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August 13, 2009
Turning bad buzz around for Best Buy
Best Buy was in the news the other day for an oops. It offered a 52-inch HDTV that normally sells for $1,600 on its web site for $9.99. Eager web surfers gleefully pulled out their credit cards and placed orders.
As word of the deal spread, Best Buy realized the mistake, quickly pulled the offer from the site and announced it would not honor the purchases. The company cited its web site terms and conditions, which reserve the right to "revoke offers or correct errors" even if a credit card has already been charged. Upset tweeters took over, and Best Buy came out with a black eye.
Few people would expect Best Buy to honor what surely seems like human error but the bigger idea here is that every misstep, even embarrassing public ones, are an opportunity to turn bad buzz into good. Years ago, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told a newspaper he wouldn't hire the chief referee of the NBA "to manage a Dairy Queen." Ouch. Within days, Cuban accepted an offer to manage a DQ store in Dallas. While TV cameras and reporters captured the scene, Cuban was behind the counter, in DQ garb, serving customers -- and that was BT: Before Twitter. DQ was happy, Cuban was happy, and the media were happy they had a happy ending to a story.
Turning bad buzz into good takes fast, creative thinking, a sense of humor, and a willingness to happily eat virtual crow. Best Buy could put everyone who ordered the TV into a drawing then give away 10 of them. Or 100. Then they could even deliver the sets, with TV cameras rolling, and have their Geek Squad members install them for free.
You can either point to the rules when you screw up, or you can go beyond the obvious and do something worth talking about.
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If something is too good to be true, it usually is.
I wonder how many people will cease to buy (or even recommend) BB because they did the right thing for shareholders and all their other customers?
I agree that a sweepstakes would make a few pundits happy, but would it really grow their market share?
I agree that Best Buy could have handled this better, but I can't help but think that they're better off without "entitlement culture" customers. If a customer like that said to me, "I'll never buy anything from you again," I might say, "I'm sorry to hear that." But inside I'd be thinking, "Yes!"
I think you are RIGHT ON with your suggestion. Too many people/businesses can't or won't admit when they've made a mistake or an oops like this. Cuban had it right too and turned what could have been a disaster completely around. I don't think anyone really expected them to honor all of the orders but an effort, as you suggest, would have made all the difference. And, for those people that still had a problem with this effort, yes, they might need to find another store/website to do their future shopping.
This is not about market share and it's not about the "entitlement culture"- it is about taking advantage of an opportunity. Instead of being defensive - denying responsibility, pulling out the legal copy - they could have embraced their humanness (we all make mistakes) and showed they care about their customers and how they are treated. Whether with a sweepstakes as Jackie suggests or a with a discount, gift card, etc., BB could have surprised everyone and not acted the way we expected corporations to act. And forged some new bonds in the process. Thanks for the thought-provoking post, Jackie.
I don't see why Best Buy's mistake means that they own their consumers free televisions. It was a mistake and I wish people would be more understanding that it was a mistake and not expect anything from it. I don't see why a typo suddenly means we owe customers a thousand dollar television. Obviously Best Buy should apologize and make sure that it never happens again. I would hope people would learn to be more understanding and take disappointment with a little grace. Best Buy doesn't owe them anything other than selling good products, having knowledgable sales staff, and lenient return policy. I have a feeling THAT is what people will remember. Not 10 other people getting free TVs for a typo.
Excellent blog. When I heard the story, I wondered what kind of financial impact Best Buy would have if they actually honored the web site error - would it have been a justifiable "loss" considering the positive consumer experience and probable publicity to follow. In any case, I didn't think their "sorry, technology to blame" plan was the best one. I agree with your suggestions.
I just think that even a $100 coupon good towards the television would have not hurt the bottom line for this company. As was said, they listed the TV half price but really, aren't consumer goods so disposable that even half the price. the company still makes a profit. You want people to buy your products not go somewhere else. Because there is always somewhere else.
Best Buy needs to study the advantages of turning bad into good word of mouth. That is the capitalistic way. And those who thought, nothing is free, see STarbucks, Pizza Hut, Subway and KFC who have all given free promotions. Its the economy stupid!
