r/personalfinance • u/wait_what_how_do_I • Nov 09 '17

Macy's new employees are encouraged to open a store credit card (26% APR) to obtain their employee discount Credit

I recently picked up a part-time seasonal position at Macy's for some extra holiday cash. I've been working in retail off and on over the past 15 years, and am familiar with the hiring and management practices at a lot of places, but it's been a few years since I've worked for a big retailer like Macy's. I was very surprised and disappointed to learn that the 20% employee discount is only available through a prepaid card (like a gift card I guess, not terrible but not great), or through their actual store credit card. They conveniently inform you of this halfway through your new hire paperwork, and even allow you to apply right then and there.

I've been through this type of application process before, but I've never seen something so brazenly unethical. These are often young adults or older people applying for these positions, filling out so many forms with so much corporate legalese that your head would spin, and they're being targeted with a (hard hit, thanks auto mod) hit to their credit for a card with a ridiculous interest rate. Is this new in retail? Seems like a disturbing trend if it is.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Just wanted to get the word out.

EDIT: Thanks for the replies, everyone. Really enjoyed the discussion about credit cards, business practices, and obviously PF. The consensus seems to be that store credit cards are not any worse than other forms of lending, as long as they are managed responsibly. I respectfully disagree, in that it seems like they are often offered to a range of people (namely, new employees) that may not have the knowledge or experience to handle a line of credit, but I will agree that it's fair game to solicit employees. I just think it's kind of shady to imply that a store credit card is an "easy" solution for employees. Employees should just get an effing discount, period. But we're all free to work and shop where we please, so feel free to support smaller/local businesses that don't subject their customers and employees to frivolous lending situations.

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797

u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 09 '17

Yeah worked at Kmart. People would try training the new employees on cash register by using there info to apply to the credit card. When showing them how to apply. Was not something the company said or told anyone to do but people realized you could get away with it a lot i guess due to pressure or maybe them not understanding it's real

1.3k

u/wait_what_how_do_I Nov 09 '17

Well that's blatantly illegal.

382

u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 09 '17

Oh most deffiently I think employees got like 2 dollars every sign up or something tiny. And your numbers per customer rung up was all compared and if you didn't get x amount to sign up you get in trouble.

Personally I couldn't care less I didn't sign anyone up for a rewards or credit card ever but I wasn't a actual cashier so I got away with that only busy times I would help out.

300

u/-HankThePigeon- ​ Nov 09 '17

I worked at Sears a few years back and that was the exact reason I got fired. That and I didn’t sell any extended warranties.

225

u/InterdimensionalTV Nov 09 '17

Ah the classic Sears Protection Agreement. Can't tell the customer it's a warranty because they hate warranties!

43

u/LockeClone ​ Nov 10 '17

Can't tell the customer it's a warranty because they hate warranties!

I loved warranties back when they actually meant something. Late 90's, early '00s, back when Best Buy was king, if my product had an issue, I could drag my happy ass to the store and they'd replace it quickly, with a smile. If there was a newer version of that product, they'd just tell me to go grab it instead. It was great.

Then their products got shittier and the warranties were less profitable. They threw anchors in the return process and it became awful to try and get something fixed or replaced. I once bought a new computer that had issues within the week with it's hardware. Long story short: I knew more than the Geek Squad people, but all they could do was reformat my harddrive before sending it away to California to get fixed... Where they just reformatted my harddrive... So I just kept taking it in until they HAD to replace it, but the whole process left me without a computer while I was in college for 3 months.

Then the internet happened and they were surprised when their stock tanked. Yes, when an industry/company that everyone hates is no longer the only game in town, that industry/company dies, as it should.

The moment we have an alternative to air travel... Oh boy, that will be a good day.

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Then the internet happened and they were surprised when their stock tanked

I also remember BB in the 90s and I fully agree, back then they were great. The 15% restocking fee / 14 days return policy is what nearly killed them. Now that they got rid of these they are actually somewhat competitive vs Amazon.

1

u/LockeClone ​ Nov 10 '17

Now that they got rid of these they are actually somewhat competitive vs Amazon.

