That’s pretty unethical, isn’t it?
Best Buy is only good for actually playing with the machines and helping arrive at a decision. Buy at Costco or online, but never buy at Best Buy.
Do you actually believe this or do you just like making stuff up?
I’m not going to defend Best Buy as the best place to buy a laptop but when I see blatant lies about them it just irks me.
Best Buy employees DO NOT get commission or bonuses for add-ons. Kudos yes, preferred hours yes, possible future promotions yes. Monetary reimbursement absolutley not.
Just coming in to confirm that Best Buy employees do NOT get monetary bonuses for selling things, including add-ons.
Yup.
You have to look real closely at the specs of the machines. Often one or several aspects are downgraded for a budget model that looks identical to the original.
Best Buy had a Sony laptop I was interested in for $650. The salesman told me he thought it was a unit that was going to be a Black Friday doorbuster for $400. We examined the specs and sure enough the original model had a Pentium Core 2 Duo while the budget model had some type of Celeron/AMD dual core.
Okay, thanks.
Just checking, it’s hard to know sometimes when you’re just a brain in a jar.
As far as the OP’s story goes:
Was filling out some paperwork a requirement before they would sell you anything? Or was it optional?
No, I mean literally the same item with the same SKU.
Don’t have one. Too easily abused (will power when it concerns spending money on… pretty much anything is a lesson hard learned and mostly learned, but one I’m still learning).
Doesn’t cash have the same danger? Do you just not handle money at all? Or is it the ease of use that comes with cards that worries you?
They tried to tell me it was mandatory. Upon revisiting the same store earlier today, I politely but firmly informed them that if they wanted my business, it was in no way mandatory for me to give them any of my personal info.
It’s too easy to accidentally spend money I don’t have when I have a credit or debit card. Cash, however, is right there in my hand, and I can see when it starts dwindling down at an alarming rate.
Truly, financially speaking, I’m a bit of a dumbass.
Good for you. A business needs my personal info if I’m writing a check, because they need to know that I’m me and I didn’t just swipe those checks out of someone’s house or purse. If I’m paying cash, they don’t need my info, but they can use that marker to determine if the cash is counterfeit.
Businesses might WANT my phone number, but I never give it out, unless I’m paying by check. They absolutely do not NEED my phone number, because they are going to use it to telemarket, no matter what the clerk says. I’ll sometimes give my zip, but never my phone number. And if I can’t make a purchase without giving my phone number, then I’m not making that purchase.
Bought numerous notebooks from Best Buy without extended warranty, and never filled out a form. Can’t imagine what the need would be.
I’d call the store manager for an explanation. This possibly sounds like some store managers or regional managers bright idea to track the demographics of who is purchasing from the store.
You don’t even have a debit card? How do you exist in this world?
I actually believe this, but even if I was making it up, the two aren’t exclusive of one and other.
i didn’t say they get monetary commissions did I? I said there are bonuses.
If I had meant to say “they get larger paychecks” i would have said that, I would have said they’re on a tiered pay plan system. I did not say that. I said they get bonuses.
yeah, i was thinking the same thing.
I don’t know how you manage, but good luck and wow.
Very true. I work for a hardware manufacturer, and the parts going into a computer we sell to HP that goes into a computer that gets sold direct from HP, direct from Best Buy, or direct from WalMart are not necessarily the same part - even if it has the same “specs.”
Best Buys buyers are pretty good at driving the best quality part for the price - their reputation is as an electronics retailer. WalMart is only interested in price and spec - their reputation is lowest price.
This is how it should be handled!
Giving out wrong info keeps your phone from ringing.
Telling the company that they will lose your business if they require personal info hopefully raises the red flag at corporate, and stops this stupid practice.
So now for the real question. How many times did they ask you if you wanted the extended warranty?
I seriously doubt they would have forgone the sale if you refused to fill the form out. Best Buy is in the business of making money, not collecting personal information—even if, ideally, they’d like to do both.
But then you wouldn’t have been able to turn on your heel and leave in a huff, I suppose.
Did this mysterious paperwork have any sort of title on the page?
Rebate form? Geeksquad service form? Kapersky antivirus subscription? BestBuy reward zone membership?
My guess would be the reward zone membership which if that is the case he did a piss-poor job of telling you what it was. It’s in no way mandatory but is just a way for them to track what you purchase and where you live for marketing purposes. In return they give you a $5 gift card for every $250 you spend and mail/e-mail you advertising/offers.