Best Buy's Customer Service Follow-up post

It has been over twenty-four hours since I contacted Best Buy about my cancelled order, plenty of time for them to have followed up with me and tried to make things right.

My letter to Lisa Smith was never replied to. I suppose this is understandable, considering she is an executive and quite busy. However, I see no reason for her to have passed it along to someone beneath her.

I remembered learning from a lecture about how Twitter and Facebook were such instrumental tools in the hands of consumers now, so I posted about the situation on both platforms. On Facebook I received a great response from my friends and several of them shared the link to my blog. Probably didn't actually do much, but @BestBuySupport replied to my tweet within minutes, saying, "We regret to hear of your experience. If you like, email twitter@bestbuy.com and we'll look into this for you." I forwarded the letter I wrote to Lisa Smith too the email address provided, and got this automatic response:

Your message has been received by Best Buy. A member of our team will do their best to assist you within to 1-2 business days. Thank you for your patience.

Regards,

ECC Social Connections & Innovation

Best Buy Corporate

Bull.

Anyway, I called my father to tell him about the whole shenanigan. I was about to just order directly from Apple, but he told me I should look at buying my computer from B&H Photo Video in New York. Their prices are pretty much the best you'll find anywhere (plus - free shipping and no sales tax!). After adding both a 13.3" MacBook Air 256GB and an AppleCare policy to my cart, I found the total price $115 less than buying everything directly from Apple Store for Education! (The difference would be $165 from the regular Apple Store.) I was absolutely thrilled and immediately placed my order. The checkout was smooth and hassle-free, and I got a shipping notice about twelve hours later. Best Buy didn't even try shipping my order for three business days.

Happy ending: B&H have been sending me updates on my order and have been stellar examples of after-sale service. I sang B&H's praises on Twitter and Facebook. I had some friends commit to abstain from giving Best Buy their business for the rest of their lives, and I gained a new favourite electronics dealer in B&H Photo Video. B&H Photo Video gained a new loyal customer. I'm expecting a shiny new MacBook on my doorstep by the end of the semester.

UPDATE: Henry Posner, the online reputation manager for B&H replied to my second tweet and thanked me for my order. See? This is how you follow up with customers. Observe.