BestBuy online is lame
I had a few Christmas gift cards to burn, so last week I ordered Marvel Ultimate Alliance for the Wii from BestBuy’s web site. At check out, I noticed the system had a previous address on file. I backed out and updated my profile. But when I completed the order it still had my previous address in the shipping information. Crap.
I tried calling, but after 15 minutes on hold I gave up, emailed the support department and went to bed. The next day I was notified that the order shipped. I was hoping I could at least get the game rerouted by calling UPS. It turns out it shipped via UPS, but not really… somehow BestBuy gives the package to UPS, and UPS gives the package to the Post Office. Crap, crap.
I called BestBuy again. This time I got a person, but no help. Once the package is turned over to the Postal Service, nothing can be done. The order can’t be canceled, the package can’t be rerouted. The agent admitted that the system probably selected the previous address due to maintenance going on at the time of my order. And since I used gift cards, I couldn’t even dispute the charges with my credit card company. Crap, crap, crap.
I’m not one to get annoyed with foreign sounding support agents. They’re just people doing their job like anybody else. But this agent repeatedly offered me the phone number for the “United States PO-stal ser-VEECE” in some sort of hybrid Franco-Scandinavian accent at least five times. Offering the switchboard number for Postal Service nearly made my head explode. Crap, crap, crap, crap.
So the fate of the game rested with the Postal Service. Best case, they would be smart enough to forward the package to my (two years old) new address or at the very least return the game to sender. Worst case, they would leave the game on the steps of my old apartment complex for any moron to grab. This morning I checked, and the package was marked “DELIVERED” yesterday. Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.
At this point, I was sure I had grounds to cancel the order and get back the gift cards. But the best I could do was file a claim with BestBuy’s tracking department. In five to ten business days I “should receive the courtesy of a phone call or an email” once my claim has been resolved. BestBuy online sucks.
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J.Cruz said,
February 25, 2007 @ 9:01 pm
Sux, Dave…sorry to hear about the snafus. I’ve been so unimpressed with BestBuy’s online ordering “application/experience”, especially relative to the penultimate online ordering experience that is Amazon.com, that if I ever do order anything from BestBuy…it’s always for in-store pickup. That, and I want the instant gratification of walking in and picking it up.
That, too, though, is not without its flaws and snafus.
Dave Konopka said,
February 26, 2007 @ 9:09 am
You’re right about Amazon, Joe. They are so good at handling both the order process, and customer service. Amazon has spoiled me to expect perfection anytime I order something online.
I had bad experiences with BestBuy’s store pick-up a few years ago. The site wasn’t giving acurate info on store availability, so I got charged but didn’t get what I ordered. That’s actually when I learned to call my credit card company and challenge charges
On the positive side, Circuit City’s in-store pickup order process has always worked perfectly for me. But there’s no Circuit City nearby in South Philly.
Janice said,
February 27, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
Amazon isn’t perfect. I have a package under my desk that I’ve been trying to return since December. Their ability to mail an RMA label is absurdley bad.