Best Buy Store Purchase

[aquaticblossom]

Ordered a laptop online.  Went to pick it up.  One, it was labeled as open box, but it was a laptop with no documentation, no power cord, no box.  That's not open box.  Open box means that it was opened and brought back with everything still in it.

Without a power cord, the laptop is useless after the battery is drained.  So, I told them I didn't want it.  The person handling the pickup just proceeded to continue looking for the power cord and got a manager to look for the power cord.  Since I never got a receipt, nor did I sign for anything or show ID, I left while they debated the power cord.

Now, the item is marked as picked up.  I called and got a call center person.  They informed me that I need to go back to the store to have the refund processed.

I'm not going to the store.  The item was purchased online which means it was an electronic transaction.  I don't care if there's a couple days to get a refund.  Just process the return and send me a receipt through e-mail.  There is no reason that I would need to enter the store that is 20 minutes away and wait for someone to fumble through the process.

I would think that once I left without the merchandise and no paper trail to show that I actually got anything (ie, a signature), then it didn't really happen.  I would think that the store would want to go ahead and process the return or cancel or whatever the process was right then.  Not let me get all the way home to realize it was marked as picked up and still nothing done 3 hours later.  Seriously?

[jdogg836]

There is no signature on store pickups, they verify the ID and then close out the order.  The person you spoke to was correct, this is a matter to discuss with the local store.  Based on your post, the system would now show to be in your possession.  Any way forward would require returning that item.  Since you don't have it, the local store would be the best way forward.  They would be able to confirm this and assist in completing the return.

I can't speak to what happened in the store, it sounds abnormal.  However, what I do know is that if you didn't take the item the store associate and manager should be aware and they should be able to assist.

[aquaticblossom]

I understand your point.  The store should be able to resolve.  However, it should not require my physical presence.  They should be able to resolve over the phone.  Also, they should have been able to process the return as I left with obvious annoyance.

[aquaticblossom]

2 hours of phone calls.  How do you get a hold of someone in the stores now?  Why is everything routed to a call center?

[CalebH-BBY Retired: Social Media Specialist]

Hi there, Aquaticblossom!

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to reach out to us about this! I'm concerned to hear about your experience in one of our stores. I'd be more than happy to explain a couple things and then offer a solution, if you're still looking for it. As far as the open box discrepancies go, an open box laptop doesn't necessarily need to have the accessories. However, it should be notated and docked down pricewise so the expectation is set. From working in Geek Squad in the stores, we test all of the eligible open box units for full functionality and rate the condition based on that and any missing accessories. That being said, I'm sorry that this wasn't explained to you. I can understand the confusion in not having anything with the laptop you purchased. To resolve this, I can reach out to the store's leadership team to see if they can handle this over the phone with you or just push the return through.

Secondly, I noticed that you reached out in a Private Message regarding issues logging into your Best Buy account. I'd be happy to help out with that too. To get started, could you please message me directly, from this feed, via Private Message and verify your full name, phone number and email address? From there, we can get these two issues worked on. I look forward to hearing back from you! You can find the Private Message button to the right of my name down below.

Best,

[aquaticblossom]

No need.  After spending 2 1/2 hours with 6 different phone calls, someone on the customer service side finally gave me a way to reach someone in the store without having to travel there.  5 different customer service people told me that I had to drive across town and only the last one submitted the form to have the store contact me.  Once I was directed to sending the store an e-mail, the manager responded within 2 minutes and told me that he is going to resolve the problem.

My issues are about policy and procedure.

1)  You absolutely can not call the store under any circumstance.  It's impossible.

2)  The call center can not call the store under any circumstance.  (Although, I have my doubts on this.)

3)  5 out of 6 call center reps are unable to provide you with a line of communication and repeatedly tell you that you have to go into the store to resolve.  One person even said that they may have to pull security tapes.  I understand that, however, my physical presence doesn't help or hinder the process of pulling and reviewing security tapes.  It's not like they are going to ask me to push the eject button (assuming it were still VHS tapes and really hope they are not).

4)  The order should have been cancelled and refunded at the moment the customer says, I don't want it.

5)  Nobody looked at my ID.  Based on the timestamps, the item was marked as picked up as soon as the barcode was scanned from the e-mail.

The last person I spoke to was unbelievably helpful and I would send a tip or a gift card to her for actually being helpful.  The store manager was nothing but pleasent and took care of the problem without me having to step foot into the store.  Unfortunately, I had to waste hours of my life to handle something that could have taken just a few seconds or a couple minutes.

However, I will say that it is still showing as picked up online.

[CalebH-BBY Retired: Social Media Specialist]

Thank you very much for laying this out with great detail. I truly appreciate it. I'd love to explain a couple things so we're on the same page. I absolutely hear where you're coming from and cannot deny that I wouldn't feel disappointed and confused as to why this took so long as well. Putting myself in the shoes of the agents you spoke to, there is a level of policy and procedure that has to be followed to both protect us and the customer. So, in that sense, I can see why they were hesitant to push it through on their end. That being said, I generally try my best to follow a "service over procedure" mentality. If we were able to confirm the laptop was still at the store, I believe that it should have been processed. However, it is hard to say without all the cards being on the table. The point is that I am sorry that your time was wasted. I know how that feels as I've been there in a similar circumstance. 

Furthermore, I am very happy to hear that the last agent you spoke to, along with the store manager, were both very helpful and pleasant to work with. At the end of the day, we really appreciate your feedback as it can help us learn how to better serve you next time!

As far as the status on the order, depending on how the laptop was returned at the store, that may not change. If the refund was processed today, you should see those funds come back within the next few business days. Through all this, I hope you can understand where we're coming from. However, I know we could have gone about this better. So, we'll learn from it. Please let me know what questions you have for me.

Thanks!