How do I avoid it, well I avoid CompUSA and BestBuy like the plague. Luckily I have a Micro Center 10 minutes from my house, so if I ever need anything computer related ASAP I just head over there. Besides, the prices there for computer stuff and the selection of brands and versions are a million times better!
Service plans on laptops and cell phones are awesome at Best Buy. But seriously, tell them you worked there before and you don't want it. I told them that at best buy and he was sitting there laughing and saying "I have a strange feeling not asking you if you want antivirus".
Jason
Viditorm and ChrisH
As an employee I would say, “well if your card doubles the warrantee, it is just doubling nothing, because as you might not know, the MFG warranty is nearly worthless. Our Performance Service Plan covers normal wear and tear, dust, heat, humidly, power surges and general usage; all things the MFG does not.”
MarkHark
Best Buy honors their service plan in all countries. All you have to do is have a repair shop fix it and then BB will reimburse you for the amount you paid for the repair, or if the repair is over the purchase price, you just get the estimate and buy something new, and BB will refund your money.
Doug
Best Buy does not offer a plan at that price. It was most likely $40. I would try to tell you why you should buy it now, but I know you don’t want to hear it :P
On a separate note, I would say the best way to end the service plan madness is to say “Thank you for your offer, I am aware of all of the benefits, but at this time I would not like to purchase the plan. But again, thank you for the offer.” You might even want to say, “I work for the company, I know everything about them.”
And if you all haven’t guessed, I have worked for Best Buy, and love the plans on almost everything. I have received numerous refunds and replacements, although recently it has become more of a pain to get them.
By the way, this makes me wonder. I wonder if anyone recognized Anand during checkout when he showed them his I.D. and his credit card. If these people are into hardware one bit, I am sure they would know Anand.
Hey Anand, have you ever had a sales associate get all excited when they look at your I.D./Credit Card and realize it's "THE ANAND"? :)
#26: It's very surprising to hear you have such bad experience with Fry's employees. Our Fry's is exceptional. Then again, we only have ONE Fry's in East Coast, so they might be nice in the beginning and turn evil later on. ;)
I then go to Fry's Electronics. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA. I walk in and I grab something because they almost always have what I want (even OCZ memory too). Then I pay and walk out. Oh. Fry's employees blow. So if you use the store as a walk in walk out place then it works. Otherwise, it sucks to deal with those idiots.
I've had similiar experiences here in northern IL. Although BB & CC has gotten better lately, I used to have to damn near get rude with them before they'd take the hint. Sometimes I'd actually buy just to get them to leave me alone (which, I know, is exactly what they wanted). Now I just tell them, "I'm not interested, thanks" very politely and it seems to work well. Perhaps someone complained to upper-management and they got the hint?
I can understand companies trying to increase their profits, but being pushy is just one reason why I wouldn't step into a Best Buy for over 9 months. I used to work for an internet company that would insist on pushing "service plans" because they knew the payout was tremendous. On average, most people won't need them and it's just money in the bank. For the few that do, it's just pennies on the dollar that they made. Before that, I worked at Target and had to push Target charge cards and I'd get angry customers that were sick of being asked.
I guess every company is just trying to make money (obviously), but there's a point were you just have to understand you're customer's wants too, and not just your shareholders'.
In closing, if it's really bad over in CT, perhaps a polite letter to upper mangement explaining the understanding of doing business and your frustration in feeling harrassed. Perhaps they'll get the message. You know, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar... not that you want to catch flies. :)
Funny, most places around here really aren't that pushy with the service plans. Twice is the most I've ever had to say "No." I think that being a young guy has something to do with it, though.... I bet they give a lot harder sale to older folks or those who look like they might be uncomfortable with the technology.
I agree with Anand, but things aren't as bad with CompUSA or BestBuy in Georgia. I bought a $150.00 Xbox and the guy at the counter asked me if I wanted to buy a $250.00 service plan and I politely said, "Nah, thanks".
I always love it when they say, "I bought my Xbox in December (I purchased mine in January) and it's hard drive is already going bad, so you might want to think about it."
