JB HiFi refusing to price match to Microsoft Australia

Lazsportza on 26/12/2018 - 10:55

Attempted to match price this Bose Soundlink Micro speaker at JB HiFi (Macarthur Square) this morning against Microsoft Australia.

Microsoft Australia: $89 (Discounted $60)
JB HiFi: $149

I was given the following reasons why they refused to match the offer:

  1. www.microsoft.com/en-au/ - Is not an Australian website (staff clearly don't know how the internet works)
  2. Microsoft does not have a physical store in Australia (Despite their flagship store being in Westfield Sydney, PItt Street Mall)
  3. JB HiFi's own staff pricing is only as low as $120 for the same product (weak excuse)

I spoke with 3 different staff members and a manger who all shut down the price match, despite their policy stating they enthusiastically match prices.

Is this a general problem with JB HiFi were they don't recognise Microsoft Australia as a competitor?

Of course, I told them they lost the sale and then purchased through Microsoft directly.

General Discussion

Related Stores

JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi

Comments

  • CyberMurning on 26/12/2018 - 11:04
    +26

    Sue them!

    • ireadtermsofuse on 27/12/2018 - 12:27

      Why sue when you have bikies?

      • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 22:40
        +1

        A bikie names Sue ?

  • swiggity swag on 26/12/2018 - 11:07
    +108

    Just buy it from Microsoft???

    • azsportza on 26/12/2018 - 14:02
      +34

      That is exactly what I did when I left the store. For mine, it's the principle. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect they adhere to that policy and price match to someone like Microsoft.

      • BargainKen on 26/12/2018 - 19:32
        +10

        Had a similar experience with the dickbag at the JB at Westfield Pitt St mall.

        Went to the World square store and got the price match.

        TLDR; Try another store.

      • PuppieWayne on 26/12/2018 - 20:52
        +2

        "For mine, it's the pricing".

        There.. FTFY.

      • ausmomo on 26/12/2018 - 22:14
        +9

        It's not a question of principle. All price matching policies include the right to NOT price match, for whatever reason.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/12/2018 - 08:16
          +13

          Incorrect. If the guy approached head office he would have his price match. He either got a manager who refused at all costs or was just ignorant. Ex JB employee here.

          The problem is that none of what transpired is actually on record - once things are in writing it’s a very different story.

          If your ego is big enough - only takes 5 minutes to send an email to head office - not for the price and the sale but just to teach the manager a lesson - and then not buy it =]

          Send one through - tell them you want that price - and when they give it to you - tell them “Actually I don’t want it - it was all just to prove you wrong”.

          Meanwhile you still got what you wanted from the Microsoft store who had the great deal and gave them the business.

          Sure - some would say “Just move on”, but without any action the consumer anxiety and discomfort from BS price matching practices will always remain. It only takes a few people putting managers in their place to get stores to uphold what they advertise and do the right thing by consumers.

          5 minute email compared to the time and effort and muck around you spent going there is worth it to make life easier for the next guy.

      • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 02:54
        +11

        That is exactly what I did when I left the store.

        The real problem for them, as a brand, is that experiences such as yours can lose a customer for life, and most certainly lose much customer goodwill (which I reasonably believe is much of why stores do price matching, they don't want you to start shopping elsewhere, thus lose your ongoing patronage).
        Very bad move and terrible customer service on that store's part IMO. Even id they lose a fee dollars from that single transaction, it's all about the wider marketing perspective with these massive brands such as JB Hi Fi. They had the choice to a) lose a few dollars, and keep a customer's goodwill, or b) Keep their product, and lose a customer, and have their brand damaged and possibly lose a customer forever.

        I had a similar response (initially) many years ago at Miranda JB Hi-Fi… First person I spoke with suggested price match could not be honored due to price at other store being so much cheaper (was NOT clearance though, and was from bricks and mortar store). The 1st staff member went and checked with someone more senior, possibly the manager, they price match was honored.
        Sounds like OP came across a bodgy manager, probably looking after their bonuses/incentives for how much profit the store makes (in the short term) and ignoring how bad it is for them in the long term, to lose customers both from your bad experience and also from the word of mouth and bad publicity they get when they pull crap like this.

