Got fired over the Best Buy B2G1 promo

Hey I'm not really sure where to post this but I'll put it here since the original thread about this deal got closed. I decided to tell this story on this website since it seems like a lot of people here also found out about this deal and I am wondering if they are also in trouble.

I work at a Best Buy and on the last day of this sale I learned about the whole thing from ringing up a customer. I realized that what ever game you ring up first is the game you get for free. So I figured out the lowest priced game at Best Buy, which is Rock Revolution for $5, and decided to buy $60 games for $10 by having the $60 game get rung up first and paying for two rock revolutions.

I did this at my local Best Buy once to try it out and then went to two other nearby Best Buys with my friends and bought around 10 $60 games and 20 Rock Revolutions, this is not including the ones my friends bought.

The next day I told my friend at BB what happened and it turns out I was ratted out by him or someone he told. Best Buy then went and looked at all the receipts from on the day I went to those two other BB's (they didn't know I did it once at my store) and printed them all out and called me in to talk to me. They tell me that I need to write a statement about what happened and how I figured this out, and that I need to go home early to clear my head.

The the next day I am working and they call me in halfway through my shift. My General Manager and the Area Asset Protection Manager are there. They asked what happened and I tell them the truth, then they ask me if I am willing to return the games that I am in possession of, and to try and also get my friends to return their games. I agree to this because they tell me by doing this it will help for when they submit my case to human resources. By this time by shift was over and I immediately went home and got all my games and went right back to return them. My friends never ended up returning their games.

Now today I go to work and halfway through I am called in by my GM and my supervision (who was just there as a witness). Then they read off a paper to me explaining that I was fired and why. The paper says:

The Company does not limit its authority to discipline or discharge employees whose actions causes a negative effect on an efficient and productive environment. Employee's Name, on xx/xx/09 and xx/xx/09, you gained knowledge of a glitch in the BBY system that allowed you to take advantage of a BBY Buy 2 get 1 Free promo and you used this knowledge with malicious intent. Instead of alerting BBY management of your discovery, credible evidence supports and you admitted to not only taking advantage in a malicious manner but that you also told your friends about the glitch. This behavior resulted in a loss to BBY and is perceived as theft of Best Buy merchandise. This is a violation of Best Buy's Inappropriate Conduct policy and consequently, grounds for termination. Your employment with Best Buy is terminated effective immediately.

Click to expand...

And now I just got a phone call from my friend at BB and he said that there are at least 5-7 other people get fired for doing the same thing.

Yeah so after this happened I went to a few websites to see how widespread the knowledge of this is and to see if there was anything other BBs were doing to try and stop this. No one at my BB was informed of this and no one was given any instructions on preventing this. My manager later told me that they did in fact send out an employee newsletter about this issue, but I never knew about this since it is only sent to full timers as part time employees don't have e-mails.

I am just wondering what your guys thoughts are on this and if anyone else from another Best Buy got in trouble over this. I'm going to be talking to a lawyer about either getting my games or my job back. I don't think it is fair that they made me return those games if they were just going to fire me. I also don't really think this is fair since technically I was just a customer at BB, I didn't even use my employee numbers. To me this was just me taking an advantage of a sale and I didn't do anything wrong.

So, you did something really shady, which also could be illegal, got fired, and now you are trying to take some kind of action against BB? You are the ones that ruin these sales by doing this and making BB not want to run them anymore.

Can't say you didn't set yourself up by bragging to your friends about it. Not to mention, why would you go to different Best Buys to do it. Not exactly the smartest thing to do, and not to mention, just because there is a glitch, does not mean you have the right to exploit it regardless if you work there or not. Can't say that I feel sorry for you. Next time just keep your mouth shut and don't bring your friends to tag along with you to exploit from your own company. Got to be smarter than that. And if not, I hope you get fired at all of your next retail jobs until you learn.

The thing is you did do something wrong as the cheapest game is the supposed to be the free one. You were basically stealing from Best Buy.

