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@Lin-Z: Yes, and as we all know from regularly reading this site (if not already from personal experience), Best Buy is a model of following proper policy, from floor staff up through management.
@Lin-Z: Yes, and as we all know from regularly reading this site (if not already from personal experience), Best Buy is a model of following proper policy, from floor staff up through management.
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I love Call of Duty! But, the wife hates it I like her 'company' more so I guess I'll just have to live without it...
I know when you buy DVD's and CD's the serial number on the disc matches the number on the plastic case it came in--I wonder if your copy also matched...but it sounds like you not only didn't get a blank COD4, but a pure blank disc with no inscription on it whatsoever...
weird. I'm glad Best Buy took it back. Tell Geek Squad to hurry up and peek into that hot girl's computer some more...
\"Best part being where he told me prison is totally worth a $50 game.\"
Should've replied, \"No, but prison is totally worth me jumping over the counter and shoving this disc straight down your porn-stealing throat...\"
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I can't really fault BB here. This really looks like a manufacturing problem. These were sealed games right? So this had to of happend where it was made.
This happened to me at Best Buy a few years back. I bought a \"sealed\" copy of Final Fantasy X that had nothing but a blank Memorex disc in it. After being told to contact Square Enix (yeah right) I asked for a manager and got it exchanged.
Not sure how they do it, but I believe people do steal discs, wrap the game back up somehow and return it.
Post-purchase disappointment can be inevitable, but most people would like the opportunity to at least get bored of the gameplay when they buy Call of Duty 4.
I woulda busted that kid straight in the mouth, because we all know the probability that you swapped it out with the same brand of blank DVD is 100%.
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Didn't get a blank disc, but did get a defective COD4 disc. None of the computers I tried it on could install off it. At least there wasn't any hassle exchanging.
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DO geeksquad employees have any authority to interact with shoppers?
Why did he accept a gift card?!?! Demand a refund, not some gift card crap.
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@FLConsumer: Best Buy gift cards are rebranded AMEX gift cards and can be spent wherever AMEX is accepted.
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You would think after all these stories that people would pay, get the receipt, stop, and open it up right there. I can't imagine that is against store policy.
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Best Buy seems to have a real problem with accusing customers of theft. i brought a DOA hard drive back to them a couple years ago, only to be accused of putting a different drive in the same packaging.... the customer service rep first claimed the drive serial # didn't match with the serial on the package, and proceeded to yell at me for trying to, uh, \"pull a fast one.\"
when i made him get his manager, it took the dude 5 seconds to point out that the Best Buy rep had been looking at the *wrong number*, and the serials did indeed match.
that kid was lucky i didn't punch him in the face for calling me a liar. ... i didn't get an apology, either. needless to say, they haven't had my business since then.
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idon't ever enter a best buy.....my mantra is,
best buy sucketh
I used to work for a dumpy electronics reseller that would buy truckloads of returned items from best buy directly.
I was in charge of testing the computer items. I would test pallets, literally hundreds of these high dollar external enclosures. They had regular maxtor PATA drives inside them. People would routinely swap the drives out, then return to the store. I would see super old drives in the new enclosures.
We would get the receipts taped to the item, and they stated why the customer returned. It was usually \"didn't work, or didn't want\"
Such a shame that all of us have to pay super high best buy prices for a bunch of losers who run scams like this.
I will never shop in a box electronics store, i just ordered a 2 dollar computer switch on the internet.
This doesn't surprise me at ALL!
A while back I worked for short period at a store called Egghead. This was a software retail chain, it's been out of business for a long time. The unwritten policy at all the stores was that sales associates were allowed to 'check out' software anytime they wanted. We were given careful guidance on how to open packages and reseal them so to avoid ruining the factory sealed appearance.
We even had a christmas party, sponsored by Microsoft ... IN Microsoft's regional office. One of the party games was to see who could repackage software the quickest.
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@Hinomura: Tempting, but I'd just tell the Geek Squad goon to shut up and go back to his lair, if the clerk didn't already. Better yet, get his name and report him to a manager.
