Employee may never make large purchase from Best Buy again - Page 2

Update:

I called the Southfield Best Buy on Friday to ask inventory manager Mike if they figured out how to get my money back yet. He said that he had not had a chance to talk to the Milwaukee Best Buy yet, but he would, and I should try back after 2:00. I called at 2:30, and he said he had been too busy to call them, so he would call them and call me back in the next hour. He never called.

I called customer relations at the corporate office later Friday afternoon. I told my entire story to the person I spoke to, and said that I just want my money back on the 56" TV now. He agreed that this is ridiculous and that the Southfield store should have just refunded my money, and dealt with their inventory issues later. He e-mailed the managers at both the Milwaukee store and at the Southfield store and told them to take care of it. He said I should expect a response either Friday night or early Saturday.

I went in on Saturday because I was fed up waiting for a response. I told them I wanted my money back on the 56" today. I'm told by manager Dan to talk to manager Rolle. Manager Rolle doesn't want to get involved because inventory manager Mike and manager Dan are already involved. So I talk to Dan again, and he told me that he received an e-mail from the Milwaukee Best Buy saying that I could call Megan there and get it taken care of over the phone... So, in other words, they were not going to help me...

I called the Milwaukee Best Buy from my cell phone in the parking lot. Megan would not be in until Monday, so I could call then. I was also supposed to call the Southfield Best Buy on Monday to check to see if the 50" arrived there, and arrange to have it delivered to my house on Thursday. Of course, I was going to be out-of-town in Toronto on Monday, but I figured I could use my cell phone for some quick calls.

I called the Milwaukee Best Buy on Monday. Megan said they were checking to make sure they received the 56" back in stock (they should have...that delivery was cancelled almost a month ago...), and would hopefully call me back later that day. She hasn't called back yet, and it is noon on Tuesday.

I called the Southfield Best Buy to check if they had the 50" there yet... I was put on hold on and off, for over 15 minutes on my cell phone in a roaming area. They finally figured out it was there. Then I told him that we have to set up delivery to my house for Thursday. He says okay, goes and talks to inventory manager Mike, and says he will call me back when they have the delivery set-up. This was at about noon yesterday. They never called me back, AGAIN! I called in at about 4:30, and, of course, inventory manager Mike had gone home. The video guy who told me this said I would have to talk to customer service, and instead of transferring me up there, he hung up on me. I called back and asked to speak to a manager, but I kept getting bounced back to hold for over 20 minutes. Each time I got bounced back to someone I told him that I am calling long distance from my cell phone, and need to speak to a manager now. After 25 minutes of waiting, the video guy picked up again, and I asked him if there are any managers working at the store. He said yes, but they don't seem to be picking up the phone. (No SH!T Sherlock!) I asked what I should do, and he responded, "Call back later." I was just flustered, but couldn't justify spending more money on my cell phone... So I hung up.

So, here I am. I don't know if my 50" is being delivered on Thursday or not. I still don't have my money for the 56" back. And that is going to be an issue, because I paid employee price for the 56", and inventory manager Mike would not let me buy the 50" with my discount... So, I need to either get the full price back on the 56", or someone needs to adjust the price of the 50" to employee price and then return the 56" at employee price. Either way, the price difference is about the same... But, again, no one seems to want to help me.

So, what am I going to do? I am going to write a letter to the Better Business Bureau, the district manager of Best Buy, and the highest ranking person I can find at Best Buy corporate. I will also include a copy of this thread. I will tell them that I am a doctor (Ph.D.), my wife is a doctor (M.D.), and thus many of our friends are doctors with a lot of spending potential. We will never purchase from Best Buy again, and we will tell our friends this story, and they will do likewise. Maybe they can afford that much loss of business, but at least I will have the satisfaction of hurting them a little bit. I will take a copy of this letter to the Southfield Best Buy, and tell them that this is going to be sent because of their sh!tty service.

If I still get the 50" TV from them, I am also going to ask for at least another $100 off to compensate for my phone bill.

Ugh!!!!!!!!!

[Edited last by Andrew Grall on July 31, 2001 at 11:13 AM]

Brief amendment:

It appears that they did get the delivery set up for Thursday, but I will believe it when the TV is here. However, even that doesn't excuse all this rude and inconsiderate behavior. The letters will still go.

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Update:

Ok...I am half happy, and more p!ssed off than ever all at once. Let me explain:

First of all, I talked to Megan at the Best Buy in Milwaukee today, and she took care of refunding me for the price I paid on the 56" TV (employee price). She was very nice, and very apologetic about the whole situation. She said that she wished we could return the 50" TV so that they could sell it to me at employee discount from their store, but that would screw up the delivery that is supposed to finally happen tomorrow morning... So I told her I would try one more time to try to get them to adjust the price to the employee price at the Southfield store.