[quote name='icedrake523']The thing is you did do something wrong as the cheapest game is the supposed to be the free one. You were basically stealing from Best Buy.[/QUOTE]

It's not even that. He is just retarded. Why didn't he just have his friends buy it for him? There are so many things he could have done to not make it so blatantly obvious that he was taking advantage of the promotion, and he didn't. I worked for Best Buy for 5 years, and glitches happen all the time, that's why if I do need something for these sales, have a friend or family member buy it for me. It's not like I get my employee discount on it anyways, so whats the point in me buying it and risking my job. Not to mention, TWO BEST BUYS? LOL! Sorry, but you getting fired just seem to be the only solution for the way you went about all of this.

Future advice next time something like this happens lawyer up and say nothing. Sorry to here. Companies strong arm people especially youth when they do lawyer up.

[quote name='gepet0']Future advice next time something like this happens lawyer up and say nothing. Sorry to here. Companies strong arm people especially youth when they do lawyer up.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure he probably won't even make it to his lawyer's office. The receptionist will probably laugh him out of the waiting room by then.

And I can't find a job. Unbelievable.

[quote name='beakey56']Yeah so after this happened I went to a few websites to see how widespread the knowledge of this is and to see if there was anything other BBs were doing to try and stop this. No one at my BB was informed of this and no one was given any instructions on preventing this.[/QUOTE]

I LOLed hard. I'm pretty sure all Best Buys will fire someone for stealing from them. And if you need help figuring that one out, please refer to my previous statement.

[quote name='beakey56']To me this was just me taking an advantage of a sale and I didn't do anything wrong.[/QUOTE]

You really can't pretend that you thought that this was what the sale was intended to do. You know you ed up, and while it does suck that you didn't even get the games, that's your own fault for giving them back. Personally I think you did do something wrong and they were totally justified in firing you.

No offense to you personally of course, but you asked what we thought . Good luck job hunting dude!

[quote name='gepet0']Future advice next time something like this happens lawyer up and say nothing. Sorry to here. Companies strong arm people especially youth when they do lawyer up.[/QUOTE]

Or you could, ya' know, not be an idiot and buy like 10 games at multiple stores and then brag to people who work at BB.

[quote name='Survivalism']And I can't find a job. Unbelievable.[/QUOTE]

Jesus, do I feel you on that one.

Cool story bro....you should've had a friend do it

[quote name='SEH']Or you could, ya' know, not be an idiot and buy like 10 games at multiple stores and then brag to people who work at BB.



Jesus, do I feel you on that one.[/QUOTE]

I bet you on top of that, he probably he gave the cashiers that rung him up his employee number because he probably told the people at the register he works for BB and he is just so smart taking advantage of this deal. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't, lol!

[quote name='beakey56']Hey I'm not really sure where to post this but I'll put it here since the original thread about this deal got closed. I decided to tell this story on this website since it seems like a lot of people here also found out about this deal and I am wondering if they are also in trouble.

I work at a Best Buy and on the last day of this sale I learned about the whole thing from ringing up a customer. I realized that what ever game you ring up first is the game you get for free. So I figured out the lowest priced game at Best Buy, which is Rock Revolution for $5, and decided to buy $60 games for $10 by having the $60 game get rung up first and paying for two rock revolutions.

I did this at my local Best Buy once to try it out and then went to two other nearby Best Buys with my friends and bought around 10 $60 games and 20 Rock Revolutions, this is not including the ones my friends bought.

The next day I told my friend at BB what happened and it turns out I was ratted out by him or someone he told. Best Buy then went and looked at all the receipts from on the day I went to those two other BB's (they didn't know I did it once at my store) and printed them all out and called me in to talk to me. They tell me that I need to write a statement about what happened and how I figured this out, and that I need to go home early to clear my head.

The the next day I am working and they call me in halfway through my shift. My General Manager and the Area Asset Protection Manager are there. They asked what happened and I tell them the truth, then they ask me if I am willing to return the games that I am in possession of, and to try and also get my friends to return their games. I agree to this because they tell me by doing this it will help for when they submit my case to human resources. By this time by shift was over and I immediately went home and got all my games and went right back to return them. My friends never ended up returning their games.

Now today I go to work and halfway through I am called in by my GM and my supervision (who was just there as a witness). Then they read off a paper to me explaining that I was fired and why. The paper says:




And now I just got a phone call from my friend at BB and he said that there are at least 5-7 other people get fired for doing the same thing.

