Best Buy Vita BS

[Graham Mitchell]

Be warned: angry rant ahead.

So, I preordered (and paid $325 for) a Playstation Vita from Best Buy in early November. I did this with the intention of receiving the console on release day. Turns out that some time after this Best Buy (or Sony) had a pre-order offer where you could walk into the store, put down a $5 deposit, and get your system on Valentine's day. I was NEVER notified of this, and never given an opportunity to take advantage of this offer. I had no idea about it. I figure that if I spend $325 on a product, they should keep me notified of things like this.

So for some reason I can pick up my preordered Wipeout game tonight, and I go in there and ask the big question: where is my console? They basically look in the computer and concretely and robotically told me it'll be fulfilled on 2/22. I talk to everybody, a manager, online customer service...NO ONE can explain to me why, when I ordered the product before all the people who took advantage of this offer, I get it a week later than them. Not to mention that pretty much 100% of the people I talked to about this were rude and dismissive to me about it. The manager just said "sorry about that." He had no intention of explaining any of this to me. He was basically telling me to fuck off. Hell, if they'd at least have sincerely said "wow, that really sucks. That is bullshit." or something to that affect, it probably would have diffused me. But they had no intention of putting ANY brainpower into this or making ANY attempt to assess the justice of the situation. They were perfectly happy with me leaving the store pissed off.

I'm going to call customer relations tomorrow. If they can't get me a console ASAP or comp me on something, I'm not shopping there anymore. I pay WAY too much for stuff, deal with new releases arriving in me mailbox a week after release date, and put up with lines and clueless sales staff all because I'm a premier member and I get cash rewards there. You'd think that since I've been spending thousands of dollars a year there for some time, they'd want to take care of me.

Okay, whew, that's off my chest.

So, anybody else pissed at them?

G

[Gameguy]

It's weird that you didn't get notified of any further offers, they keep emailing spam non-stop since we signed up with their rewards program. That's some rewards program they've got too, $5 off for every $400 you spend. As soon as you save up enough points for a coupon it's issued immediately and has an expiry date, you can't save up your points like with every other rewards program in existence.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before but I was angry with them when their cashiers couldn't accept cash as a payment for a DVD under $10 total. It's cash, what type of business won't accept it? Do they really want me to put that on credit card or use a debit transaction for so little money? I'm actually surprised that people hate Gamestop more than Best Buy.

[The 1 2 P]

Be warned: angry rant ahead.

So, I preordered (and paid $325 for) a Playstation Vita from Best Buy in early November. I did this with the intention of receiving the console on release day. Turns out that some time after this Best Buy (or Sony) had a pre-order offer where you could walk into the store, put down a $5 deposit, and get your system on Valentine's day. I was NEVER notified of this, and never given an opportunity to take advantage of this offer. I had no idea about it. I figure that if I spend $325 on a product, they should keep me notified of things like this.

So for some reason I can pick up my preordered Wipeout game tonight, and I go in there and ask the big question: where is my console? They basically look in the computer and concretely and robotically told me it'll be fulfilled on 2/22. I talk to everybody, a manager, online customer service...NO ONE can explain to me why, when I ordered the product before all the people who took advantage of this offer, I get it a week later than them. Not to mention that pretty much 100% of the people I talked to about this were rude and dismissive to me about it. The manager just said "sorry about that." He had no intention of explaining any of this to me. He was basically telling me to fuck off. Hell, if they'd at least have sincerely said "wow, that really sucks. That is bullshit." or something to that affect, it probably would have diffused me. But they had no intention of putting ANY brainpower into this or making ANY attempt to assess the justice of the situation. They were perfectly happy with me leaving the store pissed off.

I'm going to call customer relations tomorrow. If they can't get me a console ASAP or comp me on something, I'm not shopping there anymore. I pay WAY too much for stuff, deal with new releases arriving in me mailbox a week after release date, and put up with lines and clueless sales staff all because I'm a premier member and I get cash rewards there. You'd think that since I've been spending thousands of dollars a year there for some time, they'd want to take care of me.

Okay, whew, that's off my chest.

So, anybody else pissed at them?

G

If they don't help you out after calling customer relations cancel your preorder, get your money back and get the system somewhere else.

