Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

I use to feel so much the contrary.
The one near me has always been exceptional.
That all changed yesterday.
I am still so angry and so humiliated over what transpired.
Went to return a TV less than 90 days old that went south. Their brand, Insignia.
What a nightmare.
They think it is OK to tell a customer to wait four weeks for the repairs, meantime, you are without the set, still paying for it and with one less month of warranty. Oh yeah, that too. You lose your warranty during that time as nothing extra is added.
They think it is OK to be rude to customers.

After a couple of discussions with a couple of managers, all civil and professional on my part, they had the audacity to ask me to leave as they no loner wanted to discuss any other options. I called Insignia right after that and they could not believe what happened and are trying to work something out. I have to go to a second, different Best Buy store as I refuse to return to this one until the manager is licking my butt for his actions. Will see what happens in a short while. Problem is no one has the tv in stock. They want to upgrade me to a larger one but have to pay the difference and I bought mine on sale for $100 off and now that is not accounted for in the upgrade so the new one will cost me $300 more plus $200 for a bracket that is stronger. So basically, yeah, a larger tv for $500 more to invoke a warranty and not wait four weeks.

Just wrote a four page letter directly to the Chairman, Richard M. Schulze and managed to get directly to his office with it. Let's see what comes out of that. What a bunch of a..holes.
Never again.
Don't they know what drove Circuit City out of business?
Don't companies learn from their past behavior or that of their competitors?
How can this person I dealt with be a "store manager". Who was so blind to promote such an idiot?

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Wow..... Word of mouth is the best way to make them pay. Stick to your guns bro. Sorry about all the hassle you are going through. Best of luck!

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That's what you get for not buying at the local store and going with the big warehouse style. :D

I read that somewhere here. :ss

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

My girlfriend actually works for Best Buy (she handles the inventory for one of their repair centers). And she says that their house brand, Insignia, is in the repair center more than any other brand by far.

I really don't understand the mindset of managers who treat their customers that way. He could have handled the situation so much better, and won over a customer for life.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Had too many bad experiences @ BB myself. I used to shop for electronics a lot at Circuit City. Now with them gone, I'd suggest going to Ultimate Electronics (also known as Audio King). Always been treated well there. Or Sam's Club. They may not be the most knowledgable, but if you can figure out what you want before heading in there, it will be better than OK. Had a plasma we got there that had some dead pixels withing ~3 mo, and they took it back and exchanged it without any questions.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Never liked Best Buy to begin with. I hope this works out for you, good luck my friend. :tu


Chris......

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Or a few 1000 customers.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Now that circuit city is out they are pretty much the only game in town (aside from regional chains). Not surprising. :mad:

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Oh boo-hoo! :rolleyes: Now you can't watch the TV out near the pool in your beautiful Florida weather while working (and I use that term lightly) from home smoking cigars, playing with your iPhone and whatever else you "play' with out there..... no sympathy from me...uh-uh...none!



What time should I stop by next week? ;)

:r

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

:bs That sucks Carlos.

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:tpd: I hope it all works out!

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

No, that sounds about right for BB. I used to work for BB in the geek squad deptartment a few years ago. If you haven't read some of the stories about the GS check it out. The store I worked at at one point actually had an FBI sting operation go down for piracy, fraud and privacy violations. More than half of it was under direct orders from the store manager, but he fired the entire department except for one guy. That one guy is now the operations manager.

Sorry to hear about your troubles! I hope everything works out for you!

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8296/wtd.gif

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Wow! Someone is gonna get in deep **** over this...guaranteed!

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Sounds like you have handled it about as well as possible, Carlos... hope it all gets resolved in your favor. :tu

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

I asked myself this everyday working for these people when I was in retail. The one saying we had in the warehouse was the higher you went up in the chain the more you lose touch with reality.:D

I hope everything gets sorted out for you Carlos. I hate to see shitty things happens to good people.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

As they should. What has happened to customer service recently? Or respect for that matter?

They should fix things for you carlos no questions asked.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Sorry to hear about your problems with bestbuy. I try and stick with costco and amazon who both seem to always do whats in the customers best interest.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Any updates?

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Update indeed.

Went to a different store.
They called Insignia.
Turns out they won't be able to exchange for same model as discontinued but they will send it for a four week repair.

However, this store manager was a professional.
After speaking to him for a short while, he worked out a deal for me that ended up costing me $220 for a 32" TV, including the bracket and taxes.
I was happy. I don't expect anything for nothing but this compensated me for the sale amount advantage I would have otherwise lost.

Now to write a nice letter to the Chairman to let him know which store is exemplary and ho well they handled the situation. I figure if I took the time to write the bad one, I need to take the time to commend who fixed it.

I still expect an apology from that store manager at the original location.

BTW, Today went by without a call from the General Manager of the Boca store and without a call from the Chairman's office, who confirmed receiving my fax early in the morning.
Interesting.
Let's see when they call.

Now, let's all laugh together.
Ready for this?
Guess where that 32" TV is going?
My patio.:r
Man I am nuts.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

We need a herf to break it in.

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:tpd:

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Another option is launching an Executive Email Carpet Bomb... :D

http://consumerist.com/383426/email-...best-buy-execs

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Many retailers have crimped down on their returns (and certainly appear to be acting the part based on your run-in) due to reduced revenue and profit forecasts. They are accounting for every dime, and will enforce repair times, etc to hold the manufacturers feet to the fire as well.

I stopped shopping at BB for electronics a long time ago - when I first say a 3 foot USB cable on the rack for $29.95. I get all my major purchases at Costco - they have a no questions asked return policy, they extend the manufacturers warranty, and they have a concierge / call center available for any issues. Cant complain there!

