(part 1... restricted char count)
The one redeeming quality about this store, in the midst of all of these (probably quite accurate) one star reviews, is an associate named David. His tag said Inventory Supervisor I think, but he should be head of Training and Development because the other employees can obviously learn a thing or two from him.
Best Buy DSMs - Read this review. seriously.
This all started with my Mom calling me crying while I was at work. (you will find out why in a bit...) She told me that my Dad (who is in his mid 70's and quite computer illiterate, bless his heart) could not get the laptop to turn on. He made the awful mistake of not calling me first, and instead headed into this Best Buy because he used to have Geek Squad and thought they could work on it. Now I do not know exactly what was said when he gave his computer to the techs, but the impression he got when they came back was that it was basically beyond repair. I had been on it 3 days prior and ran cleanup and de-fragment and it was smooth so it seemed odd, but it was just under 3 years old so maybe something popped. The issue I have is that when they gave him that impression, they didn't offer him any options or advice on how to back up the hard drive. In my Dad's world, he thinks that stuff is lost if it won't turn on... he doesn't know about recovery. That would have been customer service - but it didn't happen. Bare minimum at this place, obviously.
I'm starting a new paragraph because what comes next was absolutely horrible. Due to the lack of service from the techs my Dad left there thinking he was carrying a paperweight. He found the nearest dumpster and just dropped it in. When I got a hold of him and told him to go back and get it, the dumpster had been picked up. Now I understand BB has no control over what my senior-citizen Dad does... and they didn't throw it away. But they did a major disservice, because my Mom had
**hundreds of photos of my son, and her other grandchildren on that hard drive**
They are now lost forever.
When my mom told me that, I immediately called the store. Thank God David answered when I asked for a manager. I told him the situation and he was very understanding... caught up to speed quick... and even dug through all of the on-site trashes at my request to check if the laptop was there. God-send. Unfortunately... it was not there. I then asked him to call my Mom and tell her he checked the trashes because I didn't have time for any more phone calls at work. He did... awesome. I have been in retail 11 years, Store Manager for 5 years, and that is the service I expect my associates to provide.
My Mom was physically ill that night. My Dad felt extremely horrible. That is a major loss - like losing a photo album in a fire. That pisses me off to no end. It doesn't end there though... oh no. So my dad, being the wise husband, immediately starts looking for a replacement laptop for my Mom. We talked about it a couple times on the phone that week, and he had some ads from newspapers. He found a good deal from Fry's and decided to go to this BB (because it's the only decent store nearby) to ask if they would price match his ad. I guarantee you he would have dropped at least $400 in there because I had told him it was a deal when he mentioned it to me. He walked up to an associate (holding a clipboard) and held the ad up and asked if they price matched, and the associate glanced at it... did not respond... and walked away. What in the world is that? That is 12 one-star yelp reviews service right there. They had no idea what he had just gone through and they treated him like he didn't exist. He walked out. When he told me that I was done... I decided to drive down there on my next day off (which was today) and talk to these people myself.
I walked in there with my wife and was greeted at the door. I smiled at the guy and asked if David was working. He gave me a wierd look and said "Yeah I think he's around here somewhere." so I said "Great, can you tell him Jon's here." and he said "sure". So we meandered off towards the laptops and he came up and said "Do you know which David?" and I told him it was a manager when he answered the phone. He said "Oh ok, yeah he's right up front here." I seriously thought - THANK GOD HE IS HERE! He greeted me with a handshake and a smile and I reminded him who I was. The first thing I said was say, "You realize that this store has 12 one-star yelp reviews right? There is a problem here man." He grimaced and I told him briefly about my Dad's second visit and asked him, "So after all this I want to know what the least you can do for me is?" This all happened in front of 3 employees and a handful of customers. Now I don't like to make a scene, so David and I moved over to the laptops and started talking about getting the replacement my Dad wants. I knew exactly what he wanted so I just told him and he looked it up. He had 15 in stock which was great. (Continued) read more