Best Buy Admits Secret Web Site

[Firefighter Z]

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/business/story.aspx?content_id=9d862420-c4ab-4015-b110-a0a7f1c6a2aa
Best Buy Admits Secret Web Site

United Press International


U.S. consumer-electronics giant Best Buy Inc. has a secret Web site that can block customers from getting the lowest prices, a published report said Friday.

A company spokesman who first denied its existence acknowledged it was real after being contacted by the Connecticut attorney general, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported.

Best Buy is cooperating fully with the attorney general's investigation, spokesman Justin Barber said.

When in-store customers inform Best Buy sales people of a cheaper price on BestBuy.com, they can be shown an internal Web site, which looks identical to the public Web site but does not always show the lowest price, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said.

Best Buy of Minneapolis insisted its policy was to give customers the best price.

Although we have an intra-store Web site in place to support store operations (including products and pricing), we are reminding our employees how to access the external BestBuy.com Web site to ensure customers are receiving the best possible product price, the company said in a statement.

[2SLOW]

boooooooooooooooo thats some dirty corruption rite there!

[Firefighter Z]

Yeah that is, 99% discount on all items would be great though LOL!

[animal]

Just another reason I buy nothing from BB.

[ProjectCamaro]

Just another reason I buy nothing from BB.

Exactly

That's just low and stupid.

[Feature Pony]

go figure, they suck anyways. They tried screwing me so I started getting mad and yelling needless to say they cashed in all of my $150 gift cards and gave me cash and then I walked!!

[Reverend Cooper]

sux but hey gotta give it too them fot the ole college try

[Holeshot]

I learned a long time ago BB sucks ass. any electronics are bought online.
Tiger Direct, Zip zoom Fly, Newegg ......

[MoreTorque]

Its not exactly a "secret" website. When you walk up to the kiosk in the store and click on the BestBuy.com link, it takes you to a version of the site that lists in-store pricing. This is great because it helps avoid confusion with customers seeing all different prices since they are already in the store.

If someone wants us to match a lower BestBuy.com price or offer, it is policy to match it. Any associate can access the real BestBuy.com to get the "internet only" advertised price.

The problem with this system is that probablly only 20% of the employees actually know there is a difference between the kiosk BestBuy.com and the internet BestBuy.com. This leads to them denying customers the lower internet price because they are trying to verify the price against a site which lists in-store pricing only.

To those who aren't Best Buy shoppers, come visit me up at the new store in Kohler (Exit 123 on I-43). I guarantee I will change your opinion on Best Buy.

[Neal Steffek]

Its not exactly a "secret" website. When you walk up to the kiosk in the store and click on the BestBuy.com link, it takes you to a version of the site that lists in-store pricing. This is great because it helps avoid confusion with customers seeing all different prices since they are already in the store.

If someone wants us to match a lower BestBuy.com price or offer, it is policy to match it. Any associate can access the real BestBuy.com to get the "internet only" advertised price.

The problem with this system is that probablly only 20% of the employees actually know there is a difference between the kiosk BestBuy.com and the internet BestBuy.com. This leads to them denying customers the lower internet price because they are trying to verify the price against a site which lists in-store pricing only.

QUOTE]


That would be the lack of training Best Buy gives it's employies.

[QUOTE]To those who aren't Best Buy shoppers, come visit me up at the new store in Kohler (Exit 123 on I-43). I guarantee I will change your opinion on Best Buy.

Don't think you could. Not to be a jag but there are a few BCM members here who used to work at BB. Myself included. It is a great place to work if you want to just go there and turn your brain off and not think about what you have to do, becasue there is someone always thinking for you. Basicly there is no sales people there, just people who can work the register and get stuff down from a shelf.

+1 for you for putting up the good fight though. :thumbsup

[badass88gt]

Wow, cant say I'm suprised though.

[Waver]

This is funny, as best buy is my stores biggest competition (office max) as far as electronics. For us to match a price online or another store, we tell people to print out the ad and come on in, and we will give it to them (as long as it is the same price) On certain items the associates, supervisors and management, can reduce the price further.....For us it is sales, because officemax is not the first place people think of for computers.

However we tend to hire people with a brain at my store....cant say for the other ones lol

[CPonyGo]

I concour- I don't like shopping BB- sales ppl are infrequently around the areas they need to be at and the prices are higher than most....why come in with a price match..thats more work for the consumer..BB has the consumer looking for the best prices and if they don't and land in the BB store they pay dearly...WalMart kills them for inks and papers and such..even online products..Office Max surprisingly does a great job at pricing...

