BestBuy.Com

[BarbaraInFL]

I've been poking around the forum here, reading some of the posts and reading the (few) responses from BBY.

What I find interesting/funny/sad is the context of their responses.

Background: I worked in a Customer Service sweatshop for awhile. Horrible place. Probably much like BBY Customer (non) Service. When we responded to a customer we had to utilize a script which we copied and pasted the response from our internal website. The only changes we were allowed to make were in personalization of the message (e.g., "Dear Mike" where the template read "Dear Client").

Best Buy seems to have the same exact thing. Every response I've read had the same formula: Oh gosh, I know I'd be really mad if I were in the same boat! Here's the problem. Here is why we are not in any way capable of helping you. And here is where our user agreement says we can do this and you can just bend over!!!

I've also noticed that they are Johnny On The Spot in responding to and resolving simple problems. The harder ones (highly popular items on perpetual backorder or cancelled altogether) never get any kind of a response (at least not a public response). Almost like "If we ignore it long enough it will go away." (I used to leave the hard math problems till the last to complete, but found that if I just did them they were done and didn't have to be dealt with again...there's a lesson in there BBY.)

That's right, Best Buy. We will go away. We will go to Amazon.com, newegg.com, tigerdirect.com or pretty much any other online retailer that can actually deliver on their promises. And once we all go away, you will go away.

If you don't believe me, why don't you go ask Circuit City? What's that? They're not in business any longer?

*rimshot*

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Pretty much every single customer service post is responded too if you go back past the newer posts. They respond to them all, the hard ones and the easy ones. They also fully customize whatever they want unless it is some mass issue that the response is for everyone. One of the connectors responded in a Shakespearean manner at some point and I am pretty sure I saw a poem one time! They can be creative and respond however they feel like. If you read through a lot of responses from them, you can see some of the humor and personalities come out. For example, if someone even starts to say WOW, dorothy ends in Enjoy your game, and thank you for reaching out to us to assist you with this issue.

For the Horde!

I will have to browse through to find the one written in old english. The connectors can be quite entertaining.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

I found one of the funnier ones: http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Best-Buy-Geek-Squad-Policies/It-s-Crap-Like-This-Best-Buy/td-p/362508

Can't call that a form letter...

[BarbaraInFL]

Funny yes, but it does still follow "the formula."

But Crystal, you are one of the folks I'm talking about in my original post. You continually play "Best Buy's Devil's Advocate" in your posts, giving excuses, errrrrr reasons, why BestBuy is awful. It really boils down to one thing: they don't have enough stock to fulfill their sales. They don't communicate with their customers. Their terms of service are such that if we don't get our order their TOS bails them out. "Gee, sorry we guaranteed that for Christmas delivery and gosh! we sure are sorry you counted on us--cuz we told you you could--and we suck so badly that you had nothing under your tree but here are our Terms of Service, you can see that, even though we guaranteed that item we don't really have to fulfill it."

I don't give a fart in a noisemaker how funny or entertaining the responses are. Fact of the matter is, the responses are fomulaic and follow a pattern.

I'd like to see a pattern. A pattern of BestBuy fulfilling orders it has received and guaranteed to be delivered. People counted on them for Christmas, including my surrogate big brother. BestBuy has let thousands of people down and didn't even bother to communicate with them. Those are facts, Crystal. The posts on this board are proof of that. I've been sitting around for a month waiting for delivery of my Christmas present. In that month, I have had exactly one communication from BestBuy regarding my order. They have made no attempt to do right by their customers and that is appalling.

I'd like to see BestBuy say "To he77 with the bottom line, we have a lot of people who are very angry with us and we need to bite the bullet and do right by these customers whose money we've been using." I know that isn't going to happen but it sure would be nice.

Best Buy, I'd like you to meet Circuit City and Radio Shack.

[CrimsonRain]

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BarbaraInFL wrote:
I'd like to see BestBuy say "To he77 with the bottom line, we have a lot of people who are very angry with us and we need to bite the bullet and do right by these customers whose money we've been using." I know that isn't going to happen but it sure would be nice.

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Best Buy is a for-profit business, not the Salvation Army. So, dismissing the bottom line would be counterproductive to their business. Best Buy (like every other company) is run by humans. Humans make mistakes. Deal with it.

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BarbaraInFL wrote:
Best Buy, I'd like you to meet Circuit City and Radio Shack.

