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Home The almighty dollar updates

Circuit City: We have the right to have you Mastur-bait and switch. O RLY?
11:19 AM on 02.21.2007, Niero 55 comments

     The almighty dollar

Here's the original Dugg story from way back. This is a follow-up: In January we ran a story about the retracted Circuit City $40 off coupon that sent everybody who hadn't scored a Wii running into their stores the next morning. I was there to watch them refuse everyone that came in with the printout get rejected at unsuspecting cashiers as managers sheepishly hid behind closed doors: It was industry bullshit in its purest form.

Anyway, we urged affected customers to stick it to the man and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and you will die when you read Circuit City's response to Dtoid reader Parrothead Ben:

COMPANY'S RESPONSE:
February 15, 2006

Jennifer Durham
BBB Serving Central VA
701 E. Franklin St., Suite 712
Richmond, VA 23219

RE: Benjamin Hedrick
Dear Ms. Durham:

I am writing in response to your letter regarding Benjamin
Hedrick's complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Thank you for forwarding this matter to our attention. Mr. Hedrick complains
that  he has unable to use a $40 coupon for his purchases.

I have reviewed the information provided. I apologize for this
situation. Unfortunately, we were unable to accept the coupon as the terms of usage had changed. (What?!!) We reserve the right to make changes to our advertisments, coupons, etc.

We regret any inconvenience Mr. Hedrick may have experienced.

Sincerely,
Marilyn Pando
Executive Assistant
Circuit City Stores, Inc

O RLY?  Uh, no you don't. You don't reserve the right to make us Mastur-bait and switch. I talked to all of those guys that stood out there in line and they could have gone other places closer to their houses like Target or Best Buy but they came their to shop, and due to short supply they had to take it or leave it. (sigh) Gotta say it: SHADY BUSINESS PRACTICES! OH MY GOD THAT IS SO SHADY! SHADY! Could you imagine if these people ran car dealerships?

Luckily, we do have the right to show their snotty little letter to our few million readers so that they know better next time to trust a coupon from Circuit City. Jou' mess with one of us, jou' mess with the whole angry robot army! Digg this sh*t! BAD PRESS FTW! 

[Thanks Ben]


Next page: More HAHA Weird! stories




Hexen525's Avatar
Hexen525 at 02/21/2007 11:19
Pricks, all of them. It's crap like this that screw the masses.
Snaileb 's Avatar
Snaileb at 02/21/2007 11:21
lol @ Niero

"SHADY BUSINESS PRACTICES! OH MY GOD THAT IS SO SHADY! SHADY!"

haha

So where do we petition/digg?
Mizar's Avatar
Mizar at 02/21/2007 11:25
Liers! Theifs!

...Murderers?

We must digg!
Jayeugene's Avatar
Jayeugene at 02/21/2007 11:26
I bought one of my Circuits there back in 96, ive had problems with it since. They have been screwing over Robots for far too long, let's get this on digg if it isn't already and RIP THE LID OFF OF IT!
Brad Rice's Avatar
Brad Rice at 02/21/2007 11:26
Wait, doesn't the government say that you have to honor ads that you've placed? I remember something about this, but I haven't gone in-depth with Comm. Law.
BahamutZero's Avatar
BahamutZero at 02/21/2007 11:30
yeah jayeu and their cities aint shit neither
BahamutZero's Avatar
BahamutZero at 02/21/2007 11:31
good to have the trooper back snail. my air hasn't been humped properly recently
Joseph Leray's Avatar
Joseph Leray at 02/21/2007 11:32
This isn't the first time CC has tried to screw people over. I remember something last year about 360 and backwards compatibility that was retarded, but I don't remember the details. Anybody know what I'm talking about?
Joseph Leray's Avatar
Joseph Leray at 02/21/2007 11:33
Also, bait and switch is one of the few things I remember from senior Econ.
JoeyBuckets's Avatar
JoeyBuckets at 02/21/2007 11:33
F that writing to Circuit City BS, I wrote to the Better Business Bureau, and have their investigation confirmation letter to prove it.

