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Best Buy, worst customer service If you try to call a local Best Buy now, you'll get a national call center that refuses to redirect the call to the store because it wouldn't be fair to other customers, according to Matt Haughey:
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I bought a computer from best buy a year ago and the thing has been broken since dec 06, which was six months ago. i bought the perofmrance warranty and they cant fix! they refuse to utilize the lemon policy and are giving me the run around! go to frye's electronics instead. best buy is a rip off I purchased a Gateway notebook from Best Buy in Plattsburgh NY in August of 2006. Within one month the entire system no longer turned on and had to be repaired for a system fan error. I brought it out the first day I could (September 16) It was sent out and did not come back in for nearly three weeks. The SAME DAY I got it back, the machine turned itself off and refused to start again. I brought it back the next day I could (October 2nd) and was told the memory was fried. They replaced it in store. Over the next few months, the computer refused to get online, "lost" all of its sound devices, and began to pop up a blue screen which satted that my new hardware and/or software was causing compications and shutting down my computer. I brought the computer to Best Buy in January about its problem getting online and was told to call Gateway. Gateway fixed both the internet problem and the sound device problems over the phone. In March, I took the computer to Best Buy again and asked about the increasing frequent blue screen. I was told they couldnt do anything for it unless I had the screen showing when I gave them it. I left and within a month the computer was no longer turning on. On April 4th I brought it back to Best Buy AGAIN and had it sent out for repair. They replaced the memory AGAIN and gave it back declaring it fixed. I brought it home and didnt turn it on for a day and a half. When I turned it on, the same blue screen was still on and shutting my computer off. I called them back and was told I had to bring it back in before they could consider doing anything. I might add I live over an hour away from this store and that it costs 15-20$ per trip out there. I waited for the next day I had off from work and brought the computer back in on April 20th. I asked them to do a diagnostic under my $300 Best Buy warranty. They complied, disassembled and inspected the computer. It was returned to me with the promise that whatever the problem was, it was gone. On April 27, I brought it in again for the SAME PROBLEM. I brought a list of the messages on the blue screen and asked that something be done. They did a system diagnostic and I had to leave the computer there overnight. I called the next day and was told that my operating system was not working properly and I'd have to pay $129 to have it reinstalled. I was then told that I'd have to pay for data backup ($99). My boyfriend got on the phone and within 5 minutes they had decided they'd *only* charge us $49.99 for data recovery and "generously" would reinstall my operating system for free. We told them we were not satisfied with this offer and would be at the store. When we arrived a manager came to tell us about the great deal we were getting. When I explained to her the I wanted to back up my data for free, she told me this was not reasonable. I replied that if my computer had been fixed on any of the three trips I had made so far for THIS SAME PROBLEM, I could have backe dup my own data before the computer could no longer get passed bios. I told her I felt that in selling me a computer that has not worked properly since the time of purchase it was her problem that she sold me a broken computer. She replied it was "not her problem" and that it was "Gateways fault" that I had a broken computer, not hers. I told her I did not purchase my computer from GATEWAY, I bought it from BEST BUY. They at this point offered to back up just My Documents for half price at $30. When I replied again that it was unacceptable, the Geek Squad employee behind the counter said "You can't afford thirty dollars?" Not that it's any of his business, but no, I cant. I have spent over two of my measly miniumum wage paychecks driving out to the store to have it fixed. I am suspicious of the fact that they could not tell me what the problem was until the computer had reached a point that it would cost me money to have it fixed. I am planning on filing gender discrimination charges on the basis that they immediately took almost $200 off as soon as they spoke to my boyfriend. I am very displeased at their refusal to accept it as a lemon because it has not needed 4 service repairs requiring parts (its only had three + all the other issues). I feel it is obvious that this original product is defective and am in the process of sending my complaint to the Attorney Generals office. In the end, I told they I would not pay for data backup and to reinstall the operating system for free. I lost all my data information and am not only writing the letters above but also to the local newspaper, Best Buy headquarters and Gateway Computers. I hope they are satisfied with the $1500 they got out of me for this computer and warranty. I am more than happy to say that I have now deterred 4 students heading to college from purchasing a computer there as well as deflecting a friend from buying a stereo system from them. So they cost me 1500+ about 200 in gas, andI deflected nearly $8000 dollars worth of business from them. I will NEVER return to that store other than for the future repairs under warranty that I anticipate for this computer. I bot a FullThrottle and it was FLAT!! .. Best Buy wouldn't return it! SUKZ!! I just bought a Refridg. from Best Buy in Bangor, Maine. I'm in love with it! Had it installed by the Best Buy installers! Now, after 4 days the door won't close!called the 1-888-jerk me around number several times, only to find out that the repair guy was an hour away and they have no one in the central Maine area to fix the problem!I have a Daycare in my home and need the refridg.The repair guy can't make it here until at least Thurs. and Today is Mon. I started this whole adventure on Sat. Best Buy Geek Squad Service --- Purchased a Cannon SD700 Camera and the extended warranty, the strap broke where it attached to the body of the camera and it fell. They made me pay $200 to have that screen repaired 4 weeks later I was told it was ready to pick up. I picked it up and as soon as I got it home tried to used it and it did not work. Called the store immediately and they said they were sorry bring it back and they would fix it. Now they say it has corrosion damage and want another $400 to fix. Spoke to a manager and he said that they should replace it but need approval of the Geek Squad Manager first, next day he called and was the rudest individual and said they are not replacing the camnera and if I want it back I have to pay for it. I contacted the Corporate Customer Service who told me had I not removed the camera from the store they would have fixed it but since it was removed from the store they are not responsible. Bottom Line make them hook it up and prove to you it works or you will be out $800 and have a useless camera!!! Having the worst customer service experience to date. Had the same type of problem with a Del laptop. They sent UPS to pick it up at my home & it was delivered back with 4 days, working great. Before you buy anything at bestbuy...pray it doesnt break..... Best Buy is terrible. They have a million workers walking around, and no one to assist customers. Every time I went into that store I had an issue. I closed my credit card there, because I vowed to never shop there again. Ever. Instead of bitching why don't you get off your lazy ass and do something about it. Start a new business that competes, do something. Stop complaining! I don't care - no one does. Angela (who works at Best Buy and has pounded this board with defensive posts), please dial these numbers right now (or at any time you feel like it): Burbank, CA - 818.845.5121 who'd you get? that's right: no one. absolutely no one. go ahead try again now. or in 15 minutes. maybe even at the end of the day. and please, by all means, let it really ring...and ring....and ring...and ring.....and ring....and ring....and ring.... you'll still get NO ONE. THAT'S what this discussion is about. it's not about the pay of the employees (because we don't care - we have jobs). it's not about bitchy customers (because we don't care - we are the customer). and it's not about how many things you have to do and/or deal with simultaneously during the execution of your job (because we don't care - it's not our job). it's about Customer Service -- on the floor AND on the phone AND on the Internet. period. end of story. and Best Buy's truly does not only stink, it wreeks. walked out of a store today because i stood needing help for 5 or so minutes before someone came by, i indicated i needed help, he said "ok, i'll get someone" (what? how 'bout YOU help me!!), walked back by again to tell me someone was coming to help me (what? no, REALLY, how 'bout YOU help me!!), and i stood another 10 minutes with no help. and SEVERAL employees saw me standing there...waiting. if it makes you feel any better Angela you should know that your company is not the only poor provider of customer service: nearly EVERY retail company in America right now is just as poor. "customer service" these days is just a vanity tag meant to help the company appear as though they care....they only care when we pay, and that endearment often ends with the close of the register drawer. but we all...that is, the buying public knows better. it's about Customer Service, Angela. (i wonder if corporate knows about boards like these? i wonder if they know an employee such as yourself is out here trying to justify the company's poor performance in this area...while villifying them in matters of employee relations? i wonder...) Best Buy's customer service is nothing short of pathetic! In the store, on the phone - anywhere! I bought a computer from BB with the promotion of a free Windows Vista upgrade. I got home with the computer, filled out the forms according to the instructions and sent off for the upgrade. Months later I get a letter saying that Microsoft has received everything but an order number. There wasn't any mention of an order number when I applied for the upgrade, so I returned to the store, thinking they forgot to give it to me. Nope. They don't have them. The store's customer service rep said I have to call the 888-BESTBUY number and they would give me the order number. Well, 2 transfers later and 10+ minutes on hold (while I'm in still in the store) I get told by the phone rep that I have to call the computer manufacturer for that. They give me a toll number, no 800 number. So I call the manufacturer only to be redirected to yet another 800 number for a rebate center. To make what seems to be a never ending story shorter, the rebate center is closed and is not issuing any more order numbers! BB, I'm sure, was able to increase sales based on a fraudulent promotion of a promise of a free upgrade. I filed for the rebate following all of the instructions and within the time frames BB specified, yet they won't stand behind their promotion! The only thing I've ever received from any of BB's customer service reps has been a lame "I'm sorry". Furthermore, looks to me like they push off their customers to some 3rd or even 4th party to give "customer service". You really want to deal with a place that treats their customers that way? This is one customer that will NOT be entering a BB store ever again! A while back I bought some blank DVDs- I usually buy a supply and keep I can understand that it could be frustrating for everyone; however, there is more likelihood I'd consider buying from them if I could get info first. If I can't do that, given