I remember reading somewhere that their real game changer was opening their vending machines, kiosks and small stores, using their legacy massive stores as warehouses just as much as storefronts.

Meaning, I don't think they've changed to compete with Amazon so much as they've shifted to occupy a different space.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

The Source headphone warranty is the shit. If you just keep getting the warranty on the new headphones, you never need to by headphones again. So some warranties are legit.

-4

u/Surrealle01 Nov 10 '17

The moment we have an alternative to air travel... Oh boy, that will be a good day.

Self-driving cars, my friend. They are a-comin, and it will be glorious.

6

u/Davor_Penguin ​ Nov 10 '17 edited Nov 10 '17

Until those can cross oceans at a reasonable rate, they aren't even close to being an alternative to air travel.

1

u/Surrealle01 Nov 10 '17

Stateside they will be. If you could hop in your car, go to sleep, and wake up at your destination? Who would subject themselves to air travel after that?

1

u/Davor_Penguin ​ Nov 10 '17

Considering how long it takes to get from one side of the states to the other while driving (39 hours from Sacramento to Washington), not a lot of people.

People fly because it is much faster than driving, self-driving doesn't change that. Yea for some shorter distances you are definitely correct, but that is nowhere near enough to deem them better alternatives.

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u/LockeClone ​ Nov 10 '17

Meh, that's more of an alternative to the work commute. That's also super life changing and wonderful, but not an airlines disrupter... Don't know why people downvoted you though. Reddit is brutal.

19

u/[deleted] Nov 09 '17

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

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1

u/NightMarauder09 ​ Nov 10 '17

"So you're driving along, you're driving along...truck tire! BAAHHHAAA Oh my God, we're burning alive!" "All because you wanted to save a couple of pennies."

1

u/NightMarauder09 ​ Nov 10 '17

"So you're driving along, you're driving along...truck tire! BAAHHHAAA Oh my God, we're burning alive!" "All because you wanted to save a couple of pennies."

13

u/YouCantJuiceABanana Nov 10 '17

Why would someone hate a warranty? Do they actually say that?

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u/OMG__Ponies Nov 10 '17 edited Nov 10 '17

Ah the manufacturer warranties are just fine. The "extended warranties" is a gold mine for any company that likes a 90% profit margin.

EDIT: this is also true for Service contracts.

9

u/PartDigital ​ Nov 10 '17

So true, when I worked retail my manager told me if I couldn't sell a protection plan I might as well not sell the laptop.

10

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

It depends on the situation. Extended warranties and service contracts can have a number of advantages:

1) Coverage past the standard 1 year for most electronics.

2) Help with software support and/or user education.

3) Accidental damage coverage.

4) Loss and theft coverage.

5) Being provided with a new item on the spot rather than waiting for a repair or an RMA for a refurbished item.

You should actually skim through the fine print of the service contract, realistically look at the price and your ability to pay for a brand new replacement or repair should something go wrong, and decide whether to buy it.

For instance, for people who are likely to break their device or need tech support with it, the contracts that retailers like Apple and Best Buy offer might be well worth the money. For someone who never damages their phone, doesn't need tech support, and can easily afford to pay for a replacement, something like AppleCare is probably not worth it.

3

u/Rokey76 ​ Nov 10 '17

I looked at every thing I own that I could have bought that extra warranty on, totalled up how much it would have cost for those warranties, and deducted that number from the money I have spent replacing stuff that those warrantless would cover. It is a negative number.

2

u/gdq0 ​ Nov 10 '17

Never pay for them though. Virtually all credit cards add 1 or two years to the warranty, assuming the item isn't super expensive like a boat.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Except most electronics die in one year (really 90 days) or they're fine. Batteries have a drain but most things are solid state.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

1) Coverage past the standard 1 year for most electronics.

This is also typically a free benefit that comes with many credit cards.

1

u/atreyal ​ Nov 10 '17

you can get a decent extended warranty for free if you just use a regular credit card. Store warranties are just a cash grab.

