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/systems/first-edition-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.

[Smashed Brother]

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


This isn't necessarily true. Retailers are legally required to take US funds, but how those funds are paid (payed for some of you) and/or received is up to the retailer. I'm not comfortable with the idea that we may be headed towards an all-credit based monetary system, but if that's how retailers want to accept payment, there's nothing we can do about it.

[Kitsune Sniper]

This isn't necessarily true. Retailers are legally required to take US funds, but how those funds are paid (payed for some of you) and/or received is up to the retailer. I'm not comfortable with the idea that we may be headed towards an all-credit based monetary system, but if that's how retailers want to accept payment, there's nothing we can do about it.Sure ya can. You can buy the stuff somewhere else.

[Bojay1997]

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

Look, I agree with you that the manager and employees were poorly informed and for that they owe you an apology. Everything else, however, is entirely your responsibility. Contrary to your assertions, there is no such thing as a $5 preorder and pick up of the bundle you ordered on the 14th or the 15th. Your bundle and the $250 WiFi version will be available on Wednesday the 22nd as advertised.

Sony made a decision in late November/early December to create this newer bundle exclusively for the 3G edition (Canada actually got a WiFi version which would have been nice for those of us who think the 3G is a waste of money), likely because preorders for that version were low in Japan and also low here. That bundle is $50 higher in MSRP than what you ordered and it includes a $30 game, a $20 4 Gig memory card and a case which is exclusive to that bundle. For your $300, you are going to get the system plus an 8 Gig memory card and a download of Super Stardust and one month of 3G service. Keep in mind that when you preordered, all you were supposed to get is the system and again Sony bumped up the freebies to encourage people to buy the 3G.

Yes, people that spent the extra $50 and ordered the later bundle are currently enjoying their Vitas. Having said that, they really overpaid and were stuck with stuff they might not really want including a mediocre game and a small memory card. Sure, Best Buy probably should have contacted you to see if you wanted to spend the extra $50, but frankly, I don't want stores calling me and one of the reasons I never shop at Gamestop retail locations is that I don't want to be harassed about pre-orders.

I have had my share of issues with Best Buy. I ordered several games at Christmas for store pick-up that the employees literally bought themselves when they saw the orders come through, leaving me with nothing. Best Buy customer service has always made things right, however, giving me another $50 Kinect game free, letting me buy a $60 game for $5 and finally giving me a $25 and $75 gift card for two other holiday issues. So, yes, they can really be hard to deal with and frankly not well informed at times, but if you come in armed with a little knowledge, you can actually get things resolved in a way that satisfies you and allows them to build the goodwill to keep you as a customer.

[kedawa]

So, in a nutshell, you're pissed off because the thing you ordered is being shipped on the date that it is supposed to launch, rather than getting shipped to you extra early for no good reason?
Why do you care if someone who bought the crappier bundle has theirs already?
What the hell does it have to do with you?

[Zing]

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 game in question was Mortal Kombat Trilogy for the N64. Anyone else who was scammed into paying $70 for what is Superman 64 level of bad would understand.

As for Win95, the box itself instructed consumers to return the product to the store for a full refund if unsatisfied. The manager still didn't want to do it.

[Zing]

This isn't necessarily true. Retailers are legally required to take US funds, but how those funds are paid (payed for some of you) and/or received is up to the retailer. I'm not comfortable with the idea that we may be headed towards an all-credit based monetary system, but if that's how retailers want to accept payment, there's nothing we can do about it.
I have trouble believing this is true. It is usually written in statute that "legal tender" must be accepted. In Canada, the statute goes so far as to state the limits on each coin type after which you can refuse. For example, if someone tried to pay their $100 electric bill with dimes.

[calthaer]

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.

But: BB is a big company. There are many thousands of SKUs, and probably hundreds of promotions. They should, but may not, have a comprehensive system to keep track of all of this. It makes a lot of sense to you that they should have notified you that there was a "new deal," but the fact of the matter is that their system would not have caught that unless someone programmed that in - and someone didn't program that very specific logic into the system (if any new product has a second deal, the people who got the first deal should get first dibs or be notified). It got lost in the shuffle.