fuel prices, I'll say forget it, perhaps even forego purchasing the item, but likely go on to another store who will answer the phone. my husband and i bought a tv,the day after thanksgiving sales, in 2005. and it was insigna name brad 30 widescreen, it was nice tv we love it. This was replacement of other tv that we had for 18 years. no joke never had problem anyway. about two week we watching all of sudden the screen went balck and were pop and there was a flash, and smell like electronic smell. so we unplugged it and we had hook up to upc for computer so if power it would be protected well. there was not a power surge at all. so i call our local best buy. he said my husband and i bought a tv,the day after thanksgiving sales, in 2005. and it was insigna name brad 30 widescreen, it was nice tv we love it. This was replacement of other tv that we had for 18 years. no joke never had problem anyway. about two week we watching all of sudden the screen went balck and were pop and there was a flash, and smell like electronic smell. so we unplugged it and we had hook up to upc for computer so if power it would be protected well. there was not a power surge at all. so i call our local best buy. he said i read all the review and post one myself it just comes down to this I think it very fair to say most posting here aren't happy campers. From my experiences I feel the problems might be related more to the individual stores and their managers and additudes, than the company as a whole. I have never been connected to any type of call center in over 10 or 12 years. Just called a couple of days ago, I did get the automated system, but I even get that at my doctors office where my calls can be infinately more urgent than any I may have with Best Buy. I can state I should qualify as a high use customer as we have purchased 3 projection TV's, 4 computers, 1 lap top, 2 cameras,untold movies, music cd's, 4 vcrs, 2 dvd video recorders, and more. From these devices I have had great success and total failure. In fact a Sony lcd projection TV I bought 3 years ago just failed, to the tune of $1300 to repair. This problem is not Best Buys, but rather Sony's. A new computer I bought 2 months ago, had issues with making too much noise, and just not booting up consistantly. I went back in before the 14 day period asking if these were normal issues, and was promply told to just bring it back they would replace it. This is what I did and the replacement is working as expected. I can't state the number of times I have purchased things and had them go on sale the next week. Just went in and asked, they looked my reciept up on the computer and I get the sale price. Again I really think the issues have as much or more to do with the store or district you may live in and the attitude of those employees and not the company as a whole. While I know most of the post here have been negative, I felt I had to let you know there places where they are by far the best thing in town. You whiny ass customers lol. I work at a best buy and the customers that come in are just retarded. I had a lady try to return a t.v. becuase she could figure out how to power to it. After spending twenty mins on the phone with her, and listening to her swear at me for selling her "a useless tv with no parts" she finally let me explain that if she would look in the manual, it would explain that there is a converter that must be hooked up, that is included with the tv. Well what do you know, it powered up, oh my god. So she does'nt say thank you or anything, just hung up. Stupid customers like this jade us and make us think every customer is iq challenged. And don't buy a cheap ass tv, its not going to last you, you get what you paid for. RETURN POLICY- 30 DAYS
In response to Stephanie, I also brought an insignia TV and an insignia DVD/Surround sound system. After one year the DVD/surround sound combo stoped playing DVDs. I purchaced the service plan on both items. I took my DVD player in with some DVDs. The man at the tech bench was polite. He hooked up my unit right there and noted that indeed it did not play DVDs, not just mine, but theirs as well. He mentioned to me the BB does not have repair facility for insignia- the policy then was to replace the defective product. As stated in the plan- if they can't fix it, they replace it. If you have the service plan you should take it back in to the store and speak with their manager. I am sure they will honor their plan. I have found that there is not one rep in the store that knows "everything about everything" so sometimes you have to speak with a few different associates to get issues resolved. Having worked retail for 10 years (in a mom and pop pet store no less), it pays to have paticence and to treat the associate as you will have them treat you. As a polite, concerned, and "intellegent" human. Has anyone been quoted the "NO FAULT" policy by Geek Squad? I purchased a 30gb iPod from Best Buy two years ago with the 3-year extended service plan. I use it regularly at work and though I treat it carefully, the hard drive fails every six months or so (which I simply put down to normal wear and tear). The Geek Squad techs have sent it off to be fixed and I always get it back in working order. (though once I was offered the option of taking a "refurbished" model instead, which would void my contract). However, this last time I took it in I was called back into the store a couple of weeks later and told that they couldn't find anything wrong with it, and that I would have to pay a $25 charge since it was a "NO FAULT." (???) I was confused by this and the tech pointed to a statement on the policy saying that the customer may be charged for repairs due to the customer's misuse of the product or by "acts of nature." I explained that the iPod was indeed broken when I brought it in - it lost all my music in mid-use, gave me the "bad disk" icon, and when I tried reloading my music collection on iTunes it got halfway through and then reported that it couldn't read/write to the iPod. He demonstrated that he could load an album onto it, and I explained that I was trying to load much more than a single album. Unfortunately they only had the one album on the computer for testing, and he seemed to adopt a "this isn't my problem" attitude. I have to admit I started feeling a bit flustured at this point, but tried to maintain a calm demeanor (I've worked in customer service myself). When I asked a manager for clarification on the "no fault" policy (which didn't seem to mention that the customer would be charged for bringing back a "functioning" device), he said "oh, that's just for shipping costs." To make sure I understood the policy, I asked "So if you HAD found something wrong with it..." "It would be covered, yes." "...but since you didn't find a problem, I have to pay for it?" "Right." I explained that I was not going to pay that cost (as far as I knew, the thing was probably still broken) to which he scoffed and said "you don't want your device back?" I said that if they could demonstrate that the iPod was capable of storing the amount of data I required, I might pay to get it back. However, at this point that's probably just good money thrown after bad. I guess I can't complain about two years of use out of the thing, though I hope they don't offer it as a "refurbished" model to someone else. I purchased a side-by-side refreigator/freezer at best buy in 2005 with a 5 year warranty (PSP) for $250 extra money for the PSP. The unit has been repaired/ serviced 4 times now, and when I called the store-the person in appliances told me I was due a new unit. We have lost 2 loads of frozen goods, totaling over $700 dollars. We were not told about any food replacement program that they do have, the 2nd time, and finally on the 3rd time,I asked about this loss, and was told they would indeed replace up to $200 dollars for food lost, and after several months I did recieve compensation for the 3rd lost load (not enough to cover the loss though, & nothing for the 2nd load of food). When I told the store manager what their appliance manager told me, she replied that I was not due a new unit, and my only choice now is to seek legal aid (I am severely disabled, and feel like I am being deliberately taken advantage of). I did not receive any compensation for the 2nd lost load of precious food. In trying to get this unit fixed/repaired for the 4th time now-the store manager was very short with me, and I was told I would not get a lemon replacement,after being told in-store that I would, and after several attempts, my only option is to contact a lawyer (I am on a fixed income-poverty level, I used my inheritance from my recently deceased mother for the purchase of this unit). Best buy will not honor their aggrement with me, telling me they would only fix the problem again-after the service technician who replaced the computer board in the unit the 3rd time told me that if I did have a PSP to get the unit replaced, as this problem would persist ( and it has). Makes me wonder why these big corporations will take advantage of a disabled person they know that they can toss around anyway they see fit. I asked the store manager to talk to the appliance manager, who told me how to handle this, and I was told "he's not here anymore". I have not shopped there since, and advise the public to do the same, as these PSP's are not worth the paper they are printed on. How shameful to continually do this to a person, anyone-especially when we have spent thousands in their store, they might think they are pulling a good one on me-but I will not spend another dime at best buy.Since then, they have lost over $6000 that I would have spent at best buy-the dimes went elsewhere, & you are not the only game in town. Good bye best buy forever! I contacted 1-800 best buy to try and peacefully resolve the problem with my side-by-side refrigerator/freezer. I was very pleased with the person I talked to-who sincerely apologised for my problem with the unit. He immediately put me in touch with a supervisor, who explained to me that the 2nd attempt to resolve the problem with the freezer going out, did not constitute a "repair", even though I lost a lot of precious food, as the tech that came to my home could not find anything wrong with the unit, even though it went completely out 2-3 weeks later, and the motherboard had to be replaced on the 3rd visit to my home. I did not ask for compensation for the 1st food loss, as it has been over 1 year & I should have read the PSP in it's entire content. He promised to go over this problem with his team, and will get back to me to see if it will be repaired. I was pleasently surprised by this, and pray that they will fix my fridge ASAP, as I don't want to lose any more food. Some people might think that this loss of food is no big deal, but when you are permantly disabled & on a fixed income, it means everything in ensuring your family's nutritional status. I thank the good Lord I found this nice person, who had the dignity to really apologize for any inconvienence my family has suffered. I realize that store managers have their hands full, but I hope that the in store manager I spoke with was having a bad day, or was not feeling well theirself. I will just wait and see & give them the benefit of the doubt, as they did seem sincere. People seriously waste their time saying how much Best Buy sucks. I'm an employee at Best Buy and I bust my ass trying to take care of every customer that needs help. Labeling the entire company as shit is rather stupid don't you think? Why would you people waste time in writing about someting you hate? Makes no damn sense. If you hate Best Buy, STFU and go shop somewhere else. Simple as that. While many employees are young adults who don't give a shit, they alone cannot cause for such a harsh label on the company. I have filed an action with the consumers affairs division of the attorney generals office for the state of Illinois. I ordered my upgrade Nov 2, 2006. When I went to the Best Buy where I had bought my computer and asked about my upgrade the manager in the Bloomington, Illinois store asked me to leave. I checked and they are a private business and can ask anyone to leave especially if it something promised (as in the "free" Vista upgrade). Does Microsoft really need the money? What about Best Buy? I guess so. Posted by: Ed | 14 Jun 2007 03:37:12 I would be interested in joining a class action suit as this problem (no Vista upgrade when promised)appears to be widespread. Please post any info on such an action. spent 7 weeks trying to get best buy to repair my computer.at times , the sound card just disappearss on the motherboard but it doesn't really go anywhere they replaced the motherboard and now they tell me that the software that came with my computer does not work with the motherboard that they installed and it is my problem. at one point in time , they spent 2 weeks looking for a driver for a usb card that was working because they could not figure out what was missing.