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Best Buy Says Customers Not Always Right

Posted by timothy on from the they've-been-telling-me-this-for-years dept.

linuxwrangler writes "Best Buy is one of the retailers that has now decided that the customer is not always right. Best Buy consultant Larry Selden has identified "demon customers" like those who file for a rebate then return the item. OK, I get that one (hey Best Buy: dump those customer-despised rebates and you won't have that problem...). Other categories like customers who only buy during sales are more interesting. Best Buy declined comment on how they are dealing with those customers. Some stores have actually "fired" customers. Welcome to the end result of all that customer information data mining."

2 of 1,754 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not allowed to only buy on sale??? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Then don't sell anything at/below cost, or on clearance, you dumbass. If you keep everything at the same price all the time, these people won't ever bother you again.

    What are you anyway, a Best Buy manager? You sound like a total ass.

  2. Re:scammers by jmorris42 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    > There'd be nothing illegal about programming the store computer to
    > detect.... ...It's only illegal descrimination when you're
    > manipulating prices or offers based on the so called "protected
    > classes" mentioned in the laws.

    Nice idea, and in a sane world it would work. Here on Planet Earth it wouldn't. Do I really have to spell this one out and get modded flamebait or troll for my efforts? I guess since you wrote that you probably are that green... so what the hell, it is only karma.

    The problem is a damned if you do, damned if you don't thing. Certain stores in certain neighborhoods would have more of a problem with this sort of thing than those in other areas. And to be totally blunt, certain ethnic groups would be more of a problem than others. So if it were done purely on the basis of who is abusing the system it would LOOK racist and they would end up paying Jesse Jackson a couple of million to STFU.

    The only way to avoid that would be to code each customer by race/gender/etc and carefully set quotas for each 'protected class'. But how long could they keep secret the fact they are 'racially profiling' their customers? Again, there goes a million or so to Jackson & the other professional Race Baiters.

    Cheaper to just take it in the shorts once instead of twice.

    --
    Democrat delenda est