(Oct/13) - Need advice on taking action against Best Buy (Bay, Toronto)

[fatkinglet]

Updated:

On Oct 10th, I received a call from General Manger (Zee) told me that he would offer me the price match to Future Shop and the trade-in credit, but not the free shipping and the $50 credit (in-stock guaranty). I asked him which price he is referring to, he agreed on the $1520 and the trade-in. I responded that I will think about it as I am not in a rush for a TV as price of TV is dropping fast. Afterward, I explained to Zee that I don’t really care about getting the TV or not, I just want to make a point that the treatment and service I have received were poor, and I would like an apology letter. Zee declined an formal apology but offered me a $50 gift card instead, told me to come to store tomorrow or Sunday and ask for Mhina (another manager) for $50 gift card and purchase the TV if I want. I thanked him for calling me.

On Oct 11th, I decided to purchase the TV and called in to confirm the agreement, Mhina said Zee is in meeting and asked me to call back in an hour. I called back two hours later, Mhina said she has confirmed with Zee. Due to the different response in the past, I wanted everything to be firm before coming to the store. I broke down the price and recapped on what I should be getting for $1520(pm) - $78(10% difference) - $250(trade-in), which gives me approximately $1200 plus tax. Mhina agreed and said I just need to come in to store with the TV and myself, nothing else.

I went into the store with my TV in afternoon, Mhina gave me the $50 gift card right away and assigned a female representive to help me out with the TV order, everything was looking good until I told her the price of PM should be $1520 and it was confirmed with Zee and Mhina. Zee came out with Rhual and Chez, accused me of lying and said he would retract the agreement if I had lied. I didn’t expect a general manager would lie about the conversation that we had. Obviously, I didn’t bring a copy of the price because I didn’t expect that I would need it and foresee there would be further problem. Zee sent Rhaul to call Futureshop to confirm the price, I knew I was not the one of lying and reminded them it was two weeks ago and it was called “After-hour sale”. In the meanwhile, Chez pulled Zee aside to said something (I knew Chez is fully aware of that “after-hour sale” price and he was the first person I spoke to after I sent my first complain).

They finally confirmed Futureshop did have the price for $1520, but Zee showed me attitudes and told me that he is not going to honor it, either I can take the price match at $1699 or I would have to leave the store. I asked to speak to Mhina, Zee ignored my request and left the scene. To this point, I was upset and tired of lies after lies.

I decided to leave the store, but Rhaul stopped me from leaving and forced me to take the old TV with me. I refused as I was extremely exhausted physically and mentally. I barely carried the TV to the store as I didn’t drive, the TV was heavy and it was only brought-in for the sole purpose of TV purchase. I was blocked at the door gate by Rhaul and a security guard, I requested to speak to Zee or Mhina again, but got declined. At that point, I totally lost my temper and I raised my voice saying they can call the police, arrest me or do whatever they want. I told them they can keep the old TV and I don’t want it anymore. Rhaul insisted that I must take the old TV out or I can purchase the TV (not the arrangement that we agreed). I became tire and felt being threatened; I gave in to buy the TV in order to escape.

Lastly, Chez helped me to process the order and there was no stock in the store, told me I need to return on Thursday to pick up the TV. ($1699 - $60(PM) - $250(trade-in) plus tax, no free shipping and $50credit)

(PS: Chez, I know that you are reading this forum and sorry I will not remove any name per your request in any forum. However, you were good and no offense. Personally, I would not have taken this far if it was not aggravated by the managers.)



Summing-up:

1. Telling Customer to shop elsewhere in order to deny price guaranty
2. Refusing to honor Best Buy policy (no free shipping and $50 credit when they have no stock in store)
3. Inconsistence response and deined the first agreement after second complaint
4. No credibility from General Manager. General Manger (Zee) accused me of lying at first, then escaped the scene after proven he was wrong. And he was the one who called me and asked to come to store for TV purchase after third complaint.
5. I wouldn't have gone to the store for TV purchase if it was not asked by Zee and confirmed by another manger Mhina
6. Unreasonable Confinement


My expectation from Best Buy:

1. A formal apology letter
2. PM at $1520 as that was what they told me to come in to the store for.
3. Honor the cost of In-Stock Guaranty policy (as they had no TV in store when I purchased)

I have written to BBB, CCBBB and MGCS so far.

(PS: I think there is a misunderstanding here. I have never intend to harass anyone or take adventage of Best Buy. I have never asked for anything that was not promised from the mangers or supervisors originally, they made me to go to store and insulted me there. It wouldnt have been ended like this if they had stuck to their own words.)


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Here is my experience with Best Buy (Bay/Dundas, Toronto):

On Sept 27th 2008, I was at store to purchase Sharp (LC52D64U) along with the promotion of the $250 TV trade-in credit. I noticed Futureshop that had LC52D64U for $1699 and later on that Futureshop also had it for $1530 (after-hour sale) on the same day.

I attempted a Price Guaranty (PG), Chez (supervisor) accepted the PG but refused to honor the trade-in, claiming that they are two promotions. I politely stated that PM is a company policy. Chez continued to refuse and said that they have no stock. I pointed out on flyer stated another credit of $50 and free shipping if no stock. Chez responded that only free shipping, not the credit. I inquired why, Chez came back with a manger (Rahul). Rahul started off by asking “why don’t you buy it from Audio/Video 2001?”, I was shocked of his attitude. I asked Rahul if the policy and promotion will be honored. Rahul replied that he doesn’t need to honor anything, is not a law, take it or leave it.

Later, I called Customer Service to find out if the promotion will exclude the PG, Sammy (ID12530) replied no. I went ahead to process a complaint through email.

Oct 1st, I got a voice message (4166428321 ext 2021) saying that they want to resolve the matter. I returned call and spoke to Chez. He promised the PG against Futurshop at the After-sale price, $250 trade-in, another $50 credit plus free shipping. Chez agreed that I can purchased the TV anytime.

I called back to confirm later, wasn’t able to reach Chez, but another male offered his help. I briefly told about the discussion with Chez. Contrary to expectations, this male denied the early agreement. I asked to please have Chez to call me back right away. There was no return call, so I wrote a second email about the inconsistence responses.

Oct 4th, I finally spoke to Chez. Chez told me the agreement will be denied, I requested to speak to a manager. The Manager refused to provide a straight answer by vaguely saying it was from HQ and something about the escalation (the second email). I asked for contact info for HQ, but no avail.

Frankly, I am totally unsatisfied with the service and treatment that I received. Not to mention that placing false advertisement and breaking arrangement are unacceptable. I have already filed a case with Best Business Bureau.


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updated (Oct 07):
Points that I want to fight:

1. false advertisement (no where in their add says the trade-in promotion will exclude price guaranty and I also did confirm this fact by calling customer serivce)
2. Oral Contract (I am not a pro of law, but I did take a year course of law before. If i am not wrong, i believe once a party makes an offer and the another party accept the offer, which will automatically enter into a verbal contract)

At the end, I don't really care if I get the TV for the price or not. I just want to demonstrate that Best Buy needs to set their policy and promotion outright, but not playing games with customers.


Thread releated to the Trade-In: http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641349

[7jaii]

Make sure you file a complaint through the proper channels. It seems these employees are insufficiently trained and antagonize customers. Not the best for BB's Downtown location.

Be firm, ask BB to follow up and request a GC or apology (or both). If everyone ignores you then just return your TV -- they deserve it. Take your business elsewhere.

[thepersianguy]

dont know about you but if someone talked to me that way i'd be sure to give them hell. they only have their jobs because of customers. im really tired of BB and FS employees being so arrogant (before i get flamed, i know not all of them are). IMO they only like to deal with customers who dont know anything so they can sell them those stupid service plans and/or upsale them to another product. personally, ive had many experiences where they try to deny a pricematch for no reason and one sales rep indirectly called me stupid when i asked him to include an HDMI cable with my TV purchase ($10 after employee discount btw..try to sell those for $80)

anyway, make sure to contact head office you dont deserve that kind of treatment

[lorax1284]

I'm rather split on this issue:

On one hand, Best Buy / Future Shop get a LOT of business because they have a 'lowest price' guarantee. So because of the business they get, they need to NOT play games when it comes time to pay the piper.

On the other hand, if whatever single thing they do for you is the "best price", just because of a minor wording error in the ad that doesn't explicitly forbid stacking, I think you are fine to suggest they stack, but it's hard to hold it against them when they aren't agreeable or, depending on the inexperience or attitude of the staff, become downright rude.

Call Best Buy and say "when I pressed for an even better deal than your fine-print stipulates, the manager was rude and suggested I shop elsewhere."

You could probably get the guy fired, but not get the stacked offers.

...but I do admit that some staff will say ANYTHING to avoid matching a really really good deal... it totally undermines the spirit of the "Best Price" deal if there are too many exceptions... but we RFDers have been through that wringer enough to know the real deal.

[Sprite_TM]

i also find their online/phone orders better than in store when it comes to pricematching.

they make up so many reasons not to price match and idont understand why, its only the company that is losing some profit and it doesnt affect you unless you are the owner of that location

[tsehou]

i also find their online/phone orders better than in store when it comes to pricematching.

they make up so many reasons not to price match and idont understand why, its only the company that is losing some profit and it doesnt affect you unless you are the owner of that location

But I believe the manager's bonus is dependent on the profit the store makes, so if they are going to take a hit in profit their bonus goes down.

This should be common in most retail stores.

[darkprince]

Make sure you file a complaint through the proper channels. It seems these employees are insufficiently trained and antagonize customers. Not the best for BB's Downtown location.

Be firm, ask BB to follow up and request a GC or apology (or both). If everyone ignores you then just return your TV -- they deserve it. Take your business elsewhere.

+1 Buy with the free shipping and return it to BAY AND DUNDAS! They'll take a Big hit for sure! =P

B/c now they have to find a way to sell that OPEN BOX Tv with 10% off the sale Price and at this point ppl that wants to get this same model the sales ppl have to make the deal that sounds swt for the next customer to buy that open box TV. =P

[msalti]

I had the same problem, I didn't get a rude response, but I was ticked at the fact that I couldn't get the two deals (price match and 250 off with trade in).

I ended up buying @ BB near scarborough town center. I priced match with Future shop (1699.99) but I still want to know if they can deny me that deal even though there isn't a policy on combining the deals.

[SpectreFire]

Answer

Why do you guys think they should combine offers?

The $250 off IS their offer. Its basically a coupon. You can PM them their price - $250 vs the price at futureshop.

From their website:

Our Lowest Price Guarantee does not apply to advertising errors or misprints, special educational prices, restricted offers, mail order offers, rebates, coupons, premiums, free or bonus offers, OEM products, limited or minimum quantity or limited time offers, close-outs, liquidations, clearances, and special financing offers.

Makes me mad when people complain about uneducated retailers when its the consumers that are uneducated and think they are entitled to screwing over businesses.

[grappos13]

i got screwed when i went to markville bestbuy to get guitar hero 3 for ps3..

i did a pricematch with amazon.ca which had it at 69.99 on friday (out of stock now tho :() and they finally said they would do it.. i tried to get the 10 off 40 on the pricematch but they wouldnt.. so i said ok ill take it for 66.99..then i pulled out my 10 off 50 coupon i got from SPC card and they kept telling me that i cannot use that because they did a pricematch? wtf bs is that... didnt say that anywhere.. and they wouldnt do it.. pissed me off.. cuz now i cant do the pricematch for 69 as amazon doesnt have it up there anymore...

on another note.. i went back and got a pricematch for dark sector and singstar and the 10 off 50 worked perfectly fine..

guess it depends on the person.. but ya they screwed me badly!

