This is long but below is the written complaint I have filed against my local Best Buy store (#1459) on the Best Buy forums until I can reach their 1-888 number on Monday morning when they open. I will also share this experience with as many people on as many sites as possible.
Good evening!
I am filing a complaint here and will follow-up with a phone call on Monday when the call center is open. My complaint is being filed against Store #1459 which is the Alamo Ranch Best Buy located at 5419 W Loop 1604 N San Antonio, TX 78253.
I reserved four iphones in total (two separate order numbers with one being for two 16GB AT&T Black iphone 5s and the other for two 32GB AT&T Black iphone 5s) on Sunday, September 16th at 5:12 and 5:21pm CST. As part of the pre-order requirement, I purchased four $50 Best Buy giftcards (one per phone). Upon receving the e-mails at 11:44pm CST on Thursday, September 20th that I WOULD NOT be receiving my phones on launch day, my family and I set out to find our phones elsewhere. My father was successful this morning (Saturday, September 22nd) in obtaining his 16GB Black iphone 5s for himself and his wife. As a result, I went to the Best Buy store mentioned above to cancel the pre-order and return the gift cards for that order (two $50 gift cards). This is where the nightmare began.
Upon arriving at the store, a mobile employee approached me and asked what I needed help with and I told him I was cancelling one of my iphone 5 pre-orders and returning the associated gift cards because the phones were already purchased at an Apple store. He took my name down and I waited in line. Approximately 45 minutes later, I was finally called to a station to cancel the pre-order. The woman that took my information was curt, rude and unapologetic. When she finally cancelled the pre-order she went to hand me the order form sheet back and I told her I didn't need it. She insisted that I did need it for the remaining phone and I told her I had another order form for the other order I wasn't cancelling yet (two 32GB Black AT&T iphone 5s). She then looked at me and rudely questioned how I could have ordered four phones because the policy was to only allow two phones per person. I explained to her that one of the associates (male acting as if he was the mobile manager since he was telling the others what to do and acting in a supervisory manner) that helped me place my pre-order said they would allow me to order four (for all four people on my account) since I was buying two different models (two 16GB Black AT&T iphone 5s and two 32GB Black AT&T iphone 5s) and although I couldn't have any of my other three family members with me, I could have gotten them on the phone. He said not to worry and took care of it. She then said something that wasn't audible to me to one of the other mobile employees and I then asked her if there was a problem? I told her it shouldn't matter since Best Buy didn't come through with my phones anyway and I had already gotten two of the four I needed. She rudely said there wasn't a problem and I then asked her to process the return of the two gift cards associated with the cancelled pre-order (16GB Black AT&T iphone 5s). Upon asking her this, she quickly responded with "you can't return those" and I pointed out the language on the pre-order form that stated "Preorder cancellations will not affect your gift card and can be redeemed or returned for a full credit at any Best Buy retail location." She then told me I needed to wait until she took care of a customer she had already been working with and was in the middle of a transaction with. The "customer" she was referring to was another Best Buy employee (presumably off the clock but I do not know and she was still in uniform) and then I asked her why they even called me up if that was the case? She told me she was told that all I needed was a pre-order cancellation and I responded that she was correct and that included the return of my gift cards which I explained to the man that took my information down when I told him why I was there upon getting in line. She then told me she needed the register for that (only one at the mobile area in the Best Buy store) and I would have to wait. She did not apologize or even act like she cared at all. The fact I was there seemed to bother her despite this being her job. When she finished setting up the Best Buy employee's new Black Sprint iphone 5, she fiddled with the register for a few minutes before talking to another mobile employee. Several minutes passed and she finally told me to meet her at the Geek Squad counter across the store. She then walked over to two other employees (one I later found out was the store manager) and after a few minute conversation, she proceeded to vanish behind the Geek Squad doors in the back. A couple minutes later, she finally walked out with a return receipt for the gift cards and a $100 bill. I didn't understand why she gave me cash when I had originally paid with my debit card but I then left the store to head home.
