Musical Instruments

[johnkraft]

I purchased a Yamaha P-85 Digital Piano for my wife as a present. At the time of purchase (Jan 29) she was currently deployed to Iraq and due back in February. As luck would have it, she did not return until end of March.

After our reunion and short family vacation, she finally opened it and tried it out, immediately did not like the digital piano concept. So we packed it all up in the original packaging and took it back to BB #31, Fairview Heights, IL for a return. After being inspected in the store by the music department lady, she told us it was in perfect condition but we were past the 30 day return policy. Then she said if we were Premium Silver reward members, we would have a longer return policy and i mentioned we were, but then she said it's only 45 days anyway and we were over it. We asked about possible exceptions to the 45-day policy and she said maybe she could get us store credit, to wait. She came back and asked if there was anything in the store we were considering purchasing, we said no, but could find something if that was going to be the only recourse we would have. We indicated we would look at a laptop. She then said that was not an option, it would have to be in the music department and if not, there was nothing she could do. We asked for store manager, and phone number for corporate customer service, or any address that we could send a letter explaining our situation. At that point she said she was sorry and left.   

I really feel there was hints of 1.) looking for an excuse not to accept it as a return it, and 2.) an issuance of store credit was okay for the music department and not anywhere else (we were considering purchasing a laptop) but when we expressed that  and not a purchase of another musical instrument, we were promptly told no, store credit can't be issued if it's not for the music department. 

I really feel betrayed by BB. We have been loyal customers there for several years now purchasing countless appliances, tv's, and computers after returning from overseas assignment and having to furnish a house. We have also steered numerous friends and colleagues there. I even drove 50 miles to a different store to purchase my current laptop because the saleslady was so helpful in finding the model I wanted. 

If anyone has any advice, please feel free to contribute, we are so frustrated and discouraged, I don't know what to do. The receipt number is: {removed per forum guidelines}

Thank you,

John {removed per forum guidelines}

[AGENTG]

Hello John and welcome to the forums! This is a cruddy experience and I'm sorry to hear it! Stores can make exceptions however it is at their own discretion. The moderators here may be able to assist as well as consumer relations at 888BestBuy. Both are a part of corporate and work very hard to find resolution. I think there are times, such as this situation, when exceptions should be made. I wish the decision was mine! I wish you the best in finding resolution!!

[johnkraft]

Thanks for listening. Your the first one to acknowledge it's a "cruddy experience".

John.

[AGENTG]

You're more than welcome! I just hope it works out for you! Just an FYI the moderators sometimes take a few days to get back to posters and they do not work holidays or weekends.

[Kyle-BBY Retired: Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hi johnkraft,

I’m really sorry to hear that the digital piano gift didn’t work out for your wife.  It sounds like she didn’t like the feel of (or concept as you put it) and I don’t blame her; nothing can beat the feeling of a real piano.

We really do hold to our return policy with these products so that we can continue to offer them at the prices we do but I would like to ask a few more questions via private message to see if there is any other options we might be able to pursue.  I will be sending you a private message immediately following this post so you can check for that in your forum inbox by clicking the envelope icon in the upper right hand corner of the site.

Looking forward to working with you,

[johnkraft]

I believe it's only fair to report the outcome of the "private message" so others can benefit from my situation.

1. Best Buy representative states stores have the leniency to amend the return policy as they see fit, the store insists their hands are tied on the corporate policies. It's impossible to put them together on the stance, so no resolution.

2. Best Buy stated their cash refund policy is the same amongst similar retail stores, and it is. 30 days cash refund, no exceptions (and Premier members are allowed 45 days, no exceptions). That is the same as several other stores I contacted. The major difference is, Best Buy will not issue store credit to be used on any other items in the store, the other stores I contacted WILL issue store credit with one up to ONE YEAR after purchase and the second store will issue store credit for up to TWO YEARS after purchase.. (First was nation-wide chain store, second was regional music store.) 

In conclusion, no further effort will be made to reconcile relations with Best Buy. My family will simply move future purchases to one of the similar retail stores. We cannot pass up the opportunity to have stress-free shopping when making major purchases such as a digital piano.

[Kyle-BBY Retired: Senior Social Media Specialist]

I'm glad you took the time to compare our return policy with some other retailers like I mentioned and there are certainly some out there that will likely be able to beat us in that respect, especially if they specialize solely on musical instruments or are a local shop.  In light of this though, we definitely don't want to push your business away and have every aspiration to remain competitive in that market so I've sent you another message with some new developments on what we can do for you.

[johnkraft · Accepted solution]

Okay folks time for a "final" update. 

Kyle the community connector contacted the store and it turns out they agreed to accept the return of the digital piano and stand which was far beyond the normal return policy for a Premium Silver Reward member (45 days) due to my unique situation.

Two final thoughts:

1. The work involved to get the item returned was not excessive nor strenuous, but definitely unwarranted. Perhaps I should have insisted on running up the stores chain of command before leaving the first time. It appears the music center's representative was initially said there was nothing they could do was looking out for their department, possibly to keep the sale and not take back an item that was "out of normal return policies of 30 or 45 days" which leads me to item #2.

2. The sales manager whom I met to acknowledge the return was outstanding in correcting the situation. I imagine if I had encountered him the day of the original attempted return, I would have been successful in returning the item originally. He was very polite and professional, two important attributes in today's sales market.

So, thank you Kyle for mediating and thanks to store management (Chance) in Fairview Heights, IL for allowing an exception to store policy to accommodate our request. 

John K.  

[Kyle-BBY Retired: Senior Social Media Specialist]

I'm glad we could work things out for you!