Customer Service- Best Buy

[gilbert martin]

On October 26, 2009, I bought a Canon Pixma MX330 printer. I use my printer 2 times a month to fax documents. This last Sunday I tried to use fax and was not able to do it. I got an error message that paper was lodged in the feeder. I was not able to hand feed it as the alarm message could not be removed.

Monday, I called Best Buy and was told to bring the printer in to The Geek Squad. They checked it and found that a plastic gear was broken. They offered to send it back for repairs, but I told them I needed a printer.

After checking, they got a new printer off the shelf and gave it to me at no charge. As I was getting ready to leave, they even removed my ink cartridges that I had just replaced.

The secret to good service is to exceed your customer's expectations and Best Buy certainly did that.

[Dan Hintz]

Yeah, this is also the same group that charges $30 to upgrade the firmware on your PS3 (something it does on its own, I might add) and $50 to not put unwanted software on your new computer system.

I guess the sun shines on a dog's rear once a day...

[glenn bradley]

That's great Gilbert. I was wondering where the exception to the rule was ;-)

The rule being to "never have anything to do with Best Buy". Glad it worked out for you.

[Matt Meiser]

I thought BB was just where you go if you want to see something in person before ordering from Amazon. That way a) you don't pay full price, and b) you don't have to deal with BB employees.

[Jeff Monson]

Well at least the best buy in our town quit pushing the extended warranties down your throat on everything including gum and candy. Now they will ask on larger items and not push the issue, if you say no.

[Bryan Morgan]

Wow, that is NOT normal for Best Buy. I recently watched a guy come very close to punching out an employee at Best Buy when they wouldn't honor the extended warranty he bought for his cordless phone. They kept telling him the warranty changed and to call a number. He kindly pointed to his contract he signed and asked where it said that. It actually said to bring his device in and get it repaired or replaced with an equivalent... The situation escalated of course. I've tried to buy notebook computers there but they never seem to have any without the $150 geek squad destruction. Their in store prices rarely match their website prices and you have to use your cellphone to show them their own website price and fight them to match it.

Consider yourself lucky! Go to any consumer advocacy website and read the mountains of complaints about Best Buy.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Remarkable--you are one of a very few I have heard say good things about BB customer service.

[Jerome Stanek]

I had a laptop that the touch pad quite working and had their extended warranty. took it in and they sent it to be fixed. There was a small scratch in the screen that did not effect anything but the service center said it was abused and would not honor the warranty and wanted $300 dollars to send it back. I ended up having to file a complaint and talk to the service center. They finally agreed that the scratch did not effect the touch pad and they fixed it. All it was was a loose wire but they had my laptop for 5 weeks

[gilbert martin]

I must have access to the only "Good" Best Buy store in the country. Usually I buy computer equipment over the internet, but in the case of this printer, I needed it that day.

I went to Best Buy and bought the cheapest all in one printer they had. It cost $69.95 and did the job for almost a year until last week.

This almost counts as a gloat, doesn't it.

[Paul Ryan]

I quite shopping at best buy years ago for many of the same reasons others have complained about. The only time I go into one of there stores now, it to get my hands on a piece that i am thinking about purchasing. Then I go and buy it from a "mom and pop" store or amazon. In my opinion best but has the worst customer service I have encountered in any national store.

[Anthony Anderson]

I quite shopping at best buy years ago for many of the same reasons others have complained about. The only time I go into one of there stores now, it to get my hands on a piece that i am thinking about purchasing. Then I go and buy it from a "mom and pop" store or amazon. In my opinion best but has the worst customer service I have encountered in any national store.

Ditto! Best Buy and their extended warranties aren't worth considering. Bought a Verizon phone with ext. warr. 6 years ago, the phone quit working, and they tried to replace it with a cheap/bottom of the line phone, instead of one that was comparable. I declined, argued with the manager, to no avail, and left the store. I haven't purchased anything major (<$20) from Best Buy since, and that is when I really need something right away.

I only use Best Buy as a reference now, when I need to check something out before I buy online, or to compare to another B&M store.

To OP, you have 4 posts, and one is praising Best Buy!?

[Chuck Wintle]

I must have access to the only "Good" Best Buy store in the country. Usually I buy computer equipment over the internet, but in the case of this printer, I needed it that day.

I went to Best Buy and bought the cheapest all in one printer they had. It cost $69.95 and did the job for almost a year until last week.

This almost counts as a gloat, doesn't it.

i guess that the difference comes from the people that run the store and not the name best buy itself. I have had bad experiences from stores that claimed "the customer is number one with us" and very good experiences from stores that simply treat the customer right. it comes down to people who make the difference. For example, and not to hijack the thread, i was at future shop to buy a sandisk micro sd card advertised on special. there were none on the floor so the kid went into the back, and after a few minutes,produced the requested item. They could have just as easily blown me off by saying there were none.

[Scott Shepherd]

What's really sad is that people have been complaining LOUDLY about BB for over 10 years on the internet. There are many sites that detail the poor experiences, yet BB doesn't seem to change for the better all. Think of the money lost to them over they years. Look at posts like "I go see the item and then buy it from somewhere else". What a kick in the teeth to them. However, they refuse to resolve the core issues.

What a sad state of affairs, when your customers are screaming for better service and you keep telling them to shut up and go somewhere else if you don't like it.

Circuit City used to be the same way, then they changed and you could actually shop there. It was great. Then they put a moron in charge and he drove the company in the ground, but for a short while there, before the moron, it was a great place to shop.

There's a vacuum out there in the market and one day, someone will fill it (I hope).

[Bruce Page]

I must have access to the only "Good" Best Buy store in the country. Usually I buy computer equipment over the internet, but in the case of this printer, I needed it that day.

I went to Best Buy and bought the cheapest all in one printer they had. It cost $69.95 and did the job for almost a year until last week.

This almost counts as a gloat, doesn't it.

I have always had good dealings with our BB. Maybe I'm not too demanding.

[David Weaver]

BB is a nuisance to deal with here. You go in and you want to get something, it's always at the highest price you can find anywhere. Then, you have some jerk telling you about how you need a $40 USB cable to use with a printer, or that your world will end if you don't get a warranty and you can't get them to just shut up.

I just can't stand going in there any longer. The last thing I went in to look for there was a printer cable, but they must've made a corporate decision that they would only sell ridiculously sized overdone stuff, because the cheapest cable they had was $30, and it was as thick as romex.

I walked to the end of the shopping center to staples and got the same thing for $9, but without the huge packaging and ridiculous claims on the packages...

.. and without some idiot asking me if I wanted a warranty on anything.