Hear the one about Best Buy? Someone drafted a Best Buy coupon offering $50 off of a purchase of $100 or more using a MasterCard. Exclusions included Sony stereos and a few other overly-specific items.

By late afternoon, the company redrafted the coupon. It shortened the seven day sale to one day, added a load of restrictions, and quite possibly, ruined its relationship with customers who showed up, coupon in hand, ready to purchase items at the promised discount.

And since the original coupon – emailed to thousands of people, posted to Best Buy’s website, and shared on social media – is still in the hands of consumers, the stores are going to have to deal with irate customers being turned away for the next six days. After all, the coupon says “Valid 1/21 to 1/27.” Whoops again.

Whether this is “bait and switch” or obvious price mistake is a matter for debate. What can’t be debated is that someone, somewhere, in the Worst Best Buy corporate office just put another nail in the already reeling company’s coffin.

And this, my friends, is why counsel should review everything ever done by anyone in any department. Seriously. Who is better at drafting overly restrictive language than lawyers? Does anyone think that there is even a remote chance of this happening if one of the many legion of unemployed law graduates was hired to review the language used in the coupons?

Better yet, why not have the in house legal department review coupons that will likely lead to abuse? Who didn’t see this coupon raising a ruckus is this economy? Lawyers would have come up with ideas like single-use serial numbers (like Staples regularly employs), one coupon per credit card restrictions, and the obvious: no gift cards.

Now, in house counsel and the corporate offices are going to have to deal with threats of consumer protection lawsuits, angry letters, and the loss of thousands of customers.

Related Resources:

  • Best Buy Had A Spectacular Coupon Fail That Started A Feeding Frenzy (Yahoo!)
  • Did Best Buy Steal Trade Secrets for its Bieber Buy Back Program? (FindLaw’s In House Blog)
  • Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn Gets $6.6M Severance Package After Scandal (FindLaw’s In House Blog)

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