Unfortunately, a lot of the employees take all of this stuff very personal and feel a part of them is taken when a deal is given. For some reason they feel left out of the loop. After all, they're employees--THEY should be getting the best deals around. In fact, I've seen them on the computers looking specifically for deals.

But the real unfortunate thing is, they'll probably be downsized or let go in the near future due to personnel cuts and their mission to uphold the company and protect its assets, will be rewarded with a $10 gift card and a "good luck job hunting!" memo--that was photocopied.

I had the same problems with a Hollywood Video manager. Took this entire HD DVD sale like it was his only mission in life to conquer. Gave me a hard time with the BOGO coupon which was perfectly valid. He accused me of fraud--dumbass didn't even know what the term meant--and I said if this was fraud, then why was I holding a legit coupon, conducting a legit purchase. Asked him prove it was fraud and he suddenly grew a vagina and became bitchy with a hint of vinegar.

I walked out with my BOGO HD DVD used movies. And for the next few times I just called the store to see when he worked. I just showed up when he wasn't working.

You win some. Yah lose some, as you very well know.

I dont understand how some BB's are PM their online prices, and others arent! I have been to 3 different local BB's, and all of them have PM their online prices, even when they were sold out online. I did have one store tell me that their online prices were an "online special only", and they couldnt PM the price. All I did was tell him I had been to 2 other local stores and they had PM without a hitch, and I was only looking for a few movies that were not available at the other stores. And just like that he said ok, looked up the movies in hand, and printed them out for me. I walked over to the cashier and a manager was called in to input their passwords and that was that.

That is so screwed up that some of the BB's are not PM their online prices! At least in my local BB, the only movies they will not PM is the online movies that say "in store pick up not available and sold out" (together), and those movies are few, as most sold out movies say either available, available in most stores, or limited availability. I was told that they would PM unless in store pickup was not available. And the majority that say "not available for store pickup" are not sold out... So in other words, there is only like 5 movies that my BB would not PM..

Don/Polizei,

I suggest you guys re-read your last posts and consider why Best Buy and Hollywood Video "stonewalled" you.

You could have been coming off as rude and in-considerate. Technically, the Best Buy price matching policy is based upon the retailer, be it their own on-line store or a competitor, having the item in stock.

The biggest fallacy in retail is that "The customer is always right." - You're not entitled to anything, if a company accommodates your request be grateful.

fitprod

It's pretty clear from their own policies that any Best Buy store should honor the online HD DVD prices. The items are available for in-store pick-up if they show as being in stock, so it's obviously not a web-exclusive offer. For those having trouble, I would suggest calling 1-888-Best-Buy from the store that's giving you a hassle. I've had to do this a couple times. Every time, the phone rep has asked to speak to the person I'm dealing with and, after a brief conversation, the store honors their policy. I can see cashiers being mistaken, but it's pretty bad when you have someone that's risen to being a store manager without even knowing his company's policies. I've had no trouble with PM'ing HD DVD prices over the last couple weeks and have bought from at least 4 different stores.

Back on topic as to deals... I stopped by Fry's last night and saw they'd dropped some prices. I grabbed Blade Runner for $19.99 and The Assassination of Jesse James for $16.99, both cheaper prices than can be found at amazon or deepdiscount. They also had the new animated Justice League movie for $12.99, but I held off on grabbing it because I hadn't read any reviews yet.

That Justice League movie rocks :) I blind-bought the BR, based on reviews and some clips I'd seen. Definitely worth it. Lots of extras, too. And $12.99 is a great price for it.

My 3 import HD DVD's from the Mediadis sale already shipped :up:.

I don't get that sense at all. It's pretty bad for a store to say stuff like "you geeks". Deny the sale, fine, but that's rude and childish.

I have a hard time classifying that as "the run around". they seemed pretty direct.

Yeah, most of the reviews sound pretty positive. I'll probably grab it tonight. They only had two copies, but I dropped one behind about a dozen copies of School for Scoundrels, so hopefully they'll still have it.

Regarding Bestbuy, understand that the cashier makes $8-10/hr tops and the manager is pulling down maybe $40-45k a year. These kind of jobs don't attract the best, brightest or most helpful. It's not really worth getting frustrated over.

I got shot down at BB last week, I may go in today and see whats happening with some of their product today, especially with it being a new release day.

The only thing that sucks is that I have to drive like 30 minutes to get to my closest store.

I just dont want to drive all that way and get shot in the foot for trying to get a PM and have to leave empty handed.

Call Best Buy customer service before that, verify their policy and explain that a store is refusing to honor it. Most likely, they'll either call the manager and correct him or ask you to call back if you get to the store and have a problem.

and blow $6 in gas to save $5...

Apparently some Blockbusters are selling used HD DVDs for $7.50. Not sure how big of a selection they have...but if you know you're Blockbuster has carried HD DVD for rent in the past, give it a shot. Personally, unless they have new releases, I have no interest.

I've worked in retail, both as an employee and manager. The points in this post are absolutely irrelevant with regards to how they were treated. There is no excuse for an employee or manager being rude to a customer regardless of the customer's behavior. Comments such as "you geeks" or accusing the customer of trying to screw the business out of money are completely out of line professionally under any circumstances. If you want to say that they're human and can get emotional like the rest of us, fine, but there's no valid excuse professionally for that type of behavior.

