Best Buy G11 negative experience: Do not go to West L.A. Best Buy # 109 on Pico

If you want G11 before 11th. You are very likely to be sent away just like I was.

I called them earlier today asking do they have G11 in stock as I wanted to buy one over lunch break. I was told yes, that they will put one aside for me, and to come over.

I went there, found sales person that told me to come over and he told me he was instructed by manager he can not sell me G11 today, that I will have to come back after 11th if I want one.

When I asked to talk to manager that instructed him that manager that identified hinself as Sean came and told me Canon is not letting then sell any before 11th, that they will get penalized by Canon if they do, and that he will not sell it to me, that I should come back after 11th if I want one, sorry and have a nice day, bye.

When I told him Best Buys all over the States are already selling them and S90 before 11th (maybe even that store, see here http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1010&thread=33300540 ) and that I object to different treatment of customers, plus they did tell me that they will put one aside for me when I asked can I get one today, nobody told me no, that I wasted my lunch, mileage, and time thanks to them he just mechanically repeated the story without any sign of actually understanding customer.

Therefore I was sent away by him after wasting lunch, money, and time due to them first telling me I can get it today and then rescinding.

So I am very unhappy with this particular incident and will be talking to Best Buy about it.

In the meantime, to Canon and Best Buy: IF these are really your instructions to Best Buy, not to sell cameras to eager customers even if they are in stock, then IMHO you gentlemen do not understand you are cutting branch you are sitting on, branch of enthusiasts whose getting camera in hands early generates word of mouth and drives initial sales. Flipping us off a bird like this can backfire, especially when nobody is turning me away from buying GF1 in store down the street.

Don't you get that IF I have/want to wait then I can as well wait months and get it much cheaper later online?

Thousands $ of business I gave you so far might seem nothing to you in big picture, but few thousand here few thousand there, and you have another Circuit City that was not getting it either.

I called and they set one aside for me and no one got in my way when I picked it up. You just got an anal store manager.
--
Greg Gebhardt in
Jacksonville, Florida

ZoranC's experience was unlike what I had earlier today. The salesman was courteous and immediately went to where he had them locked up. Accepted my coupon and executed the transaction right there and then, all of maybe 5 minutes. The store is on Sawtelle and Pico in West LA.

Jerry Schneir

ZoranC said:

If you want G11 before 11th. You are very likely to be sent away just like I was.

I called them earlier today asking do they have G11 in stock as I wanted to buy one over lunch break. I was told yes, that they will put one aside for me, and to come over.

I went there, found sales person that told me to come over and he told me he was instructed by manager he can not sell me G11 today, that I will have to come back after 11th if I want one.

When I asked to talk to manager that instructed him that manager that identified hinself as Sean came and told me Canon is not letting then sell any before 11th, that they will get penalized by Canon if they do, and that he will not sell it to me, that I should come back after 11th if I want one, sorry and have a nice day, bye.

When I told him Best Buys all over the States are already selling them and S90 before 11th (maybe even that store, see here http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1010&thread=33300540 ) and that I object to different treatment of customers, plus they did tell me that they will put one aside for me when I asked can I get one today, nobody told me no, that I wasted my lunch, mileage, and time thanks to them he just mechanically repeated the story without any sign of actually understanding customer.

Therefore I was sent away by him after wasting lunch, money, and time due to them first telling me I can get it today and then rescinding.

So I am very unhappy with this particular incident and will be talking to Best Buy about it.

In the meantime, to Canon and Best Buy: IF these are really your instructions to Best Buy, not to sell cameras to eager customers even if they are in stock, then IMHO you gentlemen do not understand you are cutting branch you are sitting on, branch of enthusiasts whose getting camera in hands early generates word of mouth and drives initial sales. Flipping us off a bird like this can backfire, especially when nobody is turning me away from buying GF1 in store down the street.

Don't you get that IF I have/want to wait then I can as well wait months and get it much cheaper later online?

Thousands $ of business I gave you so far might seem nothing to you in big picture, but few thousand here few thousand there, and you have another Circuit City that was not getting it either.

Click to expand...

--
Someone has to tell the emperor that he has no clothes

I can understand BB's position from a business standpoint as they have probably signed a massive contract with Canon to get these in stock before anyone else, although I am in no way justifying their treatment of you.

IMO You should forward a link to this thread to BB and Canon corporate offices to see what they will do for you. You were very earnest and sincere in your posting, and your real emotion would be good for them to read.

On the downside I'm wondering if that action would get a lot of people in trouble at BB (due to the early sales), but I'm sure Canon reps already monitor the photography forums meaning this would not be new news to them. Forums like these drum up business for Canon so it would be really stupid of them to penalize BB for the cameras that were sold early.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

Or, just go back later tonight and try to buy it again from another clerk

gadgets said:

I can understand BB's position from a business standpoint as they have probably signed a massive contract with Canon to get these in stock before anyone else, although I am in no way justifying their treatment of you.

