Pistol Pete

Damn, why the hostility? This is exactly what I'm talking about. Consumers in America think it is not "normal" to haggle because they have been trained not to do it by the large retailers. People seem to think it is somehow rude. Well, I've never had anyone get angry with me when I've asked them to sweeten the deal just a little bit. Usually they do something and they do it with a smile.

It only takes a few minutes to talk to the right person. Maybe I won't get a huge price reduction, but I usually get them to throw in an accessory, warrenty, free delivery, or something. Some stores give their sales people more leeway. Find out where these stores are.

I guess for me it is a side effect of growing up outside the US. I don't have the hangups that many people here seem have. How a country based on capitalism can be so uptight about a simple negotiation is beyond me.

And where did I say I was talking about buying DVDs?

GrimmSD

I'm going to disagree with most of hte posters in this thread.

First. It is not unreasonable to ask for a discount on any item. The manager is not obliged to grant the discount, but there should be no harm in asking.

The OP made his request and supported it with his arguments (repeat customer, intended to make the pruchase but was unable to etc.). The manager then chose not to accept his arguments. That's not a problem. However, the manager, who's job is customer service, was condecending and rude. That is unacceptable. The manager begged the "I'll go to amazon.com" comment when he was rude.

The managers response should have been something along the lines of: "I'm sorry, I understand your argument, but I can't sell you the DVDs for the old advertised price."
Now, if he gave a polite response and you kept at it, I can understand him getting angry, but he should still keep his cool as long as you are polite.

I'll tell you why you got the boot. You are not a good customer. You go in every week, purchase loss leaders and nothing else. They don't make money by selling you things. Therefore you are not a good customer. Yes, you spend money there, but they don't make money off selling to you. Just because you shop there and buy sale items it doesn't make you a good customer. Sale items are there to bring people in the door. Once they are in the door they are suposed to pick up the sale item and several other items.

If you still feel the manager was rude to you. Write the home office. Tell them you asked for a discount and instead of just denying it he was very rude about it. But don't expect much to come of it.

tofferman

MechanicalMan

I don't think it is terribly rude to try to negotiate a lower price at Wal-Mart or McDonald's, I mostly just think it is asinine. Haggling is often inappropriate in our society. Yes, you might negotiate a price in certain situations or on certain products (TVs, etc.). We all know that. But this thread is about someone trying to negotiate a lower price on DVDs at Best Buy, and that is not a situation where haggling is customary. So what was the point of your post? To "inform" us that there are places in the world were haggling is more common than it is here? Who cares? Should we stop tipping because there are places in the world where tipping isn't customary?

Right here: "Everything is always negotiable." Also, it's the topic of this thread.

renaldow

Wow, so, you were there and witnessed the exchange to get this level of detail?

GoldenJCJ

This thread makes me laugh. I've dealt with many a Best Buy Moron so I fully expected to side with the OP upon reading the thread title.

After reading the post I have to laugh. How can anyone expect to walk into a store and demand an expired sale price? Stores usually have more quantity on hand for sale weeks that they wouldn't have later. If you demanded and got the lower price what's to stop anyone and everyone from getting the same thing.

And the manager has the right to refuse anyone service at any time. If you come in demanding cheaper prices and copping an attitude that is more than enough reason to boot you out of the store.

GoldenJCJ

I think far too many people mistake 'customer service' with 'you should bend over and take it up the ass because I'm the customer and I say so'

being a customer, even a frequent customer, doesn't entitle you to have free reign of the store and it's employees.

sycho316

GoldenJCJ is absolutely correct.

I must say that the OP asking for the store to give him discounts from 2 weeks ago is completely unreasonable. Everyone who says that the manager over reacted or was rude should try working in retail for a good amount of time.

Having worked retail for 5 years, I have to say that sometimes you just hit the boiling point because one can only take so much "stupidity" and "I'm the customer and the customer is always right" attitude.

antennaball

"...for the price of on the house"

fargus

OK, so you were out of town. Where, Pluto? There's almost 800 Best Buys in the US. Several hundred in Canada. Ferchrisakes, they've even opened their first pilot store in China. There was probably one somewhere near you if you needed those items so badly. No sympathy.

