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I have been reading consumerist (and have read enough of the best buy sucks' archives) long enough over the years to realize that I should avoid "Best" Buy with all extreme prejudice. It amazes me that people continue to do business there. Don't spend your hard earned dollars there. Seriously. Really.

Take a look at the breadth and depth of complaints at http://www.bestbuysux.org/ . If you liked 'A Clockwork Orange' you will love this site, in a 'at least this didn't happen to me' way.

I totally agree with you. BestBuySux.org is a pretty popular and well known website detailing bad customer experiences as well as the typical ex-employee willing to tell all about their three month "job of hell". I go there every couple months to read up on the latest posts if I'm in need of a laugh (or a cringe) and I don't remember reading about this secret website very much, if at all. Actually, I would bet the very existence of this website keeps Best Buy Corporate from revealing much of anything of what goes behind the scenes to the typical college student selling computers.

Given what I've heard [bestbuysux.org] about Best buy, I would venture to guess that your experience at that store is the norm rather than the anomaly. I've known people who work there, and they have had similar experiences, so the rest of it is probably true, too.

The biggest mystery is how BB stays in business when most of it's stores are primarily staffed by greedy and/or incompetent fools with only a few good people.

Thats because there's no such site as "Bestbuysux.com"

http://bestbuysux.org/

Isn't this the same company that has their employees do jumping-jacks and group chants during rah rah sessions?

http://www.bestbuysux.org/

My backing is that I work on the geek squad. If someone had said "I took MY computer to the geek squad, and all they did was format it", that would be backing.

The point was, bitching at people for anecdotal evidence is pretty silly when you're doing the same thing. I could post that I work at geek squad and make some stories up, and it would have about as much weight as what you're saying.

Of course, when it gets to the level of something like this, one starts to wonder, but that's an issue for another time.

On PSP (available at Best Buy). I've also saw 80mm DVD versions of a few movies on sale at Sam's Club around Xmas; I haven't looked since, so I don't know whether it was just a trial balloon, or whether they're available anywhere else.

I'm AMAZED I haven't seen anyone post a link to the great experiences of former (and current) Best Buy employees and customers.

That being said, I hated that job. I was in customer service and it was my job to try to explain draconian policies to customers (although our store was fairly liberal with return policies and so on). Apparently, the kid behind the counter getting paid $8.XX is the one who makes up the rules.

Every person I've talked to that used to work there and no longer does has hated it and were happy to get out. And sure, there's no commission, BUT they definitely keep track of PRP and PSP numbers as well as those MASSIVELY annoying EW/SI "free" magazine offers. If you don't sell enough of them, don't expect too many hours next week. But, since the managers get bonuses and trips and so on for having high numbers, who can blame them? *SARCASM*

Felt good to get that shit off my back. Best Buy is fairly good at screwing over their employees and their customers.

I'm AMAZED I haven't seen anyone post a link to the great experiences of former (and current) Best Buy employees and customers.

That being said, I hated that job. I was in customer service and it was my job to try to explain draconian policies to customers (although our store was fairly liberal with return policies and so on). Apparently, the kid behind the counter getting paid $8.XX is the one who makes up the rules.

Every person I've talked to that used to work there and no longer does has hated it and were happy to get out. And sure, there's no commission, BUT they definitely keep track of PRP and PSP numbers as well as those MASSIVELY annoying EW/SI "free" magazine offers. If you don't sell enough of them, don't expect too many hours next week. But, since the managers get bonuses and trips and so on for having high numbers, who can blame them? *SARCASM*

Felt good to get that shit off my back. Best Buy is fairly good at screwing over their employees and their customers.

This site says it all: http://www.bestbuysux.org/

*grin*

He mentioned "reputable chain" and "Best Buy" in the same sentence...Perchance you haven't seen This Website

http://www.bestbuysux.org/

Just make sure you decline when they offer their extended service plan or the magazine subscriptions.

BestBuy is arguably a huge and very wealthy corporation. Yet despite your arguments re libel, http://bestbuysux.org/ has been going strong for years. It stands to reason that other sites about other companies would similarly persevere. As an example, just google "Microsoft sucks" and gape in awe as page after page of possibly libelous accounts of MS's activities make themselves available for your perusal.

Max

there was more than just the ink smearing. it was that plus the fact that the bills were in sequential order. the police weren't arresting him because they thought $2 bills didn't exist. they thought there was a likelyhood the bills were counterfeit given the fact that the ink smear AND the sequential #s.

of course the poor guy explained he was a tour guide and often got stacks of $2 bills from the bank. even gave them the # of the bank to verify. best buys have horrible customer service. we all know that: http://www.bestbuysux.org/. but it was the police response that was shocking.

i guess in a town like bolesta, cops are in favor of retail stores more than the individuals since they probably pay more of their salary.

here's an article from the local newspaper: A tale of customer service, justice and currency as funny as a $2 bill. might wanna goto bugmenot to get a login to bypass registration.

