Sleazy Best Buy and Future Shop price match policy

[akz]

@maebach i find it opposite WM pm has been extremely painful for me. "if its not in a flyer we wont pm" is always the excuse I get lol

[oakjefferson]

@OP the policy is quite clear everyone on RFD knows it, its not sleazy. Its just part of the game.

disagree, it's designed as a marketing tool to trick/coerce (whatever you want to call it) uneducated buyers. It's pure sleeze

[nimor107]

Happened to me yesterday at BB.

I called BB CS on Sunday to price match a Sandisk SD card on amazon @25$. The lady registered everything under my name and told me to call back once I place my order online. Because there was no online availability, I had to reserve the item in store. That's what I did and picked it up yesterday. However, when I said I had it price match with Amazon, they checked online and saw that Amazon was out of stock (which was not the case on Sunday)!! They refused to price match the card because of that and I had to argue a lot with the manager...

He finally agreed to do it after a while but he acted like a jerk that doesn't give a ***** about his customers..

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/...4bc0c0f62aen02

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B007...A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB

[oakjefferson]

All these posts are proving my point - why not just get rid of price matching if you're going to do nothing but cause ill will with your customers by being a dicks about it?

[akz]

All these posts are proving my point - why not just get rid of price matching if you're going to do nothing but cause ill will with your customers by being a dicks about it?

no this does not prove your point at all, all these people are trying to PM limited time sales (not regular sales) the poster above you was trying to price match something that was instock when he ordered but out of stock when he arrived in store to do the PM. PM is a crime of opportunity if you miss it you miss it, you just got to know what your chances are. If you are expecting to PM a cyber monday/bf sale your chances are reduced to 50/50 or even less. While I agree it is a marketing gimmick it has still worked in favor of the veteran RFDers who know what they are doing not just waving the policy of the store and not really understanding it. Not to say I haven't had my share of ***** CSRs/Managers but as usual with really good deals they are YMMV.

[oakjefferson]

no this does not prove your point at all, all these people are trying to PM limited time sales (not regular sales) the poster above you was trying to price match something that was instock when he ordered but out of stock when he arrived in store to do the PM. PM is a crime of opportunity if you miss it you miss it, you just got to know what your chances are. If you are expecting to PM a cyber monday/bf sale your chances are reduced to 50/50 or even less. While I agree it is a marketing gimmick it has still worked in favor of the veteran RFDers who know what they are doing not just waving the policy of the store and not really understanding it. Not to say I haven't had my share of ***** CSRs/Managers but as usual with really good deals they are YMMV.

isn't every sale a limited time offer - and thus BB/FS can choose when and where to offer the guarantee?

[akz]

isn't every sale a limited time offer - and thus BB/FS can choose when and where to offer the guarantee?

while they can; and it can be interpreted this way this excuse is never used on regular weekly sales its just the way the retail industry is. When it is usually used is for BF/CM/3 day sales etc. (IE: you can PM boxing week items, but not boxing day) limited time offers usually also have limited quantities and is stated in the retailers flyer.

[oakjefferson]

while they can, this excuse is never used when its not BF/CM. (IE: you can PM boxing week items, but not boxing day) limited time offers usually also have limited quantities.

so they should be very upfront on the policy - we will not match Boxing day prices, or anything else. I used to work there, it's a ***** policy that is only worsened by every manager having a different version of what it means. I saw it cause more heartache (re: pissed off customers) than good. I'm not even crying about it - I'm just saying they should get rid of it because in terms of customer retention it has a negative effect from what I've seen. Lots of company's play dirty pool like this, BB is hardly alone here. But this is the kind of ***** that just drives people to window shop and then go buy online.

[akz]

so they should be very upfront on the policy - we will not match Boxing day prices, or anything else. I used to work there, it's a ***** policy that is only worsened by every manager having a different version of what it means. I saw it cause more heartache (re: pissed off customers) than good. I'm not even crying about it - I'm just saying they should get rid of it because in terms of customer retention it has a negative effect from what I've seen. Lots of company's play dirty pool like this, BB is hardly alone here. But this is the kind of ***** that just drives people to window shop and then go buy online.

the policy is quite clear, customer service isnt even open on boxing day to do PM's (but that does not mean the sales rep who is trying to sell you at FS( not sure about BB ) wont be willing to match the price to make a sale. There is no PM available on boxing day there are notices in the store most of the time as well. The policy is very upfront, retailers can not just offer something without protecting themselves; look what happened to staples when it was 150% PM policy. Like I said previously you just got to know your chances, wasting my time to goto BB/FS to PM something to save $5 rather than going through the hassle and pain why not just buying it at the retailer you are PMing from? Especially when I know that it is a special sale its not worth my time and common sense for me to not even bother trying to PM.

