State of Ohio sues Best Buy

[Suntan]

Bitch all you want about people that buy stuff without thinking then return it on a lark. BB has made it their policy to accept those returns as part of their business model. They know in the long run they make money from it. So to say BB is validated for their tactics because customers screw them by returning things is a load of crap. If you don't want customers to return stuff then change your policy...

I live in the Twin Cities, where BB is located, and the four stores in the region are their testing grounds for new "gorilla" sales tactics. Last Thursday I went to one to get a hands on with a new camera I have my eye on. While my wife and I had time to kill, we went over to look at the laptops. There was a mom and dad with their soon to be college freshmen. Their faces showed that they were obviously overwhelmed at the costs associated with getting their little girl ready. They heard on TV that college kids need a laptop (which they don't) which the salesman confirmed, of course. He then laid on his pitch about how she will need at least a 15" wxga screen for this reason and a DVD burner for that reason... In the end he had them on the hook for a 3 thousand dollar laptop. Made even worse by the fact that the particular laptop was a boatanchor with a pentium 4 (instead of a Pentium M) which had a max batttery life of 2 hours. Obviously not what the customer needed. While some people on this thread would defend him for good salesmanship, the clencher was that the dad looked him in the face and point blank asked him if she really needed that much computer and he told him stone faced "Yes". He then drove the nail in by proclaiming that they needed the BB protection plan because (and I quote) "These things have a failure rate of 40%... ...no thats industry-wide, they all do and their warranty (meaning the manufacturer's) never covers the kind of defects they fail from." Then he had them for another $200 or so baised on an outright lie.

BB has been sued by Minneasota before for this very tactic, but they keep doing it.

In the end, if you know whats what (few customers) and buy the stuff on sale, then Best Buy is fine. If you go in expecting "expert advice" (most customers) you are going to get bent over big time.

-Suntan

[DeleriumMDK]

I've got mixed feelings about Best Buy. I don't mind doing some CD shopping there, or even picking up an occasional movie or video game, or CD-R's if they have my precious Fujifilms on sale but...I refuse to ever make a large purchase there again.

My ex and I went there some time ago looking to pick up a portable DVD player, we found one that sounded good, a Toshiba with a 7" screen for about $300. Well, we played on the demo unit for 5 minutes, she liked the layout of it and it seemed to be fairly silent while reading discs so we said we'd take it. This is where everything went horribly wrong. "Sir would you like the extended warranty on that?" I told him I couldn't afford to because I also needed the carrying case. "Well you really should..."and so forth, he then points out how their demo unit doesn't function properly. I look at him and kind of laugh and go "Right, your demo unit on a player which is nearly a year old and has most likely been on and having heavy disc access from opening to closing" "Sir these things will break over time" I go "Trying to talk me out of this now? You're doing a good job" At some point I said "Ok, you have two choices. One, you can continue to try to push this ****ing warranty on me that your superiors trained you to do, or two, you can finish ringing me up and if there is a problem with this player, it will occur soon enough that your stores return policy, or the manufacturer's warranty will still be valid" "Ok that'll be [insert total here]"

A lot of that is cut though, I think he tried to talk me into this for nearly 30 minutes. 6 months later..the player is still alright, in fact its in better shape than her standalone DVD player. In the future, I will consider Circuit City for any major electronics purchases. Some time ago I bought a 24" TV and a new VCR for my parents for their 30th wedding anniversary, I was asked "Would you like the warranty on either item?" "No thanks, if they'll break it'll happen soon enough I can return them" They ask if I'm sure, I say yeah, and 5 minutes later I was loading up the car.

[indolikaa]

Bitch all you want...

I have had people ask me how I can charge the ridiculous amounts of money I charge for the services I provide, whether it's for transferring their VHS tapes to DVD or building computers for them and installing home networks.

One word: honesty.

If I can crunch digital video on an Athlon T-Bird, a college student can get by just fine with an entry-level special from Dell or Gateway. I got by just fine on a 386 with a passive monochrome LCD. When people ask for purchasing advice, they get an honest answer, and then they get to see what my puny computer array is capable of. And then they realize the 'other' sales guy is trying to take them to the cleaners.