SterlingBen

That was an idiotic request
anyway if you want to save money you shouldn't be shopping at bb in the first place
try DDD and CH you'll save a ton

mndtrp

I just wanted to hop on the dogpile before the play was stopped.

OP = wrong
First post = something missing, it would seem

Sean O'Hara

Sure, it's perfectly acceptable to go into a store and say, "Hey, this shirt has a torn seam. Will you give me a discount?" But that's not really haggling. Haggling is when a clerk offers you 10% off and you try to talk him up to 25%. And if you try that, you're being rude to the people standing behind you in line.

glassdragon

what gets me are people who when told they don't get any special treatment resort to how long they've shopped there or been a customer. Here's a clue, if they don't offer special treatment for that then you don't get it, bottom line. I do dsl technical support and people all the time insist that i push their dispatch through quicker than everyone elses because they have been a customer for 5 years. To be honest, i could care less how long they've been a customer. They get the same treatment as everyone else who just signed up.

bothanspy

While I'm not sure I agree with the OP's stance, I do believe that haggling is an art and rarely, if ever, exploited. It seems people only think its kosher on items like houses or cars, but you can do it on anything.
I negotiated the price on my DLP that I bought from Circuit City. Just had to deal with a manager instead of a salesperson. I'm assuming the same holds true at BB. Furthermore, now that I have a relationship with the manager at CC, any other items I need to purchase, I discuss it with him and negotiate a better deal.
Bottom line, however, is that managers will deal because they want to close the sale. I knocked off almost 25% off the sticker price at CC on my TV. They all have the ability to deal, and will if its warranted.
I'm not really sure you can haggle the price of a dvd. But asking for a previous sale price is not unheard of. Seeing as most the sale prices at BB on dvds are loss leaders, you may have had more luck if you were holding other non-door-buster-priced items in your hand.
And I really doubt the manager has any clue who you are and how much you may or may not spend in their store. Their store is entirely too big. Go shop at a QED laser if you need/want that kind of relationship.

gribalski

I guess QED Laser is going out of business, I heard the owner, George, passed away or something? I guess they are going to be marking down their inventory in the coming weeks. I went in there a few weeks ago, and there was NOTHING new there, and I was kinda pissed because it was a great store - but I can see that they had other stuff to deal with. Anyways, that's such a great store - I'll really miss it.

cdollaz

Great, but WTF does that have to do with Best Buy or nazis?

DVD Josh

Before he was caught, Hitler was close to developing the QED Laser and mounting it on several types of marine life.

We should all be grateful that he was not successful.

starman9000

I used to love this when I worked at Hollywood Video. People would claim they were such great customers to try to get out of paying late fees. Unfortunately for them, we kept their sale history in the database so it was pretty obvious that they had only spent 12$ there in 3 years. One guy also refused to pay late fees because he was the Vice President of a major banking firm. I dont really know what he meant by that.

DVD Josh

He makes too much money to pay late fees.

gribalski

The previous post had mentioned going to QED Laser instead of Best Buy - and my post was is in response to that. Jeez.

spainlinx0

I don't see the big deal with him simply asking. I may not ever ask for a previous sale, but I don't see the problem. He may not get it, or he may get lucky. If he doesn't mind asking why does everyone else get so excited about it. Now the parts after where he threatens to shop at Amazon seem a little excessive, but otherwise good luck to you in future negotiations.

porieux

Wow you can really tell who the retail drones are by how quick they are to take the manager's side in this...ROTFL!

There is nothing wrong with him asking for the sale prices, and there is nothing wrong with the manager saying no. There is also nothing wrong with him saying he is going to shop at Amazon. Now, unless there are other things that happened that the poster is not describing here (possible but why assume that?) then the manager severely overreacted. Actually it's kind of a typical power trip for people who have a dead end retail job, and that's probably why a lot of people here in similar situations are defending this manager, even though by the account here he was totally out of line.

Personally, I would report to Best Buy corporate, and not go back.

devilshalo

When the customer is quick to pull the 'I'll take my business elsewhere' card, who has the power trip? Not that I work in retail anymore, but when I did, am I supposed to cower and immediately bow down by that statement? That statement has absolutely nothing to do with asking for a sale price.

porieux

There is nothing wrong with the customer saying they will take their business elsewhere. The manager should be polite regardless.