That's some rewards program they've got too, $5 off for every $400 you spend. As soon as you save up enough points for a coupon it's issued immediately and has an expiry date, you can't save up your points like with every other rewards program in existence.

I'm a premiere silver member, which basically means I'm a Rewards Zone member with a credit card. It doesn't take $400 to get a $5 gift card, it takes 250 points. When you use you credit card you get double points and they also run several promotions wehre you can get triple points or some amount of bonus points. So I could spend $125 and get that $5 off coupon or only spend around $70 or $80 while taking advantage of their many deals. You will be hard pressed to find other rewards programs from electronics stores offering you a similiar or better deal. And for the record, I can save up my points and issue them when ever I like. But again, I realize that you are talking about non-premiere members.

But their program is one of the best ones I've seen. The worst is Toys R Us. They issue your certificates immediately and you have a mere two weeks to use it before it expires. On top of that atrocity you are not allowed to use your certificates on any video games, consoles or accessories even though thats what I used to get the certificates in the first place. Best Buy lets you use them on almost anything in the store besides gift cards and a few other things. And the certificates are valid for atleast 3-5 months so you aren't rushed to use them like TRU.

[Graham Mitchell]

If they don't help you out after calling customer relations cancel your preorder, get your money back and get the system somewhere else.

I'm so glad I posted on here because that's a brilliant idea, and that's exactly what I will do.

@gameguy: I probably did get some stupid piece of spam about this, but can they really expect me to read every piece of shit they shove in my inbox? If it had to do with my order, they should have sent me another email that said something like "UPDATE ABOUT YOUR ORDER" so I could distinguish it from spam.

[Emperor Megas]

I'm not trying to be that guy or anything, but if I prepaid for a video game system from a store, I'd make a point to read every piece of email I received from them until I got what I paid for. Also, I think that Best Buy has the best customer rewards program I've ever used.

[Flashback2012]

Save yourself a call. Go get your money back. When they hand your money back and the verification receipt showing your cancellation, then go and call and raise hell. Either that or burn them by taking the survey (or do both ). Is anyone still accepting pre-orders for the units still?

[Dangerboy]

Without seeing the Best Buy ad...

$325 , if tax is included, sounds like the $300 3G Model releasing on 2 / 22. The same day as the $250 WiFi model.

There was a third bundle, the "Early Edition Model" - this was $350 *before* Tax, and also included little deviants, a memory card, and a carrying case.

This third bundle, the Early Edition, was released for pre-orders only on 2 / 15. Hence the 'early edition'. This may be what is causing the confusion. (A Midnight release for this would have been Valentine's Day).

However, the 3G Bundle releasing on the 2 / 22 will now include a 8g Memory Card and some free stuff from AT & T.



That all said, I know some game stops may have at least 1 Early Edition for walk-in. Mine did the other day. You can either try and snag an E.ED. for the $350 as a walk-in, or just wait a week, keep your pre-order and get the free 8g Memory Card and AT & T stuff.

[swlovinist]

Get you money back


Then


Take a picture of you buying your system at a competitor attach reason why and


Send that in an envelope to the District Manager of Best Buy

[Trebuken]

The sku for the Early Edition bundle was probably not in the system when you preordered. This happened to me at Gamestop, except that I caught it in time. They did not inform me, though they may have in store if I did not beat them to it.

I imagine they would not have upgraded you to the more expensive Early Edition automatically since it cost more. They probably did not appreciate your eagerness for gaining the console one day one. Non-gamers are often callous and non-understanding like this.

[Bojay1997]

Without seeing the Best Buy ad...

$325 , if tax is included, sounds like the $300 3G Model releasing on 2 / 22. The same day as the $250 WiFi model.

There was a third bundle, the "Early Edition Model" - this was $350 *before* Tax, and also included little deviants, a memory card, and a carrying case.

This third bundle, the Early Edition, was released for pre-orders only on 2 / 15. Hence the 'early edition'. This may be what is causing the confusion. (A Midnight release for this would have been Valentine's Day).

However, the 3G Bundle releasing on the 2 / 22 will now include a 8g Memory Card and some free stuff from AT & T.



