What a mess,

I came in to my local, "trusty" Best Buy in a bind with little time to spare. My computer completely crashed beyond the point of salvation, and I rushed into the store in hopes of locking down a new laptop before the day was up (it was a Friday). I run a design business and 100% rely on having a functioning computer for all client deliverables, not to mention having several looming deadlines that were a matter of days from this point in time. I couldn't stress this enough to all Best Buy employees I'd interfaced with at the time. After talking over my purchase options, I quickly decided on a machine and committed to purchase. The sales associate was very polite and helpful, up to this point.

We went through the purchasing routine and everything seemed in order. I was told they needed to burn my backup files, install my new software and make the agreed modifications (installing a solid state drive, nothing more), which "shouldn't take more than a few hours, " the tech said. I was told, worst case, that it would be done that evening before closing time, 9:30pm at the latest (they seemed to understand my time crunch here and said the machine would have top priority). 9:30 rolls around and I haven't heard anything, so I take it upon myself to call and check in, already assuming that I'd probably be looking a pickup the next day sometime, given the lack of call. I spoke with the tech directly and he'd said they were almost all set and just needed to make a few last-minute adjustments and it'd be ready. He said, worst-case, that it would be ready by noon the next day. I stressed the importance of the deadlines I was under in a matter of 48 hours or less from this point, so he assured me that it would be ready for pickup then and that he'd call before then to give a status update, citing that techs arrive as early as 7:30am.

It's 12:30, no call or word. I call again, and am told that it's still a few hours out. Frustrated, I stress-- again-- the urgency of this, he said he ran into some issues and would call when he had a clearer idea as to when it would be ready.

It's now 6:30pm, so I call, AGAIN. I'm reassured that beyond any doubt it'll be done by 9:30pm later that evening, they were just "putting the finishing touches" on it and it'd be out the door. WOW. Ok. I'm about to lose it at this point, I could have done this myself, here I thought I was SAVING time. 9:30 rolls by, livid, I call again, nobody picks up. I call again, no answer. Really?? The store closes at 10pm.

Angry, I try to go to sleep, knowing fully that I'm in serious trouble if I don't follow through with the work I was paid to have complete by Monday morning. 10am rolls around-- the time they open on Sunday mornings-- and I call. I say, "Hello, I'm calling to check the status of the Asus G73 I'd purchased on Friday..." She replies in a snotty tone, "Uhhh--- do you have a name??" Seriously? This is how you speak to your customers? Of course I have a name, and I tell it to her. She comes back on the phone after checking in for me and says, "Uhh, he's still working on it, it probably won't be done until afternoon sometime..."

My head is about to explode. I'm considering asking for my money back, but also know that it's quite the gamble-- on one side, I could go down to Ultimate Electronics and get a great deal on the HP I'd seen over there, but they told me it would take "two hours" to set up for me. Maybe so, but if not, I'd probably have a better chance at riding out the storm here and picking it up mid-afternoon. So, I wait. Patiently.

Now, it's 6:30pm, and having just hung up the phone with the tech, the computer won't be available until "tomorrow morning" sometime, saying, "If I didn't have so many customers to deal with I could get to it sooner..." Really?? What am I? I just dropped $2, 200 on a new laptop and can't get a "priority" spot in line here? What a joke.

I'm getting a refund, having lost a $3, 000 design job by not meeting my deadlines. I'm astonished.

Best Buy is dead to me, and I'll do everything in my power to spread the word about my experiences. This isn't the first time I've had trouble with their "service" department, but it most certainly will be the last. It's truly a shame they don't have more competition in the marketplace, then they might have to actually step up their game to compete.