Testimonial #23: Ryan's Unanswered letter to Best Buy "Customer Care" #1

March 3, 1999
Best Buy Customer Care

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to you to express deep frustration and dissatisfaction concerning the Best Buy staff and Customer Relations department.

On the evening of March 2, 1999, I entered the Falls Church branch to return a Nokia 6160 telephone that I had purchased from the same branch on February 14, 1999. I brought the phone in the original packaging, and a copy of my credit card statement with the purchase details listed. I explained to the staff that I had mailed the original copy of the receipt to Nokia for a rebate offer that specified original receipt only, so my proof of purchase was my VISA security statement. Best Buy customer support staff ( a man named George) told me that they could not take the phone back, and there was nothing that I could do about it.

My next step was to ask to speak to a manager, with whom I explain my story again. He told me that there was nothing that could be done, and leisurely walked away, as I stood there with a $209.00 phone in my hand that was worthless to me. I beckoned him again, specifying that since he was the manager of the customer service department, he was obligated to help me, and at least offer some suggestions for he should have been more acquainted with the rules of Best Buy than I. I showed him my credit card statement, again he told me there was nothing that he could do, but directed me to a customer relations 800 number.

I called customer relations and told my story to 8, count them 8 different representatives over the course of 1 hour and 15 minutes. They each told me that there was nothing they could do, and I should call my credit card company. So I did. They told me that my card statement should be enough, and they had no more detailed information to offer. I explained the situation again, and VISA International said that it was "strange business practice" to give me such a hard time.

I called Customer Relations again to simply say that I was never to purchase from Best Buy again, when I spoke to a sweet young lady who told me all I had to do was request a receipt, and I should have been able to get a copy in 48 hours. While I was on the phone with your Customer Relations, a staff member asked me to get off the courtesy phone. Get off the courtesy phone? This had to be a joke; there was nobody in line waiting to use it.

This morning I called Customer Relations again, and requested a copy of my receipt. Boy was this getting old. I spoke to a woman named Marina, who told me that she would send one to me, but it would take 14 days. But after 14 days the guarantee of return was no longer good. Oh boy, some guarantee it was to begin with. She game me reference # 6376 and told me she would handle anyone that told me I couldn’t return this with a receipt. Finally, I was getting somewhere.

Naturally, I called the Falls Church office again to provide the reference # and told my story 3 more times, ending up with a manager named James Casey. James asked me for my account number on my credit card and in 2 minutes, pulled up all the information needed to process my return. He told me that even though I had removed my UPC proof of purchase, the cashier will simply give me $30.00 less than I paid, and the rebate would complete the transaction. Furthermore, he promised that if I receive a letter that the rebate would not be processed, I could bring that letter to Best Buy and my money would be returned. He ensured me that there was no reason I had to go through the problems I went through, and at the very least, the manager on duty that night may not have had access to the records on the computer, but should have directed me to someone who did. This could have saved me time and effort. Now, due to the incompetence of your staff, I went through countless phone calls and endless grief, for nothing. The manager of the customer service should never say, "There’s nothing I can do", when there was a VERY simple solution, and many options. Needless to say I am a very dissatisfied customer, and I will hesitate to bring my business to Best Buy in the future.

In the event that this letter is processed, please do not go about the trouble to send me a templated apology that will do nothing to help this matter. If someone cares to write me a letter specifically directed at this case, I would appreciate it.

Sincerely, Ryan B.

Consultant

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