Easy

I preordered Harry Potter during their promotion when they offered a $10 digital coupon if you preordered the dvd by a certain date. I also used a $5 digital coupon in ordering the disk.

Problem - someone ripped my credit card number so the bank canceled and is sending new cards. This was ordered way back in January or Febuary and won't be released till the end of May... but somehow, in an unrivaled feat of lousy timing, Best Buy decided to charge the purchase the first week in April during the time my card was ripped off and canceled. I tried three times to have the order reinstated and recover the "lost" digital coupons. No luck. I even got a case number and their super duper superman CSR sent me an email which read in part: "We have researched your order and can confirm that the digital gift certificate is no longer available." Well, no ****. That was the complaint. Moron. I have ordered hundreds of dvds and was shocked to learn that the CSRs working for Best Buy could not do something as simple as this. Every other store I know of can. Pitiful.

I'm eager to purchase a Widescreen HDTV. Money saved and ready to spend. I am just waiting for a while to see what happens with DVI/DHCP. I don't know what will happen with that issue. I do know one store that will not get my business. They can't even restore a digital coupon. What would happen if I had a problem with a 400 pound television? I hate to think.

POWERBOMB

Did you just email them or call them?

vwbeetlvr

best buy is a big ass company with lots of sales. It's pretty hard for them to take care of customers on a case by case basis like yours. i'm sure if you actually spoke to a human on the telephone they would help you out. Those e-mails are "canned" so they really dont mean much.

shrike

I can't speak for any other Best Buys but the one here in Daytona Beach has the absolute worst customer service of any store I have ever seen. I could write a couple of pages of horror stories that my friends I have have experienced there. And after reading some other threads on this forum and others, bad customer service at Best Buy seems to be the norm.

Easy

I called three separate times and spoke to three different CSRs. One CSR offered to assign a "case number" which I presume is refered to someone with some authority to resolve problems as it appears the CSRs have absolutely none. The "authority" sent me the worthless email.
It isn't really a big deal. I lost no actual funds only $15 in coupons. However, I do consider it a good measure of what to expect should problems arise with big ticket items. In that context it is more than a little scary.

Merin

Check out www.bestbuysux.org ...it looks like they have hundreds of CS horror stories stretching back to 1/99.

UAIOE

Yup, reason being is that more emphasis is placed on selling crap and meeting #'s than it is customer care.

If you came in to buy one DVD i was supposed to tell you about MSN and offer you some form of storage hoping you would buy something.

Unfortunatly (well not really), I'm not a salesman. I valued customer service way more over selling tons of sh*t to people. I worked there two years and never had a single customer get irate with me, yet i was considered a "bad employee" because i wouldnt force internet services down peoples throats.

POWERBOMB

UAIOE, I wouldn't think you to be a bad employee for mentioning something to me, like your internet or storage. You're doing what you are paid to doffer items and try to make a sale. By not making an offer, you are actually giving bad customer service.

For example, I figure that Best Buy sell 10 - 15 internet sign up's everyday. That almost 70+ people a week. Every single week, who would otherwise never know if someone didn't mention it to them.

So your company is out to make money. And they are having their employees follow the policies. And they haven't laid anybody off and their stock keeps rising. What's the problem?

UAIOE

You have a point.

I realize that the company wants to make money but to me (and some others) what we were "trained" to do wasnt very good for our department. I worked in Music/DVD's and frankly, it really wasnt worth going into a 10 minute speech on internet service when all someone wanted was the newest rock or rap CD. Somehow turning a depatment that is very high volume into a sales department seems a bit silly.

If i had worked in any other area in the store i would have had no problem with offering the internet, seeing as those departments had items that were expensive. But most of my time in the media department was spent answering smaller questions that are generally asked (when is this cd/dvd coming out so on)

I dont think i was in the wrong for not offering the internet. I gave good customer service, i helped people find the item(s) they wanted thereby making sure they return to purchase from the store again. I also made sure that people left with the item(s) that they wanted so to avoid returns.

