Did BEST BUY make the right decision?

[shortbun]

Smart move? The policy is obviously there to limit some kind of loss for them. I doubt they've taken such a rigid stand without upper level management weighing the cons. So, even though that policy keeps me from buying things as gifts there( I usually buy ahead of time), it's evidentally in their best interest to put this kind of limit on returns. Did you talk to a manager? I would have quietly and politely asked to see one.

I gotta ask ya. When your daughters ask you to change a rule for them-a well placed one-because they are SUCH GOOD DAUGHTERS, will you do it or maybe because they say they can't think of a good reason for that rule? We all have to live with rules. I hate them too. Get ready, 'cause your daughters are going to team up on you and you will HAVE to stay as firm as Best Buy did with you today.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Just to head off any repeats of this incident, let me put out the warning now.. Circuit City has a posted 30 day return policy as well.

The store was in the right. They have to draw the line somewhere. 30 days is 30 days. If they extend it for one person they have to extend it for another. Doesn't matter if you spend $100 or $1000, because once again, where do you draw the line while keeping everyone happy? If you make exceptions for customers that spend $1000 a year, does that make the customer that spent $999.50 a year less important? So yes, Best Buy made the proper decision.

And the saying "Rules are made to be broken" is bunk. It's about as true as the saying "Broken cookies don't have any calories". Everyone knows it's not true. Broken cookies in large enough quantities will make you gain weight and broken rules will get you in trouble. If you don't believe me, try speeding down a major highway and when you get pulled by a cop, tell him that rules are meant to be broken. And I don't think telling him you are a frequent traveler on that road will buy you any grace either

 

[cardaway]

I gotta ask ya. When your daughters ask you to change a rule for them-a well placed one-because they are SUCH GOOD DAUGHTERS, will you do it or maybe because they say they can't think of a good reason for that rule? We all have to live with rules. I hate them too. Get ready, 'cause your daughters are going to team up on you and you will HAVE to stay as firm as Best Buy did with you today.

Good point. Wonder if there will ever be a response.

 

[summerrluvv]

Yep you could have, but they have drawn the line at 30 days... seems reasonable. You knew the exchange policy, or shopuld have, becasue you were such a frequent shopper there.


I guess you missed my point about the router being submerged.

To make it easier, lets just pretend that it could have somehow been damamged, damage that would not be apparent until someone hooked it up (or atempted) to their system. Water damage, pins/ports broken... whatever.

...but all that could happen the day the person bought it no? They could switch their own broken router with the new one. Most stores have 90 day return policies these days and I'm surprised BB doesn't. That stinks for holiday purchases that early shoppers make!

 

[summerrluvv]

Just to head off any repeats of this incident, let me put out the warning now.. Circuit City has a posted 30 day return policy as well.

The store was in the right. They have to draw the line somewhere. 30 days is 30 days. If they extend it for one person they have to extend it for another. Doesn't matter if you spend $100 or $1000, because once again, where do you draw the line while keeping everyone happy? If you make exceptions for customers that spend $1000 a year, does that make the customer that spent $999.50 a year less important? So yes, Best Buy made the proper decision.

And the saying "Rules are made to be broken" is bunk. It's about as true as the saying "Broken cookies don't have any calories". Everyone knows it's not true. Broken cookies in large enough quantities will make you gain weight and broken rules will get you in trouble. If you don't believe me, try speeding down a major highway and when you get pulled by a cop, tell him that rules are meant to be broken. And I don't think telling him you are a frequent traveler on that road will buy you any grace either

Speeding is against the law, not against the rules. Rules are meant to be broken and if they weren't, they would be laws

 

[sydally9367]

Although it's not the "right" thing to do, couldn't you technically go back to BB in the next day or so, say you lost your receipt and you made the purchase a few days ago? If the item is still on the shelf for the same price, I think BB Customer Service would do a store credit or exchange. Again, I'm not advocating this, but if you really want to return the item and it's past the 30 day return policy, this might be a way around it.

 

[Missy1961]

I worked in retail 25 years ago. And this will make you all shudder...but the return policy was 7 days! Just thought I'd throw that in there for fun.

 

[Nancy]

This is part of the problems of alot of these "giant" coperations. They don't care about the customer. It's all about rules and guidelines and the bottom line.

If this had a been a privatly owened store or maybe even a smaller one where the manager and employees knew you, you probably could have returned it, without questions. Because they would have known that you were a good customer.

Best Buy doesn't care if you are a good customer or not, they only care about making a profit.

