Best Buy rip off Customer Service with an A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E Fullerton California

Best Buy has a return policy of 30 days for the particular product that is discussed here.

I understand that although sometimes the way people come across may seem curt, but when you do not get what you want everyone else is the jerk.

When a store has a particular policy that is stated not only on the wall at the front of the store, but also on every receipt printed one would think that a consumer would have ample opportunity to read and understand it.

The case that is made that because you refer people or because you purchase so much of your electronic goods from Best Buy therefore if you are negligent to return something within policy that you should be given a break makes no sense. They are simply treated you as they should every single person that walks in the door or up to customer service. There are no special rules for customers willing to spend in the store as there should not be.

So in the end do not take your mistake as the company's way to rip you off. It may make you feel better, but it is an incorrect assessment.

Policy is there for a reason and 30 days does not equate to 33.

That is your opinion.

Wish our company was as big as Best Buy then we could tell our customers to stuff-it knowing there are 1,000,000 more customers out there.

A Return Policy is a "guideline" it is not a company law. Each return is a case-by-case decision of what is in the best interest of the company. Each customer should be heard and their case evaluated to make sure the customer is served while Best Buy's interests are preserved.

Most companies would not be able to survive without giving the customer an ear. In this case, Best Buy would have found out that I had aleady purchased the same feature (a D-Link Firewall) with an earlier purchase (a D-Link Router) but the details comparing the two products were only discovered through a phone call to D-Link customer service.

The Best Buy customer service representative was not interested in service to the customer only following the letter-of-the-law. Because of Best Buy's lack of focus on service the stockholders of Best Buy were not served either. Best Buy, as a representative of the manufacture, also did not service their supplier D-Link.

For 3-days, I am right but point is dead. Best Buy keeps both sales and loses one customer.

CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU MAKE ME SICK!!! CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU ARE ALWAYS OUT TRYING TO GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING, AND BELIEVE THAT COMPANY POLICIES APPLY TO EVERYONE *EXCEPT* YOU! GET OVER IT!! WHY GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO BE DIFFICULT AND DISPLAY YOUR HIGH-HORSE ATTITUDE! IF YOU WERE IN MY STORE YOU WOULD FOLLOW MY RULES OR GET THE HELLIO OUT!! IT IS CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU THAT STORES COULD CARE LESS IF THEY KEEP OR NOT, BECAUSE YOU ARE NO GOOD FOR THEIR BUSINESS ANYWAY. IN FACT I AM SURE THAT BEST BUY WAS GLAD TO SEE YOU LEAVE AND START ANTAGONIZING THE STORE UP THE STREET INSTEAD!

Certainly anyone in business is entitled to operate that business according to heart-felt methods they hold dear.

My proposel is to aid in the development of loyal customers. Sorry to say the previous reply is all too typical. Might be characterized as the "Tank Method" of customer annihiation. A warning sign on the door would be appreciated.

The creator of RipOffReport.com had a great idea to present a learning forum for discussion of customer issues. Hats off to you.

Sincere attention to the customer that invests time and money in your company is a guarantee to more loyal customers to grow your business.

I am sorry to hear you were treated badly by Best Buy. Perhaps you should try the Westminster Mall store. Two weeks ago they had a Mintek portable CD player on sale, and I purchased one. After getting it home, set up and charging, I realized that it really wasn't charging and the button to open the player to insert the CD did not function smoothly. I returned it the next day, and asked for a store credit. I asked about the Polaroid model, but they had sold out of those quickly. This morning I went back to Best Buy to purchase another unit of equal or better quality. Once again they did not have the Polaroid model in stock, so I chose to get a more expensive Toshiba. It was an out-of-box purchase, with $30 being discounted. I brought it home and once again I had a unit that would not charge. Both charging problems are with the manufacturer, not Best Buy. This evening I went back with the Toshiba, said I wanted to exchange it and made my way back to the DVD player aisle. Matt, the employee that waited on me earlier during the Toshiba purchase was there, and I told him that the one I got earlier wouldn't charge, and that I was going to exchange it for an unopened one, pay the difference and I would be happy. Matt remembered that I had inquired about the Polaroid, and he said that in the middle of the afternoon they got in 6 units, and that if I still wanted one he would get one for me. The Polariod was $177 cheaper than the Toshiba. My point in this posting is that Matt could have let me spend another $30 to get the Toshiba, but instead he remembered the brand I had originally come in for, whether it was cheaper or not. In other words, his actions lead me to believe that Best Buy was not out for my money on this purchase, but rather a satisfied customer. When I went to the return desk I had two options to receive the $177 difference, a store credit or a check would be mailed to me. I chose the store credit, because I will be back to buy other items at Best Buy. The Westminster staff is very gracious and helpful.

