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UPS. A friend sent a package through them and somehow the zip code got screwed up. The first time I called, the package wasn't at a place where it could redirected, so I had to call back the next day, so I did. When I finally got it straightened out to get the package delivered the right city, I specifically asked if it could be taken to one of the distribution centers for me to pick up because there was no way I'd be home to sign for it. Even though arranging for pick-up is appaarently an option according to their website, I was informed that they had to attempt to deliver the package before I could arrange to pick it up. Fine. So they attempt to deliver and, of course, I'm not there. So I call the number on the slip. I'm thinking I can just drop by and pick up the package. Oh no, "it will be available" between 7pm and 9pm--while I'm at work. ??? The guy on the phone was smart enough to cooperate with me and let my friend pick it up for me even though we didn't live at the same address (and that was a whole other ordeal for her.) I'm sure "Brown" has done plenty of good things for plenty of people, but I will stick with the USPS from now on.
Posts: 1090 | Registered: Oct 2003
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The law about gift cards not being subject to all of those imaginary fees is also in CT, I believe.
Posts: 1547 | Registered: Jan 2004
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This is why I have problems with angry business badmouthing - you get one or two individual anecdotes turned into a huge mean snowball against an entire company.
I think it's much smarter to look into Consumer Reports or some other situation where you get large number sampling and fair comparisons.
Every business is going to have a small number of mess-ups. This is not a good excuse, in my opinion, to be spreading your stories and giving them a bad name when, in reality, they may have a very low occurance of the type of problem that affected you.
When I get repeated problems over a long period of time at several different locations of a chain store, like I have with Kinko's, then I'll start making judgements. But I don't think one screw up is enough to totally prevent my future business.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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Though I hesitate to say it, I would avoid America West Airlines. I do not say this because of any bad flight experience I've had, but because of experience with them at their maintenance hanger at the airport in my area. My job is to make sure that certain machinery in the aerospace industry functions properly and meets certain government, military, or commercial specifications. I was concerned at the condition in which I found one of their pieces of equipment. My concerns multiplied when I learned that the equipment appears to still be in use despite not meeting specifications. The operators are clueless and surly and the managers are equally clueless when it comes to the specifications and when it comes to Quality Control. Frankly, it's a wee bit appalling and makes me seriously consider making an anonymous phone call to the FAA recomending that they audit the site. I don't think I'll be flying America West any time soon.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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To follow up on what Annie was saying, it's inevitable that a company as large as Best Buy will have some employees who are incompetent, ill-mannered, and/or just mean. It's just as inevitable that some middle management will be just punching the clock. So I take these claims with a grain of salt.
That said, there are some companies that've pissed me off repeatedly, and on separate occasions and that I refuse to deal with ever again. Dell, I'm talking you. Bellsouth, you too. But in both of those cases I had several people argue with me even though I was unassailably in the right, and had the documentation to prove it.
Bellsouth still contends that I owe them 171 dollars, even though I have the cancelled check for that amount, paid to them over 4 years ago. They eventually strung me along to the point that I just gave up, even though several of the people I spoke with admitted it was a clerical error on their part.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Like I've said, I've dealt with three locations of Best Buy, and as a business owner myself, I am all for word of mouth.
I've brought my computer in between five and seven times, dealing with different techs and different managers each time. I've lost count, and this last time it's been out and back from the service center and still has the problems, so does this count as once or twice? I'm not sure.
Besides, if I do good work for my clients but make a mistake, do I deserve to have the whole community know about this mistake? Yes. I do. That's business. People who know about my mistakes can judge for themselves whether or not they want to risk retaining me.
So I'm not at all sorry for spreading the word about what's happened to me. People can determine for themselves whether or not they want to risk it.
Right now the local store is offering us a display model computer. We called back and asked why we didn't merit a new computer, as the warranty states, and after some back and forth, the manager admitted that he's not sure, so he's going to start calling Best Buy corporate. I plan to write a letter to corporate praising the people who have worked so hard for us in their company, for what it's worth.
In Dell's defense, I'll say that they went through a real bad time several years ago, then turned it around. I had a computer that died (probably some simple hardware problem) and they were first useless about it, then they "replaced" it with a refurbished computer that made loud griding noises whenever you turned it on and was dirty and clearly used. Only when I called back a zillion times did I get a positive response. Thing is, their positive response was to give me full trade in value for the old computer, PLUS an additional three year warranty on the new computer I got. So, they more than made me whole, and that new computer was fine. No hardware problems. Moreover, I have an old 486 laptop from them that still runs. It runs Windows 95 and takes about six minutes to boot up. I owned it during a period of time when I traveled a lot, and I even dropped it once, fully expecting to have broken it. No discernable damage. I'll buy from Dell again, despite the hiccups I've experienced.