Internal Investigations FTL.

External Investigations FTW.

Joseph Leray's Avatar
Joseph Leray at 02/21/2007 11:34
Triple post, sorry guys: http://www.digg.com/business_finance/Circuit_City_on_Dugg_40_coupon_We_can_change_cancel_published_offers_ORLY
Jayeugene's Avatar
Jayeugene at 02/21/2007 11:35
Yeah Orcist, i remember that, they were charging people like around 30 dollars to install an upgrade so that thier xbox was "backwards compatible". Yank yank
scrap's Avatar
scrap at 02/21/2007 11:35
I can't remember the last time I went into a Circuit City anyway. F that store.
PetiePalo's Avatar
PetiePalo at 02/21/2007 11:35
OH SNAP YOU JUST GOT NIERO'D!
JoeyBuckets's Avatar
JoeyBuckets at 02/21/2007 11:37
If they (BBB) receive enough letters, they will REVOKE the BBB seal. Not such a big deal, but its something.
twesterm's Avatar
twesterm at 02/21/2007 11:38
Wow, I already didn't hate Circuit City and make a point it a point to avoid them, I would start now.
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 02/21/2007 11:38
While I don't disagree that what they did was shitty, it was, it really was. No lie... BUT they did have that at the bottom of the coupon that they reserved the right to cancel the coupon's use at anytime. Which they did in rather poor taste. I managed to use the coupon on the last day it was technically valid, but what they did was perfectly legal and wasn't bait and switch like we're building it up to be.

No where on that coupon did it say to use it specifically for a Wii. It wasn't even being distributed as a coupon to use in redemption for any one product really. That's the big qualifier for it to be bait and switch. It existed as a coupon to use anytime for anything. Bait and Switch would imply that this coupon had been purposely distributed to CC customers for the intent of purchasing a specified item that particular weekend, like a Wii system. It was just a coupon, one that CC didn't even advertise having out there. It was highly (and overly) publicized thanks to some screwjob on Digg who ruined the coupon's use, but it had been used and reissued at least twice through CC and the USPS moving packet which is where the original coupon came from. Sites like Cheap Ass Gamer and Fatwallet built the use of the coupon up amongst users, but never openly advertised the coupon's distribution outside of their own forums, and never advertised it in partnership with CC.

So, again, what they did was shitty and they deserve some anal sex lovin' from a Chapter 11 attorney, but it wasn't predatory or a self-knowing bait and switch tactic. They would have had to have openly distributed that coupon to people prior to the sale advertising the coupons use to the public, but they didn't. Digg/CAG/FatWallet did.
broham's Avatar
broham at 02/21/2007 11:40
I like what you are doing, but can I live in your world where this is actually something to get bothered over? Have you ever been fucked over by car dealers, mechanics, insurance companies, college, credit card companies, lawyers, contractors, cops, meter maids, restaurants, etc? Shit, if a 40 dollar coupon was the worst of my problems I'd be shitting cupcakes.

Niero's Avatar
Niero at 02/21/2007 11:41
Those are very good points, but when you show up at Circuit City 2 hours before they open and ten geeks are standing there in the wind with the coupon in their hand you gotta wonder
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 02/21/2007 11:44
I stopped shopping at Circuit City years before they closed the last store in my area. Good riddance.
908peruvian's Avatar
908peruvian at 02/21/2007 11:47
yeah dat was totally messed up.

i still go to circuit city tuesdays to get the new movies for cheap,
but they're customer service really sucks...

though i did see this one hot chick there yesterday and was talking to her, too bad she thought my niece was my daughter.....

i guess i'll be going to best buy from now on.
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 02/21/2007 11:47
Also, the government (BBB) does discourage B&S tactics, the use of a coupon and any cancellation or disqualification of a coupon is perfectly acceptable provided that the coupon's legalese states that it can be revoked, canceled, or they can discontinue it's use at anytime.

