I placed an order for my mother. Her ancient TV finally broke so I ordered her a new TV & the HDMI cable to connect it to her cable box. I ordered it from the Best Buy near her work which is 40 miles from her home so she could pick it up after work. When I showed up at her home to install the new TV, I noticed Best Buy had forgotten to include the HDMI cable I had also paid for.
I wasn't going to drive another 40 miles to/from BB to pick up the HDMI cable they had not included so I called the local number. I was sent to their 800 # and was initially told it was my fault when I placed the order for not including my mother's name as the recipient of the HDMI cable as well as the TV. When I notified the CS rep Paul that the TV and HDMI cable were in the same order # and that she had been included and received the text messages confirming the entire order was ready for her to pick up, he started to blame my 74 year old mother for not verifying the BB rep had included both the TV and HDMI cable. I got extremely angry at that point and demanded his supervisor. Paul told me there's nothing a supervisor could do and hung up the phone (I will admit a few bad words may have slipped out during our disagreement, so I understood him hanging up).
I took a deep breath, called back and spoke with Henry after the 10+ minute hold period. He was initially a bit more receptive. He admitted that the cable should have been included in the order but he then immediately moved on to blaming my mother for not verifying the order. When I told him my mother had shown the BB rep the printed sheet with the order details, he changed the story to it being my fault for not educating my mother on what she needed to pick up. I did my best to hold back my outrage and demanded to speak with his supervisor and to be connected with the local BB to see if they had a solution. He then claimed it was either 1 or the other. I could speak with his supervisor OR he could have someone else contact me about the order error. If I chose 1, the other case would be immediately closed.
By this point I was holding my breath and demanded his supervisor. After 20 minutes on hold, another person took over the call. She was calm and asked me why I didn't just call the local store I bought it from. I informed her I had called the local store but the only options on the phone were either their pathetic AI system (which they admit is 'new' so be patient) or to be sent to the 800 number. She offered to 'escalate' the complaint but told me it would be 48 hours before I would hear anything back. I accepted the escalation but then asked her if she knew of any way I could speak to the local store to find a faster resolution and she gave me a 3 digit code to enter when I called the local store #. I attempted this, but got a message "Invalid extension" that the code should be 4 digits so I was, again, unable to talk to someone from the local store. (The word "invalid" was pronounced "IN-vuh-lid" in the auto message. The manner used to describe people who are weakened by a chronic illness/injury, which is also offensive to me as a person whose life has been severely affected by a TBI as a kid.)
I again, for the 3rd time, called the 800 #, waited 10 more minutes to get a rep and spoke with a 4th person. He explained to me I would not be able to access the local store because the extensions are only accessible via the BB network phones. He offered to have someone from the store call me back within the next 2 hours, which I accepted. I then tried to verify that would not stop the complaint that had been escalated and he told me it would not.
We've surpassed the 2 hour wait time, so I doubt anyone will be calling me back. I also doubt the case was escalated to a higher level and I will likely never hear another word from BB. I guess I just have to wait until the pick-up time passes and BB initiates the big $8 refund for their mistake.
My anger has nothing to do with losing a few dollars because BB screwed up the order. It has to do with their complete lack of accountability when their staff makes mistakes (Though the staff was apparently rude when my mother picked up her order). She's 74 years old with a limp and when she gave them the order #, the BB employee brought out the order, dropped it on the table in front of her and walked away. He didn't say 'we appreciate your business' or 'thank you'. He didn't offer to assist her getting the purchase to her vehicle. He literally dropped the small TV (24") on the desk in front of her and walked away. If I were running BB, the immediate response would be accepting that it was our fault. I would then offer to have the order delivered to her home by the following morning with no additional cost. I would also ask about her experience and when she told me the attitude of the BB rep I would have ripped him into my office and told him to fix the attitude or find a new job. read more