That all said, I know some game stops may have at least 1 Early Edition for walk-in. Mine did the other day. You can either try and snag an E.ED. for the $350 as a walk-in, or just wait a week, keep your pre-order and get the free 8g Memory Card and AT & T stuff.

Correct. While I am sympathetic to the OP, it was pretty widely reported in the gaming press that there were essentially three options for the system available. The OP didn't order the early edition bundle which frankly wasn't as good a deal as the one he did preorder which will include an 8GB memory card, a month of 3G service and a download of Super Stardust all basically for the same price of $300 of a plain 3G system. The Early Edition bundle is a 3G Vita, case, 4 Gig memory card and Little Deviants game for $350 meaning with California tax he would have been at roughly $375. Here is that bundle.

http://us.playstation.com/psvita/sys...on-bundle.html

Best Buy for better or for worse is not Gamestop and other than automated e-mail messages, they aren't going to call you or hold your hand through the preorder process. While Best Buy could have been nicer about it, the OP got what he preordered and assuming he walks into Best Buy next Tuesday, he will get his Vita.

[Graham Mitchell]

Well either because of the communication issue or the fact that no less than 4 employees were rude and unhelpful, customer relations sided with me and found me a unit. I have to drive a bit to pick it u, but at least they resolved the situation.

And I'm not preordering a console from them ever again.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.064772,-118.291818

[Zing]

I'm sure I've mentioned it before but I was angry with them when their cashiers couldn't accept cash as a payment for a DVD under $10 total. It's cash, what type of business won't accept it?

That is rather odd considering they are legally obligated to accept cash, unless you tried to pay with pennies.

I would have probably confirmed my order after this "first edition bundle early release" stuff was announced. I have almost zero interest in the Vita and even I was aware of this. It doesn't excuse the blind policy-following of the store, though. These people are just not hired or paid to think for themselves. That is the driving idea behind chain stores and franchises.

I am definitely not one to settle for blind recitation of policy. I've been challenging these people since I was young, returning a crappy, opened N64 game to Best Buy, or that copy of Win95 that didn't work on my system. I still remember returning a partially used bottle of vitamins to Target. The cashier was adamant that I could not return it opened until I read her the text on the bottle that claimed you could return any unused portion for a full refund. These people working at retail stores just do what they are told, without any critical thinking.

[Bojay1997]

Well either because of the communication issue or the fact that no less than 4 employees were rude and unhelpful, customer relations sided with me and found me a unit. I have to drive a bit to pick it u, but at least they resolved the situation.

And I'm not preordering a console from them ever again.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.064772,-118.291818

I'm sorry, but how exactly did they "find" you a unit? The item you preordered doesn't release until Tuesday the 22nd and while a store may have it, I doubt they can physically release it to you as it is street date locked. The one you are complaining about is $50 more and released on the 15th of this week. Are you going to pay the difference to purchase what IMHO is a worse and more expensive bundle? Why not just wait the three days and save the $50 and get the larger memory card and not be forced to buy what many people I have seen review consider to be the worst of the launch titles (Little Deviants)?

[Bojay1997]

That is rather odd considering they are legally obligated to accept cash, unless you tried to pay with pennies.

I would have probably confirmed my order after this "first edition bundle early release" stuff was announced. I have almost zero interest in the Vita and even I was aware of this. It doesn't excuse the blind policy-following of the store, though. These people are just not hired or paid to think for themselves. That is the driving idea behind chain stores and franchises.

I am definitely not one to settle for blind recitation of policy. I've been challenging these people since I was young, returning a crappy, opened N64 game to Best Buy, or that copy of Win95 that didn't work on my system. I still remember returning a partially used bottle of vitamins to Target. The cashier was adamant that I could not return it opened until I read her the text on the bottle that claimed you could return any unused portion for a full refund. These people working at retail stores just do what they are told, without any critical thinking.

Seriously? You should be embarassed, not bragging. Returning an opened game that you didn't like is not within any store's policy, nor is returning a copy of Win95 that your system wasn't capable of running. The items weren't defective, you just didn't do a little bit of homework to figure out if what you were buying was right for you. As a consumer you have to take some responsibility for not being a complete moron. While Best Buy and other stores can be very inflexible and I have had my share of issues with their policies, it makes me sick to see some of the abusive things consumers try to get away with when the store is in no way responsible. It also raises prices for all of us as the stores aren't taking the losses and not passing them on to consumers.

