Complaint Review: Best Buy

"I walked into the parking lot and continued my raised voiced, but not shouting chant at which point one of the employees told me if I said it one more time he would call the Police.

VERY BAD idea... I said it again, then told them to go ahead and call the cops. Up till that point I was gradually making my way to my car, but his comment made me stop and begin to continue my chant at the front door, outside the store so everyone in the store and the parking lot within earshot could hear it."

Let me go ahead and tell you how HUGE of a lie that is. You see, as previously stated, I'm the one that was in your face. That was me. I'm the one that also CALLED the police on you. I didn't just tell you I was going to in some sort of lamebrained attempt at getting you to come down from your adult hissy fit. Here's what really happened-

After you huffed and puffed but didn't get your way, all after treating everyone around you like dirt- with me standing RIGHT THERE- you started your idiotic "BEST BUY MAKES LITTLE KIDS CRY!!!" nonsense. When you did this, THAT was when your kid started crying. About 12 people immediately told you to get out, all at the same time. When you were being ESCORTED off the property for, at that point, trespassing on private property after refusing to leave after multiple requests were made for you to leave, you tried to act tough and get in the face of my coworker. I WAS right next to you, but at this point, I was in your face. I don't remember what I said to you, but whatever it was, it shut you up pretty quick. You most certainly did no such thing as "chant", as you so proudly claim to have done. No sir. By the time you were out of the store, you ran. Then you drove off like a total maniac. So when you tried to act hard and you got shut down, where does this "VERY BAD idea" bit come into play? You made a fool of yourself, you embarrassed and terrified your child, you put the lives of others in danger with your spastic driving, you were shut up by none other than me, I did call the police, and everyone was laughing at you.

So please... remind me where this bad idea was on our part? Because again- I didn't tell you "If you say it again!" No. I called the police, handed my phone to another employee to give the details, and I walked no more than 4 feet behind you to make very sure that you didn't try to do anything stupid again.

People like you are a true embarrassment to humanity in whole, specifically to those of us who try and do the right thing and act the age in which we currently reside. You achieved nothing in your episodic meltdown. You just lost. And the horror on your face when you tried to act tough and I shut you down was just sad. You are a sad, weak, cowardly little man, and you will be perpetually stuck in the cycle of hissy fits and a false sense of entitlement. For whatever company you're "CEO" of, I can only imagine that you will never achieve an IPO. And if you do, it won't be long until you're stripped of your title once any investor you would then work for would see how unhinged you really are.

OH- and one more thing...

We did some checking up on you after you left... yeah, you never spent anywhere close to the $50+k you claim. You think you're the first person to ever pull that number out of the air? Come on.

So I know that I am very much rehashing an old post, but I was right there on this particular day, and I will never forget this for as long as I live. It's not often that a grown adult acts so childish and causes such a huge scene over their own lapse in judgment, much less in front of their own child. I also can't help but laugh at your claim of being a "successful CEO", as nobody with any form of business sense would have genuinely expected this DS to be repaired, as the serial number was blatantly scratched off. This is purely common sense. But common sense is something you lacked on that fateful day, as did you lack self control, intellect, and the slightest bit of dignity for you or your child.

I say this because I was one of the guys in your face after you started to act like you were going to physically strike a coworker of mine. It's interesting how you failed to mention this in your report. I'm the guy you were afraid of. I'm the guy you backed down from. You also screamed "BEST BUY MAKES LITTLE KIDS CRY!!!"... not what you said you were screaming in your report. Get your facts straight. You treated every employee like absolute trash. You treated other customers like trash. Your child wasn't crying until you started screaming and made a fool of yourself. And when you got in my coworkers face and I got in the middle, you cowered off into your ridiculous looking vehicle and drove off in such a dangerous fashion that I got your plate number and filed a police report for child endangerment. The amount of time it took for you to get in the car to the time you sped off like a maniac did not leave ample time for your child to be properly buckled up. To be very honest with you, this was one of the saddest things I've ever seen an adult do, and it was flat out despicable that you did it in front of your own child. Have some personal accountability and known when to admit your faults.

