So I wrote Best Buy a letter
As listeners of the podcast already know, I’ve got problems with the Best Buy located most conveniently to where I live. They often won’t have games on release day (even those that say “AVAILABLE TUESDAY” in their weekly ad, I’ll have to track down an employee to get them to get me a game from the back, they had a busted up Beatles Rock Band demo setup, they only had 2 accessories for the PSP Go on launch day, they didn’t have Rhythm Heaven on the DSi launch day. I mean, there’s been quite a lot of disappointment with this Best Buy. So much that I’ve started just ordering games that have Release Day delivery on Amazon instead.
Yesterday I thought what the hell, I’ll give them a shot for Lips Number One Hits and Borderlands. They had a deal running in their Sunday ad where Lips comes with a code for a free Colbie Caillat song pack. My fiancee likes Colbie Caillat, I’m a sucker for saccharine pop songs, so I’ll get it at Best Buy, get the song pack there instead of ordering on Amazon (who had it cheaper than BB, but still).
I took no chances by ordering online for in-store pickup. And of course when I went to the typically crappy Best Buy that has left me disappointed so many times before, they had the game but…couldn’t find the song pack. So I wrote them a letter. And here it is, after the jump.
I’ve been a loyal Best Buy customer for many years and have bought many thousands of dollars in merchandise at your stores. I’ve been a member of the Reward Zone program since it began (and Premier Silver currently). I’m a gadget geek and buy a lot of consumer electronics. I have moved across the country several times and the first thing I do in my new location is check where the nearest Best Buy is. It is not uncommon for me to stop into the closest store more than once a week to browse. But I wanted to voice my displeasure and concern at the experience I’ve had at one particular Best Buy location over the past 18 months, punctuated by a situation yesterday which marks the end of my patronizing your stores.
I purchased a copy of Lips Number One Hits for the Xbox 360 yesterday for in-store pickup at store #890 (Buckhead, Atlanta, GA, order # [edited]). In your weekly ad this week the game was advertised as coming with a free Colbie Caillat song pack (SKU 9562957). My fiancee is a fan of Colbie Caillat’s music and this bonus is part of the reason I decided to purchase the game at Best Buy instead of elsewhere. When I went to the customer service desk to pick up the order, they had no knowledge of this extra or a clue as to where they might find it. When I showed them the weekly ad, the woman at the desk made a half-hearted attempt to look and see if the card was available at the register, then came back and suggested I go back to the video game department and look or ask back there, and if they had the card she could ring it up for me.
That was the start of the problem. I know from at least a dozen previous experiences at this location that getting assistance in the video game department is all too often a futile effort, especially on weekdays. I walked to the back corner of the store where the department is located and walked around for 10 minutes hoping to flag someone – anyone – down that could help me find this. There were no store employees anywhere near Video Games. There were no copies of Lips Number One Hits or the exclusive gift card on the shelf in the department. I eventually had to walk over to the camera area where I got associate [edited] to help me.
Unfortunately, despite his best efforts he was unable to find anyone that knew about this extra or find any of the cards that the in-store inventory system said the location had in stock (indicated they had 4). He did offer to find another store that may have the cards but there’s the other problem – another store means running all over Atlanta to find what by your ad and your inventory system should’ve been in the store already. He suggested coming back later in the week and talking to [edited] (I’m assuming the store manager) and they would help me but this being just the latest disappointment with this location I don’t know that I’m interested in returning at all.
The experience with the Lips Number One Hits bonus underlines the other problem I have had with this location’s video game department for the past 18 months. The situation that’s happened nearly a dozen times will be that a game’s advertised in the weekly ad as “AVAILABLE TUESDAY.” I’ll show up Tuesday evening after work (after 6 pm) and the game is nowhere to be found. It’s not on the shelf in the video game department, it’s not in the front of the store where new release games are sometimes found, and then I have to go searching for an associate to help me get it out of the back or tell me (as has happened on numerous occasions) that they were unable to find the game I was looking for even when a check on bestbuy.com indicates that the game is available at that location.
So since that had been my experience enough times I started ordering games via bestbuy.com for in-store pickup instead. Sure enough they always have my game waiting for me at customer service, though when I look around the store it hasn’t been put on the shelves. I looked just now on bestbuy.com and Lips Number One Hits is listed as In Stock at the Buckhead location, but it wasn’t on the shelf anywhere in-store yesterday when I went to pick up my online-ordered copy!
It is with great disappointment that this may be the end of my customer relationship with Best Buy altogether. When I can get lower prices, free release-day shipping from Amazon.com and always get the bonus content promised to me there is NO reason for me to go to your store where the service is unhelpful, the staff slow to unpack/stock the week’s new video game releases, and clueless to the whereabouts of the free bonus that was supposed to come with the game. I spent 45 minutes in the store last night for what should’ve taken less than 5. And I walked out of there wishing I’d just ordered it from Amazon instead of bothering with Best Buy. I’m one of the few consumers that still enjoys going into a store to buy. But you have made it unbearably frustrating to continue doing so with you.
