Recycling (Going Green)

[mckeeb]

Hi,

I think it is great that Best Buy is commiting to a recycling program.  However, the

marketing material and information provided to customers and employees is confusing.

I am actually thinking of never shopping at Best Buy again after trying to recycle some

items this weekend.

First off, the flyer that was distributed mentioned nothing about 2 items per household.

I had dragged in two computers, a monitor, an old VCR, and two old receivers.  I first 

went into the store with one small item to make sure that there were no issues and recycling

was accepted at the Milford, MA store.  After dropping off one item and mentioning to the 

customer service person that I had more items, I went out to my car with a cart to get the 

rest of my stuff.  Only when I came back did I find out about the two item limit.  The customer 

service people had trouble finding where the limit was mentioned and was only able to point to

the five or sixth FAQ on the website.  As I was waiting another woman came in with more

than two items. She did not realize the limit and mentioned her son,who packed her car,

worked for Best Buy Framingham, MA store.  

After dropping off two items, I put everything back in the car so tonight I could drop off

two more items.  This time the customer service person tried to charge me $10 each

for the VCR and receiver.  I again pointed to the flyer that mentioned "most items were free" 

except TVs, monitors, and laptops.   She refused to take the items and the manager would

not accept them.

I had a friend go into the Framingham store and he dropped off an VCR and computer and was

only charged $10 (and received a $10 gift card) for the computer.  

I am not the only one confused, but I think your Framingham and Milford Mass.  store employees

are confused.  

I went on the website again today and I interpreted it again to mean that there are only charges

for TVs, computers, and monitors.  Am I wrong?  If not then someone should call the manager

of the Milford, MA store.  If I am wrong then someone should call the manager of the

Framingham, MA store.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector · Accepted solution]

Hi mckeeb,
 
That sounds like a lot of hauling around old electronics without being able to recycle them, and I'm glad you have made us aware of a lack in training at some of our stores. Without input like this we would not be able to fix problems that exist in order to better serve our customer's.
 
You are correct that a customer would only be charged $10 (and then receive a $10 Best Buy® gift card) to have us recycle TV's 32 inches and smaller, CRT's (computer monitors) 32 inches and smaller, and laptop computers. The $10 recycling fee and $10 gift card offer do not apply to stores in California, or to any Insignia®, Dynex® or VPR Matrix® products. There are three types of products that the store doesn't recycle with this new program; they are TV's larger than 32 inches, any product containing Freon (air conditioners, de-humidifiers, mini-refrigerators), and appliances. The store was correct that a customer is only allowed to recycle two items per household per day.
 
I will definitely contact both these stores in order to make sure there is no longer any confusion in regards to our new recycling program. If you need any further assistance from me just send me a message, and of course thanks for recycling!
 
Thanks for posting,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate

Message Edited by Allan-BBY on 02-17-2009 10:37 AM

[mckeeb]

Thank you Allan for your help! I was contacted by the Service Manager of the Milford store, who has been very helpful,  on Tuesday and I plan to bring in my recycled electronics today.  I was impressed by the quick response in posting my complaint to this board.  I even told some friends about the whole issue and they were also very impressed.

Thank you again,

Brian

[WheatonRon]

I took my used back up power supply (commonly known as a UPS by APC) to store number 304 in bloomingdale, IL. I was waited on immediately, but it took 15 minutes to determine you don't take UPSs back. If this is true you need to clarify your program because it doesn't say that.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hey WheatonRon,
 
It is true that this new program does not exclude an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) from being recycled by our stores, and the store in Bloomingdale, IL should have accepted your UPS for recycling. I called the store in Bloomingdale and informed them that they would need to accept this type of product to be recycled. You should be able to return to the store and get this recycled, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
 
Thanks for posting,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate