Best Buy Store #57 Mark Stewart - General Manager Sold me a damaged TV and will not let me Return it - Arlington, Texas

You want to meet me at the Best Buy? Ah, now I see your beef with the store. You obviously work there and must have some beef about why you have been there for 20 years and never been promoted and still make $8 an hour. It's probably because you have the maturity of a 9 year old.

I didn't bother to read your entire pointless post. There is no need to follow the pointless ramblings of an obvious moron.

And yes, you are fat and old. I suppose it doesn't matter how fat you are when you get your face pounded with fists. I'm betting you're a crier. "Stop, I'm sorry" is what I would expect from your when you get your a*s kicked. You are nothing Steve. You are a worthless old fat piece of crap. Too bad Best Buy doesn't sell rope that you could hang yourself with. That way you could finally do the world some good.

You are a scared, lowlife, d****ebag. No matter what you do, you will NEVER change that fact.

I see that you will always have to have the last word, so I will let you as you are simply not worth my time. You are an idiot who doesn't know how to read.

Let's recap.

You are saying my advice was bad. Really?

>>Here is my original response to the OP.

ALWAYS use a credit card for any major purchase, especially electronics! Then when there is a problem, you just dispute the charge.

[I can't see how the advice to always use a major credit card is "bad" advice].

But now, you have screwed yourself by just leaving the TV at the store. You left the EVIDENCE behind!

[No evidence, no recourse, if the case has to go to court, again, can't see how this is "bad" advice.

And, it doesn't take much effort at all to damage an LCD screeen. They are VERY easy to damage.

[I have experience with these as my best friend here of 27 years is a multi brand factory authorized tech, and I have worked with him. Oh yeah, and have seen all of the Best Buy horrors first hand].

You seem just a little bit too passive in demeanor, and this may be a problem too. People see that as weakness, and exploit it. There is a time to be mildly agressive and this was it.

[Advising a person who is too passive to step it up a little and stand up for what she feels is right. Can't see how this is "bad" advice].

Here's how I would have handled it. As soon as I would have seen anything damaged or missing, I would have reached for my digital camera and made a timed/dated record of it, and called any other adult to be a witness.

[Just plain old CYA here, and common sense. Can't see how this is "bad" advice"].

Then I would have written down the serial number and called the manufacturer to see if that unit had been previously sold/registered. This is because I smell a switch and return here. Does the unit SN match the SN tag on the box?

[Again, just CYA here, and common sense. Can't see any "bad" advice here].

Then, I would have IMMEDIATELY the same nighttaken the unit back to the store, NOT the next day! After all, how important is that $500 to you?

[Advised to take "timely" action in the return process. Again, can't see how that was "bad" advice].

I wouldn't have asked for my money back, I would have demanded it and made a scene if needed for the cops to show up and at least get a police report of the incident.

[Notice, I first said "asked", then demanded, and then suggested a "scene" be made. Again, just advising this person to stand up for her rights. I NEVER advised her to break the law. Never. YOU just assumed this on your own].

And finally, I would have made that purchase on a major credit card, and would have been on the phone in the presence of that "manager" disputing the charge for reason of FRAUD.

[Just a repeat of prior good, sound, advice].

My advice to you is to go get that TV back in your possession ASAP and follow this thing through even if it means small claims court.

Don't be so weak.

Steve, you have no idea what you're talking about. Every time you give someone advice, you advise them to act like a jackass. I realize you must come from an upbringing that if someone does something you don't like, throwing punches is the only answer. You are truly a complete tool.

And yes, you are old and fat. You can't back up a d**n word of anything you say. You clearly have a grudge against Best Buy. That doesn't mean every time you read a complaint about the store the customer is right.

In this case, like I have said before (try to think intelligently...umm nevermind) the burden of proof is on the consumer. As far as the store is concerned, the TV was in perfect condition when it left the store. It sucks, it may not be morally right, but it is a FACT. All of your grudges and built up inner anger cannot dispute that single fact.

And besides, what if....just WHAT IF the OP is lying? People lie all the time to get fraudulent returns. I'm not saying he is, but I understand why Best Buy protects themselves. What if he bought the TV, took it home, and dropped it taking it out of the box? Should Best Buy eat the money for that? Should the manufacturer? WHO???? What if it was your business and fraudulent returns took money out of your pocket? Wouldn't you try to protect yourself and your business?

