best buy picking customers
11-10-04, 11:31 AM
#51
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Originally posted by TheKing
To me, the whole idea of "personal shoppers" is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. If I want a jackass hounding me at one of these stores trying to get me to buy things, I'll ask one of my friends to come along. At least their interest in me isn't measured by my wallet. They wouldn't save time, they'd waste it.
To me, the whole idea of "personal shoppers" is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. If I want a jackass hounding me at one of these stores trying to get me to buy things, I'll ask one of my friends to come along. At least their interest in me isn't measured by my wallet. They wouldn't save time, they'd waste it.
I'm in the "this can't work/enforce or change your current policies" camp, with not much to add except that I can think of very few national retailers that cater to a mostly wealthy clientele. And none of them started out as mass marketers or had a name even remotely similar to "Best Buy." It'll be a miracle if BB can do it.
And I'm surprised they based this turn only on short term data. Yes, sales might've increased in the first few months but once you've sold HDTV's to all the locals out there in the market, then what? How often are they going to come back for those high-profit but generally durable goods?
11-10-04, 01:40 PM
#52
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Originally posted by RonBoster
In a recent thread, someone admitted ruining a dvd, then taking advantage of BB's return policy. These are the consumers that are ruining it for the rest of us.....is it 20% of BB clients, I doubt it. But go through the recent threads here and you see some of the "devils" are among us.
In a recent thread, someone admitted ruining a dvd, then taking advantage of BB's return policy. These are the consumers that are ruining it for the rest of us.....is it 20% of BB clients, I doubt it. But go through the recent threads here and you see some of the "devils" are among us.
As has been pointed out repeatedly, it is not this consumer that has "ruined it for the rest of us." It is Best Buy by violating their own policies by allowing, condoning, and encouraging idiots like that to abuse them! Best Buy is a battered whore who simply sticks around and takes it. I lose sypathy for people like that.
At any point Best Buy could say "I'm sorry, we aren't going to do this." Instead they choose to become Farrah Fawcett and light the bed on fire . . . "Because we are too stupid to take care of internal problems, we feel that the consumer is to blame and that is who we are going to target."
Rather than piss off that one abusive customer, BB is going to continue to tarnish their image to the public.
11-10-04, 01:46 PM
#53
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Originally posted by al_bundy
you have to look at it from BB"s CEO point of view. In the last few years Wal Mart has gone from 0% market share in the grocery business to around 50%. Wal Mart is so big in the CD and DVD business that they can tell studios and record companies what content they don't want.
you have to look at it from BB"s CEO point of view. In the last few years Wal Mart has gone from 0% market share in the grocery business to around 50%. Wal Mart is so big in the CD and DVD business that they can tell studios and record companies what content they don't want.
However, just as I don't feel that consumers are to blame for Best Buy's perceived "runaway devil problem" I don't feel that 100 % of the blame should go to Walmart or Blockbuster . . . ultimately the suppliers could have told them to bugger off. Instead they began the practice of caving in . . . . much like professional sports. Nobody forced the owners to begin paying outrageous contracts, but now they are clamoring for protection from their own Frankenstein's Monster.
11-10-04, 02:55 PM
#54
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Originally posted by TheKing
Ya know, I'm going to break the mold here, and say I'm about the only person in the world who doesn't give a damn about customer service.
I don't go to a store so friendly people can try and help me. I go there to get what I want, and get out. That's it. I don't need smiling faces, and I don't need knowledgeable sales people. Stock the shelves and stay out of my way.
Ya know, I'm going to break the mold here, and say I'm about the only person in the world who doesn't give a damn about customer service.
I don't go to a store so friendly people can try and help me. I go there to get what I want, and get out. That's it. I don't need smiling faces, and I don't need knowledgeable sales people. Stock the shelves and stay out of my way.
11-10-04, 08:41 PM
#55
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Originally posted by TheKing
Ya know, I'm going to break the mold here, and say I'm about the only person in the world who doesn't give a damn about customer service.
I don't go to a store so friendly people can try and help me. I go there to get what I want, and get out. That's it. I don't need smiling faces, and I don't need knowledgeable sales people. Stock the shelves and stay out of my way.
My dream store experience is to walk in, and never have to talk to one single person. The only place I can possibly do this (other than online of course) is Wal-Mart, where they have self-checkout. I wish more stores would convert to this. They'd need less employees, cutting down on overhead.
To me, the whole idea of "personal shoppers" is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. If I want a jackass hounding me at one of these stores trying to get me to buy things, I'll ask one of my friends to come along. At least their interest in me isn't measured by my wallet. They wouldn't save time, they'd waste it.
The more that people talk to me in these stores, the less I want to buy. I don't need help, I don't want help. Just put the stuff on the shelf so I can find it, have people at the registers, or have self-checkout, and let me be on my way.
Ya know, I'm going to break the mold here, and say I'm about the only person in the world who doesn't give a damn about customer service.
I don't go to a store so friendly people can try and help me. I go there to get what I want, and get out. That's it. I don't need smiling faces, and I don't need knowledgeable sales people. Stock the shelves and stay out of my way.