[ADRiiAN`]

@SpectreFire

Isn't that the policy for the price matching?

With all those 'fine-prints' that they have there, doesn't it mean that they don't price match stores that have certain deals? (Limited Time Offers, Rebates).

I don't believe that has anything to do with combining offers.

@ OP

Try another Best Buy, but I would call Best Buy Head Office and explain how you were treated, i'm sure they wouldn't take it lightly to the fact that the manager said “why don’t you buy it from Audio/Video 2001?”. They'd probably give him a talking since he's driving business away.

@grappos13

I, personally, think that's dumb. It's like them saying 'oh no, you cannot pay with a $10 gift card because you price matched'.

[selpats]

The simplest thing to do is share this (as you have done) and quit shopping there...

[van]

It totally depends on the person you dealing with. If the person is rude, don't be afraid to cause a scene and tell them off.

Definately try another location. I've had one manager completely reject a PM with a bogus excuse. Drove over to another branch and the manager there accepted the same PM with no problems, and even knocked off an additional 10%.

[zoro69]

@SpectreFire

Try another Best Buy, but I would call Best Buy Head Office and explain how you were treated, i'm sure they wouldn't take it lightly to the fact that the manager said “why don’t you buy it from Audio/Video 2001?”. They'd probably give him a talking since he's driving business away.


You can't "call best buy head office"...you'll be calling their outsourced call center...who will pass your complaint back to the store to deal with. If you can't get anywhere it is possible to go beyond hat, but it takes persistence and time.

Last time I called 1-800 over a pm issue the rep insisted it says on the policy that they don't pm if its below their cost.

[Cheap Cat]

Who says that the tv trade in is a coupon? It is not. He is giving them his tv in return for a $250 off the new tv. It is a trade in. He should also have received the $50 off because the tv was not in stock. One has nothing to do with the other.

Our Lowest Price Guarantee does not apply to advertising errors or misprints, special educational prices, restricted offers, mail order offers, rebates, coupons, premiums, free or bonus offers, OEM products, limited or minimum quantity or limited time offers, close-outs, liquidations, clearances, and special financing offers.

This policy refers to the what BB won't price match. No where in this policy does it say that they will ignore their own policies. OP, speak to the district manager if that doesn't work, work your way up the chain. I'm sick of stores not adhering to their own policies.

[xstatik]

+1 Buy with the free shipping and return it to BAY AND DUNDAS! They'll take a Big hit for sure! =P

B/c now they have to find a way to sell that OPEN BOX Tv with 10% off the sale Price and at this point ppl that wants to get this same model the sales ppl have to make the deal that sounds swt for the next customer to buy that open box TV. =P

+1 Best answer so far. Don't let these companies run over you with their unethical business practices. May as well cost them some money and take the business elsewhere.

[Impossibles]

Who says that the tv trade in is a coupon? It is not. He is giving them his tv in return for a $250 off the new tv. It is a trade in. He should also have received the $50 off because the tv was not in stock. One has nothing to do with the other.

Where does it say that the $250 credit is a trade in program???

The $250 off is a promotion, not a trade in program. This isn't an auto dealership, its an electronics retailer. This is the same thing as if they said you get $XX off your purchase for bringing an item to donate to the food bank.

[GVRtrader]

The attitude of the manager is unacceptable. If you can somehow provide proof of what he said, i'm pretty sure he's as good as fired. He's not wrong about them having to PM anything but he was just rude stating it. I would file a complaint (or multiple complaints) about the situation.

[bodsonap]

Who says that the tv trade in is a coupon? It is not. He is giving them his tv in return for a $250 off the new tv. It is a trade in. He should also have received the $50 off because the tv was not in stock. One has nothing to do with the other.



This policy refers to the what BB won't price match. No where in this policy does it say that they will ignore their own policies. OP, speak to the district manager if that doesn't work, work your way up the chain. I'm sick of stores not adhering to their own policies.

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.

[Cas77]

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.

How old are you?

[comicbookguy]

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.

if i had the skills i would build a statue of you.

i've always wanted to do that. i personally have given up opportunities to shop at best buy/future shop because i know that they are flakey on policies and promotions sometimes. i would rather deal with a smaller store and spend a little extra to talk to a person who cares about his/her business.

i think a lot of salespeople have given up on the adage that the customer is always right. the customer is always king. i understand there are difficult customers, but they are still customers. a salesperson is supposed to be willing to take sh*t from any potential customer.

[Impossibles]

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.

I hope you don't have kids and teach them this attitude. Or if you do, next time they throw a tantrum, think about where they might have picked that up from.

You did all that for ~$10 in rewards points.

[Impossibles]

i think a lot of salespeople have given up on the adage that the customer is always right. the customer is always king. i understand there are difficult customers, but they are still customers. a salesperson is supposed to be willing to take sh*t from any potential customer.

What gives you the right to be an ******* to another human being?

[thepersianguy]

I hope he does have kids and he does teach them that attitude. If someone does you wrong are you just going to stay quiet and accept it? Without people like him they would do whatever they wanted. I think your forgetting that they are only in business because of the customer and that should be their number one priority. In the end I think you missed the point of ther story, it's not about the points its the principle.

Thank you for doing what you did and having the nads to tell the manager exactly what you think of thier bs.

I hope you don't have kids and teach them this attitude. Or if you do, next time they throw a tantrum, think about where they might have picked that up from.

You did all that for ~$10 in rewards points.

[comicbookguy]

What gives you the right to be an ******* to another human being?

having demands to follow store policies is being an as*hole now?

[thepersianguy]

What gives them the right to pick and choose which policies they want to honor. I was once told at BB that their PM policy is 5% of the difference. I told the sales rep, no it clearly says 10% on that big ass sign above the cashiers but he was insistent that it was 5. He knew I was PMing so he was clearly being an ass to me so I left. ANyway, I find in general most people are good until they have been wronged. That's not to say you wont run into those select few...

What gives you the right to be an ******* to another human being?

[fatkinglet]

updated my story

[selpats]

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.

You need to seek professional help. I am not kidding around, go to talk with your doctor about this. >:(

[darkprince]

+1 I am glad some1 stood up to the big evil corporation.

I just wouldn't have the time to do that. I would have done the return right from the start. =)

It must gave felt really good walking away knowing that you made a point. =)

And now people can buy those OPEN Boxes for 10% off the actual price or if you're good at bargaining you can get like addition 5-10% on top of that. =P

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.

[MrKat]

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.

HOLY WALL OF TEXT! Umm cliffs anyone? I aint reading all that.

[MrKat]

I hope you don't have kids and teach them this attitude. Or if you do, next time they throw a tantrum, think about where they might have picked that up from.

You did all that for ~$10 in rewards points.

ROFL, typical RFDer, pinches every penny like his life depends on it. Good god, driving 400km? Renting a hotel room? Sorry bodsonap but you only have yourself to blame. If I was the Best Buy manager, I would have told you to get your punk arse out my store and save yourself the embarassment. Wow, just wow.

Some people these days I tell you. Whats next? Drive 200km to get a free Big Mac at McDs?

[Azer]

Yea it really is pretty pathetic. Easy solution would have been return it all to our local best buy and re-buy it all making sure they add the points.

But you sound like a douche and probably just wanted to vent your life frustrations at someone.

[danman227460]

HOLY WALL OF TEXT! Umm cliffs anyone? I aint reading all that.

He bought $900 worth of stuff, didn't get the Reward points, had to drive 400 KM back to the store of original purchase to get points, manager didn't honor him and told him to speak with people on the phone, he ended up returning the items and took his business elsewhere.

To OP:
Suing? I don't recommend it but if that is your last resort, do it. I am no law student nor do I know the laws that well but if I was a small fry going after a multi billion dollar industry over being mistreated, I won't feel too confident in winning. The most you will do is waste their time and money and not to mention yours.

To the general masses:
These companies make their business off customers and frankly, they really don't care about you or a bunch of people. They know that as long as they can get people to come in, its a sale to them. For every 1 person out there who has the nads to stand up, there are 100 standing in line who is willing to hand money to them. They know this and that is evident in how they treat their customers. If they really cared about you, they would have bent over backwards as soon as you said I want to return my items.

Sadly, there is little competition in Canada and we all end up shopping at either them or some local stores with even more shadier tactics. We need a Circuit City or something up here.

To bodsonap:

Did you try adding your points online? There is an option for that.

[CSK'sMom]

Yea it really is pretty pathetic. Easy solution would have been return it all to our local best buy and re-buy it all making sure they add the points.

But you sound like a douche and probably just wanted to vent your life frustrations at someone.

Guess reading comprehension isn't your strong point huh? He clearly stated he lives in Sudbury! and the closest BB is in Barrie... :rolleyes:

By the way danman, I think you have bodsonap confused with the OP of this thread. It's the OP that is thinking about suing after his ordeal which is chronicled in the first post...

[danman227460]

Guess reading comprehension isn't your strong point huh? He clearly stated he lives in Sudbury! and the closest BB is in Barrie... :rolleyes:

By the way danman, I think you have bodsonap confused with the OP of this thread. It's the OP that is thinking about suing after his ordeal which is chronicled in the first post...

Ye well I meshed the posts together and starting talking about more than 1 person. I'll edit it.

[peroxide8888]

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.
First off, "You couldn't have said it better...". Please take appropriate action to improve your English language skills (or lack thereof).

Secondly, how about looking at the website and clicking on the OBVIOUS link on the left side of the page? No need to pick up the phone, speak to anyone or drive 400km and make a complete moron of yourself.

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/7263/bbrkr5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Wasgo]

Here is my experience with Best Buy:

[snip]

Frankly, I am totally unsatisfied with the service and treatment that I received. Not to mention that placing false advertisement and breaking arrangement are unacceptable. I have already filed a case with Best Business Bureau and planning to escalate the matter to small claim court for breach of contract and punitive.

I will welcome any advice/input regarding this matter and would like to know what other media/news/blog that I can write to as well, thx.

Okay. Let's go over this. First, going to the media won't work, because you'll look like a scammer. You were trying to combine two promotions in a way they were never meant to be combined. It was legitimate, but for the media that's not the point. This isn't a big bad company screwing over an uninformed shopper, it's a company refusing to deal with a customer that's exploiting policy.

Second, you can't sue for breach of contract, because an advertisement isn't a contract. Contracts require consideration. In other words, unless you gave them something, you don't have a contract. They made an offer, and you accepted, but that's not enough for a contract.

Third, you're not going to successfully sue for false advertising through small claims court, and even if you could, the most you could receive would be $300, the difference between what you were offered and the price at Future Shop. You probably wouldn't even get that much since you would have to subtract the value of the TV, and the court could be quite liberal in their valuation.

Considering the lack of support options you have, (I mean, hardly anyone is even replying to this thread), your best option is to politely deal with Best Buy and try to talk to Head Office. That's it. There's no way to punish them, or to prove that they were wrong. You either deal with them, or you walk away. Good luck!

[w4rrior]

First off, "You couldn't have said it better...". Please take appropriate action to improve your English language skills (or lack thereof).

Secondly, how about looking at the website and clicking on the OBVIOUS link on the left side of the page? No need to pick up the phone, speak to anyone or drive 400km and make a complete moron of yourself.

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/7263/bbrkr5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

+1
lol, all that driving ($120 in gas!??!?!) and fuss for ~$10 in savings...

