Best Buy Confirms It Has Secret Website

[Ironman273]

Best Buy Confirms It Has Secret Website

March 2, 2007

Under pressure from state investigators, Best Buy is now confirming my reporting that its stores have a secret intranet site that has been used to block some consumers from getting cheaper prices advertised on BestBuy.com.

Company spokesman Justin Barber, who in early February denied the existence of the internal website that could be accessed only by employees, says his company is "cooperating fully" with the state attorney general's investigation.

Barber insists that the company never intended to mislead customers.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal ordered the investigation into Best Buy's practices on Feb. 9 after my column disclosed the website and showed how employees at two Connecticut stores used it to deny customers a $150 discount on a computer advertised on BestBuy.com.

Blumenthal said Wednesday that Best Buy has also confirmed to his office the existence of the intranet site, but has so far failed to give clear answers about its purpose and use.

"Their responses seem to raise as many questions as they answer," Blumenthal said in an interview. "Their answers are less than crystal clear."

Based on what his office has learned, Blumenthal said, it appears the consumer has the burden of informing Best Buy sales people of the cheaper price listed on its Internet site, which he said "is troubling."

What is more troubling to me, and to some Best Buy customers, is that even when one informs a salesperson of the Internet price, customers have been shown the intranet site, which looks identical to the Internet site, but does not always show the lowest price.

Blumenthal said that because of the fuzzy responses from Best Buy, he has yet to figure out the real motivation behind the intranet site and whether sales people are encouraged to use it to cheat customers.

Although Best Buy also refused to talk with me on specifics of the intranet site or its use, it insisted that its policy is to give customers the best price.

"Our intention is to provide the best price to our customers which is why we have a price-match policy in place," the company said in a written statement to me. "As prices and offers may vary between retail and online, our stores will certainly match BestBuy.com pricing as long as it qualifies under the terms and conditions of the price match policy."

"As a company, everything we do revolves around our customers' needs and desires. It is never our intent to mislead them as their loyalty is incredibly important to us," the statement said.

Then they threw in this interesting line: "Although we have an intra-store web site in place to support store operations (including products and pricing), we are reminding our employees how to access the external BestBuy.com web site to ensure customers are receiving the best possible product price."

That last sentence seems to indicate that Best Buy, which is supposed to be staffed by tech-savvy employees, is putting the blame on memory lapses: that employees have somehow forgotten how to access BestBuy.com from the store.

Having been to many Best Buy stores where some helpful employees showed me how they access the intranet and Internet, I can assure Best Buy officials that the re-education process will probably not be lengthy.

After making sure the computer is turned on, employees should click twice on the Yahoo Internet icon and then type in BestBuy.com.

This is not the first time the giant electronic retailer has gotten into trouble misleading customers. The firm, based in Minneapolis, operates more than 1,100 electronic retail stores in the U.S., Canada and China. It has more than 125,000 full-time employees.

Attorneys general in New Jersey and Ohio have accused Best Buy of deceptive sales practices, repackaging used merchandise and selling it as new, and failing to pay rebates and refunds. It paid $135,000 in New Jersey three years ago to settle that state's suit, which was based on hundreds of consumer complaints. The Ohio case is ongoing.

Source

[bangbang023 Veteran]

This is stupidity on the workers' part. When I was in Home Theater, we knew there were differences between the sites and always verified the external site when a customer came in making a claim. It makes no sense to turn away business like that.

[revvo]

Just the fact that they have a secret website shows how much they stick it to us and when the customer bothers to say that it was cheaper online, you're told that it's only if you purchase online. Yep, that's BestBuy/Futureshop's service right there (N)

[Jon 5]

This is stupidity on the workers' part. When I was in Home Theater, we knew there were differences between the sites and always verified the external site when a customer came in making a claim. It makes no sense to turn away business like that.

But it is really that stupid? Some customers (probably not most of us here at Neowin) but some might just accept the higher price and think they (the customer) made a mistake. A lot of people don't want to argue and cause a scene and so they just go with it and assume what they saw online was for a special or clearance or they made a mistake or the online price for some reason doesn't apply to them.

Best Buy is cheating their customers with this. They know what they are doing and so do their sales people. I am not saying all Best Buy employees are this way (you always seem honest to me bangbang023) but some are doing the wrong thing and they know it. This kind of sickens me and reminds me why I really only go into Best Buy to look around when I am bored and my friends are shopping.

