Has anyone returned their iPad to Best Buy? Did you get a restocking fee?

[MVApple]

People like you are the reason I hated working retail. I was far more willing to go out of my way to help someone that was polite and respectful than someone that acted like a child.

It's one thing to not know of a restocking fee but it's a completely different thing to know that it might have one and not confirm it when buying. And if you do confirm and then throw a fit bc you want it waived when it gets returned... I could care less if the person walked out and called corporate HQ.

A few years back when I was trying to buy a Wii and they were still scarce I had to be an ass to get the employee to do what he needed to do. I saw the fedex guy drop off a bunch of boxes and I asked him if he could check if they had received any Wii's.

He said that I had to wait because what he was doing had priority. What he was doing was getting orders ready for customers that weren't even in the store yet.

I waited 15 minutes just standing there and after I got rude with him he finally opened a box, took out a Wii and rung me up.

It took him 3 minutes to do that. He was getting orders ready for people that weren't even in the store yet and in the meantime he didn't want to finish a transaction that was going to take him 3 minutes to do.

I always start nice, but some people don't response to nice, some people only respond to "mean".

That doesn't mean that I'll start throwing a tantrum if I don't get what I want, but if an employee doesn't know what they are talking about and they are rude, you better believe they are going to get a mouthful.

Going back to a being a bit more on topic, the iPad is NOT a notebook computer. I don't know anyone who would call the iPad a notebook computer and customers shouldn't be blamed for Best Buy not updating their website properly. Remember, we are talking about a company that will sell you a $5 cable for $100 dollars so don't feel sorry about their loss.

If they try to charge you the restocking fee, simply sue them in small claims court. You can take lots of proof, such as Best Buy and Apple not listing the iPad as a notebook computer. You can also add in a "nominal" fee for your lost time.

 

[pastparticiple]

+1

Acting like a spoiled brat may get you what you want on occasion, but it will never gain you respect.

I don't need respect from a Best Buy employee. I try the "be nice" approach first too...but it rarely works these days. If you want to be a jerk as the employee the game is on. You have a lot more to lose than I do.

 

[steve knight]

you go to a store buy something don't want it and expect the store to eat the cost of your poor decision? only in America. your going to pay for that return one way or the other someone has to pay and it is not going to be best buy.

 

[dschultz]

I'm sure the company will go bankrupt now. Not their employees' fault that you didn't ask questions/do your homework before making a purchase.

I thought I did enough "homework"

If they cant be reasonable I will take my business elsewhere. If enough people are dissatisfied they will adopt of fail. I never expect Best Buy to close down because of one person.

Plenty of stores have better return policies.

 

[dschultz]

Thats your problem. Politeness does not work and never will work, if you want something you have to play hell till they damn well give you what you want lol. I don't mean a public outburst that will get cops involved but basically being polite just says I am a doormat feel free to walk all over me. I always always get my way when I want a refund e.t.c e.t.c

I will stick with polite and leave it there. Irate just gets me in trouble. Polite works when the store/company policies are reasonable and somewhat flexible.

 

[Swampthing]

Thats your problem. Politeness does not work and never will work, if you want something you have to play hell till they damn well give you what you want lol. I don't mean a public outburst that will get cops involved but basically being polite just says I am a doormat feel free to walk all over me. I always always get my way when I want a refund e.t.c e.t.c

Back when I worked in retail about 30 years ago, I would have just called Security and had your butt handed back to you on a silver platter waiving buh-bye as they walk you out the door telling you not to return to this store location... Now THAT is fun.

Pastparticiple doesn't realize this either. It is very easy to get a customer walked out and BANNED from a store. Then YOU lose out more than they do, and they could give a rat's bottom about losing all your future business. "I'm gonna boycott, I'm gonna tell the internet, blah, blah blah.." You're a jerk, they don't want your future business either! They just sit there ROFL... BUH-bye.

 

[jamesthegator]

I wonder if the difference is that you exchanged (this time for something more expensive), rather than returned. I don't see many stores complaining about returning an item to get something better, especially when they know they can turn around and re-sell the 32 GB.



I think noryme did return it. The 3G he wants wasn't available, and I'm not sure there would be anything Best Buy could do to hold him to buying a 3G from them.

