- My name is Nathan Fielder,
and I graduated from one of Canada's top business schools
with really good grades.
Now I'm using my knowledge to help struggling
small business owners make it in this competitive world.
♪
This is "Nathan for You."
Alen Harikian is the owner of Speers TV,
a South-Pasadena electronics store
that's been operating in the neighborhood
for over 60 years.
But ever since a massive Best Buy moved in
just minutes away from his tiny shop,
he's been finding it impossible
to keep up with their aggressive pricing.
- Their sales are ridiculous.
I mean, there's no way that I can compete.
- And if it keeps up,
Speers TV is at risk of going extinct.
So I paid Alen a visit with an ambitious solution
to undercut his biggest competitor.
Are you familiar with the Best Buy price-match policy?
- Yeah. It's horrible.
I mean, it's bad for small business.
- One of the main reasons
Alen has such a hard time competing with Best Buy
is because of their aggressive price-match policy,
which guarantees they will match the price
of any local competitor,
preventing stores like Speers from underselling them,
but if Alen dropped his prices so low
to make his TVs virtually free,
according to Best Buy's own policy,
they would have to match that price, too,
giving Alen a short window of time
where he could buy up all their inventory for $1
and then resell those TVs for any price he wants
to make a huge profit.
The plan: use Best Buy's price-match policy against them
to get Speers an endless supply of $1 TVs.
- Um...
It's a great idea.
- It might take a little bit of work and time to do.
- Okay.
- Do you have a lot going on right now?
- No, I honestly don't. No.
- So you don't have commitments at home
or anything right now?
Relationship stuff?
- I'm not in a relationship, no.
- I'm not in a relationship either, so...
- Oh.
- We can both work on this, you know, full-time.
- Okay. All right. That's fine.
- After a bit more discussion,
Alen was on board to move forward with dropping the price
on one of his premium Samsung HD TV models
to just $1 apiece,
but once the new discounted price went into effect,
people would be flocking to Speers to get the deal.
So to help dissuade these bargain hunters
from buying up all of Alen's dollar TVs,
I implemented a strict dress code, requiring customers
to wear formal attire just to enter the store.
I then had all the dollar TVs moved to an area
at the back of the store
and had a new wall constructed to surround this area
that could only be entered
through a tiny, two-foot-tall door.
Finally, in between the door and the TVs,
I added a live alligator,
which would hopefully force customers who made it this far
to reconsider their decision
to take advantage of the great offer.
With our preventative measures in place,
I could now prepare to get Alen his TVs.
According to Best Buy's policy,
price-matches are restricted to one item per customer,
so to maximize the number of TVs I could get Alen,
I put an ad on Craigslist to recruit a team of people
to help make the purchases,
and later that week, I met with those who responded
to see if they were right for the task.
So this job involves buying things.
- Okay.
- Are you good at buying things?
- Um, I would say so.
Like, what do you mean by buying things?
- Like, going into a store and buying something.
- Yeah.
- All right. Great.
[both laugh]
All six applicants seemed qualified for the job,
so after printing out some flyers
and distributing them throughout the neighborhood,
it was finally time for Alen
to offer his $1 prices to the world.
On the morning of the big promotion,
the deal vultures were already circling out front,
and that meant we had to move quick,
so I met my team of buyers out back
and gave them each the dollar they'd need to buy the TVs
and then sent them off in a van to Best Buy.
Meanwhile, I hung back at Speers to help Alen ensure
his inventory remained untouched.
Hey. - Hi.
- You look good. - Thank you.
You too. - Thanks.
And once Alen unlocked the front door,
we were officially open for business.
- Wow, this is nice. - Can I help you, or...
- We're here to...
for the TV deals.
- Just so you guys know, we do have a strict dress code,
as you can see on the wall, so...
- Wow. - There's no advertising
about the dress code. - Yeah.
- That's...
