The Jeff Pulver Blog: In search of people from Best Buy who CARE about their customers.

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August 14, 2007

In search of people from Best Buy who CARE about their customers.

Dear Best Buy,

If you care about the customers who support your store in Riverhead, New York please consider offering service to us “customers.”

2 weeks and 30 days ago I purchased a Samsung TV for a friend as a present. I only had the opportunity to deliver the present this past weekend. Turns out the new TV wasn’t working. So I drove over to Best Buy and wanted to get a replacement. I didn’t try to return it. But because I didn’t purchase an “extended warranty”, no one at your store was interested in replacing the TV and insisted on sending it to Samsung to be repaired. The thing is that when I purchased the TV it was “new” and I wanted to give my friend a “new”, not a recently refurbished TV.

Your manager, “John” (he wouldn’t share his last name) was less than helpful in resolving this issue. In fact, he didn’t care about anything related to issue I was having.

When I realized there wasn’t anyone in your store who cared about customers, I ended up leaving the TV on the counter and left the store in sheer disgust due to the lack customer care and/or understanding. So Best Buy, if there is someone in your corporation who cares about taking care of their customers, please look me up, check out my recent purchase, deal with the attitude of your store manager “John” and then have someone contact me and let me know when I can expect the replacement TV to arrive.

Thanks.

Jeff Pulver

Tags: Best Buy, Samsung, Jeff Pulver

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Posted by jeff on August 14, 2007 12:02 AM | Permalink

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Comments

I was wondering if I was the only one that survived a nightmare from Best Buy. I will NEVER purchase anything there again. I would like to know if it does any good to report them to anyone. I don't think their headquarters cares how their customers are treated reading all the above comments. They were rude and argumentative with me and degrading. I have NEVER been treated so poorly!

Posted by: Judy at October 13, 2008 07:51 PM

Best buy customer service and warranty dept stinks. Not just in the city's mentioned but in every city. I found that out when my $1500 40” TV died. I was a good little customer and called the warrentie dept. I figured it would take a few weeks to get it taken care of. Both the installation and the TV are covered under the worthless 4 year plan. This was a huge purchase for me. They told me that someone would be out to look at it in 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS!!! And that is just too look at it!!!!!!!!!!!!!I asked if I could get it done any sooner. They said no way. Bottom line. They don't care about you or any other customer. With the economy being what it is you would think they would be on top of stuff like this. I will never ever shop at the Bakersfield Best Buy or any other Best Buy for that matter. Circuit City is just as bad so do yourself a favor. Suck it up.......pay $50-$100 more and go to Sears or even better yet a nice local place. This next month I plan on spending about $800-$1000 on a new washer. I will buy it at Urners appliance. It will cost a little more but at least the repair people will be in town. Keep it local.

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Posted by: 升降机 at July 14, 2008 05:46 AM

I bought an 80gig Classic Ipod for $249.99. When opened the box, just an hour ago, it had been replaced with a cannon battery charger and two batteries. Based on our comments above and am very worried that they will not take care of this FRAUDULENT transaction.

Posted by: Francisco Lopez at May 17, 2008 05:09 AM

I had an amp installed in my vehicle by best buy, and one day I was transporting an old car battery and acid leaked out close to the amp, so I rushed to Best Buy, so have them take a look, they said that none of the fluid was touching the amp and that it was all dry underneath, they tested the amp and said it wasn't working. I thought I could return with the one year warranty but I couldn't find the reciept. something just didnt seem right I wanted to take it back for a second opinion and to have the amp removed so I could properly clean the carpet, the guy there this time said the only thing wrong was the fuse so I replaced it right there, I then asked him if he could remove the amp for me so I could properly clean the carpet and so the amp wouldn't get wrecked, he said that the amp was on there kind of perminent and that maybe I should just put a plastic bag around it, I felt uneasy with his response but what else could I do. I few days later I checked the area around the amp, I could see some fluid at the back this time, I quickly rushed back to Best Buy and asked if they could please remove it before it is too late, the guy there this time was already told about me and said that he was told that it was dry underneath, I finally got him to unscrew it from the floor to realize that the battery acid was eating away at the amp, he tested it and said it wasn't working. I am frustrated because the one guy acted like he couldn't take it out and it could have been saved, so I complained to a manager and they said that there is nothing that they can do because they can't prove what happened. Yes, it's my fault about the battery acid spilling but their service didn't save my amp and it could have. I will not be buying a new one from them to replace it. He should have removed it like I asked and it would have been okay, it took the other guy like one minute to unscrew.