        • ozhunter on 27/12/2018 - 03:45

          The real problem for them, as a brand, is that experiences such as yours can lose a customer for life

          I doubt it, as all stores can be iffy with price matches.

          and possibly lose a customer forever.

          If it's a customer that only price matches and they lose a few dollars each time they do it, I'd think they would be happy about losing that customer.

        • Okayy on 27/12/2018 - 10:39

          I wish managers could understand this. (Sad)

      • solidussnake on 27/12/2018 - 07:42
        +22

        Ex JB TV salesmen of 5 Years here,

        1. It was boxing day the sales person/manager should of checked website and done it no questions asked to put it through and move on.
        2. The staff pricing on Bose, Apple and Consoles are a joke if the thats what the Bose staff price was at JB im not surprised as JB also make alot of money on staff sales as its not true cost for staff.
        3. Some stores the Managers don't like to sell under staff pricing as it affects the stores GP and their monthly bonus, But if you were to contact their regional Manager he would have a fit for not taking a valid price match deal !!!
        • idonotknowwhy on 27/12/2018 - 09:38
          +4

          OP, please contact the store manager and make them have a fit!

          I've been encouraging friends and coworkers to quickly price check things online when they're at places like JB and then get a price match.

          When things like this happen, it puts them off and prevents them from trying in the future.

          Sucks when (profanity) behave that way and ruin other people's confidence.

          • Ti-au on 27/12/2018 - 11:30
            -6

            @idonotknowwhy: So 1 story of a rejected price match "puts them off and prevents them from trying in the future." ?

            Somehow - no.

            • idonotknowwhy on 27/12/2018 - 11:42
              +1

              @Ti-au: Not 1 story. This happens a lot. And I think they're kind of not very confident asking for things like this, so the assholes at JB take advantage of them and tell them no.

              For us it's more of a business thing. Always ask for a discount because there's nothing to lose, but for the inexperienced negotiators, these early encounters make a big difference.

              • ro0sta on 27/12/2018 - 22:56
                +1

                @idonotknowwhy: I've found officeworks a little better for price matching. There's always a handful of staff that look for or try to generate really poor excuses NOT to price match. Hardly Normal are probably the worst for that.

                RoOSTA

                • idonotknowwhy on 28/12/2018 - 07:56

                  @ro0sta: I've found that as well. They're more business like, they check the stock levels sometimes of it's a significant discount and don't act like they're doing you a favor.

                  It's a good point though, I should send more people to Officeworks lol.

      • Toastone on 28/12/2018 - 00:39
        -7

        www.microsoft.com - is not an Australian website. the /en-au is the language and region for the site to display (Clearly you don't know how the internet works)

        • CoreJava on 28/12/2018 - 06:31

          Agree, microsoft.com is not an australian website.

        • watwatwat on 28/12/2018 - 06:56
          +5

          It quotes in aud and includes Australian gst.

    • Kranbone on 27/12/2018 - 18:17
      +6

      I agree. If they are only going to price match, I'd rather the original retailer who offered the best deal get my business.

  • LikeMike on 26/12/2018 - 11:14
    +4

    JB and EB are also refusing to price match any consoles today.

  • Almost Banned on 26/12/2018 - 11:35
    +34

    Price matching is so hit and miss it really seems like it depends on the store or staff member.
    Makes you wonder if its worth it.
    It really pisses me off - not just for the stuffing around, but for the misleading nature of the advertised policy. Either you price match, or you don't - just don't lie to us.

    • azsportza on 26/12/2018 - 11:39

      I didn't expect any issue with using Microsoft as a competitor. I have even price matched against Apple's official store several times with no issue. All the staff I spoke to this morning were actually all in disbelief the Bose product was so heavily discounted.

      • Prince K on 26/12/2018 - 13:30
        +2

        Wow price matched apples official store? This mean their price is above rrp

        • azsportza on 26/12/2018 - 13:58
          +1

          I believe it was for a MacBook Pro charger, something like $15 over compared to Apple. The staff at the Galleries in Sydney were also surprised their price was higher than the official Apple Store.

