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jodiholmes
February 16, 2011
Customer Service/Professionalism
Dear Corporate Best Buy,
My name is Jodi Holmes and I purchased a Toshiba laptop from your store recently, and there has been a very complicated story that goes along with the purchase. Please read through this, even though it’s very extensive, maybe it will give you an insight as to what I have been through, as well as the time it took me to put this letter together. I want to make it very clear, from the beginning, that my frustration is not directed at whoever reads this, but at the situation. As you read keep in mind that one of my intensions in writing this is to inform you of the things you possibly were unaware of, that are happening associated with BestBuy.com and the 1-888-bestbuy number. At least I hope you aren’t dealing with cases like mine on a regular basis…..
Anyway, this is how it started. After 8 months of researching laptops that would be best for me, as I am a college student majoring in Graphic Design, I decided on a Toshiba with a quad core processer. I found a great deal online for about $920.00. On the 8th of January, I had spoken to a gentleman by the name of Jason out of the Bellevue, WA store. I asked him about the laptop to see if they had had high return rates with them, in particular. He assured me they had not. I had finally received my student loan and had the money ready to go. I was going to pay for most of it, and my boyfriend was going to pay for some as a birthday present. Come to find out, Best Buy doesn’t take two forms of payment over the phone, or online. I would have loved to go pick it up from a store with cash in hand, especially because the winter quarter had started and I needed the computer immediately. Unfortunately, the closest Best Buy is 3 hours away, and over two mountain passes. Due to the payment issue, I was going to use my card for the entire purchase, but my account only lets me spend 500 per day. On the 9th, thankfully, my Mom said she would pay for the laptop with her card. I paid her cash the next day. The total had been $933.46. After she paid for the computer, I called back and spoke with Brittney, who was also at the Bellevue, WA. location. She was who rang me up for the insurance, over the phone. I purchased the Geek Squad coverage and the two year accidental plan. The total for this was $317.00. I told them I wanted all emails sent to me not my Mom, regarding tracking etc., which they had no problem with because they had been aware of my situation regarding my Mom paying for the computer. I had also made sure that it was shipped express, which would be two days out, by the 12th.
On the 10th, I called to get a tracking number, and was referred to the 888 number. I waited on hold for just a few minutes and was transferred a couple times, then told to call the store back. Instead of doing that, I called my Mom to see if they had sent the email to her by chance. She told me that she would check and get back to me. They did indeed, send all my information to my Mom’s email, which I specifically asked them not to do. In any case, however, they had no problem speaking to me, about the purchase, even though my Mom was the actual purchaser. (I know this doesn’t seem to pertain to anything at this point, but it will come up again as I explain the chronological list of events). I asked them again, to make sure any new information would come to my email.
I believe it was the 12th or 13th at about 6-7 pm I received my laptop that I had been so excited to get for eight months. It was packed nicely, and I was pleased with its appearance. I plugged it in and let it charge up. Then, I unplugged it and took it with me as I sat on my couch. I wanted to take some time to download the software programs that I needed for school, as well as what I would be using in my career as a Graphic Designer- Adobe Creative Suite 5 (CS5). As it downloaded, I noticed the battery draining extremely fast, and completely drained after an hour and a half. The specs say that it has a 3.5 hour battery life. Anyway, I plugged it back in to the charger, and I noticed the battery charging light flickered on and off depending on how I held the cord. In order for it to charge at all, I had to hold it just right. I was thinking, frustrated, that of course something would go wrong because I so desperately needed a working laptop with CS5 installed.
The following day, approximately the 14th, I called the store in Bellevue, or possibly the 888 number. (I am not sure about that call exactly). Either way, I was concerned that they may refuse to speak to me concerning the order number, because my Mom had paid for it. The Best Buy employee had no problem speaking to me, though when I gave them my email to verify I was the owner, they wanted a different email, so I gave them my Moms…I asked them again, to change it. After being on hold for quite some time, they managed to confirm that I would be receiving my next new Toshiba within a few days, and that I was responsible for getting the original returned within 30 days.
