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the total idiocy of Best Buy and a free upgrade (long)

NathanMuir said:
IMO, if you're preparing/ ed to spend a sizable amount of money on a major electronics purchase (like say a laptop), you have the responsibility to preform the research necessary to inform yourself on the purchase.

You wouldn't buy a house/ car/ other major purchase without preforming research (or so I would assume), why would an electronics purchase of similar importance be any different?
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There's no way you can research every single iota of information you may be presented with, especially if tech savviness is not your strong suit. If you get into a conversation with someone who *seems* like they know what they're talking about, you could be led astray.

I agree with you to a point on the research, but I think it's too far to say it's dumb people who get screwed, while smart people don't. It also kind of oversimplifies these kinds of incidents.
 
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totally worth going through all that for the free upgrade you ended up with

congrats!
 
Queen of Spades said:
There's no way you can research every single iota of information you may be presented with, especially if tech savviness is not your strong suit. If you get into a conversation with someone who *seems* like they know what they're talking about, you could be led astray.

I agree with you to a point on the research, but I think it's too far to say it's dumb people who get screwed, while smart people don't. It also kind of oversimplifies these kinds of incidents.
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I don't think it has anything to do with smart vs dumb people. I think anyone purchasing anything has a responsibility to research it. AKA dont buy something just because it looks pretty and a salesperson says that you should.
 
lol. im planning to apply for a job at BB. after reading this (if i get the job) i know i will be better than that jerk! lol!
 
pricej636 said:
There is nothing wrong with buying a computer or anything at Best Buy. Do your homework first and know what you are buying before you go in is key.

Extended warranties are like car insurance. The whole reason they exist is because most people don't use them.
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But.... if you know the person buying is careless or just plain has horrible luck, I tell them to get it. I'm sure my daughter got many times the price of her auto warranty since that thing was such a lemon they almost replace everything but the engine and transmission. $6000+ in repairs later that $795 extended warranty seemed pretty good.

As to Bestbuy warranties, I've never had an issue getting a broken piece of gear replaced on the rare occasion I've purchased the warranty.

Pay attention to the terms, follow the rules w/o exception and don't take no for an answer.

Of course the underlying problem of mis-informed, uneducated and downright deceptive humans is not unique to BB. You can find those folks anywhere.

Cheers,
 
panzer06 said:
Of course the underlying problem of mis-informed, uneducated and downright deceptive humans is not unique to BB. You can find those folks anywhere.

Cheers,
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Yes, but Best Buy seems to foster this attitude and hire more people like them so you're more likely to have to deal with that there.

And this is not my experience with just one store but four different ones in two different states. My experience with them has been pretty consistant, and it's usually bad.

And I'm not just talking about how informed/uninformed the sales clerks are (that doesn't bug me so much, I agree with some one to do your own research as retail doesn't hire people for expertise but for selling/customer service/ability to handle customers. I work retail, I realize that in general any store isn't looking for experts but more for who is going to either sell a lot or make their customers want to come back with friendly service). I'm talking about how rude/unhelpful (as in can you get some one to help me get that large tv off the second shelf, not as in can you tell me which is the best TV)/slackers/liars/only want the sale and once they've sold you not caring about your experience or wanting your business again they are.
 
I only go to Best Buy to look at the Macs (because I am not in a massive crowd of hoards of people like at the Apple Store - Apple Store is ALWAYS packed), usually there are very few people around the Macs at Best Buy and I can go to just check out the computers in peace. But, I would never buy from them. I would probably end up buying on eBay or Amazon, to be honest, having it shipped to me...although I have bought from the Apple Store. Whenever I buy at the Apple Store, I want to be in and out in 5 minutes flat. No hassle.
 
Seems like everyone has a Best Buy horror story. When are people going to learn!? Don't buy from them.....they will scam you in any way they can.
 
I never buy warranties from best buy. I got screwed before buying a warranty on my macbook air from them. Long story short, I purchased the demo macbook air, got it for 1000$, purchased the extended warranty which they said would cover me for 3 years. A few months later, had issues.. went to go get it fixed and apparently my apple warranty expired before i even purchased the unit. And bestbuy was going to take 2 months to get it fixed.. Not possible when I have EXAMS. Anyways i ripped out the bestbuy salesman, manager, and a lady at the apple call center who said i was lying and there was no apple location at the bestbuy i purchased from. All in all i got it all fixed, turned around and sold the unit 2 weeks later and purchased a Macbook Pro.

Now im a salesman from Staples for their computer department. And i've always been told out warranties are better than Bestbuy, but now i know FOR SURE, we actually care about the customer. Even still i purchased my macbook pro from apple with applecare.

Oh, and by the way, i read the whole thing :D
 
Totally not understanding your plight.

You got an upgraded brand-spankin' "new" MBP and only lost a few months warranty. And face it... at the end of the day without that Black Tie plan your friend would have been 100% screwed (and rightfully so as the MB was dropped).

If you're looking for a pat on the back for sticking to your guns then you got it. Well done. But haggling with idiots is just part of life in any retail environment - even Apple employees.
 
Richard1028 said:
Totally not understanding your plight.

