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No guns in best buy

N605TW

Activist Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2010
Messages
118
Location
Columbus, Ohio
I was at the Best Buy off Morse Rd in Columbus around 4:40pm today. I did my normal check for a gun buster sign but couldn't find one. I said hello to the security guy by the door as I made my way back to the GPS display. I got done reading the description of the first unit on the shelf when I was approached by by an employee named Alfred Smith.
Mr. Smith asked if I had a permit for my gun, I explained to him that in Ohio that no permit or licence is needed to carry but if it put him at ease I hold a concealed handgun licence. Mr Smith told me guns are not allowed in the store and the store will up signs in the future. Then Mr. Smith asked if he could see my CHL. I gave him my "not a chance" look, told him I would leave and walked out of the store with three other employees trying to be sneaky trailing me out.
The entire encounter lasted only a few seconds. Other than telling me to hit the road Mr. Smith was polite, didn't go on a rant or get emotional. I'm not sure what Best Buy's policy is but I will be shooting off (pun intended) an e-mail to corporate to find out.
 

VW_Factor

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Messages
1,092
Location
Leesburg, GA
I've OC'ed into BB's around here in Oregon without issue. I think someones personal feelings got the better of them.
 

bhclark

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
18
Location
Hamilton, OH
I worked for them for years.

While the corporate office tends to lean anti-gun, the actual company policy is up to the store management.

They do make gun buster signs available for the stores.

Nice job voting with your wallet. They are in decline. CEO resigned yesterday.
 

N605TW

Activist Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2010
Messages
118
Location
Columbus, Ohio
I just got home from work and sent an e-mail to corporate. I will keep everyone in the loop.

Uber_Olafsun, I’m not sure if he was a manager or not. He was wearing a black polo and not a blue one like the rest of the employees so I assumed he was. I wasn't going to push the issue, an employee asked me to leave so I did. It so happens that Wal-Mart was next door and they welcome me with my gun and money.

dgeottman, This happened at store number 295; 3840 Morse Rd Columbus, Ohio.

Thanks for the replies and support
 

N605TW

Activist Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2010
Messages
118
Location
Columbus, Ohio
I just got a reply from corporate. Looks like its up to the manager at the time.


Thanks for contacting Best Buy in regards to your recent experience at store 295. I understand that you were refused service because you were carrying a firearm. While I do appreciate you taking the time out to look for signage to see whether or not this was in compliance with our policy. Our policy is that the store has the right to refuse service to a customer if they feel that it might put the other customers in danger. And while I don't believe that was your intent, I hope you understand our position in wanting to make sure that everyone who comes to our store is in a safe environment. There are others who may carry their arms more discretely, but in your case, it was visible and Alfred made a sound judgement call in this case.

If you have any further questions/concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Rashida
Best Buy Customer Care Team

*edited for spelling
 
Last edited:

BB62

Accomplished Advocate
Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Messages
4,069
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
There was once (and still may be) a thread here on OCDO containing confirmed corporate policies. You may want to research the matter and see if what you were told conforms to previously communicated policies.
 

color of law

Accomplished Advocate
Joined
Oct 7, 2007
Messages
5,936
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Check out the Kentucky forum.

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...-list-of-OC-friendly-or-unfriendly-businesses

BEST BUY's POLICY

from Customer Contact <CustomerContact@bestbuy.com>
to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
date Sat, Apr 11, 2009 at 7:31 PM
subject Best Buy Gun policy - XXXXXXXX
mailed-by bestbuy.com

Best Buy strives to comply with all applicable law and statues. Best Buy also strives to provide a safe and comfortable shopping environment for all our customers. Best Buy does not ban guns at our retail locations. As a general rule, Best Buy does not post “no guns allowed” signs in our stores and we are not aware of any individual stores that might have posted such a sign.
 

