Best Buy's Customer Service is a Joke

When attending a business school, one naturally expects to learn a few things about customer service. One of my teachers related to my class a tale involving the clothing retail giant Nordstrom's accepting the return and refunding the purchase of a used car tire. This and other such stories have given me a standard of customer service to hold my future business to, and my current dealings with existing businesses. I think you'll see why I was upset when the events described in the following letter transpired. I've thrown down my gauntlet....


Wednesday 04 December, 2013 17:47

To Lisa Smith, Vice President, Enterprise Customer Care at Best Buy:

This Black Friday, I purchased a MacBook Air on the BestBuy website at a $150 discount. I was sent a confirmation email that said my order had been processed and was ready to ship. So you'll understand why I was surprised and dismayed to find this in my inbox:

Hello Olivia,        

We're sorry, but the order listed below has been canceled because we are unable to ship to the address provided.        

Be assured that if you paid by credit card, it has not been charged, and any other method of payment has been credited. If you used a Gift Card for this order and no longer have it, please call the number below and we'll send you a replacement. Please note that this cancellation might affect your order's free shipping eligibility, bundle pricing, or gift-with-purchase eligibility.        

If you have any questions — or if you'd like to place this order again — please contact us at 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289). If possible, please have your order number handy.        

Once again, we're sorry for this inconvenience. We hope to hear from you soon.                                              Sincerely,

Lisa Smith

Vice President

Best Buy Customer Care

My first reaction upon reading your reason for cancelling my order included wondering why I was not simply contacted to verify my address, give a different address if necessary, or just arrange for an in-store pickup. As requested in your last line, I called the Customer Care number listed in the email and spoke with an associate named Yolanda. She was as helpful as she could be, and was very patient with me. She confirmed the address I had given for shipping, and upon finding that it was indeed correct, informed me that there was no good reason why my order should have been cancelled. Why, then, was it? I asked to reorder my purchase and requested that the sale price I originally paid be honoured. She told me this wasn’t possible and apologised for the inconvenience. Additionally, Yolanda informed me that this exact same scenario had happened more than once this weekend!

This is a mockery of customer service. I, as well as customers facing similar predicaments, was promised a price and paid it, expecting the computer I ordered. I was not expecting this transaction to leave me empty-handed. Unless I am allowed to reorder the computer at the promised price, you can expect no further business from me or my friends and family.

Looking forward to your response,

Olivia Sunday 

....think they'll pick it up?