I'll take making less money on each transaction in return for repeat customers any day of the week. Honesty breeds loyalty, and loyalty breeds long-term investment.


Good to see Best Buy hasn't changed much since I left Albuquerque.

[JohnnyCNote]

The trick is to always blow past the lumpen and get to the guy in charge and then be prepared to go to the mat, describing how much money you've spent there in the past (insert time period)......

That is too funny.
When I worked retail that was THE bullshit story of all time. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that and ".....and I'll never shop here again".....I'd be a millionaire....

Retailers have to be very careful with this sort of attitude. The "where else can they go?", or "one customer less" sort of thinking can snowball to the point where it gets easier and easier to blow off the next one until word gets out that a particular store has lost its life blood: the repeat buyer. Obviously, there are people who will say anything, but just as often, if not more so are those who truly have spent thousands at a particular store (like myself), and to whom others come for buying advice (like myself).

Beyond that, people are far more likely to relate a negative experience than a positive one. So we were very careful not to dismiss customers who we were fairly sure were regulars. Unfortunately, the "where else can they go?" crowd took over and now the store is no longer in business....

[BJ_M]

JohnnyCNote - very well stated ..... sadly , the terms 'customer service' are sadly dieing in these days of walmart type shopping , where shopping only by price wins the prize ...

[ViRaL1]

If shopping only by price won, there'd be few retail stores left.

[JohnnyCNote]

JohnnyCNote - very well stated ..... sadly , the terms 'customer service' are sadly dieing in these days of walmart type shopping , where shopping only by price wins the prize ...

Thanks - this is very true. Ironically, it seems that one has to go to online ordering to get good service any more. I've gotten better service from NewEgg.com than from Best Buy or even CompUSA. I've been able to return items ordered in error with no problem. Beyond that, the only retail establishment I can recommend any more is Costco....

[GizmoTheGremlin]

I have a few bad stories about Best Buy, but one in particular where I got the last laugh.

A couple of years ago they had a canon i550 printer with a pretty nice rebate. I wanted the printer but unfortunately the only one they had left was a returned item (box had been opened). It had a sticker on it that said all the parts were there and I asked the salesman if he knew whether or not the printer worked properly. Of course, he didn't hesitate to say, "Yes."

As you can imagine, I got home and the print head was missing. I went back to the store and after about a half hour of complaining a manager said that I could either return the item, or she would take $35 off the price and I could buy my own printer head. She claimed I could get them at most computer stores, but they were currently out. I wanted the printer and the rebate, so I took the discount and went shopping.

You might have guessed it, but they don't sell that particular printer head in any store. I called Canon and complained about Best Buy, etc... so Canon sent me a free printer head with no hassles.

I had a bit of a head ache, but ended up with a really cheaply priced printer.

[JohnnyCNote]

You're lucky they didn't accuse you of stealing it...

[GizmoTheGremlin]

I thought that they might when I took it back. But they knew it was an opened item, and they probably knew they did a half ass job of checking to see if everything was there.

They got me with the warranty once. I was buying a cell phone about 7-8 years ago and they said they would replace the value of it if it broke no matter what within the next 3 years. I said, "What if I back over it with my car, crushing it into a million pieces?" They said, "no problem."

About two years later, my phone was looking pretty old fashioned, so I dropped a 50 lb dumbbell on top of it and took it back. I went up to customer service and told them, "I dropped a 50 lb dumbbell on top of it, and you said I could have it replaced no matter what." Well, they laughed me right out of the store.

I think back about what a dumb ass I was, but at least I was honest. Hell, I would have bought a new phone anyway, so I was only out the money for the warranty.

This story is pretty bad on my part. I'm kind of ashamed to admit it. But I was young and had all my hair.

