# Best Buy Bastards! I don't want a freakin' replacement plan! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 22, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501 "2004-05-22T07:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/21 "2004-05-22T20:51:19Z")
> [@caphis](#): > > 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.” It takes even less time to say, “no”. And silently wait until they see you mean it. Works every time for me. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/22 "2004-05-22T21:06:49Z")
This is the first time I’ve ever had this kind of difficulty with them. I know that replacement plans are how the employees make commission, so I was only mildly irritated with the clerk for being so persistent. However, that manager just about ruined my day. It’s a damn shame I love that store so much. Ugh. > [@FilmGeek](#): > > The manager in question was probably giving the employee a hard time for not selling any replacement plans. Feel sorry for that guy. I shop there a lot and know most of the clerks. I had never seen this kid before. That would be a hell of a way to start a new job: Trying to sell me a replacement plan. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/23 "2004-05-22T21:10:25Z")
> [@caphis](#): > > 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. Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Are you trying to have us believe that the low producing store would have been saved if only they had more demographic data? If the store had been a good producer would they still have closed it because of lack of data issues? If you believe that, I have a great replacement plan to sell you…oh, never mind. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/24 "2004-05-22T21:19:01Z")
My zip code (and the one I used when I didn’t feel like hassling people for zip codes when I was in retail) was always 90210. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/25 "2004-05-22T21:25:08Z")
I forgot to mention. This had been the first and only time I’ve been harrassed to this extent. Usually it’s just a simple, “would you like the replacement plan?” When I say no, they continue on without any further mention of it. [hijack] By the way, did any of you here know that the _Game of the Year_ edition of **Halo** is incompatible with the original release version for system link play? We discovered this last year when some friends tried linking two XBox’s with different versions. They ended up having to call Microsoft to see what was wrong and support told them that the versions weren’t compatible. So, knowing this, I spent a good portion of my day looking for an old copy of **Halo** at all the used game shops in town. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/26 "2004-05-22T21:27:49Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > I forgot to mention. This had been the first… Heh. I did mention this in a prior post. Of course, I didn’t notice until after I hit submit. :smack: I swear I’m not a post whore! ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/27 "2004-05-23T02:32:17Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > This is the first time I’ve ever had this kind of difficulty with them. I know that replacement plans are how the employees make commission… Best Buy employees are not on commission. They haven’t been since the transition to “Best Buy” from “Sound of Music” back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Vaioman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ecccb3/32.png) [@Vaioman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vaioman)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/28 "2004-05-23T03:02:03Z")
> [@Brainiac4](#): > > Best Buy employees are not on commission. They haven’t been since the transition to “Best Buy” from “Sound of Music” back in the day. At the store I work at (EBGames), we aren’t on commision either, but we do get spiffs for one thing, replacement plans. This could be the case at best buy as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/29 "2004-05-23T03:03:30Z")
> [@Vaioman](#): > > At the store I work at (EBGames), we aren’t on commision either, but we do get spiffs for one thing, replacement plans. This could be the case at best buy as well. I worked at Radio Shack (very briefly) and we got spiffs, too. I didn’t push them very hard, though. ---
**Author:** ![lel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8797f3/32.png) [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/30 "2004-05-23T03:15:45Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Well, then, what’s the zip code for Hell? [48169](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan) ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/31 "2004-05-23T03:28:30Z")
> [@Brainiac4](#): > > Best Buy employees are not on commission. They haven’t been since the transition to “Best Buy” from “Sound of Music” back in the day. I thought that they got bonus money based on how many plans they sold. I shouldn’t have used “commission” there, I guess, since that really isn’t accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/32 "2004-05-23T03:34:53Z")
> [@lel](#): > > [48169](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan) :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/33 "2004-05-23T06:21:27Z")
> [@caphis](#): > > 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. Allow me to join the chorus and say that I have a hard time seeing how this is a bad thing. I can think of at least a dozen of this type of store within 15 minutes’ driving distance of my house. Best Buy is already at the bottom of the list when I’m going out shopping. Hell, for 90% of the things they sell, I’ll usually do my shopping online, anyway. Go ahead and close! Just means even more of my money will be going to [deepdiscountdvd.com](http://deepdiscountdvd.com). ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/34 "2004-05-23T14:46:27Z")
The rude asshole that rang up my ipod at bestbuy offered to throw my reciept away since I wasn’t buying the replacement plan! I now drive out of my way to avoid shopping there. Check out: [www.bestbuysux.org](http://www.bestbuysux.org) there is a section for employees as well as customers. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/35 "2004-05-23T16:50:45Z")
