Alien Redrum

So I had a digital coupon from Best Buy (from the Beautiful Mind order) and I tried to use it the other night.

Unfortunately it expired 20 minutes before I used it (me the dummy thinking Central time is 2 hours behind Eastern instead of 1).

So I called up Best Buy and the guy who took my call forwarded the problem to another department. He was pretty helpful and thought it shouldn't be a problem getting another gift certificate. Wrong.

My first email from Bb...

So I decide to write them back.

Now, I don't think I was too mean or angry sounding in the letter. I don't want to be a "I'll never shop here again" person unless I mean it. I have spent thousands of dollars at Best Buy over the years and I generally have never had a problem with them.

Their reply...

For some reason, that email really pissed me off. It's like they didn't even read anything I wrote.

So what do you think my next step should be? I've already called Best Buy again and someone should be calling me back. Should I now act like irate customer and throw out "I'll never shop here again"? Or continue to play it cool. I'll take any suggestions from people who can get the goods.

Please, no remarks on "well it's your fault you let the coupon expire," etc. I know that. It's the principal now.

-Steve

flashburn

Dont you just hate those kind of emails? I have emailed their CS several times for different things and it never seems they actually READ the emails, just browse to get the general idea of what you are complaining about and give you a generic response back.

Anyway , if I were you I would throw the "i'll never shop here again" attitude when (if???) they call only if they at first are still not budging, because like you said, its only $5!!! For that price they should want to keep you as a customer.

Good Luck!

greydt

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with their email - they're just re-iterating what was stated in the first reply. In addition, it does answer your email reply:

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I'm not really sure what kind of answer you were looking for. Overall, the replies you received just re-iterate that the "coupon has expired". Just think of this from their end: they're getting emails from a customer who can't seem to take "no" for an answer when the customer is in the wrong

huzefa

Chalk it up to experience. Bestbuy are pricks that way.

LBPound

I'd be really pissed over something like that. And I absolutely HATE it when BestBuy gives me some canned response. I remember it took me something like 3 weeks to get credited so that my order total matched the order total I originally had on an item that "wasn't in stock" for pickup. They refund shipping, but not the tax on shipping...they can be annoying. But I'll buy from them with a Digital Coupon.

GatorDeb

They are pretty strict about the coupon. Why did you wait until the last minute? They need form responses sometimes for people who keep asking the same thing over and over again after getting a response.

Alien Redrum

I think I'm not so pissed off about not being able to use the coupon anymore as much as I am the canned response.

That is *****ty customer service. I can understand completely that it was my fault in letting the coupon go. I have already said that. But it wouldn't be too much to ask for something other than a generic email (which I felt I recieved Both times). The first generic email I can understand. But I feel I deserve a little more courtesy the second time around.

I think flashburn and LBPound get what I'm saying. It's the hohum canned/generic emails that really gets to me. I guarantee if I could get one on the phone, they would work with me. But it's easy to tell someone know with a "fill in the blank" email. Even the people I talked to on the with at Bestbuy Customer Service agreed with me. Both said they would help me out if they could.

I guess I'm also pissed because I used to be in retail management and I have run into situations like this. I would have never handled it the way BB is handling it. I would just give the customer what they wanted. Believe me, it was worth me giving the customer a 5 or 10 dollar gift certificate to keep them as a customer. 5 or 10 bucks is nothing to me because I could make that back the next time they came in.

Oh, I waited until the last minute because I didn't know what I wanted to spend it on. I had settled on the Fog.

GatorDeb - Don't think I'm coming at you, you just happened to be the last person that responded.

GatorDeb

The reason that they need those is that there are MANY people who wrote asking the same thing. It's a business. It costs less to do a form response than to type it in, and the message is the same: no.

I don't mind HELPFUL canned responses (like the ones you got, which answered exactly what you asked).

flashburn

Alien Redrum let me know what the turnout is with them.

Alien Redrum

I can almost understand that, but then again why have customer service at all? Just have auto reply on all emails sent.

Dear (insert customer's name here),

Thank you for choosing Best Buy. Unfortunately we can't help you.

Remember, you can now schedule in-store pick ups!

