Best Buy Staff Paid Bonuses to Deny Legit Guaranteed Price Matches [Best Buy...

Best Buy Staff Paid Bonuses to Deny Legit Guaranteed Price Matches [Best Buy Is Scum]

via Gizmodo by matt buchanan on 3/23/09

Best Buy, like many other stores, has a public "price matching" policy. But HD Guru reports that according to internal docs, personnel are trained to deny price-matches and even paid bonuses for shutting them down.

This all comes out of a lawsuit that was just granted class action status. Internal documents, plus depositions from past and current Best Buy employees reveal just how evil Best Buy is. A price match is when, say, Circuit City advertised a Sharp HDTV for cheaper than Best Buy, Best Buy's public policy is to match that price.

But Best Buy actually trains employees in New York how to deny legitimate price match requests, and the average Best Buy store denies 100 price matches a week. You even get paid bonuses based on how many price matches you deny!

Here's how it works, according to Phil Britton, a member of Best Buy's Competitive Strategies Group:

What is the first thing we do when a customer comes in to our humble box brandishing a competitor's ad asking for a price match? We attempt to build a case against the price match. (Trust me, I've done it too). Let's walk through the "Refused Price Match Greatest Hits:

"Not same model? Not in stock at the competitor? Do we have free widget with purchase? Is it from a warehouse club (they have membership fees, you know)? Limited Quantities? That competitor is across town? We've got financing! Is it an internet price? It's below cost!….."

If you live in NY state, and you've been screwed by Best Buy's anti-price matching, HD Guru has further info on the attorney to contact so you can take a piece out of Best Buy. What a bunch of scum.

Update: Giz reader Jake reveals how they scam you on model numbers to avoid price matching:

Example: A few months ago my wife and I were looking at a Frigidaire Washer. The model we were interested was the ATF8000FS. At Best Buy, we found the washer there however it was displayed as the ATF8000FSL. At first I figured "Oh this must be some variation on the original model number, like how manufacturers sometimes add a letter to the end of the model to indicate the product color." Anyways, to make a long story short, this ATF8000FSL was not available from the manufacturer.

The "L" was added on by Best Buy in order for them to skirt around price matching. This is so no one can come to Best Buy and claim to have found a lower price of this product because no one else sells the product under the model number ATF8000FSL. It's ATF8000FS everywhere else. Best Buy will tell people that its simply a different product, so therefore, no price matching. Even on the manufacturer's sticker on the washer, it said ATF8000FS, as it was supposed to. Upon further investigation I could see that Best Buy's internal computers even listed the model as ATF8000FSL.

Pretty scammy. [HD Guru, Image: bdjsb7/Flickr]

Monster "HDMI Difference" scam still kickin' in Fry's Electronics

Monster "HDMI Difference" scam still kickin' in Fry's Electronics

via Engadget by Darren Murph on 3/23/09

Man, this is just sad. Over a year after the internet was set ablaze with rage after seeing Monster's HDMI cable scam, we've just been notified that the tactic is still being used in at least one Fry's Electronics store. For those unaware, the rig works as such: two TVs are set beside each other along with a sign that says "See the Monster HDMI Difference." Trouble is, the "Monster set" (on the right) is connected to its source via an HDMI cable, while the "non-Monster set" (on the left) is connected via composite cable. As in, the lamest looking signal next to using an RF modulator. So, is anyone with any amount of power paying attention to this? We get the feeling "false advertising" is a real understatement of the situation.

[Thanks, Jeff]

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Monster "HDMI Difference" scam still kickin' in Fry's Electronics originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Are Chicagoans Rebelling Against The New Parking Meter Regime? [Privatization]

Are Chicagoans Rebelling Against The New Parking Meter Regime? [Privatization]

via Consumerist by Meg Marco on 3/23/09

The evidence is purely anecdotal, but it seems that some unrest might be brewing in the City of Chicago. Now that the Mayor has leased the city's parking meters to a company that jacked up the rates, people might be staying home rather than feed the meters — which now take as many as 28 quarters for 2 hours.

All over the city, formerly busy parking meters are empty, while residential streets are clogged with people looking for free parking.

From the Sun-Times:

Only five Chicago aldermen bucked the mayor on the privatization of parking meters, and one was Scott Waguespack of the 32nd Ward, which includes Wicker Park and Bucktown. It wasn't that Waguespack opposed raising rates, something that hadn't been done in years, but he believed an increase should be "incremental, not drastic" and that the city could have done it on its own.

Now, he says, people in his ward are suddenly seeing not only empty meters but more cars clogging residential neighborhoods in search of free spaces, a problem for people who live there.

The whole purpose of parking meters was as an urban planning tool, used to generate turnover so businesses could see a steady stream of customers who park for a short time, shop and leave, opening spaces for more shoppers.

Now, Waguespack argues, spaces have become solely "a revenue anchor" and the rates have shot "too high, too quickly."

Are we seeing a boycott?

"I'm not so sure yet," said the alderman, "but it's definitely a refusal."

Boycott, boycott, boycott...

