It’s memorial day, and BestBuy had sent me some coupons. Not amazing coupons, but 10% off this or that, should I happen to be in their store this weekend.
So, I’m hanging out around the house and come to the conclusion that having a second digital camera would be a really good idea. And shortly later, I’m standing in BestBuy in Sterling, VA.
Mind you, I’ve already decided upon the camera I want. It’s oh so niiiiiice. And, Noah, our helpful sales person, quickly has it in my hands, so I can grope the box with anticipation.
He’s also, it appears, is the master of up-sales, because I’m now also holding the fastest 8GB card they’ve got, a really slick HD card reader, a nice carrying case, and I’ve just signed up for the 4 year warranty plan …with accidental coverage as well. Single handedly, he’s more than doubled the amount I was planning on spending on an impulse buy. It’s not cheap, either.
And you know what? I’m happy. I’m genuine, truly, on top of the world, happy.
We pay in full, and not on credit, mind you. And Noah packs everything in to a big, convenient, transparent plastic carrying bag with handles that’s labeled BestBuy on the side; and just so I know I got everything, he packs my warranty information and receipt against the side so I, and the world, can see it.
It was at this point I made my fatal flaw: I went to leave the store.
Despite having just come from the registers with everything I was carrying dangling visible by my side, as I attempted to leave the store, I was detained to have my receipt and purchases examined. Not peered at. I mean, hands going through your stuff, as in it’s-not-in-your-possession-any-more kind of examination.
Understand what this feels like to the honest, repeat customer. It conveys you, personally, are doing something illegal or untrustworthy.
Understand what message this conveys from a store to its patrons. It says we don’t want you to shop here.
Yes, a lot of people are willing to bend to the hassle of an over zealous or bored employee. That doesn’t mean I am, or should. Store policy and personal whim isn’t the law. I have no contract with BestBuy, as I do with Costco or Sams, in which I happily comply to go over purchases as previously agreed.
The moment the sale is concluded, it’s my legal property. And BestBuy knows this. That’s why when they ask to rifle through my personal belongings when I leave, I can say “no thanks” and keep on walking. Legally.
I simply don’t trust store personnel to be properly trained that they are not the police, and they don’t have the same rights and authority as sworn officers of the law. That said, no one touched me today. But today’s exit was still more intrusive than I prefer.
It was also clear they didn’t think I was a shoplifter, they just wanted to assert whatever authority they thought they had. No big burly man asked me to step aside or go visit the back room; that, incidentally, would have been just fine if they suspected something. This wasn’t even a security guard. It was a regular employee and the greeter.
And so after they were done searching and returned my bag, without leaving the store, I went straight to customer service to return everything.
It was pretty evident, the store did not want me leaving with any purchases today. While my transaction had just been validated by going through my possessions, without my consent, somehow the situation appeared to require further escalation after my change of direction to remain in the store. Looking back, security folks were arriving at the exit.
Mind you, I had neither resisted nor engaged in any verbal exchange back there. It was now turning into a show, and I wasn’t even party to it. Four to five people where watching me talking with customer service from where I’d been stopped.
I got my full refund, and with the smile and friendly service that the camera was sold to me with. It’s clear where the problem area was, because it wasn’t on sales and it isn’t on returns. And, from my brief discussion with customer service, it was quite clear I wasn’t the first to go through this.
Not only did BestBuy lose this sale, but it also gives pause to future purchases I’d make.
It’s a story I’ll be sharing frequently this holiday weekend and coming week.
And, the weekly business purchases that I do for our office will most likely be done online or at the local Staples now, even if that means driving a little further.
BestBuy didn’t prevent theft, it lost business. More than just the camera.
Checking the receipts at the exit is bad policy, and it doesn’t stop theft. I understand BestBuy’s motive for this behavior, but it’s hurting them in the longer run. Far trivial solutions exist which would be far more effective and not cut into profitability or produce lost sales. Short term thinking and the illusion of security is a negative.
But it’s worse than that. I learned something BestBuy didn’t want me to know.
With my return receipt in hand, back at home, I signed on to Amazon and started looking up the products. Mind you, I had purchased the camera and equipment with coupons, so I was using that as my base price.
Even so, through Amazon, the camera was still 83% cheaper. Carrying case, 74% cheaper. Memory, 54% cheaper. And at those prices, I don’t need the extra warranty.
BestBuy had been so convenient that it just hadn’t been worth the second thought to go comparison shop.
Now, since they made me look at my relationship with their store good and hard, since this incident will remain in the forethought of my mind for quite a while, BestBuy has turned itself into SecondBuy.
BestBuy Taught Me A Lesson: Look Elsewhere.
It’s not just cheaper. It’s much cheaper.
Here’s some new context to put things into perspective. I just now walked into a Target, bought the one and only Wii in the store at an internal counter, and walked out unchallenged — after wandering around for a few more minutes. Will I be shopping at Target in the near future? Of course.
Here’s how Target handles its security. High ticket items are behind a locked display case. I indicate to the sales person the item I want. They unlock the case and they take the item to the register. I pay for the item, to which they then hand it to me. Thus, the only way I can be holding a high ticket item is if I’ve already paid for it. Cheap. Brilliant. Effective. And non-alienating to its customer base.