(a chipset driver) that worked when i took it in. i even went so far as to completely reinstall xp and i installed vista and it didn't make any difference. even ask to speak to a manager about a rude employee and was told he was the manager. i work on air conditioning and appliances and i will tell you that a local business would already been driven out of business by poor service. keep this in mind.... they really don't care if you are upset or not. even the 800 number your a litle bit of a mouron and u havnt worked in retail have u? they make a valid point. those peoplein the building got up off their assess to go in and talk to somone. u picked up the phone. u r no their to buy, do u have any idea how many phone calls a day they get from people like u that r too lazy to go in and aske your questions. they dont have the time to talk to one idiot on the phone for an hour when they have people in the buildin to help. the other thing is the reason they ask if u need help is because its their job and best buy lost 2 billion dollers to theft last year. they contact u because u probably look like somone who would try to steal somthing to get back at them. i wont talk about this any more. i would suggest that u all do your home work before bitching like children. u should all work in retail for one day so that u can see how many peoople a day will bitch and complaine about somthing they dont understand like the most u do. get a life u losers. I purchased a Sony tv online from Best Buy it came with an offer of a FREE massage chair, free delivery. Well I had to pick the tv up from the store, per the customer service rep, I did. NOW they did not and will not give me the chair...no explaination, except this is a complicated matter ?????? ( the tv went on sale I was offered a refund ) Help. Best Buy does suck and that's coming from an ex employee. I worked there for almost two years. The people that work hard and go beyond there job get screwed and all the brown nosers who don't know anything and always stand around are the ones that get rewarded. I hate service plans but sold them all the time to people on TV's. This company is too political and I know a lot of work places are like that but I mean this place is bad. The pay is horrible and I did work that my supervisor was suppose to do. I understand when people say how horrible customer service is in that place, they're right but it's because the company pulls back labor and has no one working all day and the people most likely working are idiots that really don't know anything. There was so many times I had to get into someone else's sale because I would over here them lying to customers! Don't ever fall for all the attachment bull! All there accessories for products are WAY over priced. If you knew what cost was on things that's where they really make there money on cables and services. They sell an HDMI cable for $65 when they only cost $4!!! And please don't ever buy Best Buy exclusive brand products, they suck!!! Best Buy sells cheap shit boycott best buy Best Buy SUCKS big time. I bought a 46" TV, a Samsung side-by-side fridge, a vacuum, a DVD player and a bunch of other things at once from Best Buy, West Kroger Centre Dr, Richmond, VA ... At first, I wanted the extended service plan for the TV but not the fridge, since my old Kenmore from Sears lasted us 18 years without a problem. But the appliance sales person convinced us to buy the expensive extended plan since this was a high tech, top of the line Samsung fridge. Also, that with their lemon law replacement with any 3 completed work order for any part of the fridge; we would get a replacement or credit to buy another fridge without a question asked. First issue: After 1.5 year, the compressor went out and in hot summer month; not only we had to threw away everything but also, didn't have a fridge for a month. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th issue: The ice maker would not stop making ice which meant every two days; we had a bunch of ice falling all over the kitchen floor as we opened the freezer door ... . Then the ice maker started leaking water and the ice would get clumped up and no ice would dispense ... and now the water leakage is so bad that there is ice on shelve below and the freezer door will not open easily because the ice leaks over the sealed area and door is sealed to the body. Best Buy's response is that they tried to fix the issue by changing the temperature and changing the ice tray ... Also, Samsung's response to them was to dump the ice out every night. Finally, we called the local store and asked for a manager's name and hours. We quickly found out it is easier to jump off of a cliff than to get a hold of a Best Buy manager. It is their policy not to release any manager name or hours of work ... . There is only one way to talk to the main store manager ... Go in as often as possible and hope to God that he is there and not in a meeting or out at that time. Finally, we got a hold of assistant manager. After many phone calls to the store, he told us that the support center did not want to change the fridge because the extended warranty clearly states that the freezer issues is not included in three completed work order and fridge replacement policy. He suggested that we go in that day during lunch and he would get the main manager to talk to us ... My wife and I both left work to meet him. After waiting for 40 minutes, we finally got a chance to talk to him (by this time, my wife had to leave and go back to work). I told him that the 3 year old fridge was about $1550 and we would be happy if they credited us with $500 towards a much simpler fridge. He made a copy of our original extended plan and a copy of the latest store extended plan. He promised that within 24 hours, we will get a call from him. After leaving a dozen messages for him and after 3 weeks, we got a call back with bad news from his assistant that the corporate decided that they will not change the fridge. Just to compare Best Buy with another retailer ... I had an issue with Dupont laminate floor install. The store sent an employee and we didn't hear anything back for a few weeks. But after one call to their customer support center, a 3rd party installer came by and acknowledged that the floor was not installed properly. Within a week, a professional installer came by and installed an entire new floor ... . THIS IS CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE. MY SUGGESTION: Before you make any major purchase ... try calling the store and ask for the name and hours of the manager ... You can go one step further and ask them to have the main manager give you a call. Then you will know how good the store policies are to deal with customers. Also, try this with your local Best Buy store and you will find out that it is easier to get to CARTEL DRUG LORDS then a BEST BUY MANAGER. F#ck customers. F#ck best Buy. I make over 18 dollars an hr at Best Buy I could care less about it or whomever shops there. I have nothing against the phone system - it is their extended service plan. They're saying the stuff they sell is sooo bad, you need the service plan cause it's going to break. With the service plan, they're basically admitting that they don't stand behind the crap they sell. If you don''t have it, then you were stupid to not get it is their response. At Worst Buy, the customer is never right. Purchased a Gateway computer in March 2006 - since then its had the hard drive replaced twice & the motherboard replaced. When customer service calls after the repairs are completed - I've given them an earfull - telling them that they say its only going to take one week & it takes 4 wks to get computer back. I've asked for reimbursement on my cable bill cause why should I pay for internet service when I use the library machines. Also ask if I could get mileage for gas used to go to library daily to use machines. I've told everyone I know to stay away from Best Buy - I am even tempted to picket the store & tell the customers they sell lemons not computers. I love people who whine about their computers breaking and claim its the retailer's fault. Guess what people, unless you build it yourself, it's going to break. It isn't Best Buy's fault, just like it wouldn't be Circuit City's fault, or CompUSA's fault. You're buying RETAIL. These companies put it together on an assembly line, in India, or China, or some other godforsaken third world communist country because Gateway, HP, Sony, Apple, and Acer want to cut every freaking corner they can. That's also the reason that there is AOL, Blockbuster, Google, and all this other crap on a computer when you get it, because basically they don't want to pay for cardboard, plastic, and Styrofoam to package the computer. But the prices on computers has dropped because of this. Now even people who make less then ten thousand a year can afford one. Did you know, Ann, that we offer a free service to make sure that computer isn't a lemon before you take it home? It takes twenty minutes, but it saves you a trip. Is it my fault if it breaks and could have been detected if you had taken advantage of it? It's my fault if it wasn't offered, but if you didn't take advantage of it, then that's yours. You people who complain about computers breaking? Think how lucky you are to afford to be able to fix it. Does it suck? Absolutely. Is it annoying and should better business practices be put in place even if it means the cost goes up? Absolutely. But there are people who wake up every day hoping that they don't die. That they aren't eaten. That they find food. That they find clean WATER. You want a computer that lasts? Take some time, learn how to build the thing, and make it yourself. I've been building computers for fifteen years, and I've only had my first one break from when I built it in high school back in 2000. If that's too hard for you, then spend two grand (which shouldn't be a big deal, as from what my customers have told me, their last computers cost that much) and get a Sony Velocity. Good luck finding one, because they're about the only hand-built machines left, and with low demand, stores don't get a whole lot of them. Consumers are like an annoying house guest sometimes. They demand everything and complain about it when it's not done right. There is a trade off for everything, nothings perfect, and every demand has a consequence. "I don't like carrying around a ten-pound laptop! I want it to be lighter and I don't want it to be slow!" All right, here you go. A notebook computer that weighs five pounds and has to have the battery replaced every freaking year because now it can only hold so many charges (look up any tech site, such as CNET, Wired, or even Apple, they have great articles on Li-ion batteries. IPod batteries are Li and they can't even be replaced, you have to buy a new IPod when it goes dead); that's even assuming the computer lasts that long, because now it's so small and portable that you sneeze on it and it breaks. But hey, it doesn't weight ten pounds, downside is it