Posted by: Laura at April 22, 2008 09:19 PM

Raelyn,

I have a story about Best Buy unbelievably more insane, ludicrous, and deceiptful than even your own which is so convoluted as not to go into here. Worst Buy should be federally investigated for fraud and unfair business pratice as a rule. It's insane that a business so unscrupulous can stay in business; only in America where the terminally stupid continually support such a big business could this happen. I'll will never set foot in another Worst Buy, nor will my family. I'd rather pay hundreds more for a laptop from a local business and be guaranteed fair dealings and honesty, plus get real customer support when I need it. BOYCOTT WORST BUY, PURCHASE LOCALLY!

Posted by: Rick N at February 12, 2008 12:45 PM

Indeed, how does Best Buy stay in business?!?

I am writing to share a recent experience that I have had with the local Best Buy Tenleytown DC store. The full account is detailed on my blog at: http://bestbuybadbuyboycott.blogspot.com/ .

The short story is that Best Buy allowed my laptop to be STOLEN FROM THEIR STORE, then failed to fulfill their legal and moral obligation to disclose the theft --and my potential exposure to identity theft -- to me for months.

Months of calls, letters, and visits by me and subsequent engagement of the DC police department, DC Attorney General's Office, and others failed to yield more than a low-ball compensation offer, so I filed a $54 million lawsuit in DC Supreme Court against Best Buy on November 16 in attempt to motivate Best Buy to give privacy protection the attention I feel it deserves.

It's probably the craziest thing I've ever done, but it's the only way I could think to get Best Buy to take this issue seriously.

Sincerely,

Raelyn Campbell

Posted by: formerbestbuycustomer at December 4, 2007 11:36 PM

Dec 1, 2007 -

Today, in the morning, I purchased a new Sharp Aquos LCD TV 4264U at the local Best Buy. There two boxes in the shelf next to the display unit.
My son, who was helping me, and I took one of the boxes (~ 70 lbs) put it in the cart and proceeded to pay. I have a large SUV, so the box fitted perfectly.

When I got home and powered the unit, the LCD display was damaged. There were no signs that the LCD had been hit nor the box appeared to be damaged. Right away, I took it back to the store hoping to get an exchange. To my dismay, the service & the store managers refused to take the unit. They say that the unit was damaged either by me or by Sharp Corp. I called Sharp and after filling a case number they too refused to provide any relief. Sharp says that the LCD is not covered by the product warranty, that I should take it back to the store.

I had purchased three TVs, TV stand, a digital camara, a Dryer machine, a computer and printer, and a blue ray dvd player.

I stand to loose $1500.00 but they definitely lost a customer.

Posted by: reelizzy at December 1, 2007 09:26 PM

Dec 1, 2007 -

I had purchased three TVs, TV stand, a digital camara, a Dryer machine, a computer and printer, and a blue ray dvd player.

I stand to loose $1500.00 but they definitely lost a customer.

Posted by: reelizzy at December 1, 2007 09:24 PM

On Dec 2nd 2006, I bought a 40" Samsung LCD TV. With the tax and extended 4 year warranty, it cost almost $1600.00. I put it on my charge card, and I have 18 months to pay it off. Just before the Samsung 1 year warranty ran out, the TV stopped working. A few days later a BestBuy repair person came out and quickly diagnosed the problem as a faulty "switch mode power supply" and said that he would contact Samsung about a new part. He said that it would take about a week to get the part.

It's been well over a week, and when I've called to get an update on what's going on, all they can tell me is that they will "e-mail the repair guy and get back to me in a couple of days"!! When I didn't hear anything in a couple of days, I called back and again got the same answer. You are all right...no one at BestBuy seems to care. I'm about to start my 4 year warranty with them, but I doubt that that will change anything, because they will just say that it happened while it was on Samsungs warranty.

