I used to think Best Buy was a nice store. I never bought anything more than video games and blank audio cassettes and had no problems. However, earlier this year I decided to purchase a digital camera. I decided to go to Best Buy because I had purchased a digital camera for my dad last Christmas and bought it without any problems and the employee was very helpful in my purchase.
The problem began when I entered the store. I searched for a camera that was in my price range and that had features I liked. I stood at the display case for about 20 minutes and nobody came to assist me. After some time, I caught the attention of an employee who was able to open the display case and get the camera that I wanted to buy. While pulling the box out of the case, he told me a list of items that I would need to accompany my purchase:
- Battery Charger
- Batteries
- Camera Case
- Memory Stick
First of all, the camera included a battery charger, batteries, and a memory stick. I wasn't aware that it included a battery charger, but I didn't buy one because we already have one at home. Had I known that a battery charger was included, I would have cancelled the sale and left the store.
He told me it included batteries, but he explained that I would need a backup set of batteries when the other ones go out because they take a while to charge. I am not that serious about the pictures I take. The majority of my pictures are of street signs and bums selling newspapers. I just take pictures of anything I see until the battery runs out. Hardly any reason for me to buy another set of batteries.
An 8 MB memory stick was included with the camera, but he told me that it would not hold as many pictures as a 32 MB stick will. I know that. Read the above paragraph, my pictures are not that important to me. A 32 MB stick would be applicable if I were taking pictures using the highest quality setting, but I'm not. I use the lowest quality setting when taking most of my pictures unless I am purposely trying to drain the battery, in which case I still wouldn't need a 32 MB stick.
There's a point in all this. The salesman was very forceful in getting me to buy the items I didn't need. While I didn't take the time to explain the specifics of why I didn't want to buy the items he suggested, that wasn't neccessary. If I say I'm not interested, there's no reason to give me a commercial as to why I should buy an item. The only thing I was interested in buying was a camera case, and after the way he treated me, I didn't even want to buy that.
If that wasn't enough, he pushed Best Buy's warranty plan on me. I learned a long time ago that those are a waste of money. It was something like $40 or $50. Even if something goes wrong with your product, there isn't anything a little complaining can't fix. Never buy a warranty plan.
Last month, I bought a CD/mp3 player for my car. I saw it advertised as $150 with free installation. I thought "hmm, that's a good price, I'll hit that." Two hours and $200+ later, I left Best Buy upset at myself for having my cassette player removed. Yes, the installation was free, but they make you pay for anything extra that may need to be done. The rack that held the cassette player in was damaged, something of my father's doing. I was aware of that, but they charged around $30 to replace it and an additional $30 for labor. Since I know nothing about installing things in cars, I was left with no choice but to pay or have no music. I am far from a car audio expert, but I don't think a metal rack should cost $30, and I don't think I should be paying $30 for you to turn some screws.
In conclusion, if you want crappy, overpriced service, then by all means shop at Best Buy. Otherwise, your money would be better spent elsewhere.
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