Best Buy hasn’t been exactly receiving positive press of late.  Whether it’s untrue or not a simple Google search will yield countless rumors of their demise, going out of business, losing customers, closing stores etc.  If my recent experience with the big box retailer is any indication these “rumors” might just end up coming true after all.

Back on September 7th I spent over an hour in my local Best Buy shopping for a new TV.  The model I chose was a 60″ Samsung.  I added a sound bar, all the necessary cables, we picked out a stand, opted for the protection plan, calibration, Harmony remote, and delivery and set up.  Essentially we picked out every option – and we spared no expense either.  That evening when it came time to pay, my salesman, who was very helpful, was puzzled to learn that the next available delivery and set up date for the TV and other items I ordered wasn’t until October 4th.  Realizing that wouldn’t be acceptable he got the general manager of the store involved and he assured my that he’d be able to get me an earlier date.  I explained that I could make myself available any weekday from 3:30 PM on and all day Saturday.

Sure enough that Sunday night, September 9th I got a phone call from the Best Buy Geek Squad letting me know that they were able to move my delivery time up to between the hours of 4-8PM on Tuesday September 18th.  I didn’t have an issue waiting that long.  I’m usually a very patient person.  Everything was great so far…..

Read on to find out what happened next.

September 18th came along and I expected to see my TV sometime after 4PM.  At around 1PM I decided to call my voicemail at home to see if the Geek Squad had left any updates on a more precise delivery time.  What I found surprised me.  A message was left that went something like as follows:

“This is Linda from XYZ Satellite Services calling about your installation for today.  The installer will be there in 20 mins.  Please call us back at 800-xyz-1234.”

I was surprised, mostly because I didn’t buy any satellites and since I was at work I wouldn’t be home in 20 minutes.  I picked up the phone and called the number that was left.  I came to find out that this satellite company was actually contracted by Best Buy to deliver and set up my TV.  I thought I was getting set up from the Geek Squad, but I guess I was wrong.  Also take note of the fact that I said my “TV” because the person I spoke to said they had only it on the truck.  Not the stand, not the sound bar, no cables etc.  Did I mention that back on September 7th I watched all of these items neatly stacked onto a cart to be set aside so that come delivery day they were all together?  Yeah, I did.  The representative went on to explain that not only did they not have my complete order on the truck but they’d be unable to come during the hours of 4-8PM.  Their “work order” said 12-4.  That’s what the scheduling company had forwarded to them.  The installer was already on the way back to Best Buy to return the TV.

Paying attention? I bought a TV from Best Buy, who uses a second company to schedule the delivery, who uses a third company to deliver and install it.

I hung up and immediately called the general manager who helped me back with the initial purchase.  He was apologetic but made no promises that my TV would come on the scheduled delivery day, only that he’d “see what he could do” and that he’d call me back in a “few hours.”

When I got home there was a message waiting again, this time from another company, who I’m assuming is the one who does the scheduling, asking me to call them to reschedule my install.  After waiting on hold for 20+ minutes this company proceeded to tell me that they could not reschedule my install because the stand I’d ordered required assembly and that assembly was not on their work order.  The Best Buy manager I dealt with assured me the stand required no set up but according to another Best Buy person the scheduling company spoke to it does.

It also turns out that this scheduling company decided I’d be better served getting all the items I paid for delivered from a different Best Buy store, not the one I’d actually made the purchase from and gathered all the items together back on 9/7.  This other store is actually further from my home and seems to be what caused the confusion of one person saying the stand needed assembly while the other did not.

I called back the general manager my original store again and explained everything that had happened.  I went on to tell him that I was finished making phone calls.  Finished trying to schedule anything and that I’d simply wait for him to call me back.

I lied.  At around 6PM I called Best Buy back and spoke to the manager.  Obviously I’m not getting my TV tonight.  I was told in no uncertain terms the TV and all the other items I ordered would be coming either tomorrow (Wednesday) or the day after (Thursday).  The store manager “guaranteed” it so even promising to drive the TV up here himself if it came to it.  He was surprised that I had not heard from the scheduling company, of course this doesn’t leave me with a very positive outlook.  I’ve put my faith in them though at this point.  I even went so far as to find somewhere else who has the TV in stock and offered me Saturday delivery.  You can bet if my Best Buy order doesn’t make it by Thursday, as I was told, it’ll be purchased somewhere else.

If you’ve made it all the way through this saga I applaud you.  I’m left extremely frustrated by how this entire experience went.  I can’t understand how Best Buy needs to outsource so many services, one to schedule another to deliver and that they seem to use, at least in my case, companies who aren’t qualified to provide a proper level of service.  What I still can’t get past is the lack of customer service and an unwillingness by any of the three companies I dealt with to take ownership and just make it happen.  I needed my TV delivered.  I don’t care how, or by who.  Someone just need to make it so.  It seems no one could.

As someone who works in retail I realize the importance of wowing and thrilling customers.  Clearly Best Buy does not and this mind end up being their downfall.  When all you care about is selling stuff and nothing else you don’t deserve to be in business anyway.