This is the type of service that a small, mom & pop shop would give you - because mom & pop would think things through and realize how the customer would feel if Second Deal customers were served before First Deal customers. At the very least, mom & pop would be nice to you when they realized they made a mistake, because mom & pop would care about your business. But you didn't buy your Vita from a mom & pop store - you bought it from a big box retailer. If there were any mom & pop stores around - and there probably aren't, because you and me and everyone else fled to big box stores, and Sony probably wouldn't even give them stock of new products, to boot - they would charge you $20 more for the system.

It's a tradeoff: low price for low service. Service is getting better over time as people are figuring out the mechanics of database marketing, but it hasn't quite replaced the service that you could have gotten from the mom & pop stores. There is no big-box-store customer-service artificial intelligence that would think about these things the same way human beings would. You really shouldn't expect such an AI to exist, either, at this early point in the ascent of big box retailers - you should take your lower price and realize that there are things you're giving up to keep that extra $20 in your pocket.

[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.

[dairugger]

i was able to get my first ed bundle from frys electronics, everybody else was sold out (a fact gamestop loved telling me, i shouldve preordered), i on a whim called frys electronics the day after it was released and talked to a rep who told me to order it on their site but select the pick up at store option. ten minutes later and a email letting me know it was ready for pickup, i was on my way to my precious. they had 3 others left.

[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.

[duffmanth]

I would cancel your pre-order, get a refund, then wait until the price of the Vita, the memory cards and the games drop, then buy it.

[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.

[Graham Mitchell]

I would never want them to call and harass me, but an email (especially if it involved something I preordered) wouldn't be so bad.


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.928073,-118.226516

[The 1 2 P]

Graham Mitchell(and anyone else picking up a Vita) I'm not sure if you are aware of this but all next week Target is having a "buy 2 games get one free" deal for all Vita games. It starts tomorrow(Sunday) so you might want to jump on that. I know this isn't the deals thread but since this one has gotten so much traffic I just figured I'd direct new Vita owners to the deal. That way yall can justify paying $50 for Uncharted: Golden Abyss....well, almost justify it:p

[Graham Mitchell]

Graham Mitchell(and anyone else picking up a Vita) I'm not sure if you are aware of this but all next week Target is having a "buy 2 games get one free" deal for all Vita games. It starts tomorrow(Sunday) so you might want to jump on that. I know this isn't the deals thread but since this one has gotten so much traffic I just figured I'd direct new Vita owners to the deal. That way yall can justify paying $50 for Uncharted: Golden Abyss....well, almost justify it:p

Hey, cool thanx for the heads up. Itd be a quick way to build up a decent library.

Btw- I opened up wipeout this morning, and...welcome to the future. No manual. I know some console games have been doing this for awhile, but this is the first time I've seen a launch game come without one.

I guess we're entering a new era, boys and girls!


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.928297,-118.226620

[substantial_snake]

I really wish I would of know about the Target deal sooner, I had already opened up my newegg package with Uncharted and Wipeout by the time I had herd.

On the no manual thing be prepared, Uncharted doesn't have one either. Not even an add or scrap of online code nonsense. The game doesn't even have a reverse cover like the first and second ones did. Its a bit surprising since with big first party stuff they tend to go all out. I honestly don't know what I am going to read on the toliet from now on. :(

[Dangerboy]

GameStop's got the Buy 2 Get 1 as well starting Sunday. - New Vita games. Weee!

[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?

[Gamereviewgod]

GameStop's got the Buy 2 Get 1 as well starting Sunday. - New Vita games. Weee!

Note GameStop's is first party games only.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Ahhhh, an interesting kick in the pants by retailers to my plan of going all-digital in this Sony portable generation.

Well Target it looks like you have my software money this week!

