I Hate Electronics Stores

More specifically, I hate Best Buy. I bought my computer there last year and, since the reason I was buying a new one was cuz my old one died, I shelled out the hundred bucks or so to get whatever their warranty/protection policy is. And I opened a Best Buy account to save 10% and to have all of my purchases recorded in that account. When I bought the protection policy I remember asking if you had to show the receipt in order to use the service in the future, cuz I know that although I try my hardest I do sometimes misplace things. They told me not to worry, that I could just come in and they could look it up in my account.

Well, today it was all put to the test. This morning, on what was supposed to be a leisurely, restful, sick day at home for me, I accidentally crunched the laptop's power cord in the gears of my recliner. Yeeowch! So, buh-bye, no computer, I just got the black screen of death. I got on the phone and made 2 calls. Radio Shack, which is just a few blocks away, had a universal power adapter for 120 bucks. I was sorely temptd, cuz I'm all about immediacy and paying money so as not to wait. But I made myself slow down and call Best Buy. They said that yes, a new power adapter would be covered under my plan. I'd just have to come in and get them to write up a maintenance ticket, which would be sent to the factory or whatever, and I'd have a new adapter for free in about 2 business days. I cringed at the thought of no home computer for so long, but I knew that was the more sensible way to go.

So, on my sick day, I got myself out to Tenleytown and went to Best Buy. I started at the Customer Service desk. Oxymoron lately? It's staffed by these young kids who seem extremely disinterested in talking to anyone who needs customer service. When I finally did start talking to people, it's as if it's a nother language. They talk in weird electronics-store code, with PSP's and tickets and departments that don't talk to each other.

Customer Service sent me back to the Geek Squad (now all the way at the back of the store) cuz they couldn't figure out what I was talking about. The Geek Squad sent me back to Customer Service cuz they said I needed to get a print out of my receipt that outlined my service plan. Customer service tried looking up my account. While they found my digital camera and its service plan on my Visa, they said there was no record of my purchase of the computer or any plan on my Best Buy card. Huh??? I KNOW that I bought it on the BB card, and I have the statements to show that I paid it off.

They told me I could call the Customer Service of the credit card, so I stood there at the counter on my cell phone talking to some new guy in a service center somewhere. He looked up my account and found the charge for the computer and the plan, but since it was "so long ago" he couldn't see anything itemized. I asked how I could get a receipt that showed the plan, and he said I could write a letter to their Correspondence Department. Yeah, right.

At this point, I decided to "F**k it" and just buy the damn adapter myself. So I go back to the computer station and talk to 2 different people to see if what they have in stock would work for my computer. One guy said "No, this won't work for your model." The Geek Squad guy said "Yes, this should work for your model." Neither one of them knew Best Buy's return policy, and whether I could actually return something that had been opened to get a refund. By now I was SO done with this place. I figured that if I were to buy something that had to be returned, I might as well do it at Radio Shack just a few blocks away, rather than all the way out at Tenleytown.

So, I headed back to AdMo and went to Radio Shack. Within 10 minutes I had exactly what I needed, and I'd had 3 sales guys trying to help me. Before I paid, I asked what the return policy was. The cute guy said 30 days, and I asked what if it's been opened? He laughed and said "You've gotta open it to see if it works!" Finally, an electronics store with a policy that makes sense.

Now I'm home and happy, cuz the little $120 gadget that I bought - called the Juice! - actually works! But I'm so over Best Buy. All of my experiences with them have been bad. But what's the alternative for those of us carless in the city? Hopefully I won't need to get anything there for a long darn time.