Gun Daddy PV

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
10
Location
Prescott Valley, AZ
Best Buy Gun Policy

I was at the Best Buy off Morse Rd in Columbus around 4:40pm today. I did my normal check for a gun buster sign but couldn't find one. I said hello to the security guy by the door as I made my way back to the GPS display. I got done reading the description of the first unit on the shelf when I was approached by by an employee named Alfred Smith.
Mr. Smith asked if I had a permit for my gun, I explained to him that in Ohio that no permit or licence is needed to carry but if it put him at ease I hold a concealed handgun licence. Mr Smith told me guns are not allowed in the store and the store will up signs in the future. Then Mr. Smith asked if he could see my CHL. I gave him my "not a chance" look, told him I would leave and walked out of the store with three other employees trying to be sneaky trailing me out.
The entire encounter lasted only a few seconds. Other than telling me to hit the road Mr. Smith was polite, didn't go on a rant or get emotional. I'm not sure what Best Buy's policy is but I will be shooting off (pun intended) an e-mail to corporate to find out.

I work for Best Buy. The company has no such policy. If the store manager is trying to create one on their own, report them to corporate. Chances are you'll get some gift cards and a written apology. We just had a guy come in two days ago with a big-ol Colt Python on his hip. Nobody gave him a second look, except me, to show him where the blank DVDs are located. We had a nice conversation and he found what he was looking for.
 

eye95

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
I just got a reply from corporate. Looks like its up to the manager at the time...

I was unaware of Best Buy's corporate policy. It is entirely unacceptable. I don't want to go into any BB wondering if I am going to be kicked out by the flavor-of-the-day "manager." So, unless BB changes its policy corporate-wide to respect my right to carry, I won't go into any BB. Why should I give money to any BB when it benefits the corporation who will infringe on the rights of others in other stores (or me if I go into one of them)? No. I won't do it.

Screw 'em.
 

JustaShooter

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2013
Messages
728
Location
NE Ohio
I wouldn't shop a Best Buy regardless of their firearms policy. They have regularly used underhanded sales tactics to get customers to pay higher prices than they should, including advertising that they will honor any advertised price, then putting a sale price up on their website and when shown a printout of their web price, pulling up a page on their computer in the store that looks just like their website but is in reality an internal page that shows a higher, non-sale price and refusing to honor the printed page brought in by the customer and saying "the deal must have expired".

Besides that, you can generally find better prices elsewhere, especially online through Amazon or others. However, even if they had the "Best Buy" on something, they will never see my money.
 

stealthyeliminator

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
3,100
Location
Texas
I wouldn't shop a Best Buy regardless of their firearms policy. They have regularly used underhanded sales tactics to get customers to pay higher prices than they should, including advertising that they will honor any advertised price, then putting a sale price up on their website and when shown a printout of their web price, pulling up a page on their computer in the store that looks just like their website but is in reality an internal page that shows a higher, non-sale price and refusing to honor the printed page brought in by the customer and saying "the deal must have expired".

Besides that, you can generally find better prices elsewhere, especially online through Amazon or others. However, even if they had the "Best Buy" on something, they will never see my money.

How can they do that when everyone and their grandmother has a smartphone?

Oh, the deal expired? Well, let me just refresh your online website here on my smart phone.. oh, look at that, looks like you're a ******* liar. Bring the manager to me, please.

But, I agree. I don't like Best Buy anyway. All of the Geek Squad scandals pretty much cemented my despise for them.
 

JustaShooter

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2013
Messages
728
Location
NE Ohio
How can they do that when everyone and their grandmother has a smartphone?

Oh, the deal expired? Well, let me just refresh your online website here on my smart phone.. oh, look at that, looks like you're a ******* liar. Bring the manager to me, please.

But, I agree. I don't like Best Buy anyway. All of the Geek Squad scandals pretty much cemented my despise for them.

This practice dated from before smartphones were as common. And even then, if you connected to their free internal wifi you were proxied to their internal server for bestbuy.com and got the non-sale price so they were able to keep it up for a long time. And yes, they were eventually busted and had to stop that practice. That was simply one example of how they are, and what soured me on them some time ago.
 

Maverick9

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
1,404
Location
Mid-atlantic
I asked for a price match at BB recently and got a $460 tablet for $350. They didn't seem that happy that I found one sold by Amazon, for Amazon and knew to ask for a price match.

Sorry to hear you got the shaft in the store - but if a manager came up and asked you if you had a permit, he was NOT telling you to leave under threat of trespass, he was 'engaging' you. Why not just say 'Are you a policeman?' and walk off? Let him tell you to leave and don't answer stupid questions.
 
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