- I mean, it's right in the front of our store
for everyone to see. - Yeah, but that doesn't...
- It's inside. - This is the front.
- It's inside. We were waiting out there.
We were waiting in the front of the store.
- I knew some people might be a bit frustrated,
so I offered up a list
of tuxedo rental stores in the area
to show them that Speers did value their business.
Honestly, you seem like very nice people,
and I'd love to let you in,
but I think doing so would be unfair to the customers
that, you know, chose to dress... decent.
- What the...
- My plan on the Speers TV side was working,
as 30 minutes after opening,
exactly 0 of his $1 televisions had been purchased.
Meanwhile, everything was on track with my buyers
as they were just now arriving at Best Buy,
but then, to my surprise, a customer actually returned
with attire that met our strict dress code.
Did you rent that? - Yes.
- I wasn't completely shocked that someone
would be determined enough to make it inside,
but I was hopeful that the remaining steps
would prove more discouraging.
So this is the section with those TVs.
- Okay. - Um...
- It's the premium-TV section. - Yeah.
- That's the doorway? - Yeah.
These are the more expensive ones...
- Okay.
- So we keep them in a separate room.
That's gonna be in there. Okay.
- Yeah.
- [sighs]
[breathing heavily]
[laughs]
[bleep].
Oh. Okay.
That's not good. Um...
Yeah.
- The customer may have been determined,
but once he came face-to-face with our alligator,
it was all over.
I'm sorry. I mean, I feel bad,
'cause that's a dollar we're losing as well, you know?
My plan was a success.
The guy chose not to buy the dollar TV,
and every customer after that met our dress code
got no further than Herbert as well.
- Herbert? What is Herbert?
[screams]
- I'm sorry. Did you not want a TV? Or...
- No, I don't want to be in the same room as an alligator.
- Everything seemed to be going according to plan,
but then I got word that, back at Best Buy,
things weren't looking so hot.
After presenting the flyer to sales associates,
my buyers were told
that the company would not honor their price-match.
- This is a store, and this is their price.
- I couldn't understand why this was happening,
so I left the shop and headed over to Best Buy
to see if I would have any better luck myself.
I actually have a price-match for this to get it for a dollar.
- Why not?
- They are. They're within 25 miles.
- Even with my confidence and negotiation skills,
I was denied a price-match too.
I'm gonna count to three,
and if you don't do it by the time I get to three,
I'm gonna leave, okay?
One, two, three.
- I couldn't believe it.
How could Best Buy, one of my favorite companies,
turn their backs on the very policy
that drew me in as a customer?
It was a classic bait-and-switch,
but the one thing I knew is that when big corporations
try to mess with regular people like us,
we don't have to take it lying down.
So, the next day, I returned to Alen's store
with a slight adjustment to our plan.
I'm just so sick and tired of these big companies
like Best Buy and Enron
thinking that, you know, the rules don't apply to them.
- Yeah. Yeah.
- They can just push around the little guy.
You know what I mean? - Yeah, absolutely.
You're right. - As far as I'm concerned,
you're entitled to those TVs.
- Yeah.
- So that's why I've decided
to file a class-action lawsuit against Best Buy on your behalf.
- In a way, it's kind of nerve-racking,
you know, like, going up against a big company.
- And how is that gonna work?
What is the process?
- You know, I don't know what it will entail at this point,
but we'll figure it out together.
You know what I mean? - Mm-hmm.
- We both aren't in relationships.
We don't have a love life. - Yeah, but...
That's true.
- So you have time to do this?
- Well, I mean, I... this is my only li...
basically, only way of making money.
So I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.
- After telling Alen I was gonna sue Best Buy,
he was immediately concerned.
- They got bigger lawyers,
better lawyers, probably, more money.
- Alen was worried that Best Buy would retaliate
and have their lawyers come after him.
So you're a bit worried?
- Yeah. Not a bit. A lot.
- I was torn.