My dream store experience is to walk in, and never have to talk to one single person. The only place I can possibly do this (other than online of course) is Wal-Mart, where they have self-checkout. I wish more stores would convert to this. They'd need less employees, cutting down on overhead.
To me, the whole idea of "personal shoppers" is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard. If I want a jackass hounding me at one of these stores trying to get me to buy things, I'll ask one of my friends to come along. At least their interest in me isn't measured by my wallet. They wouldn't save time, they'd waste it.
The more that people talk to me in these stores, the less I want to buy. I don't need help, I don't want help. Just put the stuff on the shelf so I can find it, have people at the registers, or have self-checkout, and let me be on my way.
11-10-04, 08:42 PM
#56
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Originally posted by MISS PEACH
For small, fungible merchandise that makes sense, and I shop like you.
But for larger-ticket items — appliances for example — I tend to want a three-prong approach:
First, I research everything on the internet and get all the data and specs possible.
Next I call around, and let the store bid on the applicance. The store with the lowest phone quote (usually) gets my business. I make an appointment with the salesperson who assisted me, and I bring in my binder (yes, I do a lot of research LOL).
I go into the store and say: "Okay, this was the model I was looking at:
What other brands are similar?
What are their advantages/disadvantages?
Any models I couldn't pull up that might be of interest to me?
Accessories? Options?"
I think this is where BB (and Circuit City) have premised their success on a doomed business model: They need to spin off their nickel-and-dime merchandise (cables, DVDs, CDs et al.), cut their square footage in half, and focus on one, just one, of the following — large appliances or high-end electronics.
I repeat: There's only room for one of them, and I could care less which one remains. One of them will absolutely go under in the next 10 years.
PEACH
For small, fungible merchandise that makes sense, and I shop like you.
But for larger-ticket items — appliances for example — I tend to want a three-prong approach:
First, I research everything on the internet and get all the data and specs possible.
Next I call around, and let the store bid on the applicance. The store with the lowest phone quote (usually) gets my business. I make an appointment with the salesperson who assisted me, and I bring in my binder (yes, I do a lot of research LOL).
I go into the store and say: "Okay, this was the model I was looking at:
What other brands are similar?
What are their advantages/disadvantages?
Any models I couldn't pull up that might be of interest to me?
Accessories? Options?"
I think this is where BB (and Circuit City) have premised their success on a doomed business model: They need to spin off their nickel-and-dime merchandise (cables, DVDs, CDs et al.), cut their square footage in half, and focus on one, just one, of the following — large appliances or high-end electronics.
I repeat: There's only room for one of them, and I could care less which one remains. One of them will absolutely go under in the next 10 years.
PEACH
11-10-04, 09:50 PM
#57
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Originally posted by Abob Teff
I am agreeing with you that what the consumer did was WRONG. However, please show me where Best Buy was obligated to accept the return . . . I'm waiting . . . waiting . . . .
I am agreeing with you that what the consumer did was WRONG. However, please show me where Best Buy was obligated to accept the return . . . I'm waiting . . . waiting . . . .
11-10-04, 09:54 PM
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I don't do it, nor do I condone it, but Best Buy doesn't give a crap if somebody exchange a defective DVD with one of the same title. It gets sent back to the distributor and Best Buy gets a credit for it...so no thats not a reason..for treating educated consumers like slime.
They want the stupids to buy stuff from their store, because they know that if a consumer was in the slightest way educated, they would not shop there.
They want the stupids to buy stuff from their store, because they know that if a consumer was in the slightest way educated, they would not shop there.
11-11-04, 01:54 PM
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BB has gotten really big, really fast. I think this is the key business decision that will determine whether they stay on top or falter and let Walmart steamroll them and let the others like CC chip away at their lead.
I see a lot of holes in their plan.
First, trying to peg me as one type of customer or another is a crapshoot at best. For me, the vibes I give off depends on when/why I'm in that store to start with. I'm not alone. Personally, I don't want salespeople hounding me, or asking me stupid questions. I have a background in sales techniques and I'll catch their "identifier" questions a mile away and probably give them a bad lead just to get left alone. Picking who will be what type of customer just by asking them a few questions is way more of an art than a sure thing. It's certainly something you are not going to teach the 16 year old from the local HS to do well. Plus, if you are wrong, and put a good customer in the bad basket you have lost a huge sales opportunity.
Next, who is going to be able to tell the difference between a commish salesperson and BBs new breed of store folks? I think they have forgotten one of the reasons that they rolled past CC in the first place. In the 90s, CC still had hucksters in red blazers prowling the floor looking for the easy sale. Meanwhile, BB had non-commishioned people who did not really have to put the heat on customers to make them buy stuff. People had already grown tired of the old-school commish guys and were loving BB for not going down that route. Now it seems they are leaning towards the dark side though with their identify and label routines.
After looking at it, it seems like the people that ran CC in the 90s are now running BB. Why? They are full of themselves. CC thought that because they were the biggest and the baddest that they could continue to build crappy looking stores in bad locations. They thought that they could muscle Divx into the homes of America. They thought that they could handle developing Car Max. Bottom line is that they took their eye off the ball, and the competition.
