Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[gmikesell]

...YOU ALL BELIEVED BEST BUY'S AD!!!  That was your FIRST mistake!  The second was when you tried to hold Best Buy to their advertised word.  lololol hahahahhahaha   Are you a sadist or a masochist?  Your efforts will be rewarded with pain and mental anguish if you insist on pursuing your quest.  You don't have to search for any time at all to find the internet rife with anectdotes, story after story, example after example of Best Buy's shady ad practices.  They get you to come in to the store and then "Oh, sorry, that's a misprint." This is nothing new.  The way to take advantage of any Best Buy deal is to go in, not having ANY expectations of having a good or even fair experience.  Then you won't be let down.  See?  It's simple.  Oh, and if you actually believe that Best Buy's promotions and sales are offered with the customer's interest in mind, I have some lake front property to sell ya!  I'll even knock $5 dollars off the price if you give me your DVD's AND Blu-Ray movies!  ...and if the sale doesn't go through, no, you may not have them back!  So don't ask!

[nmander33]

Mariel-BBY, I notice online that when I start to look for details on this program, it appears to give me a list of 138 blu-ray titles as part of the program. Does this mean we can only trade in DVD's for these specific titles, or does it mean we can trade in DVD's towards any title which is at least $9.99?

[Mariel-BBY Retired: Community Connector]

I noticed that too, nmander, that when you actually click on the link it will take you to a listing of movies.

As stated before, the details of the promotion of the terms and conditions still apply. When I checked with our business teams, they stated that everything was current and is for any Blu Ray $9.99, as long as they don't fall under the exclusions.

[paddy01]

I just went through the same BS today in two different Best Buy stores here in Northern Illinois (Arlington Heights and Palatine). The people at Customer Services in both stores were rude and had no idea how the program worked. I Arlington Heights the girl said "if you want to make trouble about this, I will call someone to remove you." All I did was bring the price marker from the bin to show the sign for acceptance of the $5 Trade & Save on the movie "Glory" and a price of $9.99. I was told not to touch anything again and then that the computer showed it at $9.75 so it didn't qualify. They shoved the signage under the counter. The Palatine store had one copy of the movies on the list one of which was "Hereafter". They told me the computer showed it didn't qualify. I asked to see the computer and they siad to leave. I have 3 apparantly non-useable $5 coupons and they have my DVDs. Best Buy has turned into a horrible store to deal with. They must hire customer service rejects from other stores.

[mondoleal]

Folks i went to 3 different BestBuy stores in Will County to turn in my used DVDs for $5 off and customer service said the coupons work on any sale and non sale prices. No hassles! Wow nice! So BestBuy wasn't evil with me.

[prospect60]

Pretty bad when a deal is so confusing that even the Corporate Mods don't understand it.   I love the comment from 1/11 about the "list" being available now.   The odd thing is that

it was the list from October 2011 and had nothing to do with this sale -- i think even it has been removed now.   Like mondoleal says, the coupon will work on any non music Bluray priced at $9.99

or higher regardless of whether it is on sale if you can get the clerk to scan the coupon and get managers who refuse to honor the deal even after it scans.

It also has now been reported by several folks that many stores have been instructed to remove many of the 9.99 and 12.99 sections and are being told to send their stock back to the warehouse until the sale is over.   Then the discs will be returned to the store to put back out after 1/29.   There are numerous reports are almost empty Bluray racks at many stores and no restocking is being done under both corporate and store managers directions.  

[paddy01]

After reading all of the negative comments concerning these supposed $5 trade & Save deals, I find it absolutely incredible that Best Buy Corporate doesn't take them as a learning experience. Why do some stores/companies do well well and others not so much? Why do some companies grow and prosper and others go bankrupt? Ask Memco, Service Merchandise, Circuit City, CompUSA, Korvetts, Treasury, Zayers, Venture, Pharmor, Perry, Grants, Woolco, Crown Books, Polk Brothers, Topps, Robert Hall Village, etc., etc. Why are they no longer in business; the Customer did NOT always come first. What they provided to the "customers" was a worse experience than their competitors. That is why the Wall Street Journal calls Best Buy the "living catalog for Amazon.com sales". Best Buy seems to believe they are the only shop in town and people will be forced to buy from them no matter how they act.

My 78 year old neighbor was told he was "too old" to understand what Customer Service was telling him about why he was having trouble with his brand new laptop. A kind hearted local PC repair place found that it was a Windows 7 issue and went with him to return the PC to Best Buy. Truely excellent customer service.

As a retired 34 year experienced Senior Marketing Manager for a major electronics manufacturer I can say that if you do not do everything for your potential and actual customers, you will eventually fail. Others like Amazon, Walmart, Staples, Office Depot, H.H. Gregg, Costco, Sam's Club, etc. will attempt to take your customers. Some learn rapidly like Netflix and Verizon, others like Best Buy not so much.

I suggest you read these folks comments very carefully Corporate Best Buy and deal with your local stores harshly, if necessary, for undermining you future viability as a company. No customers means bankruptcy.

[prospect60]

To be honest I have generally had a very good relationship with my local stores and even this Upgrade and Save program.   After 3 events I know it's going to be a little trouble the 1st day or two since the rules

change every event, but my locals have almost always worked with me to get things done under the rules of that particular sale even though I'm often showing them the coupons and the specifics of the program.

More than once even the Managers had no idea that the program was starting despite the large signs erected inside the store and Sunday newspaper ads announcing the program.   

Luckily I've been around the stores enough that some of the supervisors know me and at least trust me enough that I'm not trying to fleece them.   I don't always expect people to know everything, but the willingness to work it through without playing "i'm the Manager, I know better than you" card makes a world of difference in the end.  

 Maybe it's a southern semi rural thing, maybe the fact that I'm not a teenager (that;s an understatement) helps some, but I'm just shocked at some of the comments I read from other forums about how their store behaves and the absolute lack of Customer centric values from management is appalling.   Even just reading through this thread and a couple others about the same subject in the Movies subforum shows a bizarre lack of something.    2 weeks into a major promotion and the some of the Mods are still giving out incorrect information and still are more interested in regurgitating out of date links (the supposed movie list from Octobers sale)  than getting it right.