Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[Littleosco]

My husband and I went out about 8:00 this morning to our local store in Hillsboro, Oregon to take advantage of of the Samsung refrigerator ad in the weekend flyer (your code #9510004).  We knew $1399.99 was a good price and we were prepared to purchase.  It took awhile to find someone to help us but that was understandable.  We found out there were plenty in stock so we decided to apply for financing.  After waiting in line, we were told the bank computer was down and they couldn't process any applications for several hours.  No problem, we went and did some other stuff for awhile at another shopping center and ended up at a different BB (Beaverton, Oregon).  By that time, the computer was working again so we took the time to apply for financing and were approved.  We headed back to the appliance department, only to be told the ad price was wrong and it was really another $300 ($1699.99) which isn't what we wanted to pay.  We were very disappointed that we didn't know this before we went through the trouble of getting financing approved and dealing with the crowds.  They did not seem to care, nor were they willing to honor their ad price.   We were very upset but their attitude was, "Oh, well, too bad".  We ended up walking out empty handed.  What a waste of 3 hours this morning.

[DavidInPuyallup]

I read this on bestbuy.com at 12:30am Friday before proceeding to the store and lining up at 1am. It is on their page about the door busters. Are there any errors in the Thanksgiving day ad? Yes, there are the following errors: On page 11 of the Friday, November 27th Saturday, November 28th ad insert we advertised 40% off a SAMSUNG 26.0 CU. FT. LED French Door refrigerator (sku: 9510004) for $1399.99 after $1000 savings. The savings is no longer 40% and the correct price is $1699.99 after $700 savings. Did you ask any of the associates "is the price still 1,399"? You probably didn't since you assumed the price was correct, which is understandable. On one hand I agree with your statement that you wasted your time but thats just how Black Friday goes some times. The associate could've asked if you knew the price changed, since best buy stated they knew about the error in the ad but it was a busy day and obviously that didn't happen which is unfortunate. On the other end of the spectrum, you could've checked bestbuy.com or asked if there were any errors in the Ad. Stores make errors in their Ad's all the time. All in All, your choice not to purchase the refridgerator but in hindesight you were STILL going to save $700. Obviously a new fridge is a want and not a need. Just like anything else in life, everything can be made into a learning experience. Hope the rest of your weekend turned out better.

[Chiody]

It's exactly these ads that promise one price and then on subsequent bulletins,  a retraction is made,  or even worse when you arrive at the store,  you see a posting on the door,  increasing the price,  that irritates and wastes time for consumers.

Excuse it any way you want,  but the OBJECTIVE in each instance of getting you TO THE STORE, has been met and will result in a certain % of sales,  this is common knowlege.

Best way to address this issue is take a minute to pass on to friends, associates, your experience and recommend NOT GOING TO BB.  In a small way,  your ripple may start a wave of sorts in the end.  The consumer deserves to be treated fairly and honestly.