[oakjefferson]

Like I said previously you just got to know your chances, wasting my time to goto BB/FS to PM something to save $5 rather than going through the hassle and pain why not just buying it at the retailer you are PMing from? Especially when I know that it is a special sale its not worth my time and common sense for me to not even bother trying to PM.

agreed, that's kind of my point. people stop bother with them at all because of things like this.

[cloakster]

so they should be very upfront on the policy - we will not match Boxing day prices, or anything else. I used to work there, it's a ***** policy that is only worsened by every manager having a different version of what it means. I saw it cause more heartache (re: pissed off customers) than good. I'm not even crying about it - I'm just saying they should get rid of it because in terms of customer retention it has a negative effect from what I've seen. Lots of company's play dirty pool like this, BB is hardly alone here. But this is the kind of ***** that just drives people to window shop and then go buy online.

Go read the policy: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/wha...ee/hc1001.aspx

Our Lowest Price Guarantee does not apply to advertising errors or misprints, Boxing Day prices, special educational prices, restricted offers, mail order offers, rebates, coupons, premiums, free or bonus offers, OEM products, limited or minimum quantity or limited time offers, close-outs, liquidations, clearances, and financing offers.

For those complaining about the wording of the limited time offer part of it, it should be obvious to all of you that it applies to those 1-3 day sales where the stores put the item on for an amazing price, but only have a limited amount in stock at that price.

I work at BB and hate all the exceptions our policy has, but it is all written on the website for anyone to see before the go into the store and PM. For me, I will usually PM these 1 day deals (except boxing day) as long as the item is in stock. If the item is on sale 1 day and people line up very early to get it, but then it sells out in a couple hrs. Should someone be able to go at 6pm that day to PM it at a different store? People do that all the time here..."oh damn, I missed out on the sale, its all good, we'll get x store to PM it." If the PM gets approved, good for you, if it gets denied, then you should just be pissed that you missed out, not angry at the store for not PMing a deal that people lined up at 5am or kept F5'ing the page at midnight for.

PS: I really want to stress that im not defending BB's policy as a whole, just defending how they do have all restrictions written on the website. I would love for BB's PM policy to be as open as ME's, but that is not going to happen anytime soon.

[kjkoz]

Go read the policy: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/help/wha...ee/hc1001.aspx


For those complaining about the wording of the limited time offer part of it, it should be obvious to all of you that it applies to those 1-3 day sales where the stores put the item on for an amazing price, but only have a limited amount in stock at that price.

I work at BB and hate all the exceptions our policy has, but it is all written on the website for anyone to see before the go into the store and PM. For me, I will usually PM these 1 day deals (except boxing day) as long as the item is in stock. If the item is on sale 1 day and people line up very early to get it, but then it sells out in a couple hrs. Should someone be able to go at 6pm that day to PM it at a different store? People do that all the time here..."oh damn, I missed out on the sale, its all good, we'll get x store to PM it." If the PM gets approved, good for you, if it gets denied, then you should just be pissed that you missed out, not angry at the store for not PMing a deal that people lined up at 5am or kept F5'ing the page at midnight for.

PS: I really want to stress that im not defending BB's policy as a whole, just defending how they do have all restrictions written on the website. I would love for BB's PM policy to be as open as ME's, but that is not going to happen anytime soon.

Question: I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Sll on Nov. 17 for $99.99 (and I got gift cards for activation). Today the phone is $0.00. Is it appropriate to price match the current price? Apparently, some people have done it successfully, but I am reluctant as I don't want a big hassle at the store. Do you think the price match policy applies? Thanks for your input.

[manmanny]

This also happened to me. I purchased a TV for 2500 10 days ago. Today its 2300 with the coupon. I called and they wouldn't make a price adjustment.

So if I returned it, and repurchased it, I'd save $100 (not 200 because 2 x $50 delivery fee).

If they don't give me $200. I'm returning the TV.

Its funny they are not matching $2300/- price. They used to do it. Sad they are not honouring it.
But I have not bought the items in store for long time. Its always on Boxing day.

[manmanny]

Question: I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Sll on Nov. 17 for $99.99 (and I got gift cards for activation). Today the phone is $0.00. Is it appropriate to price match the current price? Apparently, some people have done it successfully, but I am reluctant as I don't want a big hassle at the store. Do you think the price match policy applies? Thanks for your input.

Nothing wrong in asking. You dont ask they dont give you. My experience is you have chance to get it back.

[cloakster]

How much were the gift cards, have you used them yet? In most cases for this, you will have to return the gift cards unused and they will refund the $113 back to you. If you have used the gift cards, I honestly don't know what they would do. Most logical thing is to ask for the difference back. Lets say the gift cards were worth $50 total, be nice about it and ask for a return of $63 ($113-50).

Nothing wrong in asking. You dont ask they dont give you. My experience is you have chance to get it back.

+1