That's right. I returned for full refund.

 

[strangelogic]

When I returned mine at BB (because I decided I really needed to wait for the 3g model) - the employee disappeared for like 10 minutes with ipad in hand. She had gone to find/discuss with manager if there would even be a restocking fee (didn't tell me that). So then she comes back and tells me there will be a re-stocking fee because it was a laptop. So I just said ''do you charge one on the ipod touch?" she said ''no' and I said --- funny other than size this is basically the same thing. She just insisted she doesn't make the policies.

Then she finally does the return - and no restocking fee was charged. That began the back-pedalling. In the end - it was not charged because I am Reward Zone premiere silver this year. Which - that fact was apparently on my receipt, and I tried to hand her that card with my BB card a the beginning of the return transaction. So had she been awake - she already wold have known there was no fee for me, and she didn't have to waste her time, my time, her managers time, and thus their money having any conversation about the fee.

Sometimes you have to push your case with the retail store employees (not be a dick but just nicely ask to see their policy statement or talk to a manager). Because very often they don't know/don't care.

When I worked in retail, I did tell one customer "Ma'am if you don't like the service you are receiving here, perhaps you should take your business somewhere else." - She went ballistic with the manager on duty (who was our harshest manager anyway), who walked by my work area about 10-15 minutes later and saw the mob-scene I was dealing with. At the end of the night he just said "you should really let me say those things". I had a line of people and had spent 10 minutes already trying to work her issues, and the rest of the crowd was fed up too. The next 2 customers had both commented that they would have told her off sooner and that I had actually been very 'nice' about it...

I learned a lot of real-life negotiating skills working in retail while in high school dealing with nice/ not-so-nice customers. Never once had to call security on anyone.

 

[Izzybeff]

I returned mine to Best Buy last weekend without a restocking fee. I had it less than 24 hours, that could be why. Didn't take me more than a couple of hours to realize it really isn't anything more than a big ipod touch. Sorry guys!

Anyway, all she asked was why I was returning it and I said I changed my mind. Full refund. Could also be I returned it to a store that had none in stock.

 

[Troy47]

I returned a net book and thought I would be charged and wasn't. manager told me they changed their policy, that it was bad for business.

 

[GaresTaylan]

A few years back when I was trying to buy a Wii and they were still scarce I had to be an ass to get the employee to do what he needed to do. I saw the fedex guy drop off a bunch of boxes and I asked him if he could check if they had received any Wii's.

He said that I had to wait because what he was doing had priority. What he was doing was getting orders ready for customers that weren't even in the store yet.

I waited 15 minutes just standing there and after I got rude with him he finally opened a box, took out a Wii and rung me up.

It took him 3 minutes to do that. He was getting orders ready for people that weren't even in the store yet and in the meantime he didn't want to finish a transaction that was going to take him 3 minutes to do.

I always start nice, but some people don't response to nice, some people only respond to "mean".

That doesn't mean that I'll start throwing a tantrum if I don't get what I want, but if an employee doesn't know what they are talking about and they are rude, you better believe they are going to get a mouthful.

Going back to a being a bit more on topic, the iPad is NOT a notebook computer. I don't know anyone who would call the iPad a notebook computer and customers shouldn't be blamed for Best Buy not updating their website properly. Remember, we are talking about a company that will sell you a $5 cable for $100 dollars so don't feel sorry about their loss.

If they try to charge you the restocking fee, simply sue them in small claims court. You can take lots of proof, such as Best Buy and Apple not listing the iPad as a notebook computer. You can also add in a "nominal" fee for your lost time.

Sorry... But while I do see your point... If the order was placed online before you came in to the store it does take priority over yours. If that customer showed up during those 3 minutes and then had to wait because his order was delayed due to ringing you up... That is not fair to that customer, either. Maybe they need to get more employees in there so that ther is less wait overall, but I have to disagree with you on this one.

The company that I worked for had a separate team for handling online orders. They were not permitted to ring people up and cashiers were not permitted to handle the online orders or open the newly delivered boxes. This process worked very well.

I don't need respect from a Best Buy employee. I try the "be nice" approach first too...but it rarely works these days. If you want to be a jerk as the employee the game is on. You have a lot more to lose than I do.