[Gameguy]

That is rather odd considering they are legally obligated to accept cash, unless you tried to pay with pennies.

They had one cashier that was allowed to accept cash, not any of the other 5 cashiers. It had to be around holiday time because there was a long line when I wanted to check out. When it was my turn to check out I was told by another cashier that they couldn't accept cash as a payment, then I had to stand aside until that one specific register was free, while people behind me got to go to the other registers. They acted like I was inconveniencing them by paying with cash, I even spoke with the manager about this and he told me it was store policy because they didn't want to have the cashiers dealing with cash. They only had the one register accept cash because they had to.

[Shulamana]

cashiers dealing with cash.

What is the world coming to?

[Graham Mitchell]

So, they lied. They don't have a machine for me, I'm getting it shipped to the house on the 22nd. Basically they did nothing for me. They're never getting another dime from me.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.061720,-118.291599

[VertigoProcess]

Seriously? You should be embarassed, not bragging. Returning an opened game that you didn't like is not within any store's policy, nor is returning a copy of Win95 that your system wasn't capable of running. The items weren't defective, you just didn't do a little bit of homework to figure out if what you were buying was right for you. As a consumer you have to take some responsibility for not being a complete moron. While Best Buy and other stores can be very inflexible and I have had my share of issues with their policies, it makes me sick to see some of the abusive things consumers try to get away with when the store is in no way responsible. It also raises prices for all of us as the stores aren't taking the losses and not passing them on to consumers.

As a target employee and the boyfriend of a girl that works at the service desk at target I strongly agree with you bojay. Zing you have no respect for people working in retail, were all people and everyone deserves a certain level of respect, you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Graham Mitchell]

I'm sorry, but how exactly did they "find" you a unit? The item you preordered doesn't release until Tuesday the 22nd and while a store may have it, I doubt they can physically release it to you as it is street date locked. The one you are complaining about is $50 more and released on the 15th of this week. Are you going to pay the difference to purchase what IMHO is a worse and more expensive bundle? Why not just wait the three days and save the $50 and get the larger memory card and not be forced to buy what many people I have seen review consider to be the worst of the launch titles (Little Deviants)?

Well, again, they lied about that and backed out of it. I felt cheated because I ordered my system long before this bundle was offered, and best buy made no attempt to notify me that, despite me believing I would get my machine on launch day (which is the whole reason one preorders) I'd actually be getting it a week late. Then when I inquired about it they were rude and dismissive.

Technically, yes, I ordered the sku that isn't released until next week. But you'd be pretty pissed too and you found out people who ordered the product AFTER you got it BEFORE you, and you weren't informed in a timely manner that this was happening.

And I could give a fuck about little deviants. But I may have plunked down the extra cash to get it earlier if I knew I had that option. They dropped the ball.

Edit: on rereading your post, I think I didn't understand your point initially; they were going to give me a preorder bundle unit. But they're not now.
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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.064014,-118.291393

[xelement5x]

I've discovered that if you order/preorder the item online from Best Buy the physical store that is supposed to be holding your copies cares nothing for you. The only reason I can think of is that they must consider you some sort of parasite for buying from Best Buy, but not giving the store the sales count/money directly.

Not to turn this into a a Best Buy Bitch thread, but let me relate my story of when I preordered the Skyward Sword Special Edition bundle from Best Buy a good couple months in advance when they has plenty of them and were still accepting preorders. I go in the day of release to pick it up and they inform me they have no copies in stock, I relate that there should be at least one since I paid for my copy in full 3 months ago. They hemmed and hawwed for a good 15 minutes looking for it until they finally found a copy, but refused to give me the $10 gift card for buying the game that was clearly advertised in the Sunday flyer. Eventually I was able to get my copy and my $10 gift card, but they never went out of their way to help unless I really started pushing.

Contrast that with when my wife pre-ordered FFXIII-2 from them at the exact same store. Day of release we walked in, picked up the copy, and walked out in like 5 minutes total.