This was very annoying because of the fact that it put me so far behind on my school work. I am a straight “A” student, and am on the honor society at the college I attend. Therefore, not being able to do my work is stressful. There are two other classes I am currently taking, Astronomy and Pacific Northwest Geology, and they are BOTH online classes. Kind of difficult to do when I do not have a computer.
All in all, I was trying to keep a positive attitude and looked forward to my next laptop. I receive it on about the 17th. The first thing I did was un-pack it and plug it in. Sure enough, it would not charge correctly unless I held it just right. On the 18th I called the original guy I spoke to, Jason, and told him my unfortunate situation. To my surprise, he responded with, “Those tend to have that issue”. I was thinking that since he was the one I had questioned specifically about the quality of the laptop I had decided on, prior to my purchase, he would have thought to bring it to my attention at the time. All well, I let it go.
That same day I called the 888 number to see what my options were on just getting a refund. She told me it would have to go back on my Mom’s card, and would take a while to be credited. Then I inquired about just taking the laptop to a place locally, if the Geek Squad was available, to have the charger fixed. This idea was because I couldn’t wait to receive another laptop that had the potential to be defective as well. I was nearly to the point of needing to drop out of my classes, because if I waited too long, and don’t get my work turned it, I would no longer have the option of dropping the courses on my own, I would actually receive a failing grade.
The representative informed me that I would have to take it to a Best Buy location if I wanted it fixed. Well to bad for me, the closest is 3 hours away, and fixing it would take who knows how long, then I would have to go back over to pick it up. With my schedule, that is impossible.
I was concerned about my class work and just wanted a laptop that worked properly. Plus I had lost all the crucial software when I downloaded it on the first Toshiba. It was a 30 day trial, and once it is download, that’s it. It can only be done once per person and computer. The value of the Creative Suite 5 Premium is about $2500.00, which is the version I had, had. I brought up the software issue, along with my classes and their demands, and asked if I could speak to a supervisor about getting some sort of compensation for the inconveniences. I told her I was not mad at her at all, and that I would even give her a good customer service report when I spoke to a supervisor. I explained that I just felt I needed to speak to someone who had the authority to help me out. She said that there was no manager available and instead offered 10% of my original purchase, cash-back- about $95.00. I said no, and that I would rather talk to super visor to see what my options were. She then offered me an additional $95 digital coupon. I still said no thank you, and after being on the call for almost an hour, she got my information and said a supervisor would call me back within 1 hour.
The next day, the 19th, 24 hours later, I still had not received a call. I called them again, talked to a representative at about 3 p.m. As I was talking, I heard my phone notify me of an email. A min later after I finished giving her a run-down of what had happened, she asked if I had received a digital coupon. I told her to please hold, because I thought I had just received one. I opened my email, and it was from Best Buy in the amount of $75, (which I found out later, a man named Mark had emailed) I told the person I was talking to about the email I had just received, and she said that it was weird because it had been sent 5 hours prior. That’s beside the point, and there was no reason to be upset about the late arrival of the coupon. I was more concerned about the fact that it was sent to me in the first place….
The representative informed me that a supervisor has to approve the coupons sent out, so he must not have approved the $95 amount. All of this did not even matter yet, because I specifically requested to speak to a supervisor, and I did not want the coupon. This is about where I began to really become concerned about the company because of lack of professionalism, among other obvious consistency problems.
If I’m understanding it correctly, even though a supervisor supposedly read my case and saw I wanted a call back, (as said before, this man supervisor I am speaking of is Mark), he chose to ignore my request for the call back. I would guess that he sent me the email, assuming I would just cash in the $75 coupon, and that would render my case closed. I asked the representative, again, to please have a supervisor call me. After a total of approximately 35 minutes, she had gotten the information needed for the call back, and the conversation ended.