I think you're missing the point. Has nothing to do with gaining respect of a BB employee, it's about being respectful overall. If the employee is being a jerk, that is wrong and you need to get a manager involved. The employee following company policy and charging a restocking fee does not constitute as being a jerk.

If you were not told about a restocking fee but know there might be one, it's just as much your fault for not confirming as it is the employee's fault for not informing you.

Its pretty universal today that many businesses have restocking fees. I can't imagine many people that have never heard of one before. When I buy a product even if I clearly do not think that it may fall into that category... I ask just to be certain if I think there is a possibility I might return it.

 

[chrono1081]

Thats your problem. Politeness does not work and never will work, if you want something you have to play hell till they damn well give you what you want lol. I don't mean a public outburst that will get cops involved but basically being polite just says I am a doormat feel free to walk all over me.

Actually this will NEVER work. At least not at any store I worked at (Bestbuy and Circuit City included).

The *******s always got hit with any type of fee we could throw at them. The polite honest people got the fee waived.

Now, you have to look from the business end, many people decide to "rent" these items which is why they have a fee for return. Once its returned it can only be sold as either open box or sent to become a refurbished model and most of the time the business loses out.

 

[GaresTaylan]

Actually this will NEVER work. At least not at any store I worked at (Bestbuy and Circuit City included).

The *******s always got hit with any type of fee we could throw at them. The polite honest people got the fee waived.

Now, you have to look from the business end, many people decide to "rent" these items which is why they have a fee for return. Once its returned it can only be sold as either open box or sent to become a refurbished model and most of the time the business loses out.

^ This.

 

[Dorv]

Thats your problem. Politeness does not work and never will work, if you want something you have to play hell till they damn well give you what you want lol. I don't mean a public outburst that will get cops involved but basically being polite just says I am a doormat feel free to walk all over me. I always always get my way when I want a refund e.t.c e.t.c

Thank you for being the reason that those of us in the customer service industry hate people. You're the type of customer I generally say to take your money and leave, because your money isn't worth the trouble of you being our guest/customer.

And, to the original point, yes, you're much more likely to get some relief to any problem by being polite.

 

[Dorv]

I thought I did enough "homework"

If they cant be reasonable I will take my business elsewhere. If enough people are dissatisfied they will adopt of fail. I never expect Best Buy to close down because of one person.

Plenty of stores have better return policies.

Sorry, I can't get behind that perception. These retails eat the cost of whatever open box discount they have to charge because of your return. People expect business not to make money.

 

[alfmil]

b

 

[MVApple]

Sorry... But while I do see your point... If the order was placed online before you came in to the store it does take priority over yours. If that customer showed up during those 3 minutes and then had to wait because his order was delayed due to ringing you up... That is not fair to that customer, either. Maybe they need to get more employees in there so that ther is less wait overall, but I have to disagree with you on this one.

The company that I worked for had a separate team for handling online orders. They were not permitted to ring people up and cashiers were not permitted to handle the online orders or open the newly delivered boxes. This process worked very well.

You obviously don't know what you're talking about. Gamestop employee's are supposed to ring up in-store customers first before filling out pre-orders. He was the only guy working the store. He was in a bad mood and thought he'd take it out on me.

If he's not ringing up customers that are in store then basically, the store is closed to any people walking in wanting to buy something. I had asked him how long he'd be and he said "he didn't know" which means I could have been waiting there for an hour just because he didn't feel like ringing up a 3 minute transaction.

You're egregiously ignorant if you think having a customer wait an hour is better than "potentially" having a customer who pre-ordered wait 3 extra minutes.

I know you're trying to defend retail employee's at all cost but the fact is that retail employee's are no different than customers who walk in. You have customer's that are mean and you have retail employee's that are mean.

If nice doesn't work, then you have to be mean or they'll walk all over you. These retail employee's making minimum wage often times don't care about the company or their jobs because its an entry level job that is probably not going to lead anywhere.

 

[GaresTaylan]

You obviously don't know what you're talking about. Gamestop employee's are supposed to ring up in-store customers first before filling out pre-orders. He was the only guy working the store. He was in a bad mood and thought he'd take it out on me.

