Testimonial #48: Both right, both wrong.

Hello,

I don't really know why I'm writing this, probably won't change anything. But I can't sleep so it's better than laying in bed bored I guess. Anyway, I've been a employee for a few years now and have seen most of the patterns come full circle. I read some of the hate-mail and think to myself "What morons" Using half witted insults really doesn't make them look any better. Both sides are correct on some issues though. Best Buy's not all that bad. Like any business they're there to make money. There's a reason the prices are so competitive. They don't make much margin on product. They MUST make up for it on accessories and Service Plans, otherwise they wouldn't make any money. There's no harm in wanting to make money. Yes, a service plan is a very high margin item. But if a customer ever uses it (And they do) it does save them a lot of money.

With accessories, no one wants to get home and realize they can't use their printer because it didn't come with a cable. Or it only came with half full ink cartridges. This is all done by the Manufacture, not Best Buy. Best Buy simply sells the cables and ink, and that's where they make their Money; but they get you in the door with the low margin printer.

Now, I'm a technician. I deal with all sorts of people every day. I see a lot of people get "screwed" Most of the time they screw themselves and feel it's somehow our fault. I can't stress enough how stupid the general populous is. Most of the time people just don't know how to use their product. I'm no genius, I don't claim to be. But before I bring something back to a store I...

1) Read the manual to see what I'M DOING WRONG
2) Get the receipt (That I Didn't Throw Away) If there is actually a defect
3) READ THE RETURN POLICY
4) Bring the defective item back before the return period ends

Most people do not do any of these. Then they claim to get "screwed" They feel that screaming and yelling means they're gonna get their way. It always worked with Mommy right? People don't go to work to get yelled at. When a customer comes in and yells at me I take it directly offensively. (For all you people out that that have never worked retail....You're not better than us, and have no right to yell.) In fact if you are nice I'll be more willing to work with you.

On the (about) 30% chance that a customer comes in because something's actually not working correctly, or they didn't cause it to malfunction. If they have a service plan it saves people a lot of money. Yes sometimes we have to ship things out to get repaired, and yes sometimes it takes a few weeks. I agree that is a long wait. But the company has done what it can to try to reduce that. For example the OnSite Service Plans, the In-Store Service Repairs, the DTV (Direct-To-Vender) Repairs that take about a week, and now the Platinum PSP with a guaranteed 7 day (5 business day) turn time.

In the case of the co-founder or whatever of the site with the cell phone. Yes you got lied to. That sucks. I personally talk to people about saying "It covers everything" in my store and I think a lot are starting to learn not to. Another no-no is saying "We'll just replace it" When I hear a salesperson say that talking about a PSP I want to smack them, but I just correct them. Either way you did get lied to, as far as screwed...no. Had you read the brochure you would have understood that incidental or accidental damage isn't covered. Regardless of if you had the plan or not you screen would have cracked. You got most of the money back from the service plan. Which is understandable, you did have it for a while (The Pro Rata is also mentioned in the brochure.) The only thing that happened to you that shouldn't have was that you were misled by the salesperson. If he/she had properly explained the benefits you may have purchased it anyway. In which case when your screen cracked you would already know it's not covered, therefore you wouldn't blame Best Buy for selling you a service plan that doesn't cover those types of damages. Most cases are like this. People just don't read or understand. Other people are just flat out stupid. Not in product knowledge, just common sense. Those are most of the people that claim to get "screwed

Anyway, I'm starting to get tired. Please excuse the poor structure I'm not too awake. I'm gonna go to bed now to wake up and deal with more people that feel they've been screwed all day. Hopefully someone got something out of this. If anything read what you sign, and keep your receipts. Oh and the Tech Bench is not a tech support line. If we sat on the phone and talked to you for an hour walking you through how to setup your printer the customers in line would probably get pretty pissed. Try to understand that.

See you around folks.


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