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Best Buy Offers Bogus "3D Sync" Service
Token_Internet_Girl writes "Fewer than two weeks after Best Buy offered the first Full 3D HDTVs for sale in the US, its latest Sunday circular (3/21/10) promotes a Samsung 3D TV deal consisting of a 55" 3D TV, 3D capable Blu-ray player, 2 pairs of glasses, a Blu-ray movie and Geek Squad delivery and installation. The ad states the service includes TV and Blu-ray player set-up, connection to your wireless network and 'sync your 3D glasses for an amazing experience.' The package price lists the 'geek' services as a $150 value. The offer's only problem is that there is no such thing as syncing 3D glasses. They sync automatically." Here's Best Buy Corporate's response to this hilarity.
Best Buy Responds To “3D Glasses Syncing Service”
(March 23, 2010) We asked Best Buy’s media relations department last week why Best Buy’s Geek Squad offers a fictional 3D glasses syncing service? (link to our original story). Below is the corporate response.
“I wanted to address any lingering confusion about the characterization of services support in the Best Buy Samsung 3DTV offer that was advertised in yesterday’s (March 21) insert. We by no means intended to confuse our customers or offer fraudulent services. The offer is new to our stores, and our own employees were trained on it just this past week.
Let me clarify the services that are included with this offer. Geek Squad will:
1. Set up and connect your TV + up to 5 components (Blu Ray, Cable Box, Satellite Box, etc )
2. Add your internet enabled Blu ray/Gaming Console or internet enabled TV to your existing wireless network so you can access online content such as Netflix and Pandora.
3. Make sure your 3D glasses work – some solutions we sell need TV settings adjusted so that 3D glasses are enabled – there are both 3D and non 3D settings for viewing
4. Review and teach you how to use all of your new gear.
We have some customers who aren’t quite sure how the 3D glasses work, or that the glasses automatically sync with their new 3D TVs. So we wanted to convey that they can depend on Geek Squad to answer their questions during installation and set-up. There is no additional charge for this – and the Geek Squad 3D installation and networking services are included in the total price of this offer.
You know we’re as enthusiastic about 3D as you are, and equally committed to help educate consumers about how to get the most from this home entertainment experience.”
The last thing I need is for people to walk into my house and see me sitting on my couch wearing some goofy looking glasses.
You know how like... some things don't look as ridiculous if several people are doing it at the same time (like, dancing, for example)? Well 3D glasses don't change that. A whole theater full of people still look individually absurd in a way that their numbers somehow do not correct for.
Erm, so you're saying that actually they're not doing anything wrong, because this is a legitimate service they're offering - i.e. charging $150 to tell people they need a clear view of the TV to use their glasses to... watch the TV. I'm pretty sure that people will already figure out they need to see the TV to watch it, 3D or not, is your post sponsored by BestBuy or are you hoping to cash in by offering a $99 service?
Agreed. There are plenty of instances where dumbing-down technical descriptions of what us technology-savvy folk are doing edges into falsehood. Sometimes to explain things to the uninformed you have to condense to the point of being easily misunderstood by others in-the-know.
The consumer will interpret that "syncing" thing as "doing whatever techno-wizardry is necessary to make sure the purchased stuff Just Works (tm)". The technician will basically test for DOA, or make whatever minor adjustments (ie. take off the packing foam) are needed. Syncing. Good enough.
No sign of intent to mislead or defraud. Alarmism.
"Oh no... he found the
Maybe, if this was an isolated incident with Best Buy. But a quick search on Best Buy, Geek Squad, and Ripoff will get quite a few hits. I'd love to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but this is a bit of a pattern with them.
The margins on selling electronics are painfully thin (ask CircuitCity). Creating a misleading "oh but that's not how we meant it" as they sell low value for the money services is a common thread for electronics retailers.