Btw, I do work at the Heartland location (computers) and I can say from experience that the training they do give you is.... somewhat sufficient at most. We pretty much have to learn things as we go along and encounter them. At least thats what its like at the Heartland location...
I try my best to help all the customers I encounter, but the ones who come saying FS does this and that need to realize we're still operating independently! We're not on commission so we're not gonna push you or reduce the price to sell you the product. We only do such things if you go with PSPs but i'm not gonna get into that here (this is RFD after all lol). Yet we still have customers coming in demanding we take 10% off or something similar...arg! Either buy it or go home! Your just wasting everyone's time.
As far as the OP, I agree that the manager was wrong with his response and needs to be dealt with accordingly, but at the same time the OP was exploiting store policy if you look at it really. I'm not picking sides here but at the end of the day BB (or all these other big box stores) are still businesses that are trying to make profit, and when ppl exploit policies and offers then don't expect an easy time trying to successfully purchase things like this. That's why most of BB/FS competitors seldom do offer the polices and promotions that BB/FS does.

[exiledinottawa]

ROFL, typical RFDer, pinches every penny like his life depends on it. Good god, driving 400km? Renting a hotel room? Sorry bodsonap but you only have yourself to blame. If I was the Best Buy manager, I would have told you to get your punk arse out my store and save yourself the embarassment. Wow, just wow.

Some people these days I tell you. Whats next? Drive 200km to get a free Big Mac at McDs?

I would have called the cops on him as soon as he started using filthy language.

[fatkinglet]

Okay. Let's go over this. First, going to the media won't work, because you'll look like a scammer. You were trying to combine two promotions in a way they were never meant to be combined. It was legitimate, but for the media that's not the point. This isn't a big bad company screwing over an uninformed shopper, it's a company refusing to deal with a customer that's exploiting policy.

Second, you can't sue for breach of contract, because an advertisement isn't a contract. Contracts require consideration. In other words, unless you gave them something, you don't have a contract. They made an offer, and you accepted, but that's not enough for a contract.

Third, you're not going to successfully sue for false advertising through small claims court, and even if you could, the most you could receive would be $300, the difference between what you were offered and the price at Future Shop. You probably wouldn't even get that much since you would have to subtract the value of the TV, and the court could be quite liberal in their valuation.

Considering the lack of support options you have, (I mean, hardly anyone is even replying to this thread), your best option is to politely deal with Best Buy and try to talk to Head Office. That's it. There's no way to punish them, or to prove that they were wrong. You either deal with them, or you walk away. Good luck!


Thanks for the advise. I don't think it is a matter of exploiting policy, it is more like an expectation of its policy and promotion. It is their responsiblity to make it outright. And policy is not a promotion, it is a guideline for everyday pratice, not a limited time offer.

At the end, getting a new tv or not is not my concern. I just hate to see the store employee making up whatever they way say and not treating customers correctly

[Azer]

Here is the thing, when you price match that's all you are getting is the price match.

If BB was offering a free game with an Xbox 360 and Future Shop had just the system $20 cheaper you can't price match and get the free game it is one or the other.

[selpats]

Selpats, have you ever watched "Planes, Trains and Automobiles?" bodsonap's posts reminds me of Steve Martin at the Car Rental place, and he does/says almost the same thing because he's been jacked around, and had real bad luck for so long. A person can only 'take' so much. :lol:
The f'n video here (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=bUrWk-pkc94) ;)

OP and all in this thread, good for you for taking this further! Good luck, and keep standing up for truth! We need more people like you guys and gals, to stand up for what they believe in and take action! :)

I have been around the block and then some. I have never needed to swear and act like a child to try and get what I want. This isn't about 'standing up for truth", this is about some immature male posturing online to make himself feel like a man. I always get what I expect from a store and if I do need to argue a point I do it in a rational, mature fashion.

OP - I suggest that you just write a letter to the Better Business Bureau and CC the CEO of Best Buy Canada on it. Taking it to court will prove nothing and will just frustrate you, life is too short to concern yourself with such trivial things...best of luck.

[clboy]

He bought $900 worth of stuff, didn't get the Reward points, had to drive 400 KM back to the store of original purchase to get points, manager didn't honor him and told him to speak with people on the phone, he ended up returning the items and took his business elsewhere.

To OP:
Suing? I don't recommend it but if that is your last resort, do it. I am no law student nor do I know the laws that well but if I was a small fry going after a multi billion dollar industry over being mistreated, I won't feel too confident in winning. The most you will do is waste their time and money and not to mention yours.

To the general masses:
These companies make their business off customers and frankly, they really don't care about you or a bunch of people. They know that as long as they can get people to come in, its a sale to them. For every 1 person out there who has the nads to stand up, there are 100 standing in line who is willing to hand money to them. They know this and that is evident in how they treat their customers. If they really cared about you, they would have bent over backwards as soon as you said I want to return my items.

Sadly, there is little competition in Canada and we all end up shopping at either them or some local stores with even more shadier tactics. We need a Circuit City or something up here.

To bodsonap:

Did you try adding your points online? There is an option for that.

Although I sympathize with the OP, I think they have the right to refuse service as it is private property and could have just told you to get out, there are more than enough sheep out there who will keep them profitable, we need more competition.

[fatkinglet]

I have been around the block and then some. I have never needed to swear and act like a child to try and get what I want. This isn't about 'standing up for truth", this is about some immature male posturing online to make himself feel like a man. I always get what I expect from a store and if I do need to argue a point I do it in a rational, mature fashion.

OP - I suggest that you just write a letter to the Better Business Bureau and CC the CEO of Best Buy Canada on it. Taking it to court will prove nothing and will just frustrate you, life is too short to concern yourself with such trivial things...best of luck.



I did write a letter to BBB already. I am not mad at all, I am actually pretty calm throug out the whole time, never raise my voice, showed emtion or got into any arguement with them. What I really want is to have Best Buy reconsider and prehaps revise their policy

[selpats]

I did write a letter to BBB already. I am not mad at all, I am actually pretty calm throug out the whole time, never raise my voice, showed emtion or got into any arguement with them. What I really want is to have Best Buy reconsider and prehaps revise their policy

The first part was to Chr1s, that's why I quoted what he/she said.

You will not change how Best Buy does business and what I am trying to say it that you are going to waste your time doing that. The best thing you can do is not shop there and share your experience with people like you are doing here.

[Wasgo]

Thanks for the advise. I don't think it is a matter of exploiting policy, it is more like an expectation of its policy and promotion. It is their responsiblity to make it outright. And policy is not a promotion, it is a guideline for everyday pratice, not a limited time offer.

At the end, getting a new tv or not is not my concern. I just hate to see the store employee making up whatever they way say and not treating customers correctly

I agree with you that one was a a promotion and one was a policy. I know that according to the official policy and promotion details, there is nothing that excludes combining them. However, I'd be willing to guess that it was never their intent for them to be combined, hence why they're being difficult. But when I referred to exploiting, I meant how it would be perceived by the media. How you wish to personally feel about this is up to you.

Unfortunately, I don't think your situation is relatable to most people, so while it is a good example of Best Buy breaking their own policy, I don't think there is much to be gained from anything other than dealing with them directly. This isn't the type of incident to cause an outcry, but it is frustrating for you. Hopefully you'll manage to get a reasonable response from Best Buy and you can just get back to enjoying a new TV.

[artisticflaw]

Here's how it works, if you're getting a price match then any other specials are AT THE DISCRETION of the salesperson/manager. If the item is going below cost there's NO POINT in selling it. The retailer has the right to deny promotions and/or combination of promotions. Why would any company sell a current product at a loss when they have the RIGHT to make that choice. Let me guess, you were only buying the TV correct? I'm almost positive if you had of been buying a service plan or installation with it (that's where they make their money AND it does benefit the customer even though some would have you believe it doesn't) they probably would have given you some flex room. Demanding things in a retail store is like demanding to be let onto the TTC for free, it just doesn't work.

Also, to the idiot that drove 400KM, someone already posted the Rewardzone site section where you could redeem your own points. Stop being a lazy uneducated CHILD and type your receipt number in. I mean, you took the time to drive there and complain for however many hours, and then you took the time to log onto RFD to cry about it to others and try and make yourself look like the big man, so why is it SO HARD to log onto your account (which you did to check your balance anyway) and redeem your own damn points. Yeah the guy ringing you through forgot, we're only human, it happens, but that doesn't give you the right to get all high and mighty and then swear till you're blue in the face to some poor manager who takes sh*t from customers all day for someone's small mistake. When was the last time you put up with that kind of sh*t in your job? Probably never. Grow up.

Yes, I work at BestBuy. I won't hide that fact, I work non-commission to help the general public so I know what kind of crap the employees there take day in day out. I can honestly say that everyone there is just doing their job. Sometimes f*ckups happen and they're usually resolved properly. Sorry if you didn't get what you wanted TV guy, but business is business, if I owned a small store and had a similar promotion running I'd turn you away too based on the fact that I wouldn't be making ANY profit off of said transaction. That's really what it comes down to. Business and profit.

Finally I would like to mention that although a verbal agreement was made, without said agreement being written and signed by both parties it is INCREDIBLY hard to make something like that hold up in small claims court. Don't waste your time or your money chap.

[Wasgo]

Here's how it works, if you're getting a price match then any other specials are AT THE DISCRETION of the salesperson/manager. If the item is going below cost there's NO POINT in selling it. The retailer has the right to deny promotions and/or combination of promotions. Why would any company sell a current product at a loss when they have the RIGHT to make that choice.

Actually they don't have that right. If they wanted that right, it would have to be included in the price match agreement. Why do you think stores write 'offer not valid with other promotions' on their coupons? It's because they need to specify limitations on promotions, otherwise it's false advertising.

Yes, I work at BestBuy. I won't hide that fact, I work non-commission to help the general public so I know what kind of crap the employees there take day in day out.

Actually, you work to get paid.

Sorry if you didn't get what you wanted TV guy, but business is business, if I owned a small store and had a similar promotion running I'd turn you away too based on the fact that I wouldn't be making ANY profit off of said transaction. That's really what it comes down to. Business and profit.

Business, profit and the law. Let's be clear here, although it's not worth it to fight it, what Best Buy did was illegal.

Finally I would like to mention that although a verbal agreement was made, without said agreement being written and signed by both parties it is INCREDIBLY hard to make something like that hold up in small claims court. Don't waste your time or your money chap.

Clearly you have no legal background. The lack of contract has nothing to do with the lack of written agreement, it has to do with consideration (which is a technical term). There was no contract, verbal consent or otherwise. The issue is that the sale flyer advertised a promotion, which they refused to honour. There are laws against that, and it isn't up for discretion. If it were a mistake, Best Buy has an obligation to post a notice of correction, which they didn't. Thus there were no price match restrictions on the promotion, and by refusing to honour it, it would legally be false advertising.

[danman227460]

Verbal contracts are a moot point. These days you need hard evidence to hold up in a court of law. Maybe I should go buy a BMW and tell them some guy said that I can have it for 20000 because we had verbal agreement. That is why it is important to write EVERYTHING down. Get the person's name, contact number, signature, promise of price. That way they can't go back and tell you I didn't tell you that.

Here is a definition of false advertisement:

False advertising is the use of false or misleading statements in advertising. As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions that they might otherwise avoid, many governments around the world use regulations to control false, deceptive or misleading advertising.

Based on that, how did BB use false advertisement? It isn't like they said come on in, we will give you cake along with the TV. You love cake so you go buy the TV but you ended up with no cake. That is false advertisement. What BB did was merely not honoring its policies at the discretion of the manager.

