As I mentioned in the last post, we have taken many actions to improve the Best Buy store experience as we strongly believe that our people both in the store and on the phone are our Silver Bullets towards winning more than our fair share of consumer demand going forward. We believe our most important decisions were to re-engineer our culture and incentive structure to enable better store level decision making and to invest more heavily in store labor. While we still have much to improve, our consumer satisfaction data suggests it is making a difference in the consumer experience. I am however, interested in your opinions as to how well you think we are doing in serving consumers.
Barry Judge // Updates from the CMO of Best Buy
As a public relations professional and a proud ex-BBY employee who wore his best buy blues for two years, I can say that the most important thing to a customer are trust and honesty.
Unfortunately, many associates fly under the flag of “bullshitting” and are not properly trained. Unlike their Best Buy Mobile reps, the regular crew do not have the opportunity of going through a week’s worth of specialized training. They are thrown onto the floor only to be guided by the supervisor’s own training techniques. This would lend to inadequate training and failed to uphold Best Buy’s high standards of customer service.
When I went through my week-long BBY Mobile training, I felt that I was able to confidently tell customers what they need to know. We were taught how to deal with customers including when we do not know the answer.
This is a fresh breeze for customers who have ever been lied to by ill-informed employees who are afraid to admit their lack of knowledge. If all BBY employees were trained to be honest about how much they know as well as understanding how to gain trust through sales, then consumer experiences would climb exponentially and not just in BBY Mobile stores.
Hi Barry- I was recently a customer of the Geek Squad. If you are truely looking to improve customer service they would be a nice place to start. Perhaps not all of them but most certainly the store in Clackamas, Oregon on 82nd Avenue. Errors can happen and I am fully aware that is a part of life but the series of events related to my ONE (and last) service w/ these folks made it absurd at BEST. I dropped off a black and silver Dell DimensionE510 due to a virus (noted on orig. Best paperwork as No visible damages). I picked up a WHITE and silver Dell with visible scrapes and scuffs. I was told by 4 people that this model only comes in White. They showed me a picture on the internet. I asked them to call Dell and they gave me the 800 number and said I could call. Dell says this model comes in BLACK, silver, and white. I am pretty sure I know what my computer looks like. I paid $30 to have them install 2 anti V programs. They did (at least) one incorrectly. I was told to call the anti V folks at the 1-800 number noted on the product (there was none) and fix it on my own. One anti V program showed a Antivirus 2008 Adware w/ a high alert. Jayson King at Best said to KEEP IT…it was NOT virus…I made it clear to him that it did not appear to be the same program he installed and he insisted it was and said again, KEEP IT…then I called webroot and asked them and they said it was the latest Trojan and to GET RID OF IT! I opted for the type of service that would NOT change my setting on my programs. I work from home and this is very important. I was assured that would not happen. After I took my WHITE dinged up computer home, I had to spend hours on the phone with IT techs to get things reset so I could do my job. These are just a few of the things that happened. One gentleman was very kind – he noted the dispute on my paperwork – his initials are J.D.T I believe. The rest of the folks were asses in my opinion and extremely undertrained in both professional customer service as well as knowing their product which I believe is imperative to good customer service. Jayson had given me his card and when I called to ask a question and the person answering the phone told him my name his reply was “oh yah…it’s HER”…other folks I talked with on the phone were extremely uninformed and not helpful in general. Twice the phone just rang and rang…at least answer and put the customer on hold.
WHAT GIVES?? I told a co-worker of this and he said he had the same experience as far as lack of customer service and he took his computer to someone else and paid half the price he was quoted by Best. Others have said the same thing. Like I said, mistakes do happen in life. We are human. But all of this was a bunch of (costly and stressful) balony. The gentleman that was nice said I deserved compensation (and that was prior to all the other things that happened) due to my dinged up WHITE computer. I just want to warn ANYone out there in Portland Oregon to beware.
Kate
I am truly sorry you had such a bad experience with us. I wish there was something we could do to make this up to you. I would love to get your email address so we could correspond further if that works for you.
Oh my gosh…you DO keep track…I am impressed to say the least…I did not expect a reply…let alone so soon…I was just checking to see that my post made it to your sight to warn other P-landers of my experience. I have left my email addy under the “Leave a reply” heading “Mail”…I had thought I did so with my prior comment. Perhaps not.
You know, I really have to say, this is not about a switched computer tower cover….no one will see it except me really…it is about a series of events due to one visit that made me realize I needed to write the letter I did…and when I read another entry to your sight from a person that worked for the “Mobile” Geek Squad I was really inspired to write. As he wrote it, the Mobile Geeks got training and the instore Geeks got little to none or as this person put it -
Unfortunately, many associates fly under the flag of “bullshitting” and are not properly trained.