If he's not ringing up customers that are in store then basically, the store is closed to any people walking in wanting to buy something. I had asked him how long he'd be and he said "he didn't know" which means I could have been waiting there for an hour just because he didn't feel like ringing up a 3 minute transaction.

You're egregiously ignorant if you think having a customer wait an hour is better than "potentially" having a customer who pre-ordered wait 3 extra minutes.

I know you're trying to defend retail employee's at all cost but the fact is that retail employee's are no different than customers who walk in. You have customer's that are mean and you have retail employee's that are mean.

If nice doesn't work, then you have to be mean or they'll walk all over you. These retail employee's making minimum wage often times don't care about the company or their jobs because its an entry level job that is probably not going to lead anywhere.

You're talking about two separate entities here. Best Buy vs Gamestop. This was not clarified in your original comments. I shouldn't have assumed that you meant Best Buy, but I did since that was the topic of conversation.

This pretty much negates the rest of your comments. Many Gamestop's/EB's that I have been to in the past only have one person working when I arrive. Again, two separate entities and he obviously has multiple jobs to do versus what an employee of another company would. In other retail organizations, this is not the case. Under this circumstance, they should probably address the online order when they have free time or when the customer arrives. I worked for Circuit City as an operations manager when I left. Online orders do take priority over in-store orders. But, there is always someone separate tending to those orders versus the in-store ones.

I won't even respond to the comment about me being ignorant. Since I didn't attack you the first time I won't this time, either. Is this how you debate in the real world??? Some customers would need to place an online order in the store to obtain online pricing so that the store didn't take the hit on the discount. The kiosk for this was 5 seconds away from the front counter. then again, like I said, there was always someone else tending to these types of orders.

As far as defending retail employees are concerned... please read/re-read my original comments. If the retail employee if being rude to you, this is unacceptable and you need to involve their superior. If you decided to act like an ass because you didn't get your way, then shame on you and you shouldn't get your way. If you work your way up the ladder to the top of the store and everyone is being rude to you, it's probably because you are doing so in kind. In the event that it isn't, call corporate.

When my AT&T (or Verizon before) bill is/was incorrect and I call in to discuss... and the rep does not agree with me or is unable to help me, I ask to speak to their superior. I keep moving up the chain. I never scream at/holler/insult the person on the other end of the phone for doing their job. It's called respect/maturity. If they decide to act like a jerk to you, move up the chain instead of acting like them.

 

[mauijiminar]

Returned mine on day 14. I just told them I wanted to wait for the 3g. They basically said no worries and didn't even mention at 15% fee. Great customer service.

I returned my I pad wi fi the day they came out at BB and no restock fee

 

[Higgs1]

i hate to bump an old topic, however, I want to chime in with my experience

Bought the ipad Saturady 6/12, returned it today 6/14 opened and they said the return policy on iPads is 30 days w/receipt and packaging and NO restocking fee as it is not a notebook or a desktop pc


this should be company wide @ best buy so if you have issues go higher up

hope this helps & i'm sure glad they took back my $881 ipad w/o an issue

just wasn't for me, my iphone & macbook do just fine, cool gadget but i'll wait until its more of a necessity

 

[Pochi Hanaki]

Bought the ipad Saturady 6/12, returned it today 6/14 opened and they said the return policy on iPads is 30 days w/receipt and packaging and NO restocking fee as it is not a notebook or a desktop pcy

I tried to trade mine in for the 3g model and was told there was a 15% restocking fee that could not be waived. I complained on their web site and got this message.

Thank you for contacting us with your concerns regarding our return policy for the iPad. I can definitely understand your point of view and please accept my sincere apologies for any misunderstanding surrounding our return policy. I would love to take the opportunity to provide clarification on your unanswered concerns.

Best Buy® considers the iPad to fall under the computer category and so the same 14 day return/exchange policy with a 15% restocking fee applies. I will make your comments available to the appropriate personnel as we are always looking for ways to improve our service, and appreciate your feedback.


Sincerely,
Helen | Best Buy® Community Specialist

 

[ViperDesign]

I returned an ipad and they charged me a 15% restocking fee

That kinda hurts the pocket book

 

[sandydlc]

Have boycotted Best Buy for two years because of "return policy"

My cousin gave my kids a Sony Playstation for Christmas a couple of years ago. They already had one so I told them not to open the box and just hang onto it. I travel a lot for business so I didn't make it back to the store until (apparently) ONE day after the date that my gift receipt expired.

