Best Buy Gets a Black Eye
August 02, 2007
Thanks to a post Michele Miller wrote over at WonderBranding, I discovered this appalling story about Best Buy, an electronics store that I thought was a great place for women to shop.
Not anymore!
The story Michele refers to and which Bryan Eisenberg relates so well on his blog, GrokDotCom, complete with the letter his mother wrote in response to the outrageous BAD service she received, is just one incident in the universe of bad customer service stories - and we all have them.
I cannot be more incensed at this! A company that purports to have 'excellent customer service' (golly, don't they all say that today?), goes out of its way to provide not just BAD customer service, but NO customer service. This experience, read about it here, sounds more like an episode of the Three Stooges, than a woman expecting the common courtesy of a company backing up its promises with action. The fact that it was a retired woman, who had done her homework, and was subsequently treated as if she were a mouse...too quiet and small to be a bother... is what really gets my back up.
Maybe we can't all stand at corporate headquarters with big signs saying, "Customer Service Does Not Live Here" but we can write about it, post about it, share it with everyone...and make sure Best Buy pays attention. [this is so bad I refuse to even link to them... they'll find out we're sharing this incredibly bad experience with the world, soon enough)
Who's game?
No one I know has ever had a fun time at Best Buy. It's really awful.
You might consider posting on www.measuredup.com - it's a consumer website where people exchange experiences with businesses and shops (both national and local). It's a great site that exists specifically to warn other customers away from bad experiences like this.
Posted by: ljnd | October 04, 2007 at 09:07 PM
I'm all for putting companies that offer crappy service out on front street - hence my most recent 'invention' and blog post - the Technology Tattletale.
Poor service stinks - to put it mildly - and, what's worse, is that it slowly undermines the quality of life for everyone.
People walk around jaded and in a defensive posture and ready to do battle because they never know what to expect.
On the flip side, it presents an opportunity for companies that DO give excellent service to REALLY shine.
The $64,000 question is, how many companies realize this and are willing to act on it?
Posted by: Lena West | August 03, 2007 at 09:43 AM
I've never had a great time with Best Buy. They're constantly rude to me, and act superior--even when I clearly know what I'm talking about because I have done exhaustive research.
Last spring, I went into Best Buy to purchase a new computer because my last laptop was so broken that they refunded the purchase price. It was the middle of the day, the computer section was deserted, and I was ready to buy immediately.
Well, my mother and I stood there for 20 minutes looking at the laptops and no one even glanced in our direction. Eventually, it got so obvious that they didn't care about us that my mother and I started to laugh about how badly Best Buy is carrying out their new "customer care" sales approach.
Then, a man walked into the section and a sales associate immediately stopped talking with the other associate, walked over to the man and asked how he could help. The man replied "I need to buy a mouse."
"Oh! Let me show you the models we have!" said the sales associate, turning his back again on my mother and I.
At that point, it was completely obvious that the sales associates at Best Buy did not consider two women to be worth their time. I had to go get a manager before I was helped.
Ridiculous. Two well-dressed, intelligent-looking women walk into a computer section with $2000 to spend immediately and no one even greets them. Shows what Best Buy's employees really think.
Posted by: Katie | August 02, 2007 at 02:42 PM
I recently made a purchase from Worst Buy, it was no picnic. Not nearly as bad as this story, but, I was surprised at the lack of product knowledge of a sales associate. Trying to buy an external hard drive I realized I had to seek out a different sales associate because the one I has simply couldn't answer my questions. Instead of finding someone who could he BS'd his way into a product recommendation. He was so bad at the BS I knew I was getting terrible advise. I found someone else who was articulate and clearly knowledgeable. Was it because I was a woman and he wanted to look like he was in command? Was her worried his masculinity would be threatened if he couldn't answer the question? Hey! sales associates--If you don't know the answer to a question go ask someone who does, you'll learn something and be able to help the next customer who comes along and not sound like a bluthering idiot and you'll get to flex your knowledge and maybe impress the next custom-her that comes along.
Posted by: Karin | August 02, 2007 at 12:52 PM