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No wonder Best Buy is going under

Contacted BBY Customer Service, what a bizarre conversation. After explaining to him my situation, he looked into it and agreed that I should not have been put on a blacklist. And that my ticket will be forwarded to higher-ups. After all the back and forth he says

"I appreciate you calling and standing up for the consumer world, we need more people like you to voice your concerns and complaints so we can better our policies. You aren't a criminal at all, you sound like a great guy"

..

"You have a great weekend with your family and friends, again, thanks for being the best part of Best Buy"
 
I don't see the problem with what Best Buy did. If that third party made a mistake then all you have to do is call them. Are you upset because you are planning on returning items within 90 days?

Anyways, People need to do their research on items before buying them. Return policies are there for a reason, and that shouldn't give people the excuse to buy things blindly knowing that they can return it if they don't want it. And I can't believe some companies offer post purchase price match!! That makes absolutely no sense.
 
Square Triangle said:
Contacted BBY Customer Service, what a bizarre conversation. After explaining to him my situation, he looked into it and agreed that I should not have been put on a blacklist. And that my ticket will be forwarded to higher-ups. After all the back and forth he says

"I appreciate you calling and standing up for the consumer world, we need more people like you to voice your concerns and complaints so we can better our policies. You aren't a criminal at all, you sound like a great guy"

..

"You have a great weekend with your family and friends, again, thanks for being the best part of Best Buy"
Click to expand...

..alright then. I guess you can create the "Why Best Buy Will Rise Again" thread..
 
Congratz on getting that taken care of, OP. You're off the "guilty until proven innocent" train.

Edit: Shop at Fry's next time. :P
 
Smellycat said:
And I can't believe some companies offer post purchase price match!! That makes absolutely no sense.
Click to expand...
Seeing something go on sale after you bought it is a bad feeling. A post-purchase price match gives the retailer an opportunity to give you good feelings about buying from them, letting you feel relatively safe about future purchases. It's good for repeat business.
 
zero shift said:
Gaffers yes, Joe Sixpack and Jane Doe? No. There is a reason why the company makes bank on the "Geek Squad".

That a $1000 product was lacking a practically mandatory feature.
Click to expand...


A DVD-ROM drive is not a mandatory feature anymore. It's on its way out, actually. You may have noticed this when a $1000 laptop doesn't come with it.

Thanks for playing.
 
Druz said:
A DVD-ROM drive is not a mandatory feature anymore. It's on its way out, actually. You may have noticed this when a $1000 laptop doesn't come with it.

Thanks for playing.
Click to expand...

Holy fuck I was eating a banana while reading this and nearly choked. Well played.

Holy Crap said:
Damn, I'll have to remember this thread next time I decide to make one myself.

They tore OP's ass apart.
Click to expand...

Don't worry, it's all love. We're a big, close-knit community just lookin out for each other.
 
Mudkips said:
You can't return the copy that was bought AT Best Buy TO Best Buy, because it's opened.

It's opened because the entire point of the exercise is to play the game sooner and pay less money - you open the Best Buy copy (which you get sooner) and return the online copy (which is cheaper).

If you buy online, open and play the online copy, then buy from Best Buy and return the Best Buy copy to Best Buy, you're just wasting gas.

The practice is incredibly common and it is done as I have described it: Buy online, buy at a physical retailer, return the online copy to the physical retailer. It's fraud. The quoted post simply has typos / missing words, which would be obvious to anyone who thought the process through.

If you look at the situation where ONLY price is a motivator, and a purchase online is made AFTER a purchase is made at a physical retailer, and the copy from the physical retailer is returned (unopened) to the physical retailer, then it's not fraud. This is the only way the quoted post makes sense as written. But you can just check the OT thread for a hot new release on the gaming side, or CAG or fatwallet, to see the fraudulent version in widespread action.
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Oh Mudkips, your'e such a corporate ballwasher for pointing this stuff out.

But seriously i can't people are defending this.
 
JWong said:
I'm pretty sure they're going under for other reasons that aren't related to customer service.
Click to expand...

Yes, but awful customer service and annoying employees who don't know much about what they are selling, sure aren't helping things.

In fact, this is why price matching Amazon and other online retailers will not make much of a difference. You still have to deal with employees and the annoyances that come with returns or having to deal with customer service and all the fine print they sneak in the receipts.

I'd still rather shop at Amazon than deal with that
 
I'll come to the defense of Square here.

I *was* an avid Best Buy shopper(Silver Premiere) that had spent over $4000 in purchases with them last year alone. Plus I've been a Rewards Silver member the last 3 years(spending $2500 or more a year at Best Buy).

