shopping at Best Buy.

[easymoney]

 my pet peeve is the stores that rely so heavily on rebates. why would anyone in thier right mind buy something like a computer and pay hundreds of dollars extra and hope that they will some day get thier money back. i understand the stores make a lot of money off people either not sending in for the rebate or not sending in all the information the company requires. after a few weeks you get a letter saying rebate denied, or the check will be printed on a postcard that does not look like a check they are relying on you throwing it out not realizing it is a check. >:(

[Faron]

 My mother works at a Walmart.  A customer came in the other day wanting to buy a sewing machine.  She had one left in stock, but the box looked a little rough.  She opened the box for the customer to make sure the merchandise was not damaged. It wasn't, because inside were some BRICKS.  Apparently someone had purchased the machine, replaced it with bricks, and returned it to the store.  Someone is supposed to check that kind of thing on returns, but sometimes when things are really rushed, it doesn't happen.  The customer figured if he had gotten home with the bricks, no one would have believed him when he brought them back.

[katie-did]

I have been looking for a new digital camera for some time now. I know I wanted a Kodak and the options I wanted. Did some research and found a few places that carried them. The one think that none of the websites I looked at said was what the Manufactures warranty was. So I went to the manufactures website to see of I could find it out. Well I found out that it had a 1year warrant but I also found out that I could buy it $15.00 cheaper from the company (They had them 25% off), shipping was cheaper and I received a free 2g SD card and 50% off a new printer that I was not really looking for but could really use.  8)
So when you want something don't forget to check out the manufacture direct.
Not sure how well I like the camera because I have not received it yet just ordered it Thursday but I hope it has everything in the box to start with. :

[WIwoodworker]

Hi Everyone. I thought I'd take a moment to reply publicly since the original post was public. I'm a long time store Manager for Best Buy in my day time profession and on the 26th after reading Dale's original post offered immediately to help him fix his problem even though he didn't shop in my store (even in my state for that matter).

I haven't heard from him yet but hope to soon. If anyone here knows him personally would you encourage him to read his email or his PMs on this site. My contact info is there.

Thanks.

[thecfarm]

WIwoodworker,that is some nice of you.Like I said,mistakes do happen,but we all want the problems sloved without a run around.That would keep me coming back.

[logwalker]

I think it ought to be mentioned that these policies did not invent themselves. It took people trying to beat the system and forcing the Big Boxes to do something to combat all the different ways of cheating to get where it is today. Granted, the implementation of these policies could be handled differently but it is not easy to run retail businesses in today world.  ???

[Furby]

This was on our news the other day:
WalMart MP3 Player

[jesse]

My mother works at a Walmart.  A customer came in the other day wanting to buy a sewing machine.  She had one left in stock, but the box looked a little rough.  She opened the box for the customer to make sure the merchandise was not damaged. It wasn't, because inside were some BRICKS.  Apparently someone had purchased the machine, replaced it with bricks, and returned it to the store.  Someone is supposed to check that kind of thing on returns, but sometimes when things are really rushed, it doesn't happen.  The customer figured if he had gotten home with the bricks, no one would have believed him when he brought them back.

good idea to check what is in the box from the parts stores to got some new ball joints once  one box had used parts in it 

[metalspinner]

Just came back from Lowe's with a new drill.  I made sure to open the box and check for charger and batteries.  All was there. ;)  The lady at the checkout was barely patient. :-\

[DanG]

WIwoodworker, I commend you for sticking up for your company and trying to make things right.  I hope you are able to help Dale out.

I spent many years, 34 to be exact, trying to be a good ambassador for my company and for the industry in general.   I spent countless hours trying to make customers understand why certain things weren't possible, or why things had to be the way they were.  I never lied to them or tried to make excuses for things that were inexcusable, but tried to inform them of their best options.  That is obviously what you are trying to do here.  I'm sure that Best Buy has a number of good employees like you, and they are lucky to have you.  However, a company creates a certain undercurrent of attitude that flows down to their front-line employees, by the general way they conduct their business.  This attitude is transmitted to the customers via the people that they contact directly, namely the floor clerks and cashiers.  If there is pressure from the very top to make the company always right and the customer always wrong, that attitude is reflected at the cash register and the exchange desk, and that is usually the only impression the customer gets.  A good effective manager can block a lot of this, and I have a feeling that you are one of those.  It is sadly apparent that your company has far too few managers like you.  I hope the trend will reverse itself.

[Gary_C]

Well said DanG. And I will add that many times it's the manufacturer that is at fault for trying too hard to hold down warranty costs and returns.

I am having a problem with Samsung right now over a built in microwave that failed under waranty. It took them three service calls to decide the unit was unfixable and then they told me they could not replace the unit because they "did not have anything to replace it." 

Said they could only offer a refund and they would not refund the sales tax I had paid. When I protested and read the terms of their own waranty to them, they told me my waranty was cancelled and I would get nothing. A couple of weeks later, they called back and offered me a full refund but said it would take two months to get the refund. The next day which was the friday before Christmas, UPS came with a call ticket to get the microwave and my wife refused to let them have it. The microwave does still work but shuts off if you try to run it over a minute or two.

It's now under investigation by the Minnesota Atty Generals office as I did file a complaint when they took it upon themselves to cancel the waranty when I talked back to them.   

[Norm]

I'll tell a good one myself, we have Direct TV and on the last bill was a charge for a protection plan. Now I was clear that I didn't want one but the installer had checked it and filled in my name. We called and told them to cancel it and remove the charge. They did that but added a charge for canceling it. ;D

[rbhunter]

Five years ago when we moved my wife ordered a basketball goal online from Dicks Sporting Goods. When it arrived the plexiglass back board was broken. Called the company and they said they would send out another one. The second one arrived with the same problem. We called them again and they said they would send another one. I asked if I could just return the two to a store and pick one up. They stated I could. I had the hardware already installed in the ground so all I needed was the backboard. When we went back to Topeka I took the boxes and they gave me a new one to take home. I told them I already had the pole, and they stated to just return the parts I didnt need later. (We did check the box before leaving the store and everything was fine. I never got the run around and they took care of us real well. I thought I would post a good story to go along with all of the negatives.

[Dale Hatfield]

I just got Wi Woodworkers messages today.  I sent him a message from here and explained what we had done in order to get missing parts waiting on Hitachi to ship remaining parts.
This part i find very funny and sad. On friday dhl brought me 2 small packages .One had the battery and the other had the strap.both of which would fit in eithers box which would have cut shipping cost.The carry strap had a giant red Fragile sticker on it.
Dale

[Don_Papenburg]

I purchased curved glass for a cabinet from VanDyke's of Woonsocket SD .
The glass came in two boxes Every one was broken in the first box ,looking in the second same thing.  >:( They replaced them without any hassel at all .   

[Dan_Shade]

I had an order mixed up with MSC once (www.mscdirect.com).  they somehow missed filling my order by a day or two.  They called me, apologized for the delay, and asked if I still wanted the order, which I did.  A few weeks later, I get a $50 check for my inconvenience.

Now that's a good company. some of these other places could stand to learn a thing or two from them.

JCPenney online is on my forever poo list for how they messed up an order a few years ago.

[pineywoods]

I agree with Dan_shade about MSC. Another nicey, if I specify ground shipping, I still get the order the next day at no additional cost. If they don't have it, you probably don't need it. The printed catalog is 4 inches thick..