Best Buy Bastards! I don't want a freakin' replacement plan!

The BBQ Pit
1

After years of nagging by my friends, I finally decided to buy an XBox. This was in no way coincidental with the fact that I had $80 worth of gift cards to Best Buy. So I walk in and grab an XBox and an extra controller and proceed to check out. The process went like this:

Clerk: “Would you like the two year replacement plan with that? It’s only $xx dollars?”
Me: “No, thank you.”
Clerk: “If anything goes wrong with it for any reason, you just bring it back.”
Me: “No, I’m probably gonna mod it anyway, so your plan would be useless.”
Clerk" “Well, if you mess it up, you can just bring it back in for a new one.”
Me: “No, I could not. I’ve read the plan before. Trust me, I DO NOT WANT IT!”

With that last statement, I stared right into the clerk’s eyes. There was an awkward silence (or was it an enchanted moment?) for a few seconds and he finally said, “okay.”

I thought that was that, but sadly, an assistant manager walked up."

Manager: “We offer a two year replacement plan for that.”
Me: “I know. I don’t want it.”
Manager: “It only comes with a 90 day warranty.”
Me: “I don’t care. I DON’T WANT IT!”
Manager: “That warranty only covers 90 days from the date of manufacture, not purchase.”
Me: “Resorted to lying, have we? Tell me, what is it that makes you think you can change my mind? I DO NOT WANT IT!”

Manager started to say something, but before anything got out, I gave him the fiercest look I could muster and quietly said, “Now you’re really starting to piss me off.” He got the classic deer-in-the-headlights look and barked at the clerk, “Make a note that he didn’t purchase the plan!”

As he was walking away, a couple of customers behind me started cheering, and one yelled out, “Hey asshole! Why don’t you open another fucking register instead of harassing the customers!?” Which, naturally, garnered quite a bit of applause. (I wish I had said it)

Sigh. I’ve had less stressful days at car dealerships.
Oh. Since this is the Pit:
Shit piss fuck cunt bitch fuck suck my dick, goodnight!

2

Go, Spartacus, go!

3

My husband works for a competitor of Best Buy and is required to do the same thing. Try to sell the replacement warranty. The managers/general managers have threatened, fined, yelled at, etc the employees about selling it. There have been a few times the managers have run off the customer by harrassing them to buy that damn plan, thereby hurting the sales numbers of the employees. When you are on commission that hurts the employees paycheck. I remember one time the general manager actually said out loud that if you can’t sell the warranty then walk the customer. His reasoning? It would keep the total sales numbers in line with the warranty numbers. :rolleyes: Then he turns around and yells at the employees for not meeting their sales quota.

I don’t fault the employees of the stores for trying to do their job. I fault the damn corporation that mandates they force feed the customer something they do not want.

Money grubbing assholes.

4

I’ve had good luck with my patented ‘Man, if it breaks I’ll just buy another’ line. Works well for expensive items.

Oh, and I always give them the ZIP code and phone number I had when I was 8 years old.

5

I bought a replacement plan for my ps2. Worked nicely since the machine stopped working about a year later.

The company sent me a Best Buy voucher for 300 bucks (price I paid), which was very cool, since by then the system had dropped to 200.

Mmm. Free games.

6

ANOTHER Best Buy thread? Jeez, I’m never buyin’ anything there again.

…and whenever anyone asks me for my phone number or zip code, I just tell 'em I’m homeless. With a straight face. And if they look at me funny, I give’m my “Go on, challenge my statement, asshole,” look.

Works every time.

7

I’ve yet to get hounded by the clerks about the insurance plan. They usually ask once and that’s it. Sometimes they don’t ask, but maybe those are the non-commisioned ones.

8

The hounding at our local Best Buy is fairly gentle. I will note that we’ve actually bought the service plans a few times.

At first, we followed the advice of “only buy them for stuff you tend to drop” like digital cameras. We’ve been awfully glad we bought them as we’ve certainly gotten back our investment. But we’ve spent a lot of money replacing computers and electronics that have been fried during power surges (despite surge protectors, etc), so we have, somewhat selectively, been purchasing them with some new products. I hate to reward their obnoxious salesmanship but for us some of these plans make sense.

Otherwise, I just say "Thanks, I am aware of the risks. We’ve bought them for some products, but we’re not interested today. " A firm tone and level-headed gaze is usually enough. I do feel sorry that the sales staff are required to pitch them so hard.

9

I was glad I bought the replacement plan on our PS2… so for 40 bucks I got a new PS2 when my seven year old dropped the first one.