Yeah so after this happened I went to a few websites to see how widespread the knowledge of this is and to see if there was anything other BBs were doing to try and stop this. No one at my BB was informed of this and no one was given any instructions on preventing this. My manager later told me that they did in fact send out an employee newsletter about this issue, but I never knew about this since it is only sent to full timers as part time employees don't have e-mails.

I am just wondering what your guys thoughts are on this and if anyone else from another Best Buy got in trouble over this. I'm going to be talking to a lawyer about either getting my games or my job back. I don't think it is fair that they made me return those games if they were just going to fire me. I also don't really think this is fair since technically I was just a customer at BB, I didn't even use my employee numbers. To me this was just me taking an advantage of a sale and I didn't do anything wrong.[/QUOTE]
Pwnt.

Hope those games were worth it

[quote name='m0rningbreakfast']Hope those games were worth it[/QUOTE]

He gave all the games back, so the answer is a whooping,

N!

So...you guys think this guy will bother posting here again? It's obvious he came here for some kind of sympathy, which he clearly hasn't gotten.

Don't leave a trail next time. Don't use your reward zone card or any credit cards. Pay in cash only.
I don't really see anything illegal about this since the system error was Best Buy's fault. You did not steal anything, you merely paid for items that rang up for a certain price at a register.
Like mentioned earlier, you should have lawyered up as soon as they brought up the subject.

You were most likely an at will employee, unless you signed a contract. If you were at will BB can fire you for any reason at all, unless its illegal(like gender discrimination). Clearly, in this case their reason was not an illegal one-even if it wasn't theft you cost them money by exploiting a glitch you discovered on the job. Even if you weren't at will, they would have had grounds to fire you. Also, I don't think there is any way you can get those games back given you voluntarily returned them. Your main concern should be future job prospects after getting fired for improper behavior.

[quote name='SEH']So...you guys think this guy will bother posting here again? It's obvious he came here for some kind of sympathy, which he clearly hasn't gotten.[/QUOTE]

I just think its funny that hes been here since Feb 2007 and this happens to be his very first post. I mean he definitely got people interested in posting here, so I guess he could take solace in that.

As I said in the other BB thread going atm about only getting a penny refunded for the free game... One day shady shit will be done and it will blow up in your face. Now it has happened and low and behold, a shady mofugga comes on here and expects people to feel sorry for him and take his side.

I have said it before and I will say it again. There used to be a day and time when people did shady shit but kept their mouths shut. They didnt feel the need to run and brag to anyone around about what they just pulled off. Rather they kept it quiet and went on about their lives. Now days, retards feel the need to twiiter, facebook, myspace, text, and whatever other dumb-assed way of running their mouths they can find to let the whole world know the shady feat they just pulled off. Then, when they end up in a world of hurt because someone "ratted them out" they want to play the victim. Heres a tip dumbass.. You ratted yourself out stupid. Next time keep your big mouth shut and maybe, just maybe you will get to keep your job and your shit. You deserve every bit of what you got.

[quote name='m0rningbreakfast']Hope those games were worth it[/QUOTE]

Doesn't matter, he returned them anyways, lolol.

I agree with everyone else OP; raping the deal was bad enough, but to go and tell all your friends about it was the nail in the coffin. You should've gotten them to say if you return the games or something that they can't can you (even though you would still end up getting fired).

You should've know right when they called you out you were done for.

Idiot move to begin with, but then telling people about it (especially those that WORK AT THE STORE) was the icing on the freaking cake!

And then, you give the games back? Awesome!

No games and now no job, that is just delicious XD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17sEq7HX2QE

[quote name='SEH']So, you did something really shady, which also could be illegal, got fired, and now you are trying to take some kind of action against BB? You are the ones that ruin these sales by doing this and making BB not want to run them anymore.[/QUOTE]

How is it shady? It doesn't say anything about the cheapest one coming out free in the ad, how i figured it out was when a customer bought a $30 game, a $40 game, and a $60 game and the $60 game came out free, now did this customer steal from Best Buy... No. Also how is making a purchase at a store illegal. I'm not suing Best Buy, a lawyers husband overheard me when I was speaking about the situation and approached me. Its obvious that there were no grounds for termination.