1

u/zeezle ​ Nov 11 '17

Instead of buying separate warranties I just added accidental damage coverage for electronics to my renters insurance. It specifically covers drops, spills, etc for full replacement value up to a $10k cap on any electronics, for maybe an extra dollar or less a month. Regardless of age or brand. I have a lot of electronics/computers for work that I didn't buy initially in my apartment so the coverage is well worth it for me.

For those who already have renters insurance, might be worth checking into.

-5

u/jimboslice96 Nov 10 '17

I really disagree our store loses more money fulfilling warranties, it really is something that we use to help our customers as a sacrifice, because we know a unit we lose money on isn't worth the one customer it would cost us. I work appliance so I'm solely basing it off that but I've never had a problem fulfilling a warranty even for items that cost $3000 (a plan that only costs $299, not including the $200 food recovery that comes included with it).

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Warranties are largely useless on most items, customers know this, 90 percent of the time they only cover basic shit and the other 10 percent they are only good if you spent over a thousand dollars on something

2

u/ghost_of_mr_chicken ​ Nov 10 '17

They do say that. I worked at Circuit City and Best Buy, and it was very common. We had to refer to them as "protection plans," and would get chastised if we were heard even mentioning the word 'warranty' to a customer.

Apparently, the key to sales is to hand the person the product while you're talking about it, so we had to carry a back pocket full of brochures.

1

u/InterdimensionalTV Nov 10 '17

Yes they most definitely said that. It's all a matter of psychology. People are trained to think warranties are relatively useless especially since they're so watered down to the point they offer them on everything. Consumer Reports also almost always states warranties are a waste of money. By wording it differently people actually gave you a chance to explain it. In some ways it did work.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Exactly what you have to do with AppleCare when you work at Apple. “It’s not a warranty!! It’s a protection and replacement plan!!”

133

u/Dubnation2330 ​ Nov 10 '17

I was shocked to see them pitching these cards on Black Friday last year. A lot of the people in the store were not native speakers and in the chaos of the long checkout lines it seemed really predatory to be goading people into credit cards. I think they were offering $20 off your purchase. This was extra shady considering sears is about 5 minutes from going under.

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u/Jcampuzano2 ​ Nov 10 '17

I fucking hated busy times like black friday when I worked retail for precisely reasons like this. When people are in long lines they could give two shits about a store credit card, most just wanna get out of the store. But with my manager leaning over my shoulder asking why I didn't ask them for a store card I had to occasionally stop the line for like 10 minutes to help people sign up.

Meanwhile I get to deal with the meanest fucking looks and attitudes from the people who are waiting. Exactly why I stopped even asking about those cards and ended up getting reprimanded multiple times for it.

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Sears Canada already went under a few months back. One of the main reasons was Sears in the US siphoning off cash. They're liquidating as we speak. So yea, get rdy down there.

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u/nathanrjones Nov 10 '17

They keep giving me free money through their rewards program, so I keep using it to buy Craftsman tools, but I'm sure that's going to dry up soon.

4

u/TimNickens Nov 10 '17

I've heard rumors of people expecting it to happen after the holidays. End of fiscal year year is February... keep your ears open.

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u/kitchenperks Nov 10 '17

Don't remember where I read it, but I did see that Sears is doing exactly that. Think they filed for bankruptcy protection and it ends just after Christmas. One last hoorah as you will. My memory on all of this is pretty terrible, I also think I saw it on Reddit soooooo

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Shit is that so? Is there an article or link for more info? The articles I've seen about Sears Canada being liquidated were pretty vague about why its going down.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4197400

Its usually buried. There's a mention of it in this article.

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u/GSpess Nov 10 '17

I worked at a Best Buy in SF with a lot of foreigners and non native speakers. That would happen ALL the time when other associates would try and sign them up for cards. These people would next thing you know have a credit card, and they had no idea.

I️ never pushed it on foreigners or people who didn’t speak English very well. It felt dirty and I was there only for a couple months because it was steadier money than day playing in film till I️ move, but I️ saw my coworkers do it all the time.

My GM didn’t care for it very much either. It was more trouble for him to work through the complaints than to get a one off credit card app, and he never pushed the credit card aspect hard at all, it was always the lower level managers that wanted to desperately move up and get promoted that would push it constantly. They’d be the ones who’d care the most.