In your eyes, you were a hero for "standing up to the evil Best Buy", but in the eyes of every single last person in that store, you were nothing more than a self important fool with too big of an ego and no grasp on reality. While you were speeding off in your car, endangering the lives of others in the parking lot (it was a busy day- the way you sped off could have very easily led to you striking a pedestrian or another car... with YOUR kid in the car), and most likely cursing up a storm, everyone in that store was laughing at you. And that is no lie. Your cowardice was not overlooked- many customers shook my hand for getting in your face after you showed signs of physical aggression. Your attempt at being cool ended in miserable failure. Every bit of this was on tape. And it WAS seen by the police. The guy you tried to intimidate was on the cusp of pressing charges against you, but was later talked out of doing so by someone pointing out that he would merely be giving you more of what you wanted and wasting his time on your miserable actions. You got extremely lucky that day.

I am not in the least bit a fan of the company I used to work for, and I am not taking the company's side. I left that company for many good reasons and I will never shop there again in my life. I'm just reporting this situation for what it was. You called us losers, yet you're the one that was permanently banned from all Best Buys in the world (quite a feat, I must let you know), had charges pending, and backed down when someone bigger than you got in the way of your temper tantrum. You're the one who treated everyone around you like they were dogs. You were the one screaming at the top of your lungs after knowing that your feeble attempt at getting something fixed that you intentionally messed up was thwarted. You were the one who acted so miserably that an entire store of people laughed at you and expressed sympathy to all who know you, as they felt you must be an insufferable human being to be around. You were the one that lost everything that day and gained nothing but ending up as a story to tell of adults that act like spoiled children. So who exactly is the loser again?

Way to make a gigantic scene. I hope you weren't planning on buying anything there ever again. I know you've stated that you won't, but I'd be surprised if you aren't politely escorted out of the store next time you need a cable Wal-Mart doesn't carry.
A lot of people steal stuff from Best Buy, because it isn't like stealing stuff from a house or car. You can get a broken Xbox 360 on eBay for ten dollars. You then buy a 360 from Best Buy, without a service plan or with. You take in the broken one, demand an exchange or a refund, and now have a game console for free.
If we didn't have precautions, every person who walked through our doors would rip us off. Sorry, but it's true.
As for the screen being visibly broken- your kid broke it. It wasn't a manufacturer's error and it wasn't a problem with the longevity of the product. If you wrecked your car would you expect the dealer's warranty to pay for the damages?
Your grown-up temper tantrum reminds me of another man I saw. We offered him a service plan on his satellite radio (no warranty on it to speak of) and he declined. Several weeks later, when it ceased to work, he brought it back in, and was shocked when we didn't give him the perks of the plan he didn't buy.
What he did was exit the store, scream a profanity back through the doors at us, and hurl his radio at the ground.
It took us 15 seconds to clean it up and was very interesting, because the product code he needed to cancel his digital subscription was on the bottom of the radio- and went into the compactor with the rest of it.
The moral of the story is that temper tantrums weren't effective when you were four, and they are not effective now.

Let me start by saying that the only priceless thing from this report is you causing a scene at Best Buy. Wow! I bet you looked like a fool! Complaining about a warranty you are not entitled to is just mind boggling. Even if the screen wasn't broken, the serial number must be intact for a return/exchange. This is a policy any company enforces because some people rip off companies this way. I am not saying you do this, but you must understand this. Claiming that you spend so much $$$ at Best Buy doesn't give you the right to bypass the rules of the warranty. I have a DS as well and use it almost every day. The serial number is not very easy to remove so I would suggest not letting kids of that young age play with an expensive toy like that. Either that or make them wash their hands! Your sense of entitlement is pathetic and I'm very happy you did not get your exchange. I guess Best Buy will lose a valued customer and a ton of money. They might even go bankrupt because of this HA HA!!!