[Emperor Megas]

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.I'm a lifelong gamer, and I'M callous and non-understanding of the whole 'I can't wait a second longer than I need to' mentality of gamers over the age of 10. I'm not knocking anyone for being passionate (or obsessive), I'm just saying that I honestly don't understand the emphasis on immediacy. I know people who literally refuse to play a game they're never played before if it's more than 3 months old. I use to think that this was an isolated thing, but I hear and see more and more of it all the time.


And I'm not preordering a console from them ever again.Unless there is some worthwhile bonus swag, is there really a reason to pre-order systems and games at all? I'm not suggesting there's none, I'm honestly asking if you find that these things are difficult to acquire if you don't pre-order them, or if the benefit of having it all squared away when you go to get it is worth the risk of there being some dramatic bullshit like what you had to go through with this. I've heard literally hundreds of stories on forums over the years of people pre-ordering and prepaying in full and having retailers sell their copies anyway. It's almost never hard to find a copy of whatever it was at another location, but you have to go through the trouble of getting a refund (if they let you).

The whole pre-order thing is really lost on me. People don't do it for anything else that I know of (at least not to the extent). Movies, books, music, etc.. Why so with games?


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)?I'm sort of on the same page.


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.I think it's extreme to say that he/she has "NO respect" for those who work in retail. Some of the products he mentioned have manufacturer's return policies if I understand it correctly, and I certainly understand why someone would want to return a terrible game that they paid upwards of $70 for, especially in the 90s. Walmart has (or had) a policy about returns where as there/were certain types that you can only do so many times per year. There could be something similar in place to prevent people from use their outlet as a free game rental service.


So, in a nutshell, you're pissed off because the thing you ordered is being shipped on the date that it is supposed to launch, rather than getting shipped to you extra early for no good reason?
Why do you care if someone who bought the crappier bundle has theirs already?
What the hell does it have to do with you?Again, I feel this way. But I admit, I don't understand the gotta have it ASAP mentality. It reminds me of something that mainly young children do. I have a friend who's youngest child always wants something if his older sister has it. It's not that he's even that jazzed about whatever it is, he just doesn't like the idea of her having something he doesn't have, or doesn't have yet.

There's no reason for retailers to be rude to customers, I'm not excusing that in any way, but I really don't get the foaming mouth fervor of some people when it comes to needing a new game or system on day one.

[Graham Mitchell]

@emperor megas: I don't really get the "must have it on day one mentality either.". I was just butthurt because I put money down for it and the deal was not totally honored. And the response I got from them when I brought it to their attention was atrocious.

But yeah, GameStop shreds and tosses strategy guides for games that are only 6 months old. That's silly to me but there must be enough people out there who think a 3 month old game is obsolete that the chances of them selling those to a mainstream audience are pretty low. I think we're in the minority, sadly.

[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.


http://apps.mkron.net/i/f405083b3

[kainemaxwell]

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
Even better, submit the photo and story to the major online video game news outlets.

[Gamevet]

i was able to get my first ed bundle from frys electronics, everybody else was sold out (a fact gamestop loved telling me, i shouldve preordered), i on a whim called frys electronics the day after it was released and talked to a rep who told me to order it on their site but select the pick up at store option. ten minutes later and a email letting me know it was ready for pickup, i was on my way to my precious. they had 3 others left.

Fry's is the best electronics store out there. I rarely buy anything from Best Buy, because their prices are too high, the product selection is pretty limited, and their customer service pales in comparison.

[BlastProcessing402]

I have trouble believing this is true. It is usually written in statute that "legal tender" must be accepted. In Canada, the statute goes so far as to state the limits on each coin type after which you can refuse. For example, if someone tried to pay their $100 electric bill with dimes.

Legal tender for all DEBTS. Buying a DVD is not a debt. This is why stores are allowed to refuse to accept hundred dollar bills.

That said, I've never seen this bit of "no cash" nonsense at any Best Buy I've ever been to. I always pay cash everywhere except when buying online.