Batteries Plus — Local services in Crystal Lake

EDIT 8/6/20: I was contacted by the store management and they apologized for the experience and offered me a discount in the form of a partial refund even though I said the review wasn't negative, just a middling three stars. I took them up on the offer and was also sent a coupon via email. The store associates had a bit of difficulty figuring out how to do a partial refund but we got it close enough after about 15 minutes. I am updating my review by adding one star as they attempted to make things right even though my experience wasn't horrible but wasn't perfect. A lot of companies wouldn't do that so they will continue to have my business.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Brought an old Galaxy S6 in for a battery replacement. An older phone to be sure, but in perfect condition. Made an appointment online but ended up waiting in line at the store anyway as there was only a single person working (and doing his best.) I think the online appointment thing is just a lame attempt to space things out for the employees in the store (but it does give you a 10% coupon.)

We decided to leave the phone with the overworked gentleman and he gave us a 45 minute estimate, but I tried to extend some grace and give him some extra time telling him he can just call us when it's ready (I hope he appreciated it, I couldn't tell.) We went home to wait.

After about 90 minutes, I figured that was long enough and headed back out to the area, either the phone would be ready or we would get some dinner. I wasn't a half-mile from my house when the gentleman called and said our phone was ready. Perfect!

Picking up the phone, I noticed there was a blemish in the lower left of the front glass where the prying must have occurred to get at the sealed battery. The gentleman offered no apology which was a bit disappointing and instead said "It's only cosmetic." Technically, he is correct - it is only cosmetic, but it's also true that it is in a worse condition than when I dropped it off...cosmetically. The battery was replaced and works much better so the job I paid him to do was done well - it's just now there's a cosmetic issue on the front glass.

I know these sealed batteries and all-glass phones can be tricky which is exactly why I paid extra to have a store do it for me. I guess I expected perfect work or at least some kind of offer when the work was less than stellar - like we'll fix the glass for you or some kind of extra discount since that didn't go so well. As I said, we didn't even get a "Sorry" (and in fairness, he didn't seem like he was having a good day.)

Since it was my son's phone, I gave him the option of what he wanted to do and he didn't want to push the issue because he just wanted his phone back - I mean it's been gone a whole 90 minutes! So we paid the man and left the store. My son is happy that his battery lasts longer now but I can tell he was a bit disappointed that he accepted the...

I walked in and no one said anything to me. About 10-15 min after I walked in the man who was reading a book behind the counter said "I will be with you in just a minute." This whole time he has been reading a book and I was a tad frustrated. He then came up to me. At this point I had already taken the battery out of my cell phone and was looking for the battery myself. He demands my phone. Doesn't say anything else to me but give me your phone. I hand him my phone and he finds the battery and begins to ring me out. At this point I realize I left my wallet at home. I ask if he can take a check without an id and that I had left my wallet at home. He said yes. He began the process and I finished writing the check. I handed him the check and he asked for my id. I was so upset at this point. First I am not acknowledge at all and then he didn't even listen to my question. He did not tell me anything about my old battery or if there was anything that could be done. I still don't know what kind of battery goes into my phone. He went to the back and got who I think was the manager on duty. The man comes back out and again does not say anything to me. Just starts helping the other customer. A man comes from the back, an older gentlemen. He finished with his customer and then stands in front of me and just smiles... At this point I have had enough! I tell him all they had to do was say they couldn't take it from the start. I would have been happy to drive home this was my fault I did not have my wallet but the service at this point has been terrible. I drive home and come back with my wallet. I told them to hold the battery that I would be right back and when I got back into the store they had put the battery away. So he had to find it again. How frustrating. At this point I was an irate customer and instead of giving me customer service they became ruder. I expressed how I did not know if it was the battery that was the problem or the phone and that not one of my questions could even be asked because the man was reading a book. The manager picks up the battery looks at it for two seconds throws it on the counter and says yea it's the battery and walks away. I have worked retail for a long time and am even a manager at my store. I have never in my life experience such bad customer service. I will forever just order all my batteries through a website or through best buy. It may take weeks before I get the battery but at least I will have great customer service and my business will be appreciated. I will never go to a battery plus again especially this location. I already told my friends and family of my experience. I am sure they will not conduct business...

These guys don't know what they're doing when working with mobile phones. I brought my son's iPhone 6s in to have the charging port repaired. When I came to pick it up, the guy told me how much it cost and then said that they ruined the phone in the process of installing the new charging port. I said you want me to pay you for ruining the phone? Yes, he did. So I said I needed to talk to the manager. He, of course, said there would be no charge and they'd replace the phone. So they replaced it with an iPhone 6 that had far less storage than our previous phone. So I had to work with them to get them to replace it with a 6s with the right storage. That was a pain.

At the same time, I explained that my Samsung Note5 took a hit and the camera took bad pics. They ordered a new lens and replaced it, but the problem was still there. Apparently the problem was the camera and not the lens, and they just had me pay for the lens for nothing. They also said they had to replace the back of my camera because there was a small crack in it. They replaced it with a back of a completely different color. And within a week, it was filled with cracks. I had had the Note5 at least two years with no cracks, and now I had cracks galore.

When I took the phone in for repair at ubreakifix, the technician there asked why the camera lens was in the wrong way. Apparently when Batteries Plus replaced my camera lens, they put it in upside down. Sweet.

I wish I could give less than 1 star. Wish I could give...