Upon getting to my truck, I realized I had forgotten to purchase my GE water filter for my fridge so I put the folder with my receipts and order form in my truck and walked back into the store. A couple minutes had elapsed at this point and I quickly picked up my filter and proceeded to the check-out. I decided to use the $100 bill that I had just been given to pay for the $44.99 filter so I could break it. The woman marked the bill with a marker a few times before leaving the counter and going across the way to another cashier and took his marker and marked the bill again. She then left and walked over to the store manager. After a few minutes, she walked back to me and told me my bill was FAKE!! I just laughed a bit and immediately pointed over to the Geek Squad counter and told her that I had just been given that bill by a mobile employee who was processing my gift card return as part of my iphone 5 pre-order cancellation. The manager walked over and talked to her again and then left. A few minutes later he returned and told me he contacted Best Buy corporate and there was nothing he could do! At this point, frustration started to mount and I became upset. I calmly told him that was not an appropriate answer and that I wanted to see the store's General Manger. He informed me that he was the store manager. I told him that they needed to make this right and that I was not leaving the store until I had my money. I explained to him that he could pull up the security footage and verify that the mobile employee who processed my return handed me a $100 bill at the Geek Squad counter. He then told me there was no way he could be sure that the $100 bill I tried to pay with was the one I was supposedly given. Now I was beyond angry. I told him he was now calling me a liar. He could have cared less. He was arrogant, rude and the absolute opposite of what any manager should be for a company that deals with customer service and supposedly prides itself with doing things for their customers, etc. I then told him I would call the police and the press if I had to and again stated that I was not leaving the store until I received my money. He told me "go ahead" in an extremely rude and disrespectful manner. I then rushed over to the mobile center and interrupted the woman that had processed my earlier return. I explained the situation to her and told her she needed to talk to her manager and validate my story that she had given me a $100 bill for the return. Keep in mind this is the same guy who she talked to ealier about how to process the return so he knew I was telling the truth the entire time. She walked over to him and they both disappeared behind the Geek Squad doors and I never saw them again. About 10 minutes later, a different employee walked out and handed me five $20 bills. He apologized and then rang me up for my filter.
This whole incident took well over an hour and I was embarassed and treated like absolute dirt by two of your employees (one employee and one store manager). I have been a Premier member a number of times (not currently) and have spent countless THOUSANDS at your stores. I have purchased appliances, stereo equipment, gaming systems, games, TVs, CDs, cables, phones, lenses, etc. This experience has left me with such a sour taste and bitter feeling that I doubt I will EVER set foot in a Best Buy again. For a company trying to redefine itself in a changing economic environment with the collapse of Circuit City and growing online sales, brick and mortar companies like Best Buy should treat their customers like gems because it's the customers who pay Best Buy's employee's salaries, their executive's salaries and bonuses and the stockholder's share prices. I'm a young professional who runs literally multi-million and billion dollars programs every day and I can't even imagine treating someone like this. It is also a shame that Best Buy has been selling (confirmed with several stores) iphone 5s to walk-in customers when they haven't even fulfilled their commitment to pre-orders. I understood when I placed the pre-order on my phones that I was not guaranteed phones on launch day. But I also was told pre-orders would all get their phones first before any walk-ins. What I wasn't told was that this was by store. Best Buy is a large company and you mean to tell me your logistics chain is so poorly managed that you can send out an automated e-mail telling me I won't get my iphones at launch day at nearly midnight my time but yet you can't generate an e-mail telling me that my phone is ready to be picked up at a different store that got more allocation than they had pre-orders for a certain model? That's rediculous. This is the 21st century and supply chain problems need to be addressed at your company ASAP along with customer service. I will likely have no choice but to return to a store to cancel my second pre-order because I will most likely get my two 32GB Black AT&T iphone 5s from and Apple store or an AT&T store LONG before you are able to fill my pre-order. They really should be called reservations because they are not actually pre-orders if you can't fill them but yet sell to walk-in customers. Lastly, the part in the e-mail I received from "Shawn Score" telling me I wouldn't get my phones on launch day that stated "However, there is no doubt that the fact you pre-ordered a phone from Best Buy means you will be able to buy it before any consumer trying to find one on their own." is a complete and blatant lie. How many people have walked-in to a Best Buy and bought an iphone 5 BEFORE a customer that had pre-ordered one? Many have bought phones from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Radio Shack, Walmart, Sams Club and Apple stores. Please don't state something so obviously wrong and incorrect. It's also bad business to see your employees with iphone 5s and even having them set-up while in uniform (whether on the clock or not) in front of customer's whose pre-orders have not yet been filled because it lends itself to have customers question whether employees are keeping phones for themselves, family or friends. I will be sharing my experience with many online forums besides this one. I'm not expecting much from Best Buy because I am just one customer that you obviously care nothing about so you will likely read this, roll your eyes and do nothing for a customer who has been loyal for a number of years spending thousands of dollars at your stores. It's a shame how I was treated and even worse that I have to waste more time detailing this horrendous experience.
