Best Buy

[bhlloy]

Yeah I know, another thread bitching about Best Buy. But I know we have some people that work/have worked for them, so I'm wondering if I can get some constructive advice as well.

I got a really good Cyber Monday deal on a TV, and we didn't have any way to get it back from the store so I did delivery (part of the deal is free delivery, so why the hell not) for next Monday 7th.

Anyway, I guess all online deliveries are backed up at least 3 days because of the huge volume of online orders, so they sent me an email saying that they couldn't meet the delivery date and to call them to arrange a new delivery date. Slight annoyance but no big deal right - well I literally cannot get through to these people. I can get through to a general rep pretty easily, but when they put me through to the online sales dept (which is the only people who can help me apparently) 4 out of 5 times it tells me the call volume is too high and to call back later, and the other time I am on hold indefinitely (> 1 hr, this has happened twice now and I don't have the free time to deal with that)

The kicker is they are going to cancel the order if they don't hear from me within 4 days. We are now halfway through day 2 and no dice, and I'm back in work tomorrow so if I can't get through this afternoon I'm probably toast.

I just want to do in-store pickup now (and figure out how the hell I'm going to get it home) but I can't get the same deal by going into a store and I can't get through to them to tell them this.

Anybody have any great ideas? I'm assuming I can't go into a store and have them help me because the systems are different. Oh and also I've tried the email on the website - no response.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Yeah I know, another thread bitching about Best Buy. But I know we have some people that work/have worked for them, so I'm wondering if I can get some constructive advice as well.

I got a really good Cyber Monday deal on a TV, and we didn't have any way to get it back from the store so I did delivery (part of the deal is free delivery, so why the hell not) for next Monday 7th.

Anyway, I guess all online deliveries are backed up at least 3 days because of the huge volume of online orders, so they sent me an email saying that they couldn't meet the delivery date and to call them to arrange a new delivery date. Slight annoyance but no big deal right - well I literally cannot get through to these people. I can get through to a general rep pretty easily, but when they put me through to the online sales dept (which is the only people who can help me apparently) 4 out of 5 times it tells me the call volume is too high and to call back later, and the other time I am on hold indefinitely (> 1 hr, this has happened twice now and I don't have the free time to deal with that)

The kicker is they are going to cancel the order if they don't hear from me within 4 days. We are now halfway through day 2 and no dice, and I'm back in work tomorrow so if I can't get through this afternoon I'm probably toast.

I just want to do in-store pickup now (and figure out how the hell I'm going to get it home) but I can't get the same deal by going into a store and I can't get through to them to tell them this.

Anybody have any great ideas? I'm assuming I can't go into a store and have them help me because the systems are different. Oh and also I've tried the email on the website - no response.

In-store pickup is not going to be possible without getting the order changed, for which you'd need to get in contact via the phone number, I think.

The folks in store have no way to go in and change the order from a delivery to an in-store pickup, and if they just sent you home with the TV, they'd have no way to get credit for the payment from corporate, so far as I know.

Try calling the general rep again, explain to her that the system will not let you through to someone who can help with the delivery date change, and see if there's any way she can either put into the system for THEM to call YOU for the date change, or escalate the issue to someone who can resolve it without you getting hung up on or put interminably on hold.

[bhlloy]

Thanks Sack! I guess the deals are actually available through December 5th so even if the 4 day window expires, I could reorder and choose instore pickup then.

Of course I could just cancel the original order now and do in store pickup, wonder if there is any downside to that... other than my credit card company asking questions.

[stevew]

As far as pickup goes, the 25/hour truck from lowes or depot has never failed me when I need to haul something large home. Cheaper than delivery charges. And less painful than getting help from a friend(most of the time)

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by stevew

As far as pickup goes, the 25/hour truck from lowes or depot has never failed me when I need to haul something large home. Cheaper than delivery charges. And less painful than getting help from a friend(most of the time)

Course you usually need that too, since you have to physically lift the item...

[stevew]

All I'm saying is that if your friend needs help moving or some other shitty project, it's a lot easier to blow them off. Especially if they haven't helped you bring a fridge home from their store in their pickup.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Thanks Sack! I guess the deals are actually available through December 5th so even if the 4 day window expires, I could reorder and choose instore pickup then.

Of course I could just cancel the original order now and do in store pickup, wonder if there is any downside to that... other than my credit card company asking questions.