Actually the Westminster, CA store is the only store where I can actually get customer service, they are the only store where I have gotten greeted everytime I have come in. The only problem I see with that store is that there are always employees bundled up together talking, which doesn't look very comforting.

The Fullerton, CA store is the worst BB I have ever gone to in the history of BB. The customer service at the central computer desk is terrible when you actually know more about computers than they do. They never go and ask someone else if their is a problem. Their answer is always "I don't think they make that" or "I have never heard of that before". However the people that are actually walking out in the field, if they don't know they ask someone, which is totally fine. But to stand there and disagree with someone who knows the facts, just makes the employees look stupid. Also, the employees at the customer service window always think you are stupid when you come in. Like there was a virus on a computer my cousin bought which was never even used twice and it effected the dvd writer, the person goes in and was like, do you know how to use Nero? you press the burn button and.... oh wow it doesn't work... YOU THINK? - I understand they need to find the problem, and need to test everything, but they could be at least professional about it. Like "if you don't mind I would just like to burn something to see what it says", it's that simple.

Their prices are usually higher than any other pc store I go to. Comp USA is like the highest priced store and even they were lower than BB, heck Staples was lower than BB. But I seem to find more things for sale there than others.

As an ex-employee/supervisor of Best Buy, I can tell you from personal dealings with customers that I took them on a case by case basis. More times than not I erred on the side of the customer.

It would have been a simple process to have the supervisor and or manager get involved to solve this problem. I have personally walked customers up to Customer Service and told them to give the customer his/her money back.

Have I had a bad experience with Best Buy as an employee? Yes, but only at one store (#178). But, in general, Best Buy is a customer friendly and customer oriented company. Would I go back to work for them? Yes! In a heartbeat! But, with qualifications attached.

The problem with most customers is attitude and approach. In my 26 years in retail, I was more willing to work with friendly customers with problems than the ones with "holier than thou" demeenors. The problem with some customers out there is they treat retail employees and/or management like slaves and servants. We are just like you. We have families, bills and hearts. Break our hearts and we put up our defences.

Maybe when people learn how to interact better with retail employees, problems and anger will begin to subside. Untill then, most of you will rush to sites like this crybabying.

Now then, just to show my heart is in the right place...IF you really want Best Buy to bend to your wills and deny their own world wide policies, here's the formula. Go directly to the General Manager and no one else. Tell him/her what you expect to have happen. Then, if he/she doesn't satisfy you, ask for the telephone number to the corporate office in Eden Praire, Minnisota. Most of the time, the GM will not want it to go that far. Best Buy will, 99.9% of the time, give the customer what they want. I know you shouldn't have to go through all of that. But, after all, rules are rules and policies are policies.

You have no idea just how much stress is involved in retail businesses. Nor would you ever unless you have lived it yourselves. I loved being in retail, but the customers and managers all but took that away from me. So, this Christmas or whenever you visit your local department stores and specialty shops, remember, the people who greet you are flesh and blood with feelings just like you. Enough said.

Linda- First of all it is obvious that your returns were valid. If you had waited 33 days like the clown Denny did then it may not have been.

Waiting 33 days to return an item is not valid. Instead of waiting I will bet he knew a lot sooner than that he didn't need the item. He just needed to get of his butt and return it inside 30 days. There would then be no problem would ther Denny??

Charles- Maybe there is a reason you are an "EX- Employee? People agree to the return policy when they make the purchase. Telling them to use the GM is giving them another way to prove that policies are not for them or to get something for nothing or that they are not entitled to by playing on a GM's fears of them going to corporate. BTW the writer did say he talked to a manager.

Denny should just buck it up and I suspect if he shops other than Best Buy he would be paying more. There must be some reason he shopped at Best Buy in the first place.

How can you call it a Rip Off when companies enforce their "Own" policies and you know about them when you make the purchase?????

John,

There are always "gray areas" that need to be considered in any transaction. And, mitigating circumstances. Companies, in my opinion, are way too rigid in the enforcement of company policies where customer relations are concerned.

Best Buy is one of the easiest companies to do business with. However, as I said in another report, it is all dependent on the store you are in. Of course, if a product is more than four months old and out of the package, I doubt that any customer would expect a refund. But 33 days is a bit harsh.

I would much rather see companies take hits on product returns than to have employees and customers go through pshycological issues. Relaxed and fun environments go a long way in creating peace and harmony among all the players. It's very easy for executives to sit in their Ivory Towers while their employees are on the front line taking the brunt of angry and dissatisfied customers.