Now, service plans are still useful for big items like laptops and TVs. My laptop went bad and if I hadn't purchased the service plan, I was going to be pretty much out of luck as my original 1-year warrantly had expired a couple weeks earlier.
To a certain extent, I go with poster #3 above. I buy things at CompUSA (my wife calls it 'the geek store') fairly regularly. The folks at the register ask every time of course and I've found that a simple "no,thank you" mixed with sort of a chuckle of laughter works every time to keep it from being asked again. Not entirely certain how they react that keeps them from asking again but it seems to work.
Hi Anand... Tell me, did you go to the store in Orange Ct?.... If so, I wish I decided to work yesterday, (I'm a part-time factory rep for a networking company on Fridays & weekends) because I very likely would both have seen & immediately recognized you...bummer... prob just as well for you though, as you likely would have been signing autographs! ... oh well, hope they at least got you the right motherboard & that you escaped the evil service-plan gremlin, somthing I just flat-out refuse to sell, but then I don't work for the store so I can get away with saying no.. the reps will be canned in a heartbeat if they don't push those mostly worthless plans.
I only say "no" once. If they ask again, they get one of two things. If I don't REALLY need the item, or I can get it somewhere else, I simply walk away without saying anything. If I HAVE TO purchase the item right then, I simply don't reply at all.
Just so you know, I used to work (8 years ago) at Staples (used to be Business Depot here in Canada). Yes, we HAD to ask about those damn service plans. I would ask once, and believe me it was simply a "You want this?" attempt at a sale. I didn't work on commission, so I had no intentions of trying to sell something I didn't honestly believe was worthwhile. They tried running contests for the person that could sell the most of them. Despite the fact I worked more hours than any of the other staff in the department, I pretty much always came in dead last.
Anand, you could just tell them you'd gladly buy their service plan as long as they agree on providing you service in Brazil (or India, or Antarctica, or wherever ;) )
You should just be smug with them and say do you know who I am? I thought so, I'm Anand, the owner and creator of AnandTech and you should be honored to have me in your store buying products and if you keep on harassing me about extended warranties then I won't buy anything here anymore :)
And if that don't get them to piss off keep on asking their sales people technical questions until they start to cry for the fun of it.
Its always sad to see how Sales ppl who work in computers know nothing about technology or anything about they are selling.
It's not that the service plans aren't useless, it's about sales people not taking no for an answer. How many times should one person be required to say no before the sales pitch is dropped?
I know that most people here hat those service plans, but they have saved me hundreds of dollars. I got a new PDA, a new digital camera, dvd player, phones, batteries for phones, etc. I wouldnt disregard service plans altogether. Obviously Anand would be voiding it any way, so my advice doesnt apply here.
That's great, I'm definitely trying that next time :)
The thing is, I try saying no - I say no a lot, but I shouldn't have to say no more than once, maybe twice. There was a time last year in Best Buy where I had to say no over 7 times, which is just ridiculous.
ViRGE
I picked up an ABIT NF8, not too bad for CompUSA - I was surprised. I just wish we had Fry's on the east coast.
ChineseDemocracyGNR
Nothing about Socket-939 Semprons yet, at this point AMD has no real reason to transition over to Socket-939 for the Sempron. Remember it costs more to make/package a Socket-939 CPU than a Socket-754 CPU simply because of the additional pins that need to be routed out from the die itself.
do you know anything about the socket 939 Semprons? I was wondering if they will have x86-64 instructions.
And what about the 3300+ you have, still no 64-bit?
Ah, just speak the truth, Anand. Tell them you plan on voiding the warranty as soon as you open the box (overclock, mod, etc.), and thus you have no need for their service plan.
Apparently those stores have become more agressive since the last time I shopped there. It used to be that a simple "No, thank you" would be all it took -- at least for me.
Often their bosses make them do it, since it's the best profit maker, and they'll get fired if they don't. We knew the people at Software Etc. by name in college, and they knew we would never buy a strategy guide, but they had to try to sell it to us in case someone was watching them and they didn't want to lose their job. I just say "No, I really don't want it" or "My credit card already extends my warranty automatically" and move on.
