So I got my E4gT today at Bestbuy and..

[Noble.Four]

Suing them might be a little over the top. If it happened to me, I would just go back and demand a brand new phone. If they refused, I would return it all for a full refund and go somewhere official. As many are saying, the issue is that the phone is supposed to be new, unopened, totally fresh from the factory. No, the picture didn't damage the phone, and I am sure it still appears flawless. The fact of the matter is, any device taken out of the box PRIOR to being sold to a customer should not be treated as new, hands down.

It doesn't matter if the phone works perfectly. I buy something new because I know I am the first one to ever use it. I would think BB would want to be giving you a replacement. This is a liability issue. What if something WAS wrong with the phone, and you have photo evidence that it was used before it came into your possession. Any potential defect could be pinned on them.

Honestly though, that store just seems super shady. First, for hiring employees who do this stuff. Second, for not acknowledging that it is a real problem. I have never encountered anything like that in all my time as a Best Buy customer. They have always seemed pretty professional, for the most part.

People saying this isn't a big deal--again, it isn't a matter of whether or not the phone functions perfectly. It is the principle--buying a new product, having it not technically be new. That phone should have been put on display or something. Really, though, it never should have been touched. And the fact that somebody in charge tried to say it is just what employees do...false. Employees do not have the right to open new merchandise on a whim to play with it.

 

[Linkchomp]

Are people seriously saying this isn't a big deal? This is very unacceptable. Not only because they've been playing around with a phone and selling it new, but to throw in an obscene gesture. Anf you're saying that's not a big deal?

 

[STL 314]

Hey guys so I walked into Bestbuy today to get my Epic 4g Touch and I go to play with it as the rep finishes my paperwork and look what I find on it that Bestbuy decided to throw in as a bonus!

I was pretty upset. There was another one as well of a random Sprint fixture. Also before I even got the phone in my hand the reps were handing the phone off to each other to check it out. They didn't even know anything about it nor of its release this morning.

LMAO

 

[Makai5]

they never no anything about there phones. they are a horrible big box store to get anything

 

[deviouslylost]

Yeah I have to admit the camera quality is pretty nice lol. But yeah I spoke to their manager and he just made excuses. "When we get in new devices the techs like to open them up and explore them a bit" was his reasoning. I then asked why would there be such a vulgar photo on my phone then and he went on to say that they should have deleted it before it was sold. Awesome.

They don't get tester phones? While everyone would react differently to the situation, I personally would be upset with my "brand new" phone being utilized as a tester phone.

 

[STL 314]

they never no anything about there phones. they are a horrible big box store to get anything

Lol they didn't even have the phone at my best buy today

 

[Ekreed]

Hmmmm, I've got to say, if it were me, I'm not sure if I'd care so much about it if it was just a rep playing with it. The main reason I like buying NISB phones is so it is covered by warranty, and by selling it as new the warranty is still valid. If it were me and they told me that they had just opened it to take a look at it I'd be fine with it, but I guess they didn't mention it beforehand which is bad. This does set a bad precedent, since you could do far worse with it than simply messing around. I mean, I don't worry too much about malware since you have to do something dumb to install it, but how are you supposed to spot a spying Program that was installed before you even got the phone.

I think all the phone shops (don't think this is limited. to bestbuy) need to do something about this. Part of the problem may be a shortage of demo units, since no manager would want to reduce sales by turning over one of their stock to being a display unit. Did they actually have a display unit in store? I ask because I remember my friend who works in vodafone complain at the release of the sensation because their demo unit never arrived so he had to sell a phone he'd never seen.

 

[Andrew Martonik]

Hmmmm, I've got to say, if it were me, I'm not sure if I'd care so much about it if it was just a rep playing with it. The main reason I like buying NISB phones is so it is covered by warranty, and by selling it as new the warranty is still valid. If it were me and they told me that they had just opened it to take a look at it I'd be fine with it, but I guess they didn't mention it beforehand which is bad. This does set a bad precedent, since you could do far worse with it than simply messing around. I mean, I don't worry too much about malware since you have to do something dumb to install it, but how are you supposed to spot a spying Program that was installed before you even got the phone.

I think all the phone shops (don't think this is limited. to bestbuy) need to do something about this. Part of the problem may be a shortage of demo units, since no manager would want to reduce sales by turning over one of their stock to being a display unit. Did they actually have a display unit in store? I ask because I remember my friend who works in vodafone complain at the release of the sensation because their demo unit never arrived so he had to sell a phone he'd never seen.