Parking meter rate hike sparks a rebellion [Sun-Times via Fark]
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)

Office Depot Employee Claims He Photoshops Price Tags [Dirty Tricks]

Office Depot Employee Claims He Photoshops Price Tags [Dirty Tricks]

via Consumerist by Chris Walters on 3/17/09

Who needs to lie about inventory when you can inflate the price directly? LAPTOP has uncovered more dirty secrets of Office Depot employees being dishonest to customers, this time by altering price tags on clearance items to incorporate the cost of an extended service plan.

What we'll do is that I'll go to the copy and print center, get into Photoshop, take one price tag that was $599 from another item in the store, cut out that area of $599 and position it exactly where the $499 price is in the current tag and then run that price through some card stock and cut the paper out in the same exact size as what's called a 'fact tag' in our stores. And now that's the price. It's legit.

The magazine spoke with an FTC official who confirmed that lying about inventory is illegal:

"When you're selling a product, it's illegal to lie," said Lois C. Greisman, associate director of the FTC's Division of Marketing Practices. "It's illegal to make false claims about a product, such as 'It's out of stock' when it's not or that a clearance product has a certain markup. You can't lie when you're selling a product."

So what about Office Depot's internal memo last week that clearly stated the company doesn't condone such practices—was that enough to protect Office Depot from responsibility? Maybe not:

Greisman also said that, even if a large retail chain has an official corporate policy which bans a sales practice, it can still be held responsible for employees who violate the written policy.

"Management is responsible and a corporate entity is responsible. If a company were under order and if it were to violate that order, it could be held in contempt," she said. "Our experience is that a company that wants to adequately police its stores is able to do so."

The employee who confessed to LAPTOP said the easiest way to confirm that the price you're seeing on the tag is the real price is to look up the SKU on an in-store kiosk, but he also notes that his manager removes all signage around the kiosk that indicates it's for customer use. If you're in an Office Depot where the kiosk isn't clearly indicated, or where an employee tells you it's not for customer use, get out! It's a trap!

So is any Office Depot safe? Sure—the employee who confesses this seems to have come up with the Photoshopping trick on his own, but he says his manager approved of it and told other managers with similarly stunted ethics. If you buy computers and other high-end electronics from Office Depot, you should read the full LAPTOP article for more details on their pricing tricks.

"More Office Depot Employees Report Lying to Customers, Changing Price Tags" [LAPTOP Mag]
"FTC: Lying About Notebook Inventory Violates Federal Law" [LAPTOP Mag]

RELATED
"Office Depot Employees Claim They're Told To Lie About Stock If You're Not Buying Extras"
"Office Depot To Employees: 'Don't Lie About Inventory'"
(Photo: 摩根)

Best Buy Accused Of Paying Bonuses To Managers Who Don't Price Match [Intern...

Best Buy Accused Of Paying Bonuses To Managers Who Don't Price Match [Internal Docs]

via Consumerist by Chris Walters on 3/23/09

In a new class action ruling (pdf) for a Best Buy price matching lawsuit, HDGuru has uncovered some unpleasant allegations against the company, including:

• Best Buy provided financial bonuses based, in part, on denying proper price match requests.
• Best Buy denied more than 100 proper price match requests per store per week.

They even circulated internal documents instructing employees how to reject price matches—see below for the partial text of one of them.

Here's part of an internal document from Best Buy's Competitive Strategies Unit which instructed Best Buy employees about their real "price match" policy:

"Price Matches

It looms on the wall, on a 9 foot sign. Our Price Match policy. There it is plain as day in English (Y en espanol para los de usted que puede leerio.) However, just because it is our policy, do we abide by it? Does it really help the customer?

What is the first thing we do when a customer comes in to our humble box brandishing a competitor's ad asking for a price match? We attempt to build a case against the price match. (Trust me, I've done it too). Let's walk through the "Refused Price Match Greatest Hits:"

Not same model? Not in stock at the competitor? Do we have free widget with purchase? Is it from a warehouse club (they have membership fees, you know)? Limited Quantities? That competitor is across town? We've got financing! Is it an internet price? It's below cost!"

As HDGuru.com points out, the public price matching policy as recently as this weekend read, "We'll meet or beat their lowest price. If you see a lower advertised price, we'll match it on the spot."

As for the lawsuit, it's for New York state residents only. Here's more info on it:

The HD Guru contacted Michael Braunstein, the attorney representing the plaintiff in the class action lawsuit. Mr. Braunstein invites readers who believe they have been "murfed" (refused the price match in compliance with BBs written policy) or have inquiries regarding the class action, to contact him by email or phone. The class action lawsuit applies to NY State residents only. However, Mr. Braunstein stated in the phone interview that he would like to hear from anyone who has been rejected for a price match by Best Buy, regardless of the state in which they reside. His contact information is Michael L. Braunstein, Kantowitz, Goldhamer and Graifman, P.C. (845) 356-2570; email mbraunstein@kgglaw.com

"Best Buy Bombshell!" [HDGuru.net]

(Photo: insanehank)