I hate Best Buy. This is why.
P.S. Don't freak out, Jason and I aren't really married yet! ;)
***CAUTION: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK***
(You may never want to shop at Best Buy ever again!)
Dear Best Buy Alpharetta,
I just wanted to take some time to inform you of my most recent Best Buy experience. My husband, Jason Shannon, and I are both from the customer service industry and realize the importance of feedback- both positive and negative.
Here is our story:
My husband purchased a Nikon D40 and an extra lens last summer. He bought the extended warranty, with all the bells and whistles (or at least that’s what was told to him by the associate).
In February, we were having problems with the camera’s lens and with spots in pictures. We took the camera into the store where they told us they would have to ship it off to be serviced but that it wouldn’t take very long. We asked them to please clean the camera internally as well, being that spots were in every picture. Three weeks later the camera and a new lens arrived at the store since the old one could not be fixed. To be honest, this was the first issue we had because the associate told us that it would take no longer than two weeks.
In April, my husband and I moved to Singapore. Photography is my husband’s main hobby so we were excited to have a nice camera to take pictures with of our travels- or so we thought. Although we did get a new lens, the camera was given back to us with more spots than there were before. Unfortunately, we did not notice this issue until after we moved.
In May, while working in Australia, my husband noticed that the light meter was broken when it was in its manual mode. This issue, along with the spots, was beginning to become a nuisance. We had plans to come back to the states to visit at the end of June and decided that we would take care of these issues when we were back visiting for 9 days. At this point, I realize that Best Buy did not do anything wrong and that Best Buy has no control over these issues. It is what happened next that truly astounded me.
On the week of June 14th I visited the Best Buy store in Alpharetta to inquire about getting our camera fixed before we left again. I went up to the Geek Squad repair area and spoke with an associate. The associate was not helpful so I requested to speak with the manager. Almost 30 minutes later, I spoke with the manager, Elizabeth. I explained my problem to her, made it clear that we no longer live in the states and were only visiting for 9 days, and provided our receipt of the camera and warranty purchase on August 28, 2009. Elizabeth informed me that she does not know anything about cameras but would call up her camera associate, Jay Matthews, to look at it. Jay was in a meeting but I decided to wait for him since this was an important issue to take care of. About 20 minutes later Jay came out and met with Elizabeth and I. I explained that my husband was having problems with the light meter and spots in the camera but that we are leaving the country soon and could not wait for the store to ship off the camera, fix it, and send it back. Jay asked if I could drop the camera off with him for the day so he could clean it. I agreed. Several hours later I got a phone call from Elizabeth saying that the camera was fixed and ready to be picked up. At this point I was with my Mother (a photographer who owns her own photography business), so we decided to make a quick stop to pick up the camera. When we arrived at Best Buy, the associate explained that Elizabeth was in a meeting and Jay was at lunch. We waited 20 minutes and Elizabeth finally came to speak with us. She handed the camera back to us and told us that the camera was fixed. I began to look the camera over, making sure that it was back to normal again and noticed that the light meter was still broken. Elizabeth again explained that she did not know much about cameras but would get Jay Matthews to talk to us again. Jay came back out nearly 30 minutes later and appeared to be very upset with us because he was apparently at lunch. Not knowing that my Mother is a photographer, he said that he was a “camera expert” and that we obviously did not know how to work the camera’s settings and were amateurs. I attempted to show Jay the problem but he would not listen and began to get very nasty towards us. I couldn’t explain these problems with Elizabeth because she knew nothing about cameras. Elizabeth called the repair place and explained that there was only a 70% chance that the camera could be shipped, fixed, and sent back in 9 days. I again made it apparent that the camera needed to be fixed and that they could ship it to Singapore if they wished. Elizabeth explained that per the warranty, her only option was to ship it off to be fixed and asked if my Mom could pick up the camera when it was fixed and then she could ship it to us. Here are the problems with that: 1. My mother should not be an errand runner for the store, especially after an associate insulted her 2. We should not have to pay for shipping if the camera couldn’t be fixed in a timely manner. Realizing that I was not being heard and becoming more upset, we took the camera and left. Several days later, when my husband had free time, we went back to the store. As soon as we walked in, we walked to the customer service counter and requested to speak with Elizabeth. The associate explained that she was busy. We waited for nearly 30 minutes… again. My husband explained the problem to Elizabeth. Jay Matthews was not in the store, so my husband could not show him the problem. Elizabeth told us the same thing she did before so my husband requested to speak with the store manager. The store manager was out but another store manager, T, came and spoke with us. My husband explained our issue with him and he appeared to be quite helpful. It did bother me when he said he heard about the issue already and that I must be “the camera girl”. I decided not to say anything about that. He told us that since it had been a few days, there wasn’t really a chance for the camera to be fixed in our time frame. He told us that if we had to have our issue resolved while we were in the states, the only thing he could do is have us upgrade to the Nikon D3000 since the D40 is no longer made. My husband wasn’t too thrilled because he loved his camera and didn’t want to have to pay to upgrade but realized that this was pretty much our only option. T explained that they did not have any D3000s in the store but that he would go to the Perimeter location that night and that we could pick it up the next day. I told T that I would be picking the camera up and asked if 10am would be alright. He told me yes, it would be at the store late that night so the morning would be fine. The next morning, I arrived at 10am sharp. I waited a few minutes, realizing the doors had just been unlocked. I walked into the store and spoke with the person at customer service, asking to pick up our new camera. The person at the register had no idea what I was talking about and told me that T would not be in today. At this point, I began to get quite upset. I asked to speak with the manager, who came out shortly later. I forgot his name, but he was the nicest person I had dealt with during this whole experience. He explained to me that T was just now on his way to the Perimeter location and that he should be here shortly. At 11:05am T walked into the store (I was standing in the entrance part of the store, waiting for him), looked at me, and went immediately to the customer service desk. I walked over to the desk and he and the associate went into the back room. T did not even say two words to me. No “I’m sorry I’m late”, no “Hello, how are you?”, nothing. Then he immediately walked out of the store. I realize that this was probably his day off, especially since he was in street clothes, but that was just plain rude. As I was speaking with the associate and she was ringing up the balance for the new camera, she decided to get Jay Matthews because I explained that only the camera body was being replaced. He came up to the counter, looked at me and asked if I knew him (in a taunting manner). I explained that I had been in a couple of times and that I had actually spoken with him twice before. I am not sure of the exact wording but he then made a smart comment about how we were getting the new model camera for one that was not even broken. I did not say anything, paid our total, and then asked the cashier to get the nice manager that I had spoken with earlier. At this point, there were a line of customers behind me and I did not want to make a scene. Why, I have no idea because I was so irate. In tears, I explained everything that had happened and told him that I was extremely disappointed with the store and that they would be receiving a letter from us. So, here it is.
I am extremely disappointed with how Best Buy treated me, my husband, and my mother. I am offended that I was not heard until my husband came along with me and I am mortified that my mother was insulted by one of the associates. My husband and I have bought items at your store, for a higher price than some of your competition, because we liked the warranties and customer service. That is no longer. We will no longer shop at Best Buy, as I am sure my mother will not either. This experience has been extremely embarrassing for me and I am upset with myself for wasting so much of my vacation in your store rather than with friends and family, only to have to pay for it.
Your very unhappy customers,
Lauren Cohen and Jason Shannon
