Anything for a buck...

[KMG365]

I bought a new flat screen television yesterday to replace an old CRT model that I was using in my bedroom. The old TV was sitting on a dresser with the cable box, DVD player and a VCR next to it and there was absolutely no room to spare. The new television has a much larger screen than the old one, but because it's only about an inch thick (as opposed to the old CRT which was nearly 2 feet thick), I thought I could stand the new TV on the dresser and still manage to fit in the cable box, DVD player and VCR in there somehow. Once I got the new television home though, I realized my only option was to mount it on the wall.

I'd never mounted a television on the wall before and I was apprehensive about doing it myself - especially considering the cost of the TV - and the possibility of doing damage to the walls, etc. I did some research online before going to the store, so I basically knew the make and model of the mount I was looking for. I decided I wanted a full-motion mount -- one that would allow me to swing the television away from the wall, swivel it up and down, and so on. Although people online said the mounts were pretty easy to install, I really had no idea what was involved.

When I got to the store, I was approached by a salesperson who helped me find what I was looking for. Once he learned that I hadn't installed a mount before, he did everything he could to actively discourage me from installing it myself. He threw out every possible scenario of what could go wrong with the installation if I did it myself and he also said that the full-motion mount I wanted would be trickier to install than a regular mount. For $260.00, he'd send someone to my house to install the mount for me. When I refused, he told me that he could probably work out a special price for me.

To make a long story short, I decided to purchase the full-motion mount anyway and decide after reading the instructions in the box if I was capable of installing it myself. As it turns out, installing the mount is no harder than putting up shelving (which I'd done before) and the full-motion mount I purchased is not trickier to put up than a regular mount - if anything, it made installing the cables at the end significantly easier!

The employees at the store where I purchased the mount work on commission, so I can't help but think that the salesperson who assisted me was trying to line his pockets a bit by misleading me about the difficulty of installation. There were any number of things he could've told me that would've been an honest way to promote the installation service, but instead he tried to instil a sense of fear that something was bound to go wrong if I did it myself. I'm glad I didn't fall for his con. This just serves as another reminder that, for a lot of people I guess, money is more important than honesty. :roll:

 

[jorats]

I see your point Kev but honestly, if that was my husband attempting a wall mount... ya, all those bad case scenarios would happen in his case. lol He is so inept when it comes to these things. He would have ended up going back to the store and beg the salesperson to come home with him a do the job right.
The same thing happened when I bought my iMac. Installation was pushed on me but I'm not new to computers so I knew I could set it all up. But if it were my parents there... they'd really have needed the installation and instructions from a "pro".

 

[ChrisK]

In general, though, I've found that in a lot of areas where making a profit is involved, the marketer or seller preys on our fears (as well as our basic desires/needs). It's good for the buyer to beware.

 

[KMG365]

I see your point Kev but honestly, if that was my husband attempting a wall mount... ya, all those bad case scenarios would happen in his case. lol

I thought about that - what if I gave off vibes of complete ineptness to the salesperson? Then I realized that if all other companies did things the same way, and considering that installation of the mount wasn't harder than installing shelving, you'd expect Home Depot, for example, to push an installation package on everyone who asked for help picking out a shelf bracket. Add to that the fact that installation of the full-motion mount was probably easier than installing a standard mount, despite what the salesperson told me, and I have to conclude that his real motivation in trying to get me to fork over $260 wasn't really concern about my ability to do the job properly.

 

[jorats]

Sadly, people in commissions draw a pay check only if they sell. They don't sell, they don't pay their bills.

 

[KMG365]

Sadly, people in commissions draw a pay check only if they sell. They don't sell, they don't pay their bills.

The store is Future Shop. I know they get commissions, but I think they must also get paid a base salary at least. Considering the number of their employees who seem to stand around doing their best to avoid customers, I can't imagine they're all forced to survive on commission. :wink:

 

[LA]

They might get some sort of kickback when they set up an installation. WOW that's a lot for a home service. Waynes work set up computer at home is $60.

I know that Wayne gets commission on warranties, that's the only thing he gets commission on as he's a computer tech. But seriously... who will agree to buy a warranty from a computer tech. It's like saying 'buy this, our product is crap I should know'. It's as hard as selling ice to an Eskimo.

 

[handmeafish]

they probably make more commission when they sell setups because it costs the company less. Many companies actually lose money when they sell a TV, which is why they will do everything they can to tack on other things, so that they actually make up some.
When I worked for one of those awesome places, we were not paid on commission, but our hours were given based on our scores. The scores were not based on actual dollars sold, but they were based on our attachement dollars.
So, if we sold a TV, we were supposed to sell you a mount, cables, universal remotes, screen cleaner, dvd players, surround sounds, an so on, because the company makes money on those things... But we also had the home instillation bit. This was big because it costs the company very little produce, but they can charge quite a bit to make it happen.

 

[Moon]

Installation costs and extended warranties are big money makers. A lot of managers really push their employees to do the hard sell on these, even if the people don't make significant commissions from them.

