The Best Buy Experience

So I have some good news, I was offered and accepted a position.  To assist in my job search my mother offered to let me use her old laptop since it would allow me some flexibility in where I could search.  Well needless to say, I got addicted to having a laptop.  This is actually an amazing thing since I have always pushed people toward a desktop.  So I decided that I wanted a new laptop because the one I was borrowing had Windows Vista and I hated it!  And this brings us to tonight's post.



I looked at a couple of different stores at laptops and came to a decision that Best Buy probably had the one I wanted.  They seemed to have a really good balance between power and price so that's where I went to actually make the purchase.  I had a few minutes to make a decision as the salesman was dealing with someone else.  When he came to me things started out well as I told him which one I wanted.  Then he handed me a clipboard and asked me to fill out a form.  Now all I wanted to do was buy the laptop and go home to start playing with it.  And that caused me to take a real look at the form before I started.  The first three fields were standard - name, phone, email.  What really made me glad I didn't start to fill it out was the forth, password.  I put the clipboard down and told my wife that I wasn't filling it out.  When he returned with the laptop things took a turn for the worse.  He suddenly had an attitude about the fact that I was questioning why I was expected to fill out the form and give out my password.  Turns out that this is probably how they sucker people into their services!  You know the ones I'm talking about, I talked about them after my mother purchased her new laptop (How Much Help are They?).  They are a load of crap that most people can do on their own for free yet they charge outrageous fees for (as in $100 just to create a backup of your computer).  I told him that I didn't need any of their services and I received even more attitude.  Then he told me that I needed to sign to protect them in case I came back and complained that the services weren't offered.  What?  They don't offer any service that could put them in some jeopardy by me purchasing a new laptop.  At that point, I just signed the paper before I went completely nuts on the guy.  But the attitude continued!  He told us to follow him, handed the laptop to a cashier and said he would handle it from there and walked away.


Again, I really liked the laptop that I picked matched with the price and I really didn't think it would have been a good idea for me to go off on the guy as I may not have been able to control myself with the insults.  So I calmly paid for the paid for the laptop, laughed at their desire for me to purchase a warranty (that cost almost as much as the laptop itself) and left.  As you can imagine, I had some time to stew on my way home.  So I decided to write to them.  It isn't all that straight forward how to send them an email but I managed to find it.  I am going to put the text here: 

I went in to purchase a new laptop today.  The salesman was busy so I had to wait which wasn't the problem.  He was pleasant when I told him which computer I wanted.  He handed me a clipboard and said, "If you could fill this out I will check on this model."  When I looked at the paper I noticed that it asked for my email address and password.  I set the clipboard down as I was not going to give that information out.  When he returned he asked why I didn't fill it out.  I informed him that I  would not give the information requested on the form.  He gave me a not so pleasant look along with an attitude when I asked why it was needed.  He then told me that I needed to fill this out to receive services.  Again, I got a dirty look when I told him I needed no services and just wanted to purchase the laptop.  He then said I had to sign to prove that he had offered it.  After I signed he started walking toward the registers and said come with me.  He handed the laptop to the cashier and walked away saying, "He will take care of you from here."  Then he walked away.  No thank you or have a good day.  Just a fast walk away.  There were other things that I was considering purchasing to accompany the laptop but I will now make those purchases elsewhere.  And I'm not sure I will purchase another computer from Best Buy in the future. 

I am a technology professional so can perform my own transfer of files and most other services that your company provides.  I don't appreciate being told that I must sign something just to "protect" Best Buy to prove that they did offer me services that I may or may not have needed.  There isn't a service offered that would put Best Buy in jeopardy by me purchasing a new computer and not offering the services. 

This was at the Route 31 Clay, NY store, the salesman's name was Andy.

I will put their response in as a comment if and when I receive one.  Unfortunately in the Syracuse area we are very limited with where we can purchase a computer (laptop or desktop).  I know I could get one from several locations online but I wanted it right away.  Next time I think I will just have to wait.