BBs new approach reeks of a company that is full of itself. We all see where that got CC...
I see a lot of holes in their plan.
First, trying to peg me as one type of customer or another is a crapshoot at best. For me, the vibes I give off depends on when/why I'm in that store to start with. I'm not alone. Personally, I don't want salespeople hounding me, or asking me stupid questions. I have a background in sales techniques and I'll catch their "identifier" questions a mile away and probably give them a bad lead just to get left alone. Picking who will be what type of customer just by asking them a few questions is way more of an art than a sure thing. It's certainly something you are not going to teach the 16 year old from the local HS to do well. Plus, if you are wrong, and put a good customer in the bad basket you have lost a huge sales opportunity.
Next, who is going to be able to tell the difference between a commish salesperson and BBs new breed of store folks? I think they have forgotten one of the reasons that they rolled past CC in the first place. In the 90s, CC still had hucksters in red blazers prowling the floor looking for the easy sale. Meanwhile, BB had non-commishioned people who did not really have to put the heat on customers to make them buy stuff. People had already grown tired of the old-school commish guys and were loving BB for not going down that route. Now it seems they are leaning towards the dark side though with their identify and label routines.
After looking at it, it seems like the people that ran CC in the 90s are now running BB. Why? They are full of themselves. CC thought that because they were the biggest and the baddest that they could continue to build crappy looking stores in bad locations. They thought that they could muscle Divx into the homes of America. They thought that they could handle developing Car Max. Bottom line is that they took their eye off the ball, and the competition.
BBs new approach reeks of a company that is full of itself. We all see where that got CC...
11-11-04, 01:55 PM
#60
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****BREAKING NEWS****
BEST BUY has declared that black friday is the new devils night and that everyone should pull out their credit cards and purchase the nonsale items in order to stick it to satan.
BEST BUY has declared that black friday is the new devils night and that everyone should pull out their credit cards and purchase the nonsale items in order to stick it to satan.
11-11-04, 02:38 PM
#61
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally posted by HoosierPapa
Next, who is going to be able to tell the difference between a commish salesperson and BBs new breed of store folks?
Next, who is going to be able to tell the difference between a commish salesperson and BBs new breed of store folks?
About a year after i started working at Best Buy (this was 2000) the message i was getting from managers and such was always "sell, sell, sell but remind people you are non-commission"
How many people today lament Best Buy for the service plan, Netflix, MSN....whatever crap they got this month?
I remember telling an actual *GOOD* employee (and friend) that we were simply commissioned sales people who didnt get comission.
11-11-04, 03:53 PM
#62
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Suggestive selling is nothing new, and can alternately be annoying and helpful. "Would you like fries with that?"
"Don't forget the batteries", for example, if someone is buying a remote from BB.
When I get to the cashier, I want to buy my stuff and get out, don't sell me warranties or magazines or crap like that. But if you direct me to the item I'm looking for, or help me out as I'm shopping, I don't necessarily see a problem with a little suggestive sell, as long as it's
* relevant, and
* not annoying.
I used to do that kind of thing in retail, if I could tell someone was having trouble finding something or deciding something or was open, I'd suggest additional or replacement items for them. But I did it because it was the nice thing to do, not because of some edict from above whose only goal was to separate someone from their dollars. I'm all for profit, but if the person I helped said 'No, just this today', I accepted that; my sale might have been the same that day, but they would remember I helped them out and hopefully would come back later when looking for something else. I wouldn't just write them off as a 'devil' or 'nonprofit' customer like it sounds like BB is planning to do.
Just like there are 'good' commissioned sales people, and 'bad' ones. A while back when we were looking at cars, we were highly pressured by a salesperson. We said 'We're interested in this car', he took us for a quick test drive, then brought us in and said, 'Ok, how much did you want to put down?' We said, 'Um, we're not even close to a decision yet.' He stood up, opened his office door, and basically kicked us out. Needless to say, we didn't buy the car from him or that dealership. Went next door to another dealership, where the guy answered our questions, gave us his card, and left us alone. An hour later, he had our business.
I think the commission approach is the wrong way to go with BB, *unless* they are planning to go solely high-end. No one is going to want to sell dvd's for 14.99 for the lousy commission. And if prices go up much more, or if the attitude that 'if you don't spend a lot we don't want you' is obvious, a lot more people are going to be going to WM or CC or the internet.
"Don't forget the batteries", for example, if someone is buying a remote from BB.
When I get to the cashier, I want to buy my stuff and get out, don't sell me warranties or magazines or crap like that. But if you direct me to the item I'm looking for, or help me out as I'm shopping, I don't necessarily see a problem with a little suggestive sell, as long as it's
* relevant, and
* not annoying.
I used to do that kind of thing in retail, if I could tell someone was having trouble finding something or deciding something or was open, I'd suggest additional or replacement items for them. But I did it because it was the nice thing to do, not because of some edict from above whose only goal was to separate someone from their dollars. I'm all for profit, but if the person I helped said 'No, just this today', I accepted that; my sale might have been the same that day, but they would remember I helped them out and hopefully would come back later when looking for something else. I wouldn't just write them off as a 'devil' or 'nonprofit' customer like it sounds like BB is planning to do.
