Whoa, look at me! I just got an e-mail from Best Buy telling me that I’m now part of the company’s “most elite membership level – Premier Black.” That’s probably just fancy-talk for saying that I’ve spent most of my earned income over the past 15 or so years at their stores.
Aside from bonus points and whatnot, the kicker to this program appears to be a concierge service which, as a technology enthusiast, doesn’t appeal to me one bit. I’ll browse products all by myself, thank you very much. Other benefits include free shipping from BestBuy.com, a 45-day return policy, point-banking and a premier-only awards catalog, and special Geek Squad services (that I’ll never use).
Still, the free shipping, extended return policy, and point-banking are nice. My points tend to expire from time to time.
UPDATE: Looks like this was an error on Best Buy’s part, as the aforementioned e-mail was apparently sent to every Reward Zone member. Unlike some of you, however, I haven’t received a correction e-mail yet. Maybe I’m in the test market for this new program (Boston). I’ll post another update if I get a correction.
UPDATE 2: Aaaand, there we go. I received the correction e-mail around 2:30 AM.
“The Best Buy® Reward Zone® program is always looking at ways to make our program even better for our members. Today, you may have inadvertently and inaccurately received the below message during an initial email testing process. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or confusion. You continue to maintain your current membership status. If you are eligible for the Reward Zone program Premier Black test that will run in a limited number of select markets, we will notify you by a separate email. If you have any questions about this or the Reward Zone program, please visit www.MyRewardZone.com or contact our Customer Service Center at 1-888-237-8289. Thank you.
Sincerely,
The Best Buy Reward Zone program team”
This was the first site I got when I googled “Best Buy Reward Zone Premiere Black” and the second one was:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10032276-26.html
It explains the mistake. I was really excited too, because I had just bought a 1080p 120Hz LCD TV and 1080p upconverting DVD player. I thought I had finally achieved something. Maybe next year.
I got one of these too. Even though I haven’t bought anything at Best Buy since that time when I was looking at computer speakers and the idiot working that area didn’t know how to hook back up the demo sets.
They should rename themselves “Overpriced TV Hut”.
Considering every time I go to Best Buy I’m left alone, lost in the store with no employees in sight, this email I received was a welcome change.
Ah well… back to my lonely corner in the store where my middle-classiness belongs….but for just a moment today, I ruled the world.
I just called them. The gal who answered told me that if I got the email, I was definately part of the new premier black program, and that I could call back tomorrow for info since that department was closed. She went on about what a great program it was.
Now I can guarantee I’m not in their top tier of customers….they sure want to lift me up before cutting me down, don’t they? Can’t wait to call tomorrow and be taken down a notch.
I am actually a BestBuy employee and have too received this e-mail.
This e-mail is legitimate and was a spoof on Best Buy’s part. I understand that many of you see this as a fault of technology and stupidity on Best Buy’s part but think about it, a multi-billion dollar technology conglomerate needs many employees to work for them. There are various development teams that go into developing the program to creating the e-mail that all members see. It is difficult to get all the systems to merge without fault, trust me, store teams see it ALL THE TIME.
Many store teams haven’t even heard of Premier Black but fortunately I have several co-workers that work for corporate with the development teams and they have explained me that it is a program in the works but is not slated to be released/piloted until right before Holidays or a little after.
There was an earlier post explaining the benefits of Premier Silver, everything he mentioned was correct. Premier Black is supposed to have additional benefits to Silver but Silver must be reached first in order to even qualify.
Unfortunately I am not a spokesperson for Best Buy but I do understand everyone’s frustration. Trust me though, corporate is aware of the fault and the miscommunication and there is to be an e-mail coming soon explaining the mishap and they should provide as much information as they can at this point in that follow-up e-mail.
Best Buy SUCKS! Rewardzone is a scam. Their customer service is the WORST in recorded history. I’d rather be executed by guillotine than shop at Best Buy.
Best Buy SUCKS! Rewardzone is a scam. Their customer service is the WORST in recorded history. I’d rather be executed by guillotine than shop at Best Buy.
This is not a scam but a mistake from bestbuy. You can get black for spending $5k or more a year and silver for $2.5k a year. Read this: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13515_3-10032276-26.html
Here’s a response from Best Buy customer service:
I am Paola with Best Buy Customer Care.
The Best Buy® Reward Zone® program is always innovating so that our program is even better for our
members. Yesterday, you may have inadvertently and inaccurately received the below message during an
initial email testing process. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or confusion. You
continue to maintain your current membership status. If you are eligible for the Reward Zone program
Premier Black test that will run in a limited number of select markets, we will notify you by a
separate email. If you have any questions about this or the Reward Zone program, please visit
http://www.MyRewardZone.com or contact our Customer Service Center at 1-888-237-8289. Thank you.
I regularly send out mass emails (albeit to a MUCH smaller audience – roughly 4,000). I know how easy it is to make a little mistake that have big repercussions.