[nelson133]

Here's my Best Buy story. My hard drive on my capture computer died on a Saturday night, went to to try to buy an advertised special on Sunday (sale started that day) and none of the advertised drives were in stock. I had the salesman check for other stores to see if they had any, he found another store that the computer said had 3. Went to this store and there were none on the shelf, asked another salesperson who checked the computer which still showed 3. Both of us just kind of stood around wondering when another employee passed by. The person I was dealing with asked about the hard drives and the other guy said, "Oh yeah **** hid them up on thre top shelf. He scaled the shelving and got one down for me. He said that that manager did that kind of thing often. I'll only go back in another emergency, Nyah Levi
BTW in my experience, OfficeMax is the worst for not having advertised items and screwing you around on rainchecks. NL

[ZAPPER]

Gizmoand all)
I almost had the same experience (kind of sort of) A few years back I was (and still am) looking at buying the biggest baddest note book computer that I could find. I didn't care what it cost as long as it had all the bells and whistles and they had it in stock right now! Any ways I asked about insurance in case it got dropped or run over by a bulldozer on the job site. Guess what the kid said. You gussed it, he started talking about all kinds of how great their warranty was and how it covered everything under the sun. I asked a couple of direct questions and he assured me that it was covered. Damb I was glad that I wouldn't have to worry about loosing a $3000.00 note book by driving off with it still on the hood of my truck or any of a thousand other stupid things that I could do to it! I was excited! I told the kid to sit tight, I got to go to the bank and cash my paycheck and collect some money, I will be right back and you got my sale. On the way out of the store I happened to see a display with the warranty info in it so I grabbed one and headed to the bank. It is a good thing that the drive thru line at my bank is so sloooww. I looked at the warranty and everything that I asked about, the little shit lied to me about! I mean I like to think that I ain't nobodys fool. I thought that I was a clever shopper by asking direct questions. I kind of expected some slanting of the facts to impress me on the product, but damb man, this was the warranty, a damb legal document, I thought that it would be explained honestly. It is easy to see how a shopper could get screwed by a sales person in all the heat of the moment. I always play the hard ass and say that shoppers are responsible for their own actions and tough shit if they get screwed, but deep down I do feel for them. I know that shoppers get hurt, and that hurt part is where the law comes in! Hang them crooked lying bastards! And buyer beware!

OOPS I have to edit this one. The store was CompUSA. Sorry I got caught up in all the rage.

[GizmoTheGremlin]

OOPS I have to edit this one. The store was CompUSA. Sorry I got caught up in all the rage.

lol, oh well. still a good story.

[presto]

Never a problem with Best Buy either. I love the open box deals. The employees are fine.

[JohnnyCNote]

Don't forget Rule Number One:

Individual Results May Vary!

[spiderman2k1]

I just bought a XBOX the HALO edition. This XBOX is all green and so is the controllerand it come's with Halo. When I got it home there was no game inside. And the controller was not the Microsoft Halo controller some off brand controller. Bust But should change there name to Worst Buy.

[presto]

I just bought a XBOX the HALO edition. This XBOX is all green and so is the controllerand it come's with Halo. When I got it home there was no game inside. And the controller was not the Microsoft Halo controller some off brand controller. Bust But should change there name to Worst Buy.

This was a new sealed box?

[ViRaL1]

Don't forget Rule Number One:

Individual Results May Vary!

I always thought Rule Number One was...

DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!

[troyvcd1]

I love best buy. It is big wide open place. They play music and you can go look at all the cool new plasma tvs that you can not afford. I go and let my kid run all around and tear up the place. Just when I am gonna get kicked out I leave. Of course there really is no reason to buy any junk from there.

[presto]

I love best buy. It is big wide open place. They play music and you can go look at all the cool new plasma tvs that you can not afford. I go and let my kid run all around and tear up the place. Just when I am gonna get kicked out I leave. Of course there really is no reason to buy any junk from there.

If you're joking you should add a smiley. If you're not joking you're part of the problem.

[hech54]

Remember when the first rule went something like:

May the buyer beware, Do your homework before you buy?

CAUTION.......COFFEE IS HOT!

