Best Buy’s Gift Card Pricing Error[sample assignment & submissions from past semester]
The Situation
Who would pass up an opportunity to buy a $200 gift card for only $15? Unfortunately, it was too good to be true.
A temporary glitch on Best Buy’s website allowed thousands of customers to purchase $200 gift cards for only $15 late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning [. . .] The $200 “designer” gift cards were erroneously showing up for only $15. The glitch was first reported on Reddit and quickly spread on social media. (Tribune Media Wire)
Best Buy caught the glitch and corrected the error, but not until after several thousand Best Buy e-shoppers bought $200 gift cards at $15 a piece. Those shoppers checked out successfully, paid, and their credit cards were charged the advertised price of $15 per card.
Ultimately, Best Buy didn’t honor the purchases. They canceled almost all of the orders and refunded customers’ credit cards. Shoppers received notification of the order cancellations and refunds, but Best Buy provided no explanation or apology. The actual cancellation email is at the right.
If you’d like, you can read more about the situation.
- “While You Were Sleeping, Best Buy Sold $200 Gift Cards for $15,” Time
- “$200 Gift Cards for $15: Best Buy’s No Good, Very Bad Glitch,” Motherboard
- “No, Best Buy Didn’t Mean to Sell Gift Cards at a 93% Discount,” Bloomberg
The Assignment
Best Buy’s CEO, Hubert Joly, heard that customers were unhappy with the way the situation was handled. Most customers thought Best Buy should have explained what happened and offered something to make it up to them. (A few customers actually wanted Best Buy to honor their pricing, even though it was obvious the ridiculously low price was some sort of error.)
Joly asks you — a representative of Best Buy’s Customer Service Department — to draft an apology email to be sent on his behalf.
Joly wants to apologize and explain that the pricing error was a programming glitch. In addition, he wants to offer customers an opportunity to purchase any one of Best Buy’s designer gift cards (ranging in value from $10 to $200) at a 10% discount as a consolation. Customers who had their orders canceled can purchase a discounted gift card at a special website: http://bestbuy.com/giftcard-discount.
Write a PAGOS plan for this communication situation.
You do not need to draft/write the email–just a PAGOS plan. You do not need to be formal or write in complete sentences/paragraphs. Feel free to use bullet points if they are appropriate.
The only requirements are 1) be thorough, and 2) organize your plan according to the five PAGOS areas (purpose, audience, genre, organization, and style).
Sample Student PAGOS Plan #1
PURPOSE
I am writing to offer an apology and a discount on a future purchase designed to foster goodwill in the wake of a computer glitch and a subsequent public relations blunder.
My immediate purpose is to reverse/counteract any damage done to my company’s brand by assuring our customer’s that Best Buy values their patronage and deserves their loyalty. Ours is a highly completive business and we do not want to lose market share to Amazon, Tiger Direct, or any of our other competitors.
My overarching purpose is to transform this mistake into an advantage for the company. I want to use a reader-centered approach employing a “you-view” that focuses on the positive reader benefits – the 10% discount on a designer gift card. If I can persuade these customers to take advantage of the special offer, not only will they be spending money at Best Buy, the recipient of the card will also be using our website and/or visiting our store.
Through this email, I can potentially transform this computer glitch into profits for Best Buy by ensuring the return of existing customers as well as widening our customer base. While on the website the customer will also be asked if he/she would like to be added to our online mailing list, thus giving the company another marketing opportunity.
As a result of this communication, I want dissatisfied customers to log onto the specially designated website and buy the gift card, ergo spend money at our site. In doing so, I also want them to leave the transaction with a positive attitude towards the company, ensuring their return in the future.
As designated by Mr. Joly, the email will include:
- An apology explaining that the error was due to a computer programming glitch (this subtly shifts the onus off of Best Buy and onto some nebulous entity)
- The offer for a 10% discount on the designer gift card in denominations of $10 to $200
- The link to the web address where the customer can purchase the discounted card
AUDIENCE
My primary audience is the customers whose gift card purchases were canceled.
Best Buy has a wide consumer base that encompasses the general public. However, the individuals who took advantage of this glitch learned about it through Reddit and other social media websites. They were online late on a Tuesday night, so they probably are not getting up at 6:00 am to go to work on Wednesday morning. The demographic for these sites is somewhat tech savvy, age 18-35, and generally middle to upper middle class.
These customers are actively looking to take advantage of discounts/bargains/mistakes on pricing on tech products via the web. They know that computer mistakes happen and if they can act quickly enough, there is a chance to take advantage of them. Most of them know it is a gamble, but that there can be some degree of “pay-off”.
