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Was it worth the hasssle?
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@Victo: If I'm reading this correctly, a few well-written EECBs effectively got the him the phone for free because it was used. And he can mail the phone in if he wants to return it.
That sounds like it was worth it. I might even go so far as to say that $50 was fair, but $120 plus I'll take your return if you like by mail is pushing above-and-beyond. (But then again, I'm just the relentless BBY sympathizer/former employee/small-time shareholder.)
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BTW: AWESOME REPLY BUTTON, CONSUMERIST
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@Rob Phelps: Don't start yelling because you accidentally removed some characters. There is a preview button, after all.
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Nice counter, and good work staying levelheaded given the alternatives.
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Good to hear that this situation was resolved quickly and relatively painless. Kudos to Best Buy for taking the proper steps even if the noobs working in that store are liars.
I actually live near the metro stop in question, and the Best Buy is only about 2-3 minutes away from the metro. Also, the metro is $1.35 each way on a Saturday. While this person obviously got the result he wanted (and deserved), I think grossly exaggerating easily verifiable claims can undermine a complaint letter.
@dunnowhat: I agree with your point about the exaggeration of distance/cost.
But as far as inconvenience goes, trains come only every 15 minutes on the weekend...it basically would have meant a waste of a half-day sitting on the metro and in retail hell... he got them to up his hourly pain in the butt rate from 10/hour to 20/hour...
Impressed that Best Buy in this instance went along with it.
[maps.google.com])&mra=cc&dirflg=w&doflg=ptm&sll=38.86301,-77.059195&sspn=0.000973,0.001663&ie=UTF8&z=19
The same thing happened to me at Radio Shack. I bought a pair of Blackjack 2's a few months ago and I got used phones with Contacts/Name/Addresses/and Phone numbers.
I didn't know you can really do anything about it other than return them.
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@TorrentFreak: @tworld:
\"Now he's writing to compliment Best Buy on the way they handled his complaint.\"...
Because he purchased a brand new product that turned out used.
Yay for us!! Sorry the OP got a used cellphone, we're supposed to junk those out and never resell a returned phone, which is why I believe this was an honest mistake. That said, how was this not noticed during the activation process? Activations take about 40 minutes, the phone is taken out and it's this ridiculous, drawn out process (sorry my beloved Best Buy, but you know it's true!). It took me an hour to buy a phone and I work there...
Did the OP deserve the $120 back? Prolly not. Is it worth $120 to make someone happy and keep him as a customer? 100?% yes.
See? We CAN do something right once in a while...
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@wellfleet: It's that \"once in a while\" bit that gives your beloved Best Buy a bad rep.
Consistency is key.
I assume considering the cost he paid for the phones he is a new Sprint customer. Wait till he gets a load of their customer service. Calls are routed straight to a very lovely man or woman in Manila, Phillipines and they all speak horrible broken English.
Which is probably why, and deservedly so, they are consistently rated last in customer service. Now that's the global economy at your door step. DirecTV the same once again Manila. My satellite radio: I'm scared to ask. We spend the money here in the states they could at least hire American Workers.
Good Luck,
You're gonna need it....
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@db3b: But you see, we aren't spending our money in America. Sure, $7.00 an hour goes to the Best Buy worker, but the rest goes to some Asian supply company which ships them the products from their Chinese factories.
You might buy the product in America, but it isn't an american product. So technically, the support staff is in the right place -- exactly where the money is going.
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I recently bought an AT&T SL82218 from Circuit City which was supposedly new. The packaging looked factory fresh and unopened. When I got the phone home, I noticed the owners manual had a small amount of writing on it. This phone system also has a digital answering machine, and when I initially plugged it in, there was a message on the machine. I thought it might be a \"greeting\" from AT&T or something, but it was a real message for someone who used to have the phone. It did tick me off a bit that I got an obvious factory refurb, but it works and is in otherwise new condition, so I didn't bother taking it back.
I'm the wife and purchaser of said used phone.
The BB agent pointed out the small flaws on the front and said it was a factory defect, but that it was the last one left. I didn't care that much about the small scratches, but I did care that there were addresses already entered into the GPS when we got home. AND I did care that it clearly did not function as well as it should. We both bought the same model, and when I held David's next to mine and we tried to perform the same functions, it was clear that mine was not responsive.
Dave's new to the DC area, agreed on the overexaggerated cost of metro travel...he's new to metro. I let him have at it cause he was understandably pissed.
UPDATE: When we went to exchange said phone, the BB rep put Dave's number on my phone. Thus, both phones had the same number. We went back and had it fixed.....2+ hours....The amount of technical difficulties that have resulted since cannot be numbered here. Spent all day chatting with Sprint reps yesterday....can't sync my old numbers back....can't open text messages....still not working...
Clearly we're an extraordinary case, but I am so sick of phones I could scream. I'm about to swear off cell phones altogether.
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So instead of going back to do an exchange, which i have done for customers several times, he shoots off e-mails right away?
Unfortunately mistakes can happen, any return should be sent back, but the rep should have showed them the phones, and got them set up. It looks like you local Best Buy associates need some (alot)more training. Its people like them that give us good people in retail a bad name.
@Chiz0: Agreed. I was thinking the same thing. I love that the OP got the issue resolved, but I think EECBs are best left until a last resort. Did the OP try to resolve the issue back at the store? I understand being pissed because he was lied to, but that's what managers are for.
In the end, though, the OP got what he needed, so I guess it worked out.
@Chiz0: Wait, who shoots off emails right away?
The rep said, \"those white marks on the phone are a factory defect\" when clearly they were not. We were lied to. That was the problem.
And yes, the BB people we've come in contact with do need more training.
I generally try to avoid blaming the victim, but getting a $120 gift card AND the option to return the phone? Just for the hassle? (which should be assumed anytime you deal with BB anyway) The EECB should be used to rectify a situation, not for profit.
i am wondering why you think this guy deserves a free phone PLUS $120 for his time. Guess who pays for this so-called free stuff? We all do with higher prices. How are you sure this was Best Buys fault. Could it have been the manufacturers issue? Was the warranty going to be any less time? Why didn't he notice nicks and scratches or look while he was at the store at the phones? To blame Best Buy for the time on the phone with Sprint is just nonsense. It would be like me blaming them for the incompetent boobs at HP who cant send proper replacement parts for my under warranty product.
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I've returned items to Best Buy (Wilkes Barre, PA) on a few occasions and never encountered a problem.
Once when an external hard drive did not work properly after I had it past the return policy, the manager replaced it with a brand new one. The sales staff is always helpful too.
In the end, Best Buy did resolve David's phone problem, so why all the fuss?
Hell, I woulda said no to the 50$ gift card too. I got one for \"test driving\" a POS Ford w/ sync. So they obviously aren't worth 50$.
href=\"#c7596895\">SpdRacer: Wait, a $50 gift card is somehow worth less than $50? Because of Ford? You must be an executive.