Let me start by saying that the only priceless thing from this report is you causing a scene at Best Buy. Wow! I bet you looked like a fool! Complaining about a warranty you are not entitled to is just mind boggling. Even if the screen wasn't broken, the serial number must be intact for a return/exchange. This is a policy any company enforces because some people rip off companies this way. I am not saying you do this, but you must understand this. Claiming that you spend so much $$$ at Best Buy doesn't give you the right to bypass the rules of the warranty. I have a DS as well and use it almost every day. The serial number is not very easy to remove so I would suggest not letting kids of that young age play with an expensive toy like that. Either that or make them wash their hands! Your sense of entitlement is pathetic and I'm very happy you did not get your exchange. I guess Best Buy will lose a valued customer and a ton of money. They might even go bankrupt because of this HA HA!!!

I'm more appalled that you would behave this way in front of your child.

Well that's all they can do really .. you need a Serial Code for everything if you want it to be still under warranty. usually if you can still turn the machine on, they can check the serial just like ipods or computers where you don't need the serial inprint on the device.

to avoid this from happeneing again .. i suggest that you stick a sticker over the serial just so that it doesnt come off or anything of that.

There's a reason the serial number is important.

For instance, you admit to having 3 Nintendo DS units.

People buy 3 Nintendo DS units for their kids, and purchase ONE warranty, thinking that "whichever one breaks, is covered". I'm not saying you did this, but look at it from their standpoint, Mr. CEO DAD. You're a smart guy. The reason the serial number is mandatory is because Best Buy keeps track of the serial number when it's attached to a warranty.

That way, you can't buy a product with no warranty, a year down the line break it, and then buy the same new product and return the old one under the new warranty. Would YOU allow YOUR customers to rip you off like that? Of course not.

It's the oldest trick in the book. As a result, to keep from getting ripped off, retailers require a serial number to prove that the unit was:

a) purchased at their store, and not on, say Ebay, and for high profile items like DS, they can tell.
b) actually verify by the unit that a warranty was purchased on it.
c) retailers see "no serial number" as black market items. Nobody will touch it, because to get credit from the manufacturer, they have to prove they bought it from the manufacturer. NOBODY. WILL. TOUCH. IT. So be mad at Best Buy all you want. Sears and Circuit City and pretty much any company is going to tell you to take a long walk off a short pier and hug an octopus if your merchandise doesn't have a serial number on it.
And maybe d) If the screen was broken, that kind of damage isn't covered anyway, thus actually VOIDING the warranty (despite whatever your problem was) and your kid broke his toy. The retailer didn't do that.

They didn't "void it on a technicality", as you state. They voided on the basis that without a serial number, Nintendo tells them, "We don't know where you got this, and thus, we're not giving you any money back for it". Nobody can prove where you got it because your kid removed it. Or it rubbed off.

There's a reason the serial number is important.

For instance, you admit to having 3 Nintendo DS units.

People buy 3 Nintendo DS units for their kids, and purchase ONE warranty, thinking that "whichever one breaks, is covered". I'm not saying you did this, but look at it from their standpoint, Mr. CEO DAD. You're a smart guy. The reason the serial number is mandatory is because Best Buy keeps track of the serial number when it's attached to a warranty.

That way, you can't buy a product with no warranty, a year down the line break it, and then buy the same new product and return the old one under the new warranty. Would YOU allow YOUR customers to rip you off like that? Of course not.

It's the oldest trick in the book. As a result, to keep from getting ripped off, retailers require a serial number to prove that the unit was:

a) purchased at their store, and not on, say Ebay, and for high profile items like DS, they can tell.
b) actually verify by the unit that a warranty was purchased on it.
c) retailers see "no serial number" as black market items. Nobody will touch it, because to get credit from the manufacturer, they have to prove they bought it from the manufacturer. NOBODY. WILL. TOUCH. IT. So be mad at Best Buy all you want. Sears and Circuit City and pretty much any company is going to tell you to take a long walk off a short pier and hug an octopus if your merchandise doesn't have a serial number on it.
And maybe d) If the screen was broken, that kind of damage isn't covered anyway, thus actually VOIDING the warranty (despite whatever your problem was) and your kid broke his toy. The retailer didn't do that.

They didn't "void it on a technicality", as you state. They voided on the basis that without a serial number, Nintendo tells them, "We don't know where you got this, and thus, we're not giving you any money back for it". Nobody can prove where you got it because your kid removed it. Or it rubbed off.

There's a reason the serial number is important.