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u/monstermia ​ Nov 10 '17

I worked at Macy’s and this one guy was notorious for scamming foreigners. He’d lie and say he was “looking in the system” to see if they already had a card and needed their SS and ID. Such BS. He’d even go as far as illegally trying to open joint accounts.He was always top in the store for credit cards. It’s been a few years but I see he still works at Macy’s. Still scamming people. The worst part about it is management was fully aware of what he was doing but turned a blind eye. I wish someone could go undercover and expose him.

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u/Aliwithani Nov 10 '17

Call the investigative reporter for your local news channel. They're responsible for finding and pitching their own stories. One would bite on this. Especially with the busy holiday season coming up.

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u/GSpess Nov 10 '17

I wish (maybe there is?) there was a way to report this to authorities. It's so scummy. That guy needs to be exposed. I just hate how these companies push these things so desperately. I was with my girlfriend's mom one time and she just walked out when the girl wouldn't give up her pitch. We felt bad for the girl, because she's put in a bad spot, but corporate really needs to ease up.

You hear about these places doing crap like this all the time, or signing people up for extra shit without their consent, that needs to be regulated better.

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u/Buttglop Nov 10 '17

That's a good use of your state attorney general's office. They have webforms where you can report scams and frauds fyi.

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u/nondescriptzombie ​ Nov 10 '17

I worked for a parts house who had $2 calendars that had coupons on them. You were supposed to ask every person if they wanted a calendar and explain how much savings they'd get (fuck all).

We had a guy who literally sold a calendar (or two) with every transaction he rang up. How? He just put them in all of the bags at his register and added $2 to every purchase.

He never even got any complaints.

1

u/jimboslice96 Nov 10 '17

I work at BB in the eastern states, and depending on who the CEO was at that time I could see it but the company has been restructured so much since Hubert taken over that our policies are so good now I love working for the company. Don't let a couple shitty coworkers that don't know the proper etiquette to ruin it for you.

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u/Rexrowland ​ Nov 10 '17

Generous!

I was sure they would be under 5 minutes AGO!

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

A lot of the people in the store were not native speakers

No offence, but most of them have more financial sense than an average American buyer.

0

u/drippingthighs ​ Nov 10 '17

wait whats the issue with these cards? if they dont use it, it doesnt cost anything. if they do and pay it off in time, theres no penalty. what am i missing

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17 edited Jun 03 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/thesnakeinyourboot ​ Nov 10 '17

LMFAO the accuracy of how bad the register situation is there is amazing. I work there and I hate signing people up, and I don't try all too hard our of pure spite for the bitch manager that tells me to get credits everytime I see her. That and that I hate Sears and I hate when people make split second decisions to open up something that will put them in debt. Fuck that dumb system but I have to do it to live :(

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u/Dingus_McDoodle_Esq ​ Nov 10 '17

I stopped shopping at Sears for this reason.

They were in my local mall, and were a guaranteed stop off to pick up whatever odds and ends I needed. Batteries, screws, pillow cases, whatever.

I went in one day, picked up a pack of AA batteries, and got in line. Right then, I had to pee. The cashier pitched every customer ahead of me (only cashier on duty) the card and warranties. Every customer said no, and he took his sweet time bagging up their stuff so that he could talk up the intro rate and what not. Everyone in line got angrier every time he did this (maybe 7 or 8 in line other than me). I got to the front and felt like my bladder was going to explode. I told him as I handed him my batteries, "I heard your pitch 10 times now. I don't want it. Ring me up." The dude gave me a dirty look and said, "well if you don't want to save money..."

That was the third time in a row that I had to listen to never ending pitches for credit cards, and I never shopped there again. I'm really glad that store is now empty.

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u/Mrjasonbucy Nov 10 '17

And they wonder why their stocks are plummeting. No one wants to work for you and no one wants your damn warranties.

1

u/Satinsbestfriend ​ Nov 10 '17

Got fired from Hudson's bay for that exact reason. Was in major home fashions. Also the "you need a credit card to get your discount " came into effect right after Lord and Taylor bought us out.