[bangbang023 Veteran]

Well, I didn't realize he's questioning why the intra-net site is there, but that answer is easy. Any .com order made via a kiosk in the store will be credited to the store, as opposed to regular .com purchases. This intranet is in place to provide the system a way of identifying which store the order is coming from, thus crediting their daily budgets. Visiting the regular bestbuy.com site via instore computers would not credit the store accordingly. The prices on the intranet vary from the bestbuy.com prices because the intranet prices are based on the local store's pricing. While this does mean some prices are higher (a point this article is centered on and rightfully so), it means price changes involving market reactions and stock status changes sometimes mean the intranet/in-store pricing is lower than the bestbuy.com price. I think I overcomplicated that, but that's why the system is there.

On that point, people need to wake up. As my manager says, as long as it's a legit price match and as long as we make a buck, there should be no doubt about doing it. There's no need to send them home and have them place an in store pickup, thus taking product out of the store without the store receiving credit for the sale. It only hurts you in the short (daily budgets) and long term (customer loyalty).

[slippery]

just visit bestbuysux.org

[primexx]

hm, all the products that i've ever bought have been listed as exactly the same price online and in stores....

[Joey992]

just visit bestbuysux.org

Wow, what a lame and pointless site. I read through some of it and it seems like it has been around for a few years and now has had 44 comments. If Best Buy is that terrible why not just shop elsewhere? I had a bad experience in the appliance department at my local Best Buy and when my problem wasn't remedied I started buying appliances at Lowe's. Problem solved. Does that mean I don't go in there to get an occasional DVD? Of course not. As with any business there will be things that are better and worse than other businesses provide.

[Rohdekill]

Well, I didn't realize he's questioning why the intra-net site is there, but that answer is easy. Any .com order made via a kiosk in the store will be credited to the store, as opposed to regular .com purchases. This intranet is in place to provide the system a way of identifying which store the order is coming from, thus crediting their daily budgets. Visiting the regular bestbuy.com site via instore computers would not credit the store accordingly. The prices on the intranet vary from the bestbuy.com prices because the intranet prices are based on the local store's pricing. While this does mean some prices are higher (a point this article is centered on and rightfully so), it means price changes involving market reactions and stock status changes sometimes mean the intranet/in-store pricing is lower than the bestbuy.com price. I think I overcomplicated that, but that's why the system is there.

On that point, people need to wake up. As my manager says, as long as it's a legit price match and as long as we make a buck, there should be no doubt about doing it. There's no need to send them home and have them place an in store pickup, thus taking product out of the store without the store receiving credit for the sale. It only hurts you in the short (daily budgets) and long term (customer loyalty).

Lame excuse considering they can track in store purchases via IP address and just credit that store. Any other excuses you want to try??

[goji]

Lame excuse considering they can track in store purchases via IP address and just credit that store. Any other excuses you want to try??

I don't believe the site will receive credit towards their budget (the individual store) if the purchase was made at the regular .com site with a local pickup requested; I could be wrong.

[xpablo]

Well before I go to BB or Futureshop I have already looked and priced the item I want, I also look at other places to see if I can find it cheaper

I go into BB or FS grab what I came for, pay for it and leave.

With FS I don't even talk to the staff other than the cashier, most of the sales reps are idiots at FS, otherwise they wouldn't be working there, I remember once @ FS I bought a brand new cell phone for the price of a 3yr activation, without even activating the phone. :D

So when I activated it, I didn't have any contract period.

When I shop for technology products I always research the price online, before I purchase it.

[Rohdekill]

I don't believe the site will receive credit towards their budget (the individual store) if the purchase was made at the regular .com site with a local pickup requested; I could be wrong.

Then that's a matter of coding. If order from IP = store IP then credit store. And yes, each store has a set of IPs different from another store. It's all ran by IBM.

[Rohdekill]

Well before I go to BB or Futureshop I have already looked and priced the item I want, I also look at other places to see if I can find it cheaper

I go into BB or FS grab what I came for, pay for it and leave.

With FS I don't even talk to the staff other than the cashier, most of the sales reps are idiots at FS, otherwise they wouldn't be working there, I remember once @ FS I bought a brand new cell phone for the price of a 3yr activation, without even activating the phone. :D

So when I activated it, I didn't have any contract period.

