BestBuy.Com

[Frizzlefry]

I'm very sorry to hear about all the trouble you are having but this is just a fantastic thread filled with pure win. Absolutely amazing how this can happen.

The crazy thing is, ( my issue ) with BestBuy is that I can't log in to my account to BUY more stuff from them. Haha. It's been since last November that I have been able to order something online.  These threads/posts  since I've joined this forum make me think I should just not order any thing else form BB period.

Yikes.

I do wish you good luck though.

[calbert]

ANy update on this? Did somebody come and deliver the washer?

[ShockSystem]

Update:

So, Here we are. On, Friday the 3rd at about 09:15 hours I received a call from the delivery crew that the Santa Rosa store had wrangled up. They stated that the were on their way and would be there in about an hour. At about 10:30 hours they arrived and began the task of unpacking the new dryer and removing the defective unit. One if the two guys they sent remembered having installed the original dryer and had asked what happened, as he thought that maybe I had purchased a new model. I gave him a brief rundown of the situation and informed him that I was not in the habit of replacing dryers annually just to keep up with the latest features, but that the original had failed. He continued to give instructions the the other team member that appeared a little confused. When I inquired about his team mate he explained that there wasn't a installation crew any more and that they grabbed a PC. Tech from Geek Squad that had no prior experience with appliances. My thoughts started to move into uncharted territory about how bad this could get if  "the new guy" hooks up the 220v power cord. The management at the Best Buy store had also neglected to send this "Special Operations Unit of Top Notch Operators from Installation Team 6" without any tools. Luckily I have a full complement of preparedness in the form of every tool imaginable to handle this situation. I don't normally like to "loan" tool but I figured that this was the only why this was going to get done - and they asked nicely.

Everything actually went fairly smooth and no one was electrocuted in the process. I did however get a call that went to voice mail before I could pick up and after checking discovered it was "Jennifer" that called and told me that the transaction had been processed. Hmmm, how did she complete the transaction without the credit card information for the additional charges? My thought was that they billed my Best Buy account which I stated specifically not to do because it would not be at the 0% interest rate that I utilize, and I would not be able to use the Best Buy card issued to me (that had not yet appeared from the ether) for $99 of the transaction. Great. So I started my process of phone tree tag that will take an hour to get this resolved if I can get through to her at the store. Luckily she called the installation team to get the status, so I was able to speak with here on the special Best Buy delivery Bat Phone. Here is the magic of what I learned today in class:

She stated that they did not need my credit card information as it was decided by management that the replacement dryer would be issued as an even exchange and that no additional funds would com out of pocket to cover the warranty of the defective unit. Wow! All this and it only took two months and a week, 40 hours on the phone, three trips to the store and pages of ranting on the website for a month. Problem solved! I guess the determination and effort did finally come to fruition. Finally. I wonder who made that decision and if they read what I had to say about this whole thing?

When tested it appears that the new dryer functions. Hopefully it will be for more than a few months. I'm still irritated about the fact that I could not get them to honor the return authorization for the washer (without additional costs), but I can't have everything and won't press my luck. I don't want to do battle any more just to keep a matched set.

People have asked if this solves my issues with Best Buy and if I would shop there now that the problem was "solved"? Not even remotely. Although I can say that I appreciate the effort of some of the individuals that helped to finally get this "mission accomplished" in a George W kind of way, I still remain a die hard enemy of the Best But experience. There is little to nothing that could ever be done to repair the damage done to my confidence in dealing with this company. Our relationship was damaged irreparably by willful ignorance and a lack of customer concern on top of the shear volume of work it took to get this task dealt with. This could have been handled in ten minutes, over the phone, two months ago, but they just did not want to.

I will still sit down with any management team member to discuss (in the firm and civil tone I'm known for) why this is a shining example of how to treat a customer exactly the wrong way. This situation is a perfect playbook of what not to do, from start to finish that should be titled: "How to make your customer as angry as possible in the shortest amount time" or "How to lose a loyal customer in a week or less". I'd love to forward this information the the CEO and Chief Operations Manager of Best Buy with a personal note explaining my vehement anger. I would love to tell Samsung to go get bent after this experience. I am not ever interested in owning another product made by a brilliantly pompous example of incompetence and overpriced, underachievement in poor quality and substandard manufacturing. What if this had been the Samsung refrigerator that I bought? Two months without food storage capability would suck, and this is the concern that stays in the back of my mind. We have to shop 50 miles away. What if I have to do this all over again? Is that the experience that I want? No. 

[APR28]

This thread proves my point about the arrogant $8/hour BB board members remaining silent in threads where BB screwed up big time. 

[stargirl2254]

I'm so glad that you finally got your situation almost-kinda-not-really resolved.  Did that Best Buy gift card ever materialize?  It seems like they should have also give that to you for your painful experiance.

[ShockSystem]

Thanks there StarGirl, OldPC, Suggit, Calbert, Frizz, Bagman, RedBarron and everyone who took the time to read the wall of text, overly wordy thread and rant that has come to some level conclusion,

Here's the current situation:

I had not posted in a few days because I had a super bowl party and was catching up on things around the house like, get this, laundry! Ohh, the excitement of warm, dry, clean clothing. The new model dryer is installed, working and appears to function properly, but so did its predecessor. At this point I have very little confidence in any Samsung product line and will never purchase anything with that brand name again due to the astronomically poor customer service after the product failure. I can not say with enough emphasis how horrifically bad Lake Appliance customer service is these are the ill tempered, snide, incompetent, unreachable yahoo's that never showed up for the repair in the first place and wasted a week or more of my time.

