I'll admit, I don't think I ever planned to actually spend my entire life living in North Dakota. I married the most wonderful man though, and well, you know how love will change what you are willing to do in life for it. I am happily married and content with spending most of my life in North Dakota. And every now and then, you'll hear a mutter from me about the weather, likely when it's well below zero. But seriously people, you live in North Dakota. Sure, you've been spoiled over the last few years with mild winters, but you still live in North Dakota. And, with a few exceptions, most of you choose to live here. So quit complaining about it!
I know, it has been one of the snowiest winters of all time, including the record breaking month of December. And I know, it's been colder than usual. However, until you have lived in practically the middle of no where and have gone without power and heat for a week, I don't want to hear about it. Especially not repeatedly. I watch the same weather reports and hear the same radio station carrying on about how cold it is outside or when the next storm is coming. This does not have to be the subject of conversation for days on end. Spring will come and then summer and I suppose then they'll be complaining about hot it is... people are never happy.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Best Buy Bites
Don't worry Best Buy, you haven't lost my business; however, your customer service is something to be desired per my latest visit. First, I've never had to use Best Buy's customer service so that is a positive for them. I do realize as well, being in customer care, that my standards are pretty high. But if I offer excellent service for every customer, shouldn't other companies hire the same kind of employee?
Granted, this whole issue started with me not keeping a receipt for what I had purchased. I've never had an issue though, and the receipt was for a DVD and an iTunes card, neither of which I had any intention of returning. Another error was that I didn't open the DVD immediately. I was finishing up my last semester of classes and was quite occupied with that. With my New Year's resolutions set, it was time to bust out the DVD. Upon opening it, I noticed a spot on the DVD. Great... I had a feeling, but I held on to a glimmer of hope that I wouldn't have any issues. Wrong. About 21 minutes in the DVD it froze up and nothing would get it to advance.
Remembering that we used a credit card to pay for the DVD as well as being Rewards Zone members, I decided I was going to try to simply exchange the DVD. I wouldn't have any issue with Best Buy if that wasn't acceptable, as afterall, I am the one that didn't save the receipt. So this past Monday, with the winds howling in Fargo at around 40 mph, I ventured off to Best Buy.
Once I was at the service counter, I immediately apologized stating I hadn't saved my receipt and that I didn't expect my money back but that maybe instead I could simply exchange it as it would not play the entire disc due to the spot. I felt I was being really nice, but the woman who was helping didn't seem to feel the need to return the favor. She sighed deeply as if I had just inconvenienced her greatly. I added that I was a Rewards Zone member and perhaps she could use that to pull up the purchase for the DVD. You could see her hesitate and then she reluctantly asked for my phone number. She found nothing under that and asked rather unpleasantly how I paid for the merchandise. I apologized and stated that I wasn't 100% sure but that it was likely by credit card. She was even less impressed by me and huffed a fine followed by a request for my Rewards Zone card. Why she didn't ask for this immediately still remains a question in my mind. Of course, she located the purchase easily with it and printed the receipt off within seconds. Again, a look of dismay seemed to cross over her face. I felt almost as if she wasn't happy about locating the receipt as she now had to help me.
After scanning the DVD she instructed me, like a child I might add, to go grab a new one off the shelves. OK. Easy enough, though I thought again, why was I doing this? Why didn't she simply page someone to bring a copy to the counter? So I ventured through the store to the aisle I knew it was located. After searching for about five minutes, I was either in the wrong aisle or my pleasant customer service agent had sent me to find something that wasn't in the store. So back to the counter I went. Thank goodness, she was helping someone else!
A gentleman then took over. After explaining my whole situation again, he decided to check the computer to see if the DVD was even in stock. Nope. Now why the first agent didn't do this is beyond me. Obviously it was too much work for her, and I think we've determined previously that she simply wasn't into helping me. I then asked the man if they had stopped carrying it or simply did not have it in stock. He stated it wasn't in stock, so like any normal customer, I asked if he by chance knew when it would be. Of course not. We're living in the 21st century surrounded by technology but certainly that can't assist in knowing when the next shipment for the product is expected...