[quote name='muhsheesuh']Don't leave a trail next time. Don't use your reward zone card or any credit cards. Pay in cash only.
I don't really see anything illegal about this since the system error was Best Buy's fault. You did not steal anything, you merely paid for items that rang up for a certain price at a register.
Like mentioned earlier, you should have lawyered up as soon as they brought up the subject.[/QUOTE]


um... what would a lawyer do? You know those agreements you sign when you start working somewhere... yeah... maybe try reading them sometime...

The thing is.... Technically they could have prosecuted him for this... abusing a glitch in the system is something that is hard for a company to do anything against a customer... an employee well every company I've ever had experience with consider it theft.... What would have been the outcome of prosecution... well since he returned the items... nothing probably... if he hadn't... then prolly had to pay resitutution...

One thing... most companies will prosecute their ex-employees for way less than they would a customer... and that's all because you signed on the dotted line when they hired you.

[quote name='beakey56']Its obvious that there were no grounds for termination.[/QUOTE]

I'll say it again-you were probably an at will employee unless you signed a contract depending on your state law. They don't need grounds to fire you. And when I say contract I don't mean paperwork saying you understand store policy, I mean a contract that says you are hired for ex amount of time at a given wage and can only be fired for cause.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment

Now hes making up stories about a the husband of a lawyer that approached him about this. Poor guy. He is really reaching to try and get people to agree with him. Pretty soon he'll start talking about how he won his case and he now resides in a $12 million mansion in the Caribbeans and sipping on Champagne with his super model wife laughing at Best Buy. And all he had to do was consult the husband of a lawyer. What a deal!

[quote name='beakey56']How is it shady? It doesn't say anything about the cheapest one coming out free in the ad, how i figured it out was when a customer bought a $30 game, a $40 game, and a $60 game and the $60 game came out free, now did this customer steal from Best Buy... No. Also how is making a purchase at a store illegal. I'm not suing Best Buy, a lawyers husband overheard me when I was speaking about the situation and approached me. Its obvious that there were no grounds for termination.[/QUOTE]

You're an idiot.

[quote name='muhsheesuh']Don't leave a trail next time. Don't use your reward zone card or any credit cards. Pay in cash only.
I don't really see anything illegal about this since the system error was Best Buy's fault. You did not steal anything, you merely paid for items that rang up for a certain price at a register.
Like mentioned earlier, you should have lawyered up as soon as they brought up the subject.[/QUOTE]

Employees aren't allowed to have a reward zone card unless its a reward zone master card, and I only used cash.

You tried to screw over your employer and now you're mad they fired you? Yup, go talk to a lawyer about your case. You could've done something to fix the mistake yet you decided to exploit it. What you did would be comparable to insider trading at a financial institution. I work at one. our ethics course says even if we overhear something on the elevator and then react to it, it's insider trading and if caught we'll be fired.

You should've known that once you got caught you were going to get fired. It's funny that you returned the games; they would've had a hard time forcing you to return the games but you returned it voluntarily.

just about everyone in america that has a job and works from someone else is an at will-employee.

[quote name='beakey56']How is it shady? It doesn't say anything about the cheapest one coming out free in the ad, how i figured it out was when a customer bought a $30 game, a $40 game, and a $60 game and the $60 game came out free, now did this customer steal from Best Buy... No. Also how is making a purchase at a store illegal. I'm not suing Best Buy, a lawyers husband overheard me when I was speaking about the situation and approached me. Its obvious that there were no grounds for termination.[/QUOTE]


Well, bud, here's the thing... The customer wasn't able to say "Please ring up the $30 and $40 games first, and save the $60 game for last, please!" You knew about the glitch, you used it to your advantage, and ended up getting $70 worth of games for $10. It may have not said it, but it is known that the cheapest game or DVD or whatever is always the free one. Always. "Lesser or equal value". You cheated the system, you got caught, you returned your stuff, and you got fired. That's life, and I don't feel sorry one bit. Like it's been repeatedly stated, if you're gonna do dumb shit in the first place, keep your mouth shut or suffer the consequences.

I don't see how he did ANYTHING illegal or scummy. Their system is programmed to work this way and that was that. They fired him solely because he found a perfectly legit way to work the system and they didn't like it.