Bought a new plan on the second one as well…

10

Having worked at Best Buy, Circuit City, and a couple other similar places, I can honestly say that this is an ignorant thing to do. The zip code thing is harmless, to begin with, because it’s just data tracking. Who comes how far for what, and where new stores should be put. The end.

As far as your phone number, address, etc… I’d really recommend just giving it to them. If the time comes that you need to return whatever you bought, and - lo and behold, like about 75% of the people I worked with back then - you’ve lost your receipt, if you’ve not given them your phone number/address/whatever, you’re just SOL. For every customer that hated the replacement/service plan offers, there was an equal customer that loved the ability to walk into customer service and say “Hi, this $200 DVD player I bought is having problems, and I’d like to exchange/return it. My phone number is 555-555-5555.” and immediately have it taken care of.

I can remember at least 2 instances where two different people came in with very expensive items (as in, over $300) and tried to return them for problems they’d had. Unfortunately, neither gave us their phone number when they bought them, and the receipts were “somewhere in my car or in my house or somewhere”. Sucked for them.

11

Well, then, what’s the zip code for Hell?

12

If you’re really adverse to giving your zip code, for whatever reason you have, then just tell the store clerk “I don’t want to give out my zip code.” In the two stores I named, we were told that “I don’t want to give out my zip code” equals “enter 99999”.

If they don’t like that answer, then just say “99999”.

If they don’t like that answer, then just give them the damn zip code.

13

Personally, I don’t give a rat’s ass what they use it for. I simply refuse to give any of my personal information to them. I’m there for a transaction: I give them money, they give me merchandise. End of story. If they want anything else out of me, I’m willing to listen to what they’ll offer me for it. If they just want me to give it to them, fuck 'em. It’s the principle of the thing. I’m not there to make their lives easier, or to help them with their market research, or to ensure that their databases are complete. I’m there to buy something. That’s it.

14

Right, and as is the case in an area not too far from where I live, too few zip codes for the area were recorded to justify the low income the store was making, so the store is closing.

So, as long as you continue to just make your purchases and not tell them that you live around the area and continue to shop there, you can just hope that the store will always be there.

15

Preach it, Brother Smeg! It’s not my duty as the customer to spend my valuable time (yes, even my minutes are valuable, you’d know that if you ever saw my schedule) prattling on about all of my personal information, (which, especially when you pay with a credit card, is encoded on said card) just so best buy knows were to put THEIR stores. Let them pay for market research like everyone else.

As for the replacement plans. I bought one with my iPod. I’ve been treating the thing like an old baseball glove since I bought it, and it refuses to break. I’ve dropped it more times than I can count, and it’s still ticking. I’ve got another year on it, and I’ll probably have to run the damn thing over with the car to get it to break, so that 30 bucks will get me brand new iPod.

Outside of that, I almost have to scream NO! STOP! FIRE! to get the schpiel to stop once they get going. I just bought a Linksys Wireless router from them about a month ago. 30 bucks, a mere pittance, and for 1/3rd of the purchase price, they tell me i can buy a plan to replace something that I will install once and forget about. I understand that you’d like to sell me the plan, but like the judge told me…

NO MEANS NO YOU LITTLE BASTARD!

erm…nevermind that…and fuck best buy :wink:

Oo. I love preview.

Says caphis…

Hey, no margin, no mission. Though if you lower the margin, the mission might still exist. Perhaps it’s not the role of the customer to be marketing guides, perhaps it’s the role of the company to insure such minutiae are properly addressed.

And if they ain’t someone else will be. Best Buy ain’t the only dog in the fight caphis, competition is king.

16

Someone else might be, yes. However, if there’s only one store in the area, they’re not likely to be competing with anyone for prices anymore.

I don’t know about you, but it takes me less time to say “23239” than “I’d prefer not to give out my zip code.”

17

Fuck 'em. What are they going to do if I don’t give them one? Not sell me something?

Actually, for me it’s a moot point. Since the Lost Computer debacle of 2001, I haven’t step foot in a Best Buy and I never will again.
So, again I say, fuck Best Buy.

18

Boo fucking hoo.

19

I have a lot of reasons to hate the local Best Buy, as I used to work there.

The manager in question was probably giving the employee a hard time for not selling any replacement plans. Feel sorry for that guy.

20

Jesus Christ, I don’t owe the store anything. If spending my money at the store isn’t enough for them, then I hope the door doesn’t hit them in the ass on the way out of town. I don’t have to do their market research for them too. I resent the intrusion, they can get all the info they need from my credit card. If they want my zip code, I always say 20500, which is Dubya’s right now.