Kinda long, but you don't have to read the entire thing to divine the gist. I think they're gonna "fire" me, for sure. Talk about providing reasons to deal with on line merchants like Axiom. YIPES!

BEST BUY DOESN'T WANT YOUR BUSINESS

Dell's Response

Just to clarify, I think policies should be put into place to prevent people from buying a piece of equipment, returning it, and then buying it back as "used." But, those of us who don't practice this behavior, and are on a tight budget, often can't buy without sales and discounts. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

I don't think this is new. As a teenager I worked in a small family owned lumber yard. I often saw the owner tell people acting like "jerks' to take a hike. His business prospered.

hahahaa Dell should talk, I know a lot (well 3) people who dumped them due to the pathetic customer support. Besides you get a much better deal and support from a local builder.

We talked about that very subject in my Marketing class yesterday. Best Buy's tactic goes against conventional wisdom of getting as many customer's through the door, but like you, I rarely if ever by a product at full retail price. Even with CD's I will try to buy it while it is on sale. I think they will eventually see a drop off of sales and then rethink their marketing strategy. On the other hand, I will probably be making purchases there if possible because my brother's best friend landed a job there and BB employees pay 5% above cost for everything. That is a pretty significant discount.

What's somewhat unusual here is that such a large chain is talking about this openly as a matter of policy.

Any small business owner will tell you that a certain percentage of clients are just not worth it (unless you really need the money!).

I have a cient that continually shows up 10 minutes to two hours late for appointments 90% of the time, with the remaining 10% being outright no-shows because she forgot (yes, I always call the day "of" or the day before to remind her), she never brings in all the materials needed, etc... For maybe $500~1,000 worth of work a year, frankly she's not worth it. I haven't told her not to come back (and I won't), but I'm certainly not encouraging her either! I have told her in no uncertain terms that she's expected to be on time for appointments... or at least call.

To be blunt, I'm surprised more business' don't put their foot down with certain types of customers. We all know people who, very casually, buy items and return them constantly just to "try them out" without any real intention of purchase. Now the store has to put that item out as "returned" at a 20% reduction. We all pay for that in the end.

I'm sure Axiom has had their share of customers that have bought several times, only to return the items several times.

My company has out and out fired clients, but that's usually because they're abusive or non-payers, etc.

My problem with Best Buy's policies is not that they would "fire" customers who constantly return stuff, it's that they would "fire" customers who always bought things on sale. What are they going to do, anyway? Escort you out of the store? They're just begging for a lawsuit.

The bottom line is that people buy from BestBuy because their prices and selection are generally the best. As long as that remains the same, they'll do alright.

You know how Best Buy asks for your phone number when you buy something? I give them the store's phone number.

Heh... that's sort of how I work Safeway's club card... It's amazing how many groceries Peter buys...

As the finance manager of a large Chevrolet dealership I can agree with them on a certain level. It is not worth doing business with a customer if it is not profitable for the company. We have the same type of people in our business. They scour leader ads and bring in ads from other dealers trying to buy a vehicle for nothing or even less. As an industry on the other hand we have done this to ourself. By advertising price matching and leader ads we are asking for these people to come in and take advantage of it. Who wouldn't? I am not a big fan of the ol price match guarantee because it is basically saying, "If you don't do your homework we're going to screw you". I believe every business needs to make a profit but we also need to be fair with our customers as well. If you treat every customer fairly they will all come back to you and you will profit more in the long run. JMTC

Along the car buying line, my best experience there was probably my most recent purchase a couple years ago. I normally figure out what I want and then call around to different dealers to see where I can get the best price. I happened to stop in at a dealer about 1hr north of here when I was working out that way. I knew what I wanted at this point, but wasn't ready to buy. He let me take a test drive by myself and he told me that he would sell it for invoice. Just like that, no haggling or anything. I checked when it was time to buy just to do my due diligence, and every other dealer I spoke to wanted about $700 over invoice. I guess he did enough volume and got enough incentives back at the end of the year that this particular dealer could do this. It worked out great, and made it very easy to buy. If I ever needed another Subaru (mine's the WRX) I'd be sure to call him first.