Throughout the 19th and 20th, I did some more research on different brands of laptops. Finally, I narrowed it down to an Hp Pavilion. As I looked for the lowest price, I found that Best Buy carried it. I figured since my Geek Squad and insurance was already paid for through Best Buy, I could just do an exchange. (Plus, I thought the chances were slim that something else could go wrong with the company).
The problem with doing an exchange, was that the computer I wanted was about $200.00 more than the Toshiba I had. Then I calculated the two amounts of $95 cash back I was offered, and the $95 digital coupon I was offered, (figuring that when I got the call from a supervisor, they would see that I was offered $95.00 not $75.00, and they would fix the error). The total, as you know, is $190.00, and it would cover, or come close to covering, the difference in price between the two laptops. Due to the issues so far, and since I had already been offered the two forms of compensation, it wouldn’t be a problem, or so I thought.
Later on the 20th, finally, a supervisor called me. Her name was Debbie, and she was very rude and unsympathetic, at first. She didn’t even want to talk me about my purchase, because my mom was technically the purchaser. I thought the situation had been made clear on the notes. Never the less it hadn’t, so every time I would speak to someone, I had to re-explain my whole situation, which took at least 25 minutes. The representative had to figure out the chain of events while I was on the phone either in silence, or I would help to explain things as they read.
I told Debbie I wanted to exchange my Toshiba for an Hp, but the cost was $200 more. Therefore, I wanted to get the $95 cash back, and the $95 coupon, that I was told I could get. I simply asked for what I was told, by a Best Buy Representative, that I would receive. Come to find out, Best Buy doesn’t honor their promises, depending on the representative or something, because this claim turned into a huge issue. Debbie gave me an answer of “no”, because the representatives I had talked to had no right to offer me the compensation, according to her. I was curious, so I replied with, “So, how is that my fault?” My thought behind this was that Best Buy ought to solve their issues with getting their employees trained correctly, so that their customer services are in sync with each other. Why should the customer have to suffer because the employees aren’t trained properly or don’t listen? From my experiences working in retail or for any company, if there is a mistake, usually you are taught to diminish the idea that the company has inconsistencies, honor the promise made to them, but also let them know that it was an exception, and that they shouldn’t expect it to be done for them again if the situation happens to occur in the future.
Debbie and I argued for a while about how she said the representative should have never told me that I could receive the compensation. There were several times in the conversation when Debbie insinuated I was lying about telling the representative I didn’t want the coupon, and that she had offered me a total of $190 in funds. I was very clear in saying that I knew the conversations may have been recorded, and for her to please find a way to listen to the conversations, so that she knew I wasn’t making it all up. I thought that it was crazy that what I was asking of Best Buy was being declared too much! The incidents kept piling up, and the people who had to actually take the time to look through my notes, could very easily see that the situation was becoming much worse. I had decided to buy the Hp through Best Buy because of the funds the company had offered me. At this point if Debbie tells me too bad so sad, I would have to spend more time trying to figure out where to find a good laptop at a price I would be able to afford. Homework was piling up even more, and I needed a laptop days prior, when I was supposed to have had it.
The software I had downloaded on the first computer was a trial version, like I mentioned, which I had planned on using for the thirty days it was activated. This would give me enough time to get my taxes filed, and when I received my return, I would purchase the real version of CS5. Obviously, now I have to try to figure out how to get the money sooner. I hadn’t been able to budget the purchase of the Creative Suite into my funds until I received my tax return.
I was still on the phone with Debbie, and she finally looked at my notes, after I explained that I wanted to talk to her supervisor, because the conversation was going nowhere. She said she had no supervisor. I told her I would contact corporate somehow, if that is the case. She calmed down at this point, and became much more willing to help me figure out my problem. She looked at the previous notes from my cases, and after over 1 hour of being on the phone, she said she had decided to go ahead and give me another digital coupon of $75.00, and a bonus credit of some sort of $25. I was told I had to speak with her specifically about the case in order for me to receive the extra $25, because she was doing me a special favor. She gave me a case number and told me to call and ask for her once I had returned my other laptops. She said she would be checking in on her cases over the weekend. I was grateful, and the conversation ended.