[Wasgo]

Verbal contracts are a moot point. These days you need hard evidence to hold up in a court of law. Maybe I should go buy a BMW and tell them some guy said that I can have it for 20000 because we had verbal agreement. That is why it is important to write EVERYTHING down. Get the person's name, contact number, signature, promise of price. That way they can't go back and tell you I didn't tell you that.

That's still not a contract...

Based on that, how did BB use false advertisement? It isn't like they said come on in, we will give you cake along with the TV. You love cake so you go buy the TV but you ended up with no cake. That is false advertisement. What BB did was merely not honoring its policies at the discretion of the manager.

First of all, don't use Wikipedia for legal discussions, it's useless. Second, it's false advertising because the promotion includes restrictions that weren't mentioned in the ad. The ad fails to mention any exclusions, including the low price guarantee policy. Legally, it's no different than going into a store and finding out the the sale price on grapes that was advertised in the flyer only applies to the rotten ones. Third, stores do not have discretion to not honour advertised policies.

[GVRtrader]

You won't be winning at court case based on your situation because of one line in their policy...

"We reserve the right to limit quantities available for sale or sold, and the right at any time to reject, correct cancel or terminate any order for any reason whatsoever"

Now this is for online sales but there is a similar version of this in store that allows them to refuse a sale. They refuse to honor the trade-in with price match... which according to their policy, they have the right to. Its one of those YMMV type of things so unless you get a judge that really hates BB for some reason, you have no chance of winning.

When you start combining offers, it becomes YMMV regardless of what the coupon/ad/etc states. If you get an inexperienced employee, have a friend that works there, or basically just get lucky, then you get the stacked deal. Otherwise you're out of luck. The only thing you can do (like i stated earlier) is try to get that manager fired for being so rude.

[Wasgo]

You won't be winning at court case based on your situation because of one line in their policy...

"We reserve the right to limit quantities available for sale or sold, and the right at any time to reject, correct cancel or terminate any order for any reason whatsoever"

Those lines are great for refusing to sell to rude customers, but aren't considered valid for ignoring advertisements. That loophole isn't there for that reason.

[OneWingedAng3l]

Why do you ***** make such a big deal out of nothing?
Go to another store and do it.
I've worked in the US based call center and I get all theses customers trying to milk things that don't even make sense.

People assume just because they have warranty people are supposed to come to their house at whatever time they want to fix crap they broke ASAP.

There's a difference between Hardware and Software.

Software problems are usually caused by the user (d/ling viruses or w/e) and they are NOT covered.

I had to explain to some woman what the difference between Hardware and Software were and then she changed her story so her motherboard being on fire. (my example of hardware problems.. -_-)

Who would want to deal with rude customers like that?

[trixR4kids]

how many ppl here on a day to day basis say they will sue best buy for reason "X". And most ppl here aren't suing because they got scammed or best buy sold them a false product. It all seems to be because best buy didnt price match.

My advice, go ahead and sue best buy, see how far u get. IMHO, i doubt any suing will take place

[TakumiDC5]

Sue for wrongdoing?? And what exactly are the damages you would be seeking? C'mon man, get real.

I didn't read the whole thread, but it should be pretty clear that BB is offering a $250 trade-in with the TV, which essentially makes it a different 'product' then FS having the TV alone for $1530. You either get "BB's price + the $250 trade-in deal", or you match FS's price, you can't have both.

Say BB was to offer a free Blu-ray player with the TV. You can't get them to match FS's price AND give you the player. The addition of the blu-ray player makes it a different deal, just like the addition of the '$250 off with trade-in' makes it a different deal than what FS is offering.

Stop being a cheapass and trying to take advantage of their PM policy, making it more difficult for us to get legitimate PM's.

[selpats]

how many ppl here on a day to day basis say they will sue best buy for reason "X". And most ppl here aren't suing because they got scammed or best buy sold them a false product. It all seems to be because best buy didnt price match.

My advice, go ahead and sue best buy, see how far u get. IMHO, i doubt any suing will take place

You got that right! The judge, more than likely, wouldn't allow this lawsuit to see the light of day.

[trixR4kids]

You got that right! The judge, more than likely, wouldn't allow this lawsuit to see the light of day.

im pretty sure bb's lawyer would probably run laps around op's rent-a-lawyer.
prob end up countersuing op for damages to bb's image

[RFDcom]

Thanks for the advise. I don't think it is a matter of exploiting policy, it is more like an expectation of its policy and promotion. It is their responsiblity to make it outright. And policy is not a promotion, it is a guideline for everyday pratice, not a limited time offer.

At the end, getting a new tv or not is not my concern. I just hate to see the store employee making up whatever they way say and not treating customers correctly

You can't choose promotions from multiple retailers and combine them all the way you want and expect them to honour it... It's one or the other ... If that were the case, I could find many places that had 10- 20% off, combine them, and get 100% and walkout with a free TV... Are you for real? :confused: I don't know where you got this concept, but keep dreaming ... That's not how it works and no retailer will do that.

And stop thinking it's your right, and your rights have been violated... At the end of the day, it's your money and you can spend it wherever you want, and it's their product and they can sell to whomever they want for whatever price... that is how a free market economy works... get over it

If anybody has a case here, it is the employees you have named and clearly accused of wrong doing... That is called defamation of character, because it is your side of the story, unfounded and not legally proven ... I would suggest you take out their names and not use peoples names in negative posts.

[hurricane-v]

You can't choose promotions from multiple retailers and combine them all the way you want and expect them to honour it... It's one or the other ... If that were the case, I could find many places that had 10- 20% off, combine them, and get 100% and walkout with a free TV... Are you for real? :confused: I don't know where you got this concept, but keep dreaming ... That's not how it works and no retailer will do that.

And stop thinking it's your right, and your rights have been violated... At the end of the day, it's your money and you can spend it wherever you want, and it's their product and they can sell to whomever they want for whatever price... that is how a free market economy works... get over it

If anybody has a case here, it is the employees you have named and clearly accused of wrong doing... That is called defamation of character, because it is your side of the story, unfounded and not legally proven ... I would suggest you take out their names and not use peoples names in negative posts.

I +1 to that! And for that person that went all that way for his reward points when he could have got them from his house...SMH!!!!

[gilboman]

What gives them the right to pick and choose which policies they want to honor.

that its a private business and they can choose what policies they wish to honor at any time as long as it is not against the law.

furthermore, a private store is entirely at their discretion whether they want to sell you an item or not regardless of price.

[trixR4kids]

lol thread backfire, i guess a year of law doesnt necessarily mean u are suitable to be suing whenever you don't get your way

[Wasgo]

Sue for wrongdoing?? And what exactly are the damages you would be seeking? C'mon man, get real.

I didn't read the whole thread, but it should be pretty clear that BB is offering a $250 trade-in with the TV, which essentially makes it a different 'product' then FS having the TV alone for $1530. You either get "BB's price + the $250 trade-in deal", or you match FS's price, you can't have both.

Actually, it doesn't make it a different product. I understand that very few people agree with the OP's definition of fair, but that doesn't change any legalities.

im pretty sure bb's lawyer would probably run laps around op's rent-a-lawyer.
prob end up countersuing op for damages to bb's image

That's exactly what would happen if court were like on TV. In real life though, it's likely that Best Buy would either settle, or attempt to get the case dismissed.

You can't choose promotions from multiple retailers and combine them all the way you want and expect them to honour it... It's one or the other ... If that were the case, I could find many places that had 10- 20% off, combine them, and get 100% and walkout with a free TV... Are you for real? :confused: I don't know where you got this concept, but keep dreaming ... That's not how it works and no retailer will do that.

Actually, the OP is only using one store's policies, Best Buy. And again, if they didn't want the promotion to be combined with their price match policy, they needed to explicitly say do. Regardless of whether it would have been fair to Best Buy, choosing not to honour their policy was not at their discretion.

And stop thinking it's your right, and your rights have been violated... At the end of the day, it's your money and you can spend it wherever you want, and it's their product and they can sell to whomever they want for whatever price... that is how a free market economy works... get over it

That is how the free market works, and that isn't how Canada works. Hence why we have a regulated free market.

If anybody has a case here, it is the employees you have named and clearly accused of wrong doing... That is called defamation of character, because it is your side of the story, unfounded and not legally proven ... I would suggest you take out their names and not use peoples names in negative posts.

It would only be defamation if wrong. The OP is only stating what happened, with the addition of accusing them of false advertising. Given that this is false advertising, and the OP would have a defence of truth, you're wrong.

that its a private business and they can choose what policies they wish to honor at any time as long as it is not against the law.

furthermore, a private store is entirely at their discretion whether they want to sell you an item or not regardless of price.

Not when advertisements are involved. Then they lose certain discretionary powers in terms of not selling.

Oh, and to the OP, you don't have an oral contract, and unless you actually plan to file in small claims court, I suggest you just move on.

[TakumiDC5]

Actually, it doesn't make it a different product. I understand that very few people agree with the OP's definition of fair, but that doesn't change any legalities.


Why don't you be the OP's lawyer, since you seem to think you are so knowledgeable in this area and think you are 100% right?

[Hunter316]

At the end of all of these policies are the words "subject to change without notice". Best Buy could simply argue that even if the policy could have been interpreted the way the OP wanted that they have the right to change it at any time and have exercised that right.

[trixR4kids]

That's exactly what would happen if court were like on TV. In real life though, it's likely that Best Buy would either settle, or attempt to get the case dismissed.


Thats exactly what would happen in real life, but in this thread, op seems to be simply shooting the ***** about taking actions legally. I think he'll quit right after he finds out how much it'll cost him for a consultation

That is how the free market works, and that isn't how Canada works. Hence why we have a regulated free market.

actually i believe they can refuse the sale by askin him to leave, n if he doesnt, its considered trespassing

[spf1971]

It would only be defamation if wrong. The OP is only stating what happened, with the addition of accusing them of false advertising. Given that this is false advertising, and the OP would have a defence of truth, you're wrong.





Actually that would have to be proven, currently it is just an opinion. Just as if someone wanted to sue for defamation, they would have to prove the defamation.

[hp]

Actually, the OP is only using one store's policies, Best Buy. And again, if they didn't want the promotion to be combined with their price match policy, they needed to explicitly say do. Regardless of whether it would have been fair to Best Buy, choosing not to honour their policy was not at their discretion.



From Best Buy .ca
Our Lowest Price Guarantee does not apply to advertising errors or misprints, special educational prices, restricted offers, mail order offers, rebates, coupons, premiums, free or bonus offers, OEM products, limited or minimum quantity or limited time offers, close-outs, liquidations, clearances, and special financing offers.


Are you seriously telling me they can't use any one of these conditions in refusing the OP's demand?

I find it distasteful that Manager promised one thing and then did not go through with it.

hp

[Wasgo]

Why don't you be the OP's lawyer, since you seem to think you are so knowledgeable in this area and think you are 100% right?
Because I'm not a lawyer. I did go to law school and can apply basic legal principles though so I feel okay posting in this thread. Thanks though.
actually i believe they can refuse the sale by askin him to leave, n if he doesnt, its considered trespassing
Again, different laws apply in situations involving advertising to protect consumers.
Actually that would have to be proven, currently it is just an opinion. Just as if someone wanted to sue for defamation, they would have to prove the defamation.
That's true, but it is a high enough standard to prove it false that the OP can probably get away with saying it.
From Best Buy .ca
Our Lowest Price Guarantee does not apply to advertising errors or misprints, special educational prices, restricted offers, mail order offers, rebates, coupons, premiums, free or bonus offers, OEM products, limited or minimum quantity or limited time offers, close-outs, liquidations, clearances, and special financing offers.