For the most fun, read the employee accounts.

Best Buy Sux

I've worked a lot of retail, but this takes the cake.

Sweet! didn't even know there was such an ongoing trial. but now that the verdict is out, that means http://www.paypalsucks.com/ and http://www.bestbuysux.org/ gets to stay!

I'm surprised Best Buy Sux didn't make the list

Having worked for 'Worst Purchase' in their Service Department, I can state the exact opposite:

Not only do they encourage employees to find ways out of repairing/replacing products, but you'll find that when a repair is actually warranted, it'll be executed by a monkey who does not belong 'under the hood' so to speak ...

Set 20% more than the cost of their plans aside in an interest bearing account everytime you buy something like this. You'll come out ahead in the long run.

The PSP states that it can't be used in a business environment; so that doesn't really matter. I'm not saying they wouldn't service it, but BBY could always use it as a excuse because it IS written in the PSP.

*Wink* *wink* nudge nudge policy isn't good enough.

Batteries lose charge right away. A battery baught 1 month ago will not have the same capacity as the day you got it. But it takes four years or longer for a L-ion to become unusable ("not hold a charge"; which is what is needed for replacement under PSP).

The term commonly refering to a manu. reimbursing service companies/retailers for defective products is known as DEVO, which most manu. are part of.

Under normal use, a laptop is LESS LIKELY to fail between 2-5 years of it's lifespan. Most repairs are done within 1 year of puchasing (factory defect) or after five years (normal wear and tear). Normal wear and tear doesn't typically occur within the 3 year scope of the PSP, and factory defects show up before 1 year is over.

Finally, PSP/PRPs (extended warranties) are very profitable for Best Buy. So profitable it's percentage in sales is the major score used to admit managers in "Top Gun", the employee recognition club. It is a major component of promotions and managerial bonuses. As such it really is to benefit Best Buy and not the customer, which is why it is pushed so aggressively. Other that that the mostly useless accessories pushed with computers and laptops also benefit Best Buy. Please visit this site for more information.

For more information on how Best Buy is run internally, please visit this site. We had a discussion of how Reward Zone is a scam on the message board.

If you want to read about Best Buy and how it's run internally, please visit Best Buy Sux.

Worth the time to read.

Yeah, when I worked at Best Buy, it was an unwritten rule that we were to discourage sales to those who weren't interested in a service plan or significant accessories and save the unit for a customer who was actually interested in buying addons. I worked in the computer department, and if someone just wanted the box, which they claimed we made no money on, we were to discourage the purchase and basically ignore them. This was reinforced by the fact that we would get bitched to high heaven if someone left with a computer that didn't have a service plan attached to it, so we gladly treated customers who wanted the unit only like shit to avoid getting chewed out.

I guess it's no surprise that Best Buy is in the business to sell service plans, not equipment, though.

See here

your wish has been answered: http://www.bestbuysux.org/

click through the disclaimer, then go to employee comments on the left hand menu. lots of good stories from employees and customers.

On August 29, 2003, the Panasonic 27" television that I purchased at the Best Buy store in Columbia, MD was replaced with a model comparable in specification, according to the 4-year Performance Service Plan (hereafter PSP) that I purchased with the unit. The salesperson informed me that, under the PSP, if anything ever goes wrong with the television, I can bring it back to the store for repair or replacement. When the original unit was replaced, the salesperson informed me that, under the PSP, the remainder of the 4-year term of the PSP would carry over to the replacement unit.

Since my roommate and I found a substitute for the unit in the interim, the unit sat unmoved and unopened in my parents' house for approximately 120 days. (Yeah, I know. I probably should have checked it out, but I mean, i didn't really have the room to open this thing, especially when I didn't immediately require its use.) When I opened the unit that was given to me as a replacement, it turned out to be defective, with considerable cosmetic damage in the form of cracks and warps in the case. On January 6, 2004, I returned to the Best Buy store in Columbia, MD to have it repaired or replaced according to the PSP, the salesperson at the store told me that the PSP did not cover physical damage. I told the store salesperson that the unit was in that condition when I opened it. Then the salesperson said that the situation would be different if the unit did not function. I then told the salespeople that I did not turn the unit on, so I did not know if it functioned at all. Once it was determined that the unit did not function, the store salesperson agreed to send the unit to their authorized repair facility, saying that they would contact me when it was returned. They did not contact me. On February 3, 2004, I finally contacted the store myself--at which time I found that the unit had been in their possession for the past 3 weeks--and they told me it was repaired and I could pick up the unit. When I arrived, the store salesperson told me that the unit was not able to be repaired. When I asked for the unit to be replaced according to the PSP, they told me that I must have caused the damage myself, and that it was therefore not covered under the PSP. This is unacceptable, as the salesperson who sold me the unit and the PSP told me that if anything goes wrong with the TV, I could return it for repair or replacement, and since the full disclosure of the terms of the PSP were not given to me until after I purchased it.

