Best Buy

These people have never heard of "maple whatever valley" when I asked if they had a closer location

Posted 07/27/09

I went to return an lcd monitor the day after I purchased it due to a scratch in the middle of the screen. Quite annoying. I figured it would be no big deal, I had the receipt, and everything was nicely packed back in the box.

The first associate at the customer service desk was helpful and said I could go ahead and get a replacement from the aisles. When I returned, the first associate was busy and another associate decided instead to deny the exchange offering a very careful forensic analysis of how I had obviously scratched the screen myself.

I have opened boxes in the past and was quite careful in opening this box and it was quite annoying to hear all these excuses to avoid exchanging the item.

So not very happy at all.

Posted 07/26/09

Well, I'm sitting on the phone now literally at ring number 40 and no answer - same thing this morning. Another downside would be limited selection of items. I recently bought speakers there, and really had to choose from about three. The good thing, however is that the sales person was very knowledgeable on the topic and setup. We checked out various audible differences in the speakers and came to the same conclusion that one was far superior to the other. Installation was about $40 (per pair of speakers). As it turned out the ones I wanted didn't fit properly, and, as I had gone to lunch to pass the time, the guy at the install bay fetched me speakers that fit properly and were able to keep my stock speaker covers in my car (so no prowlers would see the nubies). (Finally got an answer after 60 plus rings). Anyway, I went to install keyless entry into my car and was told I needed a new vacuum pump since the locks weren't working right (which I was aware of - thought keyless entry would solve two problems at once - no such luck). The bottom line is that the staff on the floor were very helpful and knew quite a bit. The only downside is that they really need more staff (I guess they DID have a "now hiring" sign up, so things will likely improve). As a side note, I was looking at PDA's and they only have 3 in some corner of the store. My advice would be to simply read product reviews online and get familiar with the product you intend to buy, and then go to the store for help on small questions, as they are usually swarming with customers. They may not have exactly what you're looking for, but if you're not too picky you could grab from their stock which seem to be quality brand names at decent prices. Just don't be shy about asking for help...these guys are busy - you're more likely to get help by asking than by being asked. My feeling is that this location has greatly improved from a place I loathed having to go to, to a store that's now worthwhile.

Posted 03/09/08

I have never been into this place without having problems. You'd think i learned after the second time. My biggest problem is with Geek Squad. Not only do they have THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE but they also do not know what they are doing. Every time I have gone in the line is held up to 40 minutes because they cannot locate some one's property.

Just recently I paid them to fix my lap top only to get it back after over a month.
after a week of bringing it to them they tell me that they were still waiting on my power cord , which i had already brought in, then concluded on it wasn't finished yet.
a few days later I went to get it once again, and it took them 40 minutes to tell me it wasn't finished yet.
after about two weeks of school with no computer I went in and they told me that i have to restart the comp. from scratch loosing all my data but they would restore it for 100 dollars.
this is something that I could have done from the beginning and saved 300 dollars and two weeks of my time. I said no and that I just wanted my comp. back but it turns out that it was IN WORSE CONDITION THEN WHEN I BROUGHT IT. Having no chice I had to purchase a back up disk, a few days later they call me to tell me that its a hard ware problem and they have to send it out. IIII HHHAATTTEEE THHIISSS PPPLLACEEEEE. GOOD LUCK...but you should consider the computer restoration place on auroura by Greenlake.

Pros: Location

Cons: Service and knowledge

Posted 02/19/08

To make a long, frustrating story short, first we had the unknowledgeable staff mislead us with the rebates, and then we had the unapologetic customer service manager do nothing to alleviate the problem and to make the situation worst, he became angry and said there was nothing he or best buy could do for us. Finally, we called the corporate office and reported the incident, which they were able to fix in a matter of minutes. All and all, best buy is alright, although stores like the Northgate Best Buy may bankrupt the company.

Pros: reasonable priced

Cons: brainless floor staf, ill-mannered manager

Posted 10/24/05

It's always a hard thing to go to the big box places but the prices can be tempting. But one thing they all have in common - bad customer service. I've had two bad encounters here - one where they charged my debit card for an item I was returning (and offered no apology when I had to come back to get them to do it again). The lastest was trying to get a new PS2 for my son. They told me they were out of them, when the next shipment was and to call on that day. I did and they said the shipment wasn't unpacked but it would be the next day, come first thing (as they were opening early for Christmas). Guess what wasn't available. Enough said - no more Best Buy.

Pros: parking

Cons: , scattershot stocking

Posted 11/25/04