When I shop for technology products I always research the price online, before I purchase it.

Where are you price checking?? Unless you need something IMMEDIATELY you should never shop Best Buy. Do you realize their printer cables are marked up 70% profit??!! It's twice as cheap to buy online (not from Best Buy) and wait 1-2 weeks for delivery than to pay twice as much for instant gratification of having the item in hand immediately.

...not to mention they don't even carry stuff we really want.

[f0rbez]

I've had this happen to me, although they did straighten it out. I work in retail (sort of) and I understand that prices sometimes aren't updated to reflect sales prices. But it seems that Best Buy does this too often. If a product is incorrectly advertised, I believe its the companies fault and will always give the customer the price thats listed.

[bangbang023 Veteran]

Lame excuse considering they can track in store purchases via IP address and just credit that store. Any other excuses you want to try??

You're kidding, right? The kiosks in store are set up for people to browse and shop on should we not have the item in stock to take home. Of course the items on the intranet site are going to be priced the same as in the store. Also, my original explanation still holds true. It's way too easy to fake IP addresses and start screwing the system up were they to use the external site. I have no idea why you feel the need to be so rude, but get over yourself.

I've had this happen to me, although they did straighten it out. I work in retail (sort of) and I understand that prices sometimes aren't updated to reflect sales prices. But it seems that Best Buy does this too often. If a product is incorrectly advertised, I believe its the companies fault and will always give the customer the price thats listed.

You have to realize this has nothing to do with advertising. In the problem on hand, workers, either out of ignorance or malice, were incorrectly presenting the intranet site as the external website. Because the intranet site presents the local locations prices and not the prices set by bestbuy.com, price matches were being incorrectly turned down.

[psybapunk]

around christmas they had a 32" LCD on sale for $599 at my local BB. I went in, albeit, one day after the sale and the $599 sale tag was still up in front of the LCD. I asked one of the sales people if it was still on sale and he replied with a strict "NO". "But the sale sticker says $599" I said. "Thats an old price, we're not honoring it". So of course I bitched and bitched about false advertising.

[bangbang023 Veteran]

around christmas they had a 32" LCD on sale for $599 at my local BB. I went in, albeit, one day after the sale and the $599 sale tag was still up in front of the LCD. I asked one of the sales people if it was still on sale and he replied with a strict "NO". "But the sale sticker says $599" I said. "Thats an old price, we're not honoring it". So of course I bitched and bitched about false advertising.

Did you get it for that price? In my store, it's pretty simple: If we don't remove the tag, it's our fault we lose the markup money from the sale. I know I keep jumping up here, but I find it amazing so many stores are run so poorly. I could never morally work at a place like that.

For the record, though, if it was the Insignia 32", I hope you didn't get it lol. That's one ****ty set.

[Olemus]

i work for a store which i wont name in the north east of england, we have 2 seperate price lists, one is the internet price another is on our internal systems, generally staff are ok with selling the stuff at the net price but i have seen one or two of my managers refuse to sell the product to a customer because they dont like putting there details on the internet as they put it, they say its an improper reason for not buying online and refuse to offer them the price thats on the internet, another thing about the store is that if a customer doesnt take an extended warranty or a ton of useless crap with there product they get treat like absolute **** by the company even during the support period they advertise as being 30 days customers are told basically to **** off, i believe retail is going completely down hill and people wonder why the internet is generating the same if not more sales than most high street shops nowadays, even an email system is better than being treat like **** and told that the TV you just bought yeah the one that doesnt switch on cant be taken back because its been opened i mean wtf.

Sorry for the lengthy post, and just for the record im only 17 years old jobs are scarce for people my age if i had the choice i wouldnt be working where i do, and i work in the It department in said store, myself and the other person who work in this part of the store always help out our customers even if it means a bollocking off our manager at the end of the day and the threat of losing our jobs, we believe if a customer goes home happy then thats all that matters.

Sorry for the lengthy post but it really does **** me off and i apologise if you've ever been to my place of work and had problems :p

Edit: And Apologies for going a little off topic :p

[DrivenDaily]

Well Im glad its from CT...state pride baby. And I can totally believe these shenanigans.