Well, the downside to canceling and then placing a new one is, the website pulls its numbers from the system for the store you choose, so availability isn't confirmed until they "pick" the item.

At which point you get e-mailed and told to come pick the item up and all of that. If you cancel the troublesome order before you get confirmation that the in-store pickup is ready for you, you're left holding an empty bag.

[stevew]

I definitely wouldn't cancel the item if you are not 100% sure the store has another. TV availability sucks this year. And while Best Buy is miles ahead of Sears in inventory, I'd still be cautious. Many of the manufacturers are promising quantities they can't fill.

[stevew]

Which model did you order?

[bhlloy]

Panasonic-VIERA / 50" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV-TC-P50S1 SKU: 9236294

The price has actually gone up $200 so I have to hang onto this order or lose the price I got. So I guess I'm trying to call all evening and doing what Sack suggests, hope I get a nice person to direct my call that can help in some way.

[stevew]

That's a really good choice. Basically the best bang you will get for your dollar in that screen size and price(roughly 900 dollars).

At some point I'd go down to a best buy and pray a manager can help you out. Calling us not always the most effective method of getting shit done for yourself.

[bhlloy]

Yeah the first line people have been unbelievably unhelpful, but I did use the "call me" function on your website in desperation and the guy I'm talking to now claims to be able to get the online sales dept on the line while I'm on hold, although it's been 5 mins already and now the line has gone very quiet.

[chinaski]

bought a flat panel monitor there on Saturday, got it home and it doesn't work

[bhlloy]

woohoo... was on hold for about 15 mins but the click to call guy finally got me through, and the delivery date was only pushed back 2 days to the 9th.

[stevew]

Please tell me they didn't stick you with 200 dollars worth of Monster cables and other overpriced accessories.

[bhlloy]

Haha no, I have all the gear I need. This is a replacement for a Sony Bravia that died on us a couple of weeks ago.

That's the other nice thing about shopping online. I don't have to listen to some painful sales pitch from a 19 year old sales assistant on a bunk of junk I have no need for and feel sorry for him because I know that his commission I just refused.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Haha no, I have all the gear I need. This is a replacement for a Sony Bravia that died on us a couple of weeks ago.

That's the other nice thing about shopping online. I don't have to listen to some painful sales pitch from a 19 year old sales assistant on a bunk of junk I have no need for and feel sorry for him because I know that his commission I just refused.

Only at Sears, my good man. Best Buy is non-commissioned, and has been for at least eight years.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Only at Sears, my good man. Best Buy is non-commissioned, and has been for at least eight years.

Which is why the clerks at BB are utterly useless now...

I always go to Sears if I actually want a question answered with some intelligence.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Which is why the clerks at BB are utterly useless now...

I always go to Sears if I actually want a question answered with some intelligence.

The ones who stick around aren't utterly useless. The short-timers, the ones who are just there seasonally or working a summer job or whatever, yeah. They're there to draw some pay and then move on to whatever else it is they have ahead of them. Almost everyone starts wet behind the ears there, but long-timers eventually get their shit together.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

The ones who stick around aren't utterly useless. The short-timers, the ones who are just there seasonally or working a summer job or whatever, yeah. They're there to draw some pay and then move on to whatever else it is they have ahead of them. Almost everyone starts wet behind the ears there, but long-timers eventually get their shit together.

Not that there isn't some variation amongst the associates, but I'll double up on this and say the biggest problem isn't the department-specific associates, it's that they often don't have enough people in certain departments (home theater usually the most prominent) and people get pulled in from other areas. I've worked inventory/merch, which means I'm all over the store, and I'm constantly being asked for help on things I know little about. I like to think I'm fairly smart, and decently tech-savvy, but when it comes to merchandise I'm much better at finding where an item is than knowing the difference between 2 LCD TV's, let alone car-fi or appliances. I realize why they put everyone in the same shirt and say everyone should know everything in the store but it's simply unrealistic for one person working <40 hours to have a detailed understanding of the whole variety of merchandise sold. But if you're willing to wait/talk to a couple different people or go at an off-peak time you should be able to find someone knowledgable. And really, if you're making a 4 figure purchase or buying a TV for the next couple years, I'm not sure why you wouldn't want to take your time and get differing opinions.

I'll also say while there isn't a specific commission, sales associates are definitely encouraged to push higher-margin items (of which cables are probably the highest in the store) and service plans and there is a system where you get bonuses for store-wide success.