You rely on word of mouth, as well you should. You know all your employees by name, and probably most of their spouses names as well, right? It's unrealistic to expect a huge chain to work the way you do. They don't need word of mouth, because they have a building that's visible from 2 miles away, good prices, and a national ad budget.
I'm not saying it's right, just that's how it is. I buy from small local businesses whenever I can.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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True... but not really relevant. I'm saying that anyone who has a problem with any business should feel comfortable sharing it. It's not "unfair" to the business; it's just the way business goes.
Do I think I'll pull down Best Buy's corporate empire? Er... no. Do I think I'll make a discernable impact on their customer base. Probably not. But even if I could, that would be no reason to keep my mouth shut.
Posts: 700 | Registered: Feb 2000
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There's a difference between being treated poorly by one employee, and then there's being the victim of poor company policy.
In my Best Buy example, the primary issue was that my computer was being ignored at the repair center, while I was being given the run-around by the tech support center. It wasn't one employee either, every time I called they would all say the same thing, that it would be there soon. None of these employees knew such a thing, and were saying that to placate me. It turned out that none of them had any more idea what was happening to my computer than I did. I don't blame the employee's, as it was obviously Best Buy policy to placate impatient customers in this manner. Then it was Best Buy's policy not to give customers the number of the repair center. I needed to pressure a manager to give it out. And it wasn't one solitary employee at the repair center who was ignoring my computer. I'm guessing Best Buy policy is to give low priority to computers they can't fix because a non-covered part needed to be replaced first. It must not have been Best Buy policy to alert the customer to the fact that they can't fix their computer. If it happened to me, it happened to other people. Keeping my mouth shut because I am just one person is crap. Those warrantees are probably always a bad idea anyway. When I worked at Staples, the managers made it clear that they considered them pure profit. We were supposed to try and sell one year plans on shredders which came with a one year manufacturers warrantee (almost exactly the same terms as what we offered). That's just plain wrong. I can't imagine how difficult it is to get Staples to actually fix anything.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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I haven't made any major purchases from Best Buy, so I'm not going to add to what's said about them. I have had an identical issue with CompUSA which was never resolved satisfactorily (so I have no qualms about detailing the issues here). Short version:
Bought a CTX computer from CompUSA, and opted for the extended warranty since I've had a problem here or there with computers that could have benefited from such coverage. The computer worked as well as could be expected from a Windows PC for about 12 months, then started going downhill. It would periodically lock up. No warning, no noises, it would simply cease operation and display the screen as it was at the time of death. Computer would have to go through a hard reset to come back. After about a month of this I approached CompUSA with the problem. In the end, I believe the computer was visited once at my dorm, and four other visits to CompUSA's (two different locations). The original diagnosis made during the field visit was a faulty CPU fan, so that was replaced and I was happy for all of about two days. Computer locks up, so it's time for visit number 1. I was told it was a software issue, and that it wouldn't be covered under warranty. So I formatted it (low-level) and started again from scratch. Problem not solved, and it froze repeatedly while I was trying to get it set back up. So visit number two a few weeks later. Told I wasn't proficient enough to format a computer, and it continued to be a software issue. After threatening managers and BBB, they conceded to format it for me for no cost. Retrieve computer, and next day locks up repeatedly. Shortly after this, I move to a different city, and the tale resumes. Take the computer to a new CompUSA for visit number 3, and highlight the history. They say they will evaluate. Report comes back that they could not replicate the problem, and the computer is fine. I take it home, hoping for a faith heal, and it locks up. Computer returns to CompUSA for visit number 4. The problem occurs once, and they label it a software issue, possibly cause by a driver or IRQ conflict (which has been checked several times over). I press the issue, and they claim if it is hardware, it's an overheating issue and not covered by warranty, so I'll have to install an additional fan myself. After letting them know in no uncertain terms that is not acceptable, they say that even if they claimed the computer a lemon, they do not have a comparable machine to replace it with (this is about two months before the warranty expires). I leave the store after delivering thinly veiled insults regarding them, their families, and possibly their pets. Computer freezes two days later, and case winds up with an inch deep dent in the side. So much for the warranty, plus I was retuning to college and in need of a working and reliable computer. CTX visits the great parts bin in the sky, Feyd gets a Dell.
9 months after Feyd gets a Dell, HD starts making grinding noises. I call Dell, and at the end of the phone call a new HD is being sent to me. I get a warm fuzzy feeling that maybe customer service can be more functional than my previous computer.
