Batteries Plus — Attraction in Asheville

Very unhelpful and terrible customer service.

I ordered a new AGM battery for my 2012 VW CC (the exact same battery that was purchased and installed by guys at a Batteries+ in Tallahassee 4 years ago). When I got to the store, the guy at the counter asked what vehicle it would be going into. As he was typing it into his computer, the manager leaned over and said "we can't install batteries into a Volkswagen."

When I asked him why, he said that they cannot swap VW batteries without a large chance that the loss of power will cause the immobilizer to activate and render the car undrivable. This is completely fabricated nonsense. I have worked on several VW and Audi cars (most of them newer and with more sophisticated electronics than my 2012 CC). I had the battery in my CC out for several hours without a battery tender when I changed my DSG fluid, just a week before this incident.

Luckily I had tools in my car to change it in their parking lot. After carrying the new battery out to my car and changing it myself, the car started up perfectly and the only ill effects on the car were the loss of time and radio presets (like usual).

When bringing the old battery back toward their door, the store clerk nearly knocked me over when he opened the front door into me and awkwardly tried to take the battery from me in the open doorway. I suppose he was just trying to be nice, but the very least they could've done would've been to offer me a cart to transport the batteries or have them just carry the batteries for me. I am 24 and in decent shape, so carrying it isn't that big of an issue, but if I were much older and/or had back problems I bet they still would not have helped in the slightest.

The worst part was after the clerk had taken the old battery from me. I was really curious why the Batteries+ service had suddenly changed in regards to VW, since it had been replaced by a store in the past. I asked the manager what caused them to stop doing their free service and he would not even look at me when he spoke (which is probably one of the rudest most disrespectful things you could do to another human being).

He stared 90° away at a shelf of batteries and said they still do the free service for even newer cars but just not with VW because of liability reasons. So a brand new Nissan with a plethora of cameras, sensors, and tech features is less risky to go without power for 2 minutes than a nearly 7 year old VW where the only sophisticated systems are the heated seats and regular old cruise control? Also he said this standing in front of a battery tender on the counter. That would literally take away all liability as it would keep 12v pumping trough the entire car until the new battery gets installed.

Rude, disrespectful, and nonsensical. Avoid this place at all costs for any sort of service. Well, its probably cheaper to buy your batteries at a different...

I had a very poor experience at this location. If you don't want to read this whole thing, go to the last paragraph for the quick-and-dirty version.

I came in searching for a replacement cell phone battery, and upon showing my phone and battery to the clerk, I asked for an EXACT replacement. The clerk got me a new one right away, and all seemed well. He even gave me tips on how to get the battery to "full strength" since it wouldn't be 100% just yet from being on the shelf so long.

Unfortunately, after a several days of using the battery, I found that it didn't last anywhere near as long as my old one, even after trying all the tips the clerk gave me. I therefore assumed it was defective and brought the battery back in for a return...this was when things went poorly.

A different clerk "helped" me by acting astounded / baffled that I wanted to make a return. He asked me several times if I had followed the directions on how to reawaken a new battery, I said yes, and then after several minutes of him berating me for "probably not doing it right," he looked at the battery and realized that it indeed WASN'T the same battery I had before...the new one had a strength of 900mAh, whereas my last one was around 1000mAh. He then continued to make me feel stupid by asking why I didn't check this before I walked out of the store. At this point I just left without making a return, feeling completely humiliated and angry.

Pshew! Long story short, one sales associate sold me an incorrect battery, and then I was scoffed at and treated quite rudely upon trying to return it.

I will never return to this store, and I would recommend to all others to shop elsewhere as well if this wasn't the only specialty battery replacement...

I have been into this store a number of times over the years to buy replacement batteries for battery backups (UPS). I have been to several of their stores around the country and have always had a good experience. I went in to the store on 10/26 needing to purchase 8 batteries ($300) to replace the dead ones in my large UPS. This was a critical unit supporting network and server equipment for a medical facility. I was greeted but was told I would have to leave the unit so they could work on it later. I said that I would replace them myself since I could not wait and explained the urgency. I asked if I could borrow a screwdriver and was told no, they do not loan out tools, I was not going to leave the store with it but they still refused. That was strike two. I had to use the tool on my keychain to remove the screws to replace the batteries. I try to be pretty easy to please and work with but the staff in the store this visit were completely unhelpful. Which is completely different from my previous experiences. After this experience I doubt if I will be back. Very disappointing how difficult the staff were. I returned to my place of work, replaced the battery unit and less than an hour later we had a power event that would have taken down all of my equipment if I had waited around or did not have a leatherman tool where I could replace...