Best Buy Vita BS

[Graham Mitchell]

OK so...I totally understand why you'd be a little miffed at them. This was a marketing failure, for sure: they made a second offer that violated the "first-come, first-serve" principle. Those who were first come and not first served won't be happy, and the person who thought up this second offer should have known this. Furthermore, when you came in and brought the problem to the attention of the staff, they really should have tried to make you happy - by giving you a discount, or free merchandise, or doing something else for you. This is the real failure, right here: the fact that they weren't even nice to you. The service personnel who dealt with you should be demoted, fired, reprimanded - something.

Bingo, somebody gets it.

I know it's an unrealistic expectation from a company of that scope and size, but that doesn't mean I can't get pissed when it affects me adversely. This pre-order bundle was given as an incentive to encourage pre-orders, but it inadvertently punished those who had already placed an order.

I know the bundle pack was a rip off, but it's the principle of first-come-first-serve that was violated here. When I brought it to their attention, there were many things they could have done to diffuse the situation. They didn't even have to comp me anything. If they would have just admitted that it was unfair and apologized SINCERELY (I'm a shrink. I can tell when people are bullshitting) I would have dropped it then and there. But instead, they were callous and unhelpful. I caught the girls behind the counter at the pickup site rolling their eyes.

And I said it before, and I'll say it again--I ordered the machine literally within the first week it even showed up on the website. I made my order, I figured I was set. Why would I need to read about all these pre-order bundles? I have a life. I have two jobs and a wife. I can't watch Kotaku every 5 minutes to see what Sony's doing now, and make the series of phone calls to determine whether or not it affects me. That's why you pay them, and that's why you preorder--so the store takes care of you. And Calthear is right. I guess that this isn't something you can expect from a company like Best Buy. But that doesn't mean I can't be pissed about it, and doesn't mean that they are completely absolved of all responsibility either.

[Bojay1997]

Bingo, somebody gets it.

I know it's an unrealistic expectation from a company of that scope and size, but that doesn't mean I can't get pissed when it affects me adversely. This pre-order bundle was given as an incentive to encourage pre-orders, but it inadvertently punished those who had already placed an order.

I know the bundle pack was a rip off, but it's the principle of first-come-first-serve that was violated here. When I brought it to their attention, there were many things they could have done to diffuse the situation. They didn't even have to comp me anything. If they would have just admitted that it was unfair and apologized SINCERELY (I'm a shrink. I can tell when people are bullshitting) I would have dropped it then and there. But instead, they were callous and unhelpful. I caught the girls behind the counter at the pickup site rolling their eyes.

And I said it before, and I'll say it again--I ordered the machine literally within the first week it even showed up on the website. I made my order, I figured I was set. Why would I need to read about all these pre-order bundles? I have a life. I have two jobs and a wife. I can't watch Kotaku every 5 minutes to see what Sony's doing now, and make the series of phone calls to determine whether or not it affects me. That's why you pay them, and that's why you preorder--so the store takes care of you. And Calthear is right. I guess that this isn't something you can expect from a company like Best Buy. But that doesn't mean I can't be pissed about it, and doesn't mean that they are completely absolved of all responsibility either.

I think all of us get it. The problem is that beyond the fact that they didn't treat you with respect which everyone can agree is accurate, your expectations are unrealistic. Big box retailers aren't designed to be full service operations that follow-up constantly. Moreover, you admitted that you may have deleted or ignored the e-mails they did send you. That's how big box retailers communicate and personally, I prefer it because I get to decide if I open it or not rather than having someone calling me or otherwise harassing me.

I get that not everyone can keep up on every video game news story, but it seems like you're on here posting quite a bit, so you obviously have some free time. Similarly, it seems like you are pretty obsessed with having the Vita on day one which just seems bizarre. Is your life really being negatively impacted by waiting seven days to play a video game system? The system has been out in Japan for months, does it upset you that people imported it and have had it for months longer than you have?

Pre-ordering is not a concierge service no matter where you place that pre-order. All it means is that if everything goes according to plan, the day the system is released, you can walk in, pay the balance and walk out with your Vita. If next Wednesday you walk in to Best Buy and they don't have your Vita for you, then you should be upset. As it stands, you haven't lost anything and frankly, you're getting a free memory card that you weren't even going to get when you agreed to preorder the Vita. So, maybe it's time to not stress so much about it and take a step back and wonder why not having a Vita a week early is such a big deal in your mind. Perhaps it's also time to speak to a colleague who can help you manage what seems to be a very unhealthy sense of entitlement and obsession with something so trivial.

[Graham Mitchell]

I think all of us get it. The problem is that beyond the fact that they didn't treat you with respect which everyone can agree is accurate, your expectations are unrealistic. Big box retailers aren't designed to be full service operations that follow-up constantly. Moreover, you admitted that you may have deleted or ignored the e-mails they did send you. That's how big box retailers communicate and personally, I prefer it because I get to decide if I open it or not rather than having someone calling me or otherwise harassing me.