Do I have any recoarse, and does it really help to FedEx the CEO?? I'm still paying it off, and it kills me to pay for something that doesn't work, but if I don't continue...I will get charged all of the defered finance charges. HELP!

Posted by: Cindy at November 28, 2007 04:22 PM

In the past 9 months I have had 2 of the worst customer service experiences in my entire life with any company ever. Both experiences were with Best Buy. I will never, ever, spend another dime at Best Buy and I have gone out of my way to communicate my bad experiences with all of my friends and family. I have let them all know how poorly Best Buy treats customers, and I have encouraged my children to never spend money at their stores. And they do not!!

Best Buy is the worst company ever in my opinion. They care about nothing but revenues and they have lost all personal touch with their customers. They are too big for their own good and they have lost sight of the fact that customers drive their business. End of story! Without customers there would be no Best Buy. I wrote a letter to their CEO and some customer service rep sent me a form letter with an unacceptable response. Just another example of Best Buy's failure to take ownership of a problem that Best Buy created all on their own. I will continue to share my bad experiences with everyone I can. After all Best Buy needs to realize that when they create a horrible customer experience the customer has a network of family and friends. This results in a negative word of mouth domino effect. Good luck to them. I hope they go down the drain.

Posted by: Brad W at November 25, 2007 02:37 PM

Ahhh, a place of refuge! When my oldest was potty training about 5 years ago my husband and I went into get our dvd player fixed at Best Buy (we had bought an extended warranty on it 2 years before).

They told us that they could not fix it and basically we were up a creek. I whipped out my warranty where it stated that they had to replace it with an equivalent or BETTER. They had apparently just changed the entire warranty program and procedures a few months prior and that was no longer the protocol.

We actually had to stand there and argue with them even though we had a legal contract in our hands that they had written, LOL! In the meantime, my son apparently really needed to use the restroom.

Since we had to stand there and argue this ridiculous point, my son wound up peeing all over their floor. I smugly picked him up and whisked him away to clean him up while my husband waited for our new dvd player.

If they could have thrown darts with their eyes, they would have.

The best part is that now I am a "mystery shopper" and just got to "shop" a Best Buy last week. I am sad to say that the service is no better, but this time I get to report on it.

Posted by: Angel at October 16, 2007 08:59 PM

Sounds like your local BestBuy isn't any better than mine. I've been experiencing horrible BestBuy service for the last few weeks which ended with a return of the product, a decision to never purchase from BestBuy again, a call to an unhelpful corporate customer service unrepresentative, and a resolve to tell others to avoid this company.

Posted by: Matt at September 8, 2007 03:30 PM

With regards to the Fred Meyer post. We have a family run chain of local hardware stores in Virginia called Fishers. Their staff is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about everything from insulation, plumbing, gardening, locks, paint, and automotive parts.

I drive about 20min. out of my way to shop there AND pay a small premium over Home Depot prices because they have NEVER failed to steer me wrong regarding a hardware product, automotive part, tool, or paint for over 20 years. They've kept up a "very brisk" (owner quote) business the same 3 Virginia stores (and expanded) since I was 15 so they must be doing something right.

I can't think of the last thing I even bought at Best Buy--maybe a stack of DVDrs? I would never purchase a non-commodity item, or for that matter anything over $500 from a "big box" store. The one exception being Costco. Costco still gets "very good" marks in my book, but they do seem to have gone a bit downhill in the past 5 years or so.

Posted by: Keith Williams at August 29, 2007 11:37 PM

I will NEVER buy another product at Best Buy. I purchased a HP laptop for my daughter's graduation present on 3/31/07. I carried it home put it in the closet until she graduated on 5/27/07. We left to go on vacation when we returned on 6/11/07 she opened it up and started weeding through all of the "stuff" that came with it. When she turned it on it locked up. Thinking that it may have been a fluke we restarted it and went on our way. Well, it wasn't a fluke. It has been in repaired by either Geek Squad or HP four times now. She started to college on 8/15/07 and her laptop is still with HP for repairs. Nobody at HP can tell me the status or when it will be returned. I have talked to several people who have had the same types of issues with them. This is the 2nd computer I've purchased from them and both have had problems.