Just like there are 'good' commissioned sales people, and 'bad' ones. A while back when we were looking at cars, we were highly pressured by a salesperson. We said 'We're interested in this car', he took us for a quick test drive, then brought us in and said, 'Ok, how much did you want to put down?' We said, 'Um, we're not even close to a decision yet.' He stood up, opened his office door, and basically kicked us out. Needless to say, we didn't buy the car from him or that dealership. Went next door to another dealership, where the guy answered our questions, gave us his card, and left us alone. An hour later, he had our business.
I think the commission approach is the wrong way to go with BB, *unless* they are planning to go solely high-end. No one is going to want to sell dvd's for 14.99 for the lousy commission. And if prices go up much more, or if the attitude that 'if you don't spend a lot we don't want you' is obvious, a lot more people are going to be going to WM or CC or the internet.
11-12-04, 07:04 PM
#63
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Originally posted by al_bundy
personal shoppers is the new thing for higher end stores. studies have shown that women like it and all electronics stores are trying to attract women like mad. even sony opened up a store in california geared towards women.
personal shoppers is the new thing for higher end stores. studies have shown that women like it and all electronics stores are trying to attract women like mad. even sony opened up a store in california geared towards women.
A battery.
I'm buying a battery.
He definitely did not do this with the guy in front of me. I stood there looking at him for many seconds, and when it appeared he wanted me to speak I finally said "Well then. I guess we're done here," upon which he hit the play button on the second part of his script, all the time grinning at me.
It was truly, really, and genuinely contrived and believe me, I knew I was being manipulated. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable and as I exited the store I looked back with a combination of sympathy and . . . incredulity as he wound himself up and started on the woman who was behind me in line.
So I'm being profiled, eh? Jesus that sucks.
PEACH
11-12-04, 09:49 PM
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Originally posted by MISS PEACH
So I'm being profiled, eh? Jesus that sucks.
PEACH
So I'm being profiled, eh? Jesus that sucks.
PEACH
Yup. Next time flash some credit cards around and I'll bet you'll have to call the police to peel the guy off 'ya kicking and screaming! You might want to try dressing up in ragged clothes and rub some dirt on your face to fend off the vultures. Car salesmen invade Bestbuy. Women....BEWARE!
11-13-04, 02:24 AM
#65
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally posted by dtcarson
But if you direct me to the item I'm looking for, or help me out as I'm shopping, I don't necessarily see a problem with a little suggestive sell, as long as it's
* relevant, and
* not annoying.
But if you direct me to the item I'm looking for, or help me out as I'm shopping, I don't necessarily see a problem with a little suggestive sell, as long as it's
* relevant, and
* not annoying.
I think the commission approach is the wrong way to go with BB, *unless* they are planning to go solely high-end. No one is going to want to sell dvd's for 14.99 for the lousy commission. And if prices go up much more, or if the attitude that 'if you don't spend a lot we don't want you' is obvious, a lot more people are going to be going to WM or CC or the internet.
The ironic thing about this whole ordeal is that they mention this talk about "being more knowledgable employees", well the store here *HAD* that going for it but the management and the company didnt need that at the time.
I'm sorry Best Buy, but hours of training cannot take the place of people who have interest and passion.
11-13-04, 07:51 PM
#66
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Thread Starter
Originally posted by MISS PEACH
This was interesting to read AB. When I went in to BB to pick up a battery a few days ago, I couldn't figure out what the (male) checkout clerk's game was. It wasn't that he was ogling me or anything, but he was obsequious to an almost embarrassing point. I'm standing there with a 3.99 battery, but you'd think I was a movie star for how ridiculously gushing he was! His script started out something like "Ms. X, I just wanted you to know how pleased we are you came in to BB today and we at BB want you to know that your business is important to us . . ." and got worse from there.
A battery.
I'm buying a battery.
He definitely did not do this with the guy in front of me. I stood there looking at him for many seconds, and when it appeared he wanted me to speak I finally said "Well then. I guess we're done here," upon which he hit the play button on the second part of his script, all the time grinning at me.
It was truly, really, and genuinely contrived and believe me, I knew I was being manipulated. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable and as I exited the store I looked back with a combination of sympathy and . . . incredulity as he wound himself up and started on the woman who was behind me in line.
So I'm being profiled, eh? Jesus that sucks.
PEACH
This was interesting to read AB. When I went in to BB to pick up a battery a few days ago, I couldn't figure out what the (male) checkout clerk's game was. It wasn't that he was ogling me or anything, but he was obsequious to an almost embarrassing point. I'm standing there with a 3.99 battery, but you'd think I was a movie star for how ridiculously gushing he was! His script started out something like "Ms. X, I just wanted you to know how pleased we are you came in to BB today and we at BB want you to know that your business is important to us . . ." and got worse from there.
A battery.
I'm buying a battery.
He definitely did not do this with the guy in front of me. I stood there looking at him for many seconds, and when it appeared he wanted me to speak I finally said "Well then. I guess we're done here," upon which he hit the play button on the second part of his script, all the time grinning at me.