That was my experience in more ways than one and I appreciate you checking the sight and your willingness to work with me on this. I will keep the rest of the Portland folks up on what happens.
Thank you-
Kathy
Just sent the following email to BB’s customer service describing a particularly bad customer service experience at a Best Buy store in NY relating to a service plan/warranty I purchased in 2006:
I bought a Gateway computer in summer of 2006. Purchase the best buy 3 year service plan with it. My hard drive recently crashed. I called Latoya, she was very helpful. Told me I could take it to a store and have the drive replaced. I was considering upgrading the replacement drive to a larger size, and asked her if since the plan covers a new drive replacement, could I pay the difference between the cost of the replacement and the cost of the drive I wanted. She said no problem, happens all the time. Called the store I purchased from (44th St. and 5th Ave in New York, NY), the person I spoke to (I regret that I did not get his name) confirmed the same.
That weekend, I packed the computer up, with all documentation, went to the store, waited on line, etc. and told the geek squad technician what I wanted to do. His name was Marcus at the 44th and 5th Ave store in NYC. He absolutely refused, saying it was impossible, he never heard of it, and I was given the wrong answer by two people. He didn’t care that I pre-cleared with customer service or that I called before-hand. Please note – he did not say “we get that request all the time, and we’re just not allowed to do it.” He simply “never heard of it.” I guess Marcus knows all there is to know about the business of Best Buy. If he has never heard of it, it must be the case that it never happens. He was completely nasty and rude. 2 hours of my weekend completely wasted.
I would have spent an additional $200 for a hard drive for best buy to replace what it was obligated to replace already and not charge me. Marcus lost that sale for the company. I purchased the drive I wanted from newegg.com (for $70 cheaper than I would have paid at best buy), and I also upgraded the RAM to quadruple speed for another $150+. Another lost sale.
I am also looking to buy the new 55″ Samsung LCD TV in the next week or so. It lists at $5,000. Had planned to order from Best Buy because they were local prior to this incident. That will not happen. Their loss is Amazon’s gain.
Classic example of routine “policy” taking priority over the opportunity to do business. Marcus insisted that he only do that which would have cost your company $200 instead of making an immediate $200 sale and as a result, cost your company an additional $6,000 in lost near-term future business from me. Employees like Marcus do not care about whether the company makes a sale or not. They cost their companies money. (In his defense, it was 4:50 and he was leaving at 5, so I can understand why he wouldn’t want to have to put in any effort/thought/etc.)
Best Buy refused to honor its service plan. I want the money I paid for the plan refunded to me.
Well it seems time for a re-vamp of what has been going on. I wish you the best…no pun intended at all…Barry please get in touch with me or let me know why you will not or cannot….I do believe you shall connect with me at some point so no worries there…but the latest entry had reason for pause…this seems to be the reality on one coast and now yet another…ITT service is HUGE and ever growing…I would focus on that as a way to geneate honest satisfied customers.
I am hoping you had a great day off at the beach (down on the boardddwalllk) and I mean that sincerely and hope you recall the song so we are on the same page
Kathy
Russell…sorry you had such a bad experience…clearly we two are not in the minority from what I hear…did you read the first and second posting of this particular site?? One is from an ex worker at BEST who really loved it…but he clearly illustrated the difference from dealing with a “mobile” trained staff and dealing with the “untrained” VERY RUDE people instore…there needs to be a fix for sure for them to even claim “web geek” as a title…..so you keep on keepin on and I shall do the same…it is so frustrating to realize no matter what you say there is this team of folks staring at you saying no no no and not even “have a nice day”…they soaked me for 300 bucks..well 299.99 but the invoice is in question as what I was quoted is what I paid but what they entered in for service was not correct…lets just say I think someone is coming out ahead there…whatever…I don’t own the biz but at least GIVE me what I am paying for! I am sending you a calming bev/cocktail on the east coast…it is so frustating…
Kathy:
Someone from our Customer Care group was going to try to reach out to you today but I guess has not based upon your reply. I guess I will send you an email as I would like to better understand your problem. And I do not understand the Boardwalk reference. Sorry about the problem.
Russell:
Thank you for sharing the feedback on your experience with us. By you taking the time to do this hopefully we can improve the experience for the next people that visit us.
I have forwarded your issue to Christopher Sipprell in Customer Care. He will contact you today via email in order to better understand the issue you have experienced.
I will follow up with Chris today to see what has transpired. In addition, I look forward to hearing back from you on either the blog or my email address which I will send to you.
