We had the Geek Squad from Best Buy come out to our place recently to look into having a small home theater system installed in a new addition we are currently building. After calling them, we found out about Best Buy's political activity in Minnesota. Earlier this week we recieved a price estimate from them and I am today sending them the following email message.
Brad,
Thank you for coming by our construction project and working up specs and cost projections for an in-home theater system. This looks like it would be a great system and the $5,800 price is acceptable. I will definitely be buying a system like this within the next several months with some of the installation occurring before the drywall is installed.
Unfortunately we will NOT be buying this system and installation from Best Buy. Since first contacting you, we have learned that Best Buy is using corporate funds to try to buy elections. In particular, Best Buy has contributed $100,000 to Minnesota Forward and that organization has in turn spent much of that and monies from other corporations to promote Tom Emmer for Governor of Minnesota.
This is unfortunate and potentially disastrous for our country. If corporations can successfully buy elections our democracy will be completely lost. Corporations already enjoy enormous influence and political clout in our country. To give them the ability, with their vast financial resources, to put up money to get policies enacted that favor them would mean that individuals do not matter at all.
What is even worse in this case is that they are going out of their way to support Tom Emmer for Governor of Minnesota. As a legislator Emmer repeatedly tried to get minimum wage levels reduced in Minnesota. He has publicly stated that restaurant waiters are paid too much. So why would Best Buy support Tom Emmer? Obviously, it is because they think that as governor Tom Emmer would help lower Best Buy's labor costs. Even though you are not in Minnesota rest assured that their attitude is the same: they hope to spend a small amount on political elections so that they can pay you and all other Best Buy employees a lot less.
This has nothing to do with you. You arrived when scheduled and were professional and courteous. Everything you did was exactly what we asked of you. If it were not for this matter we would be buying this from Best Buy. I am truly sorry if you are on a commission basis as it is your corporate executives who are responsible for this.
I believe that people should participate in democracy. I have no idea what your political leanings are, and they truly don’t matter. I don't care which party Best Buy executives contribute to as they have the right to do with their personal money as they see fit. But this action has crossed a very important threshold. I will NEVER buy anything from Best Buy until they permanently disavow any further contributions to politicians of any party or affiliation.
I hope that you will forward this to your management so they understand why they are not getting my business. It is their behavior and their misuse of corporate resources that needs to stop. I will not buy from companies that I know are engaging in this type of behavior. I have also discontinued all purchases at Target stores.
Finally, might I suggest that you discontinue working for Best Buy. They are trying to elect politicians that they hope will change the laws so that they can screw you. They don't deserve your hard work and diligence.
Sincerely,
nuketeacher
As indicated, this really did come up after we had arranged for them to come out. But it does inspire an idea. With Best Buy we paid one hundred dollars for them to come out and we would have gotten that money off on an actual purchase of the stuff from them. However, suppose that we all went to stores that are doing this (Target and Best Buy and others) and filled up shopping carts with merchandise. Then we put a paper in each cart explaining that we are NOT buying the stuff in the cart because of their contributions to Minnesota Forward, and then leave the full cart standing in the isles. This would result in more work for store employees (think more wages and maybe even overtime) but more importantly it would increase the store's costs negating the savings obtained through electing labor unfriendly politicians.
We need a catchy name for this practice. A Shopping Strike comes to mind but that seems kinda' lame. Suggestions?