I couldn't live with myself
if Alen ended up broke and homeless
because of my actions,
but according to my research, suing was the only way
I could get him the TVs he was rightfully owed,
but that's when I came across a sure-fire way
to legally protect him from Best Buy:
a diagnosis of insanity.
If Alen were diagnosed as clinically insane,
Best Buy wouldn't be able to come after him for anything,
but to do this would take some maneuvering.
So without telling Alen
I was moving forward with the lawsuit,
I booked him an evaluation
with L.A.-based clinical psychologist
Dr. Judy Rosenberg.
I told Alen it was just a routine checkup
for insurance purposes for the show,
but I came prepared with a plan
that would hopefully get me the diagnosis I needed.
So I'm very concerned about my friend Alen.
- Mm-hmm. - I believe he maybe
has some sort of psychological issue happening.
- Okay. What are you noticing?
- He believes he's the manager of an electronics store...
- Okay.
- And has been working there for the past 15 years.
- Okay, so this is a delusion that he's having.
- I mean, as you'll see, he has quite the imagination.
- Okay. - All right. You... you ready?
- Let's go. - Okay. It'll be easy.
Just be yourself. - All right. Okay.
- It'll be pretty straightforward.
Yeah. - Okay.
- All right, so tell me a little bit about yourself.
- Well, I work at the Speers TV.
- Mm-hmm.
- I've been there for, I would say, 15, 16 years, and...
- Mm-hmm.
And are you still working there?
- Yes, I am. Yeah. - You are.
Do you like? - I love it.
- You love it. Okay.
- Maybe ask about the alligator.
- Okay.
I didn't know. Go ahead.
- Well, we did this thing where,
you know, we put an alligator inside a small door...
or a smaller room, basically, with a small door...
- Mm-hmm.
- And we would have customers coming in
to get a $1 TV, basically.
- Okay.
- So... and the only thing they had to do was go...
have, basically, a dress code.
We had a dress code. - Okay.
- So you have to be dressed nicely.
Maybe a suit, you know.
A tie. Nice shoes.
- Wow. That is so interesting.
- Yeah.
It's interesting idea, and...
- It is an interesting idea. - Yeah, so.
- After Dr. Rosenberg was done with her evaluation,
I excused Alen from the room so I could get her report.
What did you get from him?
What sense...
- He's not rooted in reality.
You and I can sit here and go,
"Wow. What a story."
- Hmm. - "Jeez."
- Yeah.
- I mean, read the writing on the wall.
Alligators, little doors...
- Is this insanity we're witnessing? Or...
- I'm seeing psychosis. Okay?
I'm seeing delusional thinking.
- Is there any way you could put that in writing for me?
- Sure.
- With proof of Alen's insanity in hand,
he was now immune from prosecution...
Thank you so much.
And knowing he was protected,
I was comfortable moving forward with my lawsuit,
but if I was gonna go up against
a massive company like Best Buy,
I would need some legal advice,
so I paid a visit to my old pal,
California judge Anthony Filosa,
for guidance on how to build my case.
- If you decide to sue Best Buy,
based upon what you've told me,
it's gonna be a huge battle.
- Filosa was skeptical about my prospects,
but he said there was one piece of evidence
that could turn the tide to my favor.
- If you had an insider from Best Buy that...
that could testify as to the price-match policy
that they don't adhere to across the board,
that's relevant.
- So I need info from the inside.
- Yes, whistleblower for... type of person.
- It became clear that without an inside source,
I wouldn't have a case,
but getting someone from within these walls
to disclose corporate secrets on camera
would be a whole other challenge.
So to conceal my true intentions,
I put up an ad to recruit Best Buy employees
for a new reality show called "Retail Dating,"
where people who work at retail stores go on blind dates,
and after a couple days,
I got a response from a female Best Buy employee named Elle.
- I'm 24 years old.
I've worked at Best Buy for three months.
