The Old Bait and Switch at Best Buy

Bait-and-switch is when they say "Item X is here at this price" and
there is no item X, but if you want you can get item Y for just a
little more.


Still, I do believe you have a very valid complaint.

You pre-paid for the item and you were told it would be at that
specific location for pickup... only to find they'd taken it to sell
to someone else.

Then to have them try to deny you the refund... that's very bad
business. Personally... I'd recommend checking out Radio Shack or
Sears. They don't always have the same items, but they're usually
cheaper.

Wow! I certainly hope that a copy of this letter finds its way to CPS!
I'm sure Best Buy is violating all sorts of child labor laws by having
twelve-year-olds working for them. They should be at home, doing their
homework!

I think you have a very valid complaint, but comments about "play
dates" and such detract from it.

I had problem right after Thanksgiving with Best Buy.com as well.
Granted I only ordered a DVD online and picked it up at the store, but
it still wasn't painless like they advertise. I ordered the widescreen
version of a DVD and got the regular version. I didn't notice this
until I got home. To make a long story short, I had to return the
wrong DVD for the correct one at another local Best Buy store. All I
wanted to do was make an even exchange but because Bestbuy.com is not
the same as the real store. I had to do a return and then purchase the
correct one. Best Buy does not make it easy.

In regards to your problem, It seemed like your TV purchase was a good
deal. You could have gone to the other store another day to pick it
up.

The one problem with using BestBuy.com and choosing the pick up option
is that the store count might not be accurate. With my situation
above, the sales associate told me that the number of items in stock
lags and isnt always up to date. Regardless, the store should not have
sent you an email saying it was ready to be picked up without having
it in stock.

As others said, this isn't "bait and switch." You need to know what
the term means if you're going to use it in a letter.

It is, however, very poor service. Not only didn't you get your T.V.
(because who knows what they did with it), you got an attitude
besides. The least they could've done was apologize for their error,
but I guess that takes too much effort on their part.

But, as a few others noted, you got your refund, which you absolutely
were due. Why do you feel you should get a TV at their expense?

It's not bait and switch, it's poor service. While I believe they
should have had the TV for you in the store specified, I do take issue
with some of the exaggerations in your letter. The distance between
the Commack store and the Setauket store is 13 miles, 18 minutes,
perhaps a little longer at rush hour. The weather here was cold but
the storms had passed and the roads were clear, especially the main
roads.

Best Buy does not have a store in Hicksville and does not hire 12 yr
olds.

It's not. It wasn't and it never will be. Clearly you aren't aware
of the correct meaning of the phrase, so you might want to read the
information from the other posters here before throwing that term
around again.

Secondly, if your attitude in the store was as condescending as it was
here, I'm not shocked at all that your experience was poor. "12 year
old girl?" "Play date?" SERIOUSLY? It was not the cashier's fault
your TV was given away. Insulting her and her manager clearly got you
nowhere and only made you look petty.

Finally, you took the refund. Why would you think Best Buy should
send you the TV at yours, theirs, or anyone else's expense? The
transaction was terminated and you were made whole. There's nothing
more to be said.

If you want the "great deals" you have to be willing to play the game
and jump through all the hoops to get it. But really, sometimes those
"great deals" aren't so great after all.

If they said we sold your tv...BUT we can sell you this OTHER model
for 75 dollars more....then THAT would be a bait and switch.

I actually think (as others do) that you handled the situation very
well considering the circumstances.

But I do not see where BB did a "bait & switch as much as just take
your order and sell it to another customer out of ignorance.
This is inexcusable as are the attitudes of the two employees your
dealt with. But then what do you expect when the manager and asst
manager puts inexperienced staff in these positions?

I hope you get your tv in time for Christmas.

I know exactly what you are talking about...........They pull that
kind of stuff all the time especially with sales. Oh yea , If you do
happen to be able to make a purchase , make sure you don't lose a
peice of styrafoam from the box . They have a deduction schedule set
up just for those occassions . Let's not even think about you losing
your receipt . Best Buy sucks and I avoid it as much as possible.

I've got 2 problems with this letter. First, I highly doubt they have
12-year olds working at Best Buy.

Second, when you do a purchase for in-store pickup, the actual
purchase isn't put through the card until the items are actually
picked up. I just picked up 2 items from my nearby Best Buy this
weekend, using the in-store pickup option, and they did not appear on
my bank account until after I got home from the trip to the store.

"After she finished rolling her eyes, like only teenage girls can"

I love this line.

Sounds like you behaved better than I would have.

It is 15 miles from Commack, where the incident occurred, and
Setauket. There is no precipitation, as the last dusting we had
stopped in the NYC area at least 24 hours ago.

Therefore, to take advantage of the sale, I would have asked the
teenagers to have the store in Setauket hold the tv until I got there,
and driven up. I don't think Best Buy ships stuff from store to
store. If you think about it, it would be cost prohibitive. Paying
for the employee's time and the vehicle - it could cost $75 just to
drive the tv between these two stores.

I think you were incredibly condescending, portraying the employees as
children on playdates. This is Best Buy, not a mom and pop appliance
store. If you want good customer service, you have to pay for it.
Also, this is not bait and switch. There was no switch. This is
simply a matter of web portals not being synched to brick and mortar
stores. Many retailers do it poorly - it is a great idea but it is
still evolving. You got your refund, they won't be doing anything for
you now. I would have driven around until I found a store that had
one.