isn't built like a tank and it can't support NiCad batteries because they aren't powerful enough. NiCads didn't need to be replaced for four or five years, but they suck for power. Lithium is the most reactive metal on the periodic table so they went to that. Chances are all your portable devices are lithium now. You know, I'd love to have a car that's not a hybrid and gets thirty five miles per gallon too, but I'm not going to be surprised if I hit something and it turns into a paper cup. "I don't want to go to a computer store to buy a computer, it's all high pressure because they're on commission." I realize this isn't a relevant quote, but it leads into an issue that's been complained about; customer service. Well, Best Buy was one of the first to take its computer sales off of commission. But since their pay (crappy as it is) is no longer linked to their performance, is it going to bring in the people who don't give a damn about you? The ones who take advantage of the fact that they get paid the same whether you buy or not? You're damn skippy, hippie. But guess what, there are some people who actually know what they're talking about and care about you, not just at Best Buy but at any retailer. Good luck finding one. But you didn't want pressure, so now they aren't on commission. They don't give a damn if you buy or not, and they sure as hell aren't going to go that extra mile for you. Why should they? Now, there are people like me, and I'm not going to brag. I worked for my grandfather in the print shop that he owned every summer since I was nine. It was boring, tedious, menial work and I hated every moment of it. I was basically by myself in a back room, putting printed papers into brochures, making pads, or other stuff. It was called binding, and basically everything you own on paper came goes through that process, even if it was basically shrink wrapping it. I burned my hands, I put staples through my fingers, and I was by myself for eight hours a day doing something I despised. But you know what? I learned that I wasn't getting any special treatment, just like everyone there, I was there to do a job. I learned that people count on you to do the best that you are able to no matter how crappy a situation you're in or how bad the job is. I learned that if I did a lousy job, or I made a mistake, it cost money because they entire thing has to be done again from scratch. I was working on twenty or thirty year old equipment because for a small shop in an East Texas city, that's all that they can afford and stay profitable, as long as the machines kept working. And the reason I kept doing this even though I was hot, and it sucked, and it could mean collating or folding thousands and thousands of pieces of paper by hand, because I knew that my grandfather, my BOSS, and his BUSINESS, was depending on me to do it and do it right. I complained, especially when I was young, but I did every bit. And I did it on time, on a deadline. Basically I learned work ethics. And that's stuck with me ever since, and always will. I have people who come into Best Buy to see me personally. Some I remember, some I don't. Some come in weeks after our first encounter, some come months. But they always come to me, they tell me how happy they are with their computer, how well its performing for them, and I actually have several who tell their family members to see me personally. They listen to what I have to say and they know I'm not trying to scam them. They know I know what I'm talking about. I may get ten dollars an hour, when I'm used to forty or fifty, but I still take it as seriously as I did making forty or fifty. Hell, I nearly made seventy grand a year when I was twenty one waiting tables. I moved and couldn't do it up here until recently. You know what? I don't talk about service plans at all on desktops unless a customer asks. On laptops, I think it's a necessity. So do most consumer reports if you do some research. On printers as well, because they're made with freaking plastic and the manufacturer doesn't even bother to give you a cable to hook it to a computer. Moral of this long story? It isn't a retailer's fault that something breaks. Except in the case of private labels, they didn't make it. Could they be doing a better screening job for their new hires? Probably. Most try. I'm sure most would like to get rid of the twenty percent of employees that steal from them too, but there's no way to know until after they're caught who's doing it. Likewise, there's no way to know who's giving poor service and who's giving good service until after they're hired. But to blame a blanket company because of a bad experience or two, or because you don't want to listen to people who are just trying to do their job is the cry of a spoiled child. Guess what? There ARE people like me who want to help you. Try to find one, and maybe, just maybe listen to what we have to say. You might actually be surprised. By the way, just as an addendum, the retailers are fully aware of the problems with their products. That's why they offer service plans. That's why the manufacturers offer service plans. In some cases yes, they're trying to make extra profit. I'll tell you there isn't much on computers, maybe twenty bucks, at least for a retailer like Best Buy. But in other cases they're actually trying to help you out. Like I stated, I don't offer it on desktops because parts are much cheaper and easier to come by than on laptops. On laptops, its a definite necessity and I make my customer aware of it. But if they say no? I let it go. I tried. Sometimes they want to know why. I ask sometimes. Its because maybe if you told me, I could talk to my supervisors and uppers and just one person's input could change the product to make it better or more relevant to our customer. I'm not popping an attitude, I'm trying to gain insight into how, if any way, to make our products more relevant to you the consumer, so that we CAN stand behind our product. Do some research, and figure out for yourself if a service plan makes sense for the product. Compare the cost of parts to fix it should the entire thing break. Make the decision for yourself. But don't assume we do it because we have to. Sometimes, like I said, people are out there who know what they're talking about and it might pay to listen to them. My wife and I just currently moved to Billings Montana from Kentucky. She is the new manager for Walgreens opening up here very soon so we are getting resettled. Before we left Kentucky, I had started up my small repair business for computers. Since the move, I have had to of course start over. Anyone who has ever attempted to get a business going knows that there is no money at all for at least the first year. Keeping this in mind, I went and applied for a job at my local BestBuy. I have to say I am a little less then thrilled by what I have seen so far and I have only been with the company less then a month. Here is a small list... During training I ran into this question on my exam "A customer comes in for a wireless router, they have no brand preference and just want an easy to set up router with basic security features. What router would you suggest that meets the customers needs best (LINKSYS!) --and here is what killed me-- AND MEETS BESTBUYS PROFITABILITY STANDARDS.... That of course is the D-Link router which is a pain in the ass to set up, is a hassle to maintain and is a generally useless router. Sure they want to help the customer... to a point. Another thing I have learned to hate very quickly is the whole GeekSquad services thing. Keep in mind my background as a technician for many years. I know what the average customer can probably handle with a little assistance, or some advice.. BUT BestBuy does not want you to talk them through a basic install of software, Nor do they want you to mention the fact that most router (and PC) support are happy to walk you through installs that you need help with any time you purchase thier products. I have been written up for this. So much for helping the customer. I had a customer last week.. He bought a copy of Microsoft Office. He asked me if we needed to install it for him. I told him, "no sir, its fairly easy.. Just put the disk in the computer and keep hitting Ok until its done." ... By not selling him a 130.00 suite install I have just tonight earned my FINAL WARNING write up. I come to work, I go above and beyond for my team mates, customers, and try to do the best I can to maintain my department. I am always getting complimented on helping others and doing more then I need to.. and yet I am on the verge of being terminated because I can't lie to customers.. no I won't say can't... I could.... But I choose not to. Let them fire me. I would rather be doing my own repair business where I can actually take CARE of my customers then to be forced to fleece them.. My GM has told me over and over.. "We aren't here to be nice, we aren't here to be helpful.. We are here to make money" Maybe I am just not normal.. maybe there is something wrong with me.. Heck I have Adult ADHD.. I am a little different.. But I will be damned if I will be a crook and a lier. Marcus Hello, I'm posting because I just sent the following eMail to the (please note the childish titles he gives himself in his intra-company emails) "*Harmony *Maximizer *Adaptability *Includer *Futuristic *Andrew Kon Deputy of Counter Intelligence Precinct 51 PH (316) xxx-xxxx". Kon is in Wichita's North Rock store. I sent this to his attention in the wee hours of July 15 after having driven nearly 40 miles round-trip to get my laptop. I also copied others of the Geek Squad involved to see if Best Buy's "Customer Care" Policy means a damn thing to any of them. I doubt it. ==============================
======== Hi, I just wanted to update you on this issue: Two days ago I was notified by phone call that my hard drive had arrived at the store here in Wichita and was available for pickup. My wife took the call and asked if my Sony Laptop computer was also ready for pickup. The caller said they would look for it. She asked them to check for sure and call her back. After some time, someone called and told her "the computer is apparently still at the Center". This was contrary to what I had been told days earlier when a lady called to tell me my laptop had been repaired and had been shipped to the store for pickup. So, I called the store and was told that the hard drive was in but the computer was still at the "center". I questioned why the laptop was still being held at the center when its hard drive replacement should only have taken 3-5 days turnaround and the Geek Squad has now had my computer since June 24th! That's far too long a delay in replacing a hard drive in a laptop, which by my worst estimate of time would take 2-3 hours at the most to R&I the drive, format, and reload it to Sony factory specs. As I said, that was two days ago. This evening I called the store in response to a call from Best Buy that my laptop was now in. I asked about the hard drive, too, and was told by "Michael" that it was in as well. I asked him to be certain before I launched and drove in to the store to get them. He said definitely the hard drive is available and the computer was in but its new hard drive had not been formatted and the OS had not been installed. He asked me for discs for the OS. I received no discs when I bought the computer because it had all been pre-installed by Sony. He said they would use OEM discs and set up the hard drive and it would take about 2 hours to do that. I asked him his name and was reassured he would be there when I came in to pick it up this evening. This was at 4:15 P.M. this evening so I figured it would be ready by 8:00 P.M. for sure, right? WRONG! When I arrived at the counter at about 8:00 P.M. there was only one Geek who didn't have anything going on. In fact, he was staring off into the yonder blue and was darn near asleep. No one acknowledged my wife and I at all... not even so much as an "I'll be with you in a moment, sir." I just