Good evening!
I am filing a complaint here and will follow-up with a phone call on Monday when the call center is open. My complaint is being filed against Store #1459 which is the Alamo Ranch Best Buy located at 5419 W Loop 1604 N San Antonio, TX 78253.
I reserved four iphones in total (two separate order numbers with one being for two 16GB AT&T Black iphone 5s and the other for two 32GB AT&T Black iphone 5s) on Sunday, September 16th at 5:12 and 5:21pm CST. As part of the pre-order requirement, I purchased four $50 Best Buy giftcards (one per phone). Upon receving the e-mails at 11:44pm CST on Thursday, September 20th that I WOULD NOT be receiving my phones on launch day, my family and I set out to find our phones elsewhere. My father was successful this morning (Saturday, September 22nd) in obtaining his 16GB Black iphone 5s for himself and his wife. As a result, I went to the Best Buy store mentioned above to cancel the pre-order and return the gift cards for that order (two $50 gift cards). This is where the nightmare began.
Upon arriving at the store, a mobile employee approached me and asked what I needed help with and I told him I was cancelling one of my iphone 5 pre-orders and returning the associated gift cards because the phones were already purchased at an Apple store. He took my name down and I waited in line. Approximately 45 minutes later, I was finally called to a station to cancel the pre-order. The woman that took my information was curt, rude and unapologetic. When she finally cancelled the pre-order she went to hand me the order form sheet back and I told her I didn't need it. She insisted that I did need it for the remaining phone and I told her I had another order form for the other order I wasn't cancelling yet (two 32GB Black AT&T iphone 5s). She then looked at me and rudely questioned how I could have ordered four phones because the policy was to only allow two phones per person. I explained to her that one of the associates (male acting as if he was the mobile manager since he was telling the others what to do and acting in a supervisory manner) that helped me place my pre-order said they would allow me to order four (for all four people on my account) since I was buying two different models (two 16GB Black AT&T iphone 5s and two 32GB Black AT&T iphone 5s) and although I couldn't have any of my other three family members with me, I could have gotten them on the phone. He said not to worry and took care of it. She then said something that wasn't audible to me to one of the other mobile employees and I then asked her if there was a problem? I told her it shouldn't matter since Best Buy didn't come through with my phones anyway and I had already gotten two of the four I needed. She rudely said there wasn't a problem and I then asked her to process the return of the two gift cards associated with the cancelled pre-order (16GB Black AT&T iphone 5s). Upon asking her this, she quickly responded with "you can't return those" and I pointed out the language on the pre-order form that stated "Preorder cancellations will not affect your gift card and can be redeemed or returned for a full credit at any Best Buy retail location." She then told me I needed to wait until she took care of a customer she had already been working with and was in the middle of a transaction with. The "customer" she was referring to was another Best Buy employee (presumably off the clock but I do not know and she was still in uniform) and then I asked her why they even called me up if that was the case? She told me she was told that all I needed was a pre-order cancellation and I responded that she was correct and that included the return of my gift cards which I explained to the man that took my information down when I told him why I was there upon getting in line. She then told me she needed the register for that (only one at the mobile area in the Best Buy store) and I would have to wait. She did not apologize or even act like she cared at all. The fact I was there seemed to bother her despite this being her job. When she finished setting up the Best Buy employee's new Black Sprint iphone 5, she fiddled with the register for a few minutes before talking to another mobile employee. Several minutes passed and she finally told me to meet her at the Geek Squad counter across the store. She then walked over to two other employees (one I later found out was the store manager) and after a few minute conversation, she proceeded to vanish behind the Geek Squad doors in the back. A couple minutes later, she finally walked out with a return receipt for the gift cards and a $100 bill. I didn't understand why she gave me cash when I had originally paid with my debit card but I then left the store to head home.