Anyone who says this is illegal or dirty probably has their head up- no, they can already see their stomach lining at this point.

[quote name='Squarehard']Now hes making up stories about a the husband of a lawyer that approached him about this. Poor guy. He is really reaching to try and get people to agree with him. Pretty soon he'll start talking about how he won his case and he now resides in a $12 million mansion in the Caribbeans and sipping on Champagne with his super model wife laughing at Best Buy. And all he had to do was consult the husband of a lawyer. What a deal![/QUOTE]
LOL

[quote name='SEH']You're an idiot.[/QUOTE]
Why?

[quote name='beakey56']Employees aren't allowed to have a reward zone card unless its a reward zone master card, and I only used cash.[/QUOTE]

Then I guess the only dumb thing that you did was to brag about it to all of your friends. Which in retrospect is still a pretty dumb move. Why would you bring your friends along with you to do these purchases...god... And all BB have security cameras anyways. You should know this every time you have walked up to LP. It's not like they wouldn't have a hard time proving you made the purchase if they really had to. Should have just had one of your friends make the purchases for you. Or even someone in your family. And if none of them were willing to do it, get new friends and a family, or just don't do it since you obviously knew about the glitch and were exploiting it on purpose.

[quote name='jngx80']You tried to screw over your employer and now you're mad they fired you? Yup, go talk to a lawyer about your case. You could've done something to fix the mistake yet you decided to exploit it. What you did would be comparable to insider trading.

You should've known that once you got caught you were going to get fired. It's funny that you returned the games; they couldn't have made you return the games - you bought it, but you returned it voluntarily.[/QUOTE]

That's another thing. I do NOT see why insider trading is illegal. Well, except for the fact that most laws are in place to protect corporate interests.

But what do I know? I own an Acekard. I'm just another ing bastard who got sick of buying games at retail and selling them used for 10% of what I paid and I hurt the company's profits by thinking of myself instead of their executive bonuses.

[quote name='Diosoth']I don't see how he did ANYTHING illegal or scummy. Their system is programmed to work this way and that was that. They fired him solely because he found a perfectly legit way to work the system and they didn't like it.

Anyone who says this is illegal or dirty probably has their head up- no, they can already see their stomach lining at this point.[/QUOTE]

I couldn't say it better myself.

[quote name='beakey56']LOL


Why?[/QUOTE]

I'm totally done. It's obvious you are completely retarded if you cant understand why you were fired. Had you done it once, saw how it worked, and just left it, and they still fired you, I'd feel sorry.

However, you knew what you were doing was wrong. Getting a $65 game for $10? Really, you honestly thought that is how the sale was supposed to be set-up?

[quote name='beakey56']I couldn't say it better myself.[/QUOTE]

It doesn't matter if it was or was not illegal, your employer didn't like it and fired you, they were well within their rights to do so.

[quote name='Diosoth']I don't see how he did ANYTHING illegal or scummy. Their system is programmed to work this way and that was that. They fired him solely because he found a perfectly legit way to work the system and they didn't like it.

Anyone who says this is illegal or dirty probably has their head up- no, they can already see their stomach lining at this point.[/QUOTE]

I'm really not that upset about him exploiting the system, but it was really the way he went about it, especially since he works for the company, that made it a pretty dumb move. I am sure there were other circumstances that he was fired under. Maybe some employees are just terrible employees and BB just needed one more screw up from that employee to build up on their case to fire him. I had a friend who was a supervisor that worked at BB, and they were trying to get him fire for a long time because he was always questioning the managers and talking back to them, and the end reason of why he got fired was that he missed budget for the month after making budget every previous month prior to that. Most likely there were other reasons BB had to fire him, and this was just the coup de gras.

[quote name='Squarehard']Then I guess the only dumb thing that you did was to brag about it to all of your friends. Which in retrospect is still a pretty dumb move. Why would you bring your friends along with you to do these purchases...god... And all BB have security cameras anyways. You should know this every time you have walked up to LP. It's not like they wouldn't have a hard time proving you made the purchase if they really had to. Should have just had one of your friends make the purchases for you. Or even someone in your family. And if none of them were willing to do it, get new friends and a family, or just don't do it since you obviously knew about the glitch and were exploiting it on purpose.[/QUOTE]

I did not brag to my friends, I did nothing against Best Buy's policies or illegal so I simply told my best friend at the store. Why would i be worried about security cameras I did not plan to steal anything.

