BestBuy, you suck too!

Here is a little story about my trials and tribulations with BestBuy and how the simple process of trying to get an iPod repaired turned into proof that BestBuy doesn’t care one bit about their customers and will take every opportunity to make money of their victims even when they’re the ones at fault.

Here’s the problem:

I bought a 16GB iPod Touch at the end of July and it has been a very fun and useful device. However, it developed a slight problem with the left side of the screen becoming non-responsive. It could still play music, videos and games, but buttons in this area didn’t work. No problem, I’ll take it back and get it replaced, I have a warranty for it.

That’s where we hit problem #1. They didn’t replace it; they shipped it off to be repaired. And if it couldn’t be repaired they would look into a replacement. And what amount of time would the repair take? That could be a couple days to a few weeks, they really weren’t sure. I tried to work out just getting another model, but they wouldn’t hear of it; even when I offered to pay the upgrade cost.

Reluctantly I gave them the iPod to repair. That was November 14th.

And then I waited.
And waited.
And waited.

I did get some completely useless emails from BestBuy saying they had the device and were working on the problem. “Things will be better soon.”

Here’s what they did:

I checked the website to keep tabs on the progress, which was a complete waste of time mind you, since the stupid thing never updated. It simply said the device had been shipped. Well, at least BestBuy got that part right. I half expected them to forget about it in the back storage room and it never leave the store.

Jump forward four weeks and all of a sudden there is action for the device. According to the logs within the same minute, the problem was diagnosed, parts ordered and the device fixed and packaged for shipping. It looks odd, but hey, it was probably just someone entering notes after all the work is done.

So they send the device back by UPS and I got it last night. With girlish glee I tore open the packaging to test it out. And low and behold it works. Sort of. And then I discovered their trickery and deception.

I went to the About page and realized what I got back was an 8GB iPod Touch, not the 16GB I originally sent in. So not only did they not actually repair my device and send it back, as I asked, it was swapped with the wrong thing! I even had my original 16GB back panel on it! This goes to show you, Jack Daniels and computer repair do not mix. Take note of that Geek Squad.

My Trip to BestBuy:

With fury in my eyes I raced off to BestBuy to have them correct the mess they’d made. I specifically stated I wanted my device back, no some refurb model since my iPod was only four months old.

Customer Service seemed to understand my distress over the situation. They gave the appropriate amount of head scratching and stating, “I’m not sure how that happened”, but that’s pretty much where their courtesy, empathy and usefulness ended.

Their first offering was to send the device back and have it repaired. Clearly I balked at this idea. Look what happened last time I did that. What are they going to do this time, send me back a Smartphone?

I calmly, but flatly stated we needed to swap this one out with something in the store since I’m not waiting another four weeks for more mistakes to occur. The lad behind the counter went and got a 32GB iPod Touch (16GB iPod Touches aren’t available anymore) as my substitute and said, “I’ll ring you up over here”. What do you mean, “ring me up?”

Even though BestBuy is completely at fault, lost my original device, and sent back the wrong one, I have to pay for the price difference between what I bought my 16GB iPod at and what the 32GB iPod costs; a cost of about $20 or more.

My God, are you serious? I have to pay for your stupidity?

I have to say I was stunned. I even asked why I didn’t just get the new device since this wasn’t my fault. The blow off answer, “we can’t do that”.

Then I bought a new service agreement so that if this device was broken it would be replaced. Since four months had expired I had to pay the difference for that too. Again, no hint of even trying to compensate me for the complete blunder they had caused. It was painfully obvious at this point that BestBuy has no idea what the term “customer service” means.

But here’s the final kick in the groin. And this one enraged me.

I’ve paid for the new device (in a sealed box) and paid for the new warranty and then the senior customer service rep Chad starts to open the iPod and says he needs to remove the USB connector cable. Since I already have one, I can’t have the one in the box. (I guess these white cables are more precious than gold) Right there in front of me, after wasting a month of my time, sending the wrong device and then making me pay for all their mistakes, this little Son of a Bitch opens the box and takes the cable out.

I stopped him and asked what he was doing. “I don’t get to keep it for the inconvenience you’ve caused?” He said, “nope, sorry” and kept on going. I swear to God I wanted to smack him right across his fat little face! I can’t believe this little bastard had the audacity to do that. It was shameful.

Have you ever had the feeling as you’re leaving the store that you’ve been completely ripped off and that everyone is laughing at you because they got away with it? Yep, that’s what happened.

At this point, I’m done with BestBuy. I have sent letters to the Geek Squad and to their Corp office explaining how I have been ripped off, victimized and actually had items I paid for stolen right out of my hands. Seriously this is a new one on me. I’ve never been treated by a store like this before. Personally I think BestBuy needs to refund me the money I’ve spent and apologize for this fiasco. I doubt either will happen since actually making things right just isn’t part of their vocabulary.
I think BestBuy deserves the same treatment as Western Digital.

BestBuy, you suck too!

If you’ve come as an elf, see it through as an elf.

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