I received a notice in my email on 1/30 that the "Dishwasher Installation" was cancelled as part of my order and that I would be issued a refund. At first, I thought it was the expected refund on the installation KIT that was missing parts and almost laughed out loud when I saw it was only for the installation itself. Um, the installation was "free" so I guess I say thanks for a refund on free?
I'm disappointed there was no reference in that email to the incomplete installation kit being canceled/refunded or any BB gift card I was told I would receive.
I followed up with a call to Best Buy on 2/1 and after jumping through telephone hoops again, I reached the same department and spoke with someone there. He said the person I had originally spoken to (“Olga”) had just left for the day but that he would leave a note for her to call me the next day. I did not receive a call the next day.
Yesterday (2/4), I received a package from Best Buy via UPS and for the briefest of moments actually thought all my increasingly bad thoughts about Best Buy and this experience were baseless. It was a small envelope - perhaps this was the gift card they said I’d receive? Nope. It was some random hose clamps that I didn’t need. No clue why they were sent to me. Maybe some customer service person took it upon themselves to send me parts they thought I needed (yay initiative!) but in no conversations with anyone did they mention sending me the actual missing parts from either the install kit I purchased or the missing part from the dishwasher itself (which was the Bosch Hose CLIP, not hose CLAMP). I don’t want or need the parts from install kit as I was already forced to purchase those - I need a REFUND for the installation kit from BB and the compensation I was told I’d receive… and I need to know why someone said they’d fix all this for me but all communications from Best Buy indicate there wasn’t any follow through on the stated resolution.
So I call AGAIN today (2/5) to follow up AGAIN on this whole problem and get transferred around AGAIN to someone who has no idea who Olga is but it doesn’t really matter in the end as the call suddenly drops before we even get very far into the details of my issue. Yes, after getting transferred around several times and then waiting on hold for waaaay too long, my umpteenth call to Best Buy over 2 weeks trying to remedy an issue with my $1100 purchase just… just ends in the middle of the person talking. Perfect.
Let me say this: the longer Best Buy Customer Service takes to address complaints and concerns in this forum, the longer you give someone like myself time to browse all the complaints about Best Buy here and elsewhere. Frankly, it's really sad. I am a former Elite Plus member of SEVERAL years and despite preferring to go to an actual brick & mortar store, I found the declining customer service to be the largest contributor to me shifting my purchases elsewhere over the years to the point of only occasionally buying things each year from Best Buy. This recent relatively large purchase was my attempt to see if anything had changed and I've come to realize that gambling with my own retail loyalty was a huge mistake. My experience seems to suggest that things have only gotten worse with Best Buy addressing problems customers are facing. I was really hoping I’d be proven wrong.
When purchases go great, everyone is happy... but when there is a problem that is not the customer's fault in any way, Best Buy should be making sure that the problem is resolved quickly and with reasonable satisfaction. Sure, "reasonable satisfaction" is subjective and different people are going to have different opinions on what that is - but I'm pretty sure everyone can agree that making false promises (i.e., not following through on statements made), not reaching out to a customer following a poor experience, and doing nothing to actually remedy a poor customer experience definitely does not qualify.
Thought things were resolved on my first call and now it's painfully obvious that whoever I spoke to on that call was probably not being honest. I was never rude and remained calm in all my phone calls with customer service. And as frustrating as it was to be transferred repeatedly, I felt I was otherwise treated with respect and empathy by each agent. But since I actually received no refund for the incomplete kit I purchased and no other physical or electronic communication outlining a resolution to my issue, compounded with repeated problems getting someone on the phone at Best Buy who could actually check on my case after multiple attempts… I have to believe that none of it was actually sincere.
After reading scores of reports by other customers with similar and frequently even worse experiences, and now with options appearing to be exhausted because of no response to my message here after 7 days, I guess I just have to wash my hands of the whole thing and say lesson learned: Don't shop with Best Buy.
I don't see how Best Buy can see this practice as sustainable in this day & age. In the grand scheme of things it can cost so much less to retain a customer than it does to get a new one to walk through your doors or commit to a purchase online. Because of the initial call I had with your customer service, we spent another $500 only days later as I was convinced and encouraged that Best Buy actually cared about keeping my business. That I could shop confidently because if there was a problem, they’d be there to help out and do so quickly. THAT'S what matters these days to shoppers like myself. I don't care if I save a little over another retailer, I want to be sure I don't feel like an idiot for putting trust in a brand. Shame on me for not waiting to see if Best Buy would actually follow through. Now I feel like an idiot twice in the span of 2 weeks…
A customer shouldn’t have to put this must effort into getting a resolution to a problem. I once had a poor experience with Discount Tire while on a trip to Denver, CO. I had to get a whole new set of tires for my truck and in the follow up customer experience survey I mentioned my disappointment. The very next morning the manager of that store called me up to discuss the problem, told me the steps they were going to take to make sure that the experience wouldn’t be repeated and then without any prompting on my end, completely refunded my $900 purchase. I was stunned. This wasn’t even the store I went to regularly - it was 1500 miles away! Not only did he earn his company a customer for life right there, but 4 years later I’m still telling that story. THAT’S customer service. Kudos to that company for empowering him to remedy an issue well above and beyond a customer’s expectation. Wish the same could be said here.
Elle-BBY
