Other Customer Service Support

[Phanatic]

On Aug 3, mere minutes after annoucement, I pre-ordered the new Pixel 4a phone.  From that point, until sometime in the midddle of the night on the 19th, my in-store pickup date was Aug 20 - the phone's release date.

Aug. 20 arrives, I try to get my phone, only to be told the store didn't get their stock, and my new date was Aug 24.  Inconvenient, but I'll deal.  That pickup date was in the system until sometime last night.  Checked this morning, and it's now in a vague "in process status."  No estimated date.

Called the Elite Support line.  I was told that means they have no stock, and no estimate on getting any in.  This was a pre-order!!!   The store should have had at least enough stock to cover those.

I inquired about havng one shipped to me expedited.  I was unceremoniously transferred to Phone Sales.  Rep didn't stay on the line, so I had to tell my story again.  Phone sales rep asks for my ZIP, which I provide, and tells me the next closest store (only @ 10 mi away) has 5 in stock.  I asked to have my order transferred to that store so I can pick up today.  Of course, he can't do that, so back I go to CS.

New rep, I tell the story again.  He agrees to transfer the order.  I get an email confirmation, which now shows a date of 8/28.  What?!?  I thought they had 5 in stock?  He can't verify (becuase he's not Phone Sales), so I ask to be transferred to a higher level support.  Off I go, into the "hold void."  30 minutes of dead air until I hang up.

I decide to call the local store.  i know they don't give stock numbers over the phone, but I had to check.  25 MINUTES later, I get an answer.  I start to ask, and the lady on the other end starts asking me for the address of the store.  I thought I called the store directly?  Apparently not!  According to her, at 10AM this morning, BB went to a rolling pickup system - whatever store gets to the call first answers.  I'm calling about 2 stores in PA, she says she's in northern Georgia.  She can't help, obviously.

Tried calling "Elite" support back.  Message says my wait will be less than 3 minutes.  As I write this, my timer is at 32 minutes.  After 15, I called the Elite line on a 2nd phone.  That one (also a "less than 3 minute wait") is at 17 minutes and counting. Nobody answering.

So, here I sit.  My preorder is gone, with the transfer of the order to a different store.  That store can't fill the orders, becuase the on-phone sales guy lied to me outright about their stock level.  Can't get through to CS, and when I do, I get put in indefinite holds.

What a disaster.  What's the point of a pre-order?

[nckhammond]

This one is essy...

Best buy receives 5000 preorders
Best buy orders 5000 items
The manufacturer only sends 3000 items
2000 people have to wait
Best buy doesnt make the items

[Phanatic]

Best Buy was still listing this item for shipping as recently as yesterday. If they can't fill pre-orders, they shouldn't be listing for public sales.
Best Buy staffs their CS line.
Best Buy pays their employees.
Employees lie about stock levels.
Employees put me on indefinite hold.
Best Buy has local employees in GA answer when I called a store in PA.
Best Buy holds full responsibility for their actions. Yeah, right.

[jdogg836]

Nckhammond explained precisely how preorders exceed the stock sent.

Since it is a “preorder” that means we don’t have the items in stock yet. That means we have to go off of a number given to us by the shipper, in this case the manufacturer. If we go off that number, and they fail to ship what they told us, then we have people waiting. Preordering does not guarantee a phone on launch day, it puts you in line for the item that are fulfilled by the location of your choosing in the order in which they were preordered from that location.

No one in the store knows how many we are getting, so they couldn’t possibly lie about it.

Best Buy is a big company with many warehouses to fulfill the supply for hundreds of stores. It is possible that in one area a phone would be available for shipping while being sold out in another.

Hope this clears things up, it’s not a personal attack on you that we didn’t receive enough phones to fulfill all of the preorders.

[Phanatic]

jdogg, you have missed the exact same point. I understand how preorders work. I get stock levels. However, to your point " they couldn’t possibly lie about it." They can, and they did. If they don't know, they say "I don't know." They don't say "There are 5 in stock at Store X." That was a lie.

And to prove the statement I made in my 2nd post, bestbuy.com, at this moment (8:41 AM on Aug 25), shows the 4a in stock, and available to receive via shipping by this Friday. So, I could order one now, and have it this week. Yet the order I placed over 3 weeks ago goes unfilled. That's ridiculous, and unacceptable.

[jdogg836]

Sounds like the DotCom shipping warehouse is not the same store that the local store is stocked from, as mentioned before we have multiple warehouses which makes total sense from a logistical basis.

On new releases, they shouldn’t release a number as provided in your example. Again, not a lie. I believe that number is accurate, however it doesn’t take into account how many were available. In this case zero.

[John-BBY Social Media Specialist]

Welcome back to our community, Phanatic.

In my experience, there's nothing really worse when I'm needing assistance than to not have help that lives up to my expectations. Long hold times, inaccurate or conflicting information, and having that feeling of being passed back and forth between individuals and achieving setbacks instead of results is not the experience we wish for our customers to have. Certainly it is not our goal to cultivate ill will as that serves neither you nor us. I apologize for that having been the apparent result of your recent conversations with us. 

As regards your pre-order, jdogg836 has expressed well the complications that can occasionally occur so I will not belabor the points he's already made except to say that circumstances beyond our control can prevent us from delivering your order to you on its expected arrival date.  Please know that we’re working to fulfill orders for the Google Pixel 4a as quickly as we can. Going forward, I recommend keeping an eye on your email inbox for any updates to your order.

Should you have further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know. Please know I am grateful you took the time to share your experience with us.