If a product is in tact and still in its original, unbroken package, give the damn money back. Best Buy even takes back opened products and sells them at reduced prices. IF the package is broken, I doubt that any customer would expect a full refund. But a prorated amount would be in order.

As for my being an "Ex-Employee"...frankly, after 26 years of public service, I just plain got tired of it all. When you stand in the gap for employers and customers and take hits from both sides, it gets quite old. I am a 52 year old sales veteran. Time for me to hang up my pen and pick up my guitar and fishing pole. I would love to go back to Best Buy. However, in a different capacity. I'll leave the "retail war" to the younger people to fight.

Unlike John Kerry, I have earned all of my "purple hearts", "silver stars" and other awards and medals. And, unlike him, I have kept and am proud of every single one of them. And, even to this day. When I am in a store, I still find myself helping people and fronting and facing shelves. God, you can take the man out of retail but you can't take the retail out of the man. By the way, I have won around 50 sales awards and received several customer

I love bust buy and I think that it sucks that you were not able to return you merch. however we do have policies that sometimes cause problems. I had a vonage phone and i lost that stupid piece of paper and i asked the manager to look it up in there electronic journal and they did and i went to the store the next day and I got my money back so it allworked out for me. But there DRUG SCreening SUX i cant pass the test
I have a question about Niacin and Golden Seal Tea drinking.

I am about 295lbs and 6 feet so you can tell I am a big guy I used to smoke every day but that was several months ago. I got arrested and stopped pending the results.

After I went to court my brother and I celebrated like stoners celebrate. However several weeks went buy and I went into best buy and applied for a job and I had 2 interviews (The Home Theater Manager said it was the best damn interview so I was pretty excited) and I was hired and they are going to start my pay at 8/hr. which is pretty good telemarketer. But when all was said and done and a big smile was on my face he whipped it out (no not that) THE CONTRACT which included several pages of legal jargon and lots of pages on cannabis testing. They told me I had 24 hours to take the test. So I started freaking out I called everyone.

Finally I called GNC they told me to buy Total Eclipse Fast Cleansing Formula. I did but was ill-advised I dank the product one day to early and had to buy one more (In case your wondering $90 MSRP). Then I went to Lab Corp to test only the witch behind the counter advised me that it was 4:15 pm and they stop drug screening at 4 pm after much pleading I ended up telling her off. But the Question is what do I do. I am a big man. I don't burn fat fast (obviously) so what I am I to do.

I smoked 48 – 72 hours ago and Smoked Sun, Mon.,Tues what am I to do Best Buy told me that they understood that they thought that Lab Corp. stopped testing at 4:30 to. So I AM Broke what do I do. I need help. Fast Thanks. IF YOU CAN HELP OR BE OF ANY ASSISTANCE TO ME I WILL PERSONALY GIVE YOU $10/USD PENDING A SUCCESFUL TEST

Justin,

Are you serious??? LOL!!! Your comments are so way off topic, you're in outter space. No wonder you can't get a decent job.

Suggestion...if you want a decent job, get off the drugs and get on with a responsible life.

Most drugs take days to get out of the system. Marijuana is one of the strange ones. It takes at best 30 days. And with your weight, it may take up to 90 days.

Get yourself straight and never worry again about drug tests. If you can't do it on your own, then get help. Continue on your prsent "duh" path and look forward to jobs where intelligence isn't a factor.

Good luck,

I am an EX-employee of Best Buy... but I still work in electronics retail. (Circuit City)

The product in question should actually full under "Computer Related Electronics" which has a 14 day return policy... so in this case the customer was 19 days outside the return policy.

I am a customer service rep at Circuit... and there are always ways around the policy... this is true.

A note to customers... be NICE. If you come up and are pissed off at the original no and start yelling right away instead of saying... "Hey listen, I can't use this if I could exchange it for one that I can use or even get in store credit, that would be great." You'd get a lot further. As for me, as soon as a customer starts treating me like a piece... the game ends, and I will follow all rules exactly how they are written.

People that work in retail are people too. A lot of us are students and a stressed out enough on a day to day basis without customers coming up with hissy fits day in and day out. In the end... treat people who are simply doing their job with a little respect, and you'll get a lot more in the end.

I will end with a hint to customers: Customer Service Reps are paid to follow the rules. Managers are paid to bend and break them. Don't get mad at the Reps... get mad at the highest in command... they are paid to make customers happy. :)

Charles, Thank you very much I appericate your feed back in a timley manner that was great. I don't however appericate you rudeness. That was not called for. I have made more sales in two weeks at best buy than I am certian you have.