    • Harold Halfprice on 26/12/2018 - 22:23
      +3

      Yeah, it's full of shit and completely misleading.

      I tried to pricematch at EB a few weeks ago, was told the store "has to been in the same centre, and have the item in stock". Then wtf is the point of pricematching? The in stock part, fine - but in the same centre? I can just walk to the actual store then.

      I went to JB instead and pricematched with no issues.

      • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 03:00
        +3

        was told the store "has to been in the same centre,

        I was told something similar by a local EB games store, about 15 years ago now. I still remember and tend to avoid making purchases there, and favour other purchase options instead.
        Terrible marketing for them, mislead a customer or deliver a bad experience once or twice, and you likely lose that customer's patronage forever.

    • [Deactivated] on 28/12/2018 - 08:24
      +1

      Price matching doesn’t have to be hit and miss if people took the 5 minutes to type up an email.

      Buy it somewhere else sure - but send the email anyway - pretend you still want the price match. Regional managers / head office will pull store managers aside. Best way to get back at them for wasting your time.

      Then once they agree just tell them you already bought it somewhere else for the ultra “in your face” - wastin their time in return and teaching them a lesson for the good of the next customer

  • myusername on 26/12/2018 - 12:10
    +29

    what do you expect from jb hifi?

    decent customer service? lolololol

    most of the staff there are clueless to anything that happens outside the world of jb hifi.

    honestly i tend to avoid purchasing anything from jb due to the nauseating experience gained from interacting with their staff.

      • myusername on 26/12/2018 - 12:22
        +11

        i guess you're not from garden city lol

        • jwb1981 on 27/12/2018 - 20:04
          +3

          @myusername When you say Garden City, is that Mt Gravatt or is there a different Garden City?
          All I know the Garden City at Mt Gravatt are idiots, I had problems with my gaming headset and they whined about how I should go to Logitech to get it fixed, then they made me wait…
          All I can say is that the JB in Brisbane City near Hungry Jacks is the best.

          • myusername on 27/12/2018 - 20:51

            @jwb1981: yeah garden city in mount gravatt.

            that bearded redhead that works in the IT section has to be the rudest human being on the planet.

            • pennypincha on 28/12/2018 - 13:53
              +2

              @myusername: Lol next time I'm in Garden City, I'm going to see if I can find this fabled Bearded Ranga to validate whether he's the rudest of them all

          • [Deactivated] on 09/01/2019 - 13:06

            @jwb1981: Some time ago I tried to get them to price match a logitech mx2 mouse with computer alliance down the road, which they said it needs to be in the same center. I then said OW@ Garden City (4 in stock) had it $2 more than computer alliance. And they still won't price match. I expect that sort of run around from Harvey Norman but not JBHIFI

            Drove to Computer Alliance brought 1 and another 3k worth of gear there an then.

        • dgs on 28/12/2018 - 22:30
          +2

          I've only had horrible experiences at garden City JB. Absolutely incompetent and rude staff.
          "Can you price match with msy?"

          "We actually don't have to, you know."

      • [Deactivated] on 26/12/2018 - 13:02
        +80

        Interesting you say it's at the discretion of the staff member. What's the point in a price match policy if there is no consistency?

        • myusername on 26/12/2018 - 19:17
          +4

          "Price matching is at the discretion of the staff member and management depending how low the price is."

          once again lack of consistency, this could be perceived as being prejudiced, well actually it is.

          • bolt on 28/12/2018 - 14:42

            @myusername: Yeah, I'm not sure where he/she got that idea from. I'm an ex-JB salesperson and it definitely wasn't at the discretion of the staff member when I was there. We were able to justify a below-cost sale in our PDA with a number of reason codes, one of which being a price match. It could be at management discretion perhaps, but in my experience our store would always price match as long as it was matching an Australian store and wasn't an obvious price error (e.g. a $1 TV or something).

