So for those of you who know me you know that I used to love BestBuy. As someone who enjoys a good movie, video game, computer and large TV that should come as no surprise. BestBuy has all of those things, in spades. I even have a BB mastercard that earns me "reward zone" points as I buy other things. I have shopped there for... for as long as I have been shopping. I probably visited over 20 BestBuy's across 4 states. Not because I was ever a fan of the store, but because I enjoy movies, video games, and electronics that much. They typically have some of the best prices, and the best selection.
Well thats over with.
Those of you who know me also know that I have a very low threshold for dissatisfaction with poor customer service. It really takes so little to meet my criteria for what is acceptable. 1) Value the customer. 2) Meet the terms of the contract.
Its that simple. I ask them to not be rude, and to simply do what they say that they will do for the money I will give them.
BestBuy has now failed in this regard... twice. Twice in less than two weeks. I pre-ordered three games over the past several months. Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, and Uncharted 3. Its the year of 3's. GoW3 arrives on time, like it should. But Battlefield 3 arrives two days late. So I call BB and ask them why I should use their service which supposedly gets me a game the day it comes out (you know, the point of pre-ordering it) and fails to perform. BB has no good explanation, but they apologize and I get over it. No fast forward to today, I come home from work excited to try out Uncharted 3 to once again find that the terms of the contract between BB and myself violated. No game. I check the shipping status online, sure enough, it may not be here until the 7th. It would appear that BB.com has absolutely ZERO idea why someone pre-orders a game. And while I don't claim to be an expert, I can tell you for sure its not for the purpose of waiting to get said game 3 days later than it could have been had at a store.
Once again I call BB.com. This time the representative lies to me. She states that the games ship on the day they are released. I call that garbage for what it is and then ask to speak to a supervisor. Word of advice to anyone in customer service. Don't lie. And especially don't lie when your customer has a legitimate reason to complain. Just say you don't know, you're sorry and fix it. I know taking crap sucks, I take crap from my customers all the time. But thats service. That's the economy. That's how it works.
So now enter Tony the Supervisor. Tony talks to me in that deep, authoritative supervisor voice, trying to convince me he knows what he is talking about. And maybe he does. But much like representative #1, he fails to offer me any new information and his apology sounds less real than hers. I am done. By this point the rage is rising, and I know if I don't disengage soon I will start letting it out. I tell Tony to forget it, I don't want his 10% off, I am done with BestBuy. Forever. I am answered by silence on the other end. I've been hung up on.
Keep in mind, I never yelled, I never asked for anything, I never demanded something in return. All I wanted was to know why the contract hadn't been fulfilled for the last two orders. I wanted to understand what had happened. I was given, in the following order: lies, and rudeness. This from the people who screwed up. Wow, if I pulled that kind of garbage I get sued.
Long story short. No more BestBuy. Amazon offers better prices, better service, and a faster loading website with a greater range of products. Never has Amazon failed me, or anyone else I know. Heck, if I want an in-store experience I will go to GameStop or Wal-Mart, both still have better customer service (which ain't saying much) and more or less the same prices/selection.
And let me tell you, I spent a lot of money at BestBuy. Are they going to go broke because they lost me? Probably not. But if they treat all of their customers this way I can't imagine they won't go broke eventually.
Do what you say you will do. If you don't, make it right. And do it with a smile. Its that simple.
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