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34 Comments
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Dybo70 - Thursday, April 21, 2005 - link
How do I avoid it, well I avoid CompUSA and BestBuy like the plague. Luckily I have a Micro Center 10 minutes from my house, so if I ever need anything computer related ASAP I just head over there. Besides, the prices there for computer stuff and the selection of brands and versions are a million times better!GoatHerderEd - Thursday, April 21, 2005 - link
No, you cannot just buy them on batteries. But the product you buy has batteries (rechargeable) they are covered.Myrandex - Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - link
Service plans on laptops and cell phones are awesome at Best Buy. But seriously, tell them you worked there before and you don't want it. I told them that at best buy and he was sitting there laughing and saying "I have a strange feeling not asking you if you want antivirus".Jason
turin39789 - Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - link
Can you buy a service plan on batteries? Cause they were made for warranties on general usageGoatHerderEd - Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - link
Viditorm and ChrisHAs an employee I would say, “well if your card doubles the warrantee, it is just doubling nothing, because as you might not know, the MFG warranty is nearly worthless. Our Performance Service Plan covers normal wear and tear, dust, heat, humidly, power surges and general usage; all things the MFG does not.”
MarkHark
Best Buy honors their service plan in all countries. All you have to do is have a repair shop fix it and then BB will reimburse you for the amount you paid for the repair, or if the repair is over the purchase price, you just get the estimate and buy something new, and BB will refund your money.
Doug
Best Buy does not offer a plan at that price. It was most likely $40. I would try to tell you why you should buy it now, but I know you don’t want to hear it :P
On a separate note, I would say the best way to end the service plan madness is to say “Thank you for your offer, I am aware of all of the benefits, but at this time I would not like to purchase the plan. But again, thank you for the offer.” You might even want to say, “I work for the company, I know everything about them.”
And if you all haven’t guessed, I have worked for Best Buy, and love the plans on almost everything. I have received numerous refunds and replacements, although recently it has become more of a pain to get them.
Go Anand!
-Ed
SleepNoMore - Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - link
Tell them:I'm not the secret shopper - you have done your duty and I refuse the service plan.
If they persist:
If you keep mentioning the service plan I'm going to get mad.
But then they will send the stupid rent-a-cop they keep at their doors and Bobo will escort you out as a potential terrorist.
Doug - Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - link
By the way, this makes me wonder. I wonder if anyone recognized Anand during checkout when he showed them his I.D. and his credit card. If these people are into hardware one bit, I am sure they would know Anand.Hey Anand, have you ever had a sales associate get all excited when they look at your I.D./Credit Card and realize it's "THE ANAND"? :)
Doug - Tuesday, April 19, 2005 - link
#26: It's very surprising to hear you have such bad experience with Fry's employees. Our Fry's is exceptional. Then again, we only have ONE Fry's in East Coast, so they might be nice in the beginning and turn evil later on. ;)dmo - Monday, April 18, 2005 - link
I then go to Fry's Electronics. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA. I walk in and I grab something because they almost always have what I want (even OCZ memory too). Then I pay and walk out. Oh. Fry's employees blow. So if you use the store as a walk in walk out place then it works. Otherwise, it sucks to deal with those idiots.Webdoctors - Monday, April 18, 2005 - link
haha, pure jokez.but nice to see U R still civil about it, as honestly they are forced by management and they are just trying to eek out a decent living.
Perhaps in da future can just bluntly ask why they want U to get one so badly...