This isn't the first time stuff like this has happened over the internet. But companies legally can do what CC did.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,213352,00.html
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 02/21/2007 11:49
All I gotta say is

Jayeugene's Avatar
Jayeugene at 02/21/2007 11:52
@ Niero.... when does that movie come out.... it looks fuckin' sw333t!
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 02/21/2007 11:52
Niero,

That's why I think CC thought they were being pro-active about the coupon by canceling it's use on Saturday before the Wii shipments would be sold.

Better still, if anyone noticed or not, but the coupon on the Thursday before had specifications that it couldn't be redeemed for Apple, HP, Bose, or Disney products, and then the next day, after the article got posted on Digg, the coupon was amended to where video game hardware was suddenly no longer eligible either.

They ultimately realized they'd have to cancel the coupon outright when the other coupon from the day prior was still so widely available since it was a lousy PDF/JPG printout.
deanhatescoffee's Avatar
deanhatescoffee at 02/21/2007 11:55
I agree with both sides of the coin here. Circuit Shitty sucks anyway.
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 02/21/2007 12:00
Niero, I'm right there with ya.

The local CC next to me is a shithole. Looks pretty on the outside, but then you realize that anyone working in the media departments (DVD/Music/Games) doesn't know the fucking alphabet when you start finding box sets of Lost mixed in with Golden Girls Season 2. And MASH is sitting right next to Cheers. Need Monk Season 2? It's sitting next copies of Talladega Nights and Adrian Lyne's version of Lolita.

Or the Urotsukidoji DVD's are found in the Disney section.
Yeah, they are. Good call there CC. Cartoons is cartoons, yep. Bambi = Tentacle Rape.

I complained to management about it when I spent 20 minutes looking for MST3K DVDs and gave up. I told the manager that I'd just be better off going next door to Best Buy if they don't want to bother alphabetizing their DVD's. BB seems perfectly capable of doing it on their own without customers telling them to do so.

Fuzzy's Avatar
Fuzzy at 02/21/2007 12:01
Alrighty, due to the fact that it cannot technically be called "Bait & Switch" I humbly suggest that we refer to it as "Mastur-Bait 'n Switch".

5' x 20' Banners with "Mastur-Bait 'n Switch Headquarters" placed at every CC we can find would be a cause I would donate $5 for.

I was going to use this bad boy to get a digital camera, and was quite displeased. Fuck CC indeed, Niero!
dprime's Avatar
dprime at 02/21/2007 12:01
Did it actually say on the coupon that they reserve that right? Otherwise, it's fraud. You can't just say afterwards that you reserve the right to do whatever illegal thing you just did.

I wish they had Circuit Cities in Canada so that I could not go to them.
Jayeugene's Avatar
Jayeugene at 02/21/2007 12:04
lol@drpime

You are welcome to come to the states and not go to ours!
PITT sauce's Avatar
PITT sauce at 02/21/2007 12:06
More like Circuit SHITTY.

Niero's Avatar
Niero at 02/21/2007 12:09
@ Fuzzy - that's genius, updating article title!
SaraAB87's Avatar
SaraAB87 at 02/21/2007 12:37
Circuit City is also CONSTANTLY having misprints in their ads, every time you go in there, there is at least 4-5 signs on the ad display telling you that said price was a "misprint" and that they cannot honor it.

Now I know that companies are not responsible for misprints in ads but with the constant stream of misprints from Circuit City it's pretty obvious that they are just trying to get you into the store with the ad and then they tell you that the price is a "misprint", after you drive 45 min in heavy traffic to get to their store to save a few bucks.

I can understand an occasional misprint but I have never seen a company with so many misprints consistently week after week like Circuit City.