They need to know that Best Buy recognizes its mistake, recognizes the inconvenience to/disappointment of its customers, and is willing to offer some degree of compensation
They will receive a discounted card and they do not have to spend $200 (which many of them may not be able to afford). Even a purchase of a $10 card will be discounted, so everyone who is eligible can take advantage of the discount regardless of their disposable income.
Some customers will not be satisfied with the discount, feeling that Best Buy should honor the original discount generated by the computer glitch.
Reactions will vary. Some consumers will feel that the compensation is not adequate, while others will see that they are getting something out of the deal. Still others who have been in this situation before and understand that the likelihood of getting an order processed and shipped before a company catches the mistake is very low. Thus, these customers were not surprised at the cancellation and will see the 10% discount as a victory.
Customers will access the email through their phones, computers, etc. wherever these devices are located.
My secondary audiences are my co-workers in the customer relations department. In addition, competitors will likely have access to the message, as well as all publications such as Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNN, etc. These publications may make the message available to the public at large.
Best Buy has a protocol for publishing any correspondence with other companies and with the public. My gatekeeper audience is not only my supervisor, but anyone who is required to “sign-off” on documents that are disseminated to the public. This chain of command probably stretches all the way to the CEO’s assistants and other members of the executive staff.
My watchdog audience is consumer rights groups and, to some extent, the press.
GENRE
I have been instructed to write an email. It will follow the general conventions of the genre as dictated by Best Buy’s approved format for email communications.
The organization of the email will most likely be stipulated by Best Buy’s rules and conventions for this genre. Individuals are required to follow a specified layout dictated by the company.
ORGANIZATION
I will begin by greeting the customer, stating the problem (so that he knows what the email is about), giving the reason for the situation (the computer glitch), and then offering a brief apology.
My intention is to defuse any anger the customer is feeling without accepting the full culpability for the mistake. I would then shift to the offer using a positive, upbeat approach.
I would end the email by emphasizing how important he/she (the customer) is, how we value his/her patronage, and want to assure his/her satisfaction.
Should I start positive or end positive?
STYLE
My writing style will be formal, yet not impersonal. It needs to communicate the information clearly and correctly, but also engender a sense of trust in the company. I need to assure the customer that despite being a large corporation, Best Buy cares about each customer and that our intentions are always honorable.
The visual layout of the email will be prescribed by Best Buy’s conventions.
Sample Student PAGOS Plan #2
PURPOSE
- Writing to apologize to angry customers
- Writing to offer customers 10% discount on gift cards up to 200 dollars
- They want customers to feel as though they are appreciated
- They want customers to continue shopping and making purchases with Best Buy
- Overall goal is to subdue angry customers
- Show them that Best Buy apologizes for the mishap
AUDIENCE
- Primary audience- people who purchased the 200 dollar designer gift card for 15 dollars
- Audience background cannot exactly be determined
- May come from many different demographics
- Audience already knows that their purchases for faulty gift cards have been canceled
- Audience wants to know if they are being compensated in any way for Best Buy’s error
- Audience needs to know that the company is apologetic for their mistake
- Audience’s benefit will be that they are receiving a 10 percent discount on gift cards up to 200 dollars
- Potential drawbacks could be that customers are not satisfied with compensation
- The audience is expecting Best Buy to reach out in some manner to apologize
- Audience may be pleased that they are receiving some sort of compensation
- Audience may feel as though Best Buy has not compensated enough
- Some customers may be pleased and some discouraged
- Audience will read email on computer screen or cell phone
- Email will be sent in morning because customers may be more likely to see it
- Secondary audience may be a spouse, friend, or family of audience
GENRE
- Email and a letter in mail are appropriate for situation
- Letter –takes longer to reach customer, get lost in mail, more costly
- Email- more efficient, reaches customers in an instant, no cost to send, customers are more tech-savvy
- Needs to be professional, not too formal
- No spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors
ORGANIZATION
- Email should begin with apology for confusion and mistake
- Provide explanation for system error
- Inform audience of compensation
- Letter should be written in a positive manner throughout
- Shouldn’t be too lengthy
- After explanation of error get straight to the point
STYLE
- The writing style should seem friendly, yet formal. Formality is necessary due to the professional relationship between the customers and the CEO.
- The words in the email should be apologetic as to make the customers understand that Best Buy realizes its mistake and really would like to try to correct it
- Words should not be capitalized or bolded, and multiple exclamation points should not be used. Many customers are not happy, so the company must be serious to show customers that it does not take its mistake lightly
- An image of the CEO may be appropriate to convey the idea to the customers that Best Buy is run by people, and that they just made human mistakes. This appeal to the angry customer’s human nature could help them understand Best Buy’s decision
- The wording should be concise, especially when explaining its decision to take back the thousands of orders. Beating around the bush makes customers think that Best Buy thinks that they can try to manipulate the situation to make it seems less serious than it is.