If Best Buy thought that the TV was damaged before it left the store, I'm sure they would make the situation right, like any other store would.

Why can't you children stop fighting. This site wasn't made for this, It was to offer victims of bad business help not to put them down.And this Is to steve just ignore this bully.

The more you reply to him the more you feed him. Don't feed the trolls like gee I wonder. Just go on about your day don't pay any attention. To this loser.

You should look in a mirror PUNK!

Old man? I'm 47 you jerk off. And, 6'2, 255# [not fat] and 10 years prior military.

Your not tough. Just stupid.

And, you are doing exactly what you are accusing me of! Ever think of that?

The anonymous girlie man sitting behind the safety of his computer!

Sissy punk.

Yeah, you keep talking your trash knowing that you never have to face me so I can shove my fist down your throat. It's pretty easy to talk trash when you can hide behind an anonymous cloak.

Steve, do the world a favor and throw yourself off a bridge. There would be one less bitter, s**t-talking, moron of an old man in the world.

Yeah OK "Gee I Wonder", you keep thinking that. Girlie man. You will do nothing. You are nothing but a girlie man.Bring it on punk.

Steve, you may think you're big and bad, but you aren't. You talk your trash from behind your keyboard and in the safety of your trailer park. You would have no chance one on one with me. No chance at all. You would finish out the rest of your short life drinking your meals through a straw.

The store will not refund an item that has physical damage when there was no proof that the TV was like that when it left the store. Is that really too difficult for your feeble mind to grasp? Are you really that stupid? Actually, don't answer that, everyone on this site knows you are.

I do not work for Best Buy. It isn't the world's fault that your wife left you for a younger, better looking Best Buy employee that ***** her better. No need to be bitter at the whole world for it.

I post again...this IS the deal bottom line..

1) Customer buys a TV and leaves the store...

2) Customer comes back next day with a cracked screen..

How do you debate that???

Now let's go over the rest of Steve's reply..

I did not see anyone make any excuses.

How do you know BestBuy loses "absolutely nothing" if the exchange busted TVs? You really think ANY business could survive if the exchange broken merchandise for new every time a customer claimed a day or whenever later it came that way out of the box? What planet do you live on? Planet CRACKHEAD?

No, the "benefit of a doubt" does not automatically go to the customer..the manager has the final say. Yes, some managers are more fair then others, they are not all the same. They are humans and all humans are different. But even if one store has a crappy manager does not mean the whole company sucks. Well to you it does maybe Steve because we can not forget you claim to be Mr. Perfect..but in the REAL world things don't always go as planned.

The manager will not get fired for refusing an even exchange..he will be COMMENDED for standing up for the business. But does this mean I agree with his decision or defend him? No, it does not. I am just stating the facts, I am not here to judge the manager of a BestBuy who does not want to even exchange a busted TV the next day that has a cracked screen. Maybe if I was the manager at the store I would have..or maybe not. It is a case by case but either way...a decision was made and to offer a new one at 1/2 price seems reasonable. If you do not understand what the term "reasonable" means...google it.

They sell more TV's at BestBuy in an hour the all the complaints against them combined so I do not think this is the one that will put them under. They are not Circuit City.

Again, if you think they suck...so be it. Out of curiosity..Steve?..what did they do to you that has you on such a tirade against them? Care to share?

There are no excuses here. Period.

"InTheKnow" was absolutely correct, and so was the OP.

Best Buy loses absolutely NOTHING on the exchange of that defective TV. REGARDLESS of how it actually got damaged. It makes no difference. The benefit of the doubt always has to go to the customer, or the business will fail.

This means that the "manager" was totally out of line and should be fired immediately. Got that Ronny G? Yeah, this guy is a MORON who needs to find another job. He cannot be defended. He was wrong. But, I know you will certainly defend him.

That "manager" is a MORON who obviously has a Napoleon complex. He is a small man. He needed to have "control" over someone. That was the only principle in play here. A control freak.

This is typical of the idiots that I have observed working at Best Buy. The managers are horrible, and usually have no practical management experience and/or common sense. Most of them are kids.

And, this is just one of the reasons I would never shop there until the day of their going out of business sale, which WILL be soon, just like Circuit City. Guaranteed if they do not change their ways and hire some competent people.

Best Buy SUCKS!

1) Customer buys a TV and leaves the store...

2) Customer comes back next day with a cracked screen..

That is it in a nutshell.

