Posted on 03/03/2007 12:26:54 PM PST by quidnunc
Like most smart shoppers, Eric Hammer had done his homework and was convinced he'd found the best deal he could get on the laptop computer he was buying for his father's 82nd birthday present.
That was before the East Hartford teacher made a couple trips to Best Buy stores in West Hartford and Newington, and found that a price on the company's Internet site is not always what it seems. At least not to Best Buy sales staff.
Hammer, 47, who lives in Torrington, and his wife had found a great deal on a Toshiba on the bestbuy.com website. The mega-national electronic store was giving $150 off the computer, which on bestbuy.com said was normally selling for $879.99.
But when Hammer went to the Best Buy store in West Hartford on January 11th 2007 the salesman told him that the Best Buy sale was over. The Best Buy salesman even showed him on his Best Buy store computer that the price was now $879.99.
"I said `God, you are right,'" Hammer recalled. Hammer then drove to Newington hoping to find a deal on the computer at Circuit City. No deals, but while playing on the computers he decided to check bestbuy.com and discovered that the sale at Best Buy was still on.
Now he was thoroughly confused. Hammer went to the nearby Best Buy and asked a salesman to give him a price on the computer — $879.99, he was told.
Hammer said he started to argue with the Best Buy salesman, who attempted to prove his point by logging on to an internal Best Buy computer that had a giant monitor to show that there was no longer a sale.
"I am not saying that you are wrong," Hammer said the salesman told him. "I just don't see that price here at Best Buy."
By then Hammer had had enough and asked that he be permitted to navigate the Best Buy computer. Hammer went directly to bestbuy.com and lo and behold, it showed that a sale was still on. The manager, Hammer said, shrugged and told the salesman to give Hammer the sale Best Buy price.
The salesman had no explanation and unfortunately he didn't have that computer in stock at Best Buy. West Hartford, he said, had five.
Hammer got a printout of the sale and drove back to West Hartford where he showed the salesman the printout and got the computer at the discount. Hammer immediately sent me an e-mail about his experience, and theorized that there must be some kind of dual website at Best Buy stores because he said he had seen both salesmen log on. One Best Buy website that everyone could access and one Best Buy that only the salesmen could access.
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Wow I thought it was just me. When visiting with our daughter and her family in Nashville before Christmas we found on a line something that she wanted to get for the children. We went to the Best Buy in the area and low it wasn't on sale anymore. Went home and checked and yes it was. We said forget it. Found it at another store for a better price anyway. We just don't do Best Buy anymore.
That really stinks. Losing customers seems to be the name of the game.
Trying to buy something there with check or credit is like Fort Knox....returns are just as bad. I have had to go through hoops just to get them to return my money to my account...Best Buy is not on my list of places to buy from...
We once ordered a tv from Best Buy online which we waited weeks to receive, when it was due to arrive we got an email from Best Buy saying the tv was not available. I swore off buying from their website then. Fortunately, we found the exact tv thru another online vendor and within days we had the tv.
The extended warranty is useful on certain products....such as some hi-def tvs and LCD computer monitors.
Best Buy sells products, or at least they used to, at different prices for the same product at different locations. I thought they would match the lowest advertised price, but one stor wouldn't even match the price of another store across town.
Some other companies do that as well, but they'll tell you in the ad the number of the items distributed to each store. For instance, Microcenter advertised that they had a ridiculously low price on an LCD TV, but they also printed that there would only be 6 at each store.
It's a loss leader, designed to bring traffic into the store. But at least they're honest about it.
Mark
Ask a sales person a question and nine times out ten you get a smug look because you've interrupted their date making with another customer or the sales person discussion group about how fat the customer is in the TV department....
I was a member of Best Buys purchasing club. I'd get my coupons for 5 or 10 bucks from time to time -- all with expiration dates. At that time, you paid a fee to belong. One day I tried to redeem a 5 dollar coupon that had recently expired. Do you think anyone in the whole stinking store could deviate from their policy to please a customer that spent a couple thousand bucks a year in their store? Absolutely not. I know it was only five bucks. I was so put out I haven't bought a thing since -- and I won't. The irony is, about a week after the incident I saw they quit charging the fee to belong. After screwing around with their Mickey Mouse coupons, slow rebates, etc. etc. over the years -- they've lost me. Everything at Best Buy is geared to screw the customer.
You got that right. The Bets Buy in Dallas on 75 is like walking into a RAP club...and we are talking dirty rap...
I've found I can get better deals at Walmart or Office Depot and sometimes even at Staples. I never shop at Best Buy.
ping
An increasing number of store that have 'in store' pick up... Circuit City does for example.
I believe that you can generally get a manager involved to get the web price (unless it says web special only)...
Unfortunately, many of the floor reps are hourly only and could give a flip if you buy or not.
The way I interpreted it was: Joe Blow customer shows up at Best Buy looking for a deal he saw on the net and can't find it in the store. He asks a salesperson who surfs to the BB intranet site which looks just like their external site, except with higher prices, hoping to convince the customer the deal has expired and therefore make the sale at the higher price. Sort of a high tech bait & switch.
Yes, I do. You do know what "condescending" means, right?
Best Buy doesn't know what the selling price is, or even what they have in inventory. Their "geek squad" has no technical knowledge either. It's just poor business....and a healthy dose of attitude.
While all of the above may be true, setting up that look-alike site on their intranet took some amount of time and effort. They would not have needed to expend that effort if they permitted access to their public site in their stores. IMHO, posting a higher price on their internal site than is posted on their public one is deceptive.
Bust Buy was taken to task by Microsoft or somebody over the Geek Squad using pirated diagnostic and repair software.
I think Best buy caved in and made a settlement.
Fry's Electronics is by far the best in every thing I buy!!!...If there is a Fry's within 100 miles of were you live it is by far the best in prices on all idems they sell!!!!.... No big deal if you return on idem either!!!...We are lucky here in the Phoenix area!!!.. We have two Fry's Electronics!!
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