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Best Buy shows the world they care by moving to elimiate mail-in rebates
Best Buy is suddenly my new favorite computer / electronics retail store.
Sure, their prices might not be the best, their service might not be the best, their selection might not be the best… whatever. I don’t care anymore. Best Buy has done something that so few companies do — they’ve listened to their customers. And their customers have overwhelmingly said they hate mail-in rebates. So Best Buy is getting rid of mail-in rebates.
It’s a brilliant plan. Find out things your customers hate, and get rid of those things. Executive Vice President Ron Boire explains it, and in a stunning turn of events, a corporate executive makes a statement that makes perfect sense:
“Our customers told us they hate mail-in rebate programs. As a result, we’re working as a company and partnering with our vendors to find new solutions to give our customers a better shopping experience, while remaining competitive on pricing.”
I love it!
I know from the standpoint of the business, mail-in rebates are great — they let retailers advertise a low price, then demand a higher amount of actual cash from the customer when they try to actually purchase the product. They giggle as they point out the little asterisk next to the price in the ad, but assure the customer that he or she will almost definitely get their money from the rebate, assuming the other company is in the mood to give it to them. Meanwhile, they giggle even more knowing full well that the majority of people will forget to ever fill the forms out to get the rebate.
I personally have long been a hater of mail-in rebates. I’m one of those people that never remembers to mail them in until after the expiration date, which is usually a few days after I buy the product. I found one in my car the other day, sitting un-filled-out, having expired months ago. Bye-bye, $25.
The nice thing about rebates is that every now and then, the company actually does mail you the rebate if you follow all their annoying instructions (but there is the very real chance the company will misplace your rebate, in which case, tough tooties). When that happens, always months and months after the initial purchase, you’re surprised by the free money arriving in the mail, because you’ve long since written off the rebate as never arriving.
But me, I’d rather just save the money in the first place, rather than have to collect 19 receipts, cut proofs of purchase and barcodes, fill out forms, dance in a circle, and then find a mailbox to put all the paperwork in, so that it can shortly thereafter be misplaced by the company.
Thus, today, I salute you, Best Buy.
Wed January 25th, 2006 3:46 pm
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I only skimmed the original article, so forgive me if I missed something, but I thought this was on notebook computers only?
beth: sort of. It is on notebooks only for now, but they’re expanding the program:
“Additionally, Best Buy customers will begin receiving instant savings on a majority of computer accessories by the first week of February. These new means of savings are a result of strong vendor partnerships and the commitment of Best Buy to keep customers first.
“In addition to eliminating mail-in rebates on notebooks, Best Buy has also created an online submission center for those products which still have mail-in rebates. This recently-launched tool provides customers a simple and convenient way to submit select Best Buy rebates online and receive their checks faster. Provided the submission is compliant, most rebate checks will be mailed within seven days after submission.
“Best Buy announced in April 2005 that it intended to eliminate mail-in rebates from its portfolio within two years in an effort to improve customer’s experience.”
So, it’s not perfect… but they’re moving in the right direction. I can work with that.
Yes, let’s hope they get rid of them altogether soon.
I wasn’t sure whether or not you were being sarcastic after the first two paragraphs.
Good read nonetheless.
Wilhelm: Thanks for stopping in and giving it a read… I just re-read it myself, and you’re totally right; it DOES sound like I’m being sarcastic. I mean, really, who would believe that I’m actually giving Best Buy props? I sure don’t shop there. I’ll have to be more careful next time
I remember a 60 Minutes piece about large companies (P&G was one if I recall correctly) using absurd qualifiers to judge the terms of a rebate — like color of ink used, proper spelling of item’s name, etc.
You know what Best Buy could do to improve my shopping experience? Stop hiring disaffected teenagers and career nosepickers who get off on treating people like dirt. I’ve been doing the computer thing for a long time now, and some of the things you overhear employees telling customers is a.) patently false, b.) subtly condescending or c.) both.
I’m sour on Best Buy, but I reserve the pointy end of my wrath for CompUSA. they might as well have a slugline like “CompUSA: Gouging is the new American way.”
Pheew. I need a beer after that rant.
I wish I had seen that 60 Minutes piece. I totally believe it — everyone I know has rebate horror stories (at least, the people that I know that have dared to try to actually redeem the money owed them).
My new thing at CompUSA and Best Buy is to talk to people only for them to carry big items for me. I go in and they don’t even know where their own items are. I sometimes stop in; they’re conveniently located. And some items are always the same price everywhere, so I don’t feel too ripped off when I go there. But I don’t ask them for advice; I figure I’m much better off doing research on my own.
Having worked retail once upon a time, it blew my mind how little salespeople sometimes know about their products. It made my brain hurt.
I actually just had a pretty sucky experience with Best Buy’s so-called Customer Service. It was dreadful.
I’ll stick with CompUSA.
This so reminded me of some very crazy experiences I have had with Best Buy…I think I will blog it. Yes, I will! ยป http://www.xerraireart.com/blog/index.php?p=312
Say, I have enjoyed your blog and I like your writing style! I will visit again!
Barb
I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a rebate sent to me that had my name spelled correctly. It’s not that hard, 7 letters in my first name, 6 letters in my last name. Creeps.