I hadb't been to a BB in a while and slipped into the new one at Mayfair..turned off by the lack of sales to customer support or the amount of sales ppl standing around avoiding...

I also agree on the Newegg- one of the best places to go for electronics..

careful on my landing as I am now jumping off the soap box..lol

[Heat Seeker WS6]

Brandon is one of the few Best Buy employees that actually will do the right thing for a customer for the right reason without trying to screw someone else in the process. He is worth a trip up to see & work with. Unlike the majority of others there and elsewhere, he is very knowlegeable on what he is selling. I've worked with him on several large projects while at BBY and have never been steered wrong.
I however, with Neal & a few others have legitimate gripes with BBY and in both of our situations, lost our fights to the money hungry giant. Not going to rant about about them here & now. Im never going to make another purchase there again and if someone I know wants to, I'll direct them to specific people only to make sure they are taken care of properly.

[Nix]

What is Newegg?

[GRM-REPR]

I go to bb, i research what i would like and go and buy it. i make it a point never to ask any employee for help cuz throughout the years, they have done nothing but make themselves act like incompetent salemen...

[Heat Seeker WS6]

I go to bb, i research what i would like and go and buy it. i make it a point never to ask any employee for help cuz throughout the years, they have done nothing but make themselves act like incompetent salemen...

While working there as an installer, I've sent many customers into the stores with hand written lists of specific things of what I need them to buy for thier theaters (term used loosley) and the salesman would STILL sell them something else they thought 'was better', good clearance priced, or what was on sale that week! Needless to say, 98% of the time the sales person or overzealous manager who has even less of a clue on whats going on trying to be the hero would sell the wrong thing and I would have to send the customer BACK to the store again to get what I need. By then I would have called the store and advised the manager have have no one talk to that customer about ANYTHING- just hand them what I need them to buy and walk them to the service counter and get them out the door. Don't even tell them we sell soda & candy, because by that point even that would've been the wrong kind for them too.

[GRM-REPR]

While working there as an installer, I've sent many customers into the stores with hand written lists of specific things of what I need them to buy for thier theaters (term used loosley) and the salesman would STILL sell them something else they thought 'was better', good clearance priced, or what was on sale that week! Needless to say, 98% of the time the sales person or overzealous manager who has even less of a clue on whats going on trying to be the hero would sell the wrong thing and I would have to send the customer BACK to the store again to get what I need. By then I would have called the store and advised the manager have have no one talk to that customer about ANYTHING- just hand them what I need them to buy and walk them to the service counter and get them out the door. Don't even tell them we sell soda & candy, because by that point even that would've been the wrong kind for them too.


You touch on a very good point. I was always disgusted how I'd go in there when it wasn't busy and end up talking to one saleperson, and he/she would be clueless. Then they would offer you one product, while another salesperson would butt-in and say, "No, try this, its a bit more pricey, but its better."

WTF? Thats when you need to figure to check up and research shit yourself. If they still mess things up after an employee writes down specifically what the customer needs, and still messes up, there is a serious training deficiency in bb stores nationwide....?

[Waver]

when I am selling someone somthing, I wont hesitate to tell them if the item is crap, or if the printer will cost them more in ink than the cost of the damn printer.....of if a computer is just plain crap....it pisses me off when people push the junk because they can sell more of it because it is cheep....cheep is not always better or cheep in the long run

[PB86MCSS]

The salespeople definately don't have the best interest of the consumer many times. I worked at BB as a lowly merch ;) part time while finishing college, I couldn't take being in sales of any kind unless it was maybe real estate...that was my take. And the trying to add on plans, promotions, netflix crap to each sale.....the *complete solution*, heh. And the morning meetings....ugh.

Not a bad place to work, especially part time. Overall nice people, great discount and could be fun at times. But some sales people had no clue or didn't care about the consumer.

[Neal Steffek]

when I am selling someone somthing, I wont hesitate to tell them if the item is crap, or if the printer will cost them more in ink than the cost of the damn printer.....of if a computer is just plain crap....it pisses me off when people push the junk because they can sell more of it because it is cheep....cheep is not always better or cheep in the long run


Now this is where being a TRUE sales person and a best buy sales person comes into play. Again, don't take this the hard way but you do have the Best Buy training in you.

A best buy sales person will just tell someone what they think of a product, where as I will listen to the customers needs, give them some options on a product that fits there needs and make sure it has all the options they are looking for. Just because a certain computer is the cheapest one on the shelf does not in any way shape or form make it bad. If I was looking for a computer for my 90 year old grandmother who was going to use it for just e mail, then the $399 computer is perfect. If the sales person tried to sell me up on it, weather the computer IS a better buy is irrelevant. I don't need to waste any money.