I bought an IPad 4(Retina) in December for myself. Cash purchase in store. After barely using it for a month(probably less than 8 hours total), I had decided that for the amount of money I had paid for it, I was still finding myself simply using my Ipod Touch more.

I took the Ipad back. Original packaging, everything with receipt. The Best Buy rep said no problem with the return but I could not get cash back and would have to wait until corporate cleared the return to issue me a check in 3 days. I asked for a manager and explained that since I had paid cash, I had expected cash back on the spot. The manager told me "we don't have that kind of money on hand". I'm dead serious here. I said "You're telling me right now that you don't have $500 cash in store?". Her tune changed and said "Well, we don't do cash refunds". I asked her to show me on the receipt that items paid for in cash would not be given cash back but instead have to wait for a check. She then said "well, it's our policy". I then asked her if customers were being educated about their "internal policy" and she said she would have to make sure to tell her employees about it in the future. She said there was absolutely nothing she could do. I told her "So there's nothing you can do for a Silver Member who spent over $4000 with you the past year, that's what I get for being a loyal premiere member?" She told me I'd have my refund check in 3 days.

So flash forward 5 days later. No check, nothing. I call corporate Best Buy to check on my return check. The phone rep says there's no record of my return from the store in question and told me that I'd have to wait 8-10 days minimum before I should call back to check on my refund check.

So now I'm pretty hot. I explain the situation to him and tell him I've never had so much difficulty returning something to anyone ever, let alone a business whom I've spent $10,000 with over the last 4-5 years. With ZERO RETURNS ON RECORD. Yes, this was my FIRST RETURN.

After putting me on hold for 20 minutes, he finally comes back on and tells me they've found my return listing but yeah, it's gonna be 2-3 weeks now for a refund check. So now we've jumped from being told I'd get my refund back in 3 days from the store manager to corporate telling me 2-3 weeks to process the refund.

At this point, I was done with Best Buy. I told him that this was horrible customer service, especially when you look at my purchase history. He agreed that I had spent a considerable amount of money with Best Buy and put me on hold for another 15 minutes while he talked to "his supervisor".

He gets back on the phone and tells me that they've put an "acceleration of the issuing of the refund check" and that I would have it in 7-10 days. I told him this still wasn't acceptable on their behalf as they had no problem taking my money from me but now when I wanted it back promptly, it was a problem for me.

I explained that the "right customer service thing to do" is overnight a refund check to me. He said he was sorry but couldn't do that and the 7-10 days was the best he could do and that the store manager should never have told me I'd have my money in 3 days. I told him "yeah, God forbid a good customer would expect their money back on the spot for a return".

So exactly 7 days later I get my refund check from Best Buy. I have not spent another penny in the brick or online stores and never will. I am done with them. Inexcusable customer service.

So yeah, Best Buy can kiss my ass. I'll take my money elsewhere.
 
remnant said:
Oh Mudkips, your'e such a corporate ballwasher for pointing this stuff out.

But seriously i can't people are defending this.
Click to expand...

Because this is another consumer whine machine. Lets forget that there are zero restocking fees and that items (until recently) were returnable for any reason for up to 45 days from purchase, or what happens to the item once its been returned to the store. (15%+ knocked off the price instantly making it unprofitable if ever was, or returned the to manufacturer for a fraction of what they paid for. Labor and materials spent retesting the item) Or how much money a company is losing by doing all of this.

You're always the victim and the big box store is always the enemy, not a mass population of compulsive shoppers and liars that abuse these incredibly lax policies.

Best Buy needs to stop bleeding money. Protecting themselves by using a third party to track mass returns is not a problem.

People whined about getting their receipts checked at the door to 'help' curb theft(still doesn't stop it) so they got rid of the door security. Now people are just walking out of the building with giant televisions and sound bars.

worldrevolution said:
Holy fuck I was eating a banana while reading this and nearly choked. Well played.
Click to expand...

image.php
 
Nice thread op.... A) who cares about a disc drive B) don't shop at Best Buy if their policies rub you the wrong way.
 
Druz said:
Because this is another consumer whine machine. Lets forget that there are zero restocking fees and that items (until recently) were returnable for any reason for up to 45 days from purchase, or what happens to the item once its been returned to the store. (15%+ knocked off the price, or returned the to manufacturer for a fraction of what they paid for. Labor and materials spent retesting the item) Or how much money a company is losing by doing all of this.

You're always the victim and the big box store is always the enemy, not a mass population of compulsive shoppers and liars that abuse these incredibly lax policies.

Best Buy needs to stop bleeding money. Protecting themselves by using a third party to track mass returns is not a problem.
Click to expand...

Preach on, brother!

The church of real talk!
 