      • montynasser on 26/12/2018 - 13:07
        +2

        I've had JB price match Amazon for Nintendo switch games

        • Maxdax on 26/12/2018 - 14:03

          Same here - Pm Amazon a few times without any issues

      • droptester on 26/12/2018 - 16:00

        I've had such hit and miss experiences with price matching Amazon.

        That's such a weak excuse not matching Amazon, when the jb website states that online price matching is fine as long as it takes into account delivery.

        I can understand not going under cost price, but so many times have I been told they won't price match Amazon because it's an online store

      • [Deactivated] on 26/12/2018 - 19:17
        +20

        @weareaudreyvixen

        The problem op has is that your website states "We will enthusiastically match the price of an identically stocked competitor product."

        Loss leaders are part of the industry. If you are making the claim that you will price match, you need to honour it even if it is under cost.

        Price matching should be according to your advertised policy, not personal discretion.

        Also the online policy states that online prices through authorised retailers should be matched as long as shipping cost is factored in and it is not a grey import.

        https://www.jbhifi.com.au/General/pricing/

      • Name on 26/12/2018 - 20:29
        +16

        Except it isnt up to individual employees if it's a policy. It's false advertising (maybe.. I haven't read terms and conditions).

        Should get the ACCC involved, seems like a breach of ACL given they're advertising one thing that gives a customer an expectation and then not honouring it.

        Although I couldn't be bothered going through the process a few years ago when my price match was rejected. So I just made an easier decision and decided never to shop at jb hifi again. Can find a better price anyway and they've never had anything I couldn't get elsewhere.

      • Leedian on 26/12/2018 - 21:11
        +1

        I once tried to price match TGG price at Myer, was refused because it was below their cost price. I think that was a reasonable reason to refuse. Just like what op said, being honest is better than lying the reason for the refusal.

        • This Guy on 27/12/2018 - 18:02

          'cost price' is not the price paid for an item. It's not even the item plus transportation costs. It's the price of the item plus several loads.

          Most items have a single distributor in Australia. If one chain can do a price, every chain can do that price. It just come's down to a chain's buying agents.

          Store manager's usually have access to item price, hence are the final go to for a price match.

      • watwatwat on 26/12/2018 - 22:25
        +2

        Dw guys, it's at the discretion of a staff member whether they pull a bait and switch.

        Email head office and complain and ask for $50 voucher as compensation.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/12/2018 - 08:30

          Agreed !

      • biltong2go on 26/12/2018 - 22:33
        -3

        Why are people negging this comment? Just because you didn't like what was said, doesn't mean the comment wasn't the truth, and a valuable addition to the discussion? Don't shoot the messenger!

        • CalmLemons on 26/12/2018 - 23:44

          It's ozbargain. Some of the 80% are here.

        • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 07:35
          +14

          People are negging because what the staff member wrote contradicts what their official policy of price matching states

      • Waffles on 27/12/2018 - 07:44
        -1

        Can I say that on the point of good will etc. I have had overwhelmingly great interactions with JB staff. For price matching and returns/warranty they have been the best store overall. I'm constantly impressed by the consistency of their kindness and consideration.

        For other brands individual shops can be ok but it's far more hit and miss.

        Keep up the great work @weareaudreyvixen

        One JB had a weirdness of saying 'the store must be within 5ks' in the last 6 months but that was the only time ever they threw out a curve ball.

      • ultraboyz63 on 27/12/2018 - 16:43
        -3

        Don't know why you got negged to hell - all my experiences with JB staff have been great. I always buy more expensive items even if they are 20-50 more expensive at Jb then online because I know I can get good consistent after sales support in case I need to return something. Take away my ozbargain license if you must but that's just the way I do it!

    • CoreJava on 28/12/2018 - 06:33
      +2

      Yes, if you haven't notice, most of the JB hifi staff are young and they have tattoos and nose ring. It looks like a Bogan store. I get in there to buy things on specials. ]

  • garetz on 26/12/2018 - 12:12
    -5

    Jbhifi obviously do not want your business. Is it really worth the hassle for an extra 5% off if they are so adamantly against price matching.

    • No ONE on 26/12/2018 - 23:03

      You're mistaken with Officeworks price beat policy.