The customer believes there would be no problem since they have been a long term customer and have spent "thousands" there over the years.

The manager who has to make the decision to eat a TV with a busted screen (obviously there is no warranty that covers that), may be held accountable.

I don't know what else to say. I guess the best suggestion is to open the box and check for damage, missing items and that it works before you leave the store. This could happen anywhere. I do not know too many businesses that will give a full refund on a physically damaged item the next day unless it had some kind of warranty to cover it. How on earth could they know if the customer dropped it or not? You think no one ever dropped anything like a heavy 40" TV before?

They owe you nothing, but on the other hand I do agree they should consider your past history as a loyal customer, perhaps that is why they offered another at half price to meet you half way.

I guess you could have followed the suggestions of another and made a scene with the police etc...and most likely that would have ended in you being asked politely to leave the store..or, next step leave in handcuffs..yeah, great advice there. Then try to work a deal once you are released from the holding cell? Brilliant.

The best buy in my neighborhood will let you return just about any item within a certain period of days and without any hassle as long as you have the receipt. It's unfortunate that this manager was a stickler and didn't let you return the tv

Somehow I don't think the OP would have made a detailed complaint on public record without cause. If the TV was physically damaged, depending on the time of day, I would say to myself that "they'll take care of this, no problem, the next morning." Packaging is not a perfect science, hairline cracks can occur.

The Store Manager, if properly trained, would not "put the customer on trial." I didn't know the store was a courtroom. The Store Manager should have exchanged it with a smile and be done with it. It is really worth is to lose a customer and any negative ramifications that go along with this decision?

Here's the kicker - Dynex is a house brand - no one else carries it. As an industry veteran, that means that Best Buy gets unlimited credit for this product; that is usually the agreement for guaranteeing a mfr "x" amount of production without competition.

Steve is right on with the credit card - you always have recourse - they'll fight the battle.

"Gee I Wonder",

Let me break a few things down for you, because you are way too full of yourself, thinking you know everything. Get a grip. You are a Best Buy employee so that itself tells me you are an idiot.

Second, when you do a cut and paste of someones words, don't just take the middle section out of context, as it changes the whole meaning. If you bothered to read the first few paragraphs of my post, I suggested several other avenues BEFORE the one where I told the person to make somewhat of a scene.

Third, you don't know me well enough to talk to me like that and I can assure you it would only be from behind the safety of your keyboard. You are a punk. I am a caveman, and I would cave your F'ing head in if you ever talked to me like that in person. Guaranteed.

I was most likely dealing with these problems long before you were even born. And. FYI..I NEVER lose a battle. I'm too stubborn, and frankly quite scary I have been told. I have a track record for winning, especially when dealing with some pencil necked geek at Best Buy.

Furthermore, I fully know the difference between civil and criminal, but you are too stupid to see where I was going with the police report thing. You see, fraud is criminal. Selling a broken unit as new could be construed as fraud if the consumer pushes the right buttons. HOWEVER, the store manager should have stepped up and taken care of this customer. Best Buy can get it's money back from the mfg on this as damaged in transit/defective. No big deal.

The bottom line here is that Best Buy has no competent management. Too many kids who know nothing.

If you recall, the part of my advice to this person was to always use a major credit card for these purchases. I always do, and I would have got the last laugh on you. Dispute. Dispute. Dispute. Then a few letters to BB Corp, and the MFG., and there is now another geek without a job. That's how I play.

You either step up and do right, or you get eliminated. Those are my rules. I win at any cost, and I play dirty, and play for keeps. But I always get satisfaction.

YOU are the one here who needs to "get a clue", as you have never had to deal with me, YET.

"Gee I Wonder" cut and pasted and posted the following jibberish:

"I wouldn't have asked for my money back, I would have demanded it and made a scene if needed for the cops to show up and at least get a police report of the incident."  That tells me you advised him to make quite a scene. 

Stores do not have to accept returns if it is a damaged item with no proof that the consumer didn't cause the damage.  This is a civil case, not a criminal case.  Like I said, the police will not give a crap that you were sold a damaged TV.  They would be at the store to resolve a disturbance that you caused.  Face it, Steve, your 1950's style of throwing a temper tantrum when you don't get your way isn't an effective way of handling a consumer complaint in modern times.