Are you seriously telling me they can't use any one of these conditions in refusing the OP's demand?
That policy refers to what they match, not whether or not they honour their own promotions. They could argue that point, but I don't think it would hold up.

Again though, and let me reiterate, none of the legalities matter (except to the extent that the OP isn't asking for something that shouldn't be granted). The only feasible option is to deal with Best Buy. For a complicated legal issue, taking it to court over $300 is just not realistic. You can't just go in to court and argue false advertising; you need to know the law, the appropriate cases (and their ratio decidendi), and be able to interpret them with regard to these facts. That isn't going to happen, and this isn't a case where other interested parties would help finance it.

To the OP: Phone Best Buy and work out a solution. Anything else is just wasting your time on being angry. Two people who make you mad aren't worth focusing your time on.

[devil2k]

Never buy from BB again.

[JohnyBGood]

@fatkinglet

That's crazy. Too many of these managers are running these franchises like flea markets. Telling you to shop elsewhere should legally get him fired because Best Buy is on the stock exchange and being rude to customers hurts sales. Corporate employees are legally obligated to keep and expand customer-base in their on-going and long-term effort to keep sales up. These are not private businesses, they are corporate franchises! Stock-holders would have a fit reading your entry.
I suggest you make a YouTube video of your experience and send the link to BB PR: NewsCenter@bestbuy.com
I would think that BB PR is legally obligated to investigate this properly...
And as it was suggested to you by many, you really should have made a scene. You should have been outraged by how rude they were and you should have gotten loud. It's funny how some managers act bravely when there's no audience around.

[spf1971]

@fatkinglet

That's crazy. Too many of these managers are running these franchises like flea markets. Telling you to shop elsewhere should legally get him fired because Best Buy is on the stock exchange and being rude to customers hurts sales. Corporate employees are legally obligated to keep and expand customer-base in their on-going and long-term effort to keep sales up. These are not private businesses, they are corporate franchises! Stock-holders would have a fit reading your entry.
I suggest you make a YouTube video of your experience and send the link to BB PR: NewsCenter@bestbuy.com
I would think that BB PR is legally obligated to investigate this properly...
And as it was suggested to you by many, you really should have made a scene. You should have been outraged by how rude they were and you should have gotten loud. It's funny how some managers act bravely when there's no audience around.

Almost as funny as how people act brave on the internet.

[JohnyBGood]

Almost as funny as how people act brave on the internet.

Is that a jab at me, spf? :) If so, I've actually contacted BB PR about an impending video review and they phoned me immediately (they got my # from my account details because I had included the Order #). I didn't return the call, though, because I decided to buy something else for my nephew as getting this resolved would have taken too long. Also, I didn't make a YouTube video because it was only a matter of a few dollars and so I didn't want to waste any more of my time. What had happened was that I ordered a 4 Square kids DVD that was on sale, online via pick-up and they canceled my order a few days later because the physical store didn't have stock EVEN THOUGH it said it did at the time I placed my order. Then they wouldn't honour the sale unless I paid for shipping.

In terms of making scenes in stores, I've only done that once (about a decade ago) because I was furious at the fact that my paging service was getting canceled even though I had a long-term contract. In all other circumstances, I just repeat myself to the manager and ask leading questions like, "So what you are saying is that you refuse to honour company policy?" and that always works. Franchise managers ultimately know that they're accountable for their actions. That's why the original poster has a good case to escalate his issue...the person he dealt with was extremely unprofessional and dishonest.

[fatkinglet]

updated - got a response today from store manager offered me PM and the trade in credit, but not free shipping and the another $50 credit. When I asked for an apology letter, he offered me an $50 gift card

[simsin]

i just noticed your situation.

I didnt read the whole thing ( a little bit busy)

but to sum it up.. i had the same situation

Except I dealt with the manager and told her one is a promotion and other is a price policy which are 2 different things. I suggested she call the Heah Office

I got my price... and some more... because of a ****up in the system

i got a sony 52 v4100 for 1500 after the 250$ trade in credit! :)

[spf1971]

Is that a jab at me, spf? :) If so, I've actually contacted BB PR about an impending video review and they phoned me immediately (they got my # from my account details because I had included the Order #). I didn't return the call, though, because I decided to buy something else for my nephew as getting this resolved would have taken too long. Also, I didn't make a YouTube video because it was only a matter of a few dollars and so I didn't want to waste any more of my time. What had happened was that I ordered a 4 Square kids DVD that was on sale, online via pick-up and they canceled my order a few days later because the physical store didn't have stock EVEN THOUGH it said it did at the time I placed my order. Then they wouldn't honour the sale unless I paid for shipping.

In terms of making scenes in stores, I've only done that once (about a decade ago) because I was furious at the fact that my paging service was getting canceled even though I had a long-term contract. In all other circumstances, I just repeat myself to the manager and ask leading questions like, "So what you are saying is that you refuse to honour company policy?" and that always works. Franchise managers ultimately know that they're accountable for their actions. That's why the original poster has a good case to escalate his issue...the person he dealt with was extremely unprofessional and dishonest.

So despite counseling the OP to do something you did absolutely nothing. That pretty much reinforces my previous statement of how some people act tough on the internet. So yes, that was a jab at you.

[RFDcom]

updated - got a response today from store manager offered me PM and the trade in credit, but not free shipping and the another $50 credit. When I asked for an apology letter, he offered me an $50 gift card

Apology letter for what? :confused: For making an insane request which anybody in their right mind would have rejected? If anything you owe them an apology for wasting their time.

Get off your high horse... people like you annoy me

[simsin]

UPDATE:

i just noticed your situation.

I had a similar situation, I went into the store the last day they had the 250 trade in with a stupid 8" black and white jensen askin to get the 52d64u sharp. They didnt have it in stock so in order to get the 250$ trade in the manager told me to get any tv and schedual the delivery much later so that it stays on my bill and once they have the sharp in stock that I would be able to do an exchange.. I know they should have gave me -50$ and free shipping... but i didnt want to push my luck as i knew they were doing somewhat of an exception for the 250$ trade in.

I check the stock the next day and notice they have some sharps coming i go back to store... and tell them to do the exchange and a Price Guarantee to futureshop so that the sharp works out to 1749$ they ado it and schdual the delivery for last tuesday the 7th of october... im happy and leave.

Come monday get a call to confirm tuesday delivery by an automated machine, so everything seems great!

Come tuesday no call no delivery NO TV

i go to the store yesterday... and wait at the stupid customer service again for about 30-40 mins... I want a refund (was hoping to keep the 250$ for trade in

the manager shows up same one as last time and starts the procedure after a long wait... then remembers me and says she needs the original purchase to remove the 250$,,,goes missing for another 15mins till another guy manager shows up he tells me hes sorry I tell him i missed a day at work... he then tells me its the system and that he just gave another client a sony kdl52v4100 instead for 1850 which is closest to the sharps ( i knew this model.. as i have been reading up on the tvs due to this deal but couldnt affor it because of the price difference 2300 instore) so... i tell him well maybe show me the tv

He shows me the tv and then says its better the shapr bla bla bla to sell me (which i actually knew was true) I tell him ill take it for the sharp price!

hes like you leave with it right now? Im like sure...
so he calls the guy in charge of the tv department! hes like no I cant do it... thats too cheap for this tv and starts getting angry/impolite indirectly as hes talking to the manager

the manager tells him to give it to me for that price.... the guy checks the bill notices the 250 trade in discount and starts goin crazy again

then i wait another 30 mins at the door as the store is closed..

then my friend arrives with his big suv to pick up the tv and finally i see some stupid emloyee punk who was also rude with the tv acting cocky and impolite but i dont care any longer as I HAVE MY TV


but to sum it up.. after 3 trips I get a sony KDL52v4100 for 1500$ + tax after the 250$ trade in

Sorry for the long post

[fatkinglet]

Apology letter for what? :confused: For making an insane request which anybody in their right mind would have rejected? If anything you owe them an apology for wasting their time.

Get off your high horse... people like you annoy me


Excuse me, I don't think you have read my thread at all. Tell me if it is okay for a store manager to tell you to go somewhere else before conversation begins as you were politely inquring about the promotion and policy, and then kept changing of what they have promised. If that was the service of your expectation, fine by me

[JohnyBGood]

@fatkinglet
congrats!!!

@spf
you are hilarious. you're trying to bait me into an internet fight about how i act tough on the internet (when all I did was offer some advice). do you see the irony?

[zero_]

Suing is probably not a good idea here as you will pay tons for lawyer fees but not getting much (if any) in return. The best you can do is to make other people away of such situation by sending your story to the media (newspaper, tv, radio station).

[annebos35]

No offence, but thanks to the RFD:cheesygri 'ers on here, I won't even bother to shop at Best Buy or Future Shop. Any store that treats its customers like crap, beware, there are many of us RFD'er who will blast your co. on here.

[fatkinglet]

I just updated my thread and it is proven again that they are full of lies

[gilboman]

Not when advertisements are involved. Then they lose certain discretionary powers in terms of not selling.



if you ever bothered to read even one time of the small print in advertisement, they always reserve the right to append, or discontinue the terms of the advertisement at their discretion with no notice nescessary.

[JohnyBGood]

@fatkinglet
I just read your update and I cannot believe these lying thieves; actually, I can. One time an Adventure Electronics manager (back when they were in business) flat-out tried to steal $10 from me...when I told him I was short-changed he immediately apologized and grabbed a $10 bill from a regular drawer (not the register). Hahaha...dishonesty must run in this line of work.

I'd send this forum link to BB PR: NewsCenter@bestbuy.com and see what they say. Rhaul sounds like a real tool and the security guard should have known better and called the police if they were making a citizens' arrest. Otherwise, like you said, it's forcible confinement. BB head office is legally obligated to investigate situations which don't foster good customer relations and so you should really make them aware of this. The goal of corporations (on the stock market) is to make profits for their stock holders and one way of doing that is not treating your customers like lying criminals. I'd ask BB PR to settle with you for like $20k, or something, because of the forcible confinement.

EDIT: fatkinglet, I apologize if I over-stepped, but I was so upset about your situation that I e-mailed BB PR in the event that you were too exhausted to. Hopefully they'll PM you, or something...

[Wasgo]

if you ever bothered to read even one time of the small print in advertisement, they always reserve the right to append, or discontinue the terms of the advertisement at their discretion with no notice nescessary.

And if you ever bothered to read case law on advertisements, you'd know that not all restrictions like that are legally binding.

[fatkinglet]

@fatkinglet
I just read your update and I cannot believe these lying thieves; actually, I can. One time an Adventure Electronics manager (back when they were in business) flat-out tried to steal $10 from me...when I told him I was short-changed he immediately apologized and grabbed a $10 bill from a regular drawer (not the register). Hahaha...dishonesty must run in this line of work.

I'd send this forum link to BB PR: NewsCenter@bestbuy.com and see what they say. Rhaul sounds like a real tool and the security guard should have known better and called the police if they were making a citizens' arrest. Otherwise, like you said, it's forcible confinement. BB head office is legally obligated to investigate situations which don't foster good customer relations and so you should really make them aware of this. The goal of corporations (on the stock market) is to make profits for their stock holders and one way of doing that is not treating your customers like lying criminals. I'd ask BB PR to settle with you for like $20k, or something, because of the forcible confinement.

EDIT: fatkinglet, I apologize if I over-stepped, but I was so upset about your situation that I e-mailed BB PR in the event that you were too exhausted to. Hopefully they'll PM you, or something...