IMO You should forward a link to this thread to BB and Canon corporate offices to see what they will do for you. You were very earnest and sincere in your posting, and your real emotion would be good for them to read.

On the downside I'm wondering if that action would get a lot of people in trouble at BB (due to the early sales), but I'm sure Canon reps already monitor the photography forums meaning this would not be new news to them. Forums like these drum up business for Canon so it would be really stupid of them to penalize BB for the cameras that were sold early.

Anyway, just my thoughts.

Click to expand...

I bought an S90 at the Hawthorne store yesterday. Went back today to get a price adjustment (movers coupon....no problems with that, btw) and noticed that both the S90 and the G11 were out on the floor. So I'm sure they'll sell you one there.

Greg Gebhardt said:

I called and they set one aside for me and no one got in my way when I picked it up. You just got an anal store manager.

Click to expand...

I might try another store as this is not kind of experience I usually get from Best Buy but this particular store already wasted my time etc and caused me aggravation.

Is it possible that Best Buy intends to feature the S90 and G11 in their Sunday newspaper flyer and they are trying to reserve them so as to have them in-stock when the flyer comes out? That would have nothing to do with Canon and "release dates".

I had no trouble getting a S90 this morning with the 12% weekend rewards coupon. They had 5 S90s in the display case and several G11s. None were actually out on display, however the locked under-counter storage has glass fronts so you can easily see what is in there.

It's baffling that stores are saying Canon won't let them sell the cameras before Oct 11th, considering that last month Canon's website stated the cameras would be available in September.

The October 11th date, if we recall earlier threads, was listed on a Best Buy "on the shelf" paper. I think that's all we're talking about here -- it is Best Buy's date, not Canon's.

If it was Canon's date, then their web site would say, "Available 10/11/2009."

If it was Canon's date, then every other store and online site would have the cameras in stock on 10/11/2009.

Thus, I think this is just a "Best Buy date." And I've come across the most profoundly ignorant and stupid sales people at the one Best Buy store near me -- it is indeed "Ask three sales people, get three different answers." And I truly doubt that any managers are better than the know-nothing kids they employ.

As a for-instance, as I was checking over the last couple of weeks, I talked with an actual adult human being who appeared to know what was going on, and he showed me the screen that showed how many S90 cameras each store in the area had ordered -- and how his store had ordered six of them. A few days later, I ran into a young saleslady who interpreted what she saw on the computer as the six S90's they had ordered as having been "pre-ordered by customers," and thus they would not have any in stock for walk-in customers. And another young lady in "Customer Service" confirmed that interpretation, but helpfully told me that the S90 was available for ordering online, and actually turned the monitor around to show me that it didn't say "pre-order" anymore.

Well, of course, I went home to find that it indeed still said "pre-order" on their web site. And I found that you couldn't even order it with the store pick-up option -- you utterly couldn't choose that as an option, long before you could get anywhere near "selecting a store" to pick it up from. So, I don't know how anyone can "pre-order" something without going through the web site like that, so I'm pretty sure their interpretation that all six 290's had been pre-ordered was just as accurate as the "it's available online now" lunacy.

So, I just really think these people are in some manner of incompetence, ignorance, misinformed, or just plain don't care about whatever they're doing. Including "managers" who would actually turn away serious amounts of cash money, in this economy. So, you have to bear that in mind when dealing with them.

If you want to debate anyone you might run into who gives you this runaround, I would offer the following points to run past them:

1. Can they actually show you anything that says the "on the shelf date" is actually a "Canon release date?" Tell them you'll be glad to wait for them to produce such a thing.

2. Tell them how "hundreds of people" have been buying these cameras from hundreds of Best Buy stores, all across the country, as reported on major Internet photography web sites. Tell them how you will just go to other stores within driving distance, and attempt to buy the camera there -- do they really want other stores to make sales that they were too stupid to make themselves?

3. Ask them to go further up the food chain. Can they talk to a regional manager or some such authority, to confirm that they "can't" sell something that other stores are selling like hotcakes?

And so on. And good luck. And, I guess we're at the point where our own perspective is in order -- "Sunday" is getting closer by the minute, as we jawbone about this. You might well be better off doing something to get them to hold it for you until then.

Tom Hoots
http://thoots.zenfolio.com

gadgets said:

I can understand BB's position from a business standpoint as they have probably signed a massive contract with Canon to get these in stock before anyone else, although I am in no way justifying their treatment of you.

IMO You should forward a link to this thread to BB and Canon corporate offices to see what they will do for you. You were very earnest and sincere in your posting, and your real emotion would be good for them to read.

On the downside I'm wondering if that action would get a lot of people in trouble at BB (due to the early sales), but I'm sure Canon reps already monitor the photography forums meaning this would not be new news to them. Forums like these drum up business for Canon so it would be really stupid of them to penalize BB for the cameras that were sold early.

Click to expand...

My attitude is:

1. If they have agreement with Canon then they should assure that nobody gets it prior to 11th and they should be training their sales people to inform customers of that instead of telling them you can come over today, that there will be one put aside for you.