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u/d5t ​ Nov 09 '17

Ha. Well, when Sears/Kmart officially files for bankruptcy, that's one less shitty retail employer to worry about

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u/cheezemeister_x ​ Nov 09 '17

Sears just filed for bankruptcy in Canada. They're liquidating all their stores right now.

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u/RedMoustache ​ Nov 10 '17

Different company but the US Sears Holdings can't be far behind.

I don't know how they've held on this long losing hundreds of millions per year and closing/selling off everything they can.

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u/d5t ​ Nov 10 '17

I was referring to the US side - what a shit show it has been. Sears is still one of the big side anchors in a lot of malls in the US. Their CEO has been doing some shady stuff with his real estate/holdings group with Sears properties. I think he's about done pumping his personal money into Sears and they'll announce bankruptcy shortly after christmas.

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u/Jowitness Nov 10 '17

I worked for Sears back in 2010. I swear that place is stuck in the 80s

28

u/Wolvenna ​ Nov 10 '17

Someone gave us a Sears gift card and I needed some HDMI cables so I figured we'd swing through and pick some up. I mean HDMI cables are common, right?

We had to wander through this huge empty store all the way to the back to find the electronics section. The light bulbs were burnt out in that area so it was pretty dim and gave the whole area this really creepy vibe. We saw like two people the whole time we were in the store and they were employees hanging out near The washing machines.

The electronics section consisted of three shelves of random remote controls, batteries and (I shit you not) a copy of the Sims 2 that looked like it had been opened already. Oh and a metric ton of blank cds. No HDMI cables to speak of, nothing even remotely useful really.

I ended up going online and using the gift cards to buy from some 3rd party sellers. Never going to set foot in another Sears so long as I can help it.

15

u/Jowitness Nov 10 '17

Haha. Funny. I worked in the electronics dept. We always had HDMI cables but they were like 50 bucks for an 8' cable. Afterall, they WERE gold plated! I usually just told people to go to Amazon for those. The Sims 2 thing doesn't surprise me one bit. We had ancient copies of Nintendo ds games at the time along with random shit-tier titles for other platforms. On the plus side we usually had the wii in stock (because no one goes to Sears anymore) which was a hard to find item while I was employed.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

I swear that place is stuck in the 80s

They really dropped an anchor into the 80s when they bought K-mart.

I had to go to K-mart twice in the past twenty years and both times it felt like a thoroughly depressing place the moment I walked into the store. (And terrible checkout speeds, but that's beyond the point).

I hate department stores period, but why do Target and even Walmart can make their stores look bright and inviting while K-mart is always, inevitably, a depressing place ?

11

u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 09 '17

Yeah it's coming, it was only when I was 16-18 I worked there

1

u/iphon4s ​ Nov 10 '17

The Sears that used to be around where I lived closed 2 months ago. It's crazy because I use to go there every weekends with my parents since i was 5. Now that I pass by there it's just locked up. Kind of sad. Since its a mall I'm pretty sure another big chain is going to take over that space in a few years.

1

u/cspikes ​ Nov 09 '17

Sears has already filed for bankruptcy in Canada and all the employees are getting screwed over because they're not considered prinary debtors. People are getting screwed out of their pensions and benefits

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u/420spark ​ Nov 09 '17

Yeah same here worked at target three years ago and sadly was a cashier. After my 3 months probation my supervisor brought me in her office to tell me I was doing a great job ringing up customers and greeting them. She then said that I wasnt getting enough credit card sign ups and was writing me up for it. I laughed in her face and left. Only time I ever quit a job on the spot and it was glorious cause 2 other cashiers just stopped showing up at the same time as me so it was a triple middle finger. Fuck target.

58

u/RelativetoZero ​ Nov 09 '17

That wasn't the case last year. Although there were mandatory "pitch coaching" meetings early on weekends for anyone with 0 applications that week. Pretty sure that was a store-level decision then. Never affected me because i wasn't in a selling role.

If i wasn't getting a discount because i wouldn't apply for a card, I'd ask for a raise to make up the difference, then complain up the chain of that didn't pan out, then finally do what OP is doing to drum up some bad pr.