So, I went to the Southfield Best Buy, and waited for 20 minutes at the counter for someone to help me. Then I spoke to Dan, the nicer "manager" I had dealt with earlier. He asked me to hold on for just a moment, and the inventory manager Mike came over. Well, it turns out Dan isn't a manager at all, but sometimes works the M.O.D. (manager-on-duty) function. He refused to do it. He said, "I told you the first time I talked to you that I wouldn't give you the employee discount because you don't work here. Why would I change my mind now?"

I said, "Because this whole thing started while I was still an employee, so I should still get the discount to even out the costs since I never got the TV in the first place. My employee number should still be in the system anyway... The Milwaukee store refunded me the amount I originally paid with my employee discount, so all you need to do is price match me for the 50" TV, and I'll be happy."

His response: "I'm glad to hear that would make you happy, but it's not going to happen. I told you from the start that I would not give you the employee discount."

I asked, "Can I speak with the general manager?"

"No, I'm in charge today, so you'll have to deal with me." (Guess this jack@ss gets a trip from what little power he has in life...)

I said, "Look. This is ridiculous, especially after all I have gone through to get this TV. You see this? (I showed him a printed copy of this thread.) This is an account on a website of all that has happened with this. I hope you realize how many people have heard this story and are upset with Best Buy. The next place this is going is to the Better Business Bureau, your district manager..."

He said, "I'm not going to be threatened. (he hands me back my receipt) This is yours. I won't do this."

I said, "Fine. Keep that (referring to the printed copy of this thread). Read it. Maybe you'll realize how many people you are pi$$ing off."

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So that's it. I will never make a purchase from Best Buy again, and I encourage everyone who reads this to do likewise. I am writing that letter to the Michigan Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau, the district manager of Best Buy, and to the highest ranking person I can find at Best Buy corporate. I can only hope that this jacka$$ will get fired, but he probably won't.

At least I still have a little hope that after my TV arrives, I can get the employee discount price match from the Milwaukee Best Buy... But, even if they help me, that is only one decent store out of many bad ones.

It still bugs the hell out of me that the Soutfield Best Buy is receiving a profit from the 50" TV...and if this hadn't been such a long, hard, gut-wrenching process, I would have told inventory manager Mike, "F*ck you. Return this and give me my money back." But, I just want the TV, and hopefully the price match will happen in the end.

So, in conclusion... Stay the hell away from Best Buy!

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I just printed out a letter and summary of this thread to send to the CEO of Best Buy...
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Richard M. Schulze, CEO
7075 Flying Cloud Dr.
Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Dear Mr. Schulze:

I have been appalled with my experience at Best Buy. I worked for Best Buy for a brief time, mostly for something to do between the end of my postdoctoral appointment and our moving date. I thought it would be nice to use my employee discount for some items before we moved. I purchased a washer, dryer, and a big screen TV, all to be delivered to our new home. This all happened back on June 15th.

I will provide an internet link to the full story of my problems, as well as a summary along with this letter. In brief, however, it has taken over a month and a half to get my TV (It is scheduled to arrive tomorrow). I have dealt with several extremely unpleasant Best Buy employees, managers, and affiliates in the process. I am a doctor, my wife is a doctor, and thus several of our friends are doctors as well. We make up a fairly large pool of people whose spending potential (either now or in the near future) is rather high. I will never shop at Best Buy again, and I will discourage anyone else from making purchases there.

Please read the following summary of my experience, or read the thread in full at http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...L/001404.html. At this moment, I am still waiting to be refunded the price difference between the regular price and the employee price on a Toshiba 50H81 television (assuming it is actually delivered tomorrow) plus tax, and store 404 refuses to do that for me. Even if refunded this amount, it will not be enough for us to return to Best Buy again.

Thank you for reading this letter. It is my hope that you can use this information to make some needed changes to the customer service at Best Buy stores.

Sincerely,
Dr. Andrew J. Grall, Ph.D.


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Update:

Ok... well at least I have my TV now. These delivery people arrived around 11:00 a.m. yesterday, and were very professional, and put the TV where I asked without any grumbling whatsoever. I complimented them on a job well done.

Of course, Best Buy is not off the hook... The letters are still going out.

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Just a minor update...

2 weeks, and I have heard nothing of my letters to the CEO or district manager. I guess I should send letters to the local BBB and the Michigan Attorney General too...

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This needs to be resurrected to warn others about making large purchases (or any purchases) from Best Buy.

As an update, I never received ANY response from the district manager or the CEO. I guess I really didn't expect anything though...

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You know... By the time my life settled down with my new job and everything, I felt it was too late to send those letters. I had waited for quite some time hoping for some kind of response from the district manager or Best Buy corporate. No luck there...

In retrospect, I really wish I had. But I doubt it would have changed anything...