Just one clarification because I do not wish for this to turn in to an all-out flame war, but I do not believe our points of view are as irreconcilable as it may first seem...
While my words did not make it clear, my intention was not to pass judgement on any *person* and would not attempt to based on a few posts on the board, but instead comment on the actions and expectations in this specific case because there seemed to be sufficient information to comment. It was not clear to me initially from the previous discussion that Best Buy was dodging their responsibility, lying, misleading, or misrepresenting (aside from the initial mispricing). In the subsequent discussion, however, it sounds like there was some deception or at least the impression was left that the staff of Best Buy didn't make attempts to make good until after they were called on misleading or deceptive actions. If this is true, then I agree it changes the situation.
As for the "making good on a price" even if it is wrong policy. That is a courtesy that brick-and-mortar stores can MUCH more easily afford. Once the first guy comes up to my register for a $50 item incorrectly marked at $10, sure, in the name of customer service, I can let him get the $40 savings and then immeidately correct the price so only one item goes through for a total loss. What does an on-line store do, however, when hundreds of people place orders for the item and the error is not discovered by a human until someone walks in the next monring after their first cup of coffee and says, "Oh *^(&^(!!"? Is it reasonable to let an entire stock of hundreds of an item go for the incorrect price? Is it reasonable to have to place a backorder and get new items in to continue to distribute at the incorrect price? These were the questions I was thinking about in my reply and believed the initial expectation that Best Buy does this to "make good" to the dozens, hundreds, however many people was not reasonable and was not the same as letting just one guy go in a real brick and morter store. The cost is simply not containable in the on-line scenario, particularly after the error is posted on a web board and the masses decend.
As for misrepresenting the situation at first and saying there were problems with the way the customer placed the order (rather than only admitting after pressure that they made a pricing error), yeah, that's pretty crummy and certainly a legitimate reason to make a stink and take one's business elsewhere.
This is my last post on this thread because we have verged way off topic and, frankly, I'd rather get back to talking about how that CD sounds through our fine speakers!