However, the points on whether a retailer honors a deal are correct. You'll see most of the time things like "price and participation may vary" or "at participating locations only". That's their out for not honoring a deal. They do risk upsetting customers in these cases, but they have every right to do it. And you absolutely should remember that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.

I'll check my local Blockbuster and see what I come up with. Was hoping Movie Gallery would have "Enchanted" today for their two-for-twenty sale, but I called and they have stopped receiving any new HD-DVDs. Oh well!

Enchanted is a Blu-ray exclusive. It was never destined to hit HD DVD at any point. Its a Disney title.

In regards to the Best Buy shopping experience. In Atlanta, I live between 2 different Best Buy stores. Both are 5 miles away from me. The Best Buy at Perimeter Mall is the worst one I have ever shopped at. In fact, I told them after giving them several chances that I was never shopping there again. They have provided the worst possible shopping experience at that store for me. I have left that store so pissed off many times.

The other store which is located near the Galleria on Cobb Parkway 41 is a whole different story. I am always treated with respect and the people there are friendly and very helpful. The customer service reps are always willing to price match if you have the ad or can provide the webpage url. In the DVD section I am always approached by an employee and asked if they can help me look for something. They often have even gone in the back to pull something out that was not currently on the floor. They do all this with a smile and are happy to do their job to make me, the customer, happy. I couldn't tell you why this Best Buy is so much better than the Perimeter mall one. It just doesn't seem to make sense to me that one would be that much better and they would be only 10 miles apart. It's crazy but they are completely opposites in terms of customer care.

Last week, I was easily able to pricematch all the $10.49 HD-DVD titles at the Cobb pkwy store. The customer service rep even helped me look through the section for everything I had on my list. The ones they didn't have, he looked up on the computer to see if any other Atlanta stores had them. It's like having your own personal shopper when you go there.

It doesn't make sense that the Perimeter Mall Best Buy is such a terrible store. I have had so many bad experiences there that it would take too long to type them. I will tell just one: I walked in the store grabbed a flyer at the front of the door with my car keys and my cell phone still in my hand. Once I made it over to the DVD section, I put my car keys and my cell phone in my pocket and started looking at the flyer. I hadn't even touched anything on the shelves yet. About 3 minutes later the security guy from the front of the store comes over and says he "noticed some suspicious activity in the security TV" and wanted to ask me what I put in my pockets. I had to have looked surprised, but I pulled out all my keys, cell phone and a pack of gum I had in my pocket to show him. Anyways, all this after I had been in this store several times throughout the years and bought tons of stuff. I even recognized the security guy as someone I had seen several times there at the store. Anyways, it is several weird instances like this and some way worst experiences that have made me NEVER STEP FOOT IN THAT STORE AGAIN. I don't care if they have the last Lord of the Rings Blu Ray extended collection steelbook edition left in Atlanta. I will NEVER go in that store again.

Ok back on subject: I asked my good customer service people and manager at the Cobb pkwy store in Atlanta about when the rest of the HD-DVD section would be reduced. They said "there may be one more sale better than 30% off, but we are not sure. Everything left here before April 4th will probably be sent back". I even had the manager take my phone number and he said as soon as he got the word, he would call me. He even offered to grab some of what I wanted and put it aside for me at the time the sale started as long as I left right when he called me to come to the store. I will report anything else I find out as soon as I know.

My feelings exactly. That's why I do all my DVD shopping on-line.

Still wondering if the on-line stores will be lowering prices a bit more before HD DVDs disappear entirely. There are several I'd buy if the prices were better but it's not a big deal if I don't get them.

Yeah... I meant Atonement. Guess I had Enchantment on my mind for some reason.

I worked at Toys R Us during winter and summer breaks in college and, though I made little better than minimum wage, I went above and beyond each and every day. Mostly because I remember what it was like to not be able to find the toy you wanted at the toy store, and if people asked nicely (which they usually did) I'd be more than happy to tear boxes apart in the back room to find a White Power Ranger and make some kid's Christmas.

I don't have a lot of patience for people who treat a job they chose as a chore or something unworthy of effort. There just isn't any excuse for that kind of behavior.

Am I missing something? Where is the Justice League Blu-Ray movie for $12.99? And I thought this was an HD-DVD thread.

See, that's the primary issue. When you were treated with respect, you had no problem going out of the way for the customer. But when a customer was confrontational, what was you're initial reaction?

You only worked during winter and summer breaks, but consider the manager that works full time. They're balancing employees that don't care, the periodic unruly customer and other stresses. I knew someone who was a manager for Best Buy and Circuit City, and after years of earning a decent salary finally got out of the retail business.

fitprod

Where the hell can I find this for $12.99?

I agree with you to a point. Christmas and the summer are easily the most stressful times at a toy store, so I do feel I saw the best and worst that job offered.

I think one of the reasons that people were geniunely nice was because I was geniunely pleasant to everyone. So I diffused a lot of situations before they escalated and did everything I could to meet the customers' needs within reason.

I've seen plenty of CSRs who gear up for a "battle" when I walk to the counter and it comes across that way. A big smile and a spring in their step would go a long way. And I've also seen jerk customers, people who couldn't be pleased no matter what so that's definitely a factor. And I dealt with some "nerds" too...grown men who waited by the dock door and yelled out to us while we were unloading the truck to see if we had gotten any new Matchbox cars in. I didn't do much to help those folks, as they could be downright rude, but I was never rude back to them no matter what they did.

That is, again, inexcusible.