You got an upgraded brand-spankin' "new" MBP and only lost a few months warranty. And face it... at the end of the day without that Black Tie plan your friend would have been 100% screwed (and rightfully so as the MB was dropped).

If you're looking for a pat on the back for sticking to your guns then you got it. Well done. But haggling with idiots is just part of life in any retail environment - even Apple employees.
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Definitely not looking for a pat on the back. There is no "plight" - the free upgrade was because they're idiots and failed to do even the most basic check of a product before giving it to the customer. On top of that, it was just bad customer service from the get go - from selling us an open-boxed item as new to refusing to pricematch just because the salesman was crabby.

At the end of the day, minus the free upgrade, she paid $400 + $116 toward the new computer, while they kept her old one (undoubtedly worth SOMETHING, even parted out). It's nearly even in my opinion, she didn't hit the lottery.
 
Ann P said:
No sales tax! That's a huge plus for us California residents.
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I am from Huntington Beach, but have lived up here in Portland for half my life (15 years). It is really weird when I am visiting family, because I forget about sales tax.
 
I bought my first MacBook from Best Buy here in Canada. I also got there Protection plan. Total cost for the Alu MacBook plus plan was around 2000.00 dollars. 1749 For the comp itself. Needless to say, I had to have a couple repairs, So they honored their part of replacing it after 3 Repairs. The computer they were going to replace mine with was the base 13" MacBook Pro. Nothing wrong with that, although I wanted a bit more power so I opted to pay the difference for the current MBP that I have. I never had any issues with their warranty, and actually benefited from it. This time around though, I did opt to get apple care based on the simple fact that we now have an apple store where I live.
 
Mabyboi said:
Now im a salesman from Staples for their computer department. And i've always been told out warranties are better than Bestbuy, but now i know FOR SURE, we actually care about the customer.
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Warranties are a great deal for the seller and a bad deal for the consumer especially with consumer electronics. Sellers like them because they have hugh margins. Most electronics simply don't break, and if they do, are often caused by accidents that aren't covered. You're better off buying an insurance policy to cover things like loss / theft and paying with a credit card that extends the manufactures warranty than buying one separately. Look at it this way - would credit card companies offer free extended warranties if they cost them any significant amount of money? They do it because ether know their costs will be small compared to the extra merchant fees they get by encouraging use of their credit card.
 
atheistpally said:
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totally worth going through all that for the free upgrade you ended up with

congrats!
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Not trying to be too negative but it sounds like the friend wouldn't even notice/realise the difference with the upgrade! Plus, if people didn't actually shop in this kind of store they wouldn't have any reason to exist. :D
 
Queen of Spades said:
Once BB employees forced my mother into buying a $150 surge protector when she bought her computer. They told her if she didn't buy it, her warranty would be void.
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The warranty will not cover damage to your computer when lightning strikes. On the other hand, your home insurance will. So there is no need for that surge protector, and there is definitely no need for a $150 one.

And power surges will go to the power supply of your computer, which will tolerate some degree of extra voltage by design. What used to be a problem was phone line connected to serial port in your computer, where extra voltage on the phone line went directly to vulnerable bits in your computer. Wireless router protects you better than any surge protector. :D


jlc1978 said:
Warranties are a great deal for the seller and a bad deal for the consumer especially with consumer electronics. Sellers like them because they have hugh margins. Most electronics simply don't break...
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Hard drive video recorder. The hard drive records permanently, 24 hours a day. They don't last forever. I am now on my fourth; I learned after the first one broke down within a bit over a year. As long as I don't buy one that outlasts my three year extended warranty I am set up for live. Get the latest model every two years for the price of a new extended warranty. (Should one break after the extended warranty runs out I'll just buy a new hard drive).
 
While AppleCare is all well and good, it does not cover ADH. Best buy offers it to customers. Sure it's not necessary. But I've worked at a best buy and dealt with customers who bring in dropped laptops and smashed phones without the Protection Plan. They're not happy campers that's for sure.

Nothing against Amazon but how many of you anti-brick and mortar drones are all high and mighty about shopping online with Amazon et al but complain when companies here in the U.S. close down or ship their jobs overseas? Just a thought.

Typed on an iPad bought at Best Buy.
 
Twinsbb17 said:
While AppleCare is all well and good, it does not cover ADH. Best buy offers it to customers. Sure it's not necessary. But I've worked at a best buy and dealt with customers who bring in dropped laptops and smashed phones without the Protection Plan. They're not happy campers that's for sure.

Nothing against Amazon but how many of you anti-brick and mortar drones are all high and mighty about shopping online with Amazon et al but complain when companies here in the U.S. close down or ship their jobs overseas? Just a thought.

Typed on an iPad bought at Best Buy.
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While I do buy many products online I do use the cashier at the grocery store (not the self serve terminal) and the teller at the bank in the rare case I have a paper check to deposit. I am an BB Silver customer so I do buy some things in store, mainly TVs and large electronics that I want to see and take with me and the occasional movie or TV series on sale.

I like supporting local jobs where I can. BB quality varies depending on the store. The ones I use are nowhere near as bad as this thread would indicate. Most of the time it's a good experience.

Cheers,
 
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