The TSA of Retail

On Sunday I went into Best Buy to buy a camera. I walked directly to the camera section and told a clerk that I wanted to purchase a specific model. The saleswoman unlocked the case, removed the camera, and walked me to a register nearby.

After scanning the camera, the saleswoman turned to me:

“Would you be interested in a Best Buy protection pla-“

“No thanks,” I interrupted. “I’m not interested.”

“-plan,” she continued. “If you do not choose this plan and something goes wrong you will be forced to send this camera-“

“I’m really not interested,” I repeated, cutting her off.

“Sir,” she replied in a sharper tone, “I’m required to tell you this.” She spoke for another 30 seconds about Best Buy’s warranty plan. Upon finishing she looked at me expectantly.

“I’m not interested,” I said for the third time.

“Would you be interested in applying for a Best Buy credit card? It’s a -“

“No thanks,” I interrupted.

She continued talking over me. The credit card up-sell took another ten seconds.

“I’m not interested,” I said yet again.

“Sir, can you step over here?” she asked. She pointed to the credit card swipe on the other side of her.

There was a yes-no dialogue on the screen, and I pressed “yes” to begin checking out. As soon as I did I noticed that the screen wasn’t what I thought.

“Sir, you have selected to apply for a Best Buy credit card.”

“I thought I was checking out.”

“No, you must first confirm that you are not interested in the credit card before checking out. You chose to apply for one.”

“No I didn’t. It was clearly a mistake.”

Mercifully I was finally allowed to spend $500 on the camera before being asked to supersize it, buy a timeshare, or whatever Best Buy’s latest revenue-maximizing idea might be. As Forbes titled a recent story: “Why Best Buy Is Going Out of Business… Gradually.” No kidding. Best Buy is the physical manifestation of a pop-up ad.

The actively unfriendly experience was perfectly underlined as I tried to leave: a brusque employee stopped me for a bag search and receipt check. From pointless procedure to poor staffing to untrusting behavior, Best Buy is the TSA of retail.