After determining that I really wasn't going to get any more assistance, I asked if I could have store credit or if I had to bring the DVD back another day. Well, this baffled him, and he stared at me with a puzzled look on his face. Are these people not trained? He then asks the lady that helped me initially how she would like to handle it. She snapped that she supposed a store credit would have to do, once again, vibes of her discontent with me and my spotted DVD. Finally though, I was handed a gift card of $11.98 after about 15 minutes at the counter and tour around the store. The conversation was capped off about some Reward Zone dollars that I am not sure I gained or lost since the clerk couldn't explain himself, but at least I didn't return home with a DVD that didn't play. And I found it on Amazon for $8.49. Thanks Best Buy for making my decision to purchase it elsewhere easier.
Granted, this whole issue started with me not keeping a receipt for what I had purchased. I've never had an issue though, and the receipt was for a DVD and an iTunes card, neither of which I had any intention of returning. Another error was that I didn't open the DVD immediately. I was finishing up my last semester of classes and was quite occupied with that. With my New Year's resolutions set, it was time to bust out the DVD. Upon opening it, I noticed a spot on the DVD. Great... I had a feeling, but I held on to a glimmer of hope that I wouldn't have any issues. Wrong. About 21 minutes in the DVD it froze up and nothing would get it to advance.
Remembering that we used a credit card to pay for the DVD as well as being Rewards Zone members, I decided I was going to try to simply exchange the DVD. I wouldn't have any issue with Best Buy if that wasn't acceptable, as afterall, I am the one that didn't save the receipt. So this past Monday, with the winds howling in Fargo at around 40 mph, I ventured off to Best Buy.
Once I was at the service counter, I immediately apologized stating I hadn't saved my receipt and that I didn't expect my money back but that maybe instead I could simply exchange it as it would not play the entire disc due to the spot. I felt I was being really nice, but the woman who was helping didn't seem to feel the need to return the favor. She sighed deeply as if I had just inconvenienced her greatly. I added that I was a Rewards Zone member and perhaps she could use that to pull up the purchase for the DVD. You could see her hesitate and then she reluctantly asked for my phone number. She found nothing under that and asked rather unpleasantly how I paid for the merchandise. I apologized and stated that I wasn't 100% sure but that it was likely by credit card. She was even less impressed by me and huffed a fine followed by a request for my Rewards Zone card. Why she didn't ask for this immediately still remains a question in my mind. Of course, she located the purchase easily with it and printed the receipt off within seconds. Again, a look of dismay seemed to cross over her face. I felt almost as if she wasn't happy about locating the receipt as she now had to help me.
After scanning the DVD she instructed me, like a child I might add, to go grab a new one off the shelves. OK. Easy enough, though I thought again, why was I doing this? Why didn't she simply page someone to bring a copy to the counter? So I ventured through the store to the aisle I knew it was located. After searching for about five minutes, I was either in the wrong aisle or my pleasant customer service agent had sent me to find something that wasn't in the store. So back to the counter I went. Thank goodness, she was helping someone else!
A gentleman then took over. After explaining my whole situation again, he decided to check the computer to see if the DVD was even in stock. Nope. Now why the first agent didn't do this is beyond me. Obviously it was too much work for her, and I think we've determined previously that she simply wasn't into helping me. I then asked the man if they had stopped carrying it or simply did not have it in stock. He stated it wasn't in stock, so like any normal customer, I asked if he by chance knew when it would be. Of course not. We're living in the 21st century surrounded by technology but certainly that can't assist in knowing when the next shipment for the product is expected...
After determining that I really wasn't going to get any more assistance, I asked if I could have store credit or if I had to bring the DVD back another day. Well, this baffled him, and he stared at me with a puzzled look on his face. Are these people not trained? He then asks the lady that helped me initially how she would like to handle it. She snapped that she supposed a store credit would have to do, once again, vibes of her discontent with me and my spotted DVD. Finally though, I was handed a gift card of $11.98 after about 15 minutes at the counter and tour around the store. The conversation was capped off about some Reward Zone dollars that I am not sure I gained or lost since the clerk couldn't explain himself, but at least I didn't return home with a DVD that didn't play. And I found it on Amazon for $8.49. Thanks Best Buy for making my decision to purchase it elsewhere easier.
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