Oh, and regarding Kinkos. They work splendidly, when you tower over and corner them like a terrified dog. Give all the implications that a kicking may ensue if they offend you further, and they're most industrious. I learned this when I dropped my thesis program off to be printed, and ready for pick-up in about 28 hours. The document was due in 39 hours. I was called the morning the document was due that they could not print the document due to size constraints. I packed my large and intimidating duffle-bag full of books and work, and went to Kinko's looking very tired, haggard, and perhaps a bit short-fused. I explained my situation, their error, and pretty much implied the document would be ready at 4 that afternoon regardless. I then set up a nice work desk at the table closest the cash register, and didn't move until I was told the program was ready (at 3:45), and was asked if there any options I'd like added like laminating, binding, dividers, and so on. The breakdown there was one lazy tech tried to open a 200 mb document file, and gave up when it didn't process immediately. At least the management admitted this, and remedied the mistake.
Those are the only two incidents I've had that warranted commenting on. All the others were just miscommunication and very slight.
Feyd Baron, DoC
EDIT: And I'll applogize in advance for the severe lack of paragraph breaks.
Posts: 1368 | Registered: Sep 2002
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There are many cases in which I'll pay a few extra bucks and buy from more personable companies than Best Buy, Home Depot, or Sears. I've found I get better customer service and am able to build a more personal buiseness relation.
For Example: If I buy a new TV from "Bob" then have a problem, I want to talk to "Bob" before I speak to anyone else. Chances are if I purchase from a store that is not a mass marketer, TV sales is "Bob's" career, he knows what he's doing, and won't be in sofa sales next week. There is nothing that urks me more than trying to resolve a problem and getting another person (if I can get a person at all) every time I call only to have to explain the situation over and over.
Posts: 9 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Small companies often don't move enough volume to be able to write a lot of things off, though, so that can be a disadvantage. Bob may not be able to afford to give you a new computer if yours is defective and the manufacturer's warranty has expired.
A Best Buy location near us has come through and are going to replace the computer even though Best Buy corporate will not let them claim the loss on insurance. So, I will restrict all of my Best Buy purchases to this one location and will not buy any more warranties from the Geek Squad. (I hadn't ever planned to, anyway.)
I'm not a fan of Best Buy corporate, but since this store is taking a hit for us, I will buy products from them. It's been a year and a half struggle, so I hope this new computer can limp along for about a year while I set money aside so that I could buy a new one, if necessary.
Posts: 700 | Registered: Feb 2000
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I'll reiterate the anti-Verizon sentiments. Over the five months that I was their customer, I spent, I think, upwards of 50 hours on the phone with their customer disservice department. Problems included but were not limited to: them not turning my phone line on; them refusing to activate my DSL after they had turned my phone line on, because they had no records of turning it on; them turning my phone line off, rather than recording it as on, when I asked them to rectify the situation; them not providing me with paper bills even when I specifically requested them to do so over the phone; them refusing to transfer my phone number when I moved; them claiming that I could not get DSL in my second apartment even though the previous tennant in that exact room had had Verizon DSL; them attempting to bill me for transfering my phone number and activating DSL in the second apartment despite having done neither; and, finally, after my account was closed, them allowing me to view the account details of the next person to have my phone number by logging into their website with my old account name and password. Of course, they denied every problem the first two times I called in it. . . .
Did I mention that when I ordered their DSL the first time, the representative claimed it wasn't Mac-compatible and tried to refuse to sell to me when I mentioned I used a Mac? It took me less than ten minutes to set it up on my computer once they finally got it turned on. It's a good thing I never needed any sort of technical assistance, I guess.
I know they're a conglomerate; I know their wireless department is separate from their phone and DSL departments; you still couldn't pay me to engage in any sort of transaction with any Verizon subsidary.
I had complaints about other companies, but I think I'd better let my blood pressure drop a bit first :-).
Posts: 650 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Angry Parent said the best explanation she got was that my story was inaccurate.
Well, that would be pretty easy to disprove if anyone saw you in Atlanta. I guess they were banking on her not suing in small claims court or anything.
I hope she reported them to the BBB.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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We got our laptop from Best Buy and couldn't be happier with them. We did get the warranty and it only took the Geek Squad 2 days to correctly diagnose our problem and another 3 days to replace the hard drive.
My former company bought a server from Dell and it was the worst decision we ever made. Customer service was astonishingly unhelpful and they refused to take it back, even though we had a warranty. We ate the cost and were in the process of taking them to court when I left. On the other hand, I've had 3 Dell desktops that never had any problems.
I also won't deal with UPS, because 2 of the companies I worked for were outrageously cheated by them. Of course, I once had FedEx deliver the wrong packages to the wrong 2 students (each got the other's math book) 5 times!
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
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quote: Small companies often don't move enough volume to be able to write a lot of things off, though, so that can be a disadvantage. Bob may not be able to afford to give you a new computer if yours is defective and the manufacturer's warranty has expired.