Square Triangle said:
Contacted BBY Customer Service, what a bizarre conversation. After explaining to him my situation, he looked into it and agreed that I should not have been put on a blacklist. And that my ticket will be forwarded to higher-ups. After all the back and forth he says

"I appreciate you calling and standing up for the consumer world, we need more people like you to voice your concerns and complaints so we can better our policies. You aren't a criminal at all, you sound like a great guy"

..

"You have a great weekend with your family and friends, again, thanks for being the best part of Best Buy"
Click to expand...

Uniformed consumers spending $1000+ are going to be the best part of any retail chain.
 
BB can suck my balls I returned a monitor and they return my money in cash....wtf ancient century are these stores operating under?
 
I love these people that claim to be knowledgeable in everything and never made a mistake while shopping.

Druz said:
Because this is another consumer whine machine. Lets forget that there are zero restocking fees and that items (until recently) were returnable for any reason for up to 45 days from purchase, or what happens to the item once its been returned to the store. (15%+ knocked off the price instantly making it unprofitable if ever was, or returned the to manufacturer for a fraction of what they paid for. Labor and materials spent retesting the item) Or how much money a company is losing by doing all of this.

You're always the victim and the big box store is always the enemy, not a mass population of compulsive shoppers and liars that abuse these incredibly lax policies.

Best Buy needs to stop bleeding money. Protecting themselves by using a third party to track mass returns is not a problem.

People whined about getting their receipts checked at the door to 'help' curb theft(still doesn't stop it) so they got rid of the door security. Now people are just walking out of the building with giant televisions and sound bars.
Click to expand...


Considering the BBY CS rep even said that I should not have been added to this list still makes me a "consumer whine machine". Lol, okay.
 
Am I the only one who finds it creepy and unsettling that a Return Activity Report tracking the activity of specific identified individuals across all retailers is a thing that exists in the first place?
 
Darkmakaimura said:
Edit: Shop at Fry's next time. :P
Click to expand...

Yeah, except for the fact that fry's rep have no idea how their fucking sales policies/credit card works. (was lied to on both counts, and now, I can't cancel their stupid card!) I love their selection, but don't try to fuck your customers by lying to them.

Square, I've worked for these guys for the last 8 years and I've never seen anything like this before. The only thing I can think of is that yeah, they changed the return policy within the last year that you NEED a license/ID to return ANYTHING! And yeah, it's due to customer fraud, but if youve never return anything to BB, get on the horn ASAP to this agency.

The only time I've ever seen anything like this happening was to this kid that used to trade in multiple copies of games. I mean like 10 copies of Shadows of the Damned, 7 of Crysis 2 for each system, etc. This fucking guy would buy in bulk from Gamefly, double dip using the 100% extra deals, and walk out with 500-600 dollars credits, after spending 100 tops. Then, would use the BB gift to buy a Visa gift card, and walk out hundreds of dollars richer.

After a few times of doing this, the customer system issued a red flag and prevented him from trading in any more tapes. There wasn't anything I could do to override this; the system printed out a message similar to squares telling him to call them...
 
MetatronM said:
Am I the only one who finds it creepy and unsettling that a Return Activity Report tracking the activity of specific identified individuals across all retailers is a thing that exists in the first place?
Click to expand...

Yes? People abuse the system. There are companies out there that try to mitigate that damage. Loss(revenue) prevention is a giant business.
 
Op has not answered the question.

How many returns have you had last year?

Returning shit for buyer's remorse is so american. You can't get away with that shit here.
 
Square Triangle said:
I love these people that claim to be knowledgeable in everything and never made a mistake while shopping.




Considering the BBY CS rep even said that I should not have been added to this list still makes me a "consumer whine machine". Lol, okay.
Click to expand...

You mean when you properly followed through on your confusion as to why you were on this list with corporate and they corrected their mistake? Was this before or after you condemned an entire company because you had a slight chance of being inconvenienced in the future?
 
Druz said:
You mean when you properly followed through on your confusion as to why you were on this list with corporate and they corrected their mistake? Was this before or after you condemned an entire company because you had a slight chance of being inconvenienced in the future?
Click to expand...

Who said they corrected the issue? I know I didn't.


WAR recon zero said:
Op has not answered the question.

How many returns have you had last year?

Returning shit for buyer's remorse is so american. You can't get away with that shit here.
Click to expand...

Holy fuck. Read the thread.
 
urge26 said:
Nice thread op.... A) who cares about a disc drive B) don't shop at Best Buy if their policies rub you the wrong way.
Click to expand...

um the OP for starters?

Square Triangle said:
Its great how my assumption that a $1000 laptop would have a disc drive and the sales associates lack of telling me this makes me a bad person. He did not hesitate to throw Geek Squad service protection in my face though.
Click to expand...

internet + search engine + fingers.

but yes, best buy sucks.
 