There is a huge difference between not standing up for yourself and knowing the proper avenues to use to resolve a dispute.  Try using finesse instead of acting like a caveman.  Use your brain instead of your "balls".  Do you think the successful people in the world act like an ogre when they have a dispute or do they use legal channels available to them?

I'm glad this worked for you at Circuit City (how well are they doing now anyway?), but it will not work very often.  Most of the time, you will just embarrass yourself and the store will be less inclined to help you if you are acting like a jerk.  I know where I work (not retail) I'm 10x more inclined to help someone who is calm and rational than someone who is throwing a fit.  It's also a good way to get banned from the store permanently. 

I would nicely explain what happened to the manager and ask for his assistance.  If that didn't work, go over his head.  If that doesn't work, dispute the charge.  If that doesn't work, try small claims court.  Those are the legal avenues you can take.  Using those channels, you have a much better chance of getting the issue resolved than if you go in there and throw a fit like a child.  Plus you will be able to keep some dignity.

Get a clue, Steve.

It depends on the "level" of the scene that is made. I never advised this person to break the law. It is not illegal to stand up for yourself. And, just because someone doesn't like what you have to say or how you say it, doesn't make it illegal.

Sorry, but I would NOT get arrested in this situation. I have done exactly what I advised in a Circuit City store and it worked. I was the victim of a switch and return on a laptop computer. I prevailed without getting arrested.

Your "advice" is pisspoor, as you are weak as well. The weak leading the weak here. grow some balls.

This comment has nothing to do with a solution for you.

Because I have read several incidents like this (not just Best Buy), when we bought our last TV, we had the salesman actually open the box in the store to make sure the screen was not damaged, all the parts were there and we plugged it in to make sure it at least worked.  The salesman had no problem with that and in fact helped me.

There was no problem with it but I felt better about it and I think the salesman did too.  He knew I wouldn't be coming back with a broken or damaged TV that we would all then have to go through what you are.

This doesn't help you but it might help someone else.

Good luck, it sucks.

It's never a good idea to make a scene and have the police called.  You will just end up embarrassed, banned from the store, and possibly have charges filed against you.  The police don't give a crap about your situation with the TV, all they will care about is that you are making a disturbance and need to leave.  The police report won't be about a broken TV, it's going to be about a some guy acting like a jackass in Best Buy.

That is really some piss poor advice.

ALWAYS use a credit card for any major purchase, especially electronics! Then when there is a problem, you just dispute the charge.

But now, you have screwed yourself by just leaving the TV at the store. You left the EVIDENCE behind!

And, it doesn't take much effort at all to damage an LCD screeen. They are VERY easy to damage.

You seem just a little bit too passive in demeanor, and this may be a problem too. People see that as weakness, and exploit it. There is a time to be mildly agressive and this was it.

Here's how I would have handled it. As soon as I would have seen anything damaged or missing, I would have reached for my digital camera and made a timed/dated record of it, and called any other adult to be a witness.

Then I would have written down the serial number and called the manufacturer to see if that unit had been previously sold/registered. This is because I smell a switch and return here. Does the unit SN match the SN tag on the box?

Then, I would have IMMEDIATELY the same night taken the unit back to the store, NOT the next day! After all, how important is that $500 to you?

I wouldn't have asked for my money back, I would have demanded it and made a scene if needed for the cops to show up and at least get a police report of the incident.

And finally, I would have made that purchase on a major credit card, and would have been on the phone in the presence of that "manager" disputing the charge for reason of FRAUD.

My advice to you is to go get that TV back in your possession ASAP and follow this thing through even if it means small claims court.

Don't be so weak.

The title of your complaint says the general manager sold you the tv.  I'm not sure why.

I understand your frustration, but people pull these scams all the time.  Best Buy does not have a lie detector machine to determine who is lying and who isn't.  Your screen was cracked without any apparent damage to the packaging.  Your stand was also missing.  To be honest, I wouldn't have believed you either.  That doesn't mean that I'm positive you did it yourself, I'm just saying there isn't any evidence of the TV being broken and missing the stand before it left the store. 

Under these conditions, if Best Buy were to accept the return, there is a good chance the manufacturer of the TV will not reimburse Best Buy.  Best Buy will not be willing to accept that kind of a loss without some sort of proof that it was sold to you in that condition.

It sucks, I know.  There isn't a lot you can do.  Legally, without proof otherwise, Best Buy is not responsible for the damage.  You can badmouth Best Buy all you want, but any other store would have made the same decision.