http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
If not, maybe you should go look it up before you make a fool of yourself on a public forum.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 7:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 4:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 4th 2007 12:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 5th 2007 7:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 6th 2007 8:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 2:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 2:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
Most of the time, the employees do know to check the external website, but I have had one not do that.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 7:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
Intranet sites can only be accessed from inside store. The mere fact that it is made to look identical to the website, with the intent to get customers, who at that point are already there with the intent to buy, to pay a little extra to turn a larger profit, is FRAUDULENT and UNETHICAL period.

I know the store is cool and all, but its like defending the crime of a superstar athlete simply because he's famous. It's silly.]]>Mar 8th 2007 1:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
If you dont want to go through the hassle of driving to town 2 times to get 1 item. Just bring the printout to the store the day you purchase your item, you will not get the additional 10% but you will get the lower price. again, The treat their website and their in-store AS 2 DIFFERENT STORES. they even compete with eachother, its an odd concept. just get used to printing out the price/sale you see online and bring it upfront. Sure its a hassle, but it beats waiting for shipping. and quite often their sales are good. like the Zen VIsion: M i bought. I saved 50 bucks from the printout sale, then the 10% (20) ADDITIONAL SAVINGS...]]>Mar 3rd 2007 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 2:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
This is really bad and Best Buy needs to be put through the ringer over this one. ]]>Mar 3rd 2007 2:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 4:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/...shame on bestbuy. but, then again, you gotta love the rewards program. :-)]]>Mar 3rd 2007 2:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/> ...shame on bestbuy. but, then again, you gotta
>> love the rewards program. :-)

No, I don't. They have repeatedly made their rewards program anything but rewarding. It started out like "spend $100, get a $5 coupon." Then they moved to "spend $150 and get a $5 coupon, and we won't count any money you may get back as a rebate." Then they changed it to "spend $250 and get a $5 coupon." In case this isn't clear enough: Best Buy is telling you they would rather you find something for $5 cheaper at circuit city than spend $249 at their store.

F that. Rewardzone is useless. Oh, and the capper: when I called to complain after getting the second letter informing me of the "exciting changes" that they were making to make it harder to get coupons, the support person told me they increased the points required based on customer feedback. Yeah, I bet tons of customers called saying "it's too easy to earn rewards. You should make it cost more."

Whatever. As for price matching, the guy at best buy told me (when I was buying my TV) that they purely price match bestbuy.com and price match + 10% difference of price for competitors. And when I brought in a CC ad showing the same price that best buy.com had, they said they already price matched that price to BestBuy.com and so I couldn't get the 10%. This is on a plasma too, so the extra 10% would have been like $30.

Best Buy can go screw.

-p-]]>Mar 3rd 2007 5:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
On a different occasion, I heard a salesman say to an elderly woman interested in purchasing a Sony television, "You really should get the extended service plan. Nowadays, these things break after a year or two. Sometimes they don't even last a full year..." I wondered to myself what the people at Sony would think of the way they were being represented by these clowns.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 2:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 9:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.retailworker.com/node/33404]]>Mar 3rd 2007 3:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
Be careful purchasing anything at best buy. After careful comparison shopping, you will find that they often charge higher than manufacturer's suggested retail on many items. For example: Apple's replacement earphones for the iPod (MA9394G) are $39.00 if purchased at an Apple store or online. At bestbuy.com the identical item is $49.99! Even the iPod's are priced $.99 more at the store or online than if you purchase directly from Apple.

Be careful. "Best Buy" is usually the worst buy.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 3:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
Also , regarding that "web site", A few weeks ago I saw that BB showed stock on the Logitech Edge at 5 of the 6 local stores. When I went to one of the stores with stock, the associate pulled up the "same" web site that showed none of the stores carrying it. Thinking I had dreamed the whole thing up, I went home, pulled it up again, and sure enough, they were showing stock? What the f*k?!

My biggest beef with Best Buy....They sold me a $400 Video Card that only contained cables and software disks. That was about 6 years ago. Letters to BBB did no good (don't even bother with BBB) Yeah I got screwed, but I still shop there. Why??? Because I'm an electronics junky. ]]>Mar 3rd 2007 6:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 7th 2007 11:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
Best advice: bring in a printout with a timestamp and show customer service.]]>Mar 10th 2007 11:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
terrible store, terrible sales people, terrible pay, terrible selection. I only buy from there when the price is so low that I know they're taking a loss on it.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 3:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 3:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 3:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 3:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/ "i looked at the URL and saw that it obviously wasn't the .com site."