Sincerely,
(have a random name generator)

My point is, customer service shouldn't be about form responses. You either are going to help the customer or you aren't. That is the problem with big business today. It makes absolutely no sense to cut corners when it comes to the customer. That's why I've always liked Amazon customer service. They have helped me everytime I have had a problem because they have the power too. All Bestbuy does is put people on the phone to forward problems to another department who sends out these emails. Bull Hockey I say!

Quote:

I don't mind HELPFUL canned responses (like the ones you got, which answered exactly what you asked).

I personally don't want any canned response. I feel I spend enough of my money at Bestbuy that I deserve personal treatment. I think the couple of thousand I've spent this year should have paid for a little personal treatment. I think anybody who spends any money at any store should get personal treatment. That's how you keep your customers happy.

Hang on, I don't want to slip when I get off my soapbox.


flashburn, will do. Hopefully it will be something positive.

greydt

Sorry, I really still can't see what your complaint is, esp. in regards to canned responses. It seems that there were two outcomes based on your inquiry:

- will the coupon be applied because you were late using it
- will the coupon NOT be applied because you were late using it

Are you looking for a detailed, personalized response to what was ultimately a "yes or no" answer? Do you want them to tell you that "sorry sir, we can't apply the coupon to the order because it was you who was late using it" - because to be blunt (and no insult intended), that's what happened.

Their email, canned as it may be, answered your email.

Personally, I do find customer service to be important, but to be honest, for "real" problems. For example, if they accidentily overcharged me, or sent me an item I didn't order, etc., of course you don't want a canned response of "everything will be okie-dokey" and that's it.

Apologies if I seem like I'm attacking you - that's not my intention. However, it just seems like you're blowing something out of proportion what was, fundamentally, an error on your part.

DRG

Well, he was wrong in the fact that he was late in using the coupon... BUT considering that
1) he filed his complaint so close to the cutoff, and
2) it was a coupon he 'earned' via his ABM purchase, which BB is oh so happy to hype (Getcher free coupon, free coupon heeer!!!)

I think the wise thing to do from a customer appreciation standout would be to just give him the discount... it's such a small thing, and in reality it's not even really a loss to BB... they had already 'sold' him the discount. I mean, if it were a 'freebie' coupon from a mailer, or if he tried to use it a week late, or if he had a history of using his coupons late that would be one thing but come on.

If I were you, Alien, I would send a final email re-expressing disappointment, without getting angry. I would bring up the point about the phone rep telling you it wouldn't be a problem, and I would politely infer that it was 'unfortunate' they cannot honor your request. I would make no comments along the lines of "I realize you have every right to blah blah blah..." Let them figure that out themselves... you're basically saying "You have no need to give me what I want, but it'd be swell if you did." Basically your second email was fine, except the last paragraph which probably blew your cause. Instead of that paragraph I would've said a little more about your good experiences with Amazon, et.al. Let them know you'll be taking your business elsewhere. If they don't care, then it's their loss.

5th_Wheel

This has happened to me also at BB.com. I had a coupon and at 11:30 PM on the expiration date their system wouldn't let me place my order. Just give them a call and they will issue you an item number. You may have to call back several times to get a new coupon, however you will finally prevail if you follow through with several phone calls.

Alien Redrum

My complaint is how impersonal their customer service is. If someone called me and said "Hey, I'm really really sorry, but we really can't help you, etc." I don't think I would be as pissed. Maybe it's because I think the customer deserves more than a fill in the blank email. It could be that I'm comparing them to Amazon or any other company I've had great customer service with. I've dropped enough dough into Best Buy's pockets that I demand high quality customer service. Believe me, the 5 bucks is secondary to me now.

Quote:

Personally, I do find customer service to be important, but to be honest, for "real" problems. For example, if they accidentily overcharged me, or sent me an item I didn't order, etc., of course you don't want a canned response of "everything will be okie-dokey" and that's it.

What else would constitute a "real" problem? It seems you think a customer who is upset over impersonal treatment isn't a "real" problem. To imply that I don't have a "real" problem almost gets to me. I say almost because I can understand your POV. But the bottom line is I feel slighted by Best Buy. Even if I am being unreasonable (which I don't think I am), Best Buy should make an effort to keep me as a customer. I think I've earned it.