Thanks for letting me vent!!!!

Posted by: Donnie Driver at August 22, 2007 03:46 PM

I haven't patronized Best Buy in the past 3 years for the exact same reasons - lack of customer service and the inability to stand behind the products they sell. My husband bought me a digital camera from them. I received it as a gift two weeks after purchase. It did not work straight from the box. We went to exchange it, with the receipt. They wouldn't exchange it, nor let us return it because it was after 14 days. Ridiculous. Costco gets our electronic business - excellent customer service and return policy.

Posted by: Cate O'Malley at August 19, 2007 09:21 PM

I happen to work at a computer repair store as well. We had a customer by a computer from Best Buy that was less than 2 weeks old and her computer was telling her that her new Vista OS was not legit. She called to tell them and all they would say is "That is not possible." Rather than even try to deal with them anymore she paid us to fix. It took all of a day to reinstall the OS and it was fixed. It is a shame that so many stores don't care about service. It is however what helps keep our little shop in buisness. We are always getting new customers from recommendations from our old customers b/c of our level of customer service.

Posted by: Jamie at August 16, 2007 05:39 PM

Is there anyplace left where it is actually pleasant to buy consumer electronics? Where there is real service but you don't feel ripped off by the prices?

Part of the problem with Best Buy is that the inventory is absolutely minimal. You can't rely on the value of anything you see on the shelves - it could be surplus, it could be recycled, it could be discontinued, it could be anything. It could even be the new equipment you actually want - maybe!

I almost always buy mail order, but sometimes that's not well-suited to the occasion. However, if you find a reliable mail order vendor, it's more pleasant dealing with them than your average retail store.

When did buying a TV become a complex, expensive purchase? And when did it start becoming slightly less pleasant than a root canal operation?

Posted by: Dr. Question at August 14, 2007 09:52 PM

I used to joke with my friends that if communists wanted proof against free markets, they can use Bestbuy. I bought an SLR camera with 4 year protection plan, which included cleaning. Somehow there was a speckle in the lens and I wanted to get it cleaned using the protection plan. I took it to Bestbuy and gave it to them. They said it will come back in a week directly to my house. I waited for a week, it didn't come. Went to BB after 10 days. They asked me to give one more week. It didn't come. I went to BB and they said they have put a note and it will come in one week. This cycle continued for 2 1/2 months. After that I went to BB again and the person in the Geeksquad counter checked it and made a face. Then he went and talked to his manager. His manager came and told me that I can take a new camera which is equivalent to my old one. When I asked for reasons, he refused to give. When I checked for cameras, there was no camera similar to what I gave to them. Either there was one with lesser features or one with more features. That guy told that I am only eligible for the one with lesser feature. I refused to take a camera which had features less than what I actually paid for. I told them that since they are the ones who lost the camera, they have to give an equivalent one or one better than what they lost. The manager refused. I got so pissed off with my previous 10+ visits for my camera and now their refusal to give an equivalent camera. I shouted there against this atrocity. Then the manager came down and said that I am making a scene in front of other customers and asked me to keep quiet. I said I am not going to do it unless he gets me an equivalent camera. He then offered me to give the camera with higher features if I pay the difference in cost. Even though I was not willing to pay, I just paid got my camera and got out. Well, BB just lost a regular customer in me through this incident.

Posted by: Krish at August 14, 2007 01:18 PM

The most effective way of getting a company's attention is with a Fed-Ex to the CEO *and* board members. Email, etc, simply doesn't work. They get farmed out to India for processing, at best.

The reason you do the Board members is many of them are retired execs with too much time on their hands. They may actaully see your letter, and they'll mention it to the CEO next time they're golfing with him.