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See the thing is that best buy wzs good this round. It was a manufracturing problem. But the Geek Squad guy is the real problem. I would've demanded to see a manager. And just said loudly that I didn't appreaciate being called a thief for a disc problem. Then demand a full refund and never shop there again. (Unless I was given a bigger gift card)
Wouldn't the fact that the Geek had seen this in the last week indicate that Zak was NOT a scammer? Presumably he saw the guy doing it before and knew that it wasn't the same guy. I don't follow his \"This has been happening a lot--you're obviously perpetrating it\" logic.
Damn, I wish an employee at BB would accuse me of stealing to my face. I really do. That would be some mightily satisfying righteous indignation right there. Ow.
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\"Oh no, oh my God no, oh sweet Jesus was it blank?\"
\"Yep.\"
This strong of a reaction seems a bit odd.
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I really hope your gift card works when the time comes to cash it in.
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It was probably employee theft. Open the box out of view of the camera, switch for real disc for a blank one, shrink wrap package. Happened at my old job with DVDs all the time.
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A few yeasrs ago, while my Wife was the local EB Games Manager, she started getting returns of xbox games with other disks inside.
Blanks, pc gamer demos.....
There was 1 kid who was returning alot of unopened xbox games.
Next time he came in to return one, She opened it and there it was, pc gamer demo disk. She refused the return and he never came back.
Thing it, there were still sealed. So he had some way of opening the case and sealing it again.
By the way, ever wonder why they put 3 of those anoying long stickers on CD cases? When they only use one, you can just open it from the other side by releasing the top cover from the 2 pegs
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@kc2idf:
@FLConsumer: Best Buy gift cards are rebranded AMEX gift cards and can be spent wherever AMEX is accepted.
--
Are you sure about that? That would be great if true. You can bet if I get one for X-Mas I will not use it at Best Buy...
First off, these retailers need to start watching their people and the products they sell. The hard drive and these blank discs, which, if all are true, must be an inside job from either the manufacturer or retailer, and the iPods being switched out for rocks all prove that there's a problem with the employees. Stop blaming the customers if you're not watching your merchandise well enough.
Also, things like this happening really make customers think twice before shopping there... and that's definitely NOT what the company wants. They need to learn to deal with it.
When my brother bought that world of warcraft game. I decided to get him one of those cards for 3 months of online game play. It came in a box, with some pamphlets and some other papers. Was heading out the door, but having read all the empty box stories, or people getting bricks or blocks of wood, instead of monitors and so on, I turned back to the cashier, and opened the box in front of him. Sure enough, lots of papers and things, but no card. I really wonder how many people get stuck with empty boxes or boxes filled with junk. I know a lot of us these kinds of sites, would fight it out to get refunds or exchanges, but how many people just write it off as a loss and don't bother. For the last year or so, if I buy anything worth more than a few bucks I'll open it up in the store before leaving. Reading all the stories online and in the papers, has left me very cynical and cautious.
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I had this happen back in 2000 just after the PS2 came out, I purchased a game and inside I found an AOL disk! I returned it to the store and exchanged it with no fuss.
But an AOL CD...I think I'd rather have the blank.
I've had enough. I'm never buying anything from Best Buy again. They don't give a shit about their customers.
@kc2idf:
Does anyone know if this is true? And if so.... I wonder how a non-best buy retail store would react when you brought in a clearly best buy branded gift card in to use in their store? I'd bet they would not allow you to use it. You may be able to use it at an the retailer's online store though.
Someone needs to check this out!
@korith: Working at best buy I saw the world of warcraft thing happen several times. I always exchanged the card no problem and I'd open the package to make sure the new one was in the box. Several times the one I opened still had no card. Why is everyone so quick to blame the stores employees and not the manufactuar?
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It's against Best Buy policy for employees to accuse, or even suggest, a customer of stealing. If you remember his name you could report him to the management. It may not do any good, but it could be satisfying.