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Any numercial figures to back this doom and gloom claim? Or can I tack this one up to the rest of the spiteful baseless quirks from the rest of the complainers here?

[CrimsonRain]

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BarbaraInFL wrote:
I don't give a fart in a noisemaker how funny or entertaining the responses are. Fact of the matter is, the responses are fomulaic and follow a pattern.

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That's interesting, all the complaints on these forums follow a formula too!

Intro

1. I spend millions of dollars at Best Buy.

2. I am the CEO of a similar company.

3. I have worked in <insert irrelevant industry here> for <insert number of years plus 20 more years so people will take me seriously>

4. I have a degree in <insert irrelevant field here>

Body

-problem/issue

Conclusion

1. I wil contact the <insert government body that will do nothing except issue you a case number>

2. I will tell all my family, friends, and the 16 friends I have on Facebook.

3. I'm going to sue Best Buy

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Any formula you see is common sense for good customer service. Part of good customer service is empathisizing with the customer, showing them you understand and realize their issue, and posting what can be done to resolve it or what has been done. That is a no brainer so yeah there is a pattern. You have to realize also, that as far as myself goes anyways, I can't change an experience. I wasn't there with the customer when they bought it so I can't comment on any rudeness they experienced or if they truly were lied to or something. That leaves me with policy. I can explain WHY something happened, or what typically can occur, per policy. I can't make an exception, that is up to the store. This is why my posts go by policy. To be honest, your facts aren't really facts. You aren't those customers so you have no idea what best buy has done for them to make their situation right. You have no idea if they received compensation or anything like that to make it better and go away from the bottom line. The only facts you have are of your own situation, which doesn't put doom and gloom as crimson would say on best buy, nor does it show evil awful customer service. Stuff happens during the holidays. Big sales sell out. They just do. It is a fact unfortunately that not everyone is going to be happy or get what they want.

[BarbaraInFL]

CrimsonRain,
You wrote:

"Humans make mistakes. Deal with it."

That's right. And when we make mistakes, especially in our business dealings with others, we admit the mistake and strive to make it right. BestBuy does NOT do this. For the level of mistakes BBY made this past holiday season, there is more than one person making the mistake. That comment is so helpful, BTW.

You also wrote:
"Any numercial figures to back this doom and gloom claim? Or can I tack this one up to the rest of the spiteful baseless quirks from the rest of the complainers here?"

Baseless quirks??? There are thousands of people who got screwed by BBY this past holiday season. They are using the customer's money to float loans to the company without making a decent effort to rectify their mistakes. You can tack my comment wherever it will fit, CrimsonRain (I have a good suggestion where you can tack it), but Circuit City used to mess up like this and they aren't around more. BBY has been on the downslope for the past couple of years and I don't care what spin the CEO tries to put on it, they are going down because they simply cannot manage to fulfill orders in a timely fashion. The laptop that was promised to me by Christmas? They knew on the 20th of December that they were not going to be getting any more in. Tasha at executive customer service told me this herself this morning. And yet, no one was informed of this. Had we been informed, we could have ordered from Amazon and guess what? We would have had gifts under our tree. BBY has proven they don't respect the customer and, from the posts on here, customers are leaving in droves. Go check out consumerist.com or consumer reports. They've been tracking this downfall for awhile now.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Again, what evidence do you have that best buy does not make things right with any other customer besides yourself. Things like compensation, upgrades, reimbursement and such are not posted publicly so you have no idea if they strove to make it right or not. There is no evidence that they are going anywhere, besides anecdotal articles such as the more recent forbes one. Circuit city didn't go out of business for anything to do with the reasons you suggest.

[BarbaraInFL]

Good Crystal, since you have claimed you can explain why something happened, please explain this to me.

Laptop ordered on 12/14 with guaranteed delivery by 12/24.

On 12/20, BBY knew they were out of stock and knew they would not be getting any more stock of this laptop at all (this was confirmed by Tasha at executive customer service this morning).

As of 1/9, the laptop is still showing as backordered despite the fact that BBY knows it really isn't--they will not be getting any more of this laptop in at all.

As of 1/9, I have had to chase BBY down to find out WTH is going on with my order. They have never, not once, initiated contact with me. That is NOT good customer service, no matter how you try to spin it.

Had BBY told me, on 12/20, that they would be unable to fulfill this order, I could have ordered from amazon.com and at least had something under my tree.