I purchased Philips 37 LCD television (model 37PFL5322D) from Best Buy in Pasadena (store #125) on 18 September. I paid for it $969.63. I returned this television to the same store on 22 or 23 of September. However, the Best Buy has failed to issue proper credit for the television.
During the return of the television, the original receipt fell out of the box in my car. So for identification purposes my telephone number was used and the sale item was located on the computer. Another factor in the return process was that the purchase was made with the Best Buy credit card for which I applied at the time of purchasing and I was to receive the actual card and paperwork by mail. Thus, due to the relatively short time of the return, I did not have paperwork or the Best Buy credit card on hand. However, in a short while, the service clerk informed me that everything is all set and they need to check the television for being in good condition. He also printed a document on a Letter format paper which confirmed my return, or so I was convinced at the time. It also seemed consistent that I was not signing, because the Best Buy card was still in the issuing phase. The television was rolled in the back of the return area by another Best Buy person and both clerks disappeared. I waited for about ten-fifteen minutes and left convinced that I had the necessary paperwork.
I received the first statement from the credit card relatively soon. At the same time as the TV, I bought a DVD player. The statement had these two items listed due for pay. Because it usually takes some time for the returns to appear on the statement, I was not alerted and wrote a check to pay for the DVD player. A month later I was paying all my bills and noticed that the new Best Buy credit card statement still did not reflect the credit for the television. I immediately, it was early in November, contacted Best Buy credit card and placed a call to the store.
The review of the paperwork, which I was given at the store, revealed that I was given a copy of my original purchase, not the return receipt! It also demonstrated how poorly the clerk was trained in handling returns. He gave me wrong paperwork.in addition, he failed to finalize processing of my return! Once again, it was a failure in quality of work and training. The time of TV purchasing was extremely stressful for me. I just completed moving to California. I started a new job on 20 September. I did not have a television and was trying to find a perfect unit. So when I was given the wrong paperwork, I did not realize that it was incorrect, because it did state the right sum and the clerk said that I was all set.
The Best Buy management did not demonstrate much sympathy when I approached them with the issue. After a week and a half of trying to communicate with the right person, on 17 November, I met with Mrs. Judi Mock, the operations manager. She stated that she could not help me because the inventory did not have lapses. She also informed me that the security tapes are erased after 30 days. Next day, I met with Jorge, the inventory manager. He informed me that the computer inventory was fine. He or his staff did not do a hand count of the inventory, however. And he declined to do the search while I was in store, but promised to do it the week after the Thanksgiving sale and give me a call. We also discussed the possibility of interviewing the employees if anyone could remember mishandling a TV return. I called and communicated with Jorge on 1 December via telephone. He informed me that no count had been done and they will try to do it next week. And most likely no interviewing had been performed either. While the conversations have been polite, the overall response has been impassionate and further raises concerns of quality of customer relationships as challenging as they can be.
I have been a loyal customer of Best Buy for many years. I have purchased big ticket items previously: a computer with a monitor in 2002 for $1500, a video camera in when my son was born, for $750. I have also purchased many other smaller items from Best Buy, including two in September alone.
These are extremely frustrating circumstances. My return has been stolen by the store employees or by the store. Poor performance (perhaps through lack of training) by the customer service and the indifference by the management of Best Buy, are particularly discomforting.
DavidB
south pasadena, California
U.S.A.
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