I don't blame you for not shopping there again. There are plenty of other stores that would love to have your business.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. And as long as there are those that will shop there regardless of how bad the employees are, or their customer service, because they like the prices then they will continue to be that way. Hey, it's the way of big business. I prefer to take my business and haed earned money to stores where they still believe in offering customer service. It's what I do at work everyday and what I expect from those I do business with. Anything less means I don't shop there anymore.


Circuit City has taken returns from me after the 30 days were up, manager was very, very nice.

Daughters have had the rules bent and changed over the years, they earned it and sometimes we make exceptions to the rules for special things.

 

[poohandwendy]

It's about as true as the saying "Broken cookies don't have any calories". Everyone knows it's not true. Broken cookies in large enough quantities will make you gain weight and broken rules will get you in trouble.

Now, was that called for? There is no reason to bring the cookies into this. I like the cookie rule and I am standing by it, so there!

 

[escape]

Who did you talk with about the return? A cashier, supervisor, or manager? A cashier typically doesn't have much, if any, leeway to make exceptions to the rules. In that case, it does make good sense for the cashier to stick to policy, because it protects her job.

If you spoke to the manager, I would have expected a little more flexibility. Assuming you were courteous and reasonable in your behavior and language.

I had to read through all the responses before posting mine. Whew!

Does their policy make sense? Yes and no. I agree with the post above. I can understand the policy but I think they could have had more flexibility in your situation. And yes, big corporations can be flexible. As others have said, their policy lends itself to dishonesty. If someone was told that with a receipt he could not return the item but he later found out that he could return it without a receipt, then this person might be inclined to try to return the item elsewhere...without the receipt. I'll bet that happens a lot. So, with this in mind, their inflexibility in certain situations doesn't make sense but it's the policy.

I had an issue with BB once. Several years ago, I bought a computer from them and, on the same day, I bought a game for my DH. I went home, got the computer set up, loaded the game and the game didn't work. I unloaded the game and reloaded it...thinking I did something wrong and it still didn't work. I took the game back and I was told that since that game had been opened, I couldn't return it. They tested it on one of their computers and it worked. I took the computer in to BB, had a computer technician try to install it on my computer and the game still didn't work. But, that was not their problem. I was out ~$40. To this day, even thought they were technically right, I do very little business with them. Do they miss my business. Nah!

 

[C.Darwin]

Good point. Wonder if there will ever be a response.

probably not.




betcha he will be back at best buy by the end of the weekend and in a month, he'll be back here boasting about what he bought and how much he spent there.

 

[cardaway]

betcha he will be back at best buy by the end of the weekend and in a month, he'll be back here boasting about what he bought and how much he spent there.

 

[Charade]

See, THAT makes sense........

I guess "the customer is always right" theory is long gone.

Sure, to you it does.

Ok, so now go back as see if you can return it without a receipt. They will most likely give you store credit and you can then drop the other $90 for the other item you wanted.

So how is this any more "honest" than waiting until the Christmas return period?

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Now, was that called for? There is no reason to bring the cookies into this. I like the cookie rule and I am standing by it, so there!

Okay, I'll amend my rules for PAW. Broken cookies don't have calories for her because she put up a fuss and has a high post count on the DIS

 

[TCPluto]

Speeding is against the law, not against the rules. Rules are meant to be broken and if they weren't, they would be laws

I could be wrong, but I don't think Best Buy has the power to enact anything as law.........

I don't think my boss believes the workplace rules are meant to be broken either.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Speeding is against the law, not against the rules. Rules are meant to be broken and if they weren't, they would be laws

Ahh but if you look up law on dictionary.com, one of them definitions is any rule or injunction that must be obeyed: Having a nourishing breakfast was an absolute law in our household. and when you look up rule, one definition is 10. Law. a. a formal order or direction made by a court, as for governing the procedure of the court (general rule) or for sending the case before a referee (special rule).
b. a legal principle.
c. a court order in a particular case.


Close enough for me to not tell a cop that and for me to appreciate that a company's rules are basically their law

Unless they are serving calorie free broken cookies then the whole thing is out the window

 

[jipsy]

I went to return a router today that I bought 7 weeks ago. It was never opened and I had the receipt. They still have this router on the shelves for the same price I paid for it. They would not accept it. so I am done there, FOREVER.

And it doesn't make sense to me at all.

1. I buy 2 CDs a week there, sometimes more ( I am a PT DJ, so I keep current with music )

2. I buy 2 - 3 DVDs there monthly

3. I have bought - within the last year - 2 iPods, 1 Creative Zen Micro ( also for DJing as storage devices ), a Dyson vacuum cleaner, computer software, blank DVDs, Nintendo DSLite,and a 32" TV. And they can't accept my return because it was bought 7 weeks ago, and exceeds their 30 day return policy?