stood there in front of the black man behind the counter (no name tag so I have to just refer to him as the black man) and finally I asked "Is Michael here?". He said "I'm busy at the moment and will help you when I'm finished here." and he pointed to a computer monitor and went back into his daze. Again, I asked for Michael. He condescendingly said, "Which one, the tall one or the other one?" Now how the hell should I know how tall he his because I just spoke to him on the phone. So, I explained to the black man that "Michael" had told me to come in to pick up my laptop and my hard drive. From here on, it went to hell in a hand basket. The black guy just ignored me and left. Then a "Michael" appeared who said he had not talked to me about a computer... so where's the other Michael, I asked? He's not here... well, that was a given, like I should know he left. So now, I explain I came to get my laptop and my hard drive. They look at the computer in front of them and ask me my phone number and verify my order, then without uttering so much as an "I'll be right back" these guys both just leave us standing there unattended and go behind the wall. No one comes back to acknowledge us or say anything else about my laptop and hard drive. They just leave us standing there. They never told us the laptop was ready or not. They simply go hide behind that damn wall. My wife waits about 15 minutes and then goes back behind the wall and sees they're looking for something but she didn't know for what. So I then stepped around the corner and see there are 3 Geeks back there doing little to nothing other than clicking the mouse on a computer back there. The black guy then orders me to go back to the other side of the "line". I tried to ask him a question... and he says "Get back to the other side of the line and I'll talk to you." I persisted another moment, but then moved back to the "other side of the line" expecting him to come on out and talk to me. He then wheels and disappears again. So much for customer service!!! That condescending ass needs to be fired! I demanded to speak with the store manager. In a few moments another guy shows up and now there are 4 or 5 Geeks who have not a clue how to deal with me. Yes, I was loud. Yes, I was upset. Yes, I wanted to know why did "Michael" tell me my computer would be ready and it and my hard drive could be picked up in about 2 hours. Yes, I was not a happy customer. But your manager, Brett, put me in my place all right! He ordered me to pipe down or leave the store. I then mustered all the strength I could to hold back and I just asked him where is my laptop and my hard drive? The black guy then said matter-of-factly "right here's your laptop" and he pointed to it on the back counter. Now, why in hell didn't he just say that in the first place when first arrived and asked if it was ready, instead of ignoring me and disappearing like he did without a word? He could have avoided angering me if he would have just said, "Sir, here is your laptop but we aren't quite finished with installing the systems on it. We need "X" amount of additional time." Instead, he chose to ignore my wants and needs and continued whatever he was doing like I wasn't worthy of his attention. Good grief, I thought they were trying to find my laptop back there... but it turns out they couldn't find the damn hard drive! So, then Brett said "he would get my hard drive for me and give me my computer and then I would have to leave the store!" Then, they all go back behind "the wall" again. Not another word from anyone! After about 10 minutes of being left standing there again, wondering where they went or if they were still serving me or were they now just standing around back there, I realized that my laptop was just sitting over there. It wasn't installing anything, the pointer was just stationary (no hour glass, no drive light blinking, nothing!) and so my wife decided it's time for me to leave because I was boiling over again. DO YOU GUYS GET ANY KIND OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SKILLS TRAINING? Apparently not. RULE ONE: Always acknowledge your customer as they arrive. RULE TWO: Never walk away from a customer until s/he indicates that it is okay for you to do so. The black guy doesn't give a damn about customers or customers' needs. His attitude is one of "Don't interrupt me. I'll do it when I'm damn good and ready! I only do one thing at a time, so don't bother me!" He won't ever have the chance to put me off again, of that I am most certain. As long as he's employed there, I damn sure won't bother him for anything. By this time I had enough of their disregard and it was very apparent that they couldn't find my hard drive. It was painfully obvious that "Michael's" offer of 2 hours had now become 4.5 hours-plus and my laptop was still not ready! So, here are my questions: Don't you think you would be also frustrated and greatly disenchanted if you were the recipient of such gross neglect and disrespect? Do you think you can step up to the plate and take hold of this and get the Geeks off dead center so they can take care of my needs? I certainly hope so. I would appreciate a call from you, Mr. Kon, or from the General Manager, or the CEO of Best Buy, whomever you think wields the power to get things on track so this gets resolved quickly. I can be reached at xxx-xxx-xxxx between 10:00 A.M. and 10:00 P.M. seven days a week. Once you've located my items and verified they are indeed ready as pledged (per Shanthi's pledge, my laptop should be back to Sony's factory-delivered OEM specs) I do hope you will consider having one of your Geeks deliver my laptop and my hard drive to me so I don't have to drive back into Wichita a 4th time. Your service contract, for which I paid handsomely, says absolutely nothing about giving your "expert" Geeks the right to disrespect, or treat condescendingly, Best Buy's customers. My visit to your store this evening proves that apparently some of your Geeks think they hold all the cards and be damned your customers. I'm rapidly building a case to question your ability to serve your customers' needs, as most likely so is the gentleman who was at the counter beside me with a problem with his video camera. He, too, was obviously also dissatisfied with your service although he was not as forward about it as I. As I left your store, I asked at the door to speak with the manager, not a department manager, but the store's manager. Two men there attempted to call him... they asked "him" to respond to their page. He did not. After several failed attempts to get him to respond, one of the guys at the door called another (probably discrete) number and then told me "Brett is looking for your hard drive." So I can only assume then, that Brett was the manager I mentioned above. I expect nothing less than that which Best Buy's customers all expect and should receive. This evening has demonstrated a total lack of customer satisfaction skills by the Geeks I've mentioned herein. They have nearly slammed the door at Best Buy in my face. If this is the normal way you treat customers, you apparently don't need repeat customers any longer. I don't think your CEO would be pleased to hear this, do you? Regards, Bill C. After previously posting, I found an article that is very interesting but from this site's posts I don't think the article is altogether accurate. If Anderson's job performance/bonus was truly based on customer satisfaction, why then is he still CEO? Anyway, it's an interesting article: www.customersarealways.com Best buy has the worse customer service. We spent 1 hour closing a deal on a dishwasher that had a been return for a great price to be then told sorry the price is wrong ITS 200 dollars more.... Then we ordered another dishwasher and waited 3 weeks, we called the day before installation and they said what we don't know anything about it .....asked for manager and she said oh well it will be 3 more weeks ...... Called store Director and he said sorry its not our fault its the warehouse's problem they are a different company.. You can get a refund.. SORRY YOU STINK BEST BUY AND I WILL NEVER BUY FROM WORST BUY AGAIN. This is a store located in The Woodlands Texas. Bought a 60' Sony tv with stand and surround sound, also bought 4-year extended warranty so I would be covered if any happened and of course it did. the bulb went out in a year and 6 months, contacted Best Buy, they in turn contracted the work out to a local repair shop. Repairman came out and told me that the bulb went out and the bulb would be ordered and contact them in a week and the bulb should be there and could set up appointment to come back and install it. Well, I contacted them back in a week and was told by the local repair shop that the bulb had not been ordered because with labor and cost of the bulb it was going to be $ 50.00 over what the warranty allowed. I was assured that the request was sent to have it approved. Well it has now, a month later and I again contacted Best Buy and was told that they would send in the authorization but was then told that he spoke to his supervisor and was told the local repair shop would have to do it, WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE THREE WEEKS AGO. WHICH WAS SUSPOSED TO HAVE BEEN DONE TWICE ALREADY. ALL I AM GETTING IS THE RUN AROUND. THEY CANT SEEM TO COORDINATE WITH EACH OTHER.WELL I BLEW A BIG WAD OF MONEY FOR NOTHING
Feedback From Past Employees Wanted Our employees at Best Buy make us who we are, and the company is committed to listening to past and present employees for feedback. We are looking to hear from Best Buy employees who have quit. We would like to know their story; why they quit, what they liked/didn't like about working for Best Buy, and how we can improve as employers, etc. Best buy not only has dumb sh!ts working for them, but when i took my computer in to have a cd with lite scribe installed, they messed up the entire computer drivers missing corrupted files and what not. I never go online on this comp as it is for a recording studio, only. I called to tell the head guy and he said that best buy geek squad would not do this... i was like but they did, he then says your just trying to get free work done. I was like no I am telling you that your guys are stupid and that I will never use you again and only buy something from you if no one else has it. I completely agree with the employees on here that a lot of Again, with corporate, i didnt treat any bad didnt raise my voice I'll try some more numbers before i give up and never shoop there By the way, i am not some idiot who doesnt know about retail, worked So Best Buy is basically willing to throw away the $1000+ a year i Any retail store i ever worked out, besides for the customer being I tried calling best buy to find out why they are still sending me a bill after i canceled and paid off my credit card and they had this person go thru all these options and then i was put on hold and they hung up on me twice . that really made me mad.and then i was told i had the wrong dept and needed customer service i told the lady thats who i called and she said i willtransfer you and when she did they hung up on me believe i am glad i am done with them and hope i don't have to buy anything from them for along time or if ever.i think there prices are to high anyway i will make sure i have the money to pay for my purchases that is for sure.thank you Just an update (see my earlier posts)... another week has passed and the Geek Squad still has not returned my laptop to me. Please note that a week ago, they said "it would be just a couple of hours and they would have the new HDD formatted and back to Sony factory configuration". They still haven't found my old HDD either. I sent an email to Best Buy Corporate also a week ago, and have received no response. So much for extended service plans and the expectation of prompt and reliable service! It's now going on 5 weeks, just for a freeking HDD replacement. They said they had to send it to Tennessee to the "Geek Squad