Its not funny to make fun of people. I guess becuase you were a sup. you think you can make judgemnets on people. Well I dont think so. Not this guy. So have a nice life. You internet freak. Go and Get yourself a real job.

This is so petty I can't believe you wasted the space on this site to post it and degraded the value of the site by trying to respresent something so obviously not a RIPOFF.

It was at worst not very nice of them to not give you a 3 day extension, and it certainly wasn't nice of them to be curt when telling you about it. But that's it. There was no ripoff here.

What's this about they could have seen that you already had a firewall by looking at your previous purchases? Get real! Do you get mad at Safeway because they don't warn you that you shouldn't buy milk because the orange juice you bought earlier has 100% of the recommended calcium in it? Do you get mad at the hardware store for not telling you that you already bought a philips head screwdriver?

And you think Best Buy is going to have the manpower to go over your purchases and look for redudancies in performance? In all those blind purchases you made are you telling me you never once bought something that was redundant to a previous purchase and you wanted it anyway?

Do you think about the increase in cost it would require to do this sort of thing not to mention the time? You would have to pay double the price for items and wait 3 times as long to get checked out if they were to provide this kind of service. And I certainly don't want to be told that every keyboard I buy I shouldn't because I already have one with a windows key, and that I already have a strip that takes 3 prong plugs.

Think about what you are saying before you open your mouth and drop your foot in.

You totally discredit your actual gripe about the bad service with your obvious idiocy about the return issue.

It says it in bold writing that you have 30 days, what exactly happened in that last 3 days that made the return necessary that didnt' happen in the first 30? Is it Best Buys fault you didn't know better than to buy a firewall you already had?

And so what if you bought a lot of stuff at Best Buy in the past, how many people who shop at Best Buy do you think haven't bought at least as much as you have? So now they should be like casinos and offer comps to you for shopping there? Just think how flooded the boards would be if every person who hadn't already dropped a wad of cash there started complaining that they weren't getting the special treatment. And how much joe schmoe would complain because his friend only spent $1000 there and got a 35 day return policy for it, but he spent $1500 and only got a 32 day return policy.

Do you realize the level of micromanagement you are asking of a huge retailer? Do you know why their prices are so reasonable on most items? It's because they have cut out the grey area and made it black and white, and in some areas the black and white really isn't fair, but in this area it was totally fair, no other stores I know of offer a longer return policy (maybe walmart but I am not sure) and I KNOW no salesman mislead you on this issue.

I was a manager in Fullerton BBY for about 2 years in the mid-1990s.

While it reads in your complaint as though you abandoned your item upon learning you would not get a refund, your primary upset was that you weren't given an exception to the return policy.

Let me give you the perspective from the other side of the counter regarding the policy:

There used to be (3) lines at the counter on any given day:

1. The line to sign up for credit
2. The line for customer service / refunds
3. The line to speak to the manager

When I was there, we (the managers) collectively "held the line" on the return policy. The customer service reps and supervisors did not have the authority or the system credentials to authorize and process refunds/returns/exchanges out of policy.

So, about half of the people that were outside various policy limits and thusly denied accomodation, requested to speak to a manager.

-----------------------------------------------
Every customer felt that their situation was unique. But really, for the managers it was the same conversation over and over and over and over with customers:

Conversation Level 1.0: Customer tries to rationalize with the manager:

-- "It is only 3 days over the 30 days limit."
-- "It is only 5 days over the limit."

Conversation Level 1.5: Manager re-explains the return/exchange policy.

Conversation Level 2.0: Customer pretends to understand the policy, but believes that it does not apply to them for various reasons:

-- "I was on vacation."
-- "I wasn't aware of the policy until right now."
-- "Come on, we are only talking about 3 days here."

Conversation Level 2.5: Manager sympathizes with the customer's plight, apologizes for the customers personal circumstances, but reaffirms that the policy will stand regardless of the reason for the request being outside of policy limits.

Conversation Level 3.0: We find out that EVERY customer has spent $10,000 in the store:

-- "I have spent over $10,000 in this store!"

Conversation Level 3.5: Manager thanks the customer for the $10,000 in business and takes the customers word on that claim. However, just because the customer has a large disposable income doesn't give them special priviledges above less fortunate persons.

Conversation Level 4.0: Customer realizes he/she is not getting his/her way and begins to display loss of control:

-- "If you don't take this back, I am never shopping here again!"
-- "This is crap. It is only 3 days past policy!"