Another reason i didnt "sell" the internet is because its an annoyance, if someone walks into 3 different departments all they hear is "MSN,MSN,MSN", if i were them i'd be pissed off as well.

sniper308

Basically Best Buy is good if you can go in, find what you want without help, pay for it, get out & have no issues. If you have any issues along the way, they are not fun to deal with. Kind of like an electronics McDonalds, if you are a cookie cutter customer with no special circumstances or requests they are acceptable, but if you want something that requires customer service or any kind of out of the box thinking by a CSR, give it up.

Abob Teff

I hate to say this, but I used to respect you Powerbomb.

Imagine you are in a world, not of site and sound, but of french fries and pimples. Now in that world, we'll call it "McBorscht's," you want to order a double cheeseBorscht with saurkraut. Now, when you approach the counter, the cashier pleasantly takes your order and then asks you if you'd like to subscribe to America's favorite bi-weekly magazine "Intestinal Distress Bi-Weekly." You politely decline. Then the cashier asks you if you'd like to purchase a carrying case for your sunglasses. You politely decline. Then the cashier tries to tell you that the double cheeseBorscht doesn't really come with cheese, and you should purchase this extra piece of headcheese because it will deliver a better taste to your tastebuds and do so quicker than normal cheese. You politely decline. Then the cashier asks you if you'd like to purchase an optional insurance policy just in case you should get food poisoning two years down the road.

I can see trying to sell a customer additional accessoriesfor the product they are buying. That is good salesmanship. But to blatantly lie to the customer (check out their printer cable scam)? To push products that the customer has no interest in and are not relevant to their purchase (internet when I'm buying a dishwasher)? To suggest products that you know are utterly useless to the customer (sunvisor CD case when I buy a DVD)?

These are not pertinant to the customer and are a waste of the customer's time and an assault on their intelligence. To push these items is to insult the customer. "You don't know your arse from a hole in the ground, so here, you really need this!"

The best way to serve that customer (on an individual level) is to provide them prompt, courteous, helpful service. If you don't know the answer, find out. Thank them for their purchase and invite them back. The best way for a company to provide good customer service is to provide intelligent, knowledgeable, respectful sales clerks. Find out what the customer wants and needs and provide that, not tell them what you say they need, take their money and laugh them out the door for being a sucker.

The few times that I go to a theater I intentionally order the medium soda. If they provide good service and inform me that I can get a super-jumbo-lard-butt for just a quarter more, I reward them and take it. Same for fast food (which I do too much of). If they provide good sales and service, I reward them. If they don't, I really didn't need the extra calories anyway. It is not much different than tipping a waitress. Would you tip her extra for bringing you the wrong food? I have no problem with suggestive selling or even upselling, as long as it is relevant and beneficial to the customer. BUT . . .

I was in a toy store in the mall the other day and was going to purchase a little hot wheels (used generically) race car for my M&Ms collection. That was the only thing I had. The clerk asked me if I needed batteries for it. I walked out without buying it.

D.Pham5GLTE (>60GB)

ditto on that...and their returns line goes so slow...I mean, is it really that hard to PM an item? I'm not just talking about the time it takes to call up the other store to verify availibility...that's only about half the time...the other half, well god knows what they're doing. Also, i talked to one of the sales reps, and asked him about the 10% thing and PMing. He said he never heard of any 10% thing before

UAIOE

Abob, i feel really sorry for you. You have to shop at the Springfield Best Buy....that place...it was the butt of many many jokes.


Back on topic. I remember when we (the employee's) were introduced to the website a few years back, I was hoping that it would be somewhat similar to Amazon but when i tried it...heh, i still think rather lowly of the site. The site is just half-assed, thats all i can really say.


For those who didnt already know, if you ever get a raincheck or have something special ordered (from another store)...make sure you check up on these things. I dunno how many times my rainchecks and transfered items were "lost" or sold to someone else.

(it may just depend on the store, but be warned)

Abob Teff

Oh do tell! Even if it's in an e-mail I'd like to hear. I haven't noticed them being any worse (or better for that matter) than any of the other Best Buys I have frequented over the years (Peoria and Champaign). They are all brimming with incompetence. I will say this though, a few members of their staff are friendly (not very helpful, but friendly).

POWERBOMB

UAIOE, I can see where you are coming from. I guess from my perspective (and from what I know about Best Buy selling practices) is that of the three Best Buy's that I frequent, the music/movie employees have never asked me to buy internet service. Not once. They have asked if I wanted to buy some storage and on a few occassions have even recommended other product to me. I get the service that I expect when i'm there.

