I had a really bad experience with Best Buy yesterday, and I'd like some advice on how to handle the situation. It was obvious that everyone from the salesperson to the manager to the corporate customer relations person that I spoke with today have all heard this complaint before yet they all ADAMANTLY state (each in their own way) that this is the way it is, and this is the way it will remain. I feel what they are doing violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and constitutes False Advertising. I also feel it has elements of a pretty ingenius bait and switch tactic. My wife and I are shopping for some new appliances; specifically, a washer and dryer and a new refrigerator. The three units combined will cost us over $2,500 and that's pretty large chunk of change for us right now. So, we decided to play it smart and shop around. We went to several places including Best Buy. After the last place, we decided that Best Buy had the best prices, so we went back there. The reason we went there in the first place was an ad they ran yesterday's Houston Chronicle. The ad stated (in large bold letters) take 10% off instantly ALL Major Appliances. As we walked around and looked at their products, we noted that the refrigerator had a $100 mail in rebate. The washer also had a mail in rebate, but the dryer had an "instant rebate." I noted that ALL appliances had either a mail in rebate or an "instant" rebate. I also noted that on all of the appliances that had an instant rebate, that instant rebate happened to be 10%. Although the language was considerably different than what we noted in their ad circuler, I thought that the two might be the same (the 10% off that was advertised in the newspaper and the instant rebate). I think that's a little devious as it could certainly confuse most consumers, but I was willing to let it go if that's the way it turned out to be. In fact, I didn't even bother to ask the salesperson as it only affected one item (and it was the cheapest....the dryer). I figured I'd just address it at the checkout time, and if they wouldn't back down, I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. Anyway....so we go back to Best Buy, and we start the process of buying these three items. We fill out the credit form to take advantage of an interest free credit period, and we get with the salesperson who is currently busy. All in all, it took right at an hour to get to the final point where I'm supposed to sign on the dotted line, and I notice that the final cost is too high.....by about $200! I look at the tally, and I see why. Not only is the 10% on the dryer not taken off, but it's not taken off on the refrigerator and the washer. When I point this out to the saleperson, he tells me that it's already factored into the price. We're mainly discussing the refrigerator at this point (we haven't even gotten to the other items), and he tells me that the regular price of the fridge is $1699. NO WHERE is this price mentioned anywhere. He literally takes me to a computer and brings it up and points it out. I tell him that doesn't matter. The customer doesn't have access to this information. This is false advertsiing. I made my purchase decision based on the price displayed on the fridge itself (minus 10% and with the mail in rebate). I ask to speak with a manager, and he tells me the same thing. The 10% is already factored in on the displayed price, and I won't get an "additional" 10%. They even had the audacity to tell me that they didn't put the "original" price on the displayed price tag because there isn't enough room to show it AND the mail-in rebate. My wife is tired of the whole process and she just wants to give in. We've wasted the whole day on this crap, but I wasn't going to give in, so I just walked. Today I called their Customer relations department, and I get the same story. This is the way they do things, and this is the way they will continue to do things. The customer service agent was actually a little rude, and just getting to speak with someone is another story in itself. Needless to say, I want them to be forced to stop this practice, and I'm willing to fight it. I know about the BBB, the attorney general, and Marvin Zindler. Who else can I write to make their lives as happy as they made mine yesterday?
Call the BBB if you want, but it is a pretty common practice. I would go to Frys anyway...better deals there. DaDakota
That sucks, Pole. I agree that it's deceptive. If the advertised price already includes a discount, then the listed price should be clearly labeled as "discounted".
Unless you're an old lady without home air conditioning, Marvin Zindler can't help you much... BTW, has anybody ever seen "slime in the ice machine"?? I can honestly say that I've never seen this phenomenom, and was wondering what it actually looked like.
yup. Pretty common practice. Anytime you deal with percentages, rebates, and listed items, ALWAYS make sure what you can and can't use. Also, make sure they are valid. Ive seen them only for one day
Yes, contact the BBB and then contact the State Attorney General's Office. The SAG also handles consumer complaints/issues. Try the other local TV consumer rights fighters, like KPRC's Akin's Army and I'm sure KHOU has someone that does that type of stuff. Start a grass roots campaign, maybe a website that exposes this stuff... do a search on a search engine for keywords, deceptive trade practices, consumer rip offs, anything remotely similar. There's bound to be some sort of info out there... Good luck, keep us informed. SLIME A-Train: The slime phenomenom is REAL. Have you ever seen slime on a sidewalk or somewhere that water constantly collects and takes a long to evaporate? It's kinda slimy and slick? Well that's what it's like in an ice machine and it's a recordable offense to the Health Dept. The slime comes in various colors including green and pink. Honest. It collects in various places on ice machines and soda dispensers. You'd be surprised how many eating establishments have this naturally occuring phenomenom.