I agree. The problem is that it wasn't disclosed that it had been opened before. The assumption is that employees shouldn't open and play with a product and then sell them as brand new. Unfortunately this isn't always the case.

 

[SkyEpic]

Man I'm sorry to hear that you bought your phone from a store with juvenile kids with grubby hands. I agree with those who say to take it to the higher ups. No one should open anything, use them, then try to sell it as new then play it off like they knew nothing about the item being sold.

This makes me not trust retailers with any newly released products anymore. I do see it as a chance to set some sort of standard for other locations and awareness of box opening employees.

 

[Droid800]

Escalate. Escalate. Escalate. Demand the contact info for their dm. Call corporate.

What bothers me about this isn't that they opened it, it's that the manager defended his employees idiocy when they were clearly in the wrong. If I was him (and I currently work in retail management, so I often am in his position), my first reaction would be to offer you a replacement and a discounted accessory, handled only by me and not by my idiot employees. Then I'd do my best to make that employees life a little bit more miserable every time they're at work.

Seriously, complain until you can't do it anymore. That manager deserves to have their butt handed to them by their dm, and that employee deserves to get fired.


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[Small_law]

Taking a new phone out of a box, screwing around with it, repackaging it, and selling it as new is simply fraud. Best Buy was in trouble in my state some years back because multiple stores were selling returns as new items, and I think its open item pricing and sales drew scrutiny too. Frankly, I try not to buy anything more complicated than BD movies from that store.

Bottom line: I would not feel better about something like this until I yelled at someone at Best Buy about it.

 

[JoJoCal19]

If you so much as call Public/Consumer Relations and report this and mention the managers non-chalant attitude and tell them you are reporting it to the news agencies and tech sites I guarantee you that you will be enjoying a nice new ET4G on their dime.

 

[remii]

Hey guys so I went back in the store again (This being the Tyler store in Riverside, CA) and spoke to another manager in person. I explained to her my situation and about how I've already spoken to another manager who simply dismissed the issue. She seemed much more reasonable and was seemed to grasp the severity of the situation. She apologized profusely and expressed her frustration and assured me this is not regular BestBuy behavior. She assured me the employee (who I happened to run into at the store who's name I discovered is Victor. I couldn't make out a last name sadly) would be adequately reprimanded. She guaranteed me a new phone which she would personally pick up at a sister store (seeing as how this was the only BestBuy in the district to stock the phone and my friend and I were the first two to get the two out of six of they had received). I just have to stop by again tomorrow morning to get my new *crosses fingers* Epic 4g Touch. Which works out great since the "new" one I purchased this morning is refusing to charge. It's been plugged in all day and it's only at 70% battery. I was really hoping to have a chance to play with this phone after having waited for months to get it in my hands. She even threw in a $25 gift card for my problems. It makes me really sad and frustrated to know these types of situations still occur. Who knows what these retailers decide to do to these seemingly "new" devices before selling them. I hope at least in this instance this employee learns his lesson and this store in particular does a better job at training their employees. This shoddy behavior is highly unprofessional and one would think a big chain like Best Buy would have better practices in place in order to prevent these situations from occurring.

All in all this wasn't the launch of a new device I was expecting to get when I walked into Best Buy this morning with my debit card in hand ready to fork over for a shiny new phone but in the end it all worked out. Now if only the morning would come sooner :]

 

[Noble.Four]

Glad to hear it got sorted out, that sounds more on base with how it should be.

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[nkd]

LOL was there any damage to the phone? The guy probably didn't even know that phone was being sold, I am sure I have flipped people off at work, thinking it was their phone. Why not get the person in trouble who took the picture. I doubt the guy flipping off would put himself on the camera of a phone that was being sold. I think it is kinda unfair to the guy flipping off the camera. My friend did the same at work when I was taking his picture the other day.

Please dont tell me no one here has flipped a camera off where their friend is taking a picture, it happens all the time. That looks like a room, so it is not on the sales floor. I get the idea of behaving and being professional but I highly doubt the guy who was flippin off the camera knew it was going to be sold. He most likely thought it was his friends or something. Again the person who is taking the picture probably knew what was going on then the person who is on the camera.

Not advocating that this should be done, but we all know people do stupid things at work. Please dont try to teach me manners as I have done plenty of good things in my life, lol.

as far the phone goes, I agree you should be getting a new phone. As I wouldn't be comfortable with a phone being used prior to me buying it.

 

[Noble.Four]

Yeah my thought was that the guy taking the picture was probably more at fault.

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[nkd]

Best Buy is clearly holding its employees to high standards.