This post to twofold – first I want to thank Michael Arrighi, Barry Judge and Chris Sipprell for taking the time to look into my frustrating situation with Best Buy. This included numerous emails and phone tag. Bottom line is that even though my experience at Best Buy was a frustrating one, it was most definately followed up on and I very much appreciate all of the effort.
Second, I would like to let anyone out there reading this to know that Best Buy DOES stand behind their product and work with regards to offering top quality customer service. I am proof of that.
Thanks to you three once more-
Kathy
Hi Barry – great blog! I’d love to know who you’re working with on the brand equity testing side of things, and the Mall of America trials.
Thanks your message has very much helped me:)
Hi Barry:
I have similar feelings to Kathy, who posted a response to your comments on customer service.
I don’t understand how Best Buy can claim to be interested in insuring that customers have a positive experience in the store and on the phone. When you call in to Best Buy, you are immediately greeted by a series of recordings that are frustrating to say the least. When you finally talk to a live person, they can’t answer your questions, or communicate directly with a department that can answer your questions. Service Reps can’t give you a phone number to call directly to the Replacement Department, or any other department. Every request takes 3-5 days to process.
I am currently in the midst of trying to get a replacement for a Dynex TV that I purchased in November 2007. The TV died in mid-September 2008. A tech came to my home initially on September 30 to check the TV. He never opened the back of the set to see what was wrong. He instead ordered a part. When the part arrived, it did not to solve the problem. The tech ordered another part. This time Best Buy sent the wrong part. He came out to my house anyway to see if it would work. It did not work. So he ordered another part. He came out to my house last week and spent two hours trying to repair the broken set. It did not work.
The tech then told me he would put in a request for a replacement. I called this morning and after 15 minutes of bouncing from one department to the next, I found out that he submitted the request, but no one could tell me if it was approved. They told me to call back later in the evening to find out the status. I did that tonight, but again no one could tell me what was going on. I work in customer service, so I know how things should work. This entire experience has left me completely baffled. Why would a company compartmentalize its structure to such an extent that one department can’t talk to another? Why is that regardless of whom I speak with when I call, no one, from the supervisor down, can answer a question, or make a decision that might preserve a good customer relationship?
After this singularly frustrating experience, I will never purchase another major piece of equipment from Best Buy. I am heading into the second month without a working television. This is something that could have and should have been resolved in two weeks!
I purchased a SONY Bravia 32″ HDTV on 11/8 from Best Buy Manhattan Beach. After the transaction was completed, I was told by Best Buy personnel that if I attended the Reward Zone Program Private Shopping Event the following night and brought in my receipt, I could receive an adjustment for the additional points I would have received had I made my purchase at the event. I arrived at the event (Hawthorne) the following evening and was told that returns and adjustments were not being conducted during that time but that I could purchase the same tv that night to get the extra points, and return the tv purchased on 11/8. I was also told by Best Buy employees that they had not been informed about the “no returns” policy until a few hours before the event had started that night 11/9. I called Premier Silver customer service on 11/9 about my issue with personnel not honoring what I was told by Best Buy employees on 11/8. I was informed by the service agent that I could have easily called the member services number on the back of my card to double check or confirm Best Buy policies. He said if I doubted anything I was being told by a Best Buy employee that I should always call in for confirmation. I am not an employee of Best Buy. Why do I need to second guess or double check policies that are being communicated to me by the people that work there? I was under the impression that this upgrade to the program was supposed to be a positive experience, but it has actually turned out to be a waste of time and energy. Also, I have recently found out that many of my recent purchases with Best Buy are priced less on bestbuy.com. I have been informed that Best Buy will honor the online price if I physically bring in the receipt for a price adjustment. The home page on bestbuy.com states “Shop Best Buy with Confidence.” How does someone shop with confidence when it seems that the corporate office and retail locations aren’t on the same page about their own policies?
Why did my comment about my Best Buy/Geek Squad experience get removed? If you removed all negative comments I would understand, and frankly, wouldn’t be surprised. But why remove mine when there are other comments about bad customer service experiences? I’m truly baffled, because at first glance, you seemed to welcome honest feedback. This is almost more disappointing than the horrible customer service I received.
I consider the Samsung LN46A650 to be one of the best in the Samsung LCD HDTV product line.
Barry! ………………..A little thinking out of the square maybe but a burned DVD with the customers snapshot holding there own hardware(Laptop-Tower-xxxxx) with a HDD “Snapshot” of all there current setting to take away with them as part of there receipt/paper work might be a nice touch fixing several posts I’ve just read .Easy to setup in house to boot. Also your warranty plan could be supplied with a remote log in service (Set up on activation of customer support) “discount” if the customer agrees…. potently saving costly service calls which can now be done remotely even a password change by the customer to be retained in case of a remote service request could be phoned through with the request for support. Cheers! Aussie Allan
[...] to remedy those situations. What makes this even more appalling is this little blurb I found on Best Buy CMO Barry Judge’s blog: we have taken many actions to improve the Best Buy store experience as we strongly believe that [...]