Ha...I'm surprised the didn't trick out their router/DNS to take requests for the internet URL to the shady in-house page...I mean in an ELECTRONICS store they'd have to expect at least some of their customers to have a modicum of computer/internet savy and notice something like that.

""do you want me to go to bestbuy.com on my phone and show you?" as i pulled out my BB pearl. He then proceeded to say "no no, thats ok" as he logged into the regular bestbuy.com site"

Double ha...I love it how the sales guy buckled like a belt. I actually applied for a part-time job at my local best buy while I was in college. I'm glad they never called back... ]]>Mar 3rd 2007 3:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
And whatever Best Buy actually says, most employees don't know. In the store I was in, I would say half if not more had zero idea, though it has been in effect for a very long time. Of course it is to confuse the customers. In that regard its a great idea. Power to them. ]]>Mar 3rd 2007 3:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 11:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/It pisses off every customer.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 3:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
The bad thing about this is about a year or so ago Best Buy changed their price matching policy to include the prices on Bestbuy.com. Before this change the two (Brick & Mortar and Online) were seen as different entities and we normally not match the online price. I have seen a lot of comments about Bestbuy not responsible for matching their website price because they are two distinct entities. While this may be true for some retailers, BestBuy has specifically made it part of their policy to do so.

Whether it's ignorant employees or not, BestBuy has made a big mistake here. My brother just tried to get a price match the other day to BestBuy.com and they totally showed him their intranet price, which was $20 more. He called me and I told him to have them look the price up on one of the Geek Squad computers (these computers are not connected to the internal site). They, at first, looked at him like he was an idiot when he told them about the "intranet site", but they checked the price anyway. Low and behold, the Geek Squad computer reflected the lower price.

Anyway, now that this is out in the spotlight I'm sure the empluyees will be a little less ignorant.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 3:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
...now that this is out in the spotlight I'm sure the empluyees will be a little less ignorant."

Oh, the irony.

]]>Mar 3rd 2007 9:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 3:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 5th 2007 2:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 3:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 3:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 4:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
Just yesterday a guy came in looking for Casper. Casper is $9.99 on www.BestBuy.com (intranet and internet). It's $11.99 in the store. We price matched it for him and he got it for $9.99.

Real misleading. :O
]]>Mar 3rd 2007 4:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 4:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 4:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 4:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
Best Buy always seems to be more expensive than everyone else...even the name is deceiving...lol.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 4:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
I requested access to the internet and low and behold the price was the same as when I check from home less than 15 minutes before.

At that point, I asked them to match the price and was told NO. I immediately asked to see the store manager who after I demonstrated the problem, had no problem matching the price.

The reason I was given, was that the store displays an "internal" site that is not always updated.

This is a purposefull act by Best Buy to defraud customers. There is no doubt in my mind. They only capitulate when caught.



]]>Mar 3rd 2007 9:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 5:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 5:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Apr 5th 2007 8:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
What this probably fails to say, is that yes, prices can vary from intranet to internet sales, because sales aren't always entered into our intranet site, but, the internet site is accessable at any kiosk, and we will match the internet site no questions asked. It happens, and any honest employee will either take it to a manager, or just price match it.]]>Mar 3rd 2007 6:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/Mar 3rd 2007 6:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
My boss immediately told me that if I showed another employee I would be fired. Then he wanted to know how. Pretty funny since no one in Geek Squad or the entire store for that matter, knew the simple little "trick" that everyone should know by now.

CTRL + E opens a search box on the left side, and you can go any where by searching ;)]]>Mar 4th 2007 4:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/03/best-buys-secret-intranet-site-exposed/
CC employees told me I would have to go home to print the page showing the discount and bring it back just to get the discount. I finally found a laptop in the store that was left logged in to the store's network where I could access the internet. There I pulled up the page and showed an employee the discount.

After 45 mins of trouble, I finally got the discount, but CC DOES HAVE AN INTRANET AS WELL with different prices and discounts. Still, the employees were willing to let me prove the discount existed. Some seemed to know about the intranet and others didn't... so there's my story.

]]>Mar 3rd 2007 6:48PM