING about Macs. I went into Best Buy and looked around but found no Macs. I found a salesman and asked about the Macs. He gave me a little chuckle, rolled his eyes, and said "We haven't sold that crap in over five years." Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but the iMac came out in 1998. Best Buy sold iMacs at one time. So, even if they only sold them for one day, it couldn't have been more than 2.5 years since they quit carrying Macs. He acted like I should have already known that they didn't carry them. And, you don't roll your eyes and laugh at a customer, and you don't tell them that the product that they have chosen is crap. If you don't sell that product, you lie your ass off and try and convince them that your product is better. i.e. "Yes, the iMac is a very good computer, but I think you will find that this computer is better because of a, b, & c." To laugh and call it crap is in my opinion an insult to my intelligence. And I don't have much of that to insult!

I hate the whole extended warranty battle as well. I recently began upgrading my kitchen. After researching products and prices, I chose Frigidaire stainless steel appliances and found the prices I wanted at H.H. Gregg. My first time ever in H.H. Gregg, a salesman found me and helped me find the dishwasher that I had chosen. When the transaction began, he started trying to sell me the warranty. I told him "I will absolutely not purchase a warranty. If you bug me about it, I'll leave here with my dishwasher, no warranty, and never return. If you don't say another word about the warranty, I will find you personally to make each purchase as I upgrade my kitchen over the next year or so." I have since also purchased a microwave from him, with no mention of an extended warranty. I plan to get my stove next month, and I intend to find the same salesman.
 
Wal-Mart has opened some stand alone grocery stores here in town, and plans on opening lots more in a town near you soon.

They're beginning to branch off from the Sam's Club/Wal-Mart store concepts with small footprint stand-alone grocery stores.

Of the several different sections inside Wal-Marts, there's a good chance that electronics may be one of Wal-Marts next stand-alone concepts.

They are rather weak in that area right now, and they have shown a huge interest in bulking up the computer section.

They should be able to force Best Buy into bankruptcy rather quick.
 
I work part time at a Best Buy as a computer technician. I am also the "mac expert" because everyone I work with only uses PC's and knows nothing about Macs. Well, it was late one night and a gentleman was asking about the G5. A salesman came over and asked me if I would talk to him and explain the features. Everything was going great until an idiot computer salesman came over and said, "You don't want a Mac." He then went on about saying that Macs sucked and PC's were better. This is what killed me...he showed the customer a $400 e-machine!!!! I was about to sell the guy a $3,000 computer package and this other idiot tries to talk him into a $400 piece of crap. Thank God I'm not on commision. The customer left empty handed and I got ready to go home for the night. I bet the manager would love to have known about this.
 
Computer salesmen are up there with used car salesmen on the ****list of life. The same thing happened at CompUSA, we were close to getting my sister a really nice eMac and some bozo came over and convinced her to get this 1.6 GHz Compaq that was actually more expensive when you figure in the cost of the monitor and all and the thing has gone through 3 CD burners, two ethernet cards, and I have had to fix it every time I go home for vacation.
 
I see your points.

Being a well-informed consumer, and a former Best Buy employee, I see many of your complaints are indeed well founded and very true. I also have found, that Circuit City, American TV, CompUSA, Office *, and others to be no different.

My only advice for people is to learn the right things to say to dissuade a "sales guy" from pushing PSPs onto people.

If they ask you if you want one, say "No thanks."

If they say you need one, simply respond "Thank you for your concern, but no thanks, unless you are willing to buy one for me." That'll get a response for sure!

If they call you a tard for picking one product over another, again "Thanks."

I have often seen customers get defensive, which will actually cause the sales person to keep trying for some reason.

The problem is that many consumers walk into a BB with no knowledge and expect to pay the lowest price possible for a product, and on top of that expect the sales people to be educated. Economics says this can't happen if you are paying your associates $7/hr because all the knowledgable people have better paying jobs. This is like asking a McDonalds cook to tell you how to make a good filet mignon. It all comes a price? Do you want cheaper stuff, or knowledgable sales people?

Aside...PSPs (Service Plans) are not bad investments on certain products. The keyword there is certain. Appliances and computers come to mind, even cell phones. Yeah, you paid $50 for your phone, but have you ever shopped for a new battery? They are pretty expensive. A PSP gives you a free one every year. I even washed (yeah, in a washing machine) my cell phone and they replaced it no questions asked (probably due to my good looks 🙂 ). You can even get replacement laptop batteries once a year, so I think of certain PSPs as a good investment if you actually use the benefits of said plan.