~niko ^_^ - Monday, April 18, 2005 - link
LOLAt least it's good to hear that it happens to all of us, even the gods of tech review sites. ;)
:-D
~niko ^_^
OzzFan - Monday, April 18, 2005 - link
I've had similiar experiences here in northern IL. Although BB & CC has gotten better lately, I used to have to damn near get rude with them before they'd take the hint. Sometimes I'd actually buy just to get them to leave me alone (which, I know, is exactly what they wanted). Now I just tell them, "I'm not interested, thanks" very politely and it seems to work well. Perhaps someone complained to upper-management and they got the hint?I can understand companies trying to increase their profits, but being pushy is just one reason why I wouldn't step into a Best Buy for over 9 months. I used to work for an internet company that would insist on pushing "service plans" because they knew the payout was tremendous. On average, most people won't need them and it's just money in the bank. For the few that do, it's just pennies on the dollar that they made. Before that, I worked at Target and had to push Target charge cards and I'd get angry customers that were sick of being asked.
I guess every company is just trying to make money (obviously), but there's a point were you just have to understand you're customer's wants too, and not just your shareholders'.
In closing, if it's really bad over in CT, perhaps a polite letter to upper mangement explaining the understanding of doing business and your frustration in feeling harrassed. Perhaps they'll get the message. You know, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar... not that you want to catch flies. :)
Turnip - Monday, April 18, 2005 - link
#21... People like Anand? ;))wbwither - Sunday, April 17, 2005 - link
Funny, most places around here really aren't that pushy with the service plans. Twice is the most I've ever had to say "No." I think that being a young guy has something to do with it, though.... I bet they give a lot harder sale to older folks or those who look like they might be uncomfortable with the technology.Doug - Saturday, April 16, 2005 - link
I agree with Anand, but things aren't as bad with CompUSA or BestBuy in Georgia. I bought a $150.00 Xbox and the guy at the counter asked me if I wanted to buy a $250.00 service plan and I politely said, "Nah, thanks".I always love it when they say, "I bought my Xbox in December (I purchased mine in January) and it's hard drive is already going bad, so you might want to think about it."
Now, service plans are still useful for big items like laptops and TVs. My laptop went bad and if I hadn't purchased the service plan, I was going to be pretty much out of luck as my original 1-year warrantly had expired a couple weeks earlier.
Usually a "No, thanks." does it for me.
RColvin - Saturday, April 16, 2005 - link
To a certain extent, I go with poster #3 above. I buy things at CompUSA (my wife calls it 'the geek store') fairly regularly. The folks at the register ask every time of course and I've found that a simple "no,thank you" mixed with sort of a chuckle of laughter works every time to keep it from being asked again. Not entirely certain how they react that keeps them from asking again but it seems to work.Captante - Saturday, April 16, 2005 - link
Hi Anand... Tell me, did you go to the store in Orange Ct?.... If so, I wish I decided to work yesterday, (I'm a part-time factory rep for a networking company on Fridays & weekends) because I very likely would both have seen & immediately recognized you...bummer... prob just as well for you though, as you likely would have been signing autographs! ... oh well, hope they at least got you the right motherboard & that you escaped the evil service-plan gremlin, somthing I just flat-out refuse to sell, but then I don't work for the store so I can get away with saying no.. the reps will be canned in a heartbeat if they don't push those mostly worthless plans.Tanclearas - Saturday, April 16, 2005 - link
I only say "no" once. If they ask again, they get one of two things. If I don't REALLY need the item, or I can get it somewhere else, I simply walk away without saying anything. If I HAVE TO purchase the item right then, I simply don't reply at all.Just so you know, I used to work (8 years ago) at Staples (used to be Business Depot here in Canada). Yes, we HAD to ask about those damn service plans. I would ask once, and believe me it was simply a "You want this?" attempt at a sale. I didn't work on commission, so I had no intentions of trying to sell something I didn't honestly believe was worthwhile. They tried running contests for the person that could sell the most of them. Despite the fact I worked more hours than any of the other staff in the department, I pretty much always came in dead last.
MarkHark - Saturday, April 16, 2005 - link
#14- IronChefMorimoto :D:D:D ROFLAnand, you could just tell them you'd gladly buy their service plan as long as they agree on providing you service in Brazil (or India, or Antarctica, or wherever ;) )
brent - Saturday, April 16, 2005 - link
Tell them you don't buy replacement plans on things you can afford to replace. Its a bit snobbish, but it works.IronChefMorimoto - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
I just tell them..."Sir, would you like our $259 service plan for that floppy drive you're purchasing?"
