Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[LANCEGTX]

MobileExpert.  I would like a reply from you on this. 

First off I said that i read somewhere that 99.9 percent of prophit comes from warranty.   I did not say it is a fact.

Second off.  I might be mistaken on this, but is it not true that you can wait for your manufactuar's warranty to run out after a year and then buy a BB or GS warranty, that way you dont have 2 warranty's on the same product at the same time?  Ive never seen a BB employee mention this.

If the above is true.....and im not saying that i know 100% forsure that it is......   But then you would basically be paying for 1/3 of a warranty to geeksquad that  really does not get used.   

So the way i understand it is.... That if you paid 300$ for a 3 year warranty. Best buy is making a 100$ profit regardless of what kind of problem the computer has in its first year.

Please correct me if im wrong on the above statement!

[LANCEGTX]

businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_51/b3913110_mz020.html

"Last year, profits from warranties accounted for all of CC operating income and almost half of Best Buy's, say analysts. They figure that profit margins on contracts are between 50% and 60%. That's nearly 18 times the margin on the goods themselves. For example, a four-year contract on a $3,000 flat-panel TV costs about $400. Best Buy gives its insurers $160 and keeps $240 for itself." -Business Week

Apparenly what i read that said 99.9% is wrong. 

 But if you want to argue the above facts, then you are just paid pawn.

 This comes straight from business week.  One of the most respected business publications in the world with the best fact checkers in the world.  

[MobileExpert]

You can purchase the GSBTP within the return policy for your product, which is either 30 days or 14 days. If you had a year, I'm sure a lot of customers would've wised up by now.

I'm not surprised that it accounts for half of BB's income. Of course services are going to be more profitable than the products they cover. And like I said, if it was all of BB's profit, they would be out of business. Look at CC.

[Starflyer59]

This topic reminds of what happened this morning. I took my three month old car in for a oil change and the guy was at express lube was very pushy. I walked in with a $17.99 coupon for a oil change and he went on and on and on about how I needed this service and that service and I needed this flushed and that flushed. I kept telling him over and over again that all i needed was the $17.99 oil change. He finally gave me that old "well, I guess you want your new car to just to die then" routine.

Sounds familar? We see it alot here in the forums. Guy walks into BB and he wants a computer, the sales guys is more concerned with selling him all the extras and is not focused on what the customer actually wants. The customer gets mad, leaves, comes here and tells us how he never shopping at BB again.

I understand that BB needs to push the extras and they do make a ton of money off selling the protection plans and the opimization and the virus software. BUT IF THE CUSTOMER SAYS NO...then the salesman should stop right then and just sell the customer what they want.

I will not go back to this Express lube again. My car is three months old and I don't need all this stuff yet.

Just like BB loses a customer because the salesman refuses to listen to the customer and just sell them what they want.

I don't get mad because the sales guy is pushy, I get mad because he is doesn't listen and just sell me what I came into the store for.

Is pushing the extra's worth losing a customer for life?

If a customer says no...then just stop and sell them the product. The customer is happy and BB gets the sale.

[MobileExpert]

Like I've said, often a customer will refuse while the employee is in midsentence because of misconceptions about the services. I have had customers do this, and then I ask them to let me finish, and when I do, some of them do opt for the GSBTP. We want to make sure every customer knows the benefits of our services. If a customer is going to refuse everything the employee offers them right off the bat, and not even bother to listen, then I'd suggest BB.com for them.

I'm very experienced with computers, but even I'll listen to their pitch when I go into a different store with someone else. I realize that is their job, and I don't want to be rude, so I let them talk. I've never been in a situation where two minutes is life or death to me, and I'm sure that's the same for 99% of customers. It's not going to kill me to listen to a sales pitch, and then politely decline.

[Starflyer59]

That's cool. I can understand why some customers need the extras.

I tell them (sales associate) right up front that I am not interested and do not want to hear the sales pitch. If they continue to push what I don't want to hear then I just simply walk out. I'm not mad at them, but If i tell you no then that means no.

I have just seen so much in pushy sales guys like time shares, buying a car, buying furniture, buying a washing machine and sometimes you just have to nicely say NO and walk away.

Thanks mobilexpert. You are very helpful around here. I guess I am just older and stuck in my ways.

[MobileExpert]

You know what we fear? When the customer comes back, upset that their product isn't working. We ask them if they got a certain service, and they will often say "no one ever told me about that". If I make sure to do it with every customer, then I know that no customer I help will be able to say that. I try to be fair with them, and all I ask is that they hear me out. If they still don't want it after that, I'm not gonna ask why or anything, I just say alright and continue.

[Starflyer59]

That's cool mobileexpert. It would be great if there were more associates like you.  

Some of them just keep pushing and will not stop and they get mad because you will not buy the plans.

[hockeycanuckjc Trusted Contributor]

It all depends on a customers patience.

[stldude29]

Actually, you CAN purchase the extended warranty on your product anytime within the manufacturers warranty...as I just did this. I purchased a 50" Plasma in March 2008, and I just purchased the 4yr warranty on it last week!!