Posted by: Robert Swirsky at August 14, 2007 12:40 PM

hi jeff - WE ARE THE ENEMY - THE VOTER, PATIENT, CONSUMER are the ENEMY - all those them who are us seem to want is to make their bottom line bulge i call it "the F__K the hand that feeds you syndrom" -

you and i have been at best buy together too many times looking and buying cameras and other "essential non-essentials" and each time you remark about the customer service and each time i looked at you with questioning eyes - wondering about what customer service meant back in the day and how it has changed over the years - i like the comment above of the guy who worked for Fred Meyer - but in todays bottom line dead line we have all become zombies taking what our founding fathers would'nt take and fought for - representation- and the investigative journalist bosses don't want to challenge their advertisers - thomas jefferson said he would rather see a strong press then a strong government

we have become spectators in our

geo (at) diarRHETORICS.com

Posted by: geo geller at August 14, 2007 11:46 AM

That pisses me off just reading it. You bought a NEW product. There should be no questions asked about replacing it with another NEW product.
I guess this is the sort of service we can expect from retailers since they pay such shitty wages to their employees and the majority of the employees are still in their teens.

Posted by: Mike Diesel at August 14, 2007 11:06 AM

Jeff, the ironic this is that many retailers today seem to feel customer service is some sort of luxury.

I recently attended a conference where Jack Mitchell spoke and he wrote a common sense best selling book on customer service. He runs a retailer called Mitchells/Richards and built a $65M+ by following basic customer service (http://www.hugyourcustomer.com/). What a concept!!! Customer service really works...!

Too bad Best Buy is the norm and not the exception.

Posted by: Nancy at August 14, 2007 10:38 AM

Makes my blood BOIL! They are about to open a shiny new (can't imagine how expensive) store on Columbus Circle... you just gave me another reason never to step foot inside! People matter!

Posted by: kathryn Jones at August 14, 2007 10:29 AM

Just heard about www.whichwebdesigncompany.co.uk where web design companies are promoted for free but with customer feedback (ebay really started something here) which is definitely a move in the right direction. Met recently the lovely chaps who run www.trustedplaces.com which helps you find good places to go out and eat or play based on other's feedback.

Although I love the idea of all this, my reality is that I have a business that represents paying clients (professional service providers) so I have to balance customer feedback/word-of-mouth recommendation with protecting the reputations of the companies concerned. A tricky balance, but what we do is call up three previous clients prior to them coming on the site and then have in their contracts that poor customer testimonials will result in them having to leave us. We are keen to create even greater transparancy but need to keep the confidence of our paying clients at the same time, since people are very afraid of `abuse' of a more open system by disreputable competitors.

Basically, the buck needs to stop with the company doing the promoting, or the shop (like Best Buy) and not trying to palm off responsibility for the goods or services to someone further down the line.

Posted by: suzy miller at August 14, 2007 09:42 AM

Hello Jeff, It's Jeff,

I must say after 10 years at Best Buy that the situation does not surprise me. If policies haven't changed since the two years I left the company your TV is sitting behind customer service in an abandoned by customer location, and will sit there for a couple of weeks until it gets thrown out after Bet Buy's proper procedures are complete.

When I started with company in Minnesota back in the day, it was a company that cared about customer service and loyalty from that customer. As managers, we had to talk to 15 people a day that exited and find what made them purchase or not purchase and what we could do to improve the process. But as of late, the company is more focused on getting the revenue and margin that it so desperately needs to make Wall Street and the shareholders happy. It is that reason that a good number of great managers have left the company for smaller privately owned companies. Managers have never truly been promoted for the skills that truly make a manger, but have been promoted for their ability to consistently sell PSP, Accessories, ISP, VoIP, Services, and installs. That is why you get the push back at customer service.

I'll bet you 10 bucks that if you went in there and said you would by the PSP he would get you a new box, video tape it if you do, because in his mind he will have one.

I am going to try and make a few calls on this for you Jeff, If I get any results I will call Chris.

Posted by: Jeff Persch at August 14, 2007 09:20 AM

Sounds a bit like Israeli 'customer service' to me.