It's all on sales skills. I was lucky to have tons of it and use it to help people. Some people have none, and are just warehouse shelf stokers and they work at Best Buy. It's just the truth. No hard feelings.

[Waver]

Now this is where being a TRUE sales person and a best buy sales person comes into play. Again, don't take this the hard way but you do have the Best Buy training in you.

A best buy sales person will just tell someone what they think of a product, where as I will listen to the customers needs, give them some options on a product that fits there needs and make sure it has all the options they are looking for. Just because a certain computer is the cheapest one on the shelf does not in any way shape or form make it bad. If I was looking for a computer for my 90 year old grandmother who was going to use it for just e mail, then the $399 computer is perfect. If the sales person tried to sell me up on it, weather the computer IS a better buy is irrelevant. I don't need to waste any money.

It's all on sales skills. I was lucky to have tons of it and use it to help people. Some people have none, and are just warehouse shelf stokers and they work at Best Buy. It's just the truth. No hard feelings.

oh I know what you are saying, however a lot of my customers ask me what my opinion is on a certan machine/computer, and I go off of what I have read, seen returned, ect....and I never show a customer somthing that has more than what they want...no matter if it is a camera or a computer....I never worked for best buy before, infact, I come from a different school of selling all together. Office max is my first retail job, and before that I did door to door sales of coupon books to help wheel chair basketball.....I have found that honesty and not over loading the customer with features that they will never use helps retain the customer, and makes them more open to your opinion because they trust you more. I also dont hesitate to cut people deals if it gets them to buy from us.

On a side note, and I dont mean to come off as cocky or full of my self, but the way I sell things is the reason why I am now a supervisor (after one year) and one of the top sales people in the district

[Neal Steffek]

I know one thing we can all agree on. I HATE it when old people bring in a consumer reports mag. Why in the world would you listen to a magazine as oposed to me who has sold computers for almost 15 years? :flipoff2:

[Waver]

I know one thing we can all agree on. I HATE it when old people bring in a consumer reports mag. Why in the world would you listen to a magazine as oposed to me who has sold computers for almost 15 years? :flipoff2:


agreed......

[CPonyGo]

I know one thing we can all agree on. I HATE it when old people bring in a consumer reports mag. Why in the world would you listen to a magazine as oposed to me who has sold computers for almost 15 years? :flipoff2:

LOL- My dad isn't that bad but he does read those and I have gone against the grain of what that stupid waste of paper says and have been happy...

[Waver]

you know, no matter what those magazines say, no electronic item lasts forever. Hell when a giant like hp says that the average lifespan of any printer is about 3 years, then it goes to show you what those magazine ratings really mean......infact, arnt their ratings baised on what the response they get back from current owners?

[PB86MCSS]

It's all on sales skills. I was lucky to have tons of it and use it to help people. Some people have none, and are just warehouse shelf stokers and they work at Best Buy. It's just the truth. No hard feelings.

Not sure if thats meant as a dig...

I guess I fell into the people who have no sales skills, therefore was a shelf stocker :rolleyes:, not that I actually prefered to be off the sales floor during my illustrious time at Best Buy taking up space there while finishing school for something a wee bit better ;).

[Waver]

Not sure if thats meant as a dig...

I guess I fell into the people who have no sales skills, therefore was a shelf stocker :rolleyes:, not that I actually prefered to be off the sales floor during my illustrious time at Best Buy taking up space there while finishing school for something a wee bit better ;).


There is nothing wrong with that, somtimes I just logistics stuff all day if I dont want to have to deal with customers that day....Somtimes the idiocy of people and the lazyness gets to me

[Neal Steffek]

There is nothing wrong with that, somtimes I just logistics stuff all day if I dont want to have to deal with customers that day....Somtimes the idiocy of people and the lazyness gets to me

Wow, I am the same way.

There are days I want to help people every second, and then there are days where for no reason, I really wish I could work in the warehouse.

[Waver]

exactally.....my fave question asked is "do you work here?" answer no, I just wear the office max uniform and name tag because it looks cool.......god I wish I could say that

[Neal Steffek]

exactally.....my fave question asked is "do you work here?" answer no, I just wear the office max uniform and name tag because it looks cool.......god I wish I could say that

No, most asked question is "where is the bathroom" :rolf

[Waver]

Usually when some one asks us that they are trying to steal somthing