  • ozhunter on 26/12/2018 - 12:20
    +16

    Of course, I told them they lost the sale

    Seems like they were the ones telling you, that they didn't want to sell it to you.

  • Prince K on 26/12/2018 - 13:27
    +11

    They give the most ridiculous excuse when refusing a price match, I tried to price match an iphone from officeworks and the manager at JB said Officeworks sells grey imports.
    This was the one in Brisbane CBD

    • smithydll on 26/12/2018 - 20:51
      +3

      It is usually Officeworks that refuse to price match due to "grey" imports. Even when you purchase items from the competitor and show Australian SKUs and warranty cards, all you can home for is an apology from head office who promise to re-train store managers.

    • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 03:17

      They give the most ridiculous excuse when refusing a price match,

      True, and this hurts them later on, because they bull shxt you 1 time about price match, later on when you might want to buy a new expensive tv or hifi setup, you're not going to believe anything they say… So they lose bigger sales later on, by lying to customers with bogus excuses for refusing price match. One of the funniest (and dodgy-est) experiences with JB Hi-Fi I have ever had. Sales person at 1 JB Hi-Fi told me "we cannot negotiate to reduce price this tv at all, because it's already cheap and it is our 'own brand'. I then went to another JB Hi-Fi and explained I had cash to buy today, and was going round the other TV stores in the vicinity (about 4 other TV stores closeby) , looking for best deal I am offered… They offered $50 off. Then went to same store, same staff member, a few weeks later (asking for a friend) about exact same tv he gave me $50 off before, and met with that typical line/lie "we can't price match because it's our own brand" .

      • Ti-au on 27/12/2018 - 12:07
        -4

        and this hurts them later on

        But does it really? Even if 2,000 people per yr. refused to shop at JB HiFi (40 per week) because of price match (and I doubt they really would refuse ever to shop there - quite an extreme reaction), Australia has enough pop. growth (immigrating and being born/turning 16 & Excludes people who are here on other Visas, etc) that it would make a almost Zero impact on their business (pop growth in Aust 2017/18 was apparently approx 388,000; 1% shop at JB HiFi = 3,880).

        Also the people here (who are not shopping there) are mainly interested in Bargains - Does JB Hifi desperately want us as customers?

        • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 13:42
          +9

          But does it really?

          YES

          Its just basic marketing, one of the first things taught in university level marketing course, is that it is very important to keep the customers that you have (even if it takes a bit of work, even a small loss on a single purchase). It takes much more to get new customers, but relatively little effort to keep existing patrons.
          In a monopoly, it is different of course, if you new customers like you said have to shop at JB Hi-Fi, but they really don't. There is many choices of businesses selling pretty much the same stuff, and if JB Hi-Fi gets a bad reputation, well the new customers coming into the market (children becoming adults, migrants, people who didn't formerly have disposable income) these and any other new customers coming into the market will likely avoid places with a bad reputation for customer experience.

          Even if 2,000 people per yr. refused to shop at JB HiFi (40 per week) .

          Lol at your hypothetical statistics, in reality 1 bad customer experience can lead to many people avoiding purchases there, not just the individual who had the bad customer experience. Especially with social media these days, and even forums such as this, even if people do not entirely avoid a store completely, bad customer service does hurt them . Ie. Its causes detriment to their brand.
          For example, If someone has read and heard about terrible customer service from JB Hi-Fi , and the opposite regarding another business that sells the same stuff, they are more likely to go shop at th other place, then when they have a good customer experience at the other place, they are likely to come back, and then another good experience there, they are likely to become a regular customer and always go to the place that was exceptional with customer service…. Then they tell others and spread the word of mouth (or social media etc) and the cycle continues.

          Just as 1 bad customer experience can l lead to many lost sales (not just from the 1 original person) , so can good customer service lead to long term patronage and many new sales and customers.

          Even on ebay, most savy buyers shall prefer to purchase from seller with great feedback, and sellers with bad feedback (or no feedback) actually get less for the same item at auction.

