Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[beamermt79]

I just read on MSNBC and Yahoo how Best Buy is closing stores and reformatting their business.  First of all I am sorry to see those people become unemployed, but Best Buy has a lot of work to do to regain my business and those of my friends and family.  I stopped shopping at Best Buy over a few things.  First of all, the computers, TV's, most movies (bluray's especially), and peripherals/components are WAY to over priced for what they are.  For example if I am in the mode to buy a computer, I will go in and look around to see what models are available.  Then I will look up ratings and prices at local stores and Best Buy has always been the most expensive.  The computer I am on right now was 799.99 at Best Buy and only 599.99 at Staples, not only that but their extended warranty was only 100 bucks for 2 years of drop off service, where Geek Squad was 150+ and they generally just ship the computer off to the manufacturer's repair depot anyway.  Movies and so forth are generally 5 to 10 bucks more depending, I have found some good deals in terms of selection and clearance pricing, but honestly I'll get my movies at Walmart.  Peripherals are a joke at Best Buy as well.  You take a graphics card (or any other computer addon) and I've noticed they are priced anywhere from 10 to 50 dollars more then anywhere else.  Said graphics card should have been 49.99 but my local Best Buy had it for 79.99 after rebates and price reductions.  A USB 3 addon card anywhere else is, at worst, 30 bucks but at Best Buy their 'store brand' is 50+?

Customer service at Best Buy is a mixed bag.  Most of the people are friendly but there are too many of them in one area.  If I am looking at something, I can have 3 to 4 people ask me if I need help.  Seriously?  Go find something to do!  And when I go to buy something, they like to waste my time trying to add on protection plans to everything including the kitchen sink!  Last time I bought a computer, I actually tried to take it directly to the front checkouts to  pay and get out, but an employee who was literally eyeballing me after I told him I didn't need his help, stopped me and forced me to go to their 'computer sales counter' where he wasted 5+ min of my time trying to sell me addons and protection plans even though I told him I didn't want them.  Then he gave me 6 months of free antivirus that I didn't want and now since I have not activated it, I get emails 2 to 3 times a month from Best Buy telling me to activate and upgrade my antivirus with no opt out feature!  Not only that, but I never authorized Best Buy to email me anything, and I emailed the corporate office to get my email taken out with no response.  

In closing, the people are generally nice and friendly but the store is way overpriced for what you get anymore and the constant push for addons and warranties is a complete waste of time for someone who doesn't want those services.  

[Atomic77]

I am very disapointed in seeing bestbuy closing stores but you gotta do what you gotta do. In all the Best Buys I ever been in I never had a problem with anything. It is what it is though a store thats struggling.

[beamermt79]

Very true.. I try and step out of the box when I have problems and realize not all stores are the same, some are managed well and some not so much.

[CrimsonRain]

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Atomic77 wrote:
I am very disapointed in seeing bestbuy closing stores but you gotta do what you gotta do. In all the Best Buys I ever been in I never had a problem with anything. It is what it is though a store thats struggling.

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Completely agree. Gone are the days of the big box model. Now, it's all about space efficiency, competitive pricing, and services/support. Closing the unprofitable stores and the stores located in oversaturated markets will definitely go a long way in reorganizing Best Buy's business. I would have been more concerned if Best Buy did not close stores because then they would have been just dragging along. And by doing that, they would not be living up to one of their core values: Learn From Challenge and Change.

It does suck that some employees will be displaced by this change, but if they are talented and hard working, then I have no doubt that the company will find space for them or they will be able to find a new job soon.

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello beamermt79-

Melissa from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your feedback & concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[Melissa-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello beamermt79,

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us regarding the upcoming changes we are making to our company. I am sorry to read that some of your past experiences with us have been so disappointing, that they have caused you to stop shopping with us.

The prices of the products we carry are generally set based on agreements with the vendors and our buyers. If you do ever find the same identical item advertised at a local retail competitor for less, we should be able to provide a price match under our Price Match Guarantee. This would not apply however to service plans or warranties, as the services we provide may differ than a competitor. Whenever possible, our Geek Squad will do services in store, but if a repair is something that they are not authorized to do, or may not have the parts for, the item would be shipped to one of our service centers for a repair, unless the manufacturer requires that they be the one to do the repairs.

As far as the service you had received at your local store, it does disappoint me that this may not have been the excellent service we expect of our employees. We do expect our sales associates however to check in with our customers to ensure that they don’t have any questions. When you do make a purchase however, the employees should present any options that are available to add on, but certainly should not be forcing these on you, and if you do say you don’t want them, they should not add them anyway. I apologize if this has caused you any frustration or inconvenience.

I do appreciate you sharing your feedback with us. If you do ever have additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Sincerely,