Just out of curiousity, have you ever worked retail management? Believe me, satisfying customers is a daily chore and overcharged customers are the very least of the problems. I handled more complaints from customers who felt they weren't treated properly than anything else. You know how I handled it? Believe it or not, I gave them gift certificates. I apologized. I carried their items to the car. Whatever it took to keep them as a customer. And right now I don't think Best Buy is going to go that extra mile for me.

Quote:

Apologies if I seem like I'm attacking you - that's not my intention. However, it just seems like you're blowing something out of proportion what was, fundamentally, an error on your part.

I don't think that at all. Having a conversation via the net it's tough to convey how you feel or get a point across.

Alien Redrum

I definitely agree about the last paragraph. I thought that myself today when I re-read it.

5th Wheel, who did you talk too? Both service reps I talked to said they would help me if they could, but they could not adjust any orders.

greydt

I haven't worked in the retail industry, but I have worked in the service industry for more than a decade. You have customers, I have to call them clients.

And yes, I've had to deal with the "difficult, unreasonable customers". Perhaps that why I feel like I do, because based on the documentation you've supplied, you are bascially acting like the "difficult, unreasonable customer", in my POV. I'm not even talking about the coupon at this point - it's that you felt slighted because of a form letter.

As for impersonal treatment, be aware that if it was truly impersonal, you'd receive a automated mail where no one even looked at your email and a computer was the one who spit out a response. Even though a form letter was used in your case, someone was behind the keyboard/mouse who read you email, and then answered appropriately to the situation. Although it wasn't personalized, it did address the issue at hand.

Further note that the "Have a good day" or "Down the aisle" you say to customers is also considered to be a type of "form letter". One is the application of a face to face transaction, the other merely one from an Internet one. If you are ignored by a store worker while shopping in person, then of course you would feel slighted. The Internet equivalent is that they don't reply to your email either promptly or at all. However, they did reply, but you're angry at the semantics of what was in the email, and not the purpose of it.

Either way, there's no resolution to this - it's a matter of POV. I'm the kind of customer who gets to the point when it comes to transactions (in person or Internet), and only bring up dialogue of the transaction was wrong in a technically (item doesn't work, wrong item, wrong charge, etc.). If I send an email asking a question, and I get a form letter that does address the issue, then I'm perfectly fine with that because my issue was addressed.

darkside

I ordered a DVD with a digital coupon. When I received the DVD it was a totaly different DVD. So I ship it back to them per their instructions and they refund my money. However, they don't refund the coupon, because it had expired in the time it took to get the DVD back and processed. I tried to explain that it was their fault I got the wrong DVD and they should refund the coupon. Well after two of those impersonal emails just like the ones above and two phone calls they finally gave in, but dealing with Best Buy.com from my experience can be a pain.

They even tried to convince me at first that I had ordered the wrong DVD by mistake and it was my fault, even though my original internet invoice had a different DVD from the invoice in the shipping box.

LBPound

Dear Thread #222919,
I am upset that you feel this way about the Best Buy.com is close to being on my s-list issue. I appreciate your feedback but unfortunately, I am unable to provide any help with you, so rather than read your well thought-out ideas presented in this thread, I will simply respond with a form letter to show how much I value you as customers/posters.

Gotta Get It Now!-Did you know you could pick up your online purchases at your local Best Buy store? For your future online orders, consider the quick and convenient option of in-store pickup. Not only will it speed up the order process, but you won't be charged a thing for shipping and handling. What could be better than that? Just choose in-store pickup during checkout
to take advantage of this feature.

I look forward to future threads from Alien Redrum and others. Feel free to post any other questions or concerns. And be sure to visit the LBPound store!


Best Wishes from Las Playas,
LBPound and the Customer Care Team




See, that's ANNOYING.

Alien Redrum

greydt, I guess we can agree to disagree.

You should keep in mind that your client are the reason you are working. As difficult and unreasonable the may seem, they are putting food on your plate.