          • Ti-au on 27/12/2018 - 15:02
            -5

            @[Deactivated]: Thank you for your academic marketing advice, but your argument only works for small shops (and even then I have doubts).

            JBHiFI is a national brand with multiple outlets, they are selling to so many customers that it is completely irrelevant what one, two, three or a thousand people think about them. Even if you gave them a very bad review, people will continue to shop there because it is a national chain (which if based on avg retail exchange of $100, means they are doing roughly 13,000 transactions per hour, please note this could inc. subsidiaries).
            You could replace JB HiFi with any major corporation. Eg. Telstra.
            I personally will avoid Telstra at all costs and they have pissed off many customers before and after me.
            Last year they made $26Billion.
            Why don't you make a bad review of Woolworths and see how it affects the store.

            • This Guy on 27/12/2018 - 18:22
              +5

              @Ti-au: I worked for an industry leading national retail chain. Their internal training put the cost of each new customer at $20.

              Their research suggested, on average, one excellent encounter gained four customers, one bad encounter lost us twenty. Many pissed off people will complain to everybody they know, while many satisfied customers will just smile.

              It is not unheard of for some retailers to budget ~$1,000 spend per customer (yes, every customer). I have even heard of one retailer spending an average $5,0000 per new customer.

              How do retailers get these numbers? Basically they compare sales with advertised and non advertised periods.

              • driveahardbargain on 28/12/2018 - 09:22
                +2

                @This Guy: Can you let me know which retailer will spend $50k for my business?

                • This Guy on 28/12/2018 - 09:26

                  @driveahardbargain: *$5,000. Sorry, I extra'ed a 0

                  Outdoor kitchen place with average sale of 5k per transaction spent $20k per month on advertising. Stopped advertising spend and gross went down $20k per month.

                  • Ti-au on 29/12/2018 - 00:18

                    @This Guy: Yes everybody has herd the saying: "one excellent encounter gained four customers, one bad encounter lost us twenty."
                    This 'theory' is not new (mid 1970s).

                    But lets look at the evidence, if we followed your model, Telstra which pisses of many, many customers (say 50,000 per year), should be losing 1,000,000 customers per year. I mean if they went public 15 years ago, they would of lost at 15million customers according to your metric and within 10 years the would have ZERO customers! (pop of Aust is 25M) Already the situation would be quite dire, and yet the Directors have not committed Harikari yet and they are still in business, with many billions in revenue! - How so?

                    Everyone hates the Banks, we even just had a Royal Commission into their shitty (& illegal) behavior and yet everyone still uses them. How many closed down their accounts and moved to a non-major lender? Obviously enough for the Banks Not to care…

                    How about Airlines? Go lookup the horror stories of Ryanair - And they are almost proud of how they treat their customers !!!!! & TigerAir -worst in Au?, yet they still keep filling seats and flying.

                    According to your metric none of the business should have customers. And yet they ALL do.

                    Now granted there are a few industries that need to care about their customer more than the average business - mainly businesses that sell luxury items OR high end b2b sales (medical equipment/machines is the famous one - where cost of sale can be much, much higher than $5k or even $50k; software is another, or military equipment). And so being nice is much more important in those industries. But how often do those businesses have great sales people and deliver product with issues (Oracle anyone??? where they overpromised, then under-delivered, PissedOff a lot of their customer, and yet still stayed in business making Larry a rich dude).

                    Obviously I don't have to say that a business wants to piss off their customers and obviously providing a good customer service is a good thing for them (just like advertising is a good thing for a business - thats why they do it), however what I am saying that if it comes to pissing off their customers and the bottom line - Which do you think they will choose?

                    Well JB HiFi has chosen!

                    And to further help you out answering this question - do you think CEOs get paid more bonus based on customer surveys or financial performance?

                    Perhaps the 3 who downvoted me could answer that question?

                    • This Guy on 29/12/2018 - 09:30
                      +2

                      @Ti-au:

                      According to your metric none of the business should have customers. And yet they ALL do.

                      You seem smart. I never said customer service was the only factor. Thank you for a 430 word response!