It was truly, really, and genuinely contrived and believe me, I knew I was being manipulated. It made me feel extremely uncomfortable and as I exited the store I looked back with a combination of sympathy and . . . incredulity as he wound himself up and started on the woman who was behind me in line.
So I'm being profiled, eh? Jesus that sucks.
PEACH
11-13-04, 08:49 PM
#67
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Originally posted by tanman
That's all well and good until you need to PM or return something.
That's all well and good until you need to PM or return something.
True customer service, such as returns and price matches, I'm not against. Seeking out help is something I don't have a problem with.
The problem is that the definition of good customer service seems to be different depending on who you ask. My view is that if the person knows what he's talking about and does his job, I consider that good service.
Some people need a smile and pat on the back from someone that's trying to drain you of as much cash as possible. I don't need nice, and that seems to be the way that Best Buy is going. They're loading their stores with "nice" people who are clueless, or at least less knowledgeable than I am when it comes to what they do.
Again, not everyone going in there is as schooled on electronics as I am. I can understand why the "nice" approach would work for them. It doesn't work for me because I know their "nice" is a gimmick used to try and push stuff on me I'm not interested in. Their "nice" is an agenda to push product, not a genuine attempt to treat me with respect.
Be an asshole to me, I don't care, just do your job. Call me a devil, I don't care, do your job.
If you want an unbiased opinion about a product, Best Buy is not the place you want to go. As was said by UAIOE, BB employees are commissioned sales people, but they don't get paid for it.
I guess my real point is that I don't care if I'm labeled a devil customer. It's not like they're going to prevent me from shopping there, and hey, if the sales people are going to go after the angels, maybe that means they'll leave us devils alone to get what we want ourselves.
Last edited by TheKing; 11-13-04 at 08:52 PM.
11-14-04, 07:45 PM
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I have several CC and BB stores near where I live (DC). I always watch their AD's and I know what I want when I get there. I will go to either place depending on which has the better price or rebate on what I want. Since I buy a lot of things on impulse I can't wait for mail order. I want it right then and there. Recently i bought an LCD TV at CC because it is $150 less than the same TV at BB. I almost went as far as driving to DE to save the sales tax of about $130.
Anyway I hope BB can weed out the people that take advantage of them. I enjoy their stores and like to browse. I don't care about service because I don't usually have questions. I wish i knew when these loss leader sales were so I could go take advantage of them too.
Thanks for this interesting thread
Anyway I hope BB can weed out the people that take advantage of them. I enjoy their stores and like to browse. I don't care about service because I don't usually have questions. I wish i knew when these loss leader sales were so I could go take advantage of them too.
Thanks for this interesting thread
11-14-04, 09:57 PM
#69
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I have an interesting story. I think that Best Buy sees me as a "Devil" customer.
J&R music world has certain Warner Bros., New Line, and HBO films on sale for $5.99 on their website. They also have the same price in their downtown NYC store.
I wanted to pick up Pumping Iron and I went to Best Buy to get it since I'm a Reward Zone Member (I actually paid $9.99 for it last year) and since I had a store-credit for returning a gift that was given to me.
On Saturday, I go to Best Buy with an Internet print-out of J&R's $5.99 price. They tell me that they can't match it since it's an Internet price and that I'd have to have the actual in-store ad to do a PM. I have the store phone # on the print-out and ask them to call the store but they say that they can only do that at the customer service desk.
The Customer Service line is surprisingly short so I go there. When I get there, the Sales Manager walks by the CSR and says that it's ok to PM that without taking a close look at it. The Customer Service Manager then says that they can't match it cuz it's an internet print-out. I ask them to call the store but they say that they don't call the store?
That same Best Buy has called the store in the past to verify the price and if it's in-stock.
Best Buy has it for $15.99 so they didn't want to take a $10 loss on it (I'm guessing that it's gonna get an MSRP price drop to $14.99 or even possibly $9.99). The Customer Service Manager says that price is too low, we can't match that. I say why not? I ask if I can speak to the original Sales Mgr who OK'd the PM, but it takes a while to find him. When they find him, I see him huddling with the CSR. The CSR tells me that he's gonna call the store. After being on the phone for less than a minute, he tells me that he called the store and that they're out-of-stock (the phone is behind a wall where the manager sits so you can't see them calling).
I walk away and call shenanigans cuz J&R had tons in-stock earlier in the day and cuz he was only on the phone for less than a minute. I then use my cell phone to call J&R and the J&R CSR says that they have it in-stock and it's on sale for $5.99. I then walk back to the CSR and tell him this. He was speechless cuz he knew that I had called them out on their lie. He then walks to the sales manager who tells him to match it at the $5.99 price. I tell them that i want the extra 10% off and to have them ring it up at $15.99 and then do the return/PM to give it to me for $5.99 + 10% off the difference which would make it $4.99. The sales manager says that he can't do that. He reads me the Price Match Policy which says "within 30 days" and I'm like yeah, it is within 30 days, it's the same day. I said if you don't want to ring me up for the item here and give me 10% off the difference, I'll just go to the regular registers, buy it for $15.99 and then go back to the customer service desk to get the extra 10% off. He says that's not what Best Buy meant with the policy and that he wouldn't do it. He says that customers can do different things to manipulate policies and that he was lucky that he was gonna give it to me for $5.99 (why am I lucky when I'm just going by their policy that they will beat a competitor's price?). I tell him that Circuit City, Staples, and Sears will give you 10% off the difference at the time of the PM. He then tells me to buy it there or at J&R if I want to.
