bogeydope.com — (I recieved this in an email from a friend that currently works at Best Buy. He made a copy up at the logistics counter of his store and emailed it to me verbatim. Being a past employee myself, I would have to say that this is right along the lines of Best Buy's 'tactics')
Sep 2, 2005 View in Crawl 4
rwvolkl158Sep 2, 2005
I seriously doubt that this document (or the original which he re-created if that be the case) is real. I mean, yes, the Best Buys people can be pushy, but that is a little over kill. The people in my local store ask once, I tell them no, and they stop... I've always had good experiences with Best Buy, including rebates. I wouldn't buy computer hardware there (Newegg.com), but anything else is fair game.
sludgeSep 2, 2005
When I worked at Best Buy a few years ago I felt guilty about people buying the PSP on computers so I told the how to "trick" the system. Then the managers blew up at me in the break room. I told him to "screw off" and walked out the door. What a great feeling!
sludgeSep 2, 2005
"tricking the system" got them brand new computers 3 years after they bought the PSP
ltdataSep 2, 2005
Alright, if this were to happen to me, I would look at the salesman/saleswoman and ask if I could talk to someone who would harrass me less. If that didn't work, I'd ask to speak to the supervisor. If HE starts pressing it, I would tell them they just lost a sale and leave and never go back for as long as I could help it.
ajamisonSep 3, 2005
Everything up until the outright lying to the customer ("sorry my kiosk is broken, etc") is just normal upselling. Although, I've never had this happen to me at Best Buy, especially since they're not paid on commission, so there's really no reason for them to put so much pressure on a customer to buy the plan.
jumjumSep 3, 2005
I'd rather have a fire ant facial cast than step into the POS Best Buy. LOL.
yacksOct 1, 2005
I cannot believe some people here. You complain that sales people lie to you, and what do you do? Lie back. Lets see. By damaging the product on purpose to use the ext. warranty. or by saying yes that you'll take it and then at the register say no and take it off. You are no better than the salespeople helping you. And I am in computer sales myself and I do hear other salespeople go on with their lies and it disgusts me myself, which is why I do try to stick to the level of truth. Personally, I have heard and even seen a lot of cases where the ext warranty worked out great for the customer. Nothing like exchanging at a older laptop 3+ years exchanged out for a new one. But yes there are salespeople will lie, and those you have to be worried about. there are a few out there trying to make a honest living in a not so honest position. and as for leaving if we mention it one more time, I will say this.. Go ahead.. I could care less.. a few bucks I'd lose for selling the laptop is not worth dealing with it and even more so when there is $0 commission as well because it's not worth the time. You sure can walk out if you wish.. But then I normally do not push it overly hard.. especially when I can sense that they are not going to purchase it, I just move on to the next customer.. but if you wish to use your tactics on me, go right ahead.. BTW, telling them you are not interested in the ext warranty may not be that great of an idea to start off with.. what makes you think they'd even try bothering you period? Good luck finding help when you need it because it's not worth it for them to be paying attention to you.
flossie116Jun 15, 2006
PCWorld: Are Extended Warranties Worth It?<a class="user" href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,124856,pg,3,00.asp">http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,124856,pg,3,00.asp</a>The average for all people surveyed: 71% were glad to have purchased an extended warranty.
Closed AccountSep 28, 2006
Floss - here's the funny thing. Your manager has no sense of humor. Your company has no soul. Ask once, get a negative response. Move on.After that, its harrassment on YOUR part as a salesperson.
Closed AccountSep 28, 2006
Working link (don't know for how long)<a class="user" href="http://www.hawaiithreads.com/archive/index.php/t-6517.html">http://www.hawaiithreads.com/archive/index.php/t-6517.html</a>
lionwilsonSep 28, 2006
This is straight BS. As a former (very recent) Best Buy employee, I can tell you that much of the terminology in the so-called "memo" is dead wrong.1. The PSP stands for "Performance Service Plan" not "Product Service Plan"2. The computer department is officially referred to as PCHO ("Personal Computer and Home Office"), not SOHO.3. While some more ruthless stores (honestly a few of the top in company) use these kind of tactics such as refusing to make a sale unless a service plan or accessories are attached, it is NOT official company policy.Certainly, many employees will do their best to push the service plan and in many cases it is actually a good idea considering how crappy computers are made these days, but I will say it once - if you ever go to Best Buy for a USB cable, you are a moron. You are paying nearly $40 for a cable that costs less than $2. We were always told to sell USB cables along with the printers and I was baffled at the number of people who took them no questions asked.Honestly I value the time that I had with Best Buy because now I know MUCH better how a store like that works and I now have leverage to tell friends and family what they should and shouldn't buy there.
pignanelliSep 28, 2006
knock on wood, i should say, regarding my 'no problems' comment!
tdhurstSep 28, 2006
You are a f**king psycho.
ahkumSep 28, 2006
Sounds like you have a horrible store and/or management in that store. That obviously isn't company policy, or else they would have been out of business a long time ago.Sadly, while not a franchise, I've experienced many Best Buy GMs who think they're the "Captain of their ship," and whatever they say goes. Many are far enough away from their corporate HQ that they get away from it as well. Thankfully I live near their home base now, and the BBYs must get audited much more often as they are much more behaved here! ;)
thedeuceyepOct 28, 2008
although it really does suck when the s**t fails... take my westinghouse tv, just over a year old, and I even paid 100 bucks for the surge protector... westinghouse says I'm f**ked cause i'm out of warranty... or my bros camera, he opted for the plan... dropped the s**t out of it and best buy paid
thedeuceyepOct 28, 2008
flash drives last 10 yrs on avg
neoplato130Dec 22, 2008
I really must say I think it's so stupid that some people are so angry with stores trying to sell them stuff. The point of a business is to make money. Just because their offering things you may feel you don't need dosen't mean their doing something wrong. The stores are still in business, that means people are buying them. I mean there are good services some of these stores offer. Accidental Coverage for one is really good. I bought a dell directly from dell over the phone they pushed me to get the Accidental protection for about a little less than 1/4th the price of the unit and sure enough my computer broke and I got an updated verison that was 3 times as good as my intial unit. Best Buy offers that type of service too, happened with my crappy zune. and awsome thing with Best Buy is say if you have a 3 year protection plan and 2 and 11 months(or however long it maybe,) pass and you don't use it you can get a full refund for it.Now the reason I much rather shop at a store like Best Buy other than some online site is that I can actually go into the store to get help. Sure much depends if you spend a few extra bucks on a protection plan but if it saves you more money in the long run I don't see the big problem?