- My plan was to pose as another retail employee
who was chosen to be her date,
and because she mentioned she liked alternative music,
I decided to go as the manager of a local Hot Topic
named Nathan,
but what Elle didn't know is that my one and only goal
was to get secret inside dirt
on the Best Buy price-match policy.
Do you want to see a magic trick?
- Oh, sure. - Do you like magic?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- It's just a little... - Yeah.
- It's not... - Why not?
- Okay.
See the coin?
- I see it. - Okay.
- I think I've seen that before.
- Okay.
Now that I had impressed Elle,
it was time to see if I could get her to admit
that there was something more going on with the Best Buy
price-match policy than meets the eye.
One cool thing about Hot Topic is that, you know,
they're pretty lax on the rules, you know?
We can kind of do what we want a little bit.
- Yeah. - For example,
we have this, uh, price-match policy.
Sometimes, like, someone will come in
with a legitimate price-match,
and if I'm not feeling it, I'll just be like, "No."
You know what I mean?
You guys ever do that? Or...
- Oh, I've seen it happen, yes. - At Best Buy?
- Mm-hmm. Yes. - You've seen what?
- Other people not do it because they're not...
- Not do the price-match? - Yeah.
Because they're not "feeling" the person.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
- That's crazy.
- Yeah.
- And there it was: the smoking gun.
On-camera evidence of a culture of corruption,
eroding the insides of one of America's
most-respected institutions.
But even though I had what I needed,
I didn't want to be rude and leave abruptly,
so I decided to stay for the private salsa lesson
I had prearranged for the date.
- [speaking Spanish] How are you guys doing?
You're supposed to move your shoulders,
your hips, and your arms as well.
- I have to admit,
I was a bit nervous about dancing,
but once we got going,
I discovered I was actually really good at it.
- Look at his eyes.
He's waiting for you.
Perfect.
- And once our date was over, we said our good-byes.
- Nice meeting you.
- Okay. Yeah. See you.
- Bye. - Bye.
- Now that I had the evidence I needed
against Best Buy, the potential of an ugly courtroom battle
was becoming a scary reality,
and the only people who could screw it up
were my team of TV buyers,
who would have to take the stand if this went to trial.
So I invited them to a courtroom I rented
to prepare each of them for what they would face
when they went head-to-head with the Best Buy legal team.
Do you swear to tell the truth
and the whole truth and everything?
- I do. - Yes.
- I do.
- Yes. - I do.
- On the morning of March 31, 2015,
you entered a Best Buy,
trying to price-match a TV for a dollar.
Is that correct?
- It is, although I would have to think of the exact date.
- How did you find out about that promotion?
- From...
Uh, a flyer.
It was a flyer that was in the...
- A flyer. - Mm-hmm.
- Did anyone tell you to go to Best Buy that day?
- Well, yes.
I mean, no.
No. I just wanted to go.
- And was the television for you, or was it for someone else?
- It would've been for me.
- It was for you. - Mm-hmm.
- Then how would you explain this footage?
What you'll be doing is going to Best Buy
and using this flyer to price-match
and get a TV for a dollar... - Okay.
- And you'll bring that TV back to me for me to keep it.
It's not yours. You understand, right?
- Mm-hmm.
- How do you explain that?
- Um...
I...
- Right away, my buyer's lack of confidence
began to concern me,
and as more and more took the stand,
it became clear that they could be thrown off
by even the simplest of questions.
Ms. Barcelona,
have you ever seen a man that looks like this before?
- [laughs]
No.
- And for the first time,
I began to have doubts about our chances
of winning this case.
To make matters worse,
when I showed Judge Filosa the damning evidence
I had obtained on Best Buy...
- A witness has to be in court,
otherwise you can't introduce their testimony,
'cause they have to cross-examine her.
- But I have it on video.
- No, that's not good enough.