Center" because they couldn't remove a screw, pop out the HDD, insert a new HDD, reinstall a screw, and reformat the drive to specs at the store! Their excuse was, they didn't have that same size drive in the store. So, instead of ordering the same size drive into the store, they shipped my whole laptop down to Tennessee! That's efficiency, NOT! They risked damaging my laptop during shipping instead of having a little tiny HDD shipped up to the store! I could have replaced the HDD myself and been up and running WITH my old HDD still in my own hands to try to recover data but I was tricked into thinking their service plan would take care of me. They just wanted to get me on the hook so they could try to force me to pay $1750.00 to recover data from the old hard drive! If I refused to have them recover the data, they said they couldn't return the old HDD to me, that they would drill (destroy) the hard drive instead. Now, isn't that extortion? So I had to go to great lengths to get them to agree to return my old HDD to me without drilling it so I could try to recover some files myself with the help of a friend who builds computers. Now, apparently they have conveniently "lost" my old HDD, likely to cover their ass that in reality the data recovery would be much easier than they tried to make me believe. They just don't want me to discover the Geek Squad is a big fraud... that their "Level 3" is no different than their "Level 1" except for ballooned extortion-level prices. They just hold customers hostage and try to scare the hell out of us with their "expert jargon" so we will opt-in and pay exhorbitantly for what would otherwise be basic service. I'll never do business with Best Buy again! This is new at BEST BUY. I took my laptop for power failure issues and was told that they needed to get into my hard drive. They mentioned that I would need to also get my hard drive backedup for $99.00. Which I refused, The Manager of the Geek Squad told me that it was synonymous with HP that they format the hard drive irrespective what the issue is. (NOT TRUE). He just threw HP under the bus. I got the diagnostic tool from HP's website and would need the battery to be replaced. If I needed the hardrive to be formatted I could do that myself and dont need the Geek Squad to do it. This happened at the Best Buy at Howard store in Chicago. Way to go Geek Squad!!! Hi Everyone! I just wanted to let you know that there's a new Blog called on the Internet, http://
www.bestbuybadservice.com, which is dedicated to publishing and disseminating information about bad customer service experiences at Best Buy stores. We're looking for people to jump in and share their stories and comments. Thanks and good luck to everyone! I bought a Sony Vaio laptop from best buy a year ago for over $1200. Since I am in college I figured I should buy the $330 warranty. The computer was great, and it worked just fine for over a year, but the left button on the mouse started to stick. I brought it into best buy and they said it was well under their psp warranty and they would fix it and have it back in 2 weeks. I started classes in a month so 2 weeks would have it back with 2 weeks to spare. They had to send it to California to get fixed. A week later I get a call from Geek Squad in California and they tell me the mouse pad was fixed but they had to replace the LCD screen because it cracked on the way down. I was a little but upset but I was just happy they fixed it. A few days later I was out shopping and decided to stop by to see if the Laptop was back in. They then informed me that it came in 2 days earlier and the screen had been broken again. At this point I was angry. I was then instructed to call customer care. they told me it would take 4-6 weeks to fix it and I was out of luck. I then went back to the store so I could see the laptop. One of the geek squad employees accidentally showed me the file where they had taken pictures of the box and the claim with UPS. UPS had actually denied the claim because the packing was ruled to be substandard. So this mouse pad problem turned into a 8 week wait time. Because of the damage taken during shipping I was concerned about the condition of the motherboard, hard drive and other internal parts. They told me that everything was fine and I would have to wait. My question is how can a stupid uneducated geek squad worker not pack a laptop correctly when underpaid sweat shop workers in overseas countries can ship items to the US with no problems. So I had to sue best buy. I won and I went to Circuit City to buy one. And get this the Fire Dog employees are all A+ and Microsoft certified. Think any one at geek squad is.....NO. So they say a satisfied customer tells 2-4 people about their experience, while a dissatisfied customer tells 8-10. Well here is where my job as a computer tech in charge of a dorm on my college campus comes into play. I fix any software problems that our students experience on site in the dorm. If we encounter any hardware issues we usually outsource to geek squad. Now We Will Outsource to Fire Dog. So one upset customer will be telling over 2000. So here is a shout out to those Worst Buy employees that screwed me over. James Root (Tacoma Area District Customer Service Rep.) , Mary Olsen (South Hill, Washington Store Manager), Fely (South Hill, Washington Store Service Manager) and of course Ryan at 1888bestbuy. Best Buy = Worst Lie I have had a terrible experience at Best Buy. I would rather spend and extra dollar for better customer service. The customer is never always right here. Getting the manager to talk to you is nearly impossible. I was told I couldn't leave him a message, get his last name, or get information on when he would be in the store. I have purchased a 60 inch plasma tv, washer/dryer, and 2 fridges from this store-why am I not worthy to have a couple minutes of his time. Good luck in the Geneva, IL Best Buy with Jason. 14 year old son purchased the extended service plan with his iPod. When it stopped working he returned it to Best Buy and has now been waiting over 2 months to receive it back. Numerous times on hold longer than 30 minutes and bad attitudes by the snot nose sales brats. Tomorrow, Dad is going with him to get the iPod, either his or one from the shattered glass case in the store. F@ck Best Buy!!! I do not have a comment.I do have a complant.I bought a Compaq tower. Window Vista,about a month ago,from Best Buy in Savannah Georgia.Now the window mail want work for me.It is stuck on the out box, and stuck in the inbox.I had a technicial to come out .He could not fix the window mail for me It is still stuck.Unusuable.could you refer me to, who to call are what can I do to get the window mail unstuck.It is a big problem for me. I bought a washer from best buy with extended warranty and the best buy can't fix its vibrations and it had been four months and no one return the call or come fix or reimburse if I get it fixed from outside. It is not best buy but the worst buy. I will not advise even my enemy even to buy anything from them. I forgot to give my email address while writing my complaint about the purchase of a washer and I wonder how can best buy be so deaf not to hear and what the regularity agencies like BBB is doing. Best Buy of Maple Grove, Minnesota (Arbor Lakes Area) is one of the worst for installing car audio. I took my vehicle in on August 22nd looking for advice on what type of speakers would work best with my Truck; a 2003 GMC Sierra 2500HD. The guy in the install bay came out and looked at my vehicle and recommended what he thought would be good. At this point I had told him that I was considering installing them myself; the "install tech" carried on barging about how he has been installing car audio for the past eighteen years, and stated how great his work was. So with all of this I thought what the hell, I'll have them install the equipment. This guy seemed to know what he was talking about. At this time I had decided not only am I going to get new speakers; I am also going to get a decent amp to go along with these speakers. About $1,100 later the "install tech" said that it would take four to five hours to install everything. This was at approximately 11 AM. Around 3PM I stopped by to see how close they were to being done; at this time my truck was still all torn apart, I asked how much longer it was going to take and the guy said about two more hours. I was fine with this. Approximately 5:30PM I returned, walked into the install bay and noticed four people hovering around my vehicle. At this point I knew something was up! One of the guys said "oh we cannot get your passenger side power window, or door lock to work" at this point I was getting a tad ticked. I walked over to my truck. It was still torn apart, at this time I noticed that the inside door dome light was not working either. I ended up sitting there and waiting till approximately 6:30PM, at this point I was about to blow steam out of my ears I was getting so mad; I demanded to speak with the store manager. I told him that I wanted my money back for the install fees that they charged me; his response to me was "we cannot refund install fees" and then carried on stating that all he could do is refund some of the money from the products that I had purchased. So at this point I was getting even more upset, I told the manager okay. Later he comes to me saying that he refunded $80 off the total price of the merchandise that I had bought. (Not even coming close to what I had expected) After my vehicle was put back together the manager came back out and said to take the vehicle to a dealer and get it fixed and bring the bill back and they would pay for it. At this point I was just happy to get the hell out of their! Now as I was driving home I am noticing not only are my power window and door lock not working, but the turn signal light in the mirror was not working either. At this same time I found out that my power mirror adjustment did not work as well. Also among all of this my key lock remote no longer works. (The remote on the key chain) Now today; I drove the vehicle to the local GM dealer here in Minneapolis to get it fixed only to discover more problems due to Best Buy. I notice that my speakers were not hooked up properly; the fade was backwards (Front Rear) When you would set the speaker to play on the back speakers the front speakers would play music, when you would set it to the front speakers the rear speakers played! At this point I am thinking to myself "What a bunch of crack heads! They can't even hook up the speaker's right" At this point I arrive at the dealership. I explained to the service advisor that I needed to get my vehicle fixed and explained the situation to the service advisor. After they looked at it, more was discovered! Under the hood the protective cover for the main power bar (that connects the two batteries together) was broken; they snapped the protective door off the box. Best Buy never told me anything about this when I picked up the vehicle. The install tech also cut a big two inch long slash in one of the protective rubber boots for one of the major wire harness between the cab and the engine compartment. This explained why I was hearing more noise from my engine; quite annoying! The service advisor stated that this was not good, due to the fact that moisture would come in through there possibly damaging critical electrical components inside the vehicle. Along with all of this it was also discovered that my door panels inside the truck were not re-installed properly! The protective insulator between the door panel and the steel frame of the door was hanging out of the bottom of both doors. At this point I need to bring the vehicle back on Monday morning; this may take up to two days to get fixed by the dealer! I cannot believe a company that has been installing car audio would hire such un-competent people to work on peoples vehicles! I will never have anything done like this again at Best Buy, nor will I ever buy anything from Best Buy again! I