Petition updateBest Buy Employees & Customers to Restrict Maskless CustomersAdditional Information Regarding My Personal Concerns and Outreach to Best Buy
Joseph RobertoMinneapolis, MN, United States
Jan 20, 2021

The concerns I voiced to the Best Buy ethics team are as follows:

"Employees take their masks off in customer facing areas to get a drink or a snack, I’ve seen store associates and managers do this multiple times.
We don’t have the staffing necessary to safely assist customers.
Carts and registers are not being wiped down after every use.
I know of multiple employees who have traveled out of state and/or country on airplanes with no quarantine prior to returning back to work.
Complaints and concerns have not been acknowledged or addressed by leadership team.
In the break room, employees have their masks off in the break room when they are not eating or drinking, and cleans up after themselves.
Employees aren’t social distancing from each other or from customers, managers are not enforcing it either.
Zero guidance or announcement on when adjustments to procedures are coming or have happened.
We are not following Minnesota state orders for requiring masks to be worn in stores by everyone, especially customers. No one in our stores should be forced to work with a mask less customer, including managers. We did not accept this risk in our job. It is unacceptable to tolerate that exposure. This should be a zero tolerance policy that is applied equally to every person that enters our store. We are compliant with the ADA by making reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities by providing our curbside pickup option.
Oftentimes employees go out for a smoke break and don’t social distance while they are outside but still on the clock and on Best Buy property.
We went to $15 starting wage, which anyone making under $15 was bumped to $15 and that was considered their raise for the year. This in inequitable to employees who have been her for years and they are now making the same as brand new employees. This shows a complete lack of recognition for employees hard work, dedication, and commitment to their job with Best Buy.
I get the feeling that my store, as well as Best Buy as a whole, cares more about the appearance, facade that we’re taking proper precautions and safety measures. Rather than actually implementing proper safety guidelines and procedures for employees and customers. Which makes employees feel less connected and excited to be a Best Buy team member. We feel replaceable and that our company is putting its profits over the safety of employees and customers.
Pickup in 1 hour being advertised, and promised, on our website is inaccurate due to understaffing, increase in orders, and inventory issues. Promising this disappoints customers and leaves employees with no responses for these customers because the back end processes can take longer than an hour. The increase in orders and still being understaffed cause further delays. My recommendation is either increased store staffing for order fulfillment or discontinue the promise of 1 hour pickup.
We’re lucky if we receive the following weeks schedule Friday morning but a majority of the time we get our schedule sometime on Saturday."
And this has been the response I have received by the ethics team:
"Joseph,
Best Buy has received the concerns you brought forward regarding the Roseville location. The store locations are audited for Covid-19 compliance and I will review the audit reports to ensure there is proper social distancing, mask usage and proper sanitation. You are accurate that the stores are not given direction to turn away a client; rather, we will offer a mask/shield and offer to provide curbside pick up. If those solutions do not meet the client’s satisfaction, we get a leader involved to assist. I will also review the published schedule to ensure it’s being published timely. While we know delays can happen, we want to consistently be on time as we understand our employees need to plan outside of work as well. Finally, Best Buy has reviewed pay guidelines recently and has responded accordingly. Should you have additional pay questions, your leadership team is the best to review those with you. They can explain how Best Buy pays for performance and when you are eligible for a performance review.
Should you have additional concerns to add, please do let me know. Thank you,
Jill
Employee Relations Case Management"

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