Best Buy - Headquarters — Local services in Richfield

I can understand clearly from experience why Best Buy Corporate has an overall rating of "2" based on almost 2,000 reviews which is a "horrible" rating for a company of their size as Best Buy should be very well experienced in providing the best level of service to its customers by now. To be completely honest, I think my rating of "1" is a very generous rating based on my experiences with Best Buy Corporate, the Best Buy Executive Resolution Specialists, the Geek Squad Team in the South Region of Atlanta as well as the lack of assistance that I have received after writing the CEO, Corie Barry, twice regarding my concerns that have been ongoing since May 2023 (Letters to CEO dated: June 7, 2023 and July 28, 2023). Today is August 28, 2023 and my concerns were still never appropriately addressed nor resolved by the Executive Resolution Team (Lisa nor Kadian). The second person (Kadian) assigned from the executive resolution team who reached out to me stated for almost two weeks that she was "researching" things to figure out what can be done. Because of her lack of urgency and inability to help, I resorted to going into various Best Buy stores (once again) in my area trying to get help from the General Managers in market and the only person that was able to help me at all once again was Mark Matthews in the Douglasville store- he gets a 5 star rating. Everyone else -Corie Barry, Lisa and Kadian on the Corporate Executive team, the South Geek Squad Team in the Atlanta South all get "0" ratings with the exception of the new manager on the team (Eric) who finally reached out to me last week to finally get a technician out to my home to finish the incomplete installation which was done as a result of my own efforts in collaborating with General Manager Mark Matthews to resolve my own issues as the Executive Resolution Team was of no help. It was only after I orchestrated my own appointment escalation last week that I finally heard back from Kadian "after" I worked to get another technician out to my home last Sat and had already spoken to two Geek Squad Managers to coordinate a reschedule of the installation along with the General Manager, Mark in Douglasville. Kadian had not reached out to any of these people. I knew because I was speaking to them directly and they all stated they had not been contacted by her although she had notes in my case that I'd been working with these leaders trying to get help. Problems with Geek Squad Appointments: Believe it or not, the last tech used electrical tape to set up a sound bar and the rescheduled appointment that Mark Matthews (GM) helped me to get in place with his Geek Squad Manager, Tim, was with the same South Team was also a "no show" for my last Geek Squad Appointment. This person name was Ashton. The Geek Squad Technician (Bradley) who came out prior to this "no show" appointment told me that the electrical tape on my soundbar looked "just fine" to him as he smiled as if it was a joke. He snapped pictures of my soundbar and told me to call the store and get another new TV- knowing that the TV that I had was just was newly installed by Best Buy. Sad to say, I spent $200 for the Total Tech Service which was to include the price for the installs of the new TV and sound bar which was done unprofessionally (tape). To add to my already bad situation, Lisa on the executive escalation team was aware of all my bad experiences with the South Geek Squad Team over several weeks which has now turned into several months including this "no show" appointment yet she was not willing nor able to get me any other Geek Squad Technician out to my home. To further insult me she actually did set up an appointment on July 26 2023 (after the fact) without informing me nor without my permission on a day I was not available nor home and had no explanation why she would set up an appointment without me knowing with the same technician that was previously a "no show" coincidentally. Bottom Line: I want a FULL REFUND of my Total Tech Service as no customer should have to endure this....

