Complaint Review: Best Buy Stores - N.Dartmouth Massachusetts

I hear it all day "I want a computer but I don't know what I want." or "Can I get some help?" (after just seconds before asking them if they need help and they replied no, so I have moved on to other customers.) I'm sick of it, I am not a teacher. People charge for answering your moronic questions, and on top of that you people come in to my store acting like I owe you something. Well let me tell you something. Buy the product from me or them. I don't care, God's honest truth. I will offer you everything with the package you are buying and if you can't afford it, well maybe you should be looking into Web TV, or an old word processor. You people are biting off more than you can chew, than go blaming it on us. It's our job and we will continue doing it till we are no longer employeed by Best Buy. This is what you people do. Research what you want before you come in to the store. Find out everything you want to know about it. Ask a few questions that you might not have been able to get answered, and then when we recommend something take it for god sakes. We aren't selling you CD's because you said you were'nt going to be creating music CD's. I mean come on people how are you going to use that car with out any gas. Annyoed employee of the consumer field of ignorance!

As it has been said above, and i wil re-iterate, there is a process which requires the customers reactions for the sale of MSN. Drivers Liscense, Credit Card, a username, and a singature are all required for this. There is now way that Best Buy is able to sign you up with just a credit card.

As it has been said above, and i wil re-iterate, there is a process which requires the customers reactions for the sale of MSN. Drivers Liscense, Credit Card, a username, and a singature are all required for this. There is now way that Best Buy is able to sign you up with just a credit card.

As it has been said above, and i wil re-iterate, there is a process which requires the customers reactions for the sale of MSN. Drivers Liscense, Credit Card, a username, and a singature are all required for this. There is now way that Best Buy is able to sign you up with just a credit card.

As it has been said above, and i wil re-iterate, there is a process which requires the customers reactions for the sale of MSN. Drivers Liscense, Credit Card, a username, and a singature are all required for this. There is now way that Best Buy is able to sign you up with just a credit card.