                      Telstra

                      Former monopoly. Perceived vendor lock in

                      Banks

                      Former oligopoly. Perceived lack of reasonable alternative

                      Budget airlines

                      Price monopoly/duopoly in most markets

                      So…

                      1 in 4, 1 in 20…

                      Yes. Probably bull. But companies trying to create an oligopoly (like the "industry leading national retail chain" I worked for) would be pretty dumb to ignore it.

                      Oracle

                      Vendor lock as cost to change can be insane. Any staff member involved in the decision to use the vendor that did not fit would be putting their job on the line to suggest change at such a late stage

                      However what I am saying that if it comes to pissing off their customers and the bottom line - Which do you think they will choose?

                      This is all you really needed to write!

                      JB Hifi could rectify their their poor customer service in some areas with further training or more selective hiring. JB Hifi originally only hired fresh-ish school leavers and trained them up, with most sales people I know lasting five to ten years (good for this industry). Recently at JB I have been meeting new, 'qualified' sales people who can't identify the decision maker and are happy to lie to a customers face.

                      This is a hiring/training issue. The issue seems to be down to corporate culture. JB seems very risk averse. I have not met a single low level manager (sales, store or regional) who is empowered to do anything positive for the company.

                      Do you think CEOs get paid more bonus based on customer surveys or financial performance?

                      Financial performance is always the bottom line. However…

                      Some non-luxury commodity manufacturers pay retailers insane bonuses (more than gross) based on CSI.
                      Many manufacturers will remove their products from shelves for poor customer service.

                      Both of these factors affect financial performance, so it is not that simple.

                      • LUTSlit on 29/12/2018 - 14:40

                        @This Guy: Wayyy too much time on your hands boys.

                        • leetguy101 on 29/12/2018 - 15:48

                          @LUTSlit: When you talk garbage about something someone else knows about, you're bound to get corrected.

                          Besides, I'd rather that bloke be a member of OzB than you.

                          • LUTSlit on 29/12/2018 - 17:04

                            @leetguy101: Of course your more into him because he buys into your nonsense ramblings. People have no real choice when it comes to using telstra, or the bank and cheap airlines. So it's a poor comparison to the original argument. We both know you too would have have a list of retailers / service providers you have vowed to never use again, and perhaps even persuaded others to avoid.

  • nubzy on 26/12/2018 - 13:35
    +1

    It depends on the staff member and the way the store is run. My local store is absolutely fantastic, staff go above and beyond to make the customer happy and will happily match great deals even when they may seem too good to be true. But not all stores are like that. Another store close by the staff are difficult and wouldn't even price match MSY on an SD card which they were flogging for a ridiculous price. Try another staff member and if that fails you need to try another store. It is annoying, I really dislike shopping in store these days and would rather buy everything online. JB used to be a lot better, nowadays I find their everyday pricing exorbitant and staff can be quite irritating.

  • BuDWiZe on 26/12/2018 - 13:37
    -8

    I had good guys refuse to price Match off ozbargain link so I just walked out. Up to them end of day

    • No ONE on 26/12/2018 - 23:06
      +6

      So you are the one who give bad rep to ozbargain website. Ozbargain is a community website, not a seller and competitor. You price match to the original seller not ozbargain website.

  • petry on 26/12/2018 - 13:42
    +1

    jb hifi routinely don't price match anymore since tieup with gooodshit.

    people claim they do in some eastern stores but reality for me they don't. don't get much of my business as a result …. like they care ..

    and yeah jb are bad these days - shockingly bad in fact - nothing like they used to be….

  • JCRALLYART on 26/12/2018 - 13:45
    +2

    I know JB is very doggy that in many occasion, they try their best not to match price. I tried with couples of items matching with physical stores and they gave me different excuses not to match. I will never waste my time trying to get JB match others. EB simulator, last time I Asked them to match Switch console but they refused.

    Stores that I personally think they are hassle free to match others are DJ, Myer, Office Works. and most of the online only websites that has a matching policy.

    • ozmma on 26/12/2018 - 19:32

      When it comes to price beat, nobody can beat Office Works.