Plus you can never find anything in there, that store is like a maze. I am the customer and I can choose where to shop, and I prefer to shop in a store where things are easily found and different sections of the store clearly labeled. Their game display's are MESS too, with games just scattered all over the place, so its basically impossible to find the title you want there.

I do not like to see retail stores clearly screwing over the customer for something like this, from now on Circuit City is on my "never will shop at again" list along with Best Buy.
Aequitas's Avatar
Aequitas at 02/21/2007 12:45
There could still be a case, particularly if this behavior is repeated enough. Yes, their fine print reserves the right to fuck you, Joe Consumer, in the ass. But by publishing such an outlandish offer, honoring it for the first two people, and then revoking it, they are still dishonestly driving a LOT of traffic into their stores.

IANAL, but I'd love to see CC make a couple more missteps and get cockslapped by some hotshot fresh Harvard grad with a class-action behind him. I would then buy the resulting movie adaptation on DVD.. from Best Buy.
SaraAB87's Avatar
SaraAB87 at 02/21/2007 12:55
I am not sure if the constant misprints thing that I described is still going on but it most certaintly was during the holiday season.

Is this not the store that also CLOSED their customer service desk on black friday so that no questions or concerns could be raised about any of the products they were selling... thats a questionable business practice in my mind as well!

Why is it that retailers in America have to go through such tactics just to drive customers into their store??? Don't they realize they are just driving more customers AWAY from their stores this way!
A person who came in with the coupon is NOT going to buy the item they came into buy if the coupon is not valid, they will likely go to another store and leave angry and will not return to CC. It's not worth it for the small chance that someone will still purchase the item they came in to purchase or that they will purchase something else while they are in the store, which is the whole point of issuing these coupons in the first place.

Yes it is very dishonest what they are doing, I do not care if it has fine print or not, fine print is also negligible to an extent because sometimes its proven to be too small to read, it has to be of a certain size or else its illegal. I also believe I read that an earlier version of the coupon DID NOT have the fine print on it as well.

If they distribute a coupon they should expect it to be used, they should not be able to revoke it just because its been overpublicized and overused, if you issue a coupon you should expect this.

I wonder why they had to close 69+ stores as well....
Scandalous's Avatar
Scandalous at 02/21/2007 12:57
yet another reason to add to the list of why not to shop there.. besides laziness and fry's being down the street...

le lamezor
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 02/21/2007 12:59
Are you serious? I think the fact that it's a small amount is messing with your better judgement. Let me tell you exactly what this is like.

You open the Sunday paper and there's an ad for $4000 off "cars." at a dealership. You scan the disclaimer and it specifically says "no Ford cars, no Toyota" and you say hell, I'm gonna go buy that new that new $15,000 Buick that just came out, I can afford it now! Soou wake up early and stand there with everybody that has the coupon 2 hours before the dealership opens so you make sure you get one. And then the car salesman says "nope, can't use that."

You would go postal on him. The least we could do, powerless as we are, is BITCH. Either that or you're a coward that lets everyone walk all over you.
Fuzzy's Avatar
Fuzzy at 02/21/2007 13:18
And I quote from the Digg comments on this article:

redcard - "You know, every time I read something from Destructoid, I have to wonder if I'm paying for some teenager's new game system through the ads on the site. I don't find anything valuable or informative here, just a "Hey, let's see how many times I can link in a reference to jacking off!""

I personally am proud that we of the Destructoid community offended this fucktard. Also, that is a fantastic contest idea: How many times in a link CAN one reference self pleasure?
Snaileb 's Avatar
Snaileb at 02/21/2007 13:23
You rock Fuzzy. Fucktard needs to grow up and let his balls drop, so he actually knows the feeling of self pleasure, and stop hating on jacking off references. *fap fap fap*
Jayeugene's Avatar
Jayeugene at 02/21/2007 13:42
Ha, what a great debate discussion, diggers love to argue about stuff like this. Noice!
Lethal Dosage's Avatar
Lethal Dosage at 02/21/2007 13:44
How many times in a link CAN one reference self pleasure?

