I want to preface this complaint with a couple of things. First off, I am a former Best Buy employee (different location, long ago). I remember their attitude towards accepting exchanges. The management has a focus on doing what ever they can to avoid helping their customers with these matters so that they can turn in better numbers to corporate. Secondly, I am usually very patient with businesses when I have problems, and I understand that employees are human too and that mistakes happen. I have never felt the desire to make a public complaint about a business, but this whole situation I have dealt with has provoked me into creating an account on this site just to share my story. My distaste with this company has grown to the point where I will never shop there again, even though Best Buy has always been one of my favorite stores. Never have I been so angry with the way I was treated by a customer service team. I have never dealt with a business that avoided taking any steps towards being responsible for their mistakes.
I purchased a Kindle Fire yesterday at this location (http://stores.bestbuy.com/1002/). Normally my family has always gone straight through Amazon to purchase their Kindles, but I liked the idea of going to the store to pick mine up. I decided to skip purchasing the $50 Best Buy extended warranty since I am careful with my electronics and Amazon knows how to treat their customers (They will fully replace the device for just $100 if they don't just do it for free). I was contemplating going back to Best Buy within the 16 days they allow that and purchase the warranty for the convenience of in store replacements, but I didn't because I never got the chance.
I got home that night and opened my Kindle Fire to disappointment. The screen had a huge crack across it and scratches on the back. I had been looking forward to my Kindle Fire and wanted to try out the product anyways, deciding that I would just exchange it the next day. My Kindle Fire crashed every 15 minutes, creating one of the most frustrating product experiences ever. I was upset that I was sold something in this condition, and was looking forward to exchanging it for a working one.
I went to Best Buy the very next day after purchasing it, and showed them all of the things that were wrong with it. I spoke with the store manager Jason{removed per forum guidelines}, who met me with an attitude, and almost immediately dismissed my issue. He noticed a couple of finger print smudges on the screen (he prob put half of them there himself inspecting it) and told me that he could tell by the finger smudges that it was clear that the device had been "extensively used" (again, this was less than 24 hrs after purchasing it, a third of which I was asleep). He then told me that Amazon checks their products before they package them and send them half way across the world, and that it wasn't possible that their store sold me a product that was damaged. He told me there was nothing he would do, and that I could call corporate but that it still wouldn't do any good because he would never change his mind. He said that he wouldn't be able to get any sort of compensation from Amazon because of the screen, so he wouldn't exchange the broken product his store sold me.
He then went on to say that it was my fault that he couldn't help me. He said that what I should of done is called them immediately (late at night) to report the issue and get it on file. Apparently going into the store the very next day with the actual product and complaint isn't sufficient enough to get some sort of assistance with my troubles, and suposedly if I told them the same exact same thing over the phone then they would have helped me. After I told him how ridiculous that was he went on to accuse me of lying, suggesting that it was clear that I broke it, and that there was no way they sold me something that was broken because the box was still sealed when I bought it... For me to have been responsible for the damage to the product within the time period of a few hours, I would have had to have been throwing it around and standing on it or something, and I was in complete shock that I was having trouble exchanging a clearly disfunctional product within a 24 hour time period. At this point I asked him if there was anyone else I could speak to, and he said I could call corporate but that it wouldn't do any good. I told him I would, and called them on the spot.
Corporate wasn't much help. I waited 20 minutes on hold to speak with a guy who basically said he couldn't do anything, but said that he could try speaking with the store manager. During the call the store manager disappeared into the back of the store, and when I asked for him I was sent on a wild goose chase walking around the store trying to find him. I talked to three employees before finally someone in the tv section helped me and paged him. Ten minutes later some kid sauntered out and told me that the store manager wasn't available, but he offered to speak with corporate. This was perhaps the most insulting part of the whole experience...
I handed him my phone, and he spoke to corporate. Immediately, without ever even looking at my Kindle Fire (which was now back in its box with me), the kid told corporate that upon his inspection he fully agreed on all points with the store manager, and that they would not replace the broken product they sold me. I could not believe I was witnessing a Best Buy employee lie to corporate right in front of me and on my expense, most likely commanded to by his store manager, who was hidden somewhere in the back of the store. After that he handed me my phone and walked away with a smirk on his face and nothing else to say. No "sorry we couldn't help" or "is there anything else I can help you with?". I guess it is a lot easier to just walk away from a customer with troubles...
I personally don't like being insulted and accused of being a liar by a store manager. I cannot believe that I would be dismissed so bluntly by a company as
big as Best Buy. Instead of receiving any sort of support for a $200 product they sold me broken, I was treated as a liar and met with some nonchalant effort (if you could even call it that) to make things better. I left the store with nothing but the knowledge that I will never buy another product from Best Buy ever again.
Fortunately for my sake Amazon has a respectable customer service team, and all I had to do to replace my Kindle Fire was type my phone number on their website, and wait ten seconds for them to call me. They are fully replacing my Kindle Fire for free, no questions asked, no accusations, and with a polite, friendly attitude towards the whole situation, even though the fault is with Best Buy. For that, they will be the ones who receive my business from now on.
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