Mortally Embarassed at BestBuy store #187

Question

 Let me start off by saying that I love Bestbuy; I am an Elite Plus member and I recommend all of my immediate friends and family to shop there whenever possible. Although customer service can be sometimes questionable, the outstanding price match guarantee policy, competitive sale prices, Gamer's Club Unlocked and the 45-day return period for being an Elite Plus member overly compensate for that.
Just off the top of my head, I have bought a Playstation 4 console, three Xbox One consoles and a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 all from Bestbuy. Not only that but my family has bought a $800 Samsung washing machine, an LG television and a Dyson vaccuum from this company. I had been planning to buy the new 12" Macbook from here whenever it stopped being backordered. Anytime I am planning to buy any electronics or a video games, I would always look to Bestbuy first.   
However, today that all changed as I haven't felt so embarassed by BestBuy employees as I did this afternoon. Around 4PM Pst I went in to store #187 trade a 12GB Super Slim PS3 (CECH-4201A) because Bestbuy is currently running this promotion :
  "Trade In and Trade Up
Minimum $175 in Best Buy gift cards when you trade in a working Xbox 360 250GB or Sony PS3 Slim console at a participating Best Buy store.
Valid 5/24/15 to 6/6/15. In store only. Trade in any working Xbox 360 or PS3 console and receive a $75 coupon toward a PS4 console. Trade in a working Xbox 360 250GB or Sony Playstation 3 Slim and receive a minimum $100 gift card. Not available in all locations and some stores may have additional limitations. Console must include AC adapter/power cord, power on, not be damaged o have its warranty seal broken to be considered working. Not compatible with other trade-in offers. You are required to agree to the Terms & Conditions. No dealers. Limit of 1 trade per person. See a Customer Specialist for details."
*For the sake of privacy, I have not used the real names of the following Bestbuy employees.
Now, I have done countless trade-in's before but the first issue occured with customer service employee "Jill". At the time when I went up the counter, she asked for the controller and hdmi cable to be part of the trade in. On the website and fine print, only the AC adapter and console are stated to be required for the trade in. She said that it needed to be turned on to check the hard drive size so it was necessary. I told her that the serial number will reveal the hard drive size. I retreated to the car and gave her the items she requested but in the end, she couldn't find that information on the system and ended up scanning the console as I originally told her. The trade-in process completes and I discover that the promotional value didn't apply to the Playstation 3 console. I was given $40 gift card and a $75 coupon towards the purchase of a Playstation 4 instead of a $100 gift card and $75 coupon as stated in the fine print of the promotion.
She reversed the trade-in and reprocessed it but the value was still at $40. She proceeded to tell me that only Playstation 3 Slims were eligible for the promotion and the Playstation 3 Super Slims like mine were not. I told her to check the value of a 500GB Super Slim which showed as $100 with the promotion being successfully applied. What she said previously was untrue; the 500GB Playstation 3 Super Slim was eligble for the promotion and thus, all other Super Slim Playstation 3's should have also been eligible. She calls the customer service supervisor over which leads me to the second issue.
"Bart", the customer service supervisor comes over and tells me what I already knew; the 500GB Super Slim was eligble but my 12GB wasn't because the system didn't automatically add the promotional value. Then, he says that it's because he couldn't even find the item when he searches it in the database. He then printed out the Limitation and Restrictions page and showed me these lines : "Not all products are eligible for trade-in" and "Promotions and special offers may not be available in all locations"
I quickly told him that both of these statements were false because "Jill" had just processed it for trade-in earlier at the value of $40 so it was definitely eligble for trade-in. Also, the promotion was clearly available at this location because it had applied to every other Playstation 3 Slim/Super Slim model. He then printed out and showed me the terms of the Trade In and Trade Up promotion which was pointless because it didn't specify that the Playstation 3 Slim had to have a minmum hard drive size. I was frustrated at how uninformed the customer service representative was. He constantly attempted to give me these empty excuses as to why my Playstation 3 wasn't working with the promotion when it rightfully should have. Unsatisfied, I called the overall Store Manager.
"Roy", the store manager came to the customer service department and I told him of the situation. I recommended a solution of issuing a $60 gift card in a seperate transaction so that the total trade-in value for my Playstation 3 would be $100. I was originally hopeful that he would help me resolve the issue but I quickly saw that I was wrong in thinking that. He first tells me that the most likely reason my 12GB Super Slim wasn't being accepted for the promotion by the system was because "Bestbuy sells it for $180 and we're giving you $175 for it so essentially you're losing $5 after playing it for a year". I responded and told him that this wasn't true, I merely wanted the $100 gift card for the console and was not interested in the $75 coupon towards a the purchase of a Playstation 4. Also, the coupon shouldn't be valued at $75 when I have to buy a $400 item to access that amount. 
At first he rejects the idea of issuing a $60 gift card to compensate for the promotion not working. As I further defend my reasoning as to why any Playstation 3 Slim should be eligible for the promotion, he changes his mind and offers me his solution. If I traded in my console, he would give me the $60 promotional value. However, there was a catch; instead of issuing me a $60 gift card, he would take $60 off of items I bought in the store at that moment because he could "play around with the pricing". I asked him to specify exactly what exactly I needed to buy to receive $60 off my items, if there was a minmum requirement I needed to spend. He tells me I that needed to buy "maybe a controller and a game in addition to the Playstation 4" or else there was no way he could do it. 
I was apalled and embarassed by his response. I asked him for the number of the store, 187, rejected the trade-in, promptly gathered my belongings and left. 
I had never been so frustrated, angered and dissapointed by Bestbuy employees before. He wanted me to buy $520 worth of items just to receive the $60 value which should have been rightfully mine in the first place. He acted like he was doing me a favor when I was just trying to honestly take part in the promotion. Bestbuy makes up the rules and conditions, not me and if the 12GB Playstation 3 Super Slim wasn't eligble, it should have been stated in the fine print. The 500GB Super Slim was eligible and the only difference between my 12GB model and the 500GB model is the hard drive capacity; they're both still Super Slim Playstation 3 consoles.
I drove all the way to Bestbuy for the promotion and wasted an hour and a half of arguing and trying defending myself when I didn't do anything wrong. Each employee failed to explain why my console wasn't accepted for the promotion. The entire process, I was calm as I tried to explain why I believed that this was a system error and offered a reasonable solution to the problem. In return, I was left questioning why they made me feel like such a criminal and felt angry that the manager would even think to offer me such a shady ultimatum.
It saddens me to consider other options like Amazon, Gamestop and Target for my shopping instead of Bestbuy but unfortunately, the thought of something like this happening again scares me to the point that I do not feel safe spending my hard earned money here. 
This experience has left an extermely bad taste in my mouth in which I cannot just justify this store's actions. I understand that a few employees do not represent an entire company but I don't feel I should just let this go. I am typically very understanding of policies but this time, they disregarded all of my explanations and ultimately made me feel dishonest when I hadn't done anything wrong. The actual trade-in value wasn't actually that important; it was only $60 but the principle was everything that mattered to me and why I spent an hour and a half trying to explain my case. I sincerely wish that no other customers have to be treated the way I did at this Bestbuy.
If you would like to contact me privately about this incident and the specific employees, I will be happy to communicate. I truly hope that I can resolve this issue here which is why I posted this long essay. To be honest, I still love the Bestbuy company, but until something is made right, I cannot bring myself to ever going back to store 187 or any other store in fear of feeling as mortified and embarassed as I did today.