Thanks for your advice and the support, I am fully appericated. I thought everything was settled after the General Manager called me and I even confirmed again with another Manager Mhina before going to store. I thought everything was firm, I wouldn't have gone back to the store if i knew they would lie again. The whole treatment was totally unacceptable.

[RFDcom]

Updated:

I decided to leave the store, but Rhaul stopped me from leaving and forced me to take the old TV with me. I refused as I was extremely exhausted physically and mentally. I barely carried the TV to the store as I didn’t drive, the TV was heavy and it was only brought-in for the sole purpose of TV purchase.

With the kind of rationale you've demonstrated I'd be weary of holding any part of your property as well... You might find a new reason for another claim... Out of curiosity how big was this TV that you barely managed to carry into the store?

I called Toronto police on my way home to report my confinement and they also advice me to deal it in civil court.

LOL... They brushed you off too... Let me guess... you dialed 911?
Listen, I run a small business, if you have this much time to waste I can give you a part time job and you can make an extra buck so you don't have to go through all this next time.

[Rx-87]

I'm appalled that this actually happened at the Bay/Dundas Bestbuy.

To think, this is supposed to be one of their "Flagship stores" serving the downtown community. In a part of town where "customer service" should be at its best as traffic in and out of this store would be one of the highest.

Hope this does get resolved in your favor and you don't have to necessary turn to "suing" as a last resort.

[Rx-87]

@fatkinglet

That's crazy. Too many of these managers are running these franchises like flea markets. Telling you to shop elsewhere should legally get him fired because Best Buy is on the stock exchange and being rude to customers hurts sales. Corporate employees are legally obligated to keep and expand customer-base in their on-going and long-term effort to keep sales up. These are not private businesses, they are corporate franchises! Stock-holders would have a fit reading your entry.
I suggest you make a YouTube video of your experience and send the link to BB PR: NewsCenter@bestbuy.com
I would think that BB PR is legally obligated to investigate this properly...
And as it was suggested to you by many, you really should have made a scene. You should have been outraged by how rude they were and you should have gotten loud. It's funny how some managers act bravely when there's no audience around.

Almost as funny as how people act brave on the internet.

How is the above statement indicative of someone acting as a tough guy on the internet?

I wouldn't necessary agree with his comment of making a scene at the store, but nontheless his statement is simply a reply to OP's experiences.

So despite counseling the OP to do something you did absolutely nothing. That pretty much reinforces my previous statement of how some people act tough on the internet. So yes, that was a jab at you.

Wow... just .. wow

[jstaneon]

First off, "You couldn't have said it better...". Please take appropriate action to improve your English language skills (or lack thereof).

Secondly, how about looking at the website and clicking on the OBVIOUS link on the left side of the page? No need to pick up the phone, speak to anyone or drive 400km and make a complete moron of yourself.

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/7263/bbrkr5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[darkprince]

meh.... i only go there to rearrange their products. =P Since there is never any1 around when you need them.

[JohnyBGood]

@RFDcom & fatkinglet
The police not helping him out doesn't mean that they shouldn't have. My neighbours directly behind me periodically try to break our windows, with things like frozen concentrate cans, whenever they get drunk. They don't respond well to neighbourly dialogue, so I went into my local York Region police station. The cop at the counter told me that everyone was busy, no one could help me with such a matter and that I should resolve it myself. Sound familiar, fatkinglet? I informed him that they were also shooting at my house with paintball guns, throwing used condoms in my garden, etc. and that they don't respond to my knocks on their door and he didn't care one bit. I told him I was going to wait all night for someone to get un-busy because the attempted destruction of my property was an important matter to me. He looked confused that I wasn't listening to him. After sitting on a bench in front of his counter for about a half hour he realized I wasn't leaving and took my statement. Is this a case of stubbornness beating out laziness, or is this a cop trying to do his job well by allocating man-power by priority? Maybe a little of both? ;) Many weeks later a cop phoned to tell me that she spoke to the family and that it wasn't going to happen again. And the situation has gotten better...
Police throw up a couple of walls to see if one's willing to climb over them...not to say that you didn't try, fatkinglet; I'm speaking in general terms.

@Rx-87
Thanks for the support in regards to me not acting tough!
BTW, I think this is the same BB location that my buddy was complaining about, recently. They wouldn't honour a sale they were having even though they had a giant stand-up poster in-store that clearly stated the special. lol I tuned out on the details because I think it was in regards to Wii accessories and I don't have Wii.

[help_questions]

That is why OP needs to record the calls, so he can have proof when lied to. Also, whatever he buys should go back open box, with a wire missing, to cause inconvenience for BB. Further more, the manager's (Zee?) license plate, car model and parking location needs to be posted, so justice can occur.

[Rx-87]

I think had the OP brought in some sort of documentation indicating the "price as verified" over the phone or was it online?

It would have given him some leverage in this confrontation.

But as stated in his post, he didn't believe it was necessary and that Bestbuy associates would never be this slimy in their dealings.

(i.e. managers refusing to honor previously agreed on prices)

[spf1971]

How is the above statement indicative of someone acting as a tough guy on the internet?






What did he do when in a similar experience? Absolutely nothing! He said he was going to make a video and post it on YouTube, but it was only a few dollars and it wasn't really worth the effort.

He comes on here and tells the OP to write and make a video and make a big issue out of it, but when faced with the same situation he did nothing. That is someone talking tough on the internet.

[ottawasportsfan2010]

That is why OP needs to record the calls, so he can have proof when lied to. Also, whatever he buys should go back open box, with a wire missing, to cause inconvenience for BB. Further more, the manager's (Zee?) license plate, car model and parking location needs to be posted, so justice can occur.

1)Some courts may not allow recorded phone calls to come in.
2)If he takes a part from a box he could be charged.
3)Posting the license plate number etc could get the op in legal trouble.

[fatkinglet]

I think had the OP brought in some sort of documentation indicating the "price as verified" over the phone or was it online?

It would have given him some leverage in this confrontation.

But as stated in his post, he didn't believe it was necessary and that Bestbuy associates would never be this slimy in their dealings.

(i.e. managers refusing to honor previously agreed on prices)


They verified the price in front me of by calling Future Shop, and they refused to confront with me, because they knew what they had said to me.

Zee was the General Manager (the highest rank in the store i believe) and called me on friday evening to offered me the price, I guess I was naived enough to believe his words

[californicator]

its hard staying in business with all you scammers insisting on improper price matching policies.

[Nikita]

@fatkinglet
I just read your update and I cannot believe these lying thieves; actually, I can. One time an Adventure Electronics manager (back when they were in business) flat-out tried to steal $10 from me...when I told him I was short-changed he immediately apologized and grabbed a $10 bill from a regular drawer (not the register). Hahaha...dishonesty must run in this line of work.

I'd send this forum link to BB PR: NewsCenter@bestbuy.com and see what they say. Rhaul sounds like a real tool and the security guard should have known better and called the police if they were making a citizens' arrest. Otherwise, like you said, it's forcible confinement. BB head office is legally obligated to investigate situations which don't foster good customer relations and so you should really make them aware of this. The goal of corporations (on the stock market) is to make profits for their stock holders and one way of doing that is not treating your customers like lying criminals. I'd ask BB PR to settle with you for like $20k, or something, because of the forcible confinement.

EDIT: fatkinglet, I apologize if I over-stepped, but I was so upset about your situation that I e-mailed BB PR in the event that you were too exhausted to. Hopefully they'll PM you, or something...

Stole? How do you know he didn't simply make a mistake. It's not like that is all that uncommon. Pretty harsh conclusion (and accusation) when you don't give any reason to support it.

1)Some courts may not allow recorded phone calls to come in.
2)If he takes a part from a box he could be charged.
3)Posting the license plate number etc could get the op in legal trouble.

1) Of course courts allow recorded phone calls, but there is a procedure for admitting it, proving authenticity, proving proper chain of custody etc.

2) True

3) There's no law against doing that. Exept if you're going to add to the posted pic some slanderous accusation about the guy, in which case you might end up in a civil lawsuit.

[annebos35]

I'd like to say he was right in standing up to poor customer service, how many people would actually have the (blank) to say what he did. I am sick of how sales people and managers treat their customers. I have walked out of stores personally when no one would come over to even assist, there were five girls standing and chatting it up behind the desk. And has anyone ever tried dealing with the Government Offices - it's just as bad, except they are very rude down this way.

PS I don't have to buy books, I can just read this thread:D :D :D

[JohnyBGood]

Stole? How do you know he didn't simply make a mistake. It's not like that is all that uncommon. Pretty harsh conclusion (and accusation) when you don't give any reason to support it.


Why is everyone on RFD so confrontational? :)
Nikitia, my 'conclusion' is completely accurate. His body language, the fact that I had not told him how much I was short-changed when he pulled the money from a utility drawer, the slimy apology, etc...even a married couple that was there knew what he'd done and they didn't want to deal with him when it was their turn...they completely hesitated. I'm 100% sure that this manager tried to steal from me. You had to be there. Why am I even explaining this? lol Some people make honest mistakes, others try to steal. These are the facts of life, Tutti.

[spf1971]

Why is everyone on RFD so confrontational? :)
Nikitia, my 'conclusion' is completely accurate. His body language, the fact that I had not told him how much I was short-changed when he pulled the money from a utility drawer, the slimy apology, etc...even a married couple that was there knew what he'd done and they didn't want to deal with him when it was their turn...they completely hesitated. I'm 100% sure that this manager tried to steal from me. You had to be there. Why am I even explaining this? lol Some people make honest mistakes, others try to steal. These are the facts of life, Tutti.

Why is everyone so confrontational? You don't consider accusing a salesperson of theft confrontational? Maybe they did try and steal from you but then again maybe it was a mistake. How do you know what the married couple knew? You are imposing your beliefs onto them. They may very well have thought the salesman tried to steal from you as well but unless they told you that, you have no idea what they knew. Also it would only be their belief of the salespersons intentions not actual knowledge of his/her intentions.

[ottawasportsfan2010]

Stole? How do you know he didn't simply make a mistake. It's not like that is all that uncommon. Pretty harsh conclusion (and accusation) when you don't give any reason to support it.



1) Of course courts allow recorded phone calls, but there is a procedure for admitting it, proving authenticity, proving proper chain of custody etc.

2) True

3) There's no law against doing that. Exept if you're going to add to the posted pic some slanderous accusation about the guy, in which case you might end up in a civil lawsuit.

If someone posts the details where to find the person and say go get them then yes they would be in legal trouble.

[help_questions]

1)Some courts may not allow recorded phone calls to come in.
2)If he takes a part from a box he could be charged.
3)Posting the license plate number etc could get the op in legal trouble.

1) wrong answer.
2) if he gets caught, but he could then get the wire and return everything. BB still gets "open-boxed"
3) ya.....OP should just deal with the car himself.

[ottawasportsfan2010]

1) wrong answer.
2) if he gets caught, but he could then get the wire and return everything. BB still gets "open-boxed"
3) ya.....OP should just deal with the car himself.

As with number 3 it does not matter what bb did he would be charged.

[help_questions]

As with number 3 it does not matter what bb did he would be charged.

absolutely. that is why it is imperative that he doesn't get caught.

while i do believe that the prick deserves his car vandalized, I personally wouldn't do it over this. maybe some nails under the tires for this, but not vandalism

[Nikita]

Why is everyone on RFD so confrontational? :)
Nikitia, my 'conclusion' is completely accurate. His body language, the fact that I had not told him how much I was short-changed when he pulled the money from a utility drawer, the slimy apology, etc...even a married couple that was there knew what he'd done and they didn't want to deal with him when it was their turn...they completely hesitated. I'm 100% sure that this manager tried to steal from me. You had to be there. Why am I even explaining this? lol Some people make honest mistakes, others try to steal. These are the facts of life, Tutti.