2. Once customer is already there wasting lunch, time and money due to mistake of your own saying pro forma "sorry, we should not have told you to come over, have a nice day" is not enough and is IMHO equivalent of flipping off the bird. It does not make up for your mistake that was at customer's expense.

3. IMHO any holding off on the early sales is stupid. You should be drumming up business instead. Therefore it is IMHO completely counter productive. Once you turn away customer he might not be back. He might not be back to that store, he might even not be back to Best Buy, and he might not be back to G11 at all. He might be inclined to say "@! this, who Canon and Best Buy think they are wanting people to jump through hoops to give them money, plus it's not like G11 is only game in town".

Just came back from a BB here in Chicago. Not only have they been offering them since Wednesday, but the manager was more than willing to give me 10% off! I said I'd come back this weekend with some more gift certificates as well. To top it off, one of the female sales girls was a photo geek herself and seemed to know what she was talking about. Lastly, while I was playing with the camera, several folks came in knowing EXACTLY what they were looking for in these new canons. The word's out!

ps- Normally, I'm a big BB basher, but this time, I was quite pleasantly surprised. Maybe it's the economy?

hfg said:

Is it possible that Best Buy intends to feature the S90 and G11 in their Sunday newspaper flyer and they are trying to reserve them so as to have them in-stock when the flyer comes out? That would have nothing to do with Canon and "release dates".

Click to expand...

It is possible. However Best Buy department manager Sean used Canon as an excuse why he is sending me away and if that is not true then Canon should hold his feet to the fire why he is giving them bad rep.

Tom Hoots said:

3. Ask them to go further up the food chain. Can they talk to a regional manager or some such authority ...

Click to expand...

I have asked to talk to store manager but he is on vacation. I have e-mailed him link to this thread though and I have e-mailed Best Buy customer service with it too.

I will not mind speaking to Canon whose date is it.

I agree w/ u 110%.

The manager should have offered you 15% off or something like that. That's why you should write to BB corporate. I'm guessing the 'suits' will try to help you out to keep your loyalty.

Good luck.

ZoranC said:

1. If they have agreement with Canon then they should assure that nobody gets it prior to 11th and they should be training their sales people to inform customers of that instead of telling them you can come over today, that there will be one put aside for you.

2. Once customer is already there wasting lunch, time and money due to mistake of your own saying pro forma "sorry, we should not have told you to come over, have a nice day" is not enough and is IMHO equivalent of flipping off the bird. It does not make up for your mistake that was at customer's expense.

3. IMHO any holding off on the early sales is stupid. You should be drumming up business instead. Therefore it is IMHO completely counter productive. Once you turn away customer he might not be back. He might not be back to that store, he might even not be back to Best Buy, and he might not be back to G11 at all. He might be inclined to say "@! this, who Canon and Best Buy think they are wanting people to jump through hoops to give them money, plus it's not like G11 is only game in town".

Click to expand...

Unfiortunately damage is already done. I was planning on doing G11 vs. G10 shootout tonight and tomorrow. Now thanks to Sean I will either have to pass on it completely and/or waste more time trying other stores.

gadgets said:

The manager should have offered you 15% off or something like that. That's why you should write to BB corporate. I'm guessing the 'suits' will try to help you out to keep your loyalty.

Good luck.

ZoranC said:

1. If they have agreement with Canon then they should assure that nobody gets it prior to 11th and they should be training their sales people to inform customers of that instead of telling them you can come over today, that there will be one put aside for you.

2. Once customer is already there wasting lunch, time and money due to mistake of your own saying pro forma "sorry, we should not have told you to come over, have a nice day" is not enough and is IMHO equivalent of flipping off the bird. It does not make up for your mistake that was at customer's expense.

3. IMHO any holding off on the early sales is stupid. You should be drumming up business instead. Therefore it is IMHO completely counter productive. Once you turn away customer he might not be back. He might not be back to that store, he might even not be back to Best Buy, and he might not be back to G11 at all. He might be inclined to say "@! this, who Canon and Best Buy think they are wanting people to jump through hoops to give them money, plus it's not like G11 is only game in town".

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I also got my S90 yesterday. They had not put it on the shop floor yet.

Just try another BestBuy store, and you may be lucky.

valkyrite said:

Just try another BestBuy store, and you may be lucky.

Click to expand...

This is not "what I should do now, please help" thread, this is "bad customer experience" thread.

I see you're keeping your tone straight, which is a good idea since BB corporate is reading this thread as we speak.

I think they should offer you a free G11. Come on BB corporate, step up to the plate. $500 is nothing in the marketing/PR scheme of things.

ZoranC said:

valkyrite said:

Just try another BestBuy store, and you may be lucky.

Click to expand...

This is not "what I should do now, please help" thread, this is "bad customer experience" thread.

Click to expand...

Canon probably sells more camera to BB than any other vendor in the U.S.

Those with the $$ make the rules, always was, is and will be.

What a laugh if Canon gives BB a problem over early sales.