BestBuy.Com

[Irenicus]

This week I visited BestBuy.com and decided to purchase a refurbished Garmin Nuvi 760 for a business trip I have next month.  I received an email two hours later stating my item is on backorder and will be in within a week or two.  I called customer service a few days later to see if I could get a clearer ETA on the product as I’m pretty certain that is a generic time window.  When I spoke to a Customer Care Representative they simply repeated what my email stated and were unable to give me further detail; citing Best Buy gets trucks in every day and it’s difficult to know when a particular item will be in stock.  Is this true?  I find it hard to believe that Customer Care would not have access to that type of information.  Can someone assist me with this?  This is a very important purchase for me and I don’t want to wait on an item indefinitely.   

Lastly, I find it a bit frustrating that I wasn’t notified of the fact this item was on backorder until after my order was placed.   On other retail websites, usually I’m informed of a backorder situation prior to placing my order (when browsing the item or at the time of placing order.) Thanks in advance for your help!

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hi lrenicus,

I can understand not wanting to wait indefinitely for an item, especially when you ordered this GPS for a particular event coming up.  I checked on your order and the current estimated date is between 3/30 and 4/2.  Customer Care really doesn't have more specific information than that because it is all based on when the specific manufacturer has told us they expect to send them.

If we know that we are awaiting shipments from a manufacturer, in most cases our site will also advise of this so customers know as much information as possible before placing their order.  Sometimes, however, this is difficult to predict if five customers order a product at the same time, but there are only 4 in stock, we don't know that until the orders are processed.  I do see that this particular model is still showing available on our site, so I have forwarded these details to the appropriate teams for review and updating, if necessary.

I'm very sorry for any inconvenience.  If you haven't received an email confirming shipment by 4/2, feel free to post again, and we'll be happy to check if there's another update on this order for you.

Thank you very much for posting,

[Irenicus]

Hi Elizabeth,

I just received the below email:

The item listed below is still not yet available to be shipped. We will notify you as soon as the item becomes available.

If you would like discuss other possibilities for fulfilling your order, please call us at 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289), and a Customer Care representative will gladly assist you. Please have your order number handy.

Your options may include:

Finding a store in your area with your item in stock
Ordering a similar in-stock item that meets your needs
Cancelling your current order
We apologize for the inconvenience. If we do not hear from you before we ship your item, we will assume that you accept this delay.

Thank You.
Best Buy Customer Care

Has something changed?

Thanks!

Barry

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hi again!

Nothing has changed - they're just letting you know that as of today, it's still not available for shipment.  I don't see an update on the dates in your order; however, it doesn't mean that the manufacturer won't update those dates.  I wish there was more data we had to share with you; as detailed in the email, there are some other options Customer Care may be able to assist you with if you choose not to wait any longer.

[Irenicus]

Thanks Elizabeth; that makes sense.  I can wait.  I’ll touch base with you after 4/2.  Thank you, you have been very helpful.  Barry

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

No problem!!    Keep me posted.

Message Edited by Elizabeth-BBY on 03-30-2009 02:41 PM

[Irenicus]

Hi Elizabeth,

Unfortunately my order hasn't shipped yet and still is on backorder status; any insight on when the product is expected in?  Also, it looks like the item is still showing it's in stock on the website.

Thanks,

Barry

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Thanks, Barry.  As the system isn't showing any additional update as of yet either, I've asked Jason from my team to dig into this a little deeper and see if he can find out more.  We'll let you know as soon as we find out anything!

[Irenicus]

Thanks, I appreciate it. 

I also want to call out that there seems to be charge authorization/hold for the approximate purchase amount on my bank account;  I thought this didn't happen on backorders until the items ships?

[Jason-GS]

Hi Irenicus,

I apologize that this simple transaction became so complicated, and hope to be able to make this right for you.

I am sending you a private message to get this taken care of for you.  Please check the envelope at the top of the page for further communciation.

Also, I would like to clarify your question regarding the authorization.  When an order is placed, an authorization is immediately placed on the purchasing credit card.  This is left pending until the item ships or is picked up at the store (unless the bank sets an expiration date that preceeds the order being fulfilled).  Once the order is fulfilled, this is converted to an actual charge.  This means that if your item is on backorder, you have not actually been charged as it is still only an authorization.  For more information, visit our help section at http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=page&contentId=1099396531198&id=cat12098.

Cheers,

Agent Jason

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