Not sure why OP is catching flak for this. If I understand, he was within the guidelines of their return policy, yet they are treating him as if he done something wrong? If that's the case, maybe they should re-think their return policy.
 
sueil said:
So you fucked up and blame them?
Click to expand...

I bought an iPod from Best Buy a year or so ago, and they refused to return it because it looked like there was a scratch on the back plastic. Left, got towel, wiped it, was able to return at a different Best Buy.

Best Buy is a scum store.
 
DeuceGamer said:
Not sure why OP is catching flak for this. If I understand, he was within the guidelines of their return policy, yet they are treating him as if he done something wrong? If that's the case, maybe they should re-think their return policy.
Click to expand...

OP is being flagged by an outside company for his recent return history, not BB. Read the thread.
 
DocSeuss said:
I bought an iPod from Best Buy a year or so ago, and they refused to return it because it looked like there was a scratch on the back plastic. Left, got towel, wiped it, was able to return at a different Best Buy.

Best Buy is a scum store.
Click to expand...
Not sure why that makes them scum. Most stores I have returned stuff to would not take what they thought was damaged goods. I am glad it was just a mark for you but of course they weren't going to take something that was scratched.
 
Ok, so I read the thread and I must have missed it if you said it.

How many returns, at ANY price, have you had across ALL major retail stores in the last 3-6 months? I feel like you're ignoring the aspect of why TRE exists and what they do, and instead are following up on the "Best Buy sucks" angle. Why even bold that last sentence of your follow up post above?
 
I worked at Best Buy for nearly five years until I was let go during last summer's reorganization. I worked only in Operations the whole time (though obviously did plenty of other stuff) and was a member of leadership for nearly my entire time working in my store.

I saw several customers flagged in the same way as the OP. In most cases it was due to a sheer number of returns but also seemed to trigger for one customer due to a smaller number of high dollar amount returns across a half-dozen transactions (the guy bought and returned $1,000+ laptops roughly six times in two weeks). I'm not saying the OP fits both these profiles but from what we could tell at a store level there's a number of ways to trigger the ire of the TRE group's tracking.

In this case we're only going off of the OPs information so it's one-sided. Sounds like it was mistake in tracking but without seeing the TRE report itself it's difficult to say. Regardless, Best Buy is not doing anything against their return policy. It explicitly states within their policy that they require ID for entry into their system (where legal) and that it's used for return tracking and could result in a warning and suspension in returning rights for ninety days. This is stated in their policy so just because the consumer is ignorant of the policies doesn't mean a business should ignore the policies. Of course, when there's reliable information for the employees to be able to verify things or make exceptions they can do so, as I was apt to do when it was appropriate, but policies need to be held up when reasonable or there's otherwise no point.

Also, the earlier poster with the story about cash back for a $500 return also is complaining about something that's been in Best Buy's (and many other retailers') policies for years. In my five years it was always the case that a $500 cash return was a mail check. Sure, it wasn't always agreeable and in some cases we'd take it upon ourselves to bypass it (and no, this isn't something you can bypass at a system level, it requires exchanging the large item for smaller ones and then returning all of them separately so each return was under the $250 cut off). In this situation my particular store would have likely made an exception in such a way by looking up the purchase history to verify the claim of being a loyal customer but even then perhaps not. Again, this is a one-sided story and only after knowing both sides would a decision be made.

I understand mistakes being made and I'm completely for making exceptions but I also completely understand holding up policies. True, some of these policies aren't glamorous but they're in place for a reason and not because the people in corporate are aiming to anger their customers.
 
xxracerxx said:
Not sure why that makes them scum. Most stores I have returned stuff to would not take what they thought was damaged goods. I am glad it was just a mark for you but of course they weren't going to take something that was scratched.
Click to expand...

There was more to it than that. The customer service rep was simply determined that I would not be able to return the device and was looking for any and every reason to refuse a return.

The device failed me after a weak of normal use. I should have been able to get a return with no issue. The battery failed the device--a smudge on the back of the device that she insisted was a scratch is not a good reason to reject a device that had a battery failure.

Imagine purchasing a laptop that dies after a few minutes on the battery and won't charge properly. Imagine having them reject a return because of fingerprints on the screen.
 
Don't know why you didn't just read the specs listed before buying it. Seems like a common sense thing to do. whatever, though. It's your time to waste returning something you could have got right the first time with a little thinking instead of assuming.
 
I stopped going there when a cashier demanded I let her copy down my driver's license number when I made a relatively-small credit card purchase. The manager wouldn't listen to reason either.
 
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