Troubles at Best Buy - They are trying to screw me hardcore

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Korgun

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Well I'm having some major troubles with best buy. This thread has two objectives. First off my main objective is to vent, secondly it's to possibly get some advice.

About a week ago I applied for a best buy credit card because they had 18 month no interest financing on TVs and I needed a new TV. I got approved for a good amount and about 3 days ago I narrowed my choices to one. I purchased it online and there was no delivery option to my house so I had to pick it up. My friend was coming over tonight and he offered to help me pick it up tonight.

So him and we went to best buy to pick it up, we were there hanging out possibly considering another TV and doing more research but in the end I decided to stick to the one I purchased online. One of the employees asked If I wanted to buy a service plan and I said no and he replied "I guess you feel lucky" I gave the guy my pick up slip and 15 min later he came by, then we went with two other employees from inventory to help us out to the car. It was obvious the TV wouldn't fit with the box and I asked one of the reps "How about without the box?" and he said "We'll try" and they proceded to try to push the TV in. After a little struggle they pulled it out and there were large crack/scratch marks on the screen and on the plastic.

The guys took the TV inside and the manager came out and said he could have the same TV delivered tomorrow, we said "what?" and he repeated himself. After a brief argument he said he had to talk to his guys he went inside and then he said his guys told them that they warned us and they were carrying the TV out as a courtesy so I am responsible for it. Infact he said he will have the TV delivered tomorrow If I don't take it now and I replied "I will not accept delviery on an item your employees broke" I tried to convince him but he was dead set and I asked him who I can talk to and he gave me a customer service number.

I called the number in the store and the person I spoke to said it was a store matter and I had to take it up with the store corporate headquarters and that they were closed. While I was on the phone the manager left and asked a supervisor to take care of us. After I got off the phone the supervisor (who was A LOT nicer than the manager) said he couldn't give us a refund and asked what we wanted to do. He gave me the manager's first and last names, the general managers first and last name, his first and last name and the first names of the three employees that scratched up the TV.

Now tomorrow I have to call the Best Buy corporate hq and talk to them and go into the store to talk to the general manager. The supervisor hinted that the general manager would go with whatever the sales manager that night woudl say.

Note: On my side there was only my friend and I. There were three best buy employees that were present/scratched up the TV. The manager/supervisor did not see anything but the employees say they told us they weren't responsible for any damage and they offered us delivery and that we said it was ok to try to put the TV in. We did not say it was OK. I asked "how about without the box" and they said "we'll try" I did not sign ANY thing at the store saying I picked it up, they did not see the credit card/ ID (nor did they ask for it at any time).

I might have some parts missing because I was there for roughly 2 hours and I might add on to this as I remember.

Any suggestions/comments other than "you are fucked" is appreciated.

Btw the TV was 2k and around 2.12 with tax.


Sorry if this is the wrong forum.. this is the only place I thought it might be appropriate...
 
i work for compusa and some sales plans are a joke

since you didnt buy the plan, i bet they just dealth with it half ass. To tell you the truth bring up that fact with headquarters

"because i didn't buy the service plan, the just attempted to throw the tv in my car with no care for the product itself."
 
Threaten them with a lawyer IMHO, from what I understand about law that seems a teence illegal, or call the company underwriting the BB CC and tell them what happened and refuse payment.
 
Originally posted by misan-thrope
Threaten them with a lawyer IMHO, from what I understand about law that seems a teence illegal, or call the company underwriting the BB CC and tell them what happened and refuse payment.
Click to expand...
thats the fucked up part, it's on a best buy credit card

i plan on going to the store tomorrow and if the general maanger doesn't make things right i'll end up trying to do that and if that doens't work i'll end up seeing a lawyer
 
i used to work for bestbuy...
usually the GMs are very nice about things like that.
but, i would suggest that you call up BB HQ and tell them their names, and then go back to the store, informing the managers that you did so. Their jobs are at risk, and managers are easily replaced. as far as the tv goes, try the return policy, since it was their people that broke it, they should replace it.