That said, when the wall mounted tvs were newer it was not at all unusual to hear about a mount installation going terribly or a tv coming down and taking a chunk of wall with it. Sometimes I think that mindset still goes along it, even though things have been improved.

 

[KMG365]

Installation costs and extended warranties are big money makers. A lot of managers really push their employees to do the hard sell on these, even if the people don't make significant commissions from them.

I bought the new TV at Best Buy after browsing their selection and sales on their website. I then checked the reviews for the television on other sites like Amazon and it was rated pretty highly. According to the Best Buy website, the TV I picked also came with a free web adapter so I could connect the television to my home network to stream movies, music and pictures and visit sites like Facebook and YouTube - because I really want to be able to connect to Facebook with EVERY electronic device I own. :cheeky:

Thankfully, I was aware of the free web adapter offer on the Best Buy website because the store initially wasn't going to give me the adapter for free.

The salesperson at Best Buy wanted me to purchase an extended warranty for the television for about $230 for 4 years coverage (which is actually only 3 years extra coverage since the manufacturer's warranty and the first year of the extended warranty always overlap). When I refused, he, like the salesperson at Future Shop who sold me the mount, suddenly decided that they could arrange a "special" price for me. If a special price was available, why didn't either salesperson offer it to me originally! :wink:

I knew that stores made a ton of money off extended warranties and that most customers who bought them never made their money back, so I refused even the special priced extended warranty --- although I was tempted at $160 for 4 years. I was told the extended warranty even covered the remote control for the television, but I failed to see how this was a big deal considering I've owned dozens of remotes over the years and never broken any of them.

That said, when the wall mounted tvs were newer it was not at all unusual to hear about a mount installation going terribly or a tv coming down and taking a chunk of wall with it. Sometimes I think that mindset still goes along it, even though things have been improved.

I made sure to read the reviews on all the mounting kits available at Best Buy/Future Shop before I went to the store, so I knew ahead of time which ones people generally seemed to like. I also knew which ones were supposedly easy to install, but of course, at that time, I had no real experience actually installing one.

The television weighs something like 40 pounds, possibly less, and it's secured by 4 lag bolts into solid wood, so unless the mount itself fails, I don't foresee any issues. A salesperson selling these products should be aware of these things, in my opinion.

 

[lizmo1221]

Sorry for the long post, it got away from me! Not meant to sound angry/mean, just informative

I work for Future Shop, on commission. I can tell you that there is two ways you can get paid: on commission (most everything we sell has a dollar value attached to it that we get paid), and base pay, which is minimum wage. If all your commissions for the week end up being less than your 10.50/hr equivalent, you get paid base pay. A week that I get paid base (rare for me, but not unheard of) sucks, because I could have been flipping burgers at MacD's or doing a much easier job and getting the same money. If I got paid base every week, I could not afford to live where I am now, let alone saving for a car (which I am currently doing). So I can tell you from experience that selling the extras (warranties, accessories, etc) is what pays my bills.

That being said, selling stuff by using fear/worst case scenario is wrong. Unfortunately, some sales people resort to those tactics. My philosophy on the whole thing is that its just good customer service. If I sold a camera without a memory card/bag/extra battery/etc, the customer would probably come back in a short amount of time to buy one, and might be a little mad that they had to do that. So, I always ask. Sometimes they need it, sometimes they don't, and that's ok. But I want to send the customer home with what they need today. Does it help me? Of course, I get that extra few bucks in my pocket, but its more for them, so they don't have to come back in a day/week/month to get something else.

Same for warranties and installations. I always tell them about the warranty, no matter what. If they shut me down, I say no problem, but go over what the manufacturer covers and what they require (original receipt!!) just so they know, and give them a few tips on keeping their camera safe. If they are receptive, I tell them about our plans and what they can gain by going with us, and the prices. Some go for it, some don't, but I make sure the one's who don't know the risks of sticking with the manufacturer (ie most people throw away broken cameras instead of fixing them because repairs are so pricey!). I don't do this to scare them (and I don't say it in a threatening way), just inform them. I also think its great customer service to make sure their camera works for at least 4 years, or we will fix/replace it.

I have been working there 30+ hrs/week for almost two years. I have been yelled at far too many times about how no one told them about any warranty or they didn't know how much repairs cost, that I like them to know up front to hopefully prevent that down the road. Again, good customer service. I have seen just as many people glad they bought the warranty, or excited to pick out their free replacement camera, as I have seen people pissed off cause their camera is broken.

Yes, there is a lot of pressure to sell warranties and installations, because it is a big money maker, but there are other reasons too. Again, your experience was bad because of the tactics he used and the persistence after you said no. But, I want to make sure you see it from the other side.

 

[KMG365]

Yes, there is a lot of pressure to sell warranties and installations, because it is a big money maker, but there are other reasons too. Again, your experience was bad because of the tactics he used and the persistence after you said no. But, I want to make sure you see it from the other side.