Last Thursday I scheduled to go into my local store, where I purchased my phone with the Geek Squad insurance that is expiring at the end of the month, because the battery on the phone had been swelling, thinking they would make the repair onsite. A Geek Squad Member come over to where I was told to wait to find out why I was coming in for and types it in at the computer then says someone will come to assist me. Finally the Geek Squad Member who assists me comes over and asks why I was there then immediately puts in the claim for the phone stating that Samsung refuses to allow them to work on their products and instead sends out replacement products. Then they charge me $164.24 and states that I would be getting a email with the tracking information, the phone would arrive Saturday, Monday at the latest since they weren't sure if Sunday counted as a business day, and instructions for when the replacement arrives how to send back the old phone. On Saturday I finally reached out on customer service chat since still hadn't received any email and I was connected to 2 agents in order to get the tracking information and was told that the email would be arriving in 24hrs. No email ever came in from Best Buy. After the phone arrived I started the process of transferring everything over and charging the phone since it had arrived almost dead, part way through I noticed that the back was starting to separate so went back to my local store without a appointment and told them and said I figure it is from the heat so just think they should need to apply some adhesive to reattach the back. They instead file another claim to have the phone replaced and said the return period on the first return will be placed on hold until the next phone arrives then I would be sending both phones back, again claiming that it will arrive in 1-2 business days and a email would be sent out, so I informed them that no email was sent the first time and they gave me a phone number to their Express Replacement department incase it happened again. Well today, Thursday, I still hadn't received anything so attempted to go through the customer service chat and they just said to call their customer service line because that number would have the information but when I called the POS automated system couldn't find even the reference number the customer service person gave me so I let them know and they asked for more information about what happened at the store, then the system closed the chat before I could send a reply. Customer Service automated system denies connecting you to a live person so I looked around the paperwork from Monday and found the phone number given to me at the store. Once connected to the correct department they informed me that the replacement order had been canceled the same day it was placed (strangely I was still seeing it listed through the best buy app on my account the next day still) so they refiled for a replacement even though I explained to them what happened and informed me that the original phone's return period had not been paused so I needed to hurry and ship it back to avoid being charged for the phone. Then they sent me a email asking for Credit Card information to complete the order saying no charge unless I don't return the phone it is replacing, said that in 24hrs I would get the email to track the phone and that it will arrive in 1-2 business days. I have also realized that the phones are not being sent by Samsung but by a Best Buy repair central hub since during the transferring phase the phone popped up with a BB model phone ID with my phone service provider, certain Service Provider apps are now stating the device isn't supported even though the claim stated the replacement phone was suppose to be carrier designated. If this next replacement isn't correct I'm going to be even more pissed since I'm missing work every day I'm trying to get to the bottom of the replacements for a repair that even on Best Buys site states should take only about 1hr under warranty and I will have been waiting...

I am writing to say goodbye to a once-great company, Best Buy...or maybe I should say Best "bye." I say this not to be mean, but rather to summarize their future because, trust me on this, they will likely not be around much longer. Now I do not relish their demise, and am actually sad to see them go, but it is clear that their time in our highly competitive service-based economy is all but up. So why is this inevitable tragedy awaiting such a great icon of American initiative, value, and convenience? It is simple...they don't like you. To be more specific, they don't like any of us!

At one point they were hungry for us. They courted our attention by offering us something truly special. They built a brand that was synonymous with quality, value, selection, and convenience. Best Buy was a fun place to go whether you were buying a fancy laptop or just looking for a new phone case. But alas, in the words of the late great George Harrison, "all things must pass."

No doubt times have been hard. Amazonians have attacked head-on from the North, while Gen Z has shown a greater affinity for iPhones and Tik Tok than TVs. Lots of companies have faced this same threat however, and some have adapted and figured out how to survive, but clearly Best Buy is content to die while pushing away the very thing they need to survive...us!

Unfortunately, in their fiscal struggle against the marauding retail Huns, Best Buy has made an existential error. They have alienated their customers. This was made evident to me when I purchased a new universal remote this past Tuesday in Las Vegas. After spending over $1,100 with Magnolia and signing up for Geek Squad installation and set up support, I was immediately orphaned. They did not call me to set up a time window as the tech "designer" said they would, they did not show up in the 12-hour window they generously apportioned themselves, and when I tried to call, they refused to speak to me. Simply not talking to me was clearly not good enough for them, however. They disliked me so much they shipped me first to Indonesia and then to Brazil. Clearly Best Buy wanted me as far away as possible. They had my money, they did not like me, they were not interested in providing me the service I paid for, so they made it clear that they wanted me gone. After wasting an hour on the phone island hopping through the Indian Ocean, I was finally told by a pleasant Somalian that it's Best Buy's policy not to speak directly to their customers! Good luck getting ahold of the store that just ripped you off and wasted your day on the phone. They would strand you on Easter Island if they could.

So, I went to the store this evening and received a full refund for my ill-fated $1,100 purchase. I also took the opportunity to politely tell the store manager my story. After just a few words however, it was clear that she personified the new "we don't like people" brand Best Buy is building. She could not give me my money back and get me out of her store fast enough, and at no point in our brief conversation did she - ever - ask how Best Buy could make things right. You see, if you're buying something, they want you to pay and leave quickly. If you are returning something, or have a service issue, they just want you to...well...leave.

So, Best Buy is dying because they have decided that they cannot survive - and - like their customers. The flaw in their logic is that their pesky troublesome customers have - all - the money, and they have not figured out that you can't have one without the other. Even state school graduates, like me, understand this basic fact. So, join me in a reluctant farewell to Best Buy. Sadly, it’s probably...