So yeah, I probably should have checked it out to make sure it was ok, but I didn't really feel the need - the box had no signs of damage or trauma, was sealed, etc, etc. But that will surely be a lesson to me not to trust Best Buy ever again, ESPECIALLY not their so-called "service plan."

For more stories - FAR more offensive and appalling than this one, I might add - check out http://www.bestbuysux.org/.

http://www.bestbuysux.org/

Payback's gonna be a (mutli-million) dollar bitch, eh Best Buy?

Gives the people at http://www.bestbuysux.org/
some hope....Maybe other states will look into doing the same....Read some of the stories-it's pretty shocking.....

Last time I went in there, they treated me like a total crook, and had the blue shirts follow me wherever I went....Bastards!

-thewldisntenuff

Those employees are most likely being harassed even worse than you were by their managers over their PSP and PRP percentages.

The horror stories I've read and experienced myself as an employee in another chain of stores describe it well enough.

I think this is the primary reason that disgruntled customers and employees have deployed a website demonstrating their disgust for Best Buy: http://www.bestbuysux.org/

On a related note, RadioShack, as equally pushy on their less supportive service plans, also has an unhappy crowd: http://www.radioshacksucks.com/

Don't blame me - I just teched there at #216.

http://bestbuysux.org/cust.html

Side 1 - people suck - have you ever read any of these "deal forums" (Fat Wallet and AT Hot Deals are two I read from time to time. Jesus fucking christ these people would walk a mile through the desert barefoot while eating salted peanuts for a fucking $10 rebate. Sometimes the "sequence of events" required to get these deals is more fucking work than just well, working and BUYING it for regular price, pricematch here, rebate there, obscure coupon code over there, print someone's reciept from some other store in some other state, and you might get a $79 item for $64 or something equally lame. I get a chuckle at the enormous lengths people will go to to save a couple bucks.

Side 2 - Best Buy sucks - reading this site is like a traffic accident complete with ripped off limbs, you can't stop looking but you know you should. The damn near criminal "support policies" they push and push and push on you, and the "piggyback" magazine subscriptions make me want to do things that would get me on the news. I'm currently getting bills from Entertainment Weekly because when checking out at BB a few months ago I let them "send me 4 free issues" just to get them to shut the FUCK up. Now they want me to pay for the stupid magazine like I give two drops of spit about EW (ew is right).

I don't know who to root for in this fight... Best Buy or the "demon customers" socking it to them. Goddamn I hate rebates, I go out of my way to avoid deals involving rebates because they just PISS ME OFF so bad.

Really I'm not ranting...

Blah blah blah... Gotta shop somewhere. It might be more constructive to promote the stores we're allowed to shop than the one's we're not.

(puts on tin foil hat)

Honestly... Are they going to cause you phsyical harm? They can't call you if you are on the do not call list. Junk mail doesn't force you to open it. Phones don't force you to answer. Banner ads don't force you to click them. And all of the above can be stopped. Even junk mail. (Hint: Don't take mail out of your mailbox for 3 months. This removes you from most lists. Paytrust.com can receive your bills for you. Mail driver's licenses and such to friends/family.)

Seriously... I would love to be a Nielsen family and have my viewing habits collected by somebody, anybody. It's like being part of a democracy. Why do you think there is so much crap on tv? Partially because they don't know everyone's viewing habits. I think most of the Neilsen families must be white trash, personally.

The marketing industry can go fuck themselves. But I'm not going to deny any functionality to me, ever, just because of them. If I did, they would have already won.
The reality is I do not listen to marketing. I mute tv commercials. I don't listen to the radio. I don't read banner ads. I don't answer the phone (screen/caller id). I don't buy CDs or movies. I don't buy electronics from Best Buy (fuckers). Marketing barely affects me. Do I care if my banner ads are custom tailored to my interest due to someone "tracking" me? Nope. I'm not going to read the banner anyway, and even if I do, now it's more likely to interest me. NOT that I would ever buy anything via a banner clickthrough.

To put things in perspective, my friends generally consider me the most paranoid person they know (for other reasons), but I could give a fuck what tivo does with my viewing habits. Hopefully submits them to the networks so they can stop airing all this reality tv bullshit..... Tho.. Paris Hilton is fucking hot (gee I hope that doesn't discredit my entire post...).

BestBuy is nothing but a shit hole. When the chain came to our area, I was happy to see it because Circuit City did not cut it for me. I hoped to see a better selection, lower prices and somewhat educated sales people. Yeah, right...