- He told me that Elle's statements
would only be admissible
if she agreed to say them in an actual courtroom,
but when I arranged a meet-up
to ask her if she would be willing to testify in person,
she wasn't at all interested.
- That's really weird
that you'd take someone on a date and then ask them,
"Hey, dude, like, why don't we sue Best Buy?"
- Okay.
- For all I know, you're crazy.
- Elle didn't want to help me out,
and our case was crumbling before my very eyes.
- With Elle and her testimony out of the picture,
my case had taken a huge blow,
but for some reason, once she was gone,
I just couldn't get her words out of my head...
- [echoing] For all I know, you're crazy.
- And for the first time,
I started to really think about what I was doing.
Here was a woman who thought
she was sharing a genuine connection with someone,
but it was all just a calculated ruse
to get information, a classic bait-and-switch,
and in that moment, I realized I'd become
no better than the corporation I was trying to defeat,
that in my efforts to take down Best Buy,
I became the worst guy.
I could've kept pursuing this lawsuit
and tried again to get the court testimony I needed
from another Best Buy employee
that submitted to my "Retail Dating" show...
- You know, when you work at Best Buy,
you're, like, in a tech playground
with, like, CDs and DVDs.
- But I didn't want to break the heart of another angel
who was just searching for a real connection...
- Admittedly, it's been awhile since I've been on a date.
- So I decided to drop my case
and give up on getting Alen his TVs.
When you define yourself entirely by your successes,
failure can leave you feeling pretty empty inside,
but when I was reviewing the footage we shot,
I stumbled upon a conversation I had with Alen
on the day of his big promotion.
- She says like, "You know, you should, you know,
find someone and get married, so... have kids."
- Your mom? - Yeah. So.
- And it made me realize that my definition of success
might've been entirely wrong.
Getting close, or...
- No. No. - No.
- Just concentrating on the job, so.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- I didn't see it before,
but the truth was all over his face.
Alen might've said he wanted some TVs at a discounted price,
but it wasn't what he needed.
So, the next day, I returned to Speers
with the one thing he'd been denying himself
for so many years.
So I know I couldn't get you those TVs that I promised...
- It's okay.
- But there is someone I'd like to introduce you to.
- Okay. - Is that okay?
- Yeah, that's fine. Yeah.
- Okay. One sec. - Okay.
- Thanks.
- Hi.
- Alen, this is Cathy.
- Hi. Nice to meet you. - Hi, Cathy. Nice to meet you.
- Cathy used to work at Best Buy...
- Yeah. - Okay.
- And she also happens to be single.
- Mm-hmm. That's right. - Oh.
- So I'll let you two get to know each other.
- All right. Okay. - Awesome. Thank you.
- Hi. So. - Hi.
- Hi. So.
- How are you doing? - Everything's good.
Yeah. So. - Good.
- Yeah. So you worked at Best Buy, huh?
- Yeah, I worked at Best Buy in high school.
- Oh, you did? - Yeah.
- Okay. Which location? Was it around?
- Seeing Alen light up
made me feel great about what I had done.
- The crazy thing is, like, once it starts raining
for a few days, everybody's panicking.
- Oh, yeah. Then they freak out. Yeah.
- They're like, "Oh, my God, we need the sun.
It's California. What the hell?" Like, they can't do it.
- As for me, I was fine being alone
because it would give me more time to focus on my work.
♪
- So 773 is a Chicago area code...
- Okay. All right. - But it's my cell phone.
- It was good to meet you. - Good to meet you too.
Thank you so much. - All right. Bye.
I'll see you soon, hopefully. I'll give you a call for sure.
- Okay. Bye. Yeah. Thank you. - Okay. Bye.
♪
- You have the Hot Topic look. - Oh, yeah.
Well, employee discount, you know...
- How much discount do you get, anyway?
- 40%.
- [whispering] Oh, my God.
Wow. - That's pretty good, right?
- That's amazing.
- What do you get at Best Buy?
- I think it was 40% off.