Answer 1

Hello rob123092,
The Trade-in and Trade-up to the Xbox One offer was fantastic for our customers looking to upgrade their current consoles! It is deeply discouraging to read through your post and hear that you’ve been left unsatisfied with your trade-in experience as an Elite Plus member.
To my knowledge, this offer was for a $75 coupon towards an Xbox One and a possible $100 Best Buy gift card. Although this offer appears to have expired 5/2/15, I was able to locate some information surrounding this offer. While it seems the $75 coupon was guaranteed with a qualifying trade-in, not all Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 consoles qualified for the $100 Best Buy gift card. With that said, some customers may have received the $75 coupon and their regular trade-in value for their console.
As the terms state that a $100 gift card would be provided for a PlayStation 3 Slim console, your Super Slim console may have had a different trade-in value and not qualified for the $100 gift card. As you state that the store attempted to scan a 500GB Super Slim PlayStation 3 console, it is plausible that the regular trade-in value of this console may have coincidentally matched the offer value. Given this information, I believe the $40 trade-in value provided for your 12GB model would have been correct.
I am deeply sorry if this experience has left you feeling frustrated and disappointed, especially as we certainly seem to be your go-to shopping destination for technology. I am glad that you took the time to share your concerns and speak with multiple associates and managers at the store regarding this trade-in, and I apologize if you didn’t find the resolution offered by the manager to be satisfactory.
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your trade-in experience with us in such detail. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding an experience, our goal is not to leave a customer feeling as you have. I’ve made sure to note your experience in just as much detail so that it may be available for us to improve our methods in the future. I truly hope that in the future you feel comfortable and confident in shopping with us again, as I know we are capable of providing a much more satisfying experience.
If you should have any questions or other concerns, please feel welcome to let us know!  
Respectfully, 
Tasha|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
 Private Message