had a problem with a camera that I wanted to return and while I was on hold after being told twice that Best Buy couldn't help me with a refund, I was online reading all the comments about bad customer service from this company. But when the supervisor came on the phone (the second person I talked to), he was EXTREMELY nice and accomodating. I didn't even have to explain he issue again...he was already familiar with the problem and he offered the solution I had been seeking. I couldn't have had a better experience. Well not really fair, because you trying to get a hold of customer service because you have previously purchased something from the store and need to contact someone to resolve an issue. I work at best buy and my PRIORITY are the customers in the store... period! Obviously if it's slow I'll answer phone calls but most calls i get anyway are customers who want me to explain all the different plans of the cell phone carriers that we carry because they are too lazy to do the research on their own..... I'm so tired of hearing all these whiners.... Jesus.. I always hear the same thing.. I spend thousands of dollars here.. bla bla bla.. give me this.. bla bla i want free bla bla.. i know i missed the return poicy but make an exception for me.. bla bla bla... go shop somewhere else..I can care less if you buy or not and remember if you won't buy it someone else will!!! HAHAHAHA Don't ever try to get to corporate through any of the 800 numbers, you will never get anywhere! BestBuy HQ phone number is: 612-291-1000. If you twits would open your eyes, you would see that this phone number is on the BB.com website!!!! I have had 2 experiences with Best Buy "customer service" and as a result I would never shop there again. In the first case, they ran a "bait and switch" ad where they did not stock the sale item they were advertising. When I couldn't find it at the store, I offered to wait until the item came in or was sent from another store, but they refused, saying they did not carry it anymore and offered me a more expensive product. I called "customer service" and they were of no help, then i called the corporate offices and everyone I spoke with was unhelpful, and in some cases, rude. They only offered to sell us more expensive products. We did not buy anything. In the second case, I bought an item and attempted to return it new, untouched and unused, with the receipt, a few days after the 30 day deadline. We were a little late because of a very serious, life threatening illness in the family. They refused to give me a refund at the store. I called "customer service" and they were unhelpful and would only say they can make no exceptions in their refund policy. They clearly had ZERO interest in making me happy, even though they would suffer no loss at all by doing so. It was awful. Needless to say, I will never shop there again. There is a Circuit City right next door to the Best Buy, so you'd think they might try a little! Best Buy is not any cheaper than a mom and pop store. They DO have cheaper quality junk that is diposable. Avoid them buy from a retailer with people that have a clue working there. My experience this past week---I stood up in the computer department for almost 20 minutes trying to figure out which component to buy. There were 3 employees in that department at the time I was. NOT ONCE did one walk up to me and ask em if they could help me. Not one. They avoided making eye contact with me. They stood up there and talked with one another but would not talk to me. I ended up choosing the item I wanted without any input from the employees and then went up front to purchase and then complained to the cashier that I couldn't get any help in the computer department. Her response? Nothing. Nada. I mean not a single fucking word, to me! Uppity doesn't begin to describe her snobbish attitude. I guess the unofficial motto of Best Buy is "We don't care, we don't have to--we're better than the customers we are supposed to be there to serve." I hate to tell you little princes and princesses this but in the real world you have to work, you have to care about your job or you will get fired! If you think the work is beneath you, very simply put, don't fucking work there! But it is the manager's fault for enabling these shitty attitudes of the workers in the stores. Unhappy customers tell on average 5 people of their shitty experiences. With the internet? X that by 10. And trust me, I will tell any and everyone in my town from this point forward how shitty Best Buy's personnel are to their customers. The return policy is 30 days.. you don't bring it in time... guess what no refund,return,exchange...PERIO D! You don't deserve anything! YOU MISSED THE 30 days .. Tough!! Get over it... It's your fault!! Stop being a baby!! 30 days is a long time.... Best Buy's appliance repair department has done very little to provide adequate customer service under our extended warranty during the last three months. Twice the replacement part needed was shipped and later discovered damaged in route. A technician was called to inspect and remove the damaged parts and reorder the necessary part. More than six weeks later not one Best Buy representative has bothered to even call with the status of the order. Last week we placed a call and were told that someone would call us within 24-48 hours. Exactly one week later we are having to call again and guess what? That's right, "someone will call in 24-48 hours". It seems there is a Best Buy research team trying to locate the whereabouts of the technician who took off with two damaged parts and never placed the reorder. WHATEVER!! We purchased another refrigerator from Best Buy about 10 years ago and received terrible customer service then as well. Needless to say, we will not be purchasing from Best Buy in the future. I have actually read all of these comments and I am not surprised by any of them. I can say that Best Buy as a whole isn't worth the materials they bought it for to build, BUT some of the employees are worth GOLD! In defense of the workers, I probably had one of the nicest managers I have ever encountered in Best Buy. His name is Cris, and he was the supervisor for that "section". He got on the phone and called everyone, talked to some head honcho and bam hours later the situation is fixed. My warranty is going to be honored. He tells me I have to wait for it to be back, to wish he says hopefully Saturday at the latest, but meanwhile look and see which one I want to have as a replacement. Mind you we got the Tablet when it first came out (1700 USD) plus a 3 year warranty (300USD). I'm not even looking for something like I had, I would be happy with one that isn't a tablet and didn't cost that amount and the remainder of the warranty to be transferred and if there was any amount that would be due for a cheaper one on a giftcard. As upset as I was, and let me tell you, I was, Cris really cared about how this affected me and how I WAS treated by others. I only hope that he didn't get in trouble for what he did. Cris bent over backwards, the only one who did. Best Buy should be proud of him as a person and employee, but he'll never receive recognition for it no matter how many letters I write or who I call.
In my 5 years working for Best Buy I can say I try my best to resolve all customer issues that may arise. The last comment is right. I myself have spent hours trying to resolve even one issue to help a customer out. And for that I get a "thank you" and that is is, and that is all I need. He or She may tell one or two people about what good service they had. Customers need to understand the business. Everyone has procedures and policies they have to follow. I have broken many of them to take care of customers and had to explain myself why. I understand why customers may get mad....I do, and that is why I am in the position I am in. But customers also need to reset themselves at times and see how they acting. Don't holler and swear in my store...if you swear I give you one warning, and if not our conversation has ended because we also have kids in our store. If you want to act like a 10 year old then leave, come back, and then we can talk like adults. I have heard it all in my 13 years of retail management. like: "I am going to contact the Attorney General", "I am going to call my lawyer", "I am going to get a news crew out here", " I am going to the BBB ". Before you bark too loud make sure you look at the policy's in place on your reciept or service plan brochure. Those are like contracts. We are a Profit organization ( Like everyone else out there ) . You can't just exchange product, return items 6 months old, and return open software. It just doesn't make sense. If Best Buy ( Like ALL other retailers ) had no reurn policy or exchanged everything Best Buy and EVERY RETAILER would be out of business. Granted we would have some happy customers and would be everyones best friend for a short time, but then where does it stop? Then what....you try to shop online. Good luck there with customer service trying to explain features and giving you live demos. Listen.......EVERYWHERE we go in this world things can happen. Out of 180,000 employees there are going to be bad ones or ones who may not have great service skills...and for that " I AM SORRY "....There are many more customers I make happy in this world who return and do more business (hopefully). People like to vent...go head. That is your right. But next time you get mad, don't make a scene. Take a look at the policy's set in place before you and be an "Adult" about it and have a good conversation with someone. Maybe even do homework on return policy's, services performed, and service plans BEFORE you make a purchase. I do.... Don't get mad when you ask someone to make an exception. "Everyone says that" Do your HOMEWORK first, ask questions BEFORE your purchase, and be mature about what may happen in the future......... Thank You for your time................. BOYCOTT BEST BUY First Off... you are WRONG. All the calls are from the local Best Buy in which you are calling.. how do I know I am one of the Sales Operators who answers the phones. You are never in contact with someone over sea's when you call a local Best Buy. Get the facts straight before you post. I must agree with Employee. Out of my many years at Customer Service I have never encountered a worse customer. If I hear "Well I was never told about the 30 day return policy"... It's on the back of your receipt. I mean seriously people do you not read at all? Thats like signing a binding contract without reading it. It's stupid. AND.. for the love of all that is good. DON'T MAKE A SCENE AND DEMAND THAT WE DO SOMETHING FOR YOU THAT WE CAN'T. I had my GM, My Supervisor, and another Supervisor telling a customer that we could not give her cash back for something and she started say well F*** You! and F*** Best Buy. I told her what she could do by recommending our comment hot line. and she was like you are rude I work for customer service and I dont treat people like this! *I only told her that there was nothing that I could do for her in the store and that she needs to take this up with our corporate office if she has a problem with our system I said this in a calm fashion without raising my voice* And then she started cussing at me again causing a scene and a back-up of customers at the check out lanes. As she was leaving I told her sorry and have a nice day she turns around and says I don't appreciate your Sarcasm. and I pointed to the door. Customers a fair warning cussing out employees is a direct threat and we can ask you to leave after several attempts of trying to calm you down. Not only is it stupid and immature that you lower your self to cussing out employees for something that we/ they can not control, but you make yourself look like an idiot infront of everyone. Please think before you talk, and realize just like you we are only trying to do our Job. How would you feel if someone started cussing at you for something that you can not control?