Report it to the BBB but they aren't a government entity so they can't do anything except put pressure on the retailer which may or may not help. It could fall under deceptive trade practices which would make it the domain of the AG. Most of these places research this stuff heavily and skirt as close to the law as they possibly can. They use .99 because they can then say "less than $100" when it is really $99.99. Also, look at the fine print in the ad. A lot of times, they hide crap there. Bottom line is that most big companies will try to confuse you to keep you from realizing that you are getting screwed. By the time you figure it out, it's already too late. Most people give up before the company is effected. Companies know that giving rebates or "no interest" periods, for example, are safe ways to make money because the majority of people do not send in rebates or pay off their purchases before the interest kicks in.
yes, report to the BBB... this usually fixes the problem right away... i had a lot of issues with Firestone, when they couldn't figure out what was wrong with my old car (2 years ago)... instead of telling me this, they guessed, and guessed incorrectly! they continued to replace things (muffler, transmission, etc) but the car would still die within 3 days! i told them to stop guessing and to refund all of my money, but they refused... i contacted the BBB and within 2 weeks I got my money back and the GM was fired! ahhh, sweet justice! anyways, you really should go to Fry's... luckily i bought my washer and dryer at Best Buy (before Fry's was in Austin) and had no problems... however, i do all my shopping at Fry's now (doesn't hurt that its less than a mile from my house!)
Wash and dry your clothes by hand Seriously, I understand how you feel. About I yer ago I was looking into buying a rel nice TV. I go to Best Buy, find the perfect one I want, but am not ready to fork over tha kind of cash without looking around more. So I do that, still think Best Buy is what I want, so go back about a week later. The price of the tv had gone up about $300 dollars. I was pissed, especially because the guy remembered me. And their service is also pretty bad. Don't expect to be in there less than an hour if you're buying any big products. I pretty much just go to Circuit City, Target, Fry's nowadays anywho.
I would say Don't buy anything at Best Buy over 100 bucks. First of all - they try to give you there warranties which 48 hours did a special about, turned out these so called "warranties" were useless. 2nd - When I bought a Computer there - They try to sell you a bunch of other useless crap - like a PC startup kit, They tell you must have a special kind of Surge Protector to run their E-Machines Special on. Thing costs like 120 bucks? Do you need a 120 dollar Surge Protector to run your PC?
I'm going to go with both the BBB and the AG. I definitely looked at the fine print, and actually, there's other juicy little tidbits to the story, but it was already getting kind of long for the BBS. I'll post the whole letter when I get it drafted. Thanks for the input; hopefully I'll get some changes made; I think this would benefit all consumers.
and how come when they are trying to sell you this damn warrantee they ALWAYS SAY, "Now I'm not under any obligation to sell you this OR I get nothing for selling you this OR this has nothing to do with my job here..." but they keep dogging you and dogging you about how important it is to have the freakin' warrantee. Some guy in the speaker section, after me denying the warantee for like 4 times, just nodded his head like I was stupid and walked away, "alright then...". MAAAAAAN, F-U!
I still remember the fiasco I went through at Best Buy in 1995 where they lost a stereo I tried to get repaired. After about 7-8 months of fighting them (because they had lost it somewhere during the repair process), I finally got "in store" credit. Since 1995, I think I've only bought 2 or 3 things from there and they were all $50 or less. The only reason I got them was because I needed them quick. If I only have to pay a bit more elsewhere, I'll definitely go elsewhere. I'd rather not give these goons my money. Hope you get your problem solved, Pole. The BBB is fine, but I doubt they'll be able to do much. I'd contact them as well as the Attorney General.
Grats on walking. I hope you made a big scene and put doubts into other customers' minds about buying from them as well. Instant rebates, mail-in rebates, etc are all crap and it sucks that we have to deal with it. Thanks for the warning to everybody else: if the process seems unduly complicated, it's because they are trying to screw you.
I like Fry's, as well, but there is a certain irony to recommending Fry's since there is a large contingent of people who decry Fry's marketing tactics (often not having what they advertise. Speaking of, in every ad in the Dallas Morning News, there's an ad for a 17" monitor for $88 after rebate. I've been several times on the day the ad came out looking for that monitor and they never have it in stock) and other things about their store. I remember finding some website one time with literally thousands of complaints against Fry's. But I've never had any problems other than never being able to get that monitor (and I finally gave up and bought a Dell monitor there that had a lower upfront price but a smaller rebate, which is probably better anyway since that meant I paid less sales tax and was out-of-pocket less upfront). Of course, I also but stuff at Best Buy all the time, though I rarely buy more than DVDs there (though I did get my televisions there and my DVD players and my VCRs, and my son's television).
Thanks for reporting them, Pole. I'm one of those horrible people who frame letters in their minds, but then never actually write them. Hope you get good results...
My one beef with Best Buy was one time I went in to buy a DVD player and a 300-disc CD changer, planning to put them on my Best Buy charge card. Problem was, I had paid off my card like a year before and since I had not used it in that time they de-activated it. Instead of just re-activating it, I was going to have to completely re-apply. Now this was frustrating, but only minorly. Since I was in a hurry, I didn't have time for that, but I asked to speak to a manager to let him know that I thought the policy was inconvenient and in turn poor customer service. The manager got surly with me very quickly, and turned what was only a minor situation into a major one. I emailed their customer service department and got a reply, but no real resolution. Ultimately, I think the incompetence of the manager is what made the whole thing as bad as it turned out.
The sad thing is, we can all complain about them, but they are busy heck. They've got a good thing going, really. But, Iguess I won't be buying my new computer from them.
Here's a story where Best Buy had someone arrested for trying to make a price match http://hypothermia.gamershardware.com/articles/bestbuy_gf4deal.html http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2002apr/gee20020424011358.htm
