Not a fan of the B.B.. I'll go just about anywhere else. The story is too long and drawn out to go into details, but I avoid them period.

I went to BestBuy to purchase some laptops for my company. I went on a Tuesday morning during office hours so it wasn't too busy. But my wait was quite lengthy as there just didn't seem to be a lot of staff around. I finally got a salesman to help but as soon as I told him I am purchasing for the company I work for, he said I would have to wait for a sales rep that services businesses only. When I asked who he said that he was currently helping a couple that weren't business related. So there I was waiting for about another 45 minutes for the business guy who was helping non business consumers.
When he finally was free to help me I told him exactly what I wanted. I have never experienced such aggressive tactics as Best buys for their service plans and other extra services they try to sell. I told him that my company was not interested in the service plans several times. When the sales reps tactics didn't work he tried to scare me by telling me I could be charged and fined for buying laptops with the Windows Vista home version for a business. As these laptops go out of the country, overseas and are only used to connect to our terminal servers, I don't need them to connect to a domain so don't need the business version. I just said I'll take the chance. This was my first experience with Best Buy.

The best customer at Best Buy is an informed one. If you do your research you can find if they have good pricing or not. I picked up my Harmony 1000 remote a few months ago for 200.00 off the regular price. I know this because I did the research before I went to buy the item.

Sometimes Best Buy has good deals, but you have to know what you are doing... Their price protection is good, I have taken advantage of that as well, on an item on sale just a couple of days after I bought it - a Samsung computer monitor - savings was about 150.00 based on new price at Future Shop.

I shop primarily at the Surrey and Langley BC stores. It is like night and day. Langley is heads above in staff quality - some are even really well informed there. I have dealt with customer service a number of times when things weren't right and it has been resolved. The delay has been with Customer Service at the store - their call centre is very good from my experience.

Bottom line here, I will continue to shop at Best Buy - the gene pool is ever-diminishing, but they are convenient and occasionally have good sale prices. But as they always say (who are they anyway???) Buyer beware...

I was somewhat dissatisfied because that 2yr warantty thing was included and it was $49.99! I wanted iPod nano and my mom listened to it and I think she just said YES even though she didn't listen carefully, and she realized that she overpayed.

My desktop PC, which had been on the fritz recently, dropped dead on Saturday. So I did a bit of research and headed out on Sunday to look into some new PCs. The young dude at F.S. was painfully eager: a) to be my friend; b) to sell me a better monitor (even though I told him I didn't want or need one); and, c) to "work out a good deal on the price" if I took the service plan. I listened politely, then moved on to Best Buy.

The young salesman there listened to my needs, discussed the HPs I indicated I was interested in, then pointed me to an Acer that fits my bill perfectly and saves me a few bucks over the HPs. Ten minutes after we started talking, as he was ringing up the sale, he asked me if I wanted a service plan. I said "no" and he said "ok".

I left the store a very happy shopper. All salespeople should ben this helpful, and all transactions this painless. I will be sending to the manager of that branch an e-mail or letter praising the salesman.

I was looking for a Digital Camera last May.
I went to best buy because I thought they would have a good selection.
I know Nothing about digital cameras. The girl at the camera counter knew less than me about the cameras they had on display. :mad:

Open Letter to Best Buy....

I purchased a Blu-ray yesterday, July 4th 2009 at 3:56pm at your Whitby Ontario store. The cashier, a male, was quite abrupt and rude.

I asked him if I can check my rewards online and he answered in one word "yes", then I asked him if the rewards total appears on receipts, again one word answer "no".

When he scanned my debit card to pay he literally turned his back to me and stared at the wall while we waited, rather than look in my direction. I think to myself "am I hideous or something????" Once the transaction was approved he circled the survey information on the receipt (without saying anything about the survey, which I believe is Best Buy's procedure) he then handed me the Blu-ray and receipt and said "here", not "thanks" or "Thank you for shopping at Best Buy", nothing. What a jerk.

When I got home I looked on my receipt and the guy charged me too much. The Blu-ray was on sale for $9.99 according to a sticker right on the thing but he charged me $15.99. Now I have to drive back there tomorrow, wasting gas to fix his mistake.

All in all a horrible experience. One of your employees made me feel like a leper.

Did a bit of online Boxing Day shopping, and found it to be a relatively pain-free experience. There was about a 10-minute wait at the checkout queue. At one point, the server timed out, but fortunately, refreshing the page did not invalidate my existing order (as has happened in previous years).

So a positive experience on the whole.

I ordered a Christmas gift, a Shaw 1TB PVR expander, online from BB as my local store was out of stock. The process worked very well although I had to Priority Post it to get it here before Christmas. I was surprised that the order was filled out of Toronto. BB sent e-mails when the order was fulfilled and I could logon to their site to check shipping progress. I wouldn't hesitate to use this service again.

BB has the Harmony 670 remote on for $79...smokin' deal right? So, I decided to call a couple stores in my area to check availability (not gonna drive there to have some skinny punk in a blue shirt tell me they're all out!)