On the 22nd, in an attempt to minimize the time it would take to send back both laptops, wait for charge to be credited back on my mom’s card, which I was told would be a week, then having my mom buy a gift card, waiting for it to be mailed to me, then repurchasing new computer with the gift card and the credits Debbie had agreed to, then waiting for it to be shipped to me; my mom said she would drive to Tacoma and return them, because she had made the purchase. She also said that she had enough credit on her card that she could purchase the gift card when she was at Best Buy, in the amount of the return -$933.46. She would then call me with the card number and the pin so that I could order the Hp immediately. When she came to pick up the laptops from me, to so generously take three hours one way to return, she asked me if I had the receipt or if she would need one. Since she had forwarded me the email with the order numbers, that I was supposed to receive in the first place, I looked through them and realized I had only been given one receipt. It was for the Geek Squad that I had paid for separately with my card in the amount of $317.00. I had remembered that the order number for the geek squad was the same as the order number for the laptop, but just in case, I called up the Bellevue store to double check. I asked if I was to return a laptop, and only had the receipt for Geek Squad, but their order numbers were the same, if that would be sufficient. He assured me it would not be a problem. Plus, my Mom had her card, and in order to return the laptop, I believe the card used for the purchase has to be present. (It was not an option to pick it up from a store. It was only available online.)
That evening, the 22nd, I attempted to call Debbie to give her a heads up on what was happening so that nothing else could go wrong. I realized I could not contact Debbie, but I had the case number she had given me. I spoke to a very knowledgeable representative. As the complexity of my situation grew, so did the amount of time it took during each call for the representative to grasp my situation. I explained how I was going to be receiving a gift card the next morning, and I wanted to double check to make sure that everything was lined up on my account. I figured the $25 wasn’t going to be taken into effect because Debbie said I had to speak to her in order to receive it. I couldn’t wait around for her to contact me though, at this point, especially because of my experiences with (not) getting calls back from supervisors. After about 35 minutes, she said she said that there were notes about me getting $150.00 of credit toward TV! I said that there had never been a word mentioned about a TV, ever.. She said that it was obviously a mistake, laughed, and made notes to correct the problem. She said she couldn’t believe the major issues, and explained how Debbie wasn’t even a supervisor, and that she had gotten permission from her boss through I.M. to do the $150.00. She also informed me that representatives can override up to $75.00 on their own, without needing permission from a supervisor and that must have been the extra $25.00 Debbie had said she would allow. Because of all of the problems, the representative she said she would make notes regarding my case, making sure it was obvious that the $150.00 was ok, that there was no TV involved, and she also decided to give me $50 out of the possible $75 she was allowed to override. This put my total at $200. I was very pleased at this point and thanked her a million for understanding. Finally, it was taken care of. I had the definite approval for the extra money I needed to get a reliable laptop. Or so I thought….
The following morning, it was a Sunday I believe, my Mom had just returned the laptops and called me to verify that the amount was supposed to be $933.46. I told her that it was correct. She then bought a gift card in the amount of $933.46, called me back to give me the number, as well as the pin. YAY!
By this time, I think it was about 10am, I was about to leave for work at Petco. I am a Canine Education Instructor, (dog trainer). As I was on my way, I called the 888 number and spoke with Whitney. I quickly informed her that I needed to buy a computer, and that it was a very long complicated ordeal. I suggested that she read through my case and then get back to me so that I didn’t have to wait on hold forever again. She said she would do just that, and would call me in about ten minutes. I had over two hours to do some side work at Petco before my class started, so I knew I could be awaiting her call and available to answer it.
About an hour and a half later, I still had not received a call, so I called back. I spoke with a lady, but I do not remember her name. I had to explain my situation, told her that someone named Whitney was supposed to call me. After a half an hour of her getting the story straight, the lady said that Whitney had made notes saying that she had tried to call me, but there was no answer. I said that that was crazy because I had been basically staring at my phone anticipating the call, and that I had not been using the phone for anything during the time frame. I had her read the phone number back to me to see if there was an error in what had been input in the log. There wasn’t. I told her that she must have mis-dialed then.