The problem started when people actually started buying these for stupid products like phones and game controllers. So if I am a BB exec, I say "why not?". If our guys ask 100 people if they want one and 10 bite, I just sold 10 more than if my employees didn't ask at all. I think its sort of like rebates. Many companies offer huge rebates because they expect a certain percentage of those people to NOT even bother sending in the rebates.

Finally...anyone else remember when Circuit City used to be commissioned based? Talk about a headache!
 
Originally posted by Sun Baked
Wal-Mart has opened some stand alone grocery stores here in town, and plans on opening lots more in a town near you soon.

They're beginning to branch off from the Sam's Club/Wal-Mart store concepts with small footprint stand-alone grocery stores.

Of the several different sections inside Wal-Marts, there's a good chance that electronics may be one of Wal-Marts next stand-alone concepts.

They are rather weak in that area right now, and they have shown a huge interest in bulking up the computer section.

They should be able to force Best Buy into bankruptcy rather quick.
Click to expand...
You know that the Wal*Mart technical drones are not any better than the Best Buy drones.

I don't mind if Wal*Mart kills Best Buy, but they better not kill the independent stores that know what they're doing. Maybe they'll even kill Circuit City.

As for CompUSA, well they have their uses. and the people their seem to be a little more technical. And besides having Apple employees, you can often find reps from other manufacturers at the store. Although, the HP printer rep didn't want to answer my question - he gave a canned [non]response. The epson rep was good as weel as the guy from Netgear (I think it was).
 
Yeah, people at Best Buy are pretty annoying.

I went the other day to pick up a mouse (Your basic USB infared thingamabob) and the dude asked me what it was for. I said my laptop. He was intrigued. What kind of laptop? Powerbook. "Oh, that wont work on a Mac." I said "OSX has built in drivers for most (if not all) mice." He said well, I guess we'll be seeing you again when it doesnt work. I said, "Sure I'll come back to let you know."

I walked out of the store, got my laptop from the car plugged it in, and walked back into the store with it. (turnaround time of 3 minutes.) Dude was like, "Oh. I guess it did work."

Yeah, they also tried to sell me the service plan on the 29 dollar mouse.

My wife bought me an iPod from there this Christmas and the dude there was stupid enough to say that iPods werent mac compatible. Can you believe that stupid sh*t? What a moron. I did get the plan on the iPod though. I'd like to be able to take it back if the battery goes kaput or something. The plan is nice for more expensive thangs.

Best Buy people DO work on comission. My friend worked there and made lots of money off of idiot computer shoppers.
 
Yeah I just quit Best Buy. It isnt a good company to work for. I signed up to go to work at 6 am for merchandising and then all the sudden they are telling me I have to be there at 12 am or i will get fired. I believe if they hired me under the arrangments I was to be there at 6 then I am going to be there at 6, if they had asked I might have done it when i could. Also there employee discount sucks. 1.00 off a DVD. I was told when I started that i got roughly 50% off car stereo equipment, about $600 off laptops, and anywhere from $300-1,200 off tvs, have yet to find one product in the store where i even got a fourth off what they said.
 
Originally posted by agreenster


Best Buy people DO work on comission. My friend worked there and made lots of money off of idiot computer shoppers. [/B]
Click to expand...


Best Buy employees (unfortunately) do not work on commission, not in any department. In fact, the only people that work on "commission" are the managers, who force us (yes, I work at there, it sucks) to sell Service Plans. And as for ALL Best Buy salespeople being idiots: this is not the case. Just like with any other place of employment (think of your own) there are people who are intellectually challenged and there are those who are not. I will agree though that some people do not need service plans or anything like that, but there are those out there who can't fix their own computers and need those plans. And for the charge that Best Buy employees do not like to sell Mac and try to discourage people from buying them: it's absolutely true. Most of the guys I work with won't even recommend iPods to people saying they are "too hard to use and figure out," instead recommending (and usually selling) the Samsung Napster thing. But, what can one do, it's a paycheck and I get to play with computers all day. It could be worse.

apmonia
 
When I shop at BB, if anyone asks if I want help, I say "No thanks."

You have to be very price-wary. Some of their smaller parts are outrageously expensive - like a PC ATX power supply $90 which NewEgg sells for $30. Their software prices are no big deal either. The BB near me (Sterling VA) has Macs on display but no software.