With that said, last week the $99 Best Buy gift card promised by LaWanda at corporate did manifest itself as promised. I was pleasantly surprised and will view it a partial compensation for the fuel expenditure and time for three 100 mile round trips to Best Buy Santa Rosa Store #120 that did not originally conclude in success. It's nice to know that someone in that organization kept their word and tried to deal with the situation in as effective a manner as their tools allowed. Unfortunately this is far above the average of the Best Buy customer service system. Does it ease my searing hatred and desire for catastrophic implosion of Best Buy into a caustic pit of acidic filth? Slightly. It is far to little to late. This problem could have easily been remedied now almost three months ago with a minimal 10 minute phone conversation. 

I would have understood if they had stated when I made the purchase: "Mr. System, your getting such a great deal that the manufacturer will only give you credit for the price paid, not the product featured, so please be aware in making your final selection on this refrigerator and washer / dryer set". or "We noticed that you are paying for delivery because you live three miles outside our service area, this may present problems if there is an issue that requires mechanical / physical service of the product - please be aware".  I would have accepted this as my own responsibility and dealt with the consequences.

I am still curious who made the final decision that I was told originally was impossible? Why did they reverse course after hours of telling me that what I wanted was never going to happen? Did the words that I took the time to write here make a difference? Did the hours of phone calls sway someone to do the right thing? It seems to be a popular thread, did they see the anger I (and many others) have for the current version of the company? I don't know. I have still never spoken to the manager of the store or anyone with authority directly. I wonder if they will take this as important feedback and attempt some level of improvement?

As for now I plan to burn through the $99 peace offering at the store and make a final purchase with with plans to separate and never make any additional purchases with the company again. I view it as a loss of resources for the both of us. I have no close (less than 50 miles) electronics retailer, and they have lost a customer, revenue and gained an outspoken enemy that will turn customers away at any chance I have. All of this would have been simple to avoid and they wouldn't have hade to shell out another $99 bucks, just the even trade washer and dryer that they get credit for from Samsung.

I hope that all of you out there writing in frustration, reach some level of satisfaction and resolve when it comes to your issues with Best Buy. I fought a battle just to get a dryer, not to irritate the employees - even if I detest the entity that they work for. I wanted to gain attention that they could not ignore, and I think I did without hurting people personally (you can let me know if I didn't ). Remember to be nice, pleasant and restrained on the phone or in writing as the person on the other end (like Allan and La Wanda  in this thread) did not directly cause the issue and deserves to be dealt with respectfully no matter how angry you get or frustrating the situation becomes. Try to win them over to help your cause. I have no issues personally with any one particular person at Best buy, I believe it to be a systemic corporate failure and cancer or corrosive degradation of a business structure. They are too big, too complacent, over systematic and convoluted to continue successfully. They will have to admit mistakes and make steps to working for and with the customer before people like me would ever return as a cautious and tentative customer, let alone loyal supporter. Make your own decisions based on how you are treated and your own "customer experience". My own experience was shockingly bad and I have no future plans to return to Best Buy.

Allan, thank you for attempting to resolve the situation with the tools that you had available.

Angry, irritated, former Best Buy Customer,

Shock System

[ShockSystem]

Update:

An interesting thing occurred just a little while after the installation of the replacement dryer. No - it's still working properly if that's what your thinking. I was posting of the Facebook page for Best Buy and they specifically told me:

"We are aware of your particular situation and I believe all was resolved to your satisfaction. We know there are other choices in where to shop but I hope at some point in the future you will give us another chance. Thank you for posting. There is no need to repost the same thing repeatedly. Thank you,

Marti"

Well, Marti there is sometimes a reason to explain things repeatedly on multiple venues. I would have had fewer problems had I read an in depth forum post like this. I also found it interesting that another $99 gift card arrived. Thank you. I will accept it as another offset for the time and fuel wasted in the replacement endeavor. I'm not sure if that was an afterthought to see if my mind would be changed about my anger toward Best Buy or not? Well for me, my mind is made up, I still hate Best Buy passionately. It would seem as though they also just want me to shut up, and go away.

Thanks again everyone, from one very angry customer,

Shock System

[ShockSystem]

Well all,

I just thought I would post this little story on CNN for fun:

BestBuy Closing 50 Stores - Stocks Down (New Window)

I hope this trend continues and others move away from doing business with this company. I think the retailer is hurting more than they let on. I just see it as a slow downward slide into a sweet destructive end to this horrible company. I would love to see them go out like CompUSA, Goodguys and Circuit City for their horrible customer service, endless hold time on the phone, near fraudulent billing practices, horrible support, product ignorant staff and lack of ability to resolve customer issues. I hope this is a hint to others to purchase elsewhere. I hope to see another professional electronics retailer with reasonable pricing and actual knowledgeable staff come about to fill the need for those of us who will never shop at Best Buy again. I would pay a slight premium to have this. BestBuy seems to want to move into China and I say, let them. It would create more room for a competent, competitive, hungry for business retailer to take over the needed market in retail electronics. Amazon will always win out on price, but having a store from to handle and physically select the item I want will always be a need.

Thanks again everyone for reading,

Shock

[calbert]

Ya it's only a matter of time before they go under.

I will post my problem in 50 different online locations, not because I am delusional enough to think BB cares, no I post it over and over in the hopes of warning somebody else ( like I wish somebody had warned me ) of the horrible experience I have had with BB and there Employees.

[OldPC]

"Amazon will always win out on price" -

Best Buy is just window dressing for Amazon.

The arrogance and misguided vision for market share has come due for Best Buy. My bet is they go all in for Executive level and BoD members to grab as much of the profits as possible on the way down.