I was over it at this point, and ready to move on to purchasing the Hp. I explained to the woman how I had talked to several people and that I was supposed to be able to use a total of $150.00 plus the $50 bonus in digital coupons to pay for the remaining balance on the purchase. She kept arguing that Whitney tried to call me….. I tried to get her to understand that, that was irrelevant at this point. So she finally starts reading through my notes and case numbers. She says she sees nothing about $150.00 in coupons for a laptop. I couldn’t believe it! I explained how I had spoken to someone last night, who also added $50 to the amount I would be able to redeem, and that I had also spoken to Debbie, and many others. She said she could see the notes from the people I had talked to previously, for the most part. She then said that there was nothing noted from the night of the 22nd. (The previous night.) That was the most important conversation I had, as far as I was concerned! It was the time that a representative took care of making sure the coupons were readily available so I could call in and get it done. She was the one who had also added the $50 to make the total $200.
The lady kept repeating herself over and over, that she didn’t see any coupons. I consistently replied with asking her if I could please speak to a supervisor who might have more of an ability to find out what was happening. She didn’t really have much to say about that, except that no one was available. She did continue speaking about the coupons not being found for a laptop. After at least 45 minutes, she said…. are you ready to find out what she said? Ok, she said, I do not see any coupons for a laptop; however, I do see an amount of $150.00 allotted for a TELEVISION.” I could not believe it! This whole time back and forth and she could see the coupons but didn’t bring them into the conversation because they were for a TV.
After picking my jaw up off the floor, I explained to her that the conversation that I had had the previous night was very important in my case because the representative that I spoke with saw the TV too, but it was very apparent to her that it was a mistake, and she fixed the whole problem. In the end, this lady wouldn’t grant me the use of the coupons simply because of the fact that they were for a TV that did not exist! I told her I had been on the phone for over an hour, and I don’t have much longer before I have to start my class, and that I did not have energy or patience to try to re-explain my situation to another person. I asked her to get me to someone immediately who had been brought up to speed, and that could help me. She suggested I get transferred to Consumer Relations. Reluctantly I said ok, what were my other choices? I sat on hold for 15 minutes, listening to a recording repeating, “PLEASE WAIT, PLEASE WAIT, ” every 5 seconds. Then my student showed up for their class, and I had no choice but to hang up the phone.
A little later, when I got off work, having been brought to tears by the frustration, I called the Bellevue store to talk to Britney again. I summed up the situation and ask for her help .I knew that the store employees couldn't access the information that the 888 number had acquired, but I didn't know what else to do. She said she would see what information she could find, and asked if she could call me back in a half an hour. As promised, she called me back and told me that unfortunately there was no way for the store to access my coupons. She then put me on hold to speak to her manager. She came back on the phone, and said she had good news. After speaking with her manager and explaining the situation, he told her to go ahead and grant 200 dollars towards my laptop. So she began to get me through the process of buying the Hp. I ended up having to pay an extra 90 dollars for tax. I was a little bothered but figured it was better than nothing, at this point. I asked if my Geek Squad membership would simply transfer over to the new computer along with 2 year accidental insurance. Britney looked up the information and said that it had been returned the previous day, (when my Mom returned the laptops). I am guessing that when she used that receipt for reference for the order number, they automatically returned the insurance as well, which seems strange to me because I had purchased the insurance with my debit card. Doesn’t the card have to be present to do a return? Or doesn’t it at least need approval from the card holder? This is what I was told, anyway. I knew there was no point in asking Britney why that had happened, so I told her to go ahead and let me by the insurance again. She then told me that the insurance for this computer was 100 dollars more than it was for the other. Being unable to afford it, I had to settle with a less expensive 1 year warranty that didn't cover nearly as much, and it cost me over 160.00 dollars. I had ended up paying about 250 dollars extra to get the Hp. I couldn't really complain especially because the store went out of their way to try to help me. Britney told me that I could most likely still get the coupons, because they had told me I could, and given the circumstances they ought to be willing to do what they had said would be done, at the very least.
