Best Buy loses another customer

Published 6/5/05

We needed an air conditioner, and Best Buy was the only local store with the model we wanted. I don’t like to shop there because I keep hearing either horror stories (a Best Buy had a guy arrested because he tried to pay with $2 bills and the sales people didn’t think they were real), or simply bad-customer-service tales.

So it was with reluctance that I went to place the order. I got through everything, including confirming that it was available at my local store.

But then it was time to checkout, and it wouldn’t let me. The site kept telling me I needed to have cookies turned on. I did. In fact, I tried over and over and even confirmed that bestbuy.com was setting cookies on my machine. Still no go.

Frustrated with Best Buy’s second-rate programmers, I called the 800 number and placed my order that way.

And the sales woman told me it wasn’t in stock locally.

“Then why is it showing that it’s in stock when I go to the Web page?” I asked.

“It’s possible someone just bought the last one,” she explained.

But I reloaded the page several times, and still was told it was available there. Anyway, I cancelled the order.

Good thing the site didn’t work, or I would have driven there only to be told, “Sorry.”

We bought a different A/C from Sears, which will deliver it this week.

And that’s the last time I bother with Best Buy. Take my advice: Don’t bother.

The Fray

7 responses (add yours)

Carl Kolchak says:

Too right, mate! Considering their less than stellar customer service, poor site usibility and non-competitive prices I’ll be surprised if they’re around in 5 years. In fact, I’ll jump for joy at their demise.

June 6th, 2005 at 3:26 PM

Andrew says:

Kolchak, eh? Funny — I have your picture on the bulletin board over my desk. Small world. ;-)

June 8th, 2005 at 9:23 AM

Herb Everett says:

Add CompUSA to your list. I drove through two states and the gadget I wanted wasn’t in stock in either state. Well, sort of. The folks at the store in the second state I drove through said they had it. It showed up in their computer (I’m surprised they knew how to use it), but they couldn’t find it on the floor. It took three people, not including me, to look for — nothing. I walked out in disgust because I was in the middle of an 11-hour drive and I spent 30 minutes in one store! I stopped in my home state at the Apple Store. They had three of what I wanted.

June 14th, 2005 at 6:46 PM

Tom says:

Did it ever occur to you that just using the telephone to call the local store and reserving one would have solved your problem within a couple of minutes…rather than bitching and moaning to someone a thousand miles away from the actual store? I use bestbuy.com everyday, and have no problems maneuvering through the site to purchase items, but I also shop the stores because the prices on certain items are lower than on the website.

April 10th, 2006 at 10:37 AM

REASONABLE says:

Okay, back up. I laugh at the comment that Best Buy will not be around in 5 years! They are currently the largest electronics retailer in the world. There stands no one close to them at this point in time and I believe that with their new customer centristic approach to service they will be more successful than ever before. If you have worked retail, I have for 5 years, or have managed retail, again I have for an additional 3 years, you realize that good help is VERY HARD to find! There are a number of Best Buy workers that bust their ass everyday. 99% of the time these are who help me and I am THRILLED with my experience there. Occassionally with any business you will come in contact with someone just there for a paycheck and while it is unfortunate I would never stop shopping at an entire retailer because of a few bad encounters. My local Best Buy is full of about 150 hard-working, curteous, and knowledgeable sales people who not only explain how it works but listen to me so that I get what works for ME. I feel like BEST BUY is a great company and their demise is no where in the near future!

June 27th, 2006 at 12:02 AM