Conversation Level 4.5: Manager again sympathizes with the customer's disappointment and apologizes for the customer's frustration. But the policy still overrides the individual's excuses, valid and otherwise.

Conversation Level 5.0: Customer gets his/her ticket to leave:

-- "Give me your business card. I'm going to call corporate on you and get you fired!"
-- "You'll be dealing with my lawyer next!"

**Alternate Ending: Customer snaps!**

Conversation Level 5.0: Customer does one of three things:

1. abandons item at counter, or
2. violently hurls item at manager, or
3. smashes it to bits on the counter

-- "You can keep this piece of #$%&!"
--------------------------------------------

So what is the point of sharing this conversation with you?

The most common feeling that any customer anywhere has when they are subject to being denied a refund/return/exchange is this: "IT'S NOT FAIR."

"FAIR" is a 2-way street.

Is it fair to give you 3-days extension but deny the next person in line asking for the same extension? Or denying a person an hour later for the same arguments you presented? Is it fair that a person who is more argumentative in nature should get "exceptions"? What if there are 2 people in line asking for the same over limit exception? What if one person is white and one is black? What if one person is well educated and one has English as a 2nd language and therefore struggles through the conversation? What if one is an attorney and one is a machine operator?

In any of those scenarios, all of which I faced daily, the disadvantaged person or denied person that gives up and goes away really has the claim to say "It's Not Fair."

Interestingly enough, the exceedingly rare person who got a random exception never seemed to give a damn about anyone else in the line getting denied. As soon as they got what they wanted, screw everyone else.

So the only way to be "FAIR" to every customer is to apply the policies unilaterally. The policies were even applied to employees.

If it was closing time at Day 30 and the customer wanted a refund, they got it without a hitch, no matter their color, language, age, or affiliation to attorneys.

I already know all the arguments that will come out against that example... like Best Buy is a big corporation, so it is different. But it is black and white. It really is. The contract you enter into when you buy something includes acceptance of the company's policies for doing business with them.

Personally...
I hate return policies because I have a habit of procrastinating on errands involving returning products to any store for any reason. I totally know the policies at the different shops, so if I go beyond that drop dead return period, I may still bring it in and ask for a refund or exchange (nicely), but if I am denied, I completely accept that. I just get my refund through selling it on eBay. I don't feel screwed, I feel irresponsible for being delinquent in my chore.

In closing, I don't fault you for being upset and for feeling unfairly treated. Society has conditioned us to think we will get special treatment if we bend the correct person's ear. We are further taught that if a company won't break its policies just for us, then we are being ripped off. Nothing I can say will stop people in general from carrying around this set of beliefs, my only hope is that some people will read this and understand that there is more to being fair than making a special exception for one guy.

*Inside Tip:* Next time you find yourself in that predicament with any retailer for any item, just hang onto it until Christmas and take it back the day after Christmas while the return policy is suspended for people without receipts. You might not get the full amount you paid, but it's better than zero. I even had to do this myself on an item one year due to my procratinating nature.

Hope things go better for you in the future.

Thank you for the various viewpoints. Fortunately, I have not had to buy anything at BestBuy since the day referenced. BestBuy could have done me a favor at no cost to them but BestBuy chose otherwise. That is fine, their choice. BestBuy bought the same item a couple days later from their supplier but would not take back the one I exchanged. Yes, my error. I should have brought the old item with me at the time of replacement. Yes, I should have visited the store a third time in 30 days to get my money back but I did not. BestBuy stock dividends are doing just fine. They don't need my $10,000 business to survive. I have discovered that Fry's Electronics has a great selection and helpful staff. Fry's Electronics also has a good selection of refurbished products that work just fine at a fraction of the normal retail price. Have also found a local store willing to service our computers. Found a great indepentent programmer to tweek our network. Thank you for your comments.

Why do people always take so long to get their item back to the store and then try to complain that they have been ripped off? It makes no sense, you should be responsible enough to take it back in a timely manner, if you knew you did not need the product then you should take it back right away. You "think" that you are high and mighty and you should get your item returned, you "think" wrong. Stop being a crybaby and own up to your mistake, Best Buy did not make you 3 days late returning the item, you made yourself 3 days late returning the item, now you pay the price for your laziness.

Why do people always take so long to get their item back to the store and then try to complain that they have been ripped off? It makes no sense, you should be responsible enough to take it back in a timely manner, if you knew you did not need the product then you should take it back right away. You "think" that you are high and mighty and you should get your item returned, you "think" wrong. Stop being a crybaby and own up to your mistake, Best Buy did not make you 3 days late returning the item, you made yourself 3 days late returning the item, now you pay the price for your laziness.