Let me start off by saying that I may grumble like most people from time to time but I am not normally the type of person to escalate things like this and this is certainly the first time I have taken it to this level.
I had a horrible experience at the Best Buy in Fair Lakes, VA last night. Here is a summary of what went on and why you may save yourself some trouble by driving a few extra miles to the Best Buy in Springfield, VA.
12/16 We celebrate Christmas with my in-laws and among other nice gifts they gave us, they gave us a 19 inch HDTV with a built in DVD player for our bedroom. All 4 of us are excited but my kids were doubly so, that is until they found out that this did not meant that we would still receive the cartoon network over the air. We got home about 8 PM so we decided to set the TV up at some other point during the week.
12/17 I asked my mom if we could borrow their HD antenna they were not using so we could receive over-the-air HD.
12/18 5:30 I stopped in at my parents to pick up the HD antenna.
7:30 I start setting up the TV and discover that the side of the TV is damaged I ask my wife if she wants me to try it out to see if it works or if we should just return it. We decide to not even try it in case there is something that breaks later or somehow it is damaged further.
7:45 We arrive at Best Buy in Fair Lakes and the saga begins.
We get the little pink sticker on the box and go straight to the customer service counter. This nice fellow by the name of Kenny was both kind and helpful in working with us to exchange the gift. I give him two thumbs upJ Anyway; we sort through all the info that he needs and then takes the TV into the Geek Squad room and asks them to look it over. Kenny comes back out and with a shocked look and in an apologetic tone says the geek squad determined that they are not able to take it back as they are not able to determine how the damage got there. He quickly recognizes that we are both upset and offers to get a manager for us. When he returns, he has a shift manager named Laurie in tow and after she finds us, he attends to other customers as the line has stacked up behind us during this time.
8:15 Laurie was not helpful nor was she willing to listen to our (the customers) side of the story. We tried to explain that we were not looking for our money back and that we were intending to look at a slightly larger model because we had a few gift cards saved up. She squared her jaw at me; dug her heals in and repeated the chant that they could not take back damaged goods. I tired to help her to see other examples such as, if I bought a hard drive and after bringing it home found that it was DOA (dead on arrival) that they would take it back. She remained intent that she could not take damaged products back.
Eventually I recognized that I was not going to get anywhere with Laurie and ask if I could speak with her supervisor. She responded with a no and says that she is the only manager I can speak with in the customer service area. I asked to speak with the manager on duty and she says no again. I asked who the manager on duty was and she refused to provide the information. I ask who the store manager is and she provides me with a name. I ask if he is in and she says no. Again, I ask for his phone number and she writes down the number 703-631-3332. My wife asks for the TV back and while she goes to get it, I decide to try Darryl’s number to leave my first voice mail. She gave me the store’s general info line believe it or not. When she gets back I call her on it and ask again for his number or extension. She provides me with 2100. I also asked what his hours were and as incredible as it sounds, she refused. By this time I am pretty suspicious about everything she has told me so I try the number then and there. If you have not already guessed it, it just rings and rings and rings. I continue to remain calm and ask one of the employees behind the counter (not Laurie) who the MOD (Manager on Duty) is and for Darryl’s real extension and he happily obliges. I noted how strange it was that the employees provide better customer service than Laurie who should be setting the example and asked where I could find her? He indicates she is helping to move the customer line along with a nod and looks out of the corner of his eye to see if Laurie is looking. At this point I meet the MOD who was helpful and seemed willing to listen at first. Once she spoke in private with Laurie she was more professional but still resolute that they would not take the item back and allow me to purchase a more expensive model and suggests I take it back to the store it was purchased at.
9:00 On our way to the other Best Buy in the area, Springfield, my wife and I are so confused at what just happened that we barley say two words but are remaining calm. I mentioned to her that I was seriously considering taking off work the next few days to picket the Fair Lakes Best Buy until I felt I had cost them at least as much money as the item was worth because of the poor treatment they gave me. We agree that this store is a new store and that we will put the smiles back on and start all over again. We get the little pink sticker again and walk to the customer service desk to find a nice girl there ready to help us. She returned the smile and gave me an emphatic Sure! If she was not behind the counter, I would have hugged her and called her a saint. I walk off and after my wife and I picked out a different model she exchanged the item for us with a smile. At 9:30, we walk out with what we expected a few hours ago, an undamaged product. On the way home I decide that even though I had my issue resolved, I should call the store manager because he would want to know how poor of a customer experience we had.
12:00 I finally fall asleep not because I was doing anything, but because I was so upset by the manager at the Fair Lakes Best Buy.
12/19 5:00 I wake up and believe it or not, I am still bothered by the experience. Talk about OCD!J Anyway, I get up and write down my two main points of concern, that they would not stand behind their product and that I had been treated so poorly and blocked from escalating the issue.
10:30 I called (using the extension I got from the employee) the Best Buy in Fair Lakes to try to either speak with the Darryl, the store manager, over the phone or schedule few minutes with him this week because I understand he is a busy man. The man on the other end of the phone asks who this is and I give my name. He was gone for a few minutes and when he came back, said that Darryl was on the phone and that he wanted to know what this was in regards to. I explained that this was about an issue I had last night at his store and would really like to speak with him about it when he had a few minutes. He took my number and said that if Darryl is not able to call me back that I should report my concerns on their web site or their main pone number. I tried to get a feel for if the person thought the manager was really going to call me back because this was not sounding encouraging. Though he did not directly say it, I had the distinct impression that he was not going to.
I am REALLY upset about the treatment I received at the Fair Lakes Best Buy at the hands of their managers, in particular, Laurie’s and Darryl’s apparent lack of concern for customer service. Will I picket? No because Springfield took care of me, but I will go to the Fair Lakes Best Buy again. In the end, the only thing I did was call Best Buy’s corporate number and relate my experience. The woman I spoke with at least sounded sympathetic and said that this complaint would go to the executive office and the store manager. I hope someone in the executive office reads this because I believe that the store manager has set the example for this behavior and will be unresponsive.
Many a retailer has risen on low prices. However like Hechinger’s, a number have fallen because of lack of care for their customers. Best Buy is on the books as blowing their third quarter projections out of the water and is also on track to exceed analyst expectations for the year. I wonder if this experience is the first spider crack in the chain or if my experience is just an aberration in an otherwise sound company, only time will tell.
I will update this Blog if anything changes and if anyone from Best Buy cares to comment, I am listening.
