Best Buy: More hated than Walmart? 24/7 Wall St. thinks so.

​Best Buy has been receiving a lot of negative publicity lately, and that trend continued when 24/7 Wall St. published its list of the 10 most hated companies in America.

Using an algorithm including factors like consumer satisfaction, customer care, pricing of products and services, brand impressions, present earnings, and profit forecasts, the investment analysis publication pegged Best Buy as the sixth most hated company.

Perhaps the list should be taken with a grain of salt, however. Somehow, Walmart didn't crack the top 10.

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Best Buy has been beseiged by bad news this holiday season.

​Could one of the Twin Cities' largest companies be on the road toward ending up in the tar pit of retailers along with Circuit City and Ultimate Electronics?

Possibly. A Forbes piece published yesterday makes a strong case that Richfield-based Best Buy is headed for extinction.

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BarryJudge.com.

In a letter, Judge says no other info was stolen in the hack.

​This is one computer problem the Geek Squad can't solve.

For the second time in a month, the private information of Best Buy customers has been compromised.

This time, a hacker broke into files of a former Best Buy business partner. Best Buy didn't respond to an interview request, but it sounds like the digital thief only made off with customer e-mail addresses.

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Father Luke Strand learns Best Buy takes copyright issues very seriously.

​It must have seemed like a good idea at the time to Father Luke Strand back in seminary: Gussie up a Volkswagen Beetle to mimic those Best Buy "Geek Squad" cars used by the company's house-call nerds. Have the logo on the door read "God Quad." Paint the car black with a priest's collar on the hood. Use it to spread the gospel.

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Photo by silwenae

​ At first glance, the headline over at Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal totally horrified us. Best Buy's Geek Squad is planning to prey on the families of sick children? Yikes.

Thank goodness our cynical minds were all wrong. The Geek Squad shop at the Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota in Minneapolis will offer free tech support to children and families at the hospital. Warms your heart doesn't it?

The site opened Monday and is Best Buy's first retail location in a hospital. There will be three Geek Squad staffers on site to help with non-medical technology, such as entertainment systems, laptops, and cell phones. They will be open until 7 p.m. every day. The patient support coincides with Best Buy's tech-consulting for Children's as they renovate patient rooms.

Let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope these Geek Squad folks resist the urge to steal porn and other electronic goodies from the patients and parents. It's one of those epic stories we will never forget.

​ Apparently there is a dress code if you want to fly first class on United Airlines. Even if you are a Best Buy executive.

Armando Alvarez, a corporate vice president for Richfield's electronics retail giant, said he upgraded to first class using his miles Oct. 26. He was on a flight from Dulles to Connecticut.

When he arrived at the gate and walked up to the counter, the agent told him he couldn't fly first class because he was dressed too casually. He was wearing a tracksuit. And let's be clear here: It was a Puma track suit. He says he packs his suits so they don't get wrinkled during the flight.

Alvarez says he isn't looking for compensation, but wants to call out United for his embarrassment.

"If this happened to me and I'm a United Airlines Red Carpet Club member then I believe it's happening to other people and this must stop," Alvarez said on Fox.

Watch the video interview below.More >>

​ Netflix, Apple iTunes, and Amazon.com are all well-established companies in the "video on demand" world of the internet. Now you can count Best Buy in the running for video download domination.

Best Buy officials announced today that they are partnering with CinemaNow to create their own movie/TV show download service that can be accessed through some of their electronic devices that connect to the internet. The service has yet to be named, but is part of a a multi-year agreement with CinemaNow.

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Ah yes, just what America needs. A device that allows overprotective parents to follow their child's every move via GPS. We can't wait to see how these kids turn out as adults. We're assuming they will be a little "off".

Best Buy is now selling a GPS device for parents to keep track of their children. The product is being sold under Best Buy's house brand, Insignia, and will cost you $99. It's called "Little Buddy Child Tracker." It's like a probation ankle bracelet, but so much cooler!

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It's time to go over to Grandma's and dig around in the basement. You know she's got her first TV down there somewhere. Pile up your car with ancient technology, spread it around your living room and really shock Best Buy with your ability to live like a dinosaur. No Nintendo? No color TV? No cell phone? There must be something wrong with you!

Best Buy has a contest this month for the people with the scariest technology around. If that's not you, it's not hard to pretend if you're desperate enough for some new junk for your place. We have to admit their contest promo is almost scarier than digging around in a hoarder's basement. Watch if you dare. More >>

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If you're desperate for some extra cash this holiday season, Best Buy might be just what you're looking for. The electronics retail giant plans to hire more holiday season staff this year than it did last year, said its CEO today. We wouldn't dare be caught in those obnoxiously bright blue uniforms bugging people every five minutes to be sure they aren't lost in the sea of electronics or trying to steal, but the possibility of discounts is tempting.

Thanks to the fall of Circuit City, Best Buy is doing pretty well and gained market share since last year and they are planning on big sales this holiday season. We'd be a little less optimistic, but to each their own. We just won't be buying anyone a flat-screen TV this Christmas.

So what will be their biggest sellers this holiday season? Best Buy predicts flat-screen televisions, Blu-ray players, digital eReaders, smartphones and netbooks to be flying off the shelves.