[quote name='beakey56']I did not brag to my friends, I did nothing against Best Buy's policies or illegal so I simply told my best friend at the store. Why would i be worried about security cameras I did not plan to steal anything.[/QUOTE]

You should find a new best friend then, because he probably ratted you out.

[quote name='beakey56']I did not brag to my friends, I did nothing against Best Buy's policies or illegal so I simply told my best friend at the store. Why would i be worried about security cameras I did not plan to steal anything.[/QUOTE]


You knew about a glitch in the system and you took advantage of it to Best Buy out of $50. Do you think $50 is a big deal to them? Of course not. But, you willingly skipped over the stated rules (Which I am sure they are stated somewhere, and if not, it's pretty much logic that they won't give you the most expensive game for free) and did what you did. You can get fired from retail for letting friends use your employee discount. I'm honestly glad I have one less greedy working at Best Buy now. Maybe I'll start shopping there again

[quote name='Diosoth']That's another thing. I do NOT see why insider trading is illegal. Well, except for the fact that most laws are in place to protect corporate interests.

But what do I know? I own an Acekard. I'm just another ing bastard who got sick of buying games at retail and selling them used for 10% of what I paid and I hurt the company's profits by thinking of myself instead of their executive bonuses.[/QUOTE]


One of the prime examples why insider trading is illegal...

google Enron


Now there was a lot more going on that was illegal than insider trading... but it all kinda fits together in one nice little package.


It all comes down to ethics... now I'm not one to push ethics on anyone... but I assure you that if you get caught screwing over the company you work for... they will fire you whether what you did is illegal or not.... and it all comes down to ethics... and if they can find a way to phrase it as theft... they will prolly prosecute...

[quote name='beakey56']I did not brag to my friends, I did nothing against Best Buy's policies or illegal so I simply told my best friend at the store. Why would i be worried about security cameras I did not plan to steal anything.[/QUOTE]


just have one thing to say here... if you really don't understand where the problem was in this... then have fun getting fired from your next job....

So you basically commited theft by deception and are upset that you got fired over it? Tough break but you got what you deserved.

[quote name='SEH']I'm totally done. It's obvious you are completely retarded if you cant understand why you were fired. Had you done it once, saw how it worked, and just left it, and they still fired you, I'd feel sorry.

However, you knew what you were doing was wrong. Getting a $65 game for $10? Really, you honestly thought that is how the sale was supposed to be set-up?[/QUOTE]

The way they had it set up you could buy 3 $60 games therefore getting each game for $40, you could buy 1 $60 game and 2 $50 games therefore getting each game for $33.33, you could buy 1 $60 game and 2 $40 games therefore getting each game for $26.66, you could buy 1 $60 game and 2 $30 games therefore getting each game for $20, you could buy 1 $60 game and 2 $20 games therefore getting each game for $13.33, you could buy 1 $60 game and 2 $10 games therefore getting each game for $6.66, and you can buy 1 $60 game and 2 $5 games therefore getting each game for $3.33. Now where is the threshold when is it considered exploiting? On average people weren't buying 3 $60 games, this "exploit" was happening with every customer and nobody was doing anything to stop it. Best Buy themselves were at fault for not stopping the deal, fixing it or informing their employees about it. Nobody who rung me up told me what I was doing was wrong.

[quote name='Afflicted']just have one thing to say here... if you really don't understand where the problem was in this... then have fun getting fired from your next job....[/QUOTE]

Seriously.

When you signed the application, it's highly likely that, had you read the fine print, you would've discovered that they hold the right (as do you) to terminate employment at any point at any time for any reason. They're trying to make as much money as they can in this economy and they don't want someone on their payroll who is going to exploit glitches for their own personal gain.

[quote name='blissskr']So you basically commited theft by deception and are upset that you got fired over it? Tough break but you got what you deserved.[/QUOTE]

It is NOT theft. The sale was buy 2 get 1 free, and I did. I just happened to get the most expensive one free, I was not doing anything against the law.