Yes, Best Buy uses deceptive tactics at the store level to sign people up with MSN there is no question. I've worked at three best buy stores, one at which time MSN required a paper form to be filled out and the latter two where no actual paper work was required. Best Buy receives revenue from MSN for each subscription to MSN. At the store level, a MSN signup is tracked as a d-sub (digital subscription, which includes other subscriptions). Each store has a quota for overall d-subs and d-subs contribute to the store's overall ranking. And while Best Buy salesmen don't receive commission, their bosses' jobs and promotions depend on d-subs numbers and therefore so does the salesmen's'. At my store in Austin TX, the individual in charge of attaching MSN subscriptions was the supervisor of the technician department. Might sound weird, but the technicians check computer sales out so as to give an opportunity for them to sell additional services and secure the sell of a service plan (extended warranty). The idea being that someone who speaks computer jargon well can sell something else the salesman wasn't able to. The technician supervisor mandated that every MSN attachment be presented the same way. It is also my understanding that an entire district in the State of Louisiana practices this exact method. 1- Salesman only briefly mentions the free MSN that comes with the computer and doesn't respond to any objections. -- Keep in mind, the sign up process requires a Drivers Licenses number and a major credit card. The sign up takes place before the final ring up (where cashier presses total), but within the transaction process. The customer must sign an electronic key pad, confirm the address/contact information, and confirm the user name. -- 2- At the point of sale (the cash register) the technician (or other employee) asks up front how the customer will pay. a) The idea here is that if it is credit card or check, the employee can secure the customer's drivers license on the premise of needing ID for the check/credit card. b) Also if it is a credit card or debt card, the employee can also secure the credit card he needs on the premise of simply needing the forum of payment up front (even though BB does usually ask for form of payment until the total is summed). c) If it is by check/cash then the employee must directly ask for a credit card for MSN. This is where the customer will have the first opportunity to know this is part of the MSN signup. However, most customers use a credit or debt card. 3- The employee fills in the customer's information in the MSN sign up screen, which has already been collected by the salesman and placed on a large custom receipt ticket. This is standard practice. The customer is asked to confirm if the information is correct on the electronic pad. The word MSN isn't used on this screen; it looks the same as would confirmation of customer address/contact information collected for a PSP, PRP, etc (warranties or other d-sub). As far as the customer knows, this is standard for any transaction involving a computer (which it isn't w/o a PSP, PRP, etc). 4- The employee enters the customer's driver's license and date of birth. The employee then slides the credit card or debt card through the electronic pad (usually used by the customer) or has the customer do it themselves. The more deceptive tactic is for the employee to side the credit card themselves so as to avoid any questions. 5- The customer must now sign for the MSN account. On the small electronic pad, there are several lines of wording, if the customer reads it, then he/she will know it has something to do with MSN. The preferred tactic was to simply say sign here and hope for the best. 6- Next is filling in a username. The standard procedure was to use the first letter of the first name, the last name, and then the year of birth. The customer must confirm the selection on the electronic pad, but the employee usually hits the accept button himself. 7- Finally the customer is signed up. Even before the transaction is finalized, it is impossible to reverse the MSN sign up after it has been completed. Once the transaction is complete the customer is given the MSN disk and informed, for the first time, that if they don't cancel they will be charged after 30 days. There are of course opportunities for the customer to realize something outside the norm is occurring, although many do not. The employee usually tells the customer that it's free for 30 day and it comes with the computer. Finally, the employee can resort to a normal sales pitch. The fact that the customer may already have an internet service, live outside the country, or have broadband did not deter the employees from using the same process to sign them up. More devious methods are also used, but not admitted to or mandated as the above was. These methods include, telling the customer; it comes with the computer and they can't buy the computer without it, that the credit card is only used for age verification, and putting a mark on the electronic pad for the customer's signature to avoid alerting the customer of the signup until it was completed. These were methods I personally watched the technician supervisor perform. He would also badger the customer if he was unable to pull the wool over their eyes. I watched more than one astute customer walk due to frustration and anger. Best Buy, for what ever reason, had decided to remove any physical paperwork from the MSN process, making it easy for over zealous managers and supervisors to use underhanded methods in order to sign up customers. Furthermore, it is Best Buy's own culture and lack of store level regulation which leads to its mangers/supervisors using underhanded methods in both this and other areas, most notably in the sales of product service plans and replacement plans.

I feel I must get into the debate about kids at BB. A few years ago I bought two tv's at the Chesterfield, VA store. I purchased the PSP's for both. Upon turning the big tv on, there was a problem with the picture alignment. In those days you couldn't do it with the remote like you can on many sets now. I called repair, not wanting to return the set for a simple problem and to save bb money. I was told they don't repair sets in the first 30 days and to return it. Outraged, I returned both sets and demanded a refund to then go across the street to c.city. I ran into one of those rude kids at the return desk. I had to jump through hoops, give blood and answer 20 questions. He said I was being ridiculous for returning both; all I had to do was exchange the big set. I asked for THE manager. He smirked and said he was THE manager as his voice cracked. He finally said they would have to check the set out and see if it really was defective. I heard him tell the tech not to rush. I became irate at that point and started drawing a crowd as well as a security guard who was a tad bit older. He then called me over and hooked the set up to an over-the-air antenna where of course the set performed beautifully and said there was nothing he could do for me. Only after I pointed out the large "NO HASSLE RETURN POLICY" sign did he finally back down. I also pointed out that if they had only sent a tech out to do the alignment, this wouldn't have happened. I even called different shops to see what was involved and only one said it was a difficult job; most said it would take 10-20min., so I don't think I'm out of line here. Anyway, after one hour I finally got my money back and headed over to c.city where I've shopped ever since. The only time I use bb is if cc doesn't have the item I'm looking for or for dvd's and such. I did send a letter to the home office and recv. the usual bs from bb reply. Sorry employees of bb, but you DO have many kids working there.