      • [Deactivated] on 27/12/2018 - 03:20

        When it comes to price beat, nobody can beat Office Works

        I have had experience with office works where the mamager was really snarky about doing price match, certainly was not nice about it.

        • ozmma on 27/12/2018 - 10:07

          Agree, individual experiences may differ. So far, they have price matched me everything without any issues. Sometimes even 50% off their listed price. I am so happy sometimes I buy from them without even comparing the price from others.

  • Toons on 26/12/2018 - 14:14
    +1

    JB, Price matched it this morning for us never usually a problem if legitimate.

    We did ask HN too as a back up they said yes too, just for an alternative.

    I have friends who work retail and they can often depending on the attitude "Asking vs Demanding as an entitlement" can and will turn people away.

    Maybe you got someone having a bad day it is hectic out there today

    • haemolysis on 26/12/2018 - 20:02
      +8

      Although I understand that, price matching IS an entitlement. It’s not like haggling: it’s a clearly defined policy posted in writing online. They should be honouring their policy.

  • at2j on 26/12/2018 - 14:27
    +1

    It is boxing day sales, the staff would give rat's a.. They have lots of potential customers to earn
    moolah

    • PopCounty on 27/12/2018 - 18:38

      Look at FB apologising to You Mate. Why? It’s the circumstances that tell ppl to act. Then it’s your time to react.
      You know what I mean.

  • serpserpserp on 26/12/2018 - 14:58
    +2

    OP: you do realize businesses don't have to price match? It is at their digression.

    Places aren't going to sell things at a loss just to suit your convenience.

    • PuppieWayne on 26/12/2018 - 16:10
      +8

      I wonder what ACCC has to say about it.

      If all the conditions for pricing matching have been met, you can't just say no if that's one of the reason customers have come into your shop.

      • serpserpserp on 26/12/2018 - 16:29

        Exclusions include "competitor clearance products".

        Pretty much a catch all for someone selling a product end of line.

        There are a lot of exclusion points you could class this scenario under.

        ACCC probably wouldn't even answer your email it is such a nothing issue.

        • PuppieWayne on 26/12/2018 - 20:51
          +1

          You are under the impression this isn't an isolated incident and ACCC won't have a log of complaints against JB for their misleading price matching policy?.

    • JCRALLYART on 26/12/2018 - 17:19
      +6

      If the business advertise price match policy, they have to honor it or else will be misleading act.

      • serpserpserp on 26/12/2018 - 18:03
        +4

        No.

        There are T&Cs for a reason.

        All price match places have exclusions or T&Cs. Price match advertising does not mean you match a price under any condition.

        • [Deactivated] on 26/12/2018 - 19:19
          +11

          The problem is that they don't honour their existing exclusions and policies

          • serpserpserp on 26/12/2018 - 19:28

            @[Deactivated]: That might be your interpretation. But the T&Cs/exclusions are so broad that they could literally exclude any price match request.

            I'm not defending JB HiFi in any way, I think they are very inconsistent with price matching (like a lot of retailers that price match). But I think people need to accept that retailers will not price match if it isn't in their best interest. The only place I've seen price match and lose money on things (and not always) is Officeworks and BCF. But even they have included more T&Cs to get out of things!

            • [Deactivated] on 26/12/2018 - 20:34

              @serpserpserp: @serpserpserp https://www.jbhifi.com.au/General/pricing/

              The price match promise isn't that broad.
              It's a shame they don't honour it

              • serpserpserp on 26/12/2018 - 20:43

                @[Deactivated]: "…and competitor clearance products or products with limited or restricted quantities."

                They could pull this line every time and get away with it on the rarer items (ie. not playstations and phones etc.)

                • [Deactivated] on 26/12/2018 - 21:13
                  +1

                  @serpserpserp: Those terms aren't too broad though.

                  Unless it is advertised as clearance or
                  Only xxxx amount available at this price they should match it

    • watwatwat on 26/12/2018 - 22:27
      -1

      They do if they advertise they do.

      • serpserpserp on 26/12/2018 - 22:39
        -1

        They don't advertise it though.

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