Now, I was pretty pissed. If he didn't lie to me about calling the store and saying that it was out-of-stock, I would've just taken the $5.99 PM and left. Now that I've wasted over 30 minutes of my time, I told him to sell them to me at $15.99 and that I'd be back tomorrow cuz I needed to buy the Eminem CD (it wasn't on sale for $9.99 until Sunday) and at that time, I'd do the PM.
So today, I went to the store to do the PM and the sales manager sees me and I just smile at him.
Now, they're saying that us customers can be devils but what about employees that blatantly lie to us customers. What's worse is that the sales manager told the CSR to pretend to call the store and tell me that the item isn't in-stock. It's the managers that are teaching the employees these underhanded and dishonest tactics.
J&R music world has certain Warner Bros., New Line, and HBO films on sale for $5.99 on their website. They also have the same price in their downtown NYC store.
I wanted to pick up Pumping Iron and I went to Best Buy to get it since I'm a Reward Zone Member (I actually paid $9.99 for it last year) and since I had a store-credit for returning a gift that was given to me.
On Saturday, I go to Best Buy with an Internet print-out of J&R's $5.99 price. They tell me that they can't match it since it's an Internet price and that I'd have to have the actual in-store ad to do a PM. I have the store phone # on the print-out and ask them to call the store but they say that they can only do that at the customer service desk.
The Customer Service line is surprisingly short so I go there. When I get there, the Sales Manager walks by the CSR and says that it's ok to PM that without taking a close look at it. The Customer Service Manager then says that they can't match it cuz it's an internet print-out. I ask them to call the store but they say that they don't call the store?
That same Best Buy has called the store in the past to verify the price and if it's in-stock.Best Buy has it for $15.99 so they didn't want to take a $10 loss on it (I'm guessing that it's gonna get an MSRP price drop to $14.99 or even possibly $9.99). The Customer Service Manager says that price is too low, we can't match that. I say why not? I ask if I can speak to the original Sales Mgr who OK'd the PM, but it takes a while to find him. When they find him, I see him huddling with the CSR. The CSR tells me that he's gonna call the store. After being on the phone for less than a minute, he tells me that he called the store and that they're out-of-stock (the phone is behind a wall where the manager sits so you can't see them calling).
I walk away and call shenanigans cuz J&R had tons in-stock earlier in the day and cuz he was only on the phone for less than a minute. I then use my cell phone to call J&R and the J&R CSR says that they have it in-stock and it's on sale for $5.99. I then walk back to the CSR and tell him this. He was speechless cuz he knew that I had called them out on their lie. He then walks to the sales manager who tells him to match it at the $5.99 price. I tell them that i want the extra 10% off and to have them ring it up at $15.99 and then do the return/PM to give it to me for $5.99 + 10% off the difference which would make it $4.99. The sales manager says that he can't do that. He reads me the Price Match Policy which says "within 30 days" and I'm like yeah, it is within 30 days, it's the same day. I said if you don't want to ring me up for the item here and give me 10% off the difference, I'll just go to the regular registers, buy it for $15.99 and then go back to the customer service desk to get the extra 10% off. He says that's not what Best Buy meant with the policy and that he wouldn't do it. He says that customers can do different things to manipulate policies and that he was lucky that he was gonna give it to me for $5.99 (why am I lucky when I'm just going by their policy that they will beat a competitor's price?). I tell him that Circuit City, Staples, and Sears will give you 10% off the difference at the time of the PM. He then tells me to buy it there or at J&R if I want to.
Now, I was pretty pissed. If he didn't lie to me about calling the store and saying that it was out-of-stock, I would've just taken the $5.99 PM and left. Now that I've wasted over 30 minutes of my time, I told him to sell them to me at $15.99 and that I'd be back tomorrow cuz I needed to buy the Eminem CD (it wasn't on sale for $9.99 until Sunday) and at that time, I'd do the PM.
So today, I went to the store to do the PM and the sales manager sees me and I just smile at him.
Now, they're saying that us customers can be devils but what about employees that blatantly lie to us customers. What's worse is that the sales manager told the CSR to pretend to call the store and tell me that the item isn't in-stock. It's the managers that are teaching the employees these underhanded and dishonest tactics.
Last edited by Dabaomb; 11-15-04 at 04:05 AM.
11-14-04, 11:16 PM
#70
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I have several CC and BB stores near where I live (DC). I always watch their AD's and I know what I want when I get there. I will go to either place depending on which has the better price or rebate on what I want. Since I buy a lot of things on impulse I can't wait for mail order. I want it right then and there. Recently i bought an LCD TV at CC because it is $150 less than the same TV at BB. I almost went as far as driving to DE to save the sales tax of about $130.