I work in the MSN Cancelations Department. Ok lets shed some light onto the Bestbuy scam in question. First of all, the username provided at bestbuy is almost always randomly generated, ie: [email protected] and sometimes its even as bad as [email protected] because the employee at Bestbuy really doesnt care. YES they DO have to sign that electronic form to sign up for the service BUT they are usually told: "Sign here, here here, and there), they arent going to read 20 pages of legal jargen or fineprint. Some customers who call me blatently tell me that I was told if I __DIDNT__ signup for the MSN service, they wouldnt SELL me the computer (and yes multiple customers have told me this) Luckily, however, as they have told us at work within the last couple weeks, 6 month free bestbuy accounts automatically cancel now, and you have to call back to reactivate them, because so many people complained to us, that they had no choice but to stop the scam. My question to all the readers would be this: Why pay 21.95 for dial up service when you can get dsl for as low as 24$?

As an employee of Best Buy AND a College Graduate, I find it disgusting to generalize the staff at our company as "pimple faced high school dropouts." Perhaps the Sales Associate you spoke with wasn't the brightest, or didn't have the clearest skin, but to assume he is a dropout simply because of where he works is discrimination. Mistakes happen, and perhaps this kid wasn't doing his job properly. Is that any reason for your ignorance? In my opinion, you are doing all of the staff at that particular store a favour by not going back. I just hope that you don't come into mine.

As an employee of Best Buy AND a College Graduate, I find it disgusting to generalize the staff at our company as "pimple faced high school dropouts." Perhaps the Sales Associate you spoke with wasn't the brightest, or didn't have the clearest skin, but to assume he is a dropout simply because of where he works is discrimination. Mistakes happen, and perhaps this kid wasn't doing his job properly. Is that any reason for your ignorance? In my opinion, you are doing all of the staff at that particular store a favour by not going back. I just hope that you don't come into mine.

As an employee of Best Buy AND a College Graduate, I find it disgusting to generalize the staff at our company as "pimple faced high school dropouts." Perhaps the Sales Associate you spoke with wasn't the brightest, or didn't have the clearest skin, but to assume he is a dropout simply because of where he works is discrimination. Mistakes happen, and perhaps this kid wasn't doing his job properly. Is that any reason for your ignorance? In my opinion, you are doing all of the staff at that particular store a favour by not going back. I just hope that you don't come into mine.

As an employee of Best Buy AND a College Graduate, I find it disgusting to generalize the staff at our company as "pimple faced high school dropouts." Perhaps the Sales Associate you spoke with wasn't the brightest, or didn't have the clearest skin, but to assume he is a dropout simply because of where he works is discrimination. Mistakes happen, and perhaps this kid wasn't doing his job properly. Is that any reason for your ignorance? In my opinion, you are doing all of the staff at that particular store a favour by not going back. I just hope that you don't come into mine.

I feel I have to respond to this. I am not an uneducated person who does not know what type of transaction I am engaging in. When you go to the counter and some pimple faced high school dropout asks you if you want warranty protection and you refuse, Then when they can't sell you some rubbish they complete the transaction and you sign the slip. IF I were the only one, yeah, shame on me! BUT, It took my credit card carrier to tell me what has been going on. I AM AN MSN customer already! Why would I sign for it again?? You folks (and I use the term loosely) seem to be surprised that I was not asked, I can most assuredly tell you I was not! I have no problem saying no. Just to give you an update, I got an apology from MSN and a full refund. BEST BUY is a RIPOFF and I WILL NEVER shop there again. I may even file a class action suit if there are enough people who come forward and hopefully put a dent in the unfair and deceptive practice they are engaging in. Good luck with your job!

To sign up for the free six month MSN trial at Best Buy, you need to consent to the terms in writing by signing the electronic box. Next, you need to supply a driver's license. You also need to supply credit card information. You then need to pick a user name. The employee enters the user name, but the customer must acknowledge and accept it. Afterwards, all the details are printed on the receipt. There is no way Best Buy signed this guy up without his knowing it.

what you do not realize is that you have to sign an electronic form authorizing the msn sale. if you did not sign this they could not activate the account. it seems to me that you just are either to blind to read what you sign or are just to stupid ?????