> [@caphis](#): > > 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. Fucking bullshit. \*\* _It’s none of their goddamn business where I live_\*\* And frankly, I just plain don’t believe it’s “just data tracking”. Bullshit. Great slimy puddles of bullshit. I don’t want the fucking junk mail, the telemarketer phone calls, and all the other happy horseshit that comes with “just data tracking”. > [@](#): > > 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. Boo fucking hoo. I keep my reciepts. I have receipts for shit I bought in 1977. Maybe YOU believe the partyline… but I don’t. Give out personal information and the next thing you know you’re getting harassed at home and not just the store to BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY. I’ve seen it happen too many times to trust ANYONE who says otherwise. This is why I still use old-fashioned cash for a lot of purchases. So the motherfuckers can’t sick the goddamned telemarketers on my ass. And if the fucking store closes? I’ll go somewhere else. Or buy it off the Internet. From someone who doesn’t fucking lie about their intentions. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/36 "2004-05-23T17:36:41Z")
> [@caphis](#): > > 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. There is lots of solid reasoning here. I’ll bet many Best Buys making big profits have shut down _because they couldn’t prove their sales derived from the immediate area._ And the rest of you who are so casual about the idea of stores closing will be singing a different tune, when you go out someday soon and there is not a Best Buy on every other corner. Hah! ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/37 "2004-05-23T19:02:25Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > And the rest of you who are so casual about the idea of stores closing will be singing a different tune, when you go out someday soon and there is not a Best Buy on every other corner. Hah! Yea, really! You guys know how hard it is to find electronics these days? Why, we only have Target, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, CompUSA, Radio Shack, [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)… If this keeps up, we may only have a Best Buy on every THIRD corner! Who’ll be smug then? ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/38 "2004-05-23T20:39:54Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > 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) :dubious: Gotta put my 2 bits in on this passage. This sounds suspiciously like something you would have liked to have happened but which actually did not. My guess is that you got frustrated with them pushing the plan and most of what you say in this post is the exchange that you wish would have happened. I’ll bet the reality is that you left frustrated without saying anything beyond the usual "No. I don’t want it. " ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/39 "2004-05-23T22:03:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Fucking bullshit. > \*\* > _It’s none of their goddamn business where I live_\*\* > > And frankly, I just plain don’t believe it’s “just data tracking”. Bullshit. Great slimy puddles of bullshit. I don’t want the fucking junk mail, the telemarketer phone calls, and all the other happy horseshit that comes with “just data tracking”. Okay, first: if they were asking for your _address_, they’d know where you live. But since they’re asking for your \*zip code \* (in this example), they don’t. Last I checked, I couldn’t use your zip code to call you or send you mail. I need a little thing called a phone number for the first, and an address for the second. Second, whether or not you want to believe it, it really is data tracking. They (like any retailer, especially big ones) want to know about their customers so they can make predictions about them. Part of understanding you is knowing where you live – at least roughly (by zip code) – so they can figure out how far you drive to go to a Best Buy. That tells them interesting things. If you shop at a Best Buy that is not the one nearest to you, that might indicate you’re shopping near where you work. Or it might indicate that you have a preference for one over another – not all Best Buys are the same. Also, knowing whether there is a Circuit City or a Target that you could have shopped at instead is a useful piece of information. Getting the picture? There is a real, valid reason why companies want to know information about you that doesn’t automatically mean they’re going to inundate you with crap. For one thing, Best Buy doesn’t do outbound calling. They do mailings to “preferred customers” (my wife is on that list), but you’d hardly object to that, since it’s simply postcards offering to let you into the store an hour early on certain days, or a discount on a given weekend. Or maybe you would object to that, I guess. I certainly wouldn’t. You’re pissed off. Hey, you can be as pissed as you want. But don’t let go of your grasp on reality. Try to stick to ranting about things that are really problems. Pushing the service plan over your objection is a problem. Asking for your zip code ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501/40 "2004-05-23T22:37:48Z")
> [@Stinkpalm](#): > > :dubious: > Gotta put my 2 bits in on this passage. This sounds suspiciously like something you would have liked to have happened but which actually did not. > > My guess is that you got frustrated with them pushing the plan and most of what you say in this post is the exchange that you wish would have happened. I’ll bet the reality is that you left frustrated without saying anything beyond the usual "No. I don’t want it. " LOL. When I showed this thread to a buddy at work, he asked, “are you sure that’s all you said?” Of course, nothing I say here will convince you that I’m not fibbing, so believe what you will. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-buy-bastards-i-dont-want-a-freakin-replacement-plan/246501.md?page=3)