Anyway I hope BB can weed out the people that take advantage of them. I enjoy their stores and like to browse. I don't care about service because I don't usually have questions. I wish i knew when these loss leader sales were so I could go take advantage of them too.
Anyway I hope BB can weed out the people that take advantage of them. I enjoy their stores and like to browse. I don't care about service because I don't usually have questions. I wish i knew when these loss leader sales were so I could go take advantage of them too.
And DaBomb - your story is typical. They won't pricematch if they don't want too. I have had the whole "we called - not instock" story told to me plenty of times. It used to work - when people didn't have cell phones. Now its a completly different story.
11-15-04, 12:57 AM
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Originally posted by Dabaomb
I have an interesting story. I think that Best Buy sees me as a "Devil" customer.
I have an interesting story. I think that Best Buy sees me as a "Devil" customer.
11-15-04, 08:33 AM
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Dabaomb that is just horrendous! If I were you I'd get that jerk's name and title and write to Corporate . . . and cc: that jerk but mail his cc: 3 days after you mail the one to Corporate so you take him by surprise. People like that need to be fired.
PEACH
PEACH
11-15-04, 03:51 PM
#73
DVD Talk Limited Edition
All Best Buy needs to do is adjust their price match policy to say it must be an official ad from a local store. No print-outs, no photo copies, no store from the next city over (with no store in your cit). This would solve most of the issues with price matching.
Dabaomb, while the manager shouldn't have lied, you did sound like a 'devil' for making such a fuss and then even trying to get an extra 10% off and doing all that return stuff.
BB is right about people being the biggest cheapskates (aimed at everyone, not Dabaomb). "Ohh Target sells it for $0.50 less so lets hold up the line while the cashier has to go through all the extra steps to save you 50 cents." For people that brag about having all these expensive home theater equiptment, people sure can be cheapskates over a dollar or two. I personally never even consider price-matching unless it is $5 or more and even then, I tend to just go to the store with the sale instead of dealing with price-matching. BB, Target, CC and Walmart are all pretty much the same distance so it doens't really save gas to not go to the store.
Dabaomb, while the manager shouldn't have lied, you did sound like a 'devil' for making such a fuss and then even trying to get an extra 10% off and doing all that return stuff.
BB is right about people being the biggest cheapskates (aimed at everyone, not Dabaomb). "Ohh Target sells it for $0.50 less so lets hold up the line while the cashier has to go through all the extra steps to save you 50 cents." For people that brag about having all these expensive home theater equiptment, people sure can be cheapskates over a dollar or two. I personally never even consider price-matching unless it is $5 or more and even then, I tend to just go to the store with the sale instead of dealing with price-matching. BB, Target, CC and Walmart are all pretty much the same distance so it doens't really save gas to not go to the store.
11-15-04, 04:51 PM
#74
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i wonder how far BB is going to get with this. It seems they are looking for people with money that don't care about spending it wisely, but are willing to buy tons of stuff on the word of their sales people. Through personal experience I have found that as people have more money, they become more protective of it and don't spend it as foolishly.
11-16-04, 08:55 PM
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Originally posted by Dabaomb
I have an interesting story. I think that Best Buy sees me as a "Devil" customer.
J&R music world has certain Warner Bros., New Line, and HBO films on sale for $5.99 on their website. They also have the same price in their downtown NYC store.
I wanted to pick up Pumping Iron and I went to Best Buy to get it since I'm a Reward Zone Member (I actually paid $9.99 for it last year) and since I had a store-credit for returning a gift that was given to me.
On Saturday, I go to Best Buy with an Internet print-out of J&R's $5.99 price. They tell me that they can't match it since it's an Internet price and that I'd have to have the actual in-store ad to do a PM. I have the store phone # on the print-out and ask them to call the store but they say that they can only do that at the customer service desk.
The Customer Service line is surprisingly short so I go there. When I get there, the Sales Manager walks by the CSR and says that it's ok to PM that without taking a close look at it. The Customer Service Manager then says that they can't match it cuz it's an internet print-out. I ask them to call the store but they say that they don't call the store? That same Best Buy has called the store in the past to verify the price and if it's in-stock.
Best Buy has it for $15.99 so they didn't want to take a $10 loss on it (I'm guessing that it's gonna get an MSRP price drop to $14.99 or even possibly $9.99). The Customer Service Manager says that price is too low, we can't match that. I say why not? I ask if I can speak to the original Sales Mgr who OK'd the PM, but it takes a while to find him. When they find him, I see him huddling with the CSR. The CSR tells me that he's gonna call the store. After being on the phone for less than a minute, he tells me that he called the store and that they're out-of-stock (the phone is behind a wall where the manager sits so you can't see them calling).