It is a shame that you may be losing a loyal customer and thousands of dollars of business a year over what equates to a $5 song pack whose intention was no doubt to get me into the store and buy from you. But it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back in this case as my frustration with this location has built over the last 18 months of shopping experiences.
Thank you,
Chris Johnston
Will I get a reply from them? Who knows. But, like I say in the letter…I think this abusive relationship may finally be over.
I applaud you for sticking to the facts and not playing the “I record a podcast with x thousand listeners” card.
Well put, CJ. I’ll bet someone will read this who cares and you’ll get a response. What I doubt, however, is that any of the problems you’ve had at this store and with brick and mortar retail in general will be abated. This is the reason I have been an Amazon Prime member for years. My wife and I split the cost and it’s well worth it, especially if you buy a lot of blu-rays. I still shop at Best Buy from time to time to check out clearance and what-not but even the Sunday ads are lackluster since Circuit City closed. Have fun playing the first 15 minutes of Lips Number One Hits.
I stand in solidarity with you, C.J. Disappointing experiences such as yours has often been my experience with Best Buy. If more people used your template to voice concerns about misleading ads, inventory problems and awful customer service, maybe they’d improve. Unfortunately, nothing speaks louder than the dollar. Personally, I’m interested to see what comes form this, so keep us updated on the ‘cast. Your level-headed and rational letter is a real test of their response system.
man, that BB is a piece of shit. you should probably hunt for another BB. they might be better.
Nice, thorough, brutal letter there. Would you feel at all bad if you later learned that the whole staff was laid off? :p It’s just so surprising since so many of their other stores have such good service. Glad you did this, though! Was sick of hearing you talk about it on the podcast
Goddamit! CJ goes to the crappy BB is my second favourite segment, after Phil tells a shaggy dog story!
CJ I’m with ya, bud. I’m fortunate to have 3 Best Buys fairly close. However, the one that is most convenient to me is just like the one you’re describing. The store never has stuff on release day, the shelves are sloppy, and there’s never an associate to be found. Even if you can find someone, just like you describe, they can only look things up on the computer and see that the item is in stock yet no one can find them. It’s definitely frustrating.
I’ve pretty much moved on from Best Buy now that Amazon and Toys R Us have stepped up to the plate and have had great service and sales, especially when it comes to games.
Marty brings up an excellent point. Your tirades make for fantastic listening material. I say you keep going there. Do it for the show, man! Do it for the show.
Great letter, CJ! I stopped buying games at Best Buy last year due to this sort of thing, and I’m now very loyal to Amazon. Keep us posted on any response you might get!
Sadly, it all boils down to poor management. If the store director was on his or her toes, they would have the store working properly instead of as inefficient as you claim them to be.
Thus, retail loses.
I actually work at my local Best Buy and complain about the exact same
things you’re writing about on a weekly basis to both my supervisor and the store management. The “Portable Electronics” department that covers games in my store also has countless issues with getting the games out on time and on the shelves. Part of the reason is because there are two different groups of people who are responsible for putting them out and BOTH tend to just assume the other group put the games out on time. One is the merchandising group and the other is portable electronics. Added to that is a third group, Inventory, who sometimes just haven’t moved the games from the back warehouse yet. It’s just a mix of bad zoning, poor management, and associates being told to stay out of the back and ON the floor. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve come into work on Wednesday in the afternoon and found game after game that wasn’t put out on Tuesday….and then before I could even put them out was called out by a manager for not being on the floor selling instead of “stocking games”.
What a letter CJ. Well put. I have had similar situations with video games, but usually they are just in that goddamn cage in the front. Hopefully that Best Buy store will get their act together.
I used to live close to where this store is, and I remember saying “Man I can’t believe I’m leaving this lame/dangerous neighborhood, and they finally are gonna open something good that I’ll use.”
It’s a shame this Best Buy is far more Cheshire Bridge than Buckhead.
Future Shop ain’t bad.
Isn’t “release day” actually “ship day” for most games, barring the high profile releases like Call of Duty and such? It seems like that has always been the case. Maybe it was a mistake to say “Available Tuesday” in their circular since they were probably just receiving it that day.
You could’ve just complained about best buy on twitter… I’m sure someone from higher up would have given you a TV to shut up
The BestBuy near me for some reason keeps all the new releases in a locked cage near the front registers for the first week or two they are out. I guess it takes time to put them in all those plexiglass security cases. That might explain why they are nowhere to be found on the shelves but always there when you order online and pickup in store. The extra song pack stuff still sucks though.