Tutti? What the hell is Tutti? :confused:

If someone posts the details where to find the person and say go get them then yes they would be in legal trouble.

If some random went to 'get them' because someone online said to, the someone who 'got them' would not only be in legal trouble but would be a complete idiot who deserves to get in trouble. But s/he would be the only one getting in legal trouble.

[spf1971]

absolutely. that is why it is imperative that he doesn't get caught.

while i do believe that the prick deserves his car vandalized, I personally wouldn't do it over this. maybe some nails under the tires for this, but not vandalism

Really? That's potentially one of the dumbest things I've heard on here.

[help_questions]

Really? That's potentially one of the dumbest things I've heard on here.

really.....i beg to differ. what does he deserve? i raise for his excellent customer service skills?

[spf1971]

really.....i beg to differ. what does he deserve? i raise for his excellent customer service skills?

You honestly believe that because of his customer service skills he deserves to have his personal property damaged! By using your logic, I can you say you deserve to be assaulted because of your attitude.

If you think that an employee has delivered poor customer service, you speak to the manager, you write a letter to the companies HQ; to state that they deserve property damage is just plain stupid.

[help_questions]

You honestly believe that because of his customer service skills he deserves to have his personal property damaged! By using your logic, I can you say you deserve to be assaulted because of your attitude.

If you think that an employee has delivered poor customer service, you speak to the manager, you write a letter to the companies HQ; to state that they deserve property damage is just plain stupid.

really, a good punch in the face would be better, but the consequences would be definite.....with the car scenario, there is a chance OP will get away with it, which is why i suggested.

when you write a letter to HQ, you never know if the situation will be properly handled.

My opinion stems from more than the guy's customer service skills.....he lied to the OP and wasted time of the OP's that he will never get back. Really, if you read the OP's first post, it is clear that the manager intentionally screwed the OP over, and therefore needs to get screwed over. think about it.

[jackwest]

BB's policy clearly doesn't allow combining the PG with any other offer. But by running around to so many people, the OP eventually found someone uninformed/uncaring enough to say yes. Based on the OP's lengthy post, which suggests incredible personal involvement, and a high sense of entitlement, I can easily see why the ensuing debacle went so poorly for everyone.

No store has a legal obligation to sell you anything. I don't like FS or BB but I don't see that they've done anything terrible here. Judging from OP's attitude I would not like to deal with someone like that in any business sense.

The rest of this thread with discussions of violence, vandalism, is incredibly bizarre. If anything you would hurt the credibility of RFD members complaining about store policies.

[spf1971]

really, a good punch in the face would be better, but the consequences would be definite.....with the car scenario, there is a chance OP will get away with it, which is why i suggested.

when you write a letter to HQ, you never know if the situation will be properly handled.

My opinion stems from more than the guy's customer service skills.....he lied to the OP and wasted time of the OP's that he will never get back. Really, if you read the OP's first post, it is clear that the manager intentionally screwed the OP over, and therefore needs to get screwed over. think about it.

You are either 10 years or you're just plain stupid. Keep living life with that attitude and I'm sure you'll see the inside of a few police cars and hospitals.

[JohnyBGood]

Tutti? What the hell is Tutti? :confused:


Sorry...I meant "Tootie" ( http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0025824/ )

[Whitedart]

BB's policy clearly doesn't allow combining the PG with any other offer. But by running around to so many people, the OP eventually found someone uninformed/uncaring enough to say yes. Based on the OP's lengthy post, which suggests incredible personal involvement, and a high sense of entitlement, I can easily see why the ensuing debacle went so poorly for everyone.

No store has a legal obligation to sell you anything. I don't like FS or BB but I don't see that they've done anything terrible here. Judging from OP's attitude I would not like to deal with someone like that in any business sense.

The rest of this thread with discussions of violence, vandalism, is incredibly bizarre. If anything you would hurt the credibility of RFD members complaining about store policies.

Agreed.

If I was with BB management, there would be a permanent ban on the OP entering the properties of any store operated by BB/FS. I am sure he has been picked up on enough surveillance cameras to have a clear photo for distribution.

[JohnyBGood]

If I was with BB management...

Whether it was because they wanted to make him happy, or because they made repeated math mistakes, they invited him back with the agreement that they'd honour all of his requests. Of course he's going to get upset/emotional...wouldn't anyone in his situation? As a fellow consumer I TOTALLY sympathize and I wouldn't expect to be banned after being played like a Yo-Yo. I think the management staff needs to be suspended for a few weeks, or even fired, in order to understand that they're accountable for the way that they conduct themselves.

[ottawasportsfan2010]

Whether it was because they wanted to make him happy, or because they made repeated math mistakes, they invited him back with the agreement that they'd honour all of his requests. Of course he's going to get upset/emotional...wouldn't anyone in his situation? As a fellow consumer I TOTALLY sympathize and I wouldn't expect to be banned after being played like a Yo-Yo. I think the management staff needs to be suspended for a few weeks, or even fired, in order to understand that they're accountable for the way that they conduct themselves.

But you only know one side of the story.

[jackwest]

But you only know one side of the story.

Exactly...I'm trying hard to resist reposting and breaking down the OP's original posts and showing all of the logical flaws and clues that have been left to suggest a different story...

[fatkinglet]

But you only know one side of the story.


Sure, I assume they are unwilling to confront me here. They know about my post here (even asked me to remove names) and everything I am telling is the truth.

[Whitedart]

Whether it was because they wanted to make him happy, or because they made repeated math mistakes, they invited him back with the agreement that they'd honour all of his requests. Of course he's going to get upset/emotional...wouldn't anyone in his situation? As a fellow consumer I TOTALLY sympathize and I wouldn't expect to be banned after being played like a Yo-Yo. I think the management staff needs to be suspended for a few weeks, or even fired, in order to understand that they're accountable for the way that they conduct themselves.

As the OP indicated, eh received his price match plus he received the $250.00 credit for his old TV after making a huge fuss.

So now he threatens to sue, and broadcasts his story over how many internet forums (in addition to RFD?) badmouthing the company. He received what he wanted, so let the matter go.

[Firebot]

Sorry about the long post, but, worth reading.

You couldn't of said it better Cheap Cat, I agree with everything you said. The opening poster should take this up the scale of management.
I was at the Heartland Best Buy(corner of Mavis & Britania) this past weekend with a complaint of my own, waited in line for almost two hours, and with only two other people in front of me.All I was asking them to do was add my reward points they forgot to add when I was there two weeks previous to that. I had bought the Acer 8.9", a printer, a few $40 games, and a small laptop bag for the Acer.The purchase came up to almost $900. At the time of the purchase, I gave them my credit card and my reward card at the same time, so I assumed he added my points to my reward card at the same time he put the pruchase through.
Did he do that? ...No! He forgot to add the points to my reward card.A few days went by, and still no points on my reward card after checking online. Called Best Buy, and they told me they had no record of this sale, even after I provided the transaction number. I sent email after email, and all they could say was that I had to go back to the store I purchased it from. I live in Sudbury(400KM NORTH) with no Best Buy in the area.The closest Best Buy is Barrie I believe.Regardless, they wanted me to go to the store where I purchased the items, to straighten everything out. When I finally got to customer service, I was fuming, and I swear to god smoke was comin' out of my ears.I stayed calm for all of two minutes. I just told the lady that I drove 400 km(not only to just go to best buy, but just the same)to come there, rented a room at the Marriott, spent $120 in gas, and that I wanted my points added on my card. Keep in mind that I had brought all of what I bought to the store and it was all sitting in my truck outside.All she could muster up was "sorry".I told her that sorry was not going to cut it, for all my extra expenses.Call the manager I said.
Manager comes out, with a big grin on her face, tons of people in line and waiting,and they knew why I was there, since we had lots of time to talk while we were waiting.Manager asks what the problem was, and explained the whole situation.He asked why I didn't call them, and I told him I did.He asked if I had emailed them,....told him I did several times, and they kept telling me to come back to this store, and that is when I told this manager that I just drove 400 KM to do this, and he says sorry with a grin on his face, and that pushed me over the edge. I looked at him in the eye, and said I wanted my fu**n points added to my fu**n card, here's my fu**n receipt, here's my fu**n card, and I want them added right fu**n now, and at the same time, wipe that fu**n grin off your fu**n face.The people in line clapped their hands as they have been waiting for over two hours now.The manager, all red faced left and came back with a cordless phone, and told me I had to talk to the people who take care of the reward points.Had to explain the whole story over againb to these people.Finally, I said forget it, and slammed the phone on the counter, and told him I was going to get all of my purchases and will return them all.
Went to my truck, gathered everything,walked into the store, and of course the door checker had to put his little sticker on everything.Went to the back where CS is, and put all of my stuff on the counter.The manager tells me I have to wait in line again, and of course I told him I wasn't doing that, and all of the nice people in line told me it was OK for me to go ahead, and he didn't like that at all.The manager was getting the third degree from some of the people in line telling him to hire more people and to hurry up, that kind of stuff.After 10 minutes or so, I had all of my money back, and I told him I would never come back, then I turned around and asked out loud if any of the people in line were going to come back to this store, and the majority said no.
Maybe I was rude and all, but, all I wanted was my points for the purchase.I left the store and went to Tiger Direct where they treat people like customers are their lifeline.Bought all of what I had bought at Best Buy, and saved $30 to boot.
I will never go to Best Buy again.

Sorry about the long post.

In other words, you spent 120$ of gas, rented a room at the Marriot (40-70$), took out a good 8-9 hours of your own time (400km back and from, more time since you even rented a room apparently and slept there), brought back everything, and returned everything you bought from them, and brag about the 30$ of savings you got from buying at Tiger Direct.

All that to get 10$ worth of rewards that you didn't even get in the end. And you got to yell at a guy making maybe 13-14$/hr.

Bravo.

**Just saw peroxide's post. HAHAHAHAHAHA**

[ottawasportsfan2010]

Op
You really should not be posting all of this if you plan to sue.

[Firebot]

Sure, I assume they are unwilling to confront me here. They know about my post here (even asked me to remove names) and everything I am telling is the truth.

You realize that by threatening to sue, and by posting names of employees of the store, they can counter sue you right back for defamation right? They aren't going to be putting their jobs in jeopardy by posting on this forum, especially when legal repercussions are being thrown around.

I don't agree with their actions they did when they brought you back in the store, but you need to get a reality check. This is not the United States, what damages are you expecting here? You got a PM at the current price with the -10% honoured, a 50$ credit, the 250$ trade-in. That leaves you with a difference of 179$ missing from the 'after hours sale' and the 'free shipping. Not only that but by accepting the buying of the TV, you basically accepted their terms, and your receipt will actually be proof against you.

The costs of your lawyers fees alone would be much higher then anything you could hope to gain. The best you can hope to get is a settlement or a compensation simply because Best Buy may not want to deal with this matter, and it's already a lot considering you came in expecting to combine 2 offers for potential loss for them, on a deal which they have the right to refuse at any time.

BTW by your new post, it does sound like there was a misunderstanding of the deal between you, Mhina and Zee. Zee was the head of decisions, Mhina was the 'middleman'. Even according to your story, it simply does not add up, and lots of room for misinterpretation of she said, he said.