Before I hit the send, there’s always a little voice inside my head going, “Are you SURE you segmented your lists correctly? Are you SURE you matched the right message to the right recipient pool? Are you SURE you added all the sponsor logos, set up all the links and got the date right? It doesn’t matter how many times you check. Hitting send is a scary thing. With one click, you’re showing a huge audience of your peers, clients and customers what you’re made of.
Personally, I feel bad for the person or people responsible for this mistake. I’m sure some heads are gonna roll. Not saying they shouldn’t. Just want to remind all the conspiracy theorists and haters that mistakes happen. To err is human.
I do quite a bit of shopping at Best Buy, and they always treat me quite well. I don’t always shop at the same one (generally there are 4 in my city, and I have to drive to work at lots of different locations), and sometimes they don’t have what I want. But the service has always good. I don’t know why some of you have encountered bad service.
Lucky me, I guess.
And I just got an e-mail announcing my membership in the new Premier Plaid, which qualifies me for a free transporter that beams me back and forth amongst my home, Scotland, and any Best Buy store, and allows me to jack into the interweb Neuromancer-style, so I can play MP3s and Wii with my brain.
And it comes with a cheese-of-the-month for 12 months.
Lucky me indeed!
I am a RZ Premier Silver member & got the email as well (no retraction email followed). I called BB customer service today & got the following info, which is slightly different from other things I have read on the web, thought I would share it here:
- email supposedly went out to only RZ Silver members (this is inaccurate since many “normal” RZ members have reported receiving it)
- BB is going to call RZ Silver members who are eligible before Sept 9th to let them know directly if they are eligible.
- the Black threshold is $7500 per calendar year, not $5K as was reported elsewhere.
Given the typical range of wildly varying info spewed by $7/hour call center staff, I’d take all that with a large grain of salt, but the young lady appeared to be reading from a prepared script & has answered this question many times in the past few days. We will see!
I AM a member. it was a mistake for the rest of the country. It is a test market here in chicago.
you need to have spent $7500 at best buy in the past 12 months.
aside from the services and 5x points, there are awesome events held for free for members.
tomorrow im going to the cubs game with dinner and time to walk on the field at wrigley.. all on best buy! they also set me up with bears tix! its a gift that keeps on giving.
for those of you that were curious. the program is amazing, but i cant see myself spending $7500 a year every year. they have earned my blu ray purchases with this, but i dont need anything else big! (i got a home theater from their magnolia center- thats why im so high in spending.)
cheers!
-c.
“C” has most of it right. The Premier Black program is ONLY in Chicago, IL at the moment. There are plans to expand the program during the holidays. Here is the breakdown of benefits:
Premier Silver – Must spend $2,500 in a calendar year
1. 25% bonus points on every purchase
2. Point banking (save your points until you want to cash in)
3. 45-day extended return policy
5. Geek Squad services (not worth it)
Premier Black – Must spend $7,500 in a calendar year
1. 50% bonus points on every purchase
2. Point banking (save your points until you want to cash in)
3. 45-day extended return policy
5. Geek Squad services (again, not worth it)
6. Concierge service for “hard to find” items
7. Other perks to be determined
They will also be offering a Premier Black Mastercard. The details on that are still unclear. There you have it!
thanks for the correction..
that was supposed to be 50% not 5x!
-c.
I am a premier black member, I have spent alot of money in the last couple of years at BestBuy and because of that. Just recently Bestbuy sent my husband free tickets to a Chicago Bears Game, I wasnt able to attend but my husband took my nephew and they met Richard Dent and received from him a autographed football. great seats, a walk on the field and a small lunch. I recently went to another event for women only Football 101 hosted by bestbuy and met about 6 Bears Players it was amazing, I took a tour through the locker room, a goody bag, authographs, great seats, free and personally invited for me and a friend through the best buy premier black membership… I will never shop anywhere else for appliances and electronics… I felt like a won the little lotto. It was amazing. It’s no joke, If you Buy at Best Buy, they will show you their appreciation for your business.
forget it
sil:
i was at that game… bears vs. the vikings! what a great time. it is so rare that you get a company that actually appreciated your business AND shows it.
Um, unlike most of you, this pisses me off, greatly.
I’ve been a member of BestBuy Reward Zone Premiere Silver, the plan which I thought was the highest, until I accidentally stumbled across this email in my bulk archive from 2 months ago which I never read until now.
My account number is correct and I’m going to persue this to the end. It’s 110% false advertisement / misrepresentation. I’ve spent the required amount to be in the program but apparently since I live in NYC, I can’t.
Bottom line: if they made this program & want to walk before they run by offering it in a few states, the least they could do for an apology to me for misleading me is offer it to me, seeing as I actually qualify for it anyways.
Mark my words: I will prevail. I don’t rest until I get my way.
I believe that Chicago was the only test market for the Black Program. Luckily I qualified :-) and didn’t get the retraction email! yay!
It was a test program thru Feb 2009, so we’ll see if they actually continue it beyond that or not. After spending 15K at Best Buy in the last 9 months, i’m hoping so! Gimme something! Even if it is just free shipping and bonus points.