Well, that is their right, I know. But I just paid off my BB credit card, and cut it up. When they show me a zero balance I will cancel.

IMO, not a smart move by them. And I am SURE someone could have made the choice to accept this return.

Again, I know that they have the right to do this, but do you think it makes good sense?

Considering that, most likely, the clerk who was helping you doesn't know you from Adam, much less know your spending habits, yes it makes good sense. He or she was following policy, WHICH IS WHAT THEY GET PAID TO DO. Work there. Did you have a list of the all the items you have purchased there, with receipts, to back up these claims? I run a retail store and I have people who come in all the time trying to tell me they shop at my store and spend thousands of dollars. Considering that it is my store, I know every person who shops there on a regular basis. So I know when someone is bull****ting me. There's no way a best buy clerk has any idea who you are and what you spend. And even if they did, all the stuff you say you've purchased there adds up to a few thousand dollars - hardly a reason to bend a return policy. I've spent more than you at Best Buy in the past year, does that make me eligible to receive a 14 week extension on their return policy?

30 days was ample time for you to decide if you need it or not. After reading about your computer problems and help, and knowing how much you post here, I'm sure you didn't have computer problems for long. Sounds to me like you put off taking it back to the store in the 30 day return policy. If you are really there 2-3 times a week, then I know you know the policy. It's in big bold letters behind the checkout registers. I see it all the time. Plus, they put it on every receipt.

Besides, if you wanted the refund that badly and you knew what you were doing, you would have asked for the store manager. Most clerks can't make the decision to bend the rules for someone. The manager can. If the manager didn't bend the rule for you, then he or she must have had a good reason. I can only imagine.

I can go to Circuit City just as easily. And no, I have NEVER found BB customer service to be above par. In fact, BB is notorious for not being customer friendly when it comes to customer service. I've seen them ranked as among the MOST UNFRIENDLY customer service among big retail chains.... by far.

Why would you even shop somewhere that you think the customer service is not friendly? Much less, expect them to bend their return policy for you?

The last thing I bought at Best Buy was a vacuum cleaner. I purchased it online and had the store hold it for pickup. I walked in the door and less than five minutes later I am walking out of the store with my vacuum cleaner. My next purchase from BB will probably be a laptop. And I'll happily buy it there. My experience with BB has always been excellent. Of course, I've never demanded they bend their rules for me either.

Again, I am NOT asking if what they did was legitimate, but rather, was it a smart move on their part?

Why wouldn't it be a smart move on their part to enforce their own policy? Because they lost one customer who spends a few thousand a year, maybe? You are a dime a dozen to them. Policies are there for a reason, and enforcing them is always a smart move.

I sell dated construction chemicals at my store. The return policy is 30 days for a reason - the stuff expires. I'm sure Best Buy has their own reasons for a 30 day return policy. If you are not sure why it is 30 days , hey here's a suggestion - ask them.

You state that you would feel dishonest returning the router using their no receipt policy during Christmas. You don't think that it's dishonest for you to expect them to ignore their 30 day return policy just for you because you are pompous enough to think you deserve it?

I guess "the customer is always right" theory is long gone.

The customer is not always right. The customer is the customer.

cardaway
DIS Veteran
I liked it better when things were live, I can do the math

Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Washington State
Posts: 6,690 You should have just thrown a fit like you did at Wal-Mart when they stuck to their policy and didn't want to give into you.

I must have missed this one. But after reading this whole thread it sounds like par for the course

By the way, I checked Best Buy's in store return policy on their website. The last line reads:

Best Buy reserves the right to deny any return.

I think that covers it.

 

[PrincessTiff]

see, I wouldn't do that. I would feel that is dishonest. Really.

Again, I am NOT asking if what they did was legitimate, but rather, was it a smart move on their part?

Yes it was a smart move on their part . I worked in retail throughout high school and part of college . We weren't going to bend the rules and risk losing our job just to make that particular person happy, I’m sure the BB cashier was covering their butt(for good reason). It sounds like you were a frequent customer but trust me, their not going to even blink an eye as they still have millions of customers, including myself.

 

[PrincessTiff]

Better than you throwing a Donald Duck like tantrum when you don't get your way and still trying to convince people that you know more about Wal-Mart's policies than the people who work there.

Some role model.

 

[Razor Roman]

I work part time for Best Buy... and I think it was the right decision for them.

Employees are supposed to follow the companies rules, and when they get bent regularly, people complain when they don't get bent for them. Makes out job harder to do. Everyone should be treated the same.