I walk away and call shenanigans cuz J&R had tons in-stock earlier in the day and cuz he was only on the phone for less than a minute. I then use my cell phone to call J&R and the J&R CSR says that they have it in-stock and it's on sale for $5.99. I then walk back to the CSR and tell him this. He was speechless cuz he knew that I had called them out on their lie. He then walks to the sales manager who tells him to match it at the $5.99 price. I tell them that i want the extra 10% off and to have them ring it up at $15.99 and then do the return/PM to give it to me for $5.99 + 10% off the difference which would make it $4.99. The sales manager says that he can't do that. He reads me the Price Match Policy which says "within 30 days" and I'm like yeah, it is within 30 days, it's the same day. I said if you don't want to ring me up for the item here and give me 10% off the difference, I'll just go to the regular registers, buy it for $15.99 and then go back to the customer service desk to get the extra 10% off. He says that's not what Best Buy meant with the policy and that he wouldn't do it. He says that customers can do different things to manipulate policies and that he was lucky that he was gonna give it to me for $5.99 (why am I lucky when I'm just going by their policy that they will beat a competitor's price?). I tell him that Circuit City, Staples, and Sears will give you 10% off the difference at the time of the PM. He then tells me to buy it there or at J&R if I want to.
Now, I was pretty pissed. If he didn't lie to me about calling the store and saying that it was out-of-stock, I would've just taken the $5.99 PM and left. Now that I've wasted over 30 minutes of my time, I told him to sell them to me at $15.99 and that I'd be back tomorrow cuz I needed to buy the Eminem CD (it wasn't on sale for $9.99 until Sunday) and at that time, I'd do the PM.
So today, I went to the store to do the PM and the sales manager sees me and I just smile at him.
Now, they're saying that us customers can be devils but what about employees that blatantly lie to us customers. What's worse is that the sales manager told the CSR to pretend to call the store and tell me that the item isn't in-stock. It's the managers that are teaching the employees these underhanded and dishonest tactics.
I have an interesting story. I think that Best Buy sees me as a "Devil" customer.
J&R music world has certain Warner Bros., New Line, and HBO films on sale for $5.99 on their website. They also have the same price in their downtown NYC store.
I wanted to pick up Pumping Iron and I went to Best Buy to get it since I'm a Reward Zone Member (I actually paid $9.99 for it last year) and since I had a store-credit for returning a gift that was given to me.
On Saturday, I go to Best Buy with an Internet print-out of J&R's $5.99 price. They tell me that they can't match it since it's an Internet price and that I'd have to have the actual in-store ad to do a PM. I have the store phone # on the print-out and ask them to call the store but they say that they can only do that at the customer service desk.
The Customer Service line is surprisingly short so I go there. When I get there, the Sales Manager walks by the CSR and says that it's ok to PM that without taking a close look at it. The Customer Service Manager then says that they can't match it cuz it's an internet print-out. I ask them to call the store but they say that they don't call the store?
That same Best Buy has called the store in the past to verify the price and if it's in-stock.Best Buy has it for $15.99 so they didn't want to take a $10 loss on it (I'm guessing that it's gonna get an MSRP price drop to $14.99 or even possibly $9.99). The Customer Service Manager says that price is too low, we can't match that. I say why not? I ask if I can speak to the original Sales Mgr who OK'd the PM, but it takes a while to find him. When they find him, I see him huddling with the CSR. The CSR tells me that he's gonna call the store. After being on the phone for less than a minute, he tells me that he called the store and that they're out-of-stock (the phone is behind a wall where the manager sits so you can't see them calling).
I walk away and call shenanigans cuz J&R had tons in-stock earlier in the day and cuz he was only on the phone for less than a minute. I then use my cell phone to call J&R and the J&R CSR says that they have it in-stock and it's on sale for $5.99. I then walk back to the CSR and tell him this. He was speechless cuz he knew that I had called them out on their lie. He then walks to the sales manager who tells him to match it at the $5.99 price. I tell them that i want the extra 10% off and to have them ring it up at $15.99 and then do the return/PM to give it to me for $5.99 + 10% off the difference which would make it $4.99. The sales manager says that he can't do that. He reads me the Price Match Policy which says "within 30 days" and I'm like yeah, it is within 30 days, it's the same day. I said if you don't want to ring me up for the item here and give me 10% off the difference, I'll just go to the regular registers, buy it for $15.99 and then go back to the customer service desk to get the extra 10% off. He says that's not what Best Buy meant with the policy and that he wouldn't do it. He says that customers can do different things to manipulate policies and that he was lucky that he was gonna give it to me for $5.99 (why am I lucky when I'm just going by their policy that they will beat a competitor's price?). I tell him that Circuit City, Staples, and Sears will give you 10% off the difference at the time of the PM. He then tells me to buy it there or at J&R if I want to.
Now, I was pretty pissed. If he didn't lie to me about calling the store and saying that it was out-of-stock, I would've just taken the $5.99 PM and left. Now that I've wasted over 30 minutes of my time, I told him to sell them to me at $15.99 and that I'd be back tomorrow cuz I needed to buy the Eminem CD (it wasn't on sale for $9.99 until Sunday) and at that time, I'd do the PM.
So today, I went to the store to do the PM and the sales manager sees me and I just smile at him.
Now, they're saying that us customers can be devils but what about employees that blatantly lie to us customers. What's worse is that the sales manager told the CSR to pretend to call the store and tell me that the item isn't in-stock. It's the managers that are teaching the employees these underhanded and dishonest tactics.