Never said anything about small companies. There are many companies that have a smaller location, but often have a larger companies behind them. And if you provide high quality merchandise there won't be much to right off and the manufacturer are typically more responsive anyway. I work for a fireplace and grill company, we have never written anything off. Our merchandise cost a little more than a mass merchant, but it works. If it has a problem, it gets fixed within 2 weeks because our employees are trained, consistant, and care.
Most American corporations and American consumers don't remember what customer service is. American's assume they will recieve poor treatment and are estatic when they actually get what they deserve.
I don't know, maybe because I live in a populated and fairly high income area (Metro Philadelphia)I have more choice and local companies compete in the consumers intrest?
All I can say is that from my experience small, yet successfull, shops are more flexible because they want your return buisness and your referall. Most mass merchants don't need that. (imagines cows being hearded) Most owners that are involved in there buisness would never want to have a customer bad mouthing them. Whereas, mass merchants just don't care. I bet a million complaints about Best Buy could be found on the web. I'm sure the only to fix some problems with most mass merchant's merchandise is to be very persistant.
Uh Oh. Starting to rant and ramble. Must go before I sound crazy. Vacation begins ... 3..2..1..now.
Posts: 9 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Adobe Systems, makers of Photoshop -- and, in this particular case, GoLive CS2.
Not only are they staffed by drooling incompetents, and not only do they require a credit card number from callers EVEN IF the caller's support call is on an installation issue (and therefore free), they hobble those incompetents by doing the following:
1) Not allowing them to send individual E-mails to support callers; 2) Not allowing them to receive E-mail from support callers; 3) Not allowing them to divulge alternative contact methods to support callers; 4) Not allowing them to forward callers to other techs; 5) Not allowing them to divulge higher-level support techs to callers; 6) Not providing them access to the call resolution database used by the second-level support techs
What this means: You call in through the main 800 number. They can't answer your question, but there might be an article on their website that does. They can't E-mail you the link, but they can read you the full address over the phone; they CAN E-mail you the entire article, using a remailer form that permits them to mail knowledgebase articles. (Note that they can attach personalized comments to these articles, so I've frequently had techs get around their E-mail restriction by including their real instructions in "comments" attached to an unrelated article.
If that article doesn't help, they'll type up the problem as best they can and bump it up to second-tier support. You will never get to speak to second-tier support. If they type your problem incorrectly, or don't include a piece of vital information, you will find out about it weeks later when you're finally contacted with a potential fix for the wrong problem.
Once the call goes to second-tier support, they have no way of checking whether second-tier support is working on it or how far they've progressed on the issue. You will, I repeat, never get to speak to second-tier support; they may be mystical elves with whom the support managers -- never the first-tier techs, who speak of them with reverence -- commune weekly, perhaps using sundials.
So let's say second-tier support miraculously gets wind of your problem and actually works on it. They submit a fix to the website, but do not note it on the original case. It's up to the first-tier tech to remember to keep checking your open case to see if a tech article has been posted that would fix your problem. (Alternately, you can keep calling back on that same 800 number, going through the constant "type your case number or customer ID into the phone keypad, then get transferred, then tell someone your case number, then get transferred again, then tell someone ELSE the case number you've now inputted twice" routine. Sometimes you'll get lucky and get in touch with a tech who'll read your case history and then check for updates. Sometimes you'll have to explain your whole problem from the beginning, often being interrupted by a "wow" when the first-tier support tech realizes the awesome potential of, say, silent installers for the first time, and wishes he knew how to help you.)
And every now and then you'll research a fix for your own problem out of sheer frustration and call in to the techs to thank them for their time and give them the fix. And then, because you can't actually E-mail them any documents, they'll ask you to type up the fix and post it to a webpage or FTP site so they can cut and paste it into their internal E-mail to send to second-tier support.
This is one of those companies whose reputation is completely sustained by cult inertia.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Best buy took some hits in this thread, and I just wanted to add a positive experience to this thread. I bought an open-box HDMI upconversion DVD player from them 32 days ago. Yesterday, or 1 day after the 30 return policy expired, it completely stopped playing DVDs. I was exasperated but not quite pissed off. I knew when I first hooked it up that I'd probably have to return it, because it was being generally sluggish. But I was hoping it would miraculously heal itself. Alas, 'twas not to be. I said last rites last night and today, on my lunch break, I headed across town to make my case before the return gods (in this case, a cute 20 something blonde).
"Look, I bought this open box from you guys 32 days ago, here's the receipt. Last night it crapped out."
She didn't even hesitate, just said, "I'll take care of it. Go pick out a new one."
The one I picked out (brand new) was actually cheaper than the one I bought open-box (which didn't even have a remote!). So that was awesome. And, just to throw Best Buy some love I bought an xbox game and a CD while I was there.
It's nice when the system works the way it should.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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On behalf of my puppies, I thank you.
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Wow, adam, how did they explain that?