[SkyyPunk Veteran]

Well, I didn't realize he's questioning why the intra-net site is there, but that answer is easy. Any .com order made via a kiosk in the store will be credited to the store, as opposed to regular .com purchases. This intranet is in place to provide the system a way of identifying which store the order is coming from, thus crediting their daily budgets. Visiting the regular bestbuy.com site via instore computers would not credit the store accordingly. The prices on the intranet vary from the bestbuy.com prices because the intranet prices are based on the local store's pricing. While this does mean some prices are higher (a point this article is centered on and rightfully so), it means price changes involving market reactions and stock status changes sometimes mean the intranet/in-store pricing is lower than the bestbuy.com price. I think I overcomplicated that, but that's why the system is there.

On that point, people need to wake up. As my manager says, as long as it's a legit price match and as long as we make a buck, there should be no doubt about doing it. There's no need to send them home and have them place an in store pickup, thus taking product out of the store without the store receiving credit for the sale. It only hurts you in the short (daily budgets) and long term (customer loyalty).

That makes more sense than my initial thought on having an intranet site...

My first thought was simply bandwidth/having an always availble site and being internal it would have more direct access to store inventory, but yours makes more sense at the business level

[Rohdekill]

Actually no, it still makes no sense. Just because your manager feels it should be the right thing to do, I can name a few stores (by their store numbers) that'll screw people over.

..customer in store, item not stocked...of course not, because it's on sale and they stocked six items for a store that has 500+ daily customers. Does the glorified shoe salesman say "let's order it for you and make sure you get the cheapest price"? No, he points you towards the kiosk and walks you thru ordering. Not once does he/she offer to compare the price to the .com price.

..customer buys item in store, goes home, finds it cheaper on the .com site, goes back and asks for the price difference. The manager states, and I had this happen to me in two different stores, "price match is only good for actual store price matching. It does not match any web sites"...that includes their own!!

[DrunkenMaster]

Did you get it for that price? In my store, it's pretty simple: If we don't remove the tag, it's our fault we lose the markup money from the sale. I know I keep jumping up here, but I find it amazing so many stores are run so poorly. I could never morally work at a place like that.

For the record, though, if it was the Insignia 32", I hope you didn't get it lol. That's one ****ty set.

In my experience its about employee dedication, and if they have to consult the "manager", how 'business-savvy' that person is.

I used to work for a large company mainly doing B2B sales. There wasn't one sale I wouldn't try to help a customer with no matter the size of the company. Its that reason that understand where you're coming from bb023. But I've heard my coworkers who regularly didnt help them with the pricing. This is also management and HR issue. And just the other week, I called that company I worked for because I needed to order from them. I called 4 times. No one offered to help. I had better things to do, so I went to their competitor.

[loa92]

The ?intranet? site on in-store Kiosks displays that specific Best Buy location?s prices? plan and simple. It is done this way for several reasons?

Some online prices are marketed as ?online exclusive prices? something that is not offered in-store. It is meant to entice people that usually don?t shop at BestBuy.com to do so. (Increases market share)

Many in-store prices are often lower then online prices, as is true for most of the industry.

Lastly, pricing is not set company wide; some markets have higher prices while others have lower. This allows Best Buy to remain competitive with their competitors on a local level.

This so called ?hidden website? is by no means malicious; it is simply a way to standardize the way prices are displayed to the customer in the store. It is true; however, that many Best Buy employees do not know that the in-store Kiosk pricing does not reflect true online pricing. That is a matter of poor communication and a lack of easy access to the external Best Buy website.

[-=SD=-]

Did you get it for that price? In my store, it's pretty simple: If we don't remove the tag, it's our fault we lose the markup money from the sale. I know I keep jumping up here, but I find it amazing so many stores are run so poorly. I could never morally work at a place like that.

For the record, though, if it was the Insignia 32", I hope you didn't get it lol. That's one ****ty set.

Haha so true, though I love the question of "why is it so cheap?" Hmm.. because it's ****. (I did say that once, but I knew the guy so it wasn't exactly to a random customer) Though the more I'm in HT, the more I wish I had the 46" 1080p Samsung (or Sharp for that matter).. we have that up for our Vista display and that really makes me want to just take it home and do the exact same hook up lol. Anywho.. it's fun a place to work :)

[L3thal Veteran]

Anywho.. it's fun a place to work :)

Barring a few exceptions, I agree :yes: