Best Buy

From my experience as a somewhat-​professional goer-​outer, I’ve found that despite so many suburban businesses being of the chain-​model, not all chains are created as equally as you’d assume. But I have to give Best Buy props to always being able to keep things consistent… ly sh*tty.
Nothing offensive that I can pin-​point besides the employees who are annoyed by you needing a service or product that is their sole purpose to provide, requiring them to walk away from their chit-​chatty co-​worker friend and actually do their job all while giving you the passive aggressive silent treatment throughout the transaction.
Super glad I was able to return my ish from yet another sh*tty transaction at a different Best Buy earlier this month so I never have to step foot in a BB again.

Josh is a phone-​slangin’ BAMF! He did the seemingly impossible by getting me out of my contract with Sprint and into a sexy new smartphone with Verizon. It only took an hour and a half, but he did it. He sat with me almost 45 minutes after closing and closed the deal. LIKE.A.BOSS
First of all, Sprint didn’t want to give up my number. I had to call customer service twice myself. Once, because they weren’t recognizing my PIN, so I had to change it, and twice, because the system wasn’t recognizing my number. The first time I was put on hold, I was told my number wasn’t eligible for porting. The second time I was put on hold, I was told my number was eligible and it was supposedly Verizon’s problem. So what did Josh do? He grabbed a hold of the reigns and steered the situation into the clear by calling Sprint directly and getting them to give up my number. LIKE.A.BOSS
That should have been the end of it, but life is never that easy. After my number had been released then we had issues with Verizon. I guess their towers wouldn’t recognize that a MN area code would work in an IL zip code. So what did Josh do? He called up Verizon and asked… No, demanded… that Verizon get their sh*t together (my words, not his. But he might as well have said it.). LIKE.A.BOSS
This was all the night of the second coming of Snowpocalypse in 2012, so they were a bit understaffed and another customer was waiting around. Backup was taking forever to get to the phone department. So what did Josh do? At the same time he was on the phone getting my stuff sorted out with Verizon, he started signing the other customer up for his pre-​paid. When another employee finally showed up, he gave him instructions (while helping Customer 2 and on the phone for me). If completing a trifecta of phone sales wasn’t enough, the overworked BAMF also had to apply my screen film, something he did perfectly in 20 seconds (if that). No bubbles under my film, no scratches on the phone, no moisture, no peeling. LIKE.A.BOSS

If I could give a zero rating I would. I have never wrote an online review before until now. That just goes to show how horrible my experience was here. I was trying to replace a pair of broken headphones within 3 weeks of buying them. I could go into lots of details of how they handle customer service but I will just leave it as it is nonexistent. I had one cashier and two managers working with me. The first manager just left the area without anything being resolved and told the cashier to try whatever she can, then walked away. The second manager was extremely rude and told me because I did not have my receipt I was the one at fault here. When their return policy states, you do not need a receipt for a return. The cashier told me she would try to override the system for the even exchange, but that this was a special circumstance and to not let this happen again. Excuse me, but that is no way to speak to a customer. I also work in customer care and I would have been fired on the spot for speaking to anyone like that.
Overall, I have nothing good to say about the place.

I was going to forget my two poor experiences with this Best Buy but changed my mind after my wife came home pi$$ed off to beat the band after her recent experience to buy international power converters for an international trip. Here are the 3 strikes and why Best Buy has now struck out:
Strike One — Wanted to purchase a digital personal recorder. Salesclerk: «Duh, what’s that??»
Strike Two — Wanted to purchase a super-​zoom, fixed lens digital camera. Salesclerk kept pushing the interchangeable lens cameras at approximately $ 200 more. When I asked technical specifications, he just checked the back of the boxes but couldn’t really tell me why one camera was superior to another. And this was the «camera expert».
Strike Three — Wife needs international power converters. Salesclerk: «Uhhh, lemme see if we have em.» After locating the right aisle, wife: «Will this allow me to charge my US electronics in England?» Salesclerk: «Hmmm, let me look at the box.»
After not being able to figure it out, my wife left. She went down the road to Len’s Ace Hardware (a friggin’ HARDWARE STORE) and told one of the guys at the SERVICE counter what she needed and she was in and out in 10 minutes with item in hand.
Here’s where Best Buy fails. If its not a cool video game or the latest hi-​tech TV, they have no clue. I don’t blame the young people that work at Best Buy — they are just trying to make a living. I blame the managers for not training their employees properly and instilling a customer service ethic. (I have no issue with high school and college students trying to make a buck. My favorite hardware store in the city is Colandrea Hardware on Harlem Ave. They employ students during summer break and they are the hardest working, service oriented young people that I have come across in the business world. I come in asking for help and advice and they are always respectful and offer solutions.)

Come on! If you can’t give me useful information when I want to buy a $ 350 camera why the hell should I trust you when it comes time for me to purchase a $ 1,500 LCD TV.
But guess what people? We asked for this because we made «price» king.
Want to save $ 50 on a $ 1,500 TV, go to Best Buy. Do you want product information and service? Go somewhere else.

Went to this location because there store in OakBrook was out of the LED TV we wanted. Great Customer Service and very knowledgeable about what they sell. This is one of there smaller stores, but have a high in-​stock percentage. Was helped out to our car with the merchandise with a smile and Thank-​You!

This Best Buy received props from me right off the bat because they were the only Best Buy within reasonable driving distance that carried the specific portable GPS I was looking for. So I used their online pick-​up option to assure that it’d be there when I arrived. Their website said it takes, on average, 45 minutes to receive the confirmation email saying it’s ready for pickup. It took about 10 minutes. More props.
Now I’m not ready to proclaim this Best Buy the greatest thing since sliced bread, because it’s still Best Buy, & they always give you a reason to be skeptical. I’m always convinced it’s their unwritten law to hire snotty, douche bag teenagers that don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. I haven’t been here enough yet to put them in this category, but I do think the customer service guy could have at least gave me the cue that our transaction was complete, instead of setting my bag down on the counter & walking away. A «thank you have a nice day» usually does the trick just fine, you punk.
But all in all, they haven’t gave me a reason to complain too much… yet. But since it’s Best Buy, I’m sure they feel they didn’t do their job correctly because I left, for the most part, satisfied. I’m sure as I speak, they’re scheming to make my next visit a glorified hassle… because it’s Best Buy.