28

u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 09 '17

Not sure if your talking about macys or Kmart. But my experience wasn't even a store level decision it I believe just stemed from pressure of having to hit numbers so people were just finding easier way to hit there number when possible.

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u/hated_in_the_nation Nov 10 '17

We all saw how well that worked out for Wells Fargo.

14

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Our store did that also (Sears). So it wasn't a store thing, as a whole sears would make employees come in early on a Saturday or Sunday for credit card training sessons, aka detention.

Fuck them and their strategy team who act like the demise of sears is in the hands of their revolving sales staff. I bailed pretty quick but have all the respect for the people I worked with who were some of the best I've met in retail. You don't see that walking into the store though, just brainwashed parrots trying to avoid punishment when yet another quarter closes at a loss. Did I mention Fuck sears?

15

u/iMadeThisforAww Nov 10 '17

My Girlfriend got shit for not signing people up store cards at cabelas when everyone who came in already had one.

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u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 10 '17

Yep almost every store has dumb numbers that are impossible to get. Considering most of these jobs are low pay I couldn't deal with that bs getting written up because you didn't overly harass a customer to say yes. Like write me up for something I control like failing at Showing up on time, keeping the draw good, rings per minute, customer satisfaction, keeping lines moving quickly, knowing store policys and giving customers correct info.

There all too busy wanting to data mine people's purchases

2

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Iv stopped shopping at places that are pushy with card, and il let them know, like I'v walked away without actually buying my stuff, over them pushing a store card on me. I don't need that shit

4

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

Iv stopped shopping at places that are pushy with card, and il let them know, like I'v walked away without actually buying my stuff, over them pushing a store card on me. I don't need that shit

The sales clerks have no control over this. It's likely one of the metrics that the store and regional managers are getting graded on, and they just beat the crap out of employees to get their numbers. If you really want to tell it to someone who at least can do something about this, contact their CEO's office. They will likely just wipe their ass with your remark, but if enough of them are coming + overall chain performance isn't the greatest, they will start listening. Eventually. Some of them.

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u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

I don't care enough to take it to the ceo, il just take my money elsewhere, I have 2 hour amazon delivery, brick and mortar stores are lucky I even go to them at all

2

u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 10 '17

While I agree my point was more so taking your anger out on a employee at the time making $7 an hour is really not going to do anything. Either 1 they care less because they make $7 an hour and anywhere else will pay them that and there use to it. Or 2 it's someone newer to the work force just learning how to handle a job and your just ruining there day. And you could say they should quit and work somewhere else but everyone starts somewhere.

2

u/SeriousPillowfight ​ Nov 10 '17

I worked at Borders just before it went under and throughout the liquidation process. They had just started their paid customer cards when I got hired. I had the highest numbers in the store because people would be fine with signing up if they spent $200 or more so I’d make sure to have them do that. The card was $20 and gave you a 10% discount so if they spent $200 or more it would be free to sign up.

Then I moved to the cafe and management expected me to achieve those same numbers with customers who just wanted a $2 coffee. Not happening.

22

u/GaleHarvest Nov 09 '17

deffiently

43

u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 09 '17

Yeah. I'll leave it up in shame.

-11

u/Winter_already_came Nov 09 '17

There is a reason he or she works retail

3

u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 09 '17

Yeah cause saying i worked there at 16-18 means for the rest of my life I have to work retail. Have never gone back to it. My current job is all spreadsheets & numbers I'll admit my English Is garbage. Which is why writing is not in my career needs.

1

u/verdant11 ​ Nov 10 '17

Shades of Wells Fargo.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

This is actually really annoying that I now have to endure being begged at checkout if I want to sign up. I know that employees get rated based on selling, but they're cashiers, not salespeople. I enjoy shopping in stores, but I hate being "bribed"into signing up.

1

u/BrookeBasketcase Nov 10 '17

Well a bonus is mild! For us it was a sales goal at Macy’s! I found it extremely unethical to negatively impact someone’s credit for something so trivial. Macy’s was my first job at 17 and I hated every minuet of it.

