I've had some bad experiences at the Best Buy store on Alakawa St before, which obviously shows bad management. I mean, I've worked in retail long enough to know that poor employee behavior is a reflection of the management.
Anyway, I thought I'd give them another try with the huge discounted HP TouchPad. As some of you might know, HP decided to end their tablet business with a fire sale. The TouchPads were selling for $99/$149 each. From this bad weekend experience, I will no longer set my foot inside Best Buy ever again.
Friday evening: HP announces the fire sale and Best Buy in Canada immediately drops the price to $99.
Saturday 10am: I visit Best Buy on Alakawa St. They tell me they are sending their units back to HP and will have no sale.
Saturday 4pm: I visit Best Buy again to make sure they are not selling them. They confirm that they are sending them back.
Saturday 5:15pm: After hearing a new corporate announcement, my friend calls Best Buy on Alakawa St and gets a pre-recorded message saying that all units will be sold at the discounted price starting when doors open at 10am on Sunday morning.
Sunday 9:40am: I show up at Best Buy on Alakawa St and stand in line with another 80 or so customers hoping to get their hands on a TouchPad. They had also been told that the sale was to start at 10am. In the meantime, staff walk by not saying anything.
Sunday 10:01am: The doors open and people rush in. The sales rep manning the tablet section says: "Sorry, the TouchPads sold out last night". Upon me mentioning that it violated the corporate announcement, he said "management decided to sell them early".
WTF!!!??? Talk about poor PR, no integrity, and lying to customers. Something shady sure went down and someone needs to be held accountable.
Anyway, I thought I'd give them another try with the huge discounted HP TouchPad. As some of you might know, HP decided to end their tablet business with a fire sale. The TouchPads were selling for $99/$149 each. From this bad weekend experience, I will no longer set my foot inside Best Buy ever again.
Friday evening: HP announces the fire sale and Best Buy in Canada immediately drops the price to $99.
Saturday 10am: I visit Best Buy on Alakawa St. They tell me they are sending their units back to HP and will have no sale.
Saturday 4pm: I visit Best Buy again to make sure they are not selling them. They confirm that they are sending them back.
Saturday 5:15pm: After hearing a new corporate announcement, my friend calls Best Buy on Alakawa St and gets a pre-recorded message saying that all units will be sold at the discounted price starting when doors open at 10am on Sunday morning.
Sunday 9:40am: I show up at Best Buy on Alakawa St and stand in line with another 80 or so customers hoping to get their hands on a TouchPad. They had also been told that the sale was to start at 10am. In the meantime, staff walk by not saying anything.
Sunday 10:01am: The doors open and people rush in. The sales rep manning the tablet section says: "Sorry, the TouchPads sold out last night". Upon me mentioning that it violated the corporate announcement, he said "management decided to sell them early".
WTF!!!??? Talk about poor PR, no integrity, and lying to customers. Something shady sure went down and someone needs to be held accountable.
Comment