Dear Barry,
I, like many customers have recently spent what I consider to be considerable money at Best Buy. I actually enjoyed going into the store walking around looking at new gadgets and the like. I just purchased the new MacBook Pro and though it was more than I have ever paid before, I am happy. I went to look for a printer because my current printer, a Lexmark, is not compatible with my Mac. I am not upset, even though I was assured at the store that it would be compatible. I decided I would keep the Mac and buy a printer. I could not decide on which printer and so while at the store I also decided to look at DVD/VHS recorders. I actually ended up buying the recorder, but the one I wanted was out of stock so I paid for it and they said it would be in within a week or so. A week went by and I was wondering why I had not received a call yet. I worked several nights in a row late at work and happened to check calls I had received on my home phone. I had received a call during the day from BBY but no message was left. A couple more days went by and I thought I will just go in and see whats up. The weekend went by and I decided I better get to the store to pick up my purchase. I went to the CS desk with receipt in hand. The young girl who waited on me pressed all kind of keys for about what seemed like 10 minutes. Oh yes, she also asked for my drivers license, which did anoy me, since I had my receipt(s). I said something like who else would come in and pick up with a receipt, and she said “oh you would be surprised.” Finally she handed me back my receipt and looked right at me and told me I had already been in and picked up my purchase. Ironic isn’t it? I said, no I have not, and since you asked to see my drivers license you should have a record of what identification was shown. To which she replied, “no, we don’t record anything we just ask to see ID.” Okay, lets see now, you are now telling me that I have picked up the item and thats it! First, I did not pick up the item, Second, I would like to speak with a manager. I guess everyone must have been REALLY busy because no one could come and talk to me. She pointed to the chairs and asked me to go sit down and said that “the manager is researching this.” Because I have been in the store so many times I recognized at least two managers standing in the aisle talking and laughing in front of where the computers are. While waiting several other CS either out of curiosity or boredom took my receipt and pressed buttons on the computer as well. With patience exhausted, as well as having a terrible cold, I walked over to one of the managers and gave her the short version of this story. By then the same employee walked over and announced “your DVD/VHS has been returned to stock and is not available, you will have to reorder or we will refund your money.” I asked when did this “return to stock” take place? Ironically it was just this morning (time approximate 2pm-ish) and for good measure she told me I had been called NUMEROUS TIMES! Well of course this naturally taught me the following lessons. 1. Never purchase from Best Buy again. A little extreme maybe, but how often are you told that you have lied, attempted to cheat and or steal from a store that cares so little as to whether you purchase anything from them. AND! So willing to let me walk out so obviously unhappy. Shame on you!!!!!!! P.S. By all means publish my email.
[...] Best Buy’s consumer experience [...]
I will say something about my recent buying experience at a BB in Avon Indiana.
After picking out a new computer the sales person tried desperately to upsell a full size, multi-copy page list of stuff to me with warranties and Geek Squad services and the like. He even mentioned that the touch screen doesn’t have a warranty and I thought to myself maybe I shouldn’t even buy this unit. I told him my credit cards will double the original warranty and I sorry but I was in a hurry (true) and I didn’t want to buy a lot of extra stuff. With that he asked me to sign at the bottom of this multi-page form that I was declining the options and services although I was uneasy about signing something that I had not had a chance to thoroughly read I did it anyway just so I could be on my way. I asked him if I was to carry the computer to the check out lane and he said that he would. He took the multi-page document and put it in a Geek Squad folder and took the computer not to the checkout lane but to the GS counter and sat it on the floor and placed the folder on top. With that he walked away without saying anything else.
There were other people waiting at the GS counter and they appeared be discussing “how this works” issues and another person was picking up a repaired item and so forth. I just wanted to pay my $1070 for the computer and be on my way. I waited for about 10 minutes and during this time I watched other customers going through the stores normal checkout lanes.
I finally approached someone at another counter at the GS section and asked if I could just take the computer to the main checkout lane and she said no. I think she sensed that I was almost ready to just leave and so she said she would do the check out for me but the attitude I detected was like she was doing me a big favor.
Maybe going through the GS is good for some people but that should be an option for those who just want to make the purchase without a lot of discussion.
I could have saved maybe $100 by making this purchase online but I try to keep the money in the neighborhood whenever possible but with the experience at this store I will probably just try avoid another frustrating experience.
By the way, the computer I purchased is a great product.
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