Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[nonnie9999]

I wanted to see if a keyboard I want to purchase is available at the store near here. I didn't want to order it online, because I have something to return to the store, and I want to use the credit toward the price of the keyboard, so I don't want to enter my credit card number. The Beta version that is supposed to allow you to check the availability at the store didn't work, so I called the local store instead. I got a recording asking what I needed, and I chose 'check availability.' The recording said that all the salespeople were busy, and the calls would be answered in turn. Then, for more than 8 minutes (my phone times my calls), I was caught in an endless loop of being told that my call was important, I was being connected to the nearest store, someone would be with me soon, and on and on. The same recordings over and over again, but no human being ever picked up the phone. I hung up, and called the toll-free Best Buy number. A customcustoer rep answered, and I told him what happened and expressed my frustration. He apologized and said he'd connect me to someone who could help. Of course, after a few assorted phone beeps, I was disconnected. The keyboard may cost me a few bucks more, but I'll probably go to CompUSA instead, because I think it's unacceptable for a store to ignore phone calls from customers.

[AndyH]

Have you considered that instead of ignoring your call that the store was just busy? Usually with phones systems like the ones in a store there's only 1 line for an active call to be on and the rest are in a queue, fist come first serve so when that call gets finished the next in line goes through. I wouldn't be surprised if someone was talking to someone in the store for 8+ minutes. I understand it's frustrating but the guy answering the phones is only human.

[nonnie9999]

I might have considered that if I hadn't been told that there was only one customer before me and if the same recordings didn't play over and over again in an endless loop. 

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello nonnie9999 -

Justin from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[hydrogenwv]

It's possible that there was only one other person in front of you. If they only have a couple phone lines (at a store level, I wouldn't expect too many lines), and the customers in front of you have a complex question, 8 minutes would be very understandable. I'm with ya on the loops, though... Hold music is plenty, I don't need an announcement every minute that I'm still on hold, but that's par for the course for most toll-free 800 numbers....

Chances are, either the employees were busy in the store or on the phone, with other customers. Either way, if you were being assisted in store or on the phone and someone else needed help, you'd expect the employee to finish handling your situation first, correct? Or would you expect the employee to stop helping you just so someone doesn't have to sit on hold? In my opinion, waiting only 8 minutes is extremely impatient.

[Justin-BBY Community Connector]

Hi nonnie9999, 

Thank you for expressing your feelings about your local store not answering their phones. I'm very sorry that you were never put in touch with someone there that could assist you with your keyboard availability inquiry, especially after trying to reach out to our phone representatives as well. It's tough to know why the store was unable to take your call, but I'll surely document your views about this topic and have them internally addressed. Feel free to reply here if you'd like or you may send me a private message. 

Sincerely, 

[nonnie9999]

It doesn't matter anymore. I went to the store. I had to return some printer ink I had bought there last week as well as an Insignia portable radio that my friend from Virginia sent me as a gift and that didn't work at all when I opened it. I was told that the store would not take the radio back, because it was opened and I didn't have a receipt. I explained that it was a gift, and that's why I didn't have a receipt. The customer service individual looked for my friend's name, but she couldn't find the purchase. I told her that I didn't know if she bought it at a store and paid cash for it or if her husband or one of her sisters bought it. A manager was called over, and she reiterated that they wouldn't take it back without a receipt. I said that Insignia is Best Buy's brand, and there's nowhere else she could have gotten it. I also said that my friend's mother just died, and I wouldn't bother her about searching for a receipt. I kept getting the same response about it being opened. I said that I would not have known that it was broken if I hadn't opened it. I added that I didn't want any cash back, because I was going to buy a keyboard, so a store credit would be fine. Still the same response about it being opened. I told the customer service rep and the manager that they just lost a sale. They could keep their 20 bucks for the piece of crap that was sold to my friend, and I would make a purchase of more than twice that across the street at CompUSA. I grabbed a flyer before I went, and drove over to CompUSA. I didn't have to wait on any lines and, unlike Best Buy where you can grow a fingernail before you can find someone to help you, a sales associate approached me to ask if he could help. I showed him the Best Buy flyer, and he walked me up to the register with the keyboard and made sure that the cashier charged me Best Buy's sales price. That's the second time I've been to CompUSA. The first time was last week. My son built me a computer, and he needed some parts. He sent me with a list to Best Buy. One of the items was a particular SATA Data cable. I had no idea what it was, so I asked a salesperson at Best Buy (after finally tracking one down), and though he was friendly, he had no idea what he was talking about. He gave me a cable, and I went to the front to check out. Something told me it might not be the right one, so I called my son and described it to him. He said it was definitely the wrong one. I also needed some screws for the computer which Best Buy didn't sell. The salesman was the one who told me to go to CompUSA for them. When I went to CompUSA, the salesman there knew immediately the cable I needed and found it for me. I find that there is no good reason for me to shop at Best Buy. It used to be my go-to store for anything electronic. Now, however, there are plenty of choices. Why go to a store where customer service seems to be of no importance? If there's a sale, there's always another store that will match the price. It's too bad that Best Buy has decided that the customer can be ignored, on the phone and at the store. It used to be such a nice store to shop at, but that's all changed. I'm replacing all of my kitchen appliances. I was going to go to Best Buy to see what they had to offer, but now I'll go to HH Gregg, which is right across the street near CompUSA. I stopped there once, and they were very nice. They even answered the phone when I called them.