What we have here is a complete clusterfuck that is full of high school dropouts, stupid managers and anal security folks who check my bags everytime I come there. The prices are not as good as on PriceWatch and the service is poor. In fact, I am not going to purchase a single item from them after one of the sales people told my friend that a more expensive video card had a longer life span than the cheaper one (ATI 9800 was the cheaper card in this case).

I have to admit, their initial DVD collection was impressive compared to what their competitors had to offer. But it all changed after I got a high-speed internet connection.

In short Best Buy Sucks Ass, Don't Shop There Ever!!

And on the odd chance you care here are Some more stories of Best Buy mistreating customers and employees

It's not my site, but the navigation menu was done in flash so obviously it won't appear for those who have it disabled. (Flash menus suck).

There's a direct link to the employee comments section here and customer comments here.

It's not my site, but the navigation menu was done in flash so obviously it won't appear for those who have it disabled. (Flash menus suck).

There's a direct link to the employee comments section here and customer comments here.

Not my page ... However I will agree that flash menues are horrible.

Direct Story Links

Plaintiff Samuel Kim said he unwittingly became a victim in February after making a purchase at a Best Buy store in Los Angeles with his debit card. At checkout, a store employee scanned Kim's debit card and, without any explanation to him, scanned a trial MSN compact disc and placed it in his shopping bag, the lawsuit said.

I bought an expensive $400 100-cd changer. It had video out that would display the disc you are listening to.
(And before you ask, no, it was not CDDB enabled, in fact it named the slot, not the disc, so you would have to key in 16 character for 100 slots and make sure to always keep the same disc in the same slot, sucky.)

Of course all 100 discs must be removed to transport it. And put back in in the same order. It takes a good 30-45 minutes to do so each time you took it in for repair.

I bought the 4-year extended warrantee. Supposedly this means at the end of the 4 years I would have a perfectly working cd player.

NOT SO. About 2 years in it started skipping on cds. More and more cds. Every week, a new disc would start skipping horribly. I took it in for repair. They "repaired" it. It still skipped.

Now they have a policy that after 3 repairs, you get a replacement one. So after the 2nd time I said "only 2 more times right?" Right. After the 3rd time I said "only 1 more time, right?" Right.

Finally I was coming in to replace it, and they pulled their shit on me. The policy only replaces your cd player if they actually REPAIR it 3 times and the same part is malfunctioning a 4th time. It turns out they did not repair mine. Everytime I brought it in, they had simply cleaned the lens.

So I told them to repair it. They looked me in the face and told me it was not broken so they would not repair it. I went as far as to bring in a box of malfunctioning cds and have them LISTEN to the cds skipping and they still looked me in the eye and told me that there was nothing wrong with it and it was not going to be repaired.

Finally my warrantee expired during all of this, so I had no options. I have a $400 piece of shit cd player that is no damn good.

I had taken my cd player into best buy a total of 6 times. I had unloaded and reloaded 100 discs 6 times (that's 1200 cd operations). I had kept track of all the discs in my changer and what date they started skipping. The total amount of time spent was well over 12 hours, plus I had insane skipping for almost a year. (Imagine a 4 minute song taking 8 minutes to play, while you are trying to snooze.)

I now only play mp3s. My computer controls the sound for the whole house thanks to long RCA cable runs and shitty $70 X10 transmitters that barely work across 20 feet of air. (And of course you can only by 1 receiver per transmitter, I don't know why they don't sell receivers alone so I could add the 1 missing room to the mix.)

I am now against all standalone players in the home.

I will never buy another cd player.

I will never buy another VCR.

I will never buy a DVD player. (Playstation2 is enough.)

Standalone players are a thing of the past. Your computer can play music. Your computer can play video. Your computer can do anything. We will always have computers until the day we die, of course, because we are slashdot readers.

There is no reason to subsidize such a crooked industry. I am not participating anymore and I encourage everyone else to STOP BUYING STANDALONE MEDIA PLAYERS RIGHT AWAY. It is just not worth it. They belong in the car, not in the home.

And BOYCOTT BEST BUY. Circuit City does price matching, and has (Barely) better customer service. And they aren't fucking pricks.

So to answer the question, in this case, NO, the extended warrantee is not worth it. I would still purchase one for a $1200 36-inch tv like the one I am using as a monitor right now. I would still purchase one in many situations, but NEVER from Best Buy.

I have had my cell phone "break" about 5 times now over 2 years to get a full replacement each time.

Also these things will cover your laptop battery for years. Consider the cost of a replacement battery (for most laptops this is the same as the cost of the PSP) its an insanely great deal.

Over all, I figure I have cost BestBuy about twice as much as they ever paid me :) Would I buy anything from them with one of these deals without the discount? Hell No!

Don't support such a lazy, disservice oriented company. Prod's at BBUy don't care about you or your dollar because they don't get commission - but their managers and supervisors do....

read www.bestbuysux.org for reasonss why this company sucks @$$. -LAKORAI