Best Buy IdeaX

[#1]

I bought a gaming computer this past summer.  In a few months it stopped working properly and the Geek Squad sent it in to get fixed.  They didn't fix it or return it, and I received an email telling me I was to get an exchange.  Instead of exchanging it for the computer I wanted (the same kind I had sent in, but probably because it was of out-of-stock), I was told I had to accept a gift card.  I was not offered a refund for a computer with a bad GPU that lasted about 6 months.  The gift card does not resolve the problem, since the item is out-of-stock and I can't compete with the bots and scalpers that sell out the item before I even get a notification.  I have a suggestion to make the process more customer friendly.

Instead of the "Best Buy App", which places the onus on the customer to find the product, why can't Best Buy simply move customers (especially those who have already made a purchase and have accounts for the Geek Squad program) to the front of the line?  When an item comes in stock, instead of making the aggrieved customer try to fight against bots and scalpers for the exchange they are entitled to, why not reserve the intial new-stocks for customers who have already turned in the product and deserve their replacement?  I have read several articles online, and it looks like regular people like me who can't use bots are not getting the computers they are trying to get and this is expected to last until at least the fourth quarter of 2021.  I just want the computer I paid for, or at least the ability to purchase it from another business.  Now I'm stuck with a gift card that can't replace my item, and I am stuck being offered items that aren't even gaming computers because Best Buy is unable to offer me anything close to the rig I purchased with my hard earned money.  I would feel much better if Best Buy was the entity trying to resolve the problem instead of putting it back on me.  A company like Best Buy should be able to put a hold on any comparable computer delivered to a store that can transfer it to me.

[#2]

I think you are in the minority there.  

computer models change over so many months.  chances are the comptuer you had is no longer made after a sevearal months. 

The getting of a gift card to replace the computer is pretty outstanding.  I used that as an option several years ago on a gaming computer. 

I don't buy the idea of a lot of BOTs grabbing up computers for resale.  I know they exist but it have grown as a myth. 

And how long would you expect them to be at the front of the line cutting out other legitimate customers. 

A refund to a credit card or cash would be a bad indea in that some people would use it as a rental program.  It could cost the company millions.

Now for items were the model is still current, it would be a good idea to put the customer in queue for the next avialable.  But it could take weeks to months.

[#3]

bobberuchi,

Respectfully, you are incorrect on several counts.

1)  The computer I have is not "no longer made."  Indeed, while many computers do show out of stock, mine is one of a few that allow for a notification if it comes back in stock.  Other models, no longer available, do not have the option for notification because, well, they aren't made anymore.

2)  You don't have to buy the idea of bots and scalpers.  It is widely reported, and here are a few links lest you think the problem hasn't been reported by gaming magazines and even the BBC:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/how-a-bot-bought-dozens-of-rtx-3080-units-before-consumers-could-grab-the...

https://www.pcgamer.com/graphics-card-stock-got-you-down-a-reported-788-one-month-rise-in-bad-bot-ac...

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55755820

https://securityboulevard.com/2021/02/how-grinch-buying-bots-took-the-gaming-hardware-market-hostage...

Even NVIDIA has apologized for a problem you lable a "myth":

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/geforce-graphics-cards/5/398186/rtx-3080-nvidia-store-av...

A quick Google search shows plenty of articles with reported facts from the manufacturers themselves.  If you want to be critical of my points, please bring facts and not opinions about "myths."  Such positing is not helpful to the discussion.

3)  You mention the idea of a rental program with no supporting example that, in any way, is germane to my post.  If I, or anyone, sends in a computer and the computer is determined to have a factory defect, then there is no way I am implementing some kind of rental scam.  If my computer was defective (as it was determined to be by the manufacturer), there is no reason I should not be entitled to a replacement.  As explained in the post, which I am begining to think you did not read, I should reasonably be entitled to the next in-stock computer as I already gave Best Buy my money, unlike the next customer.  Speaking of which...

What you call a "legitimate" customer is someone who has already made a purchase and invested in the store with their trust.  In any business model, the existing customer takes precedence over the "prospective" customer.

4)  As for the weeks and months, I am already waiting weeks and months.  My solution shortens that time; the time it is shortned is debatable.

Again, I am offering the idea because, as someone who has run a business, I have some concept of customer satisifaction and business driven solutions.  Accusing me of spreading a myth (and then minimizing what is a widely reported phenomenom), as well as making rash statement about the cost of "millions" to Best Buy with no model to support your claim is just plain unhelpful.  I would like to read Best Buy's answer, and I would like to read opinions for and against my idea that rely on facts.  There may be valid criticisms of my view, but I respectfully think your reply doesn't bring any facts to the table.   

[#4]

We appreciate the suggestion At this time we are not looking to change how this process works when a product is replaced under a service plan or Manufacturer's warranty.