...... otherwise.... get lawyers involved as he suggest. :mad:
 
The Result- Do NOT pay it, take the bitchs to court if they think they are gonna get away with it. If you pay for it, I wanna bitch smack you :D.
 
The seedy underbelly of Bestbuy at work here. Among the things you mentioned the "service plan" is amusing. While I myself have purchased such plans for things like PC monitors there are many products that really have no need of a service plan. A tv, if it is going to fail will do so the day you bought it in most cases. The employees of best buy are brow beaten day and night to sell service plans, and last year best buy made many changes to how the service plan works. these changes were , you guessed it, not in the favor of the customer. The employees really dont care if you buy the plan, they honestly get nothing if you DO buy it, unlike some commission sales people at various other electronics stores, who get a percentage of the plans cost. Thier only incentive is to avoid the ugly looks of management. In fact these store managers are paid a bonus based on thier profit to service plan percentages.
when someone spends 2k on something with no service plan it hurts that over all percentage and make that bonus harder to get. the fact of the matter is Best buy must take your TV back. Thier return policy is for 30 days on most items (some have a restocking fees like notebooks if opened). If that store will not take it back all you need do is go to a diffrent bestbuy, walk up to returns and exchanges and say you dont like the TV. Broken or not they must return it. And the fact of the matter is they are not going to inspect it too closely anyways, just check for the remote, books and any cables is came with.
The service plan is not all bad however, for things like notebooks or cell phones or PDAs or even digi cams, you will very likely get your moneys worth. Notebook backlights burn out, thier batteries can die unexpectantly etc. These repairs are costly and are 99% of the time more than the cost of the plan. These kinds of mobile devices see a lot of wear and tear s it is nice to take it in and get a new one or get it fixed for no charge. But for things like TVs and refridgerators the service is redundant and a waste of money.
 
You can stop selling for them now Bonz we both quit =P. However, the manger is correct if you want an item loaded into your vehicle and it will not fit in the factory packaging its all on you. You should still be able to return the product if it was damaged while loading IMHO most manager will just take care of it. Nothing i hated worse than some dumb customerwanting toi take home their new 52" in their mustang =\. Call Corporate and explain, and bitch if need be they will force the store to do the right thing in most cases. Don't even bother with the store managers if they just blowing you off.
 
Call the HQ, let them know everything. The fact you had to go to this much trouble is absolute bullshit. Obviously that manager has gotten away with this shit before, so they feel they can do it again. This can not fly.

I work PT at a best buy, and I've never EVER EVER seen shit like that. Usually the management takes the customers sides even when they don't want to or shouldn't have to. Take your complaint to the higher level, and keep going up until you get a resolve. Best case is go back to the store and sttempt to exchange the TV after informing them that you have/will be going as far up the chain as need be.

Another trick, call another best buy in your area and let them know. I've had folks do that to my best buy because of treatment they received in KC or STL, it works too. Chances are you'll get someone who values their huge bonus and wants to get in good with the upper brass in the district by doing a good deed who will help you. After that, write negative WOW (comment) cards and send them to the corporate office with everyones names. Try to get one of those fuckers fired.

If none of this does you any good it's time to stand outside the store (but not on their property) with a sign, saying "BEST BUY SCAMMED ME"

I guarantee that will elicit SOME sort of response.
 
i was considering an LCD tv which i would have gotten the warranty for...the bulbs on those die and the warranty covers the bulbs as well

but since i was going for an item which I believe has proven itself (tube tv) i didn't think it was necessary.
 
this thread should probably go someplace else...not for sale trade I can understand the confusion though.

This is uncalled for. I would say bad management. I know my best buy is much more pickier then others...I think that it might have to do with the fact that we are a college town. When I have problems returning here I drop it off in the Twin Cities when I'm with the girlfriend. I'm sure that if you threaten lawyer/attorney general they will be in trouble for not giving you decent treatment based on not buying a service plan. You could just leave it in the store and contest the charges on your Credit Card (the best buy one none the less!). From what I have seen Laptops are one of the only items where service plans are worthwhile. I did put one on my tv and its the only service plan I have ever bought. I did it because I move my tv at least 3 times a year (college student) Good Luck!
 
