Best Buy Caught in Social Media Price Storm as Companies Step Up Harvey Relief Efforts

Verizon pledged $10 million Wednesday, partnering with local and state government officials to identify nonprofit agencies working on the ground on immediate and long-term needs, said the carrier. It's also providing communications services, it said.

Postpaid area Verizon Wireless customers will receive an extra 3 GB toward data, talk and text dating from Aug. 26 through Sept. 15, a week later than Verizon previously announced, it said in the Wednesday update. The company will deploy Cells on Wheels and Cells on Light Trucks to supplement service in affected areas of South Texas, part of a nearly $1 billion network investment in Texas last year.

Verizon is working with several federal and local government agencies to help support first responders on the ground with communications services, and Verizon employees in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio are helping first responders and displaced residents with mobile charging, internet access and other communications needs, said the company. It's also providing financial support to affected residents through its Oath subsidiary with dollar-for-dollar matches of employee contributions to select hurricane relief organizations, it said.

AT&T said Tuesday it donated $350,000 to Harvey relief efforts, including $100,000 to the Greater Houston Community Fund, $100,000 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Fund and $50,000 to the Coastal Bend Community Foundation in South Texas. The carrier waived fees for affected customers from Aug. 26 through “at least Sept. 1,” and customers will receive credits for additional voice, data and text charges, it said. AT&T will match employee donations up to $50,000 each through its employee relief fund. It also solicited donations by text at “Harvey” to 90999 for a $10 donation.

Samsung said Wednesday it's donating $1 million to relief efforts in Texas and the surrounding region. The $1 million contribution is a combination of cash funds and in-kind product donations to the American Red Cross’ on-site relief efforts and another $500,000 to local charities and schools, said the company in an announcement.

Samsung's in-kind products include washing machines, dryers, charging stations, tablets, smartphones and laptops, it said. “With more than 10,000 members of the Samsung family based in Texas, the devastation of Hurricane Harvey is personal to us and we are committed to ensuring our team members and their families have what they need to get back on their feet,” said Samsung Electronics North America CEO Tim Baxter.

Q Link Wireless is offering customers unlimited free minutes of talk time Aug. 28-Sept. 30 to assist Harvey emergency and relief efforts, said CEO Issa Asad in a Wednesday announcement. Q Link Wireless provides free phone service to over 200,000 customers living in Texas who qualify for the federal Lifeline assistance program.

Amazon and recently purchased Whole Foods are matching customers’ cash donations made via the Amazon Pay online payment system on both brands’ websites. Amazon will match cash donations up to $1 million to the American Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Relief fund, it said.

Best Buy, meanwhile, issued an apology after photos of mispriced cases of bottled water went viral Friday, prompting social media charges of price-gouging. Photos showed cases of Dasani water (24 for $42.96) and Smart Water (12 for $29.98). Best Buy called the pricing “clearly a mistake on the part of a few employees at a single store on Friday, Aug. 25. We feel terrible about this because, as a company, we are focused on helping, not hurting people affected by this terrible event,” said the retailer.

Best Buy said it was “deeply sorry that we gave anyone even the momentary impression that we were trying to take advantage of the situation.” It added, saying it was not an excuse, that Best Buy doesn’t typically sell cases of water and doesn’t have pricing for it in its computer system. “The mistake was made when employees at this one store priced a case of water by multiplying the cost of one bottle by the number of bottles in a case -- arriving at a number that is far, far higher than a normal price for a case of water."

On its landing page Wednesday, Best Buy urged customers to "help our neighbors in Texas,” with a Donate Now button that linked to the American Red Cross.

Walmart’s home page Wednesday led with a Hurricane Harvey advisory about related store closings and a link to relief efforts. The Arkansas-based retailer announced Friday a $1 million commitment to hurricane relief efforts through the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and Convoy of Hope.

Google said on its launch page Wednesday it matched $1 million in contributions through its website, as promised, to create an overall $2 million hurricane relief donation to the American Red Cross. Although the match ended, Google encouraged users to continue to donate, providing a link to the Red Cross.