That evening I called the 888 number and spoke with the lady named Evelyn. She couldn't have been any nicer and understanding of my situation. As always, it took an extensive amount of time for her to get a grip on my case, but as she read everything out loud to me, she made notes on that issue with the TV, along with many others, and corrected them. I thanked her many times throughout the conversation as she was chatting with her manager. She said she was just waiting on a response and we would be done, and I would be good to go. Just as many other representatives that had to read my whole story, Evelyn did not believe that there would be a question in whether or not the supervisor would approve the coupons. Then all of a sudden as I was waiting, I heard a “click”, and she was gone. Over 45 minutes of working towards what I had been trying to receive, that I was told I would receive, for nothing. I called back again and though I couldn't get ahold of Evelyn, I spoke with another woman. It took another 45 minutes for her to be brought up to speed. The whole time throughout the conversation, I kept checking to see if she was still there for fear of getting disconnected again. She was very nice and kept reassuring me that she was indeed still on the phone as she chatted with her supervisor. I told her jokingly, that if we got disconnected that I wanted her to call me back from her cellphone so that we could finish up in order to avoid having to explain everything again to someone else. She said that she couldn't do that, but would make sure that the manager would. She kept saying, “All I'm waiting on is for him to have time to okay the coupons.” She seemed irritated in the amount of time it was taking for him to get it done. Then, once again, I heard the same “click”! She was gone too. I held onto the thought that her supervisor would call me back. After an hour so, I gave up on that thought, and was too exhausted by the entire situation, to find the energy to call back. The next day, I called and spoke to a man who said my case was going to be transferred to the Digital Coupons Department, that he had reviewed my case numbers, and that I would definitely be receiving my digital coupons via email within 72 hours. I was uneasily pleased at this point, because I didn’t want to get my hopes up again. I thought that at least I could use them towards purchasing the software that I needed.
Later that evening, which I think was Tuesday, Debbie the manager I had spoken with several days prior, called me. She said that she was all set up and ready to go to help me purchase a new laptop. I told her that my case had just been sent to the Digital Coupons Department, and that I was to receive them within 72 hours. She informed me that she had the permission needed to cover all extra cost in getting a computer. I thought that would have been nice if they could have gotten it all together in time before I purchase the Hp. I told her that I wasn’t able to wait for her to get back to me because of the experiences I had in not being able to reach, or get a call back like I had been promised. I asked her how I was supposed to know that I would ever hear from her again. I needed the computer immediately because of my school work. I told her about the conversations from the night when I got disconnected twice, and she said she kept telling people through instant messaging, that I was her case and she would call me back. I told her that no one had ever mentioned anything about that. Debbie insisted that was the situation. I've then told her, “Now you know how I feel. You work for the company and still have major difficulties communicating with them effectively. Try to imagine being a customer. ” She told me that she would call me back when she got off of work the following night at midnight, her time which was about 10 o'clock my time, to see if everything had gone smoothly. Nevertheless, I still have not heard from her to this day.
The following day it had been 72 hours and I still had not received my digital coupons. I called back again and spoke to a woman representative; I think her name was Jessica. She was very sympathetic of my situation after she read all of the notes. I explained how I was disconnected twice a couple nights ago, and didn't want it to happen again. She said that if we got disconnected, she would call me back from her cellphone. After being on the phone for 90 minutes, and nearly done with giving her all my information in order for her to have a supervisor call me back, sure enough, we got disconnected. A few seconds later I got a call from Jessica on her cell phone. She just wanted to let me know that the process had been finished and that a supervisor would call me within an hour.