BB's almost like the 7-Eleven of electronics stores. CompUSA and Micro Center are both better, but for me they're a lot further away.
 
i went to get a crap recton video cable for my gf's tv, and the cashier asked if i wanted the $5 warranty on a $6.25 cable, so i asked her if the words stupid was written on my forehead, she got offended, and the supervisor (i was at lane 1 next to the securtity desk) heard what I said and came over and asked me to leave. So i picked up the bag (with cable inside) and left... without giving her the $10 in my hand.
 
Originally posted by krimson
So i picked up the bag (with cable inside) and left... without giving her the $10 in my hand.
Click to expand...

I don't condone theft, but, Hell, you just did what the man said! Good job following directions! 😀
 
Re: Don't You Just Love Best Buy

Originally posted by joshuawaire
"You got something against HP printers?", I said "

"So, are you for or against extended service plans?"
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what are you against best buy... huh, huh??? huh!?😀
 
Originally posted by TimDaddy
I don't condone theft, but, Hell, you just did what the man said! Good job following directions! 😀
Click to expand...

heh, it wasn't a conscious thing, and I didn't realize that happened until i got home, and wondered why i had $10 in the bag instead of a recipt.
 
CompUSA service

As a CompUSA employee I can tell you a couple things, ask any sales person at my particular store how many of us buy the service plans. I guarantee you it is all of us. As far as general knowledge goes, we are on commission so it pays for us to know a little (most times alot) more than the competition. Here is a little known secret to the general masses that believe they are smart by not getting service plans...the tech shop. That is the reason why other computer stores (Computer City) failed they had no tech shop. There is more money made from there than the service plans and an even higher markup.

Are we paid to sell them, definitely, do I make much off of them, not at all, and I actually believe in them. Especially, for things like laptops, pdas, cameras...when it comes to desktops it depends on your computer knowledge and how much time you want to invest. To be honest with you we generally think people are crazy walking out the door with no service on $500 printers and $1000+ laptops.

You also have people that are like one of the previous post that dont see the value of service plans, but then they go on to replace a drive three times (time and money) and countless other things.

As far as what the CompUSA service plans (TAP) cover, on PM I usually would rather have the non-tech go with applecare, on a PB or IB, there are things that applecare does not cover that our service plans do. I usually inform people that we are about $100 more than everyone else because we cover more, even more than the mfrs. We actually cover physical breakage of the screen (two times) and battery replacements for laptops, and the battery does NOT need to be dead. If they are pretty new to computers or to Macs, then applecare is definitely the way to go.
I have no problems with people buying the service plans from the mfrs. just check and compare what they cover, e.g. Toshiba is less than ours and covers physically broken screens, however, you can only get a machined repaired for any reason, once a year.

The service plan I have the hardest time selling is for LCD monitors, I have seen a lot of dead pixels before but not on the higher end brands.

Only thing I ask is that people actually listen to the presentation or sales push, however you may call it, and become informed it may turn out to your advantage. You couldnt imagine how many people come in months later where something has happened that would have been covered and they didnt want to even hear about the plan "...or they would walk out"
Any questions im in the Denver store on Colorado Blvd.


PS- No offense is meant to anyone that I semi-quoted I hear those things all the time, and it was easier to attempt a rebutt at what had been said.
BTW I only make $2 extra by selling a laptop kit.
 
yeah i bought a service plan from CompUSA when I bought my first iBook. I was told if three things go wrong with my iBook then they will consider it a lemon and replace it. Well 6 things later they still wont replace it. I had mouse pad issues and motherboard issues, it was bad. Well I bought the 700mhz for about 1099 they had it marked down for EOL and said they would bump me up to the next model as well when I bought the plan. After threatining law suits i waled out of there with only 1099, no new iBook like promised so all I was able to get was a little 700mhz eMac. Was not to happy.
 
I've never bought an extended service plan on anything (not even Applecare) and have only had it come back to bite me once and that was on a $350 stereo receiver back almost 10 years ago now when it went out after only 2 years.

When you factor in everything I've purchased over the past few years (including TVs, DVD/CD players, stereos, computers, phones, etc), I'm easily at least $2,000 ahead by not having spent the money it would have cost to buy service plans on all of those items. $2,000 can certainly upgrade/replace a lot of stuff, so that is why I just never go for any of them.

The few people I've known that have bought them have had hell getting claims settled with them most of the time too, so I just always avoid them. I've also come up with a great excuse to use when I'm pestered to buy one at a store, I just tell them that I'm going to be reimbursed by my employer for the purchase and I'm not authorized to purchase an extended warranty on it...that stops them in their tracks every time and avoids any potential confrontations with extra pushy salespeople.
 
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