Best Buy — Local services in Alexandria

Please see email below sent on September 30, 2018. Nobody will respond. I have also called and spoken with customer care and various other staff from Best Buy. I would appreciate a response.

Dear Mr. Geoff Bishop,

I am writing you to inform you of my great disappointment with Best Buy and your salesperson at the Best Buy Potomac Yard store in Alexandria, Virginia.

I went into the store on May 18, 2018 looking to purchase a new camera for my business. Your salesperson, Mushfiq Zaman, was assisting me with my decision of what camera to purchase. After making my choice and not knowing if it would work for me in my business, Mushfiq Zaman informed me that if I purchased the extended warranty and was not satisfied with the camera that I could exchange the camera for a new/different one of equal value and that I could do that for up to two years. I found that hard to believe but he mentioned it again so I called my husband and informed him of what Mushfiq Zaman had told me. My husband was surprised but I spoke to him in front of Mr. Zaman. Mr. Zaman stated the same thing once again as I was on the phone with my husband. I normally don’t purchase extended warranties because our American Express card has an excellent extended warranty. The only reason I purchased Best Buy’s extended warranty was because of what Mr. Zaman stated to me.

I went into the same Best Buy this morning, September 30, 2018 and spoke with Darian Houdock who is a Lifestyles Team Leader. I explained my situation and that this camera does not work for me and I explained what Mr. Zaman told me. Mr. Houdock informed me that this was not the case. He phoned Mr. Zaman who told him that he never told me that, which is a completely inaccurate on Mr. Zaman’s part. I believe Mr. Zaman sold me the extended warranty under false pretenses to get me to purchase the camera and the extended warranty because as I stated before, I would not need an extended warranty when I have a perfectly good one with my American Express card. I really do not appreciate your salesperson’s and Best Buy’s deceptive sales practices in order to gain a sale. I would really appreciate a phone call back ASAP in regards to this matter because at this point, I would just like a complete refund for the camera and the price of the extended warranty. I was informed that you/corporate office could assist me with this.

I am very disappointed with Best Buy and the deceptive sales practices of Mushfiq Zaman.

Julie Pearson

Dear Jen, Let me clarify my visit to Best Buy. I would not have purchased this camera had I not been able to replace it with another camera. I was not sure it would work for me. This camera was to be used for my business. And I, specifically, told Mushifiq that I need something that would work indoors while shooting toward windows. This is when he mentioned the warranty that if I purchased it, I could return it for another within 2 years. He said this was something new. So, I called my husband and Mushifiq repeated the same thing and so my husband said ok go ahead and purchase it. What Mushifiq told me was completely false as we learned on September 30, 2018 from Darian. There was nothing said about Geek Squad Protection. It was a 2 year warranty that I could use to exchange the camera for another. This is exactly how he presented it!

This camera does not work for me or my business. I would like to return the camera for a refund along with the warranty as I was misled. Can you please give me the information for your headquarters? I would like to contact somebody there.

It is too bad that nobody returned my emails or calls and that we are going back and forth like...

I purchased two 43" Samsung TV's. Totaling over $600 in revenue. I received one in great condition, beautiful TV. The other TV I picked up curbside- upon unboxing, after following all instructions- using two people, laying flat, etc, the TV was COMPLETELY shattered. About 1/4 of the screen even turning on. I returned to the store the very next day and conveyed my concerns and requested a return. The associate said I would have to wait for them to inspect the box and I cordially agreed and allowed. I did nothing wrong so I figured it would be fine- but I had read horror stories about this location so I was getting a little uneasy. Nonetheless I waited about 20 minutes and a different gentleman came out- apparently the General Manager, Geoffrey Bishop. I work in the hotel industry as a manager myself- this was some of the WORST customer service I had ever experienced. He told me that I had damaged the TV MYSELF. Do you think if I had damaged the TV that I would even attempt to bring it back? I explained that I had just bought 2 TVs from him and all he could say was "we can't accept return of damaged goods". I understand BB's policy on damaged items, BUT the manager has complete discretion on doing the RIGHT thing. He could've offered me an exchange, discount, credit. ANYTHING. But the man did no such thing and did not even apologize nor pay any sympathy. I had just purchased 2 pricey items, and nothing. I conveyed this to him and he almost just shrugged his shoulders and then proceeded to tell me my TV was worth nothing and asked me if I wanted it back or not. Needless to say, myself and my family certainly will never be shopping here again. And to everyone else- make sure to have them unbox them and test them in front of you. Update as of 7/1: I had called customer service the day after pickup, and they informed me that I had a right to return the item. So I did via UPS. The first woman I spoke to was lovely and ensured me I would have a refund. The second man about a week later (I was checking on the status) told me they would have to inspect it again and then decide if I would receive a refund. He stated if I didn't hear from them 15 days from the delivered UPS date, I would receive a refund. That turned out to be the case today. Regardless, I did receive a refund, just be prepared to...

We bought a television from a Best Buy in Salisbury, MD. It was a Christmas present for our daughter, who lives in Alexandria, VA. When we set up the television on Christmas Day, we discovered that it was not working properly. When we took it to this Best Buy location for an even exchange, two associates informed us that they did not “think” they could honor our request due to an inventory issue because it was bought at another location. They never checked with the store manager and turned us away. As we were about to leave, couple came in with a tv that was malfunctioning. They had bought theirs at another location also. The tv wasn’t even in a box. Ours was in the original package. One of the same associates assisted them with loading it on a cart and taking it into the store. When we returned home to Salisbury, MD and returned the tv the store we purchased it from, we told the associate what we had experienced in VA, he informed us that they should have honored our request for an exchange and used the universal store code for inventory purposes. We have been loyal customers of Best Buy for many years and will continue to be for many more. However, we will never spend our hard earned money at this location due to the lack inequality of treatment that we received. One final note that I intentionally failed to mention until the end is that we are African American and the other customers were not. I hope that it was not a factor but one can’t help but to consider, once all other factors have been eliminated. Due their actions, our daughter did not receive her Christmas gift and now we have to make another and unnecessary trip to Virginia at a later day. Thanks to our Salisbury store, we have confirmation of how we should have been taken of at the Alexandria location. We knew the process at the time but we did not want to cause a scene in the store. The least they could have done was let us talk to the manager instead of acting on what they “thought”. Perhaps more training is in order. Thank you...