Like others have said I'd also demand the employee is fired or at least punished.

Lets put it this way, the picture by no means was directed towards someone. Just a dude snapping a picture of fellow employee and he flipped the camera. The thing is the idiots failed to delete it. Yes the phone should have never been sold as new, that is what they should get in trouble for.

One should never take pride in getting someone fired, Trust me I saw a very good employee get fired because a customer raised hell about a silly mistake he made about not acknowleding him and he overheard him use a bad word talking to his fellow employee. Did the guy really deserve to loose his job, he had a family and kids. I dont know what the customer achieved by getting him fired.

Is this really something you should get someone fired over? just ask yourself that. Yes they should certainly not sell a phone that was open so they could mess around with it.

 

[cacherpaderp]

LOL was there any damage to the phone? The guy probably didn't even know that phone was being sold, I am sure I have flipped people off at work, thinking it was their phone. Why not get the person in trouble who took the picture. I doubt the guy flipping off would put himself on the camera of a phone that was being sold. I think it is kinda unfair to the guy flipping off the camera. My friend did the same at work when I was taking his picture the other day.

Please dont tell me no one here has flipped a camera off where their friend is taking a picture, it happens all the time. That looks like a room, so it is not on the sales floor. I get the idea of behaving and being professional but I highly doubt the guy who was flippin off the camera knew it was going to be sold. He most likely thought it was his friends or something. Again the person who is taking the picture probably knew what was going on then the person who is on the camera.

Not advocating that this should be done, but we all know people do stupid things at work. Please dont try to teach me manners as I have done plenty of good things in my life, lol.

as far the phone goes, I agree you should be getting a new phone. As I wouldn't be comfortable with a phone being used prior to me buying it.

Yes there was damage to the phone. It would not charge. I'm the friend he "camped" out with for this phone. We could not get his to charge, where mine charged extremely fast. It was interesting to see Remii's excitement and happiness morph into a silent rage that grew slowly. When the representative handed the phone to another customer who was not Remii, I thought that Remii was going to lose it and start murdering people. It was quite an interesting sight.

I think that you were pretty lenient on them and that you settled for a $25 gift card, an apology, and a new phone. You're a better man than I bro. I would have gotten into a fist fight or I would have done something incredibly ignorant along those lines.

 

[Droid800]

Lets put it this way, the picture by no means was directed towards someone. Just a dude snapping a picture of fellow employee and he flipped the camera. The thing is the idiots failed to delete it. Yes the phone should have never been sold as new, that is what they should get in trouble for.

One should never take pride in getting someone fired, Trust me I saw a very good employee get fired because a customer raised hell about a silly mistake he made about not acknowleding him and he overheard him use a bad word talking to his fellow employee. Did the guy really deserve to loose his job, he had a family and kids. I dont know what the customer achieved by getting him fired.

Is this really something you should get someone fired over? just ask yourself that. Yes they should certainly not sell a phone that was open so they could mess around with it.

Yes. If one of my employees did this, they'd be shown the door no questions asked. You don't screw with merchandise you're going to sell, especially one worth $500. It'd be like me taking a treadmill out of the box at my job, running on it for 30 minutes, then packing it back up and selling it to someone as new. You just don't do it.

This is not a silly mistake. This is an employee doing something they clearly should not have been doing.


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[Droid800]

LOL was there any damage to the phone? The guy probably didn't even know that phone was being sold, I am sure I have flipped people off at work, thinking it was their phone. Why not get the person in trouble who took the picture. I doubt the guy flipping off would put himself on the camera of a phone that was being sold. I think it is kinda unfair to the guy flipping off the camera. My friend did the same at work when I was taking his picture the other day.

Please dont tell me no one here has flipped a camera off where their friend is taking a picture, it happens all the time. That looks like a room, so it is not on the sales floor. I get the idea of behaving and being professional but I highly doubt the guy who was flippin off the camera knew it was going to be sold. He most likely thought it was his friends or something. Again the person who is taking the picture probably knew what was going on then the person who is on the camera.

Not advocating that this should be done, but we all know people do stupid things at work. Please dont try to teach me manners as I have done plenty of good things in my life, lol.

as far the phone goes, I agree you should be getting a new phone. As I wouldn't be comfortable with a phone being used prior to me buying it.

Well you clearly need to be taught them if you're defending what they did. Retailers like best buy have zero tolerance for this crap (as well they should), and if this employee gets fired it's his own fault. Actions have consequences. It's a lesson that seems to be lost on many of the younger workers these days.


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