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

I'm glad you've got a resolution you can live with, Carlos. I patronize Best Buy only when I get a gift card there. Their prices are rarely "best buys" and their return practices and unreasonable "re-stocking fees" are becoming legend.

Reading of your issues with this matter, I was reminded of an experience with a Lowe's home improvement store. My wife bought a nice stainless JenAir outdoor grill as a gift for me a year or two back. Seeing as it was rather large and she had no way of hiding it until the day, she had my neighbor pick it up for me with his trailer. Upon seeing what they loaded onto his trailer, she was rather upset, however. They had given us a display model up that had a number of scratches and dents in it. Considering the cost of that sucker, I shared her concern. I stopped by the local store she bought it at, the manager at the store that evening was not on top of it and was giving me a run-around and I was not pleased. I sent an email (reasonable, polite but clearly displeased and framed in terms of long-term business and how this didn't match with my past experiences with their organization, etc.) to their corporate office at 9:00 PM, and at precisely 9:00 AM the next morning the general manager of the local store called me and apologized, and insisted on sending out at no extra cost the next years model, which was just coming in and that had a nice IR searing unit and which was $150 more expensive. By noon, they had the new model delivered and the old one off my back porch, along with a complimentary tank of gas.

Like you, I followed up with a letter to corporate letting them know I was pleased with the disposition. That manager or someone above him recognized that a problem with a customer also represented an opportunity. Some managers get it, some don't.

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Just in time... ;)

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I gave up buying anything more expensive than cd's, dvd's and blank media from Best Buy. I had an experience with a 32" HDTV and a DVD player that were both repackaged returns sealed to look like fresh product. The manager was not going to play ball with me until I showed him the warranty card for the tv; it had been filled out by the previous purchaser. After threatening to go to the consumer affairs department of the state Attorney General and to the local newspaper, I got satisfaction. I still gave them a bad review with the Better Business Bureau and filed a complaint with Consumer Affairs due to the resale issue. Technically I guess that I lied to them by filing complaints but they lied to me selling used product.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Interesting experiences from all who have posted.
Amazing what we go through as consumers.

Well, day two post Sunday and still no call from the General Manager or the Chairman's office. Neither has any clue I resolved this matter yesterday at another store. While the TV issue was resolved, the "escorting" out of the store is one I won't let go. I am insisting on an apology from that manager specifically and no one else on his behalf.

In my business, one of my employees generates a complaint call from a customer, I return the call or respond to the letter the day it is received. In some instances, we are not able to respond the same day (meetings, out of office, etc.) but generally, by the next day, someone is calling that customer.
I am perplexed by any business that does not function in that manner. Can't survive forever if you work with such disregard.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Allows enjoy hearing your stories about poor customer service, Carlos....you don't strike me as someone who gets taken very often and I think it is great. Way to explore all options to put some heat on the shitty manager. :tu

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Jim,
When you work with customers daily and have to be professional in all dealings, it kind of drives you sick when you can't get the same in return. Not asking to be treated special, just fairly.

Not too long ago, took on Home Depot/Pergo. Ultimately won that too after 9 months of battling but it shouldn't be that way. If you warranty a product, honor it and due so in a reasonable time, not when you care to.

Turns out just got a call from Best Buy, from their corporate office, regarding my letter. To this moment, not a call from the store's GM.

Told them the matter is put to rest for the most part as the TV has been exchanged by another store whose manager knew how to be professional. Told them I couldn't help but notice all the awards up on the wall on that second store for customer service. I didn't notice one single one at the Boca store. I asked them to then couple that with my letter. Things that make you go hmmmm.

Lastly, for final closure, I told them I am insisting on an apology from the Boca manager. They will pass it on. Let's see what happens.

I hope others can see that you can effectively get some satisfaction but it may take some legwork.
Love that link posted on this thread for the Corporate Email Bomb.
Hope others can find it useful.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

:tpd::tpd::tpd:

I have been blown away by this trend in the past few years. It seems that the concept of customer service is all but dead. From the lowest level cashier to the top dog, I just don't see it anymore. It used to be the norm, and now my wife and I comment on when we are capable of finding good service. Kinda sad actually, with almost 90% of Americans operating in the service industry in some way.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

I have faith still.
I think that as the economy worsens, the Circuit City's of the world go away, new ones will open as things recover and then there will be a demand for your $'s and will offer you the world to get it.
Things seem cyclical.
Same with jobs. Companies are doing terrible things to employees now. Just wait until things turn and there is a demand for a workforce again. Raises will be flying.

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Well, two days post the incident, new TV is up and running.
Glad I ended up with the larger one.
Much easier on the eyes.
Anyone for a herf at my mancave?
Here is the new TV hanging pretty.

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Now I'm definately going to have to stop by...

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Screened in patio with a pool, plants, and nice furniture sounds more like a Manuela cave...:r

I'll be up later in the week, only if you let me use the 30G facilities....:r

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

:r
Manuela indeed but frankly, I have to take credit for the arrangements. She lets me take care of the outdoors stuff, including the trees and plants.
Amazing when happens when you age, and are married.
I was just realizing, I went to college and got a "Bachelor's" degree. Why the heck did I get married a few months later?:r

Bill, see the ashtray? Should tackle that project this weekend now that I don't have to write to Best Buy anymore.

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So you don't have to live in two room shack in the keys? :r

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I hate BB, even more so now that have a monopoly.

Shop online.

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We won't have to wait for you to turn your back to place cigars in your travel humi.....we can just hide them around the house for you to find later. :r

"WTF is a robusto doing in my loafers?" - Carlos

:D

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

I go to best buy often to look for products that I want..




then I order it for cheaper online :D

Re: Best Buy Sucks!!!
 

Bingo! There are great on line retailers with outstanding customer service. We do it with cigars, why not other stuff?