I have absolutely no problem with a salesperson trying to sell me an extended warranty, or an after-market service, so long as they do it in a respectful and straightforward manner. I also have no problem with a salesperson trying to sell me an extra battery or memory card after I've bought a camera - in fact, I actually like this as they may remind me to buy something I've forgotten that I actually need. What I resent, and I think this is true of most people, is high-pressure sales tactics, warranties that suddenly become cheaper after you say "no" the first or second time, and blatant fear-mongering to sell me something I really don't need.

First off, lizmo1221, you sound like one of the decent employees of Future Shop - and I'll even go so far as to say the majority of employees there are probably decent. Unfortunately, this is a case of one bad apple spoiling the whole barrel.

Secondly, I do appreciate the financial constraints you're under and your need to bring in extra money with commissions, but those same constraints apply to all of us. I really don't have $230 to throw away on an extended warranty that I'll probably never use or ever need. These warranties are obviously a cash-cow for the company, but they really provide no tangible value for many, maybe even most, of the customers who buy them. So, these extended warranties may help you make ends meet, but an unscrupulous employee could create the opposite effect for a customer by convincing that person that they "need" to shell out several hundred dollars to insure their purchase against future damage. If all employees were honest, and I'm sure you are, they'd tell customers the facts about these warranties - that most times they don't pay off in the end - and let the customer decide if they want to play it safe by buying the warranty anyway.

 

[KMG365]

Here's a good example why it's very important to check a store's website regularly before AND after you make a purchase from them - specifically a large ticket item...

The television I purchased a few days ago from Best Buy, the one I've been mentioning throughout this thread, was listed as coming with a free web adapter on the website, but the store in my area was no longer promoting that. So, it was only because I knew about the promotion on the website that the store agreed to give me the web adapter for free.

I bought the television on Monday, but for some reason, I still had the page for the television on Best Buy's website open on my browser. Late last night, instead of closing the page, which I almost did, I decided to refresh it. The television is now on sale for over $112 less than when I bought it. I'm going to return to the store today and I should, with tax, be getting almost $130.00 back.

I never get any flyers here, so there's no way I would've known about new deal on the TV unless I'd been monitoring the website.

 

[KMG365]

I'm really happy with the television and mount, thankfully, because the purchase experience at Best Buy and Future Shop for these items has been far more stressful than it should have been.

This is another chapter in the saga. Sorry that it's a bit long... :wink:

As I mentioned in the post above, the television I bought on Monday was just reduced by over a hundred dollars. So, I went back to the store to claim the difference this afternoon - completely in line with Best Buy's policy in this situation.

The cashier I dealt with had trouble giving me back the difference because my original receipt was changed on Monday to include the free web adapter. As a result, I now had a kit, consisting of the television and the web adapter, showing up on my receipt with a bundled price for the two items instead of each item being shown individually. The cashier today couldn't figure out how to reduce the kit price, so she called over the manager on duty.

Unfortunately for me, the manager on duty either had no idea what he was doing or he lied to me so he wouldn't have to process the price reduction. First he told me that I wasn't entitled to the price reduction today because I got the web adapter for free. So, I proceeded to tell him that the web adapter was included for free with purchase of the television as stated on the website. After checking the website himself, he then decided that the new price was part of a web-only sale -- and he pointed me to a line on the website that indicated that limited stock was available online and that local store availability was currently unavailable as proof of his claim.

I then asked him if the store and website were two different entities and he said, "no, they're same the same thing". I even said I might have to package up the television and return it and then buy it again online to get the new price and he basically told me to go ahead and do that.

I'm always very polite, even in situations like this, and I never lose my temper, so I calmly left the store and decided to go home and check the website again. I was nearly 100% positive that the manager was wrong, but I wanted to see the website again for myself. Sure enough, the website was again showing stock available at my local store - the store I'd just left - at the new price with the free web adapter - which, of course, the store won't give you unless you point out to them that the website states the web adapter is free. :roll:

When I got home, I called the phone number for BestBuy.ca, their web division, to find out what was going on. The person I spoke with assured me that the new price on the television was NOT part of a web-only deal and that she did not know why the store didn't honour their price guarantee. She told me to go back to the store and, if I had any trouble, to have the store manager call them.

When I got back to the store, the same people I dealt with earlier were still there. The cashier informed this same assistant manager that I'd spoken to BestBuy.ca and he came over to me and said, "Okay, so BestBuy.ca is going to let you do this, then." I told him, "They said there's nothing on the website to suggest this was a web-only sale".

So, that was that. He showed the cashier how to perform the price reduction on the kit price and I got my money back. What still irks me, though, is that he never apologized to me - for inconveniencing me or anything. This store is probably a 15 to 20 minute drive for me - even longer in the heavier afternoon traffic - so I was definitely inconvenienced having to make the trip twice for the same thing. I can only guess that this manager knew I'd caught him in a lie or proven that he didn't know what he was doing and he probably wasn't too happy about that.