Well for the most part, what bonzanego said is right. They have to take back the product within 30 days of purchase on tvs even if they aren't responsible for loading it in your car. The first thing though is DO NOT go into the store acting like an ass. This will get you nowhere with the GM and more than likely hurt your case with him/her. Go into the store and explain what happened and see what he/she will do for you. If they don't want to exchange it for you then persue the corporate route. Don't call corporate first then go in and tell them that. They will more than likely feel like you are threatening them and will more than likely tell you to stick it and go through the corporate office. Only when the corporate office tells them to replace it will they replace it.

Give the GM the chance to make it right, if they don't then call the corporate number which is 1888BESTBUY. Tell them the story and they will make it right. Contrary to what bonzanego said, GM's are not easily replaced and they will not get fired over one incident of a customer complaining much less a part-time employee. They will however make it right to you. Whatever you do don't leave the product in the store. Best Buy has a process called Customer Abandonment. If you leave the product there they will hold on to it for a certain period then throw it away. In the meantime you will more than likely have to pay since you left it there and didn't deal with it appropriately.

If you treat the GM with some respect and act nice, they will more than likely take care of you. The GM does get some flack for it if you call corporate but will more than likely not get fired unless this is a common occurance. If you act like an ass (not saying you will) you will get treated like an ass. Stick to your guns and you will get what you deserve which is a new tv. This is coming from somone who works there and has 4 years experience in all the aspects of returns and exchanges. We have exchanged, at my store, projection tvs that people have dropped out of the back of the truck when they were unloading it cause we couldn't prove otherwise.

Next time take a vehicle that can accomodate the product you buy or leave it there and go get one. Is it that hard to get a truck to carry the tv in so you don't run in to this problem?
 
Originally posted by ???
Well for the most part, what bonzanego said is right. They have to take back the product within 30 days of purchase on tvs even if they aren't responsible for loading it in your car. The first thing though is DO NOT go into the store acting like an ass. This will get you nowhere with the GM and more than likely hurt your case with him/her. Go into the store and explain what happened and see what he/she will do for you. If they don't want to exchange it for you then persue the corporate route. Don't call corporate first then go in and tell them that. They will more than likely feel like you are threatening them and will more than likely tell you to stick it and go through the corporate office. Only when the corporate office tells them to replace it will they replace it.

Give the GM the chance to make it right, if they don't then call the corporate number which is 1888BESTBUY. Tell them the story and they will make it right. Contrary to what bonzanego said, GM's are not easily replaced and they will not get fired over one incident of a customer complaining much less a part-time employee. They will however make it right to you. Whatever you do don't leave the product in the store. Best Buy has a process called Customer Abandonment. If you leave the product there they will hold on to it for a certain period then throw it away. In the meantime you will more than likely have to pay since you left it there and didn't deal with it appropriately.

If you treat the GM with some respect and act nice, they will more than likely take care of you. The GM does get some flack for it if you call corporate but will more than likely not get fired unless this is a common occurance. If you act like an ass (not saying you will) you will get treated like an ass. Stick to your guns and you will get what you deserve which is a new tv. This is coming from somone who works there and has 4 years experience in all the aspects of returns and exchanges. We have exchanged, at my store, projection tvs that people have dropped out of the back of the truck when they were unloading it cause we couldn't prove otherwise.

Next time take a vehicle that can accomodate the product you buy or leave it there and go get one. Is it that hard to get a truck to carry the tv in so you don't run in to this problem?
Click to expand...

see at this point i don't want to take the tv because then they can claim that I damaged the TV. I'm sure the customer abandonment isn't that quick... so i doubt they'll wait a day or two adn then consider it abandoned and throw it out

from what i know it should be AT LEAST 30 days.... probably more like 60 or 90

unless this issue is resolved within a week (at most) i will probably persue legal option and ask them what the best course of action is.
 
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