Luis sent a message to Hubert Joly President and CEO, Best Buy – email address that said:
Mr. Joly (or whomever corresponds),
I am writing to inform you that you have lost a long time customer. Let me take you back to when you GAINED a lifetime customer. My parents didn’t make much money, but they always strived to give us the nicest things. And one year my father bought the family a 32 inch, projection TV. It wasn’t the top of the line, but it was on sale and it was what he could afford. It was on galactic backorder and he waited patiently for weeks to come into the store. And if you have children, I’m sure you know just how patient you have to be when you have 2 brats nagging about when the new electronics will finally be in. When the TV finally arrived, 6 weeks later, we rushed to Best Buy, which was fairly new in my town. So you can imagine we felt like the Griswalds on a family vacation to the coolest store ever to exist. When we arrived, they brought this grand (biggest we had ever seen) television out on a dolly, and when the employee set it down, it fell forward and crashed onto the floor face first. My father was devastated. They unboxed the TV and plugged it in and made sure there was no damage. But my father still felt uneasy. He also didn’t want to wait another 6 weeks for a new television. So a manager came over and made a customer for life (maybe to save embarrassment of the spectacle in the store, but nonetheless). He came over, and offered my father the same brand of television, that he had in stock. However, this television was a 35 inch, and had some cutting edge features, like picture in picture, and better cabinet speakers. This was an upgrade my father couldn’t normally afford, and the way that store manager treated him made him a loyal customer, never again to be shopped on price or any other factor. If we wanted electronics, we went to Best Buy, bottom line.
Fast forward to October 28, 2016. My daughter tells me she wants a new laptop for school, and being an artist, the Surface Pro 4 looks like a nice option for her. I go to the Microsoft store to do my research, as they have the most knowledgeable staff on this item (in my opinion), but I come to Best Buy to make my purchase. I go immediately and make my purchase so that part of my holiday shopping is done. 16 days later I get an email giving me a sneak peek at Black Friday deals, and I see Surface will be going on sale. So I take it back into the store and am advised that I cannot return it for store credit since it’s 15-day return policy had expired. So I have a little bad taste in my mouth because I have now effectively paid too much (not sure how much too much, but too much). But hey, the rules are the rules, right? I’m a fair man, and I can live with that. However, my trouble comes with the explanation. If I was a VIP member, my return policy could be 30 or even 45 days. So as I stand in front of the customer service representative, I don’t feel like the VIP my father was once treated as, because I do not spend enough money with you to be treated as one. As I jog my memory, in the last 3-4 years I have purchased
IMac
Macbook Pro
Macbook Air
Sony DSLR Camera and lenses
Samsung Television
Xbox 1
All of my office needs for work
Iphones
GoPro
Car Audio
Video games galore
If I had to make a quick estimate, thats about 10k, yet, I don’t purchase frequently enough to be treated like, or even referred to as a VIP. But again that’s fine. And hey, who wants to brave the Black Friday crowd anyway?! But then!!!! The item stays on sale beyond Black Friday, and today, December 7, is still on sale. A huge slap in the face for 1 day beyond return policy, and an even bigger slap in the face?….. anyone who bought the item for their Christmas shopping (Starting November 1) now gets until mid-January to make a return or exchange. But because I started my shopping a couple days early, I don’t get the same policy. I told the store associate it was a Christmas gift, they should have informed me of the policy changes. And after reading reviews online, seems many people aren’t aware of your 15-day return policy until it’s too late. You guys should be letting every customer who checks out know they are NOT a VIP and will not be getting the VIP treatment. Any who, over a couple hundred bucks, some pretty rigid policies, and being told I won’t be treated like a VIP since I don’t spend enough money, I’ve decided I will now make purchases at local stores, or anywhere else I will be treated with the same respect my father was shown when I was a kid. I can spend my money anywhere, and I will spend it where I’m treated like a VIP on every shopping experience, not just those warranted by how much money I spend.
Furthermore, today, before writing this letter, I wanted to express my dissatisfaction and was sent on a few different transfers to your corporate office. Where I sat on hold for 15 minutes, before the line finally disconnected. Best Buy has dropped the ball on all chances I have given you to salvage a long time relationship. Though I never expected any refund or credit, I DID expect to be heard by someone who valued my opinion. You guys clearly do not.
Happy Holidays to you and your Family. And Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Luis
