I finally received the Best Buy gift card on Thursday, after a hard-fought struggle with customer service. Although I didn’t have the card in time to give to my cousins, I sneakily gave them the gift card that my sister sent JG for his birthday (in the exact same amount) so that they would have something to open on Christmas Day. When the replacement card came in yesterday, I simply passed it on to JG.
During the whole debacle with Best Buy, it was nice knowing that I had a contingency plan, but I felt even better when I finished writing and proofing a scathing letter of feedback. I started off with the only positive comments I could offer (polite representatives and an intuitive phone system) before dishing out a timeline of my shopping experience and all of the factors that led me to the decision not to grace them with my business. I used every persuasive tactic in my toolbox, including this slam-bam conclusion:
It is with this experience in mind that I have decided not to patronize Best Buy in the future. I will not deal with a company that will not advocate for me when I am clearly not at fault. I will not deal with a company that does not have the means to accommodate a busy shopping period. I will not deal with a company that will ask its representatives to make promises about delivery times and supervisor calls that are unreasonable or not kept, or both. I will not deal with a company that is satisfied with providing mediocre — even inferior — customer service because there is a strong belief that losing an individual customer will not make a significant impact on the bottom line, despite a spoiled reputation. My interactions are an indicator of an unreliable vendor that no longer has the credibility to warrant my patronage. If I had received my gift card within the 7-10 business days, I might have bought other items from Best Buy. If I had even received a replacement gift card after the first phone call, I might have returned as a customer. However, my experience of frustrating phone calls, waiting on hold, and lack of follow-up by Best Buy staff has compelled me to take my business elsewhere.
By tomorrow, the letter will have been submitted to Best Buy’s online customer service, sent to their corporate headquarters, and e-mailed to IHateBestBuy.com. Even if my letter gets tossed into some corporate vat of paper, writing it out was cathartic for me, so I’m glad I did it. Situations like these make me glad I took those rhetoric classes in college. Booyah.
4 comments
Go you. I am a big fan of writing letters to companies who piss me off, both for the personal catharsis and for the off-chance that they might actually do something to rectify the situation. But usually, they just send me a coupon for a future purchase, which is sort of funny when my letter clearly states that I will never do business with them again. Idiots.
Seriously. If I got a response like that, I think I’d just pass it on to someone who would use it. JG has agreed to join me in my boycott — good man.
My mother also swore off shopping at Best Buy because of a different, but equally poorly handled, issue. She also wrote them a scathing letter of feedback, listing out all the expensive electronics that she planned to buy in the next year that she would now not be purchasing at Best Buy. She never heard back. She has not darkened their doors since. It makes her feel better.
I don’t have any hopes of getting a response, but I am with your mom. I won’t buy from them again, and the thought does make me feel better.
In the letter I wrote, I made sure to point out that while losing my business might not make them sad…they will be upset to lost my dad’s business. He used to spent a good deal of money at Best Buy since he owns his own company….lots of computers, printers, etc. Not to mention that he just loves to buy electronics like any good American male. He canceled his credit card and will no longer be shopping at Best Buy. What a good dad.
Good for your dad! I know that losing my business won’t be a big deal, but I would hope that losing credibility in them as a whole would at least make someone pause and think. Who knows?
I’m glad you had a contingency plan, because it would have been HORRID had you not. I am seriously surprised that such a large US company would take such little stock in their customers. Doesn’t seem right!
Believe me, before that birthday gift card arrived in the mail, I had NO plan, but JG was nice enough to let me borrow it for the emergency.
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