Best Buy Failed to Match Prices

Secaucus, NJBest Buy has a price matching policy, but some customers have found that there is apparently an exception to the rule. When a customer requested a price match for a Bluetooth headset that was also sold at J&R, a large electronics retailer in New York, the manager said that J&R was not covered by the Best Buy price match guarantee. However, an employee called J&R and, after the phone call, the manager insisted that J&R was a mom and pop store, therefore they refused to match the price.

When a man by the name of Steven tried to see what could be done by calling the corporate office, they told him that the price matches are provided at the discretion of the store.

Bluetooth headsets are a hot item in New Jersey right now because handset use while driving has been banned. If someone is caught driving and using their cellular phone without a headset, they will receive a citation. Steven decided that he wanted a certain Bluetooth headset that was carried by both J&R Electronics in New York City and Best Buy. What he found was that the same headset was $30 less than what Best Buy had it priced for. With Best Buy being in New Jersey, it would be more feasible for him to go there, so he decided to review the price guarantee policy put in place by Best Buy and did not see where Best Buy would have an issue matching the price.

When he called the corporate office to make sure he could receive the headset at the J&R price, the lady he spoke with agreed with him, so he headed over to the New Jersey to buy the BluAnt z9 headset. When Stephen told the store clerk that he wanted to price match, the store clerk said that was fine. He handed the clerk his proof of J&R's in-store price and the employee headed over to the customer service counter with it. After the customer service desk employee spoke to a manager on a walkie talkie, the employee told Steven that the manager said the price could not be matched. The manager then said he would have someone call corporate and that he would have an answer.

After 10 minutes of waiting, he was told that it could not be done, that corporate said it was at the store's discretion, and that the store was not going to do it. Steven once again asked to see a manager and has stated that the manager was very rude to him over the situation. He was then told that because J&R is a wholesaler, they cannot match wholesale prices. Steven then read the price match guarantee to her, which indicated nothing about not matching wholesale stores. He then found out that she was not a store manager and says that he received the runaround. Each time he asked for a manager he would later find out that the person he spoke to was not a manager. He later found out that upper management was not in the store that day.

Steven's case is just one of many cases in which Best Buy stores have allegedly not matched prices of stores not restricted in their price match guarantee. The corporate office leaves the decision up to the employees of the store itself. However, what many who have had problems receiving a price match in the store has found is that the employees have different versions of the policy. According to customers, it seems that the employees are not on the same page regarding the policy.

By Ginger Gillenwater