After about 30 mins on the phone, two different locations (Woodbridge/Etobicoke) 3 different departments/store extensions...NOBODY PICKED UP A BLOODY LINE!!! This has got to be the lamest service ever! I've been trying several times since that original 30 min window (that was around 11:30am, it's now 5pm) still no answer!!!

Now it's turned into a game...I don't even want the P.O.S remote any longer...it was for my in-laws anyway. BB is a total piece of s**t as far as I'm concerned...the worst customer service I've come across. If you're not gonna answer ANY phones, then don't provide a number morons!

I've always been a HUGE supporter of independent, family owned A/V businesses anyway. Much better customer service, value added service etc. It's always been my way of shopping, but I thought I'd try the "peasant" way of doing things...not anymore!

Once the holidaze are over, the head office is getting a nasty call from this guy (if I can get someone to answer that is!!)

Luckily, I'm on air this friday aft', so I can rant poetic over the radio about how much this company takes pipe! Just hope they aren't a commercial client of ours, or I could be in some doo-doo!!

If you hurry the website has three left.

For what it's worth, they've had hundreds upon hundreds of these remotes available on their web store for the last week solid. Maximum 3 per customer. Free shipping. Yes, stores like this don't answer their phones very well. But considering that with a few easy clicks you could have this remote shipped free to your door, not sure it's fair for you to be blasting them on the radio. Food for thought....

The point is BB has a phone number and they never answer the phone, this IS outrageous, for that reason alone I will NEVER buy from a place like that, their in-store service is just as %@# depending on the student serving you and how much money they think you will spend...


why anyone goes there is beyond all logic, no offence everyone!


i will use them only for price match/comparison!

While I agree they should answer their phone, they're hardly the worst when it comes to this. 1tribeca snoozed while 1000 people effortlessly bought remotes from the website, including free shipping. He checks in a week after the sale started and sure enough, they've finally sold the last of 1000 remotes. Nobody likes just missing out on a sale, but had did have over a week to deal with this and was too slow. It happens. Flaming them on the internet and radio just seems to indicate he's not taking any personal responsibility for his own role in this situation.

Best Buy is ok, but you have to educate yourself on what you're looking for. Don't expect their salespeople to help you beyond checking for stock.

Just say no to the warranties (and HDMI cables). I have never found them to be aggressive about the warranties, maybe it's because I chuckle as I say 'no'. :rolleyes:

I have to report my latest experience at this retailer. I think this is my longest post EVER. :p

I recently purchased an item from this retailer but it was one of the most frustrating and annoying experiences I have had in a long time. So let me start.

I decided to purchase an item for my home theater that was recently on sale. I went to their online website to place the order. The website indicated Out-of-stock online but 1 store in my area still had stock. I was given the option for an in-store-pickup. I placed the order with the in-store option. I received the confirmation email. Then about 2 hours later I received the FILLED email indicating my order was ready to be picked up. I should note that the store with stock happened to be about 30km away from my house.

I printed off both the web-page of the item and my FILLED email and headed out to the store. When I arrived I handed the printout to Jane (not her real name). She went into the back and about 5 minutes later appeared with Tom and a trolley (I will get back to the trolley later and why it was not necessary). Anyway, she and Tom examined my print-out thoroughly, parted ways and she said she had to go pick-up the item from the floor. I offered to help since she was now alone but she said no thank you.

Another 5 minutes later Jane and Harry the floor manager appeared with an empty cart. Harry explained that their was a "glitch" and it was a mistake in the price. I asked them why I was not notified and why I had received the FILLED order email. The word glitch was used extensively in his explanation. After about 5 minutes of back-and-forth I was bumped to the Sales Manager. Harry left to fetch Dick the Sales Manager. 15 minutes later Dick appeared and asked if he could help me. I started over again and he quickly pulled out their price error policy. I realized that they had spent that time finding and printing off the policy. Dick basically said they do not have to honor any price if it was an error.

I decided to keep gently insisting and I think out of frustration he said I had to call the retailer. I asked for a phone and the number. I called re-explained I had received my FILLED in-store-pick-up email and now the store refused to sell me the item at the website price. Dick asked to talk to the website rep. He quickly stated that the price was too low and it was an error. They spent 10 minutes on the phone. At one point Dick asked the rep to mail the item to my house. I could tell by the expression on his face Dick was not happy, especially towards the end of the conversation. The rep asked to speak to me again. He said the store HAD to sell me the item at that price. I repeated this to Dick and he repeated that he would NOT sell me the item at the website price. The rep said he would sell me the item at that price but it was out of stock online.