[spiderman2k1]

This was a new sealed box?

"presto" Yes the box was sealed even had the stick on it that you have to break to open it up.

[adam]

This was a new sealed box?

"presto" Yes the box was sealed even had the stick on it that you have to break to open it up.

Then that's not Best Buy's fault, its the manufacturer's.

[JohnnyCNote]

Remember when the first rule went something like:

May the buyer beware, Do your homework before you buy?

However, it's not unreasonable to assume that a large retailer should operate in an ethical and legal manner....

[somebodeez]

I guess we must be lucky because I've never had problems like what is posted here with our Best Buy although we are the type that goes in knowing exactly what we want and do not have to rely on advice from sales persons

Sometimes, we will purchase the extra warranty, sometimes not depending on what the item is and how much the extra warranty costs.

A few years ago, we bought a $400 HP printer from Best Buy and the extra warranty. I don't remember exactly the amount of time but I do remember it was over a year later, perhaps even going on 2 years the printer stopped working. We took it in to Best Buy along w/our copy of the extra warranty we had purchased. They called us a couple of days later and said it was fixed. We picked it up, took it home and it worked for a little while and then it quit working again. Since they had tried to repair it and it quit working again, they replaced it with a brand new HP printer equal in price for what we paid for the first one. We made out because HP no longer mnaufactured the first model we ended up getting a better printer than what we had.

[hech54]

Remember when the first rule went something like:

May the buyer beware, Do your homework before you buy?

However, it's not unreasonable to assume that a large retailer should operate in an ethical and legal manner....

Does that mean it is OK when a small "mom and pop" store tells you to go shit in your hat when you try to return something? I guess so...they will have less or no money if you try to sue them.

This poor guy now knows how Best Buy feels:
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=234783

[GizmoTheGremlin]

Does that mean it is OK when a small "mom and pop" store tells you to go shit in your hat when you try to return something? I guess so...they will have less or no money if you try to sue them.

This poor guy now knows how Best Buy feels:
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=234783

What are you smoking over there in Germany?

I don't see how that "poor guys" story relates to best buy at all. And that assumption with the "mom and pop" store is crazy. If any company has that many complaints against it, small or large company, they deserve to be sued.

Buyer beware? - Hell yes.
Seller beware? - It's only fair.

[hech54]

Everybody in America want's something for nothing....and the way they go about it is to sue somebody....but only if they have money to be taken.
Remember McDonalds?

Thanks to some stupid money hungry bitch...all of the coffee cups have:

CAUTION - COFFEE IS HOT


STUPID, MONEY HUNGRY PEOPLE are all these lawsuits are about. LAZY FVCKERS who ignore the rules that are clearly written on the back every BB receipt.

[JohnnyCNote]

Does that mean it is OK when a small "mom and pop" store tells you to go shit in your hat when you try to return something? I guess so...they will have less or no money if you try to sue them.

This poor guy now knows how Best Buy feels:
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=234783

We have consumer laws in the US that pertain to these matters. A "mom & pop" store that operates in this way would probably not be in business very long.

Also, the link you provided has nothing to do with Best Buy. PayPay and eBay are completely different operations involving individuals, small retailers and even larger ones. Thus it's very difficult to make generalizations about them. However, it's true that there is a greater level of risk involved in buying from eBay. A lot of people have been ripped off.

Beyond that, how acquainted are you with shopping in the US? I certainly wouldn't presume to make such statements for such situations ni Germany....

[adam]

hech54, I've talked about it too much in the past to explain it all again, but the McDonald's coffee case is a horrible example to use. There was nothing frivolous about it at all and depsite what everyone seems to think, she actually hardly got any money from the suit at all. Also, the warnings were on the cups long before her suit. The suit had nothing to do with warnings or lack thereof.

This is an example where the media ran wild with a case and everyone totally mischaracterized what happened.

Yes America is litigous. But that coffee case would have been filed and handled identically in any other country. In fact, the exact same suit has been filed hundreds of other times in multiple countries. You just only heard about the one in America.