If they would stop brining in guys from the future and pay more attention to the now, this would not have happened in the first place. Besides, couldnt the guy from the future tell them this would happen?
Best buy might have protected stockholders but they still spend too much time being silly and not enough time hiring someone to actually help me in the store.
Where the heck is that stadium full of people when I want a new computer battery?
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The German retailer Otto reacted in exactly the same way earlier this year when they realised that they had offered MacBooks for 49.90 Euros on their website otto.de. They gave out vouchers and run a competition for 50 free MacBooks.
Here's another example of following rules (it's policy), rather than thinking things through:
I just had a really unpleasant experience at Victoria's Secret (a store I never liked and now despise). I went to return something (having found a better, cheaper version elsewhere). It was new, unworn, and I had the receipt. So far so good.
But then they asked me for state ID. State ID??? I don't work for the state??! The clerk said a driver's license would do. That I have, so I handed it over.
But, this is New York City, nobody drives (my license is a weird remnant of a suburban childhood). What if you don't have one? When I asked the clerk, she said, "Well then you can't return anything, unless you have a military ID or a passport. It's store policy."
A passport???!! To return something?? Who in their right mind would think to bring a passport to return something?
Imagine the scene at the passport office:
Customer: "Yes, I'd like to apply for a passport."
Clerk: "Going away?"
Customer,. "No, I need to return a nightie."
I am never, ever, ever buying anything from that store again.
Great, creative response to an error, and a tough situation - a contest.
I like Dan's take on this one.
If I had been one of those people I probably would have been momentarily miffed but otherwise unscathed by the incident. It was a typo, big deal. If I was a somewhat loyal customer to Best Buy, which I'm not, then I would probably find the story an amusing anecdote to tell at a dinner party, but would not abandon the store as a customer.
Some people are all too willing to take advantage of a situation and try and get something for nothing, not an admirable quality. This is a prime example as to why companies have stipulations built into their websites.
In contrast, the hotel Crowne Plaza Venice, which made a similar mistake when it advertised rooms for one cent a night, is turning lemons into lemonade by keeping its promise. Sure it is costing it 90,000 euros but the hotel has been rewarded with a wealth of positive news stories applauding its decision.
Completely agreed. I wrote about a similar experience my mother in law had a Christmas, but the company actually did something about it.
They turned what could've been terrible customer service into an awesome experience, and now have a customer for life.
So many companies are just so narrow minded!
Absolutely! Best Buy could have resolved that issue in a much better way. Even offering all customers a free dvd of their choice for the confusion. It would have saved them a great deal of negative press.
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Running a contest for those that thought they had made a big score would probably result in some positive PR, but I don't think they will suffer from the website error. It's not the first time this has happened, on the web or in print, and it certainly won't be the last.
I've got to believe that with BB's focus on social media (Barry Judge's blog, Twelpforce, crowdsourcing a job description) they have talked about basic ways to deal with negative reaction like this. Contest, store credit, discount on that model - all options w/ limited negative financial impact and tremendous positive PR upside. It's not about creating a culture of entitelment with customers, it's owning up to your mistakes and showing your human side. Legal copy doesn't quite do that. Good lesson for other brands in this evolving world of real-time customer service.
Brilliant idea - while I wouldn't fault BB for the way they handled it, your idea leverages a bad situation to their advantage and could spur on considerable positive PR. That's why you're the one writing the blog.
Dan,
The problem comes when those who live in the "entitlement culture" are your primary customer base. It's very difficult to track whether your customers will be more satisfied with the correction than they would be if the mistake was never made, and how that correction affects the bottom line. If I had Best Buy's capital, I'd err on the side of experimentation. If they didn't do it, someone else will.
@Dan: I think you're right on with that. If a few leeches who want something for nothing don't buy again, it's probably not all that big of a loss.
@melanio: I think you misread the article. They didn't advertise HDTVs for half price, this was a 99% off deal. The article claims that the $10 price was $1600 less than normal. You do the math, but it's a fraction of one percent of the normal price. What reasonable person would honestly expect this price?
Perhaps a better way to do it would be to apologize for the mistake, admit the error, and offer them at $999.00 each only to the original people. They might still be losing, but I think the number of people who would take them up on that offer would be very small.