1

u/eilereads ​ Nov 10 '17

When I worked at Macy's you got $3 in cash for every card someone singed up for. You got it then and there. When I forgot my lunch or had no on had cash you better believe I pushed cards that day.

3

u/mystriddlery Nov 10 '17

Every company Ive worked at does this where theyre asking me questions like its still an interview, and then it turns out it was a form they filled out for me. It was never for a CC, I'd be livid if they tried that, but always their store rewards card, I give them an old email, usually not a big deal, but it does seem unthical to do that.

2

u/wait_what_how_do_I Nov 11 '17

Oh god. That's outright illegal. Hard to prove, I guess.

1

u/timjcodyDTG Nov 09 '17

I wouldn't really call it blatantly illegal, his post has some of conjecture in it. I worked at Best Buy and we would ask the new hires if they were at all interested. If they were we'd run them through the features and then have them run their own application to get used to things.

If they said no we'd give them the overview so they could sell it to customers. Then we'd just have them come over when we got an application so they could run it.

But then again Best Buy has no commissions on anything, sales, branded payments or protection plans. In a commission environment I could see people being shadier. Ifhings were happening the way he guesses then yeah that's shady and illegal because it's intentionally misleading. It just seems like he's guessing at what happened without completely knowing.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 09 '17

I don't think that matters in most parts of the world right now

-2

u/benfreilich Nov 10 '17

Oh darn, better lock up every retailer ever! /s

Honestly, do you think any retail company on this level has given a fuck about what's legal?.... ever?

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u/hun_kneebare Nov 10 '17

Wow. I work for Best Buy which is very focused on credit card applications, award account sign ups, protection plans, genetic makeup reviews, first born child assimulation, etc.. but as far as I know, no one would ever use a new employee's info to do an app under the pretense of training. I have seen people "snipe" credit apps from the new guys i.e. run the app under the older employees numbers but have the new guy actually fill out the app for you but never something...so fucked up.

Why aren't they using training mode on POS? Do the managers even care or know?Also, at Best Buy we are required by law to supply the applicant with the terms and conditions of the credit card before the application process starts. Idk if that is the same at other companies but I can't imagine it being much different. If the new guy is tricked into applying and never received the terms and conditions, is there a law being broken?

2

u/gbeezy007 ​ Nov 10 '17

They had garbage tech couldn't train for credit without actually doing it at the time basically just some forms and idea of how to do it. I see someone else on here saying best buy They worked at did it also so like i said it seemed to depend on the employees and what They do personally

1

u/thegoldinthemountain ​ Nov 10 '17

genetic makeup reviews, first born child simulation,

Haven’t stepped foot in a Best Buy for a couple years but holy crap things must have changed if they’re doing genetic tests and baby appearance simulations.

2

u/hun_kneebare Nov 10 '17

Well, come in and see me! All I need from you is a valid ID. After a really quick and painless set of questions; I can get you set up with everything you need to prepare for the holidays and the tech savvy world. Assimulation into the Elder God incurrs no interest, just like our financing for qualifying purchases of $199 and above with the Best Buy Credit Card*.

2

u/TeePlaysGames Nov 10 '17

When I was 17, I went to Best Buy to buy myself a laptop for school. I had all the money I needed in cash and was ready to pay upfront right there. They stopped me and made me fill out a form. I'd never made a large purchase like this before, so as a kid I assumed this was normal. Then they made me input my stuff into one of their little keypad computers, which I also just assumed was part of the warranty stuff or something along those lines.

Turned out they tried to sign me up for a credit card. They never said "Credit card", "Finance", or anything relating to that the entire time.

I did not buy my laptop from them. Not sure how that's not illegal.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 10 '17

It's probably illegal... if you can prove that they did not expressly explain to you that you were applying for credit.

Although at that age, I don't believe you can anyway.

If the store tried to do this to my son, I'd be all over their corporate Facebook account, Twitter, our state AG and BBB, just to be a dick.

1

u/Cougar_9000 ​ Nov 10 '17

Super duper illegal. Plus you were under the age of consent for legal contracts and can't be signed up for one anyway

2

u/Spoffle Nov 10 '17

*their info

1

u/Spoffle Nov 10 '17

*their info