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Man Buys Computer From Best Buy, Opens Box To Find Wooden Blocks
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I bought two hard drives from Best Buy several years a go. Both were shrink wrapped & when I got home & unwrapped them one didnt contain a hard drive, but an old car stereo eq. I then took a closer look at the shrink wrap that came off the box & noticed that the wrap was thicker than the wrap off the box that had a hard drive. I also notice the edges where the plastic is sealed together was sloppy & crude-definitely not a factory wrapping job. Needless to say I wasnt happy & went back to BB-they replaced the drive but treated me like I was guilty.
TerryMathews
Lifer
Please. You honestly believe this guy was trying to scam BB? If anything, BB scammed him.
Not even an amateur scammer would be so invested in their mark that they'd go to jail to pull it off.
ultimatebob
Lifer
I feel bad for this guy, but he made a LOT of mistakes:
1) He should have paid with a credit card, so he could have filed a dispute with the CC company.
2) When Best Buy refused to give him a refund, he should have SHUT UP AND LEFT, andt then called the local District Attorney's office. Those "consumer help" lines that the local TV stations do are also great.... Not only do you get your money back, but you also get to give Best Buy a ton of negative publicity for your trouble 🙂
1) He should have paid with a credit card, so he could have filed a dispute with the CC company.
2) When Best Buy refused to give him a refund, he should have SHUT UP AND LEFT, andt then called the local District Attorney's office. Those "consumer help" lines that the local TV stations do are also great.... Not only do you get your money back, but you also get to give Best Buy a ton of negative publicity for your trouble 🙂
It is. I work at Best Buy in the Computers department. A free functionality check is offered on every new PC purchased, if the customer wants it.
Apparently, this guy decided not to take advantage of it.
If the box's seal was intact, sounds like the manufacturer had an employee in the shipping dept. pull a fast one and he now has a free PC. Crazy story, all the way around.
CravenTacos
Senior member
hell when i worked for best buy, we had this happen at least 3 times i can recall. people buy a random expensive product, steam the factory tape off the bottom, repack it with something of the same weight, and return it. 99% of the time the customer service people just return it, even though it's corporate policy to open certain items up on returns. most managers discourage this though, since they're losing margin on a product as they'll have to sell the examined item at a loss due to being an "open item". I remember we busted this one guy who tried to return a brick in a new receiver box, but the weight distribution was way off despite the seals being "intact"
oh, and as far as the geek squad doing a "free instore setup" on each and every PC, the tech bench used to get revenue for each PC they tested but since they quit the store doesn't push it any longer. Usually, they just scan the barcode for the setup so it gets tracked, but it only gets done when the customer reuqests it or if they are paying for an install of some sort.
oh, and as far as the geek squad doing a "free instore setup" on each and every PC, the tech bench used to get revenue for each PC they tested but since they quit the store doesn't push it any longer. Usually, they just scan the barcode for the setup so it gets tracked, but it only gets done when the customer reuqests it or if they are paying for an install of some sort.
BS. Then you slimy BB people go into the you need a firewall, we can do that for only $400 etc... bs. More pressure to buy the warrenty, etc... NO THANKS. That and I sould not have to have my system checked out, it should be what it is. Unless you are admiting, like we all know, this happens a lot more then the news sees.
And as you can see by not only the story I found but others here have been burned first hand by BB with items in the box not being what they are supposed to. Heck I have pranked people by taking a hair blow dryer and opening boxs and replacing items to mess with them. Trust me, my firend was ticked when his $300+ stereo he paid for was only a dual knob $20 deal. So it is very easy to do.
thirdlegstump
Banned
Damn. This is almost exactly like the story where some guy bought a computer at Best Buy and found the box full of wooden blocks!
It could very well be the manuf, but, I'd wager it was was an employee.
If it was a return, they could easilly track who returned that model PC to the store recently and do some investigation that way. Even if 1 person returned it, and they claimed to NOT have put bricks in there, Best Buy would be guilty.
Anyway, I've heard enough bad best buy stories that if I buy anything from them (or anyone really) I open the box before I leave the store. If I bought an expensive computer, I might even take it out and check the contents. Not that I should have to do that... and that's why I rarely shop there, but, dang, that sucks.
I bought a 9800 pro video card a few years ago at Circuit CIty and I got it home and it was an 8 mb voodoo video card. Needless to say, I took it back and they gave me a new one no questions asked. BHest Buy does have responsibiity for this, but the guy did get out of line. If this happened to me I would sue Best Buy in a heart beat......:|
Pepsi90919
Lifer
NOBODY SAYS WOW JUST WOW
cavemanmoron
Lifer
Best Buy Manager Dave Hammond said he doesn't know for sure whether this is a case of a customer trying to trick the store, or an actual instance of a computer box containing only wood.
"Anything is possible, but we do offer a service of having it looked at when you buy it and he didn't take advantage of it," Hammond said. He referred any other questions to corporate public relations.
Yeah how much does Best/Worst Buy charge for this Service??
whistleclient
Platinum Member
i hate best buy, especially their big bouncer guys at the door that try to intimidate me into an optional receipt check.
Disclaimer: I only read the first post in this thread. When I read the story, I wasn't surprised at all, not in the very least. I am known for hating best buy for their propensity to lie to their customers and provide the worst customer service, yet be hugely successful. If this happened to me, I would've reacted in a similar manner. Is it correct to blow up on the girl at the CS counter, probably not. However, after she says "there?s nothing we can do for you", you would think to ask for the manager. Since BB managers are always "in a meeting", that is worthless. Even getting a hold of one would likely get you a "nothing we can do" response. I hate this store, if you shop there; it's just a matter of time before they get around to screwing you over in some way.
Is it possible that the customer is trying to scam them... yes. However, since this type of problem and other deceptive practices seem to hover around bestbuy like flys on sh!t, I think it's just another example of why everyone should avoid this store like the plague.
Edit: cavemanmoron makes a good point, this "service" may involve a charge, why should I have to pay for this? Can you imagine an ad for this "service" in store: "For only $15, we'll check your purchase from us to make sure you aren't getting ripped off." I realize that the store manager is referring to the "service" of unpacking the computer and making sure it is in good, working order, which you could argue is a service that demands a fee to be collected. However, he is pretty much saying "Hey, you didn't pay to have us check it out, so therefore you took the risk that you'd get something other than what you bought." Even if it is free, I shouldn't have to have an item "checked" to receive my purchase.
Is it possible that the customer is trying to scam them... yes. However, since this type of problem and other deceptive practices seem to hover around bestbuy like flys on sh!t, I think it's just another example of why everyone should avoid this store like the plague.
Edit: cavemanmoron makes a good point, this "service" may involve a charge, why should I have to pay for this? Can you imagine an ad for this "service" in store: "For only $15, we'll check your purchase from us to make sure you aren't getting ripped off." I realize that the store manager is referring to the "service" of unpacking the computer and making sure it is in good, working order, which you could argue is a service that demands a fee to be collected. However, he is pretty much saying "Hey, you didn't pay to have us check it out, so therefore you took the risk that you'd get something other than what you bought." Even if it is free, I shouldn't have to have an item "checked" to receive my purchase.
I purchase a Dreamcast game before, I believe it was Soul Reaver, and came home to find a Promo Music CD. It was probably an employee who switched it. Best Buy refused to exchange it for me citing that I could've done the swap myself. Just look at what you buy at the store first, i.e, have them open the box or cd in front of you to see that it hasn't be messed with by anyone else.
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