This is a story for the ages, and shows the sad state of customer service affairs at Best Buy.
I have a Toshiba 46" HDTV, purchased on 9/1/03 for $1500, with another $299 going for the Best Buy 4-year service plan. The picture began to have a distorted appearance in mid-January, so I called Best Buy to see about getting it repaired. Since then:
(1) it has been 9 1/2 weeks with my TV in the local shop.
(2) I have been promised delivery several times, only to have that day pass with no phone call.
(3) The "story" of what's wrong with my TV and the status of repairs has changed several times.
(4) Best Buy has rigidly and robotically stood by its policies, which essentially do not guarantee that you will get your TV back in a reasonable length of time.
(5) I have paid three $100 cable bills (Feb., March, and April) and haven't watched any TV!
(6) Best Buy has turned down two requests for replacement of the television, because the vendor told them they were fixing it or waiting for a part. One such denial was because "my TV was repaired the previous Friday." It wasn't. I have filed a third request.
(7) I have sent this timeline to Best Buy via e-mail four times, each time eliciting an automated response, followed by a robotic apology with no offer of resolution.
Following is a timeline of ineptitude and inane policies, guaranteeing that the only thing I'll ever buy at Best Buy is a $9 CD:
1/19: I report a problem with my TV to Best Buy. They assign Jim's TV to be the service agent.
1/21: Still no call from Jim's TV, I call them several times — they say they've tried to call me several times, and come to find out Best Buy gave them the wrong phone number to call.
1/23: My TV is picked up after more phone calls from me to Jim's.
1/31: I call Jim's TV. They are "working on it."
2/2: I call Jim's again (this begins the patter of me having to do all the calling), and they inform me that a digital board had malfunctioned and it would need to be replaced or rebuilt, and that would have to be decided by Best Buy. At this point, I call Best Buy to see what they decided. They say they have no record of contact with Jim's TV since the initial report.
2/15: Best Buy calls to tell me the board is being shipped to Jim's with an estimated delivery date of 2/17.
2/20: I call Jim's yet again, this time they say that the board is on indefinite backorder, that it was never shipped, and they were waiting on Best Buy to decide to let them rebuild the board or credit the whole TV.
2/21: I call Best Buy. Again, they have no record of Jim's TV calling them. Best Buy says Toshiba can rebuild it or Best Buy may be able to find the part on their own, and the information would be sent to the Best Buy authorization department.
2/27: I call Best Buy again (sound familiar???), they say authorization was given to Jim's on 2/23 to rebuild the board. Best Buy says Jim's should have it ready on Wednesday (3/1).
3/1: I call Jim's. Jim's says that Wednesday was an estimate, and that it isn't ready yet.
3/3: I call Jim's. Jim's says it is "halfway done" and should be complete over the weekend, with delivery on Monday or Tuesday.
3/7: I call Jim's again. They say it will "definitely be ready" on Friday, 3/10.
3/9: I call Jim's to see when it will be delivered. They say they are not done. A real shocker there. They say it will definitely be done by the end of the day tomorrow and they will call to set up delivery.
3/11: Jim's still hasn't called me or delivered my TV, so I call them. Nope, won't be delivered today (notice this is one day after it would definitely be completed), but Jim himself is going to deliver my TV on Monday after he has a doctor's appointment. They really said this.
3/13: This day marks 7 weeks that Jim's TV has been in possession of my television. Since the original estimated completion date of March 1, I have called six times and received five delays to receiving my TV. Today's excuse was that there was some sort of part or component that still has yet to be rebuilt, but they are 95% done. Keep in mind these are the same people that told me that Jim himself The Jim would deliver me my TV on Monday. And they never called, and my TV never came, and now all of a sudden there's this part that still hasn't been rebuilt. The latest is that they will try their best to have it fixed by tomorrow morning, and that my TV is their #1 priority.
3/14-15: No call from Jim's.
3/20: I call Jim's. They are almost done and should be calling me in a couple of days.
3/20: Later that evening, in a rare stroke of brilliance by Best Buy staff, Jason from Best Buy's parts and services department calls and says that he called Jim's and they said my TV was fixed the past Friday. Because of this, Best Buy will not grant my request for a replacement TV. At this point, I begin to picture clowns jumping through fire hoops and a couple of trapeze artists at the Best Buy headquarters.
3/22: I call Jim's. They are almost done and I should call tomorrow to see if they are done yet.
3/24: I call Jim's. Not done yet.
3/27: Best Buy calls and reports that once again, my request for replacement is denied, because they talked to Jim's and a new part, a hypermodule, came in today that was necessary to fix my TV. This is a new one, in that Jim's didn't mention it the last 10 times I called.
3/27: I call Jim's to confirm this, as they have never mentioned this additional part. They say it's true and that there was a mix-up between my TV and another. Now it will be Wednesday or Thursday.
3/27: I call back to Best Buy and once again request a replacement. I am told that they will once again re-submit my request for replacement and that if it isn't fixed by Friday, they will file the paperwork to replace it. Also, another note here — every time I request a replacement, it takes 3-5 business days to process. When I said that was unacceptable and wanted to talk to a manager, a manager got on the phone with me and reiterated that the 3-5 days was standard and could not be changed. With the exception of a Best Buy rep named Judy, all of these people sound like Mr. Spock reading from a cue card.
3/29: Called Jim's. He is installing the hypermodule as we speak, they say. I ask why another part came in without my knowledge, and they say that a previous part failed. I tell them I want the TV on Friday, that I have requested for it to be replaced, and that Best Buy has agreed to replace it if I don't have it by Friday.
This process has been an absolute disaster since the beginning. I have no idea if my TV will be ready, if Best Buy will once again turn down my request for replacement. I would like to point out the people I have spoken with at Jim's and Best Buy have been not been rude. With a couple of exceptions, I have been calm and fairly understanding. But going on 10 weeks, I've had enough. I am at my wits' end, but I don't know what else to do.
Glen
Memphis, Tennessee
U.S.A.
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