"Hmmm...lemme think about that. You'll knock it down to $5, right?"
"Uh, no, sir -- it's $259."
"But you're gonna put it on your credit card, right?"
"Well, no -- you pay for it."
"Yeah -- I pay 10% off the original item and you include the service plan, right?"
"Yes -- wait -- no, sir. You're confusing me."
"Oh -- god. I'm sorry. I get a 100% instant rebate on everything I buy if I buy the service plan, right?"
"Sir -- you don't want the service plan do you?"
"No, I don't. Still confused?"
crtfanboy - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
I just grit my teeth and bear it. Having to harass people is just as annoying as being harassed, and they have to do it all day.Viditor - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
I usually tell them that my Platinum Visa already extends the service by 2 years (not quite true, but THEY buy it).gnumantsc - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
You should just be smug with them and say do you know who I am? I thought so, I'm Anand, the owner and creator of AnandTech and you should be honored to have me in your store buying products and if you keep on harassing me about extended warranties then I won't buy anything here anymore :)And if that don't get them to piss off keep on asking their sales people technical questions until they start to cry for the fun of it.
Its always sad to see how Sales ppl who work in computers know nothing about technology or anything about they are selling.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
Charlie HayesIt's not that the service plans aren't useless, it's about sales people not taking no for an answer. How many times should one person be required to say no before the sales pitch is dropped?
Take care,
Anand
Charlie Hayes - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
I know that most people here hat those service plans, but they have saved me hundreds of dollars. I got a new PDA, a new digital camera, dvd player, phones, batteries for phones, etc. I wouldnt disregard service plans altogether. Obviously Anand would be voiding it any way, so my advice doesnt apply here.Anand Lal Shimpi - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
HardwareD00dThat's great, I'm definitely trying that next time :)
The thing is, I try saying no - I say no a lot, but I shouldn't have to say no more than once, maybe twice. There was a time last year in Best Buy where I had to say no over 7 times, which is just ridiculous.
ViRGE
I picked up an ABIT NF8, not too bad for CompUSA - I was surprised. I just wish we had Fry's on the east coast.
ChineseDemocracyGNR
Nothing about Socket-939 Semprons yet, at this point AMD has no real reason to transition over to Socket-939 for the Sempron. Remember it costs more to make/package a Socket-939 CPU than a Socket-754 CPU simply because of the additional pins that need to be routed out from the die itself.
RyanVM
Not exactly my style :)
Take care,
Anand
RyanVM - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
You know, I'd probably just tell them "I run one of the largest hardware review sites on the internet. Do you really think I need a service plan?"ChineseDemocracyGNR - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
Anand,do you know anything about the socket 939 Semprons? I was wondering if they will have x86-64 instructions.
And what about the 3300+ you have, still no 64-bit?
ViRGE - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
Just what board did you purchase, anyhow? CompUSA doesn't strike me a place with a good selection of high-quality motherboards.Houdani - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
Ah, just speak the truth, Anand. Tell them you plan on voiding the warranty as soon as you open the box (overclock, mod, etc.), and thus you have no need for their service plan.Apparently those stores have become more agressive since the last time I shopped there. It used to be that a simple "No, thank you" would be all it took -- at least for me.
Ravedave - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
"No thank you, if you ask again I am leaving"Kidding...
Usually I just say "Nope" and thats it (as many times as needed), I think if you give an explanation it gives them room to debate...
ChrisH - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
Often their bosses make them do it, since it's the best profit maker, and they'll get fired if they don't. We knew the people at Software Etc. by name in college, and they knew we would never buy a strategy guide, but they had to try to sell it to us in case someone was watching them and they didn't want to lose their job. I just say "No, I really don't want it" or "My credit card already extends my warranty automatically" and move on.HardwareD00d - Friday, April 15, 2005 - link
Anand,Amen to the service contract pusher annoyances. Maybe you could tell them something like:
In Soviet Russia, Service contract sells YOU!