Thirty-seven.
Lethal Dosage's Avatar
Lethal Dosage at 02/21/2007 13:49
Oh, and to post something of relevance to the topic, YesAsia pulled some "we reserve the right to blah blah" like that with the WiiPlay preorders. Their ToS literally says they will honor any price you buy their crap at and your order will not be affected, yet cancelled ever $11.49 WiiPlay preorder, even though that was their f'up, not the customers.

Circuit City and Best Buy are especially awful about coupons and promotions, though. Anyone ever buy a 14.99 DVD with a 15 dollar reward zone gift cert? Oh, I guess because the DVD is 14.99, not 15 bucks, I have to spend an additional penny to even use my gift cert, then still get hit with the tax. Just a cheap way for them to sell more pop and gum, or even extra CDs or DVDs or other crap you wouldn't have bought.

Blargh retail.
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 02/21/2007 14:54
Digg is full of opinions that run a much bigger gamut than they do here, so of course there's going to be some pre-pube douche on there bitching about too many jack off jokes. This site isn't for him, and just to drive link traffic away from here from douches like him....

http://www.foxnews.com

There, that should fix that.

I agree with your last comment Niero, but in the case of the CC coupon, it'd been published and well known through the channels long before the Wii sale happened. Lots of people had used it on other ship dates before this particular one to this same end. The difference here is that CC did not publish the coupon as new or publicize the coupon OR encourage it's use for the Wii or any other purchase. The coupon's original purpose was for people moving needing to pick up a router or TV or some shit when they get to their new shitty rathole apt. (I realize not everyone lives the glorious apartment lifestyle I do...) What happened was one of these sites (CAG/Fatwallet) reported the coupon to the site and it started getting picked up from post offices en masse. They in turn took the coupon, scanned it and started using a digital. At some point the referring company that was paying for the coupon (All Connect?) let them put a digital version online, which is where it caught on even more. The original one that was on CC's site DID have the legalese of being able to be suspended at any time...

Fact remains, CC is full of shitty douche bags that can't spell, can't count, and think that BC on the 360 is a paid service as part of a "professional installation" from techs that think turning sharpness and contrast up to max on a TV is what makes a Hi-Def visual, HD.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 02/21/2007 15:01
Speaking of the site ads, why the hell am I seeing ads for Liberty University? Are they tied to my IP's location or something? Because I have to pass that supposed "place of education" on my way to work every day, and the fact that it's popping up on Destructoid now terrifies the shit out of me.
DRAV3N's Avatar
DRAV3N at 02/21/2007 15:35
HA, they don't reserve the right to make changes, read it again.

"We reserve the right to make hanges to our advertisments, coupons, etc."

I admit, possibly a typo, but I smell conspiracy!
Scandalous's Avatar
Scandalous at 02/21/2007 15:44
i heart cosco actually.. doesnt matter what the coupon is or whatever.. best return policy friggin ever. dropped it in the toilet and want a new one? sure! its 3 yrs old and you want a new one? sure!

=p
Foxtoid's Avatar
Foxtoid at 02/21/2007 15:46
Not buying the Wii would have been the ballsier move. Not that someone right behind them wouldn't have bought it. There-in lies the problem. You couldn't get it at the other stores (however close they may be to your house). Your money isn't greener than anyone elses. And lastly, you posted about this again to show, in the end, you couldn't do a thing about it. What I'm trying to say is. Capitalism+Consumerism+Middle-Class-America equals sad waste of peoples lifetimes.
Niero's Avatar
Niero at 02/21/2007 16:20
Redcard can go fuck himself. He's the same kind of person that says "HAHA TINY SITE SQUASHED BY DIGG". Um, yeah guy it's expensive to colocate five servers so we can handle Digg. I don't have AOL fronting my server bill. Bite me.
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