So if I call Im not a customer? Maybe I'm calling in reference to a product I will be in the store later that day to buy. Maybe I am calling about a problem I am having with a product I just bought from best buy that you have just profited on..I no longer am a priority because I'm on the phone? There's about 20 people on staff at every best buy you walk into at any time of the day(overload of employees) and few want to help anyone. You may get a newbie who doesnt know it's policy to treat the customers badly..yet. Say you walk into the store after calling to return your product you have a warranty for and the manager (Jason of birmingham Alabama, hwy 280) gets IN YOUR FACE and says "GET OUT OF MY STORE!"(infront of other people - can you say embarassing!?)..then what...Well after that you call corporate. After they have sent you a $75.00 gift card they tell you to go back into the store and let them service your product(the warranty says will replace)at last choice that is what you do because you are LEFT with an unuseable product. Best Buy sucks and I hope HHGREGG takes 'em down! Best Buy is much akin to high school drama and everything which follows that. I have been a representative of a printer company (vendor) in Best Buy stores for many many years now. I have been there before CARE+, before the personal shoppers, the barry store, the magnolia store, geek squad, home theater install so on. Over the years Best Buy has added these things to "enhance" how the stores interact/deal with customers. However all these things are just gimmicks and tools to get more money out of the customer. Despite even some employees "caring" going out of their way for you, there are several other customers they will not go out of the way for. Best Buy has always had lousy customer service and will continue to do so, poorly paid employees, manager's compensation is depended on how much garbage goes out the front door, and not to mention very few people select Best Buy as a career. Now some of you might laugh at this, but there are some people who do make retail their career and they in turn run and work for fantastic businesses. Among us vendors, Best Buy has a notorious reputation, where the store managers expect us vendors to act and behave as their own retail sales associates not to mention us vendors see from retail outfit to retail outfit, how the different stores deal with customers. Best Buy without fail and on average treats most customers, as pure consumers and are looking to take every penny from your wallet. The USB device cables sells for $33, at Frys, Compusa, PCClub, you can easily find a cable for less than $10. This stems from most of management and senior people not having a college education, very few Best Buy managers and regional people have had a college education. Most of them have climbed up but never learned how to run things properly because their entire pathetic career has been inside Best Buy. Best Buy also goes out of their way to make life difficult for everyone, my company used to include a USB cable in the box, but Best Buy complained because they were loosing attachment dollars, so we removed the free cables from our boxes to appease Best Buy. However our printers shipped to Costco, WalMart, CompUSA so on will continue to have a free USB cable in box. Those are all for profit companies...there just has to be a line between profit and ethics. Best Buy only exceeds Home Depot in poor customer service in my experience. Computer repair is incompetent from the store counter to the repair center. After 4 sequential returns and three months they have still failed to repair a notebook which is under an extended service warranty. What money you may save on the front end is not worth the aggravation. Agree with SD way up there. I work at Best Buy in Canada - i only say that cuz it seems the rules get bent a little more up here to keep customer loyalty... Went to BB in Overland Park, KS about a month ago to buy a new dryer. I bought all the extra stuff (vent hose, plug wire) so I could pay extra for installation. They delivered and brought the wrong vent hose so they did not actually install it. Fine. After 2 trips to the hardware store for the right vent hose and about a 5 hour investment (waiting on delivery and my own trips for more parts) on a Saturday we had a new dryer. Fine. Went last Sunday to the BB again because our washer broke to buy the matching washer to the dryer we bought last Month. We literally stood around for an hour waiting on the only guy in the entire department while he messed around with a young couple that couldn't decide on a used refrigerator. After finally finding a Manager and making a purchase we had to wait until today (Saturday) for delivery. After a 4 hr. time investment (delivery) and a week without doing laundry our new washer was delivered and actually hooked up. Yay! Nope. It doesn't work clearly non-functional. So I call the delivery company they can do absolutely nothing. They are a third party with no accountability whatsoever. So I call BB. BB solution? Send out a technician next week, and then if it's truly broke (duh) schedule a delivery for another. WHAT??!!?? So now I have to go another 3-5 days without laundry and take 2 days off work for them to fix or replace a brand new almost $600 dollar washer?? I think not. I didn't buy a brand new broke washer I was assuming I bought a brand new "functional" washer that presumably requires no repair prior to the first time it is turned on. So our final resolution has been no technician and they cannot deliver a new one until Tuesday. When Tuesday? No idea. They can't tell us until Tuesday. So either me or my wife will end up potentially missing an entire day of work. This is pathetic. When did it have to become so difficult to give people money? Customer service is virtually non-existent and clearly no one gives a sh*t. I will absolutely not buy any thing else from BB ever. I would warn you against and encourage anyone not to buy from them ever. They are a monster who cares nothing about the very reason they became so big in the first place the consumer. They should stick to CD's and Video games and stop trying to be a one stop shop for everything. There is nothing "Best" about anything you can buy there. BestBuy so sucks and I hope they fold. Nasty fucking customer service, nasty employees, wait time/ line is hell. You can't go thru an aisle without some little fucking twit attacking you. When you finally decide to buy what you needed, they try to force every other fucking items in the store down your throat. Let's not even mention computers...They so full of shit about their repairing system there, it's a joke. Ah Ha! After reading all of the comments on cadenhead's website I laughed and cried. It's just terrible the way consumers are treated when there is a problem. I worked with Bellsouth for about 15 years as a Service Rep, the company for 26. Had to take early retirement because of all of the bullshit I had to put up with, including lying to the customer (which I never did, but it is a practise) and selling items customers did not need. I'm saying this to say, I know what customer service is suppose to be like. I can say that, that was the best training I got from them; at least in the beginning of my service with the company. Things changed. Ok, so here is my story: I purchased a JVC plasma 25" flat tv in Sept of 2004, and bought a service plan which cost 399.99. Well the televison just blacked out within 10 months of the 1 year store warranty. Of all of the comments I read no one mentioned that they were aware of this. BestBuy IS responcible. well in july of 2005 I called the 888bb number. Two techs were sent out and decided, yes my tv needed to be replaced. Ok, their job done. Well for 4 months I called repeatedly to fine out when I could go in and pick out a new one. Mine sat in my home all that time and no one told me I had to take it to the store. I was told the techs should have taken it with them. NOT... I could call all of the names of people I spoke with but I"m sure there isn't enough space to do so, including supervisors. Well I used all of my customer service training: did it work, NO. So I let my husband take over. He could deal with the bullshit. The bb888 numbr kept saying they were waiting for the tech to give them a comfirmation numbr to let them know the tv is suppose to be replaced. So after going all the way to corporate we finally just took the tv back to the Southlake Store in Morrow GA, because he was told the paper work would be in. When we got to the store at the customer service desk, "nothing but dingbats", no paperwork received, can't help us. Ok so I requested a manager. It took 45 mins for her to appear after repeated calls over the pa sytm. Here name is April, yes she still works there. Well not to be ashamed, yes I acted an ASS. After 4mos of no responce and me calling, who wouldn't. After all my customer training did't work. So I was asked to leave the store. My husband gently took my arm, and we left. Well I called the next day from work, and the man I spoke with, his is the only one I don't remember told me if I stepped foot on their property he was calling the police. I said so be it, but I husband went instead. Ok. By this time it is October. The store warranty was up in September. Guess what? You guessed it...We were told that my warranty was satisfied eventho it went out within the stores' warranty.(I warned my husband that they were going to try this). So I said don't leave without getting in writing that my warranty was transfred to the new tv. He got that. About three days later a message was left on my voicemail that BB could not and would not transfr the warranty I bought to the new tv, because it was brought back to the store after the 12mo warranty. Mine you the tv went out within 10mos of the store's warranty, 4mos waiting for instruction of what to do. I ignored that message cause I had it in writing. Guess what? The lamp on this new tv, a mitsubishi LCD 52" went out in 15mos. Ok no problem with this repair. One of the same technicans came out on this repair. His name is Cory, tech 1819, cudos to him. He remembered the initial problem with the JVC. He had problems with imcompetence within the company. Ok, tv fixed. 4mos later the tv stopped working again. This time a supervisor at 888bb refused to send a tech out, because quote unquote "I had no warranty". It was satisfied when I got the latest tv. Oooh this is ridiculous!!(I'm tried of typing), but I must go on, there is more. Finally I agreed to pay for the tech to come out knowing good and well I was not paying a DAMN penny, but that was the only way 888bb would send anyone. So Cory comes out again, bless his heart. To no avail the tv needed to be replaced. He replaced the lamp again, but the tv kept locking itself out from turning on, nothing worked, he even got assitance with it. So this time he gave me paperwork with comfirmation numbr to take to the store for replacement. Well I went this time to the Peachtree City BB. They have this new thing personal shopper where I encountered Jamaal and Oh, I forgot to say as far as the phones ringing and floor people having to answer them; BB makes enough money off of consumers to designate someone to answr them. I know someone that worked with bb briefly and was told after being hired she would need to sweep and or vac the floors after store closing. Now if bb want MAIDS they should let it be known in their job description, & at hiring interviews. Wish I'd found this website sooner. I'd have stopped spending $$ at BBY long before now. My 17-year-old son worked his first summer job last year and we let him spend some of his money on what he wanted: a $2000 Mitsubishi home theater projector... really nice one. "Buy a quality product, son, and you'll be happier in the long-run," I told him. Bought it at our local BBY store. (1st mistake) It came with a 2 year warranty and about 10 months into it, the projector quit working. It gave a message that told us to replace the bulb. So, we shopped the internet, spent $440 on a new bulb, but the projector still didn't work, and still gave us the same message. Took it to BBY, (2nd mistake)they said, "two-three weeks, we'll send it off to Mitsubishi, it's under warranty, don't worry about it, we'll call you." (1st lie from BBY to me.) After 3 weeks, I called, got some lame story about why it wasn't back I got to the store and after 2 hours standing at the customer service counter, h | |