At the end of the hour time frame, a manager named Pam called me. She said that she could go ahead and override the extra cost of a new computer. I told her I had already purchased a new computer and that I would rather have digital coupons, as I had been promised the whole time. She said no. Then she said that the compensation of $350.00 towards a new computer was more than enough. The amount of $350.00 was a new number to me, so it made me ask her to repeat how much compensation she was approved to give me. She replied with $350.00 at least. Well, it sure sounded nice, but I couldn’t use any of it now. I told her with all honestly, that the amount was supposed to have been $200. This just shows how screwed up this aspect of the company is…
I asked her, “Due to the fact that I was unable to wait around for Best Buy to come through with a simple transaction that should have taken one phone call, that has ended up taking a week of the most outrageous situation, I’m not going to receive the compensation?” I told her that I couldn't see any difference in receiving digital coupons or money towards a computer. I explained how my case was very unique, and what I hoped would be classified as “extenuating circumstances.” I also said that if it wasn't an uncommon experience for Best Buy’s customers, then Best Buy really has major problems. So if my case was considered “extenuating circumstances”, then therefore, the compensation for the issues ought to be above and beyond what an everyday issue would receive for compensation. I asked to please be able to speak with her superior or a superior. Pam said there was nobody I could speak with above her ranking unless I wanted to email or write a letter to Corporate Best Buy. I just knew/thought, if I could speak with someone with a high enough ranking, told them my situation, and let them review my 10+ case numbers, that they would be willing to at least simply give me what I was promised. The conversation with Pam ended with her saying that basically I was out of luck.
Unbelievably frustrated, I didn't know what to do and definitely didn't have time to explain to corporate in an email all that had happened, not even knowing whether or not they would give me a response. After a couple more days I got the energy to give it another shot and called again. This time I spoke with Consumer Relations, and the person I spoke with was Nicole. She was really great and told me it looked like my case was in Digital Coupons or Reward Zone, and it was near the top of the list. Nicole explained it could take 3 to 5 business days for me to receive my digital coupons, but that her manager had verified that they would be on their way. Why was I told 72 hours? Another inconsistency. She also said she would call me that Tuesday to make sure that all was well and also left a case number open for me.
The following morning, I received a call from Best Buys’ “head guy”, his name was Mark. He told me that he was from the Coupons Department. Before I had said anything else I asked him if he had read thru the notes on my cases. He told me he had and asked me if I was aware that I had already had an email with the 75 dollar coupon. As far as I was concerned, that was a long time ago considering all that had happened between then and now, which led me to believe he had most definitely not taken the time to read through my cases. But I told him I was aware I had been emailed the coupon. I said that it was kind of beside the point of why I wanted him, or any supervisor, to contact me. I said that I had been promised the others. He was extremely rude, had an arrogant tone, and wouldn't even let me finish a sentence before he would talk over me. He told me that I had been given the 75 dollar coupon and that was all I would get, bottom line. I asked him to please give me one example of an incident that occurred regarding my situation. Even if he could have told me something small and simple like that I had bought two laptops that were defective, I would have been surprised. He refused. I said I knew he hadn't even done his job of researching what had happened. He got very defensive, and kept saying, "REGARDLESS, YOU HAVE GOTTEN PLENTY OF COMPENSATION AND NOTHING MORE WOULD BE GIVEN!" This type of talk went back and forth for a bit, and then I finally asked to speak to his boss, or someone else in his department. He told me he didn't have a boss and that no matter what he was the only one who handled these matters.
I guess I was assuming that if I could speak to someone above the representatives, I may get somewhere because of their knowledge and ability to help the customer. I assumed wrong. After I had spoken to him for a couple minutes, I would have gladly spoken to a rude rep I had dealt with previously. Not that they handled things correctly, but Mark was so short and condescending, that it made me feel so demeaned. I could not believe that I was speaking to a superior in the Best Buy Company.