[JohnyBGood]

@Firebot
bodsonap may have taken a loss, but his point was that he ended it the way he did out of principal (he was fed up). I can respect that whether or not I agree with it. Regarding fatkinglet and a counter-suit...it's not gonna happen. He's telling his account of the events and stating his opinions. Defamation has to do with falsely representing someone/business negatively. Opinions and observations are just that.

@ottawasportsfan2010
You may be correct that this post may hurt his chances of recovering some loss if BB only offers settlements contingent on whether consumers will sign non-disclosure agreements, but it doesn't sound like fatkinglet would want to sign one of those out of principal, anyway, so it's a moot point.

[chaego]

BB's policy clearly doesn't allow combining the PG with any other offer. But by running around to so many people, the OP eventually found someone uninformed/uncaring enough to say yes. Based on the OP's lengthy post, which suggests incredible personal involvement, and a high sense of entitlement, I can easily see why the ensuing debacle went so poorly for everyone.

No store has a legal obligation to sell you anything. I don't like FS or BB but I don't see that they've done anything terrible here. Judging from OP's attitude I would not like to deal with someone like that in any business sense.

The rest of this thread with discussions of violence, vandalism, is incredibly bizarre. If anything you would hurt the credibility of RFD members complaining about store policies.

+1 good point and to the OP please take your business somewhere else and stop harassing employees and managers

[fatkinglet]

You realize that by threatening to sue, and by posting names of employees of the store, they can counter sue you right back for defamation right? They aren't going to be putting their jobs in jeopardy by posting on this forum, especially when legal repercussions are being thrown around.

I don't agree with their actions they did when they brought you back in the store, but you need to get a reality check. This is not the United States, what damages are you expecting here? You got a PM at the current price with the -10% honoured, a 50$ credit, the 250$ trade-in. That leaves you with a difference of 179$ missing from the 'after hours sale' and the 'free shipping. Not only that but by accepting the buying of the TV, you basically accepted their terms, and your receipt will actually be proof against you.

The costs of your lawyers fees alone would be much higher then anything you could hope to gain. The best you can hope to get is a settlement or a compensation simply because Best Buy may not want to deal with this matter, and it's already a lot considering you came in expecting to combine 2 offers for potential loss for them, on a deal which they have the right to refuse at any time.

BTW by your new post, it does sound like there was a misunderstanding of the deal between you, Mhina and Zee. Zee was the head of decisions, Mhina was the 'middleman'. Even according to your story, it simply does not add up, and lots of room for misinterpretation of she said, he said.


There was no misunderstanding, I did confirm with Zee that he agreed PM at $1520 not the 1699. He told me that he will forward our conversation to Mhina and asked me to speak to her at the store. That was the reason I called Mhina before I went into the store.

[fatkinglet]

+1 good point and to the OP please take your business somewhere else and stop harassing employees and managers

I have no intentions to harass anyone here or taking adventage of Best Buy. I have never act in any aggressive manner or demand something that was not promised by Best Buy manager and supervisor.

1. Chez called me after first email complaint and offered me that he will honor the PM, TV-trade in, free shipping and 50 credit. However, another manager retracted the agreement.

2. General Manger, Zee, called me and offered PM ($1520)and TV-trade in, but not free shipping and $50 credit. I asked him why, he explained, I understood. I didn't press for free shipping or the $50 credit. He voluntarily offered me the gift card when i mentioned about my experience and asked if I can get an apology letter (I just want them to understand that is not the way to treat customer)

In summry, if they are not willing offer anything then they can say so, why giving false aggrement and telling lies

[Firebot]

@Firebot
bodsonap may have taken a loss, but his point was that he ended it the way he did out of principal (he was fed up). I can respect that whether or not I agree with it. Regarding fatkinglet and a counter-suit...it's not gonna happen. He's telling his account of the events and stating his opinions. Defamation has to do with falsely representing someone/business negatively. Opinions and observations are just that.

He could have simply used the online method which would have taken 2 minutes of his time. There was a method to recover his points, and instead of going the quick and painless route he decided to become a martyr, driving 400km for a measly 10$ worth of points, and spent much much more trying to get them, decided to yell his lungs out at a guy who had nothing to do with his problem, and berated a poor girl at a counter that her 'sorry' isn't good enough for all his expenses. It wasn't even the same Best Buy that caused his grief for crying out loud. There are battles worth picking; he picked a really really stupid one to lose all his hair over that simply made him look like a child throwing a tantrum and 'keeping it real'.

It would have looked even funnier if it was Canadian Tire that was the culprit and seeing someone yell out "I WANT 10$ WORTH OF ****ING CANADIAN TIRE MONEY IN MY ****ING HANDS RIGHT NOW":lol:. It's freaking reward points for crying out loud...

Saying Best Buy sucks is not defamation, but involving personnel, mentioning their names and passing them off as villains becomes defamation. The courts would decide if it's opinion or slander. The OP can easily avoid this and can get rid of the names of the employees but chooses not to.

In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel, slander, and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. Slander refers to a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against groundless criticism. Related to defamation is public disclosure of private facts which arises where one person reveals information which is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person.[1] "Unlike libel, truth is not a defence for invasion of privacy."[2]

[Firebot]

There was no misunderstanding, I did confirm with Zee that he agreed PM at $1520 not the 1699. He told me that he will forward our conversation to Mhina and asked me to speak to her at the store. That was the reason I called Mhina before I went into the store.

That's fine, but you are better off going through the BBB and Best Buy customer service. Threatening lawsuits is never going to get you anywhere, and like I stated, you have left yourself wide open by posting this stuff on a public forum. What if someone from RFD decides to go to Zee, and gives him a piece of his mind and calls him a crook in his store based on your posts?

[Sprite_TM]

a good read.

bravo to the OP for taking it this far. many people would just give up and not pursue matters further.

and according to best buy's price match guarantee, the OP CAN combine offers within best buy. it just says when pricematching a COMPETITOR (note: Competitor), the price of the competitor can't be cheaper because a coupon/bonus offer/reward etc.. was used AT the competitor's store to bring the price below Best Buy's price.

[zoolander]

Wow, this thread is an interesting read on human nature.
While I have managed to get some excellent bargains through RFD, anything to do with money is relative.

I have treated people of all ages in the ER, CCU and ICU.
I have also had palliative experience and I have seen people take their last breath.
Take a step back and examine what is really important in your life, now, 5 years, 10 years from now.
It will probably have nothing to do with what you bought or how you were treated as a customer at any particular time.

In the consumer world, you win some, you lose some.
Choose your time wisely, we are fragile, life is short.

[Impossibles]

Wow at this whole story.

The depths some people will lower themselves to in order to save a hundred dollars is really shocking and depressing.

[fatkinglet]

Wow at this whole story.

The depths some people will lower themselves to in order to save a hundred dollars is really shocking and depressing.

I stated in my post already that I don't really care if I get the TV or not. My thread is not about saving couple hundres thr Best Buy. It is about the whole treatment from Best Buy

[Nikita]

He could have simply used the online method which would have taken 2 minutes of his time. There was a method to recover his points, and instead of going the quick and painless route he decided to become a martyr, driving 400km for a measly 10$ worth of points, and spent much much more trying to get them, decided to yell his lungs out at a guy who had nothing to do with his problem, and berated a poor girl at a counter that her 'sorry' isn't good enough for all his expenses. It wasn't even the same Best Buy that caused his grief for crying out loud. There are battles worth picking; he picked a really really stupid one to lose all his hair over that simply made him look like a child throwing a tantrum and 'keeping it real'.

It would have looked even funnier if it was Canadian Tire that was the culprit and seeing someone yell out "I WANT 10$ WORTH OF ****ING CANADIAN TIRE MONEY IN MY ****ING HANDS RIGHT NOW":lol:. It's freaking reward points for crying out loud...

Saying Best Buy sucks is not defamation, but involving personnel, mentioning their names and passing them off as villains becomes defamation. The courts would decide if it's opinion or slander. The OP can easily avoid this and can get rid of the names of the employees but chooses not to.

Quote:
In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel, slander, and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image. Slander refers to a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report, while libel refers to any other form of communication such as written words or images. Most jurisdictions allow legal actions, civil and/or criminal, to deter various kinds of defamation and retaliate against groundless criticism. Related to defamation is public disclosure of private facts which arises where one person reveals information which is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person.[1] "Unlike libel, truth is not a defence for invasion of privacy."[2]

Firebot, do you have a link to where you got the above quoted statement?

[trixR4kids]

Lol they threatened u to buy the tv, and you did complied rofl

"hey you, buy this tv or else...."
"ok, thank god i keep $1500 on standby for life threatening situations like this"


This is what happens when you try to mix and match so many policies at once, their policy is in bb's favor by saying cant be used with other coupons n such.

[sparrow_69]

I completely agree BB's service as of late is going downhill. I started shopping there a few years ago when bb opened in mtl. I was fed up of FS. I realize they are owned by the same company, but I was treated well there and it was convenient. As of late, it is a PITA to shop there. Everything is a hassle. Denied valid pm's, etc. I have to admit though, never had an issue returning anything there. That has to be there saving grace.

Lately, noticed that bb will remove certain items during their online sales (ex. x360 live cards, points cards, etc) Yesterday, went to a local bb to do an ispu for point cards i purchased online. CS guy couldn't find order, then said they only had 1 in stock (not true, i ordered 2 and they had about 15 on the shelves) then tried to charge me normal price for the cards. If you're purchasing an item at "normal price" everything usually runs smoothly. If you are doing a PM or purchasing something on sale, have to jump through hoops. If we don't push back against these large retailers, they are going to walk all over us.

[ottawasportsfan2010]

I completely agree BB's service as of late is going downhill. I started shopping there a few years ago when bb opened in mtl. I was fed up of FS. I realize they are owned by the same company, but I was treated well there and it was convenient. As of late, it is a PITA to shop there. Everything is a hassle. Denied valid pm's, etc. I have to admit though, never had an issue returning anything there. That has to be there saving grace.

Lately, noticed that bb will remove certain items during their online sales (ex. x360 live cards, points cards, etc) Yesterday, went to a local bb to do an ispu for point cards i purchased online. CS guy couldn't find order, then said they only had 1 in stock (not true, i ordered 2 and they had about 15 on the shelves) then tried to charge me normal price for the cards. If you're purchasing an item at "normal price" everything usually runs smoothly. If you are doing a PM or purchasing something on sale, have to jump through hoops. If we don't push back against these large retailers, they are going to walk all over us.

Yes but there are customers who are just as bad and in some cases much worse.

[Firebot]

Firebot, do you have a link to where you got the above quoted statement?

It's from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation). Canada's legal definition differs slightly, and there's a wikipedia article for it too. Ironically, the law is actually more severe in Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_defamation_law

As with most Commonwealth jurisdictions, Canada also follows English law on defamation issues (although the law in the province of Quebec has roots in both the English and the French tradition). At common law, defamation covers any communication that tends to lower the esteem of the subject in the minds of ordinary members of the public.[1] Probably true statements are not excluded, nor are political opinions. Intent is always presumed, and it is not necessary to prove that the defendant intended to defame. In Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto (1995), the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the actual malice test adopted in the US case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. Once a claim has been made out the defendant may avail him or herself to a defense of justification (the truth), fair comment, or privilege. Publishers of defamatory comments may also use the defense of innocent dissemination where they had no knowledge of the nature of the statement, it was not brought to their attention, and they were not negligent.

[Nikita]

It's from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation). Canada's legal definition differs slightly, and there's a wikipedia article for it too. Ironically, the law is actually more severe in Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_defamation_law

Thanks firebot, I thought the first definition was wrong, but, as suspected it was just not Canadian. The second one posted here is what I've always thought comprised defamation/slander/libel.