Best Buy

[Big Country]

Well, up until yesterday morning, this post was going to be a rant of Darinesque proportions.

 

Just under a year ago, I bought a new digital camera for my wife. She takes more photos than a Japanese tourist. The camera previously she had let our then 2-year old get a hold of and he dropped it, breaking the lens and it was no longer under warranty, so I bought the new one. Well, the new camera started acting up, where the menu options would randomly start changing around so you couldn't take pictures, etc., it would randomly power down. Very strange.

 

So I take it in to Best Buy and the first person we talk to is able to duplicate the issue, so she sends us over to the Geex Squad desk to submit it for a repair. The Geek Squad guy was very nice but was unable to duplicate the issue. We ended up talking to him in detail as he had a son about the same age of our youngest (p-months old) and he spent quite a bit of time going in thorough detail over the camera. The camera, other than the malfunctioning software, was in very good condition with maybe some minor scratches from normal wear and tear. We take care of sending the camera in. We also notice a girl next to us submitting the same model camera that has a clearly damaged lens (it was bent out of shape so that it could no longer retract properly)

 

We are also told mixed things on whether or not they offer a loaner camera program. One person says yes, another says no, not any more. We head over to the camera area and the person working there listens to out story and tells us that if they have an open box camera that is the same or similar to the camera we sent in, we could purchase it, but they return policy/restocking fee would be waived so long as our camera was out for repair. We leave quite pleased with Best Buy.

 

Fast forward a couple of weeks and we get a call from Best Buy saying that our repair claim was denied by the warranty company because the camera was clearly damaged, dropped and is dented. My wife informs them that our camera had no damage, as was clearly shown on our support ticket and that this must be some sort of mistake, possibly a mix up with the girl that was next to us when we dropped it off. Best Buy gave her the number of the warranty company and says we can appeal the decision. She calls and the warranty company does not budge and says they are sending the camera back to the Best Buy store. My wife calls Best Buy and explains the situation to another person in customer service. This genius forgets to place the call on hold when talking to a supervisor and she clearly hears them making some less than kind comments about how we are out to get a free camera and questions her character. I suggested she call SheikYerbuti for advice on dealing with questioning of character. Anyway, the person gets back on the phone, says there is nothing they can do and my wife politely informs him that in future he might want to be sure the call is on hold before having discussions with anyone about the customer on the phone.

 

At this point I am ready to boycott Best Buy. We'll just return the loaner, get our camera back, and I will purchase a new camera elsewhere. Along with any future item that I would normally get from Best Buy. My wife finally gets a chance to go in yesterday to pick up the camera. She talks to the customer service person and express her displeasure. She tells the person that she doesn't want anything, she just wants to express her displeasure over the person on the phone mentioned above, and that while she realizes it is our word against the warranty folks about when the damage to the camera happened (there is now a decent dized, noticeable dent in the front of the camera, just to the side of the lens), but that with the amount of time we spent with the gentleman we dropped the camera off with and with the thoroughness that he checked the camera over, there is no way that the dent that is there now would have gone unnoticed. THe customer service girl that my wife is talking to asks if my wife could wait for just a minute, goes t otalk to her manager, and when she comes back they say that they agree with my wife and offer to give her a new camera to replace the damaged one free of charge.

 

So, in the end, Best Buy came through, and rather than rant on them, I must commend them for eventually coming through with quality customer service and listening to the customer and taking into consideration the fact that the damage was so clear that there is no way their employee would overlook it. I guess in a sense they were standing by their employee as well. So, other than the unpleasantry my wife went through with the person and his supervisor on the phone, all in all they came through.

 

Just wanted to share.

[darin3]

Well, up until yesterday morning, this post was going to be a rant of Darinesque proportions.

[Sturphy]

Ugh. It worked out but what a colossal hassle. It's that sort of crud that makes your life crazier than it needs to be. I really wish I wasn't such a technophile. I'd shed all the extra stuff in my life and simplify.

 

I may be moving soon, and I think I'll probably be leaving a LOT of stuff behind.

[Piranha]

Strange how customer service 'policy' can really differ when dealing with different individuals.

[Azazello1313]

Strange how customer service 'policy' can really differ when dealing with different individuals.

 

yeah. but, you know, if i was running a store like best buy, i wouldn't want all the rank and file $10/hour blue shirt momos to have the power to give out free cameras, either. if you want them doing anything, it's weeding out some of the BS'ers who DO bring in a camera they dropped and try and say it's a defect, because i'm sure best buy gets a lot of them. you want that authority only in the hands of a few people with a somewhat vested interest in the store's business. it's just the nature of the beast, really.

[whoopazz]

Went through a similar runaround with them over a surround sound system that crapped out after about 6 months. After much legwork, they came through and gave me a new one, new year model.

[twiley]

it's weeding out some of the BS'ers who DO bring in a camera they dropped and try and say it's a defect, because i'm sure best buy gets a lot of them.

I may or may not have done this once.

[Chargerz]

I had a similar experience at Best Buy when my HP computer crashed. Fortunately it was still under warranty. Best Buy sent it to HP twice for repairs that didn't fix the problem. It was at this point that a Geek Squad manager got disgusted with HP and said they would fix my computer free of charge. Their repairs were successful. The Best Buy people were also always courteous. Good customer service IMO.

['canes2004]

Ugh. It worked out but what a colossal hassle. It's that sort of crud that makes your life crazier than it needs to be. I really wish I wasn't such a technophile. I'd shed all the extra stuff in my life and simplify.

 

I may be moving soon, and I think I'll probably be leaving a LOT of stuff behind.

 

Cool. A Huddle garage sale sounds about right.

[Ursa Majoris]

yeah. but, you know, if i was running a store like best buy, i wouldn't want all the rank and file $10/hour blue shirt momos to have the power to give out free cameras, either. if you want them doing anything, it's weeding out some of the BS'ers who DO bring in a camera they dropped and try and say it's a defect, because i'm sure best buy gets a lot of them. you want that authority only in the hands of a few people with a somewhat vested interest in the store's business. it's just the nature of the beast, really.

+1 about not letting the R&F dish out free cameras but they should still have a policy that the blue shirts can parrot. Seems like there was a lot of uncertainty about what the policy was.