For instance, you admit to having 3 Nintendo DS units.

People buy 3 Nintendo DS units for their kids, and purchase ONE warranty, thinking that "whichever one breaks, is covered". I'm not saying you did this, but look at it from their standpoint, Mr. CEO DAD. You're a smart guy. The reason the serial number is mandatory is because Best Buy keeps track of the serial number when it's attached to a warranty.

That way, you can't buy a product with no warranty, a year down the line break it, and then buy the same new product and return the old one under the new warranty. Would YOU allow YOUR customers to rip you off like that? Of course not.

It's the oldest trick in the book. As a result, to keep from getting ripped off, retailers require a serial number to prove that the unit was:

a) purchased at their store, and not on, say Ebay, and for high profile items like DS, they can tell.
b) actually verify by the unit that a warranty was purchased on it.
c) retailers see "no serial number" as black market items. Nobody will touch it, because to get credit from the manufacturer, they have to prove they bought it from the manufacturer. NOBODY. WILL. TOUCH. IT. So be mad at Best Buy all you want. Sears and Circuit City and pretty much any company is going to tell you to take a long walk off a short pier and hug an octopus if your merchandise doesn't have a serial number on it.
And maybe d) If the screen was broken, that kind of damage isn't covered anyway, thus actually VOIDING the warranty (despite whatever your problem was) and your kid broke his toy. The retailer didn't do that.

They didn't "void it on a technicality", as you state. They voided on the basis that without a serial number, Nintendo tells them, "We don't know where you got this, and thus, we're not giving you any money back for it". Nobody can prove where you got it because your kid removed it. Or it rubbed off.

There's a reason the serial number is important.

For instance, you admit to having 3 Nintendo DS units.

People buy 3 Nintendo DS units for their kids, and purchase ONE warranty, thinking that "whichever one breaks, is covered". I'm not saying you did this, but look at it from their standpoint, Mr. CEO DAD. You're a smart guy. The reason the serial number is mandatory is because Best Buy keeps track of the serial number when it's attached to a warranty.

That way, you can't buy a product with no warranty, a year down the line break it, and then buy the same new product and return the old one under the new warranty. Would YOU allow YOUR customers to rip you off like that? Of course not.

It's the oldest trick in the book. As a result, to keep from getting ripped off, retailers require a serial number to prove that the unit was:

a) purchased at their store, and not on, say Ebay, and for high profile items like DS, they can tell.
b) actually verify by the unit that a warranty was purchased on it.
c) retailers see "no serial number" as black market items. Nobody will touch it, because to get credit from the manufacturer, they have to prove they bought it from the manufacturer. NOBODY. WILL. TOUCH. IT. So be mad at Best Buy all you want. Sears and Circuit City and pretty much any company is going to tell you to take a long walk off a short pier and hug an octopus if your merchandise doesn't have a serial number on it.
And maybe d) If the screen was broken, that kind of damage isn't covered anyway, thus actually VOIDING the warranty (despite whatever your problem was) and your kid broke his toy. The retailer didn't do that.

They didn't "void it on a technicality", as you state. They voided on the basis that without a serial number, Nintendo tells them, "We don't know where you got this, and thus, we're not giving you any money back for it". Nobody can prove where you got it because your kid removed it. Or it rubbed off.

Let me get this straight...you brought in a Nintendo DS which had a broken screen and asked the store to replace it without a receipt or a serial number on the back? and Best Buy refused to honor the replacement warranty ( if in fact you did buy a replacement warranty and not a performance plan). How are they to know if you didn't pick it out of a dumpster?

In your complaint you stated that you already returned one that your other son had, and nowhere did you state when you bought the said items.

For your information ( and I am not trying to be condescending) a warranty of any type is meant to replace a faulty product due to defect of some sort. If your six year old child broke the thing by throwing it across a playground or running it over with a bicycle, it is not a defect, it was broken by physical damage and not caused by "normal wear and tear."

I am a parent of three who are now all almost grown. I would never think of giving a 6 year old a $120 portable video game. It would be like giving him a cell phone.Think about that before buying such an expensive babysitter for a six year old. Stores won't keep replacing the things for free for forever. Just my two cents.