I made a purchase from Circuit City last summer and was supposed to get a rebate within thirty days. It is now the end of March and still no rebate. The following is the letter I wrote to CEO Philip Schoonver which includes more detail.
Dear Mr. Schoonover,
I am writing this letter to inform you of the unexplainably horrible customer service I have received from your associates. On June 12 I purchased a Vonage phone adapter from one of your stores and promptly sent in the accompanying rebate for a merchandise card in the amount of fifty dollars.
For months I did not receive anything in the mail. I called the rebate center in the fall and the associate I spoke to said their was no record of my rebate information. Once I gave him my home phone number he then said that the information was in fact there. He said I would receive a Circuit City merchandise card within thirty days.
On December 26 I received the merchandise card along with an enclosed letter describing its use. The next day I went to your Sawmill Road Store (#3614) to make a purchase using the merchandise card. I was embarrassed to find out that the card had no value. The associate said there was nothing he could do, and that I had to call customer service. While still in the store I called the number he provided and the phone associate was of no help and said that I would have to call another time.
On December 28 I called the rebate fulfillment center (1-877-224-8966) and spoke to Evett, and told her about my situation. She said that within three to five days someone would contact me to verify my address. I told her that the company already had my address and she informed me that that was the procedure. No one called.
I waited some time and called again on January 18. I spoke to Freddy at 1:10 P.M. I explained what had happened and he said a new card would be sent within fifteen days. That did not happen.
On February 14 I spoke with Walter at 5:25 P.M. And also with his supervisor David (ID# ES0021). David said that the card will reach me in fifteen days. Again, this did not happen.
I waited more time and called the rebate fulfillment center at 10:35 A.M. On March 14. This time I spoke with Lisha. Up until this time your associates had been relatively pleasant with me. This was not the case with Lisha. She was very short with me and did not seem to want to help me. She told me she could not do anything and hung up on me. I do not know if this is how you train your associates but it was very disappointing.
I called again and spoke to Anna and immediately asked for her supervisor who was Natalie (ID # ES0007). I explained my situation once again and Natalie told me to call back in three days and someone would tell me the status of my merchandise card. I asked her how many times I would need to call in order to resolve the problem, and she said this is the only way to do it. She was incredibly rude to me and made me feel as though I did not matter to her as a customer.
I told her I would call the Better Business Bureau and she told me to do what ever I wanted and she also hung up on me. I then started to think that it was in fact part of your training program to have associates hang up on customers.
I became fed up with calling the center and being treated with no respect that I decided to email the company about the situation. I have included the email I have received from Circuit City. It was a standard reply saying that someone would contact me. Again, this has not happened.
I am outraged at what your company calls customer service. I have been made to feel like an idiot every time I call. I have a full-time job, a family, and other commitments and yet I find myself having to waste hours of my time trying to get my problems heard by your employees.
From all of my contact with your company I have realized that you are not a man of your word. On your website it said that you expect all of our associates to maintain the highest of ethical standards. It does not seem ethical to me hang up on customers, be rude to them, and disregard their concerns, all while continually telling them that there is no more to be done to alleviate the problem.
I am not someone who is so eager to get fifty dollars, but if your company makes a promise, it should be honored. It has been nearly a year since I made the purchase and it has been nearly a year since I should have received a valid merchandise card.
I would like this situation to be resolved soon. I want to give you the benefit of the doubt by assuming you do not know of problems of this nature within your large company. I hope to hear from you soon, and also that I do not have to contact your company again.
Sincerely,
Shobha
Dublin, Ohio
U.S.A.
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