I get that not everyone can keep up on every video game news story, but it seems like you're on here posting quite a bit, so you obviously have some free time. Similarly, it seems like you are pretty obsessed with having the Vita on day one which just seems bizarre. Is your life really being negatively impacted by waiting seven days to play a video game system? The system has been out in Japan for months, does it upset you that people imported it and have had it for months longer than you have?

Pre-ordering is not a concierge service no matter where you place that pre-order. All it means is that if everything goes according to plan, the day the system is released, you can walk in, pay the balance and walk out with your Vita. If next Wednesday you walk in to Best Buy and they don't have your Vita for you, then you should be upset. As it stands, you haven't lost anything and frankly, you're getting a free memory card that you weren't even going to get when you agreed to preorder the Vita. So, maybe it's time to not stress so much about it and take a step back and wonder why not having a Vita a week early is such a big deal in your mind. Perhaps it's also time to speak to a colleague who can help you manage what seems to be a very unhealthy sense of entitlement and obsession with something so trivial.

Thanks for the concern, but really, I was over it yesterday.

Trouble is, I made that post when I was mad (maybe not the greatest idea, admittedly). When people are mad, all sense of logic and fairness goes out the window, and their sense of entitlement goes through the roof. So, I posted that, played some Gauntlet 4 and went to bed. Now I accept it.

The thing about these threads is that everybody's looking at the OP and commenting on it, so I find myself having to continually defend how I felt when I was mad about it (again, admittedly not the greatest idea.) There's just no defending a psychotically angry, irrational person (ie--me 2 nights ago).

I think the situation had a very personal resonance with me because I work in a place where angry people (specifically, incarcerated persons) demand narcotics from me several times a day. The way we deal with that is not unlike the way Best Buy dealt with me. The difference is, I wasn't a criminal askig for something I wasn't entitled to have. I was a paying customer wondering why I didn't get what I thought I was getting. I felt a bit betrayed, and when I attempted to pursue the issue, they were rude and unhelpful. I maybe don't deserve a Vita for this, but an apology would be appropriate.

So, what did I learn from this?
1) Let the dust settle before you go posting on DP
2) Best Buy sees you as a mindless husk with a wallet, and any expectation that they would guide you reasonably through a purchase is foolish
3) Don't preorder stuff from them. They mess it up regularly (as other posters on this thread will attest).

I humbly apologize to the DP community for spraying my emotional BS on this thread. I just hope you guys understand--I felt a bit betrayed and I was upset. I don't' want ya'll to think I'm an over-entitled douchebag.

[Rickstilwell1]

Pretty much what happened here was that Sony pulled something similar to a Sega Saturn move with the Vita, but for different intentions.

[InsaneDavid]

Big box retailers aren't designed to be full service operations that follow-up constantly.

Hate to say it but the next generation of big box retail is pushing toward this. Calling you if your "order online pick up in store" item can't be found and pushing for 100% fulfillment of said orders daily. Harassing you to no end if you are in a store and try to leave empty handed, "offering" to order anything you may need from the "online warehouse" and have it shipped to your door. Contacting you when normally out of stock / high popularity items come back in stock in an attempt to get you to use the first ordering method. I'm telling you, the next three years are going to be a widespread attempt to squeeze out that last couple dollars here and there.

Thing is the customers really don't like it and the employees certainly don't like having to do it. I miss the prime days of The Good Guys and Circuit City but I don't go to regular retailers to have pressure put on me to buy like I stepped onto a used car lot.

[Bojay1997]

Hate to say it but the next generation of big box retail is pushing toward this. Calling you if your "order online pick up in store" item can't be found and pushing for 100% fulfillment of said orders daily. Harassing you to no end if you are in a store and try to leave empty handed, "offering" to order anything you may need from the "online warehouse" and have it shipped to your door. Contacting you when normally out of stock / high popularity items come back in stock in an attempt to get you to use the first ordering method. I'm telling you, the next three years are going to be a widespread attempt to squeeze out that last couple dollars here and there.

Thing is the customers really don't like it and the employees certainly don't like having to do it. I miss the prime days of The Good Guys and Circuit City but I don't go to regular retailers to have pressure put on me to buy like I stepped onto a used car lot.

I know that's the case. A couple of the Best Buys in Los Angeles and San Diego that I frequent have converted over to the new store format and I can't stand for two minutes in the game section without an employee bugging me about preordering something or trading in used games. Yesterday when I was looking at Vita games at the Best Buy in Burbank, a Direct TV rep came up and asked if I "knew about their deals". When I quickly realized he was talking about Direct TV I politely told him "no thanks". Do people really buy satellite service from some random rep that walks up to them?

[Gameguy]

Do people really buy satellite service from some random rep that walks up to them?

It works for scalpers and drug dealers. It's not like Best Buy has better standards, they just want money any way they can get it.