Obviously flustered at this point I asked the phone rep if I had any recourse short of calling the police (obviously joking). He said he would have to send it to HEAD OFFICE. As soon as I repeated those words Dick turned! He asked to talk to the phone rep again and asked that Head Office not get involved. He agreed to sell me the items but first he would need to talk to his associate or assistant manger. Huh!!! Anyway, I decided to remain on the phone just in case there was a last minute change of mind by the store. Dick then seemingly forgot about me and picked up a scanner and started scanning items from a box. I actually had to ask him again to get my speakers without anymore delay. The website rep apologized for the behavior of the Sales Manager and could not explain why the store manager was being so defiant. the rep said "it is not a price error" and there is no note in the file about it being an error.

Well another 10 minutes elapsed before Dick finally returned, informing me he had to call the GM to get authorization!!! Yes really the GM. Well Dick gave instructions to Jane to process the sale. I then got a comical sales pitch for a 9 year extended warranty. I declined.

Any then to my surprise they pulled out my item from behind the rubber curtain. It had been there the entire time ready to go. So what was the purpose of the trolley-trip over an hour ago? I loaded the trolley and headed out the door. Quite exhausted from the entire experience.

After I got home I realized I had an extra printout. The extra one was from the store and it listed my order and in big BOLD letters ... "THIS IS A PROMOTIONAL PRICE. PLEASE press ACCEPT on ENTIRE ORDER NOT line items". I assume this is what generates the the FILLED email.

PS: I received an email about 12 hours later from this retailer asking me to fill out a random survey on my recent purchase using the in-store pickup option? Random i wonder?

I also went online and searched for this item to see if it had been reviewed. Much to my surprise I found that on 4 others occasions this same retailer had "price errors" as reported by frustrated store customers. Customers who left the store empty handed. I can understand an occasional price error but 4 times in a period of a year? Come on!

Over the last couple of months I've had to help family and friends shop at Best Buy.

My in-store observations are that the quality and honesty of the staff have dropped to shockingly low levels. Maybe it's just the management of our location or maybe it goes further.

I've observed first hand sales reps blatantly lying to customers. I've seen (and experienced) invoices getting 'packed'. 3 such 'packing' attempts in one department in two months tells me this is a common and well practiced scam, one that management must tolerate if not promote. I can't say it's the Best Buy company itself. I notice the same certain dept supervisors seem to be involved in the most questionable activity, and curiously, its always when the store manager is away and can't be reached.

A recent example was a tv purchase. The prices, terms, and add-on's were all agreed and the salesman rang everything through. The card receipt seemed to have a too high total amount, so I pressed cancel instead of accept. Good thing too, as the salesperson had snuck $350 extra onto some line items. This scam where a salesperson hopes the customer just endorses the transaction and doesn't notice the underlying charges seems a little too common at this location. You probably couldn't prove it, but it has the hallmarks of being a common trick that has been spread or condoned by the supervisors.

As I was shopping around for a new cell phone plan I stopped in at Best Buy (Cambie and Broadway) and found that they had the best deal for me.

I spoke with a salesman who was very helpful and knowledgeable. He told me that if I had any problems with the samsung galaxy within 30days I could return it...

Well, after 5 days I decided that the phone wasn't for me so I tried to exchange it or get a refund...this apparently wasn't allowed because I talked on the phone for over 30minutes.

I felt extremely deceived by the Sales Rep because he said NOTHING about the 30minute limit. He only told me that I could return it after 30days.

I am extremely disappointed and angry about this situation and thier customer service. I realize that I should have read the full contract right there on the spot but I didn't, instead I trusted in what one of thier Sales Rep had told me. I feel very deceived and I will now spread the word that the Best Buy salesmen cannot be trusted.

I strongly regret dealing with best buy. I should have dealt with Bell Canada directly. BestBuy puts sales before the customers and because of this experience I won't be shopping there again.

I would think BB is much like any big box retailer. If you know your stuff, you research before you walk in the store. Get what you need and get the hell out. When they ask you about an extended warranty you politely but quite firmly say "no thanks" so they get the idea not to push. My wife is the type to pause and think and ask needless questions (which drives me crazy) like buying baby bottles and asking the 17 year old cashier what difference between the small and large bottles are as 5 people are lined up behind us. I mean I almost had her out of the store!!! Just 5 more feet and it would have been a perfect shopping experience! 5 minutes later after a department manager comes to the cash we get an answer that equates to "it holds more milk" /facepalm. I generally start answering before they finish asking.

If you don't know your stuff......find someone that does, or research, you don't have to be a geek to use google.

You have to be careful as well as they can be horribly overpriced. I remember a couple years back when I wanted a new set of PC speakers. I was in a BB for an unrelated purchase and noticed the speakers I wanted for $399. I bought the same set later that day at TigerD for $249.

I realize that I should have read the full contract right there on the spot but I didn't, instead I trusted in what one of thier Sales Rep had told me. And there was the problem. I no longer put faith in sales people. I do my own homework, know exactly what I want and use them simply to facilitate the sale and nothing more.

Companies say their sales people are there to help the customer make the most appropriate purchase for them. In my experience it's been more funneling the customer into something that is most lucrative for the sales person.