I wasn't trying to get a refund - quite the contrary, I was trying to buy my kids something else for their Christmas gift. I would have ended up spending about 50% more than the Playstation was worth, HOWEVER - the kid running the returns department looked at my gift receipt, the unopened box for the Playstation and just said that they would not accept any returns or exchanges outside of the return period stated on the gift receipt. I asked him to note that I was one day outside of the time limit but he said, no exceptions.

I asked to speak to a manager, but this guy was more rude than the original sales clerk. They just kept quoting policy and that they wouldn't do an exchange, despite the fact that they were still selling the identical product for the same price and my box was unopened and undamaged. I let them know that I do all of the purchasing for my company and that I would prefer to work with companies that are not inflexible. They didn't care, so - as a result, when I need to purchase items for my home and my company, I refuse to give Best Buy any of our money.

When I was in college I worked retail as well, and if a customer had attempted to exchange an item that was clearly undamaged, unopened and they wanted to spend more money with my store, I would have asked my manager to make an exception.

In this case with Best Buy, had I been attempting to return something that was six months past the return date or to return something that had been used, I could understand their unwillingness to work with me but they were just stubbornly sticking to their guns and quoting "policy".

Their policy lost them my business and my company's. And I can't even tell you how many times I've told this story. Bummer for them.

Sandy

 

[JayMysterio]

Actually this will NEVER work. At least not at any store I worked at (Bestbuy and Circuit City included).

The *******s always got hit with any type of fee we could throw at them. The polite honest people got the fee waived.

Now, you have to look from the business end, many people decide to "rent" these items which is why they have a fee for return. Once its returned it can only be sold as either open box or sent to become a refurbished model and most of the time the business loses out.

+1

I worked at Circuit City when they began the whole 'restock fee' thing that caused such an initial ruckus. They did it because every year at 'Bowl' time, people would buy big screen tvs they couldn't afford, then return them with or without the boxing and want their money back. That's why the restocking fee began, or as was known in store, 'the rental fee'.

Some customers clearly purchase something with the intention of 'trying it out first', then returning it. While that seems okay at first, for high demand items it screws other customers and the store. A customer who may have really wanted the item didn't get it because someone was 'renting it', and the store has to put it on the shelf if it can, as an open box item and sell at a greater loss.

One of the problems with putting a sticker on an item is that the shrink wrap is the first to go, and it becomes a 'he said, she said' debate. The store may have not put the sticker on, and the customer maybe lying. It is the fault of Best Buy for not being more clear about the status of the IPad as an object to be returned, but most of you know you're splitting hairs. It's classified as a computing device. Best Buy should have a sign clearly posted in the very area though, clearly pointing out the restocking fee.

I for one was one of those salespeople that many of you would have pitched a fit, spit on me, and then ran from the store screaming you will never return. And you know what? ...I never got in trouble for it.

I was an @$$hole when it was called for, and 7 out of 10 times it was called for. Ask anyone with a year's worth of retail experience, and they will tell you the only way you see people more at their worst is in the food service industry. Many customers look at retail people as form of slaves to be talked down to, if not degraded, but then turn around and want you to cut them some mysterious non existent deal... happily. Most businesses are chains, and there are no deals. As an assistant manager it was my job to tow the line more than anyone else, the manager could play the good guy and bend the rules. If I broke a rule, it was my @$$.

Remember sometimes when you ask an employee reluctant to do that favor for you, they maybe thinking how much they want to keep their job over saving you $20.

Now when it was in my power, and the customer was reasonable, I would do whatever I could to keep that customer. If the customer was breaking my stones and causing a scene though, I would happily do whatever was in my power to make sure they never came back and bothered me or my employees again.

 

[Pravda]

On the 13th day I went to best buy to return my
ipad and exchange it for a MacBook Pro. The girl at
customer service told me that I will still be charged a
15% restocking fee, I asked to talk to the manager.
At that time she asked me which model I wanted and
game me a full refund to go towards my MacBook Pro.

The overall experience was pretty smooth.