Now I have heard these same employees give the internet speech but only when they were being given some kind of performance review by their sup or manager. Most of these employees say the same thing about the MSN speech as you do and have told me that the only time they offer it is when the are being reviewed.

So I don't think you are in the wrong for not using that speech. But it makes a great impression if you tell everyone you do. I'm not saying you should lie (sounds like I am, but I'm not) all I'm saying is that you should embrace it when you are around other employees. If you have worked retail long enough, you kinda know what your sales pitch should be. Hell, I may even be one of the customers you talk to on a regular basis.

POWERBOMB

Abob Teff, sad to hear you've lost your respect for me. But in the time I've been on this forum I've made it no secret that I enjoy shopping at Best Buy (and Target for those of you keeping score!).

I've had a few problems of my own with their managers and their policies. I'm a constant visitor of BestBuysux.com. I get frustrated when I'm in a long checkout line or can't find any help just like most every person on this board that has complained about those things.

But I also have those problems at Target, Circuit City, Sears, Home Depot, many fast food/restrurants, theme parks, gov't offices, etc. That's how it goes. I also know that in many instances these problems are caused by the custmoers themselves.

You know the kind. They never heard or bought the service plan. They can't find their reciept. They only know a few of the lines of a song as they sing off key. The kind who know the movie what about this guy who fought with this other guy and then this girl does... The kind who want a burner but want to know if a dvd-rom drive will burn dvd's.

I've bought a lot of things at all these companies. I've had great experiences, good experiences, and just plain awful experiences. But I've noticed that as long as I understand their policies and I follow them, my great experiences outnumber my plain awful ones.

So if you never shop Best Buy again ( which I'm not saying you said or implied) then you're just one less customer I have to stand behind.

UAIOE

Powerbomb... fortunately i dont work at Best Buy anymore (i really dont miss the place). The reason why i left were that i was being forced to movie to another department that wouldnt give me the hours i needed. (Long Story) The other reason is because my department supervisor told me to offer the MSN to kids hoping that this tactic would help the department numbers. He said that by telling these kids about it they might talk thier parents into buying it. I told him that was a very nice idea, but i refuse to talk kids into getting this stuff. Well, another one-on-one meeting and a few write up's later, i decided it was time find some other work and put in my two-weeks the following day.

As i said before, i dont miss the place. I miss the co-workers and i miss helping the customers, but i dont miss BS.

I still shop there but i never really ask for help with anything because i'm one to know what i want before i enter the door.

Easy

Geoff forwarded an email from a Best Buy rep stating they would like to address my concerns and restore the lost coupons.
Two points:
1. Geoff would not give them my email address as that is against site policy (and rightly so) but he was kind enough to forward their mail. Thanks.
2. I am not interested in Best Buy's offer as I have already preordered Potter elsewhere. I had a bad experience and shared it with the forum... so I thought it only fair and right that forum members be made aware of Best Buy's effort to address the problem and make good on the lost coupons.

Eric F

To put in a good note for BB online, if you order something off their website and do a "store pickup" and then it turns out it's not in stock, they'll ship it to you for free.

I'm not particularly thrilled with their retail setup. The "in store pickup" feature does not work well at my local store. It takes them along time to get the item up from the warehouse, and they won't allow you to pick the item up off the shelf.

Last time I was in the store waiting for a pick-up, a manager came over and dressed down the cashier, calling him incompetant, right in front of my face. Totally inappropriate.

POWERBOMB

Geoff - A guy who has the Stroke (and a direct line to the CEO's of every major retailer in this country!)

Abob Teff

I guess I should have put a after my first line. I was expressing extreme shock at your approval of those sales techniques (which I loath, as you have guessed). (Yes, I still love and respect you, even though you have a contemptable position on this. )

Yes, I do agree with your shopping experiences -- most are brought about by the customer. I have had the same, but I have found that more often than not, the problem is exacerbated by ill-trained employees (note, I'm not placing the blame directly on them, but rather the company).

As for shopping at BB, yes, I still will, just as much as I shop any of the others. And I will continually expect low levels of customer service (if I am forced to deal with an employee), just as I do everywhere else.