Posted by: if you will it... at August 14, 2007 09:01 AM

Hi Jeff,
I was with Circuit City for 23 years until they "eliminated my position" at the corporate office this past May. I can tell you that up to a few years ago, Circuit City would have gladly replaced your TV. They would have repaired it, billed the manufacturer for the cost, and sold it as "refurbished". Unfortunately, the manufacturer reimbursement for the repair (per negotiated contract) would not typically cover the cost of shipping to and from the depot and the parts/labor expense. With margins shrinking, both Best Buy and Circuit changed their policies to require the customer to work directly with the manufacturer, thereby avoiding "unnecessary" costs. Of course, if you have purchased an extended warranty, you have already paid for the repair, so they will do the exchange for you and bill what's not covered by the manufacturer to the warranty servicer.

It's terrible from a customer service standpoint, but customer service, especially after the sale, is something that was abandoned by these retailers long ago.

Posted by: Doug Meacham at August 14, 2007 08:56 AM

This really sucks to hear Jeff. Especially since it was a gift which makes it even worse.

Best Buy has so much potential to be a great company. They've got the locations, selection and convenience, but their service sucks.

I really hope someone is paying attention and gets in touch with you.

Posted by: C.C. Chapman at August 14, 2007 08:55 AM

Hmmm...so I'm not the only one that walked out of a Best Buy in frustration?

I teach a class in Customer Service at the local community college. Because I am a semi-geek I tend to get all of the programming and CISCO students as students in my class.

It's interesting to see their attitude change about customer service from the beginning to the end of the class. Initially they are mad because they are required to take this class, by the end they have seen the light and realize that customer service is important in any job!

Posted by: Ann at August 14, 2007 08:19 AM

I learned a LOT about customer service as a teenager when working for Fred Meyer (a west coast chain kind of like Walmart, but better).

It didn't matter if they had a receipt or not, they could return the item if we carried it. It didn't matter if it was 'under warranty' or not, we would replace it. If someone came in looking for something, but we didn't have it, we would jump on the phone for them and call the neighboring competing stores and find out who did, so that our customer never left wondering if they would find what they were looking for at their next stop.

Seriously, think about that. I don't think I can recall the number of times I called Ernst Home Center, Home Base or The Home Depot when we didn't have a piece of plumbing or a tool someone was looking for. Why would we do that? So that they would always come to us first. If we didn't have it, they would find out from us who did. One stop at best. Two stops at worst.

The goal was to win the customer's heart, not their wallet. The wallet would follow. And their friends with their wallets as well. And the truth is, people loved us. People got to know us. I would get stopped and asked for help no matter WHERE I was. Grocery shopping, clothes shopping or just swinging in to get my check. And you better believe that even if I was off, I would point the person in the right direction. Never once did the phrase "I'm sorry, I'm off" come out of my mouth (though at the grocery store, I did have to say, "I'm sorry, I don't work here" if I didn't know where they were looking for was.)

Since then (I was a wee lad at the time) I've worked at a number of places, and all have failed to live up to that experience of customer service. Even Costco, a store that I loved working at, was a pale shadow of my Fred Meyer experiences. And very few places I shop at these days can even come close (though I'm really digging Staples' customer service lately).

Good post. I hope someone at Best Buy at least reads it and takes a look at their own culture.

(paragraphs aren't showing up in the preview. Hope they make it in the actual page).

Posted by: Chris Wilson at August 14, 2007 08:16 AM

Given the buying experiences I've had at our local BestBuy, it doesn't surprise me in the least that their customer service is non-existent. It's another of those big chain discount places that makes you feel like a nameless, faceless consumer that gets shuttled through a very studied sales and check-out process. I always leave places like that feeling like I shouldn't have given them my business, like I just took a risk buying something. Your experience seems to validate that sense.

Posted by: Joe Cascio at August 14, 2007 07:53 AM

Well played sir! I bet someone from their PR dept contacts you.

If they dont then they are making two big mistakes. The first being letting a gadget freak leave on bad terms the second being not monitoring the blogospere for bad publicity like this and quelling it.

Sounds frustrating either way. I wonder what it is though that makes the employees care so little. Sometimes I think these mega chains need a wake up call as to where the cash comes from (me and you!).

Posted by: Jesse Chenard at August 14, 2007 07:40 AM

August 14, 2007

In search of people from Best Buy who CARE about their customers.

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