Upon getting to my truck, I realized I had forgotten to purchase my GE water filter for my fridge so I put the folder with my receipts and order form in my truck and walked back into the store. A couple minutes had elapsed at this point and I quickly picked up my filter and proceeded to the check-out. I decided to use the $100 bill that I had just been given to pay for the $44.99 filter so I could break it. The woman marked the bill with a marker a few times before leaving the counter and going across the way to another cashier and took his marker and marked the bill again. She then left and walked over to the store manager. After a few minutes, she walked back to me and told me my bill was FAKE!! I just laughed a bit and immediately pointed over to the Geek Squad counter and told her that I had just been given that bill by a mobile employee who was processing my gift card return as part of my iphone 5 pre-order cancellation. The manager walked over and talked to her again and then left. A few minutes later he returned and told me he contacted Best Buy corporate and there was nothing he could do! At this point, frustration started to mount and I became upset. I calmly told him that was not an appropriate answer and that I wanted to see the store's General Manger. He informed me that he was the store manager. I told him that they needed to make this right and that I was not leaving the store until I had my money. I explained to him that he could pull up the security footage and verify that the mobile employee who processed my return handed me a $100 bill at the Geek Squad counter. He then told me there was no way he could be sure that the $100 bill I tried to pay with was the one I was supposedly given. Now I was beyond angry. I told him he was now calling me a liar. He could have cared less. He was arrogant, rude and the absolute opposite of what any manager should be for a company that deals with customer service and supposedly prides itself with doing things for their customers, etc. I then told him I would call the police and the press if I had to and again stated that I was not leaving the store until I received my money. He told me "go ahead" in an extremely rude and disrespectful manner. I then rushed over to the mobile center and interrupted the woman that had processed my earlier return. I explained the situation to her and told her she needed to talk to her manager and validate my story that she had given me a $100 bill for the return. Keep in mind this is the same guy who she talked to ealier about how to process the return so he knew I was telling the truth the entire time. She walked over to him and they both disappeared behind the Geek Squad doors and I never saw them again. About 10 minutes later, a different employee walked out and handed me five $20 bills. He apologized and then rang me up for my filter.
This whole incident took well over an hour and I was embarassed and treated like absolute dirt by two of your employees (one employee and one store manager). I have been a Premier member a number of times (not currently) and have spent countless THOUSANDS at your stores. I have purchased appliances, stereo equipment, gaming systems, games, TVs, CDs, cables, phones, lenses, etc. This experience has left me with such a sour taste and bitter feeling that I doubt I will EVER set foot in a Best Buy again. For a company trying to redefine itself in a changing economic environment with the collapse of Circuit City and growing online sales, brick and mortar companies like Best Buy should treat their customers like gems because it's the customers who pay Best Buy's employee's salaries, their executive's salaries and bonuses and the stockholder's share prices. I'm a young professional who runs literally multi-million and billion dollars programs every day and I can't even imagine treating someone like this. It is also a shame that Best Buy has been selling (confirmed with several stores) iphone 5s to walk-in customers when they haven't even fulfilled their commitment to pre-orders. I understood when I placed the pre-order on my phones that I was not guaranteed phones on launch day. But I also was told pre-orders would all get their phones first before any walk-ins. What I wasn't told was that this was by store. Best Buy is a large company and you mean to tell me your logistics chain is so poorly managed that you can send out an automated e-mail telling me I won't get my iphones at launch day at nearly midnight my time but yet you can't generate an e-mail telling me that my phone is ready to be picked up at a different store that got more allocation than they had pre-orders for a certain model? That's rediculous. This is the 21st century and supply chain problems need to be addressed at your company ASAP along with customer service. I will likely have no choice but to return to a store to cancel my second pre-order because I will most likely get my two 32GB Black AT&T iphone 5s from and Apple store or an AT&T store LONG before you are able to fill my pre-order. They really should be called reservations because they are not actually pre-orders if you can't fill them but yet sell to walk-in customers. Lastly, the part in the e-mail I received from "Shawn Score" telling me I wouldn't get my phones on launch day that stated "However, there is no doubt that the fact you pre-ordered a phone from Best Buy means you will be able to buy it before any consumer trying to find one on their own." is a complete and blatant lie. How many people have walked-in to a Best Buy and bought an iphone 5 BEFORE a customer that had pre-ordered one? Many have bought phones from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Radio Shack, Walmart, Sams Club and Apple stores. Please don't state something so obviously wrong and incorrect. It's also bad business to see your employees with iphone 5s and even having them set-up while in uniform (whether on the clock or not) in front of customer's whose pre-orders have not yet been filled because it lends itself to have customers question whether employees are keeping phones for themselves, family or friends. I will be sharing my experience with many online forums besides this one. I'm not expecting much from Best Buy because I am just one customer that you obviously care nothing about so you will likely read this, roll your eyes and do nothing for a customer who has been loyal for a number of years spending thousands of dollars at your stores. It's a shame how I was treated and even worse that I have to waste more time detailing this horrendous experience.
as far as I am concerned. After they sold me a returned/used digital camera as new and argued about me returning it, I would not pee on them if they were on fire