Chances are someone in the marketing department saw this and added 'syncing' of their own accord. They saw a buzzword, didn't know what they were talking about and made the ad accordingly. I doubt this was intentional fraud, and their answer sets the record straight on that. As one version of the old saying goes, "never attribute to malice that which is simple incompetence". Hopefully best buy will learn and have someone who is technically savvy review things in the future. After all who hasn't occasionally seen something like a dual core 2Ghz chip advertised as 4Ghz or a system advertised as having 1TB of memory?
Syncronization doesn't simply mean making things have the same time. It also means to make things *happen* at the same time. In this case, I'd assumed their "syncing" service to be making sure your glasses are properly shuttering in "sync" with how the player is broadcasting. Something that should happen automatically, and apparently does. And since the glasses are tied to the TV, they're paired automatically as well. It's not a case of "incorrect verb," it's a case of "falsely reporting what the service offers."
They don't need to pair the glasses, they don't need to make sure the glasses are operating at the correct timings. It's a rip off.
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
Finally got to read BB's response, and it sounds like a cover. They were full of shit, got called on it, and then decided to go whole-hog and cover their asses. I don't buy it. They already said "We'll set it up and make sure everything works," so they didn't need to mention "syncing" 3D glasses, and the differing responses from employees tells me they didn't fucking bother with any sort of training, or even an explanation.
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
Read the article not just the blurb....
"HD Guru called three Best Buy stores. After confirming each employee received training on 3D TVs and installation services, we asked them to explain the process of “syncing” the 3D glasses. We received three different but oddly similar responses.
Blue shirt one said the glasses need to be synced with the Blu-ray player. The second geek referred to the 3D glasses needing to sync to the player via the USB port within the glasses, an impossible feat as there is no USB port on the glasses. The third stated the need to acquire the glasses’ IP address to sync with the Blu-ray player. There is no IP address for 3D glasses; they have no connectivity to the Internet or network. The Samsung battery powered glasses “sync” to the 3D content wirelessly via an infra-red pulse emitted by the TV."
Best Buy has a consistent record of the same issue. How you choose to look at it is one of three things. 1. Their "experts" are worthless and don't know anything, 2. They are intentional trying to defraud consumers, or 3, they assume consumers are all retarded and wouldn't understand something explained to them in clear English. You can choose the one you want to believe. One or all of them are true.
"Great masses of people will more easily fall victims to a great lie than to a small one." -Hitler Question everything.
If it's not a conspiracy then there's no story, and if there's no story, then why are you here?
Now put your tinfoil hat back on and get in line with the rest of us!
We were promised cake if we just stand on this moving walkway.
Man, if only bullshit was source of income. What a second, I feel a political career beginning!
My work here is dung.
"24K gold-plated connectors help protect the cable's optical lens to ensure consistent signal transfer"
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketfish%26%23153%3B+-+8'+Digital+Optical+Cable/8315147.p?id=1174694191675&skuId=8315147&st=optical
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Hold on, I'll be right back after I sync my mug with the coffee machine.
http://dilbert.com/2010-12-13
Best Buy is the worst of all the computer/tv/tech stores I've purchased from. They charge for ridiculous 'products' and 'services' that are little more than outright scams. They have been indicted for some of them. Their prices are terrible, and they outright lie about matching others prices. This IS NOT your usual non-techy "I bought the wrong part" or techy "I know better than you" complaint. The complaints against Best Buy have to do with their criminal behavior.
http://consumerist.com/2007/05/best-buy-employee-confesses-to-scams-similar-to-ones-outlined-in-racketeering-lawsuit.html
http://bestbuyscam.blogspot.com/
http://digg.com/tech_news/Yet_just_another_Best_Buy_scam
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/11/04/best-buy-scams-hdtv.html
http://gizmodo.com/241220/best-buy-admits-they-scam-in+store-customers-with-secret-website
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-bar-tender/2009/10/lawsuit-best-buy-lies.html
http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2007/03/buyer_beware_best_buy_caught_t.php
Seriously, Best Buy is evil. Do not shop at Best Buy.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
> He's a witch! Burn him!!
WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Does he weigh as much as a duck?
Well, he SYNCS like a duck! Burn him!!
Well, only the usual attempt to mislead that underlies most marketing. By using words that make the process sound more technical, they help convince naive buyers that they need this service. A more honest description of the services offered would probably inspire slightly fewer people to buy it. Hence, the attempt to mislead is intentional, but not especially severe.
Wait, wait, you need to paint the room matte black so those photons don't bounce off the wall and enter the wrong lens by mistake! That's why they make the screen border and all your home stereo equipment black, you know!
If the 3D effect isn't working, make sure the cable isn't kinked. (Like a garden hose, it causes data flow problems if the cable is kinked.) If you're using the component cables, they have to be rotated JUST RIGHT or it doesn't work. I know it's a hassle, but spend the time and you'll get the absolute best picture you can get!
*tips hat to parent poster
3D TV = Laser disc. 10 years from now we'll see these things sitting in goodwill and laugh our asses off.
Best Buy is a multi-billion dollar corporation that can well afford copywriters. You can bet they don't make "poor choice(s) of words" when they're writing the fine print on their overpriced extended warranties.
To suggest that this was just a "whoopsie" is absurd. Funny that the "poor choice of words" costs the customer an additional $150. How often do you think they made a "poor choice of words" that was in favor of the customer. And believe me, if that ever happens, there's going to be one out-of-work employee.
Plus, this roll-out of the "3D" televisions is supposed to be one of the most anticipated product category introductions for them. Retailers like Best Buy are betting on a huge wave of "trade-ups" to 3D and they're counting on it saving their bottom line for years to come.
The notion that they'd make an "innocent" mistake that happens to mislead customers to pay an additional $150 stretches the imagination.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Wearing the glasses upside-down or the wrong way round would cause incorrect left/right shutter sync and resultant loss of 3D effect.
Anyone that would buy a TV from Best Buy must have limited intelligence, so Best Buy thoughtfully provide the glasses-sync service where they permanently epoxy the glasses to your head in the comfort of your own home. This value-for-money service prevents later user-error so ensures users will always get the full "amazing experience".
This helpful service is already under attack from other tv manufacturers as they have identified it as anticompetitive due to the implicit vendor lock-in following installation.
Checkmate.
Bestbuy has a constant track record of trying to confuse customers with computer terms so they will fold over and pay.
Claiming the IP has to be synced is 100% BS because there is no NIC or USB port on the glasses, so saying the BestBuy computer experts (which i use loosely) were confused on the new technology is a cover up.
Since when does being a Socialist mean 'someone who has a different opinion than me'?
I hope this doesn't hurt the Geek Squad's reputation.
A 3D movie is intended to be an immersive experience. Not background entertainment. If you want to use it that way, just turn the 3D off.
I, for one, am sick of people treating movies this way. If you're not going to commit to the screening, then fuck the hell off, and don't disturb the people who are watching the movie.
... and then they built the supercollider.
The $150 isn't just for the "sync glasses" service, it's primarily for delivery and installation of the TV. ... and then they built the supercollider.
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I love how your sig goes with your comment, sorta.
$ make available
There is clearly an intent to mislead. Using the term "sync" rather than "unpack it and make sure it works" is clearly intended to make it sound like something you can't do yourself because you're not a 3D TV geek. The idea is to inflate the perceived value of the unpacking and turning on service.
From Best Buy? That is an alarming development. I don't think I have ever had an experience with that chain which didn't involve either of those value added services.
Go on, then, and when the police arrive tell them what lead to you calling. You'll be lucky if YOU aren't charged with wasting police time. "Officer, I entered these private premises to buy a product for them, but they attempted to sell me more than I was looking for. Rather than leaving the store, I called 911."
Sounds like a Social Adjustment Disorder...