Anyway, by him telling me he had no boss, which I knew was not true, it led me to ask him that since he runs everything then it must be solely his decision on my compensation. He told me it was. I returned with the statement that there were several representatives who had actually read the notes, and they all agreed that I ought to be given the coupons amounting to 200 dollars. And some had actually promised I could obtain them whenever I needed to. Then a couple times I was told that I just had to sit back and wait for the coupons to arrive in my email. He informed me that corporate has guidelines that he has to follow, which I understand. But the guidelines are put in place for the average customer complaint, not for something that was extensive as my case. I suggested he call his boss, that he supposedly didn't have, and give them my info to see if they would make an acceptation. He told me that all they would do is tell him that it was up to him. And I said, "So then it is up to you. Please review my case and then make a decision.” I literally pleaded of him. I was really upset at this point, and embarrassed because I couldn't speak smoothly as I had started to cry pretty hard.
He was continuing with his speech about how he had read the notes and bottom line was that I would not get anything else, unwilling to listen to me at all. I was frustrated to the max and shocked at how mean he was. Plus, it was apparent that he had made his decision before he even spoke with me, and without having researched the problem. I calmed down a bit and asked, "Please please please, will you please just read my cases and then make your decision? Please?" This is when he said, “If I read the notes, and it is not the very most outrageous situation that I have ever heard of here a Best Buy, then I am not giving you anything." So he actually admitted that he had not read anything and made up his mind prior to calling. He was making a “deal” with me with contingencies that involved him simply doing his job. That is his job, right? Review cases, and make a fair decision.
I told him that that was fine, and made the deal. I knew that he could still just say that he had seen worse cases and not help me out, simply because of his pride. It was easy to tell that he was not the type to admit being wrong. After about 20 minutes of supposedly reading and doing what he should have done before he ever called me to begin with, he called back and still denied me the digital coupons.
So this is where I am, at this point. After having consolidated the dates and events while they were still somewhat fresh in my head, I began to write this letter. Unfortunately, because I’m a full time college student, work as a dog trainer at Petco, and on the side, and clean houses on a regular basis, I do not ever have a day off. Literally, I work every day. Therefore I was not able to sit down and get this letter done on one day. Instead, it took me over two weeks. I apologize if my cases seem to be somewhat old. I have many case numbers listed at the bottom for reference. Also, please check the phone calls if any happened to be recorded, to verify my story. I am sure it is all subject to skepticism, which I completely understand. Everything I have stated has been to the best of my knowledge, but a few of the dates may be a day or two off. The lengths of the phone calls are accurate because I have phone bills that are over my minutes allowed to prove it. I hope that my time has been worth it. I never thought of Best Buy as a company that had a bad customer service reputation, and so I'm hoping that I just happened to have a horrendous ordeal because of bad luck.
On the time line of events that took place, I was awarded a $75.00 digital coupon before I returned the second laptop, and was told I would get another coupon because of the inconvenience of having the first one turn out defective as well. I was told by a couple representatives that if there is a problem with the computer, the customer can usually get up to a $75.00 coupon if they feel compensation is needed. Well I have had to return two laptops, was told I had the coupons ready to go, and sense I needed a laptop ASAP, my Mom rushed 3.5 hours to return them for me, bought a gift card, gave me the number, and when I called to purchase a new one, I was denied the coupons because I had them under the purchase of a TV. Also I lost my software which is absolutely necessary for me to even be enrolled in Graphic Design. I have tremendously large phone bills, which means that I had to spend many hours on the phone either holding, re explaining my situation to another new representative, arguing that I had never even tried to purchase a TV, being promised things as simple as a returned phone call from a supervisor, or promised coupons that I never asked for, but was willing to take at that point, or the time I was spending on the phone with Best Buy ended up being a completely waste of my time because I would end up being hung up on.
Like I said, I wanted to inform you of my experience in hopes of getting what I have been told I would get on several occasions, but also to bring it to your attention that there are some things that you may want to work towards fixing. As you probably know from reading this, I never called and demanded or even simply asked for compensation in any amount in particular, I just went by what the Best Buy representatives told me. I think my request is fair, and I'm sure after looking over my cases, you will too.
Jodi Holmes
(509) 860-5835
BBY01-379945000984
82013355
82013608
82069324
82192259
1791125
82174599 Evelyn
82167256 Hilda
82309737 ext60047 Nicole
8668577970 ex67659 Mark
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