CAT | Whining
You continue to lower my already low expectations of you. Let me give you a recent example. Yesterday I stopped in to get a new Linksys wireless router. The shelf had 5 of them with the price clearly listed as $129. No price tag was on the box itself, so I assumed that the price that was marked on the shelf was correct.
I was wrong.
I noticed this prior to leaving and stood in the customer service line for 15 minutes to get this resolved. During that time I noticed 7 people behind the counter, but only 2 working registers. When my time finally came, your customer service rep (who greeted me with “you!” instead of the more common “hello, can I help you?”) called for someone to walk back to the shelf with me. It was at that point that the woman said “This is our overstock area, the real ones are here (moving down THREE slots on the shelf area) and pointing out the $199 price.”
Now, I would understand if there was one misplaced item; or if it sat next to the correctly priced stack of products; or if that was the only item marked incorrectly (I counted 3 others with this problem after I noticed it) – but none of those things were true.
During the short walking back to customer service counter, I opened my iPhone, started the Amazon application and found they had the product for $160 (more than the $129 I thought Best Buy was selling it for, but far less than the $199 they actually were selling it for). The app showed I’d get free 2 day shipping meaning I could get it for Christmas!
I then waited for the customer service rep to finish with his current customer. Upon completing that transaction he looked past me and asked the next person to step in line. I said “Um… I’m back.” He looked at me, sighed and said “Oh, you want this back then?”
I explained that I thought Best Buy should really take responsibility for a number of incorrect prices in the area; he wasn’t interested. I asked if they would price match; to which he said “yes, if its a local retailer.” I said “Ah. Because Best Buy doesn’t do business online, right?”
He then informed me (and I’m not making this up) “No, we don’t. Best Buy.com is a separate entity and its my job to keep OUR shareholders happy, not theirs.”
I informed him that I’d like a refund and in 1/2 the time it took him to do that, I purchased the product for less money than Amazon. — ‘Cause its MY job to keep the shareholders happy at whatever company best understands competitive pricing and excellent customer service.
Sincerely,
Me.
Two things happened today to convince me of that fact (again).
1. I got a call from the company that issued by corporate credit card, who said the card number was recently used to try to purchas a Playstation 3 at a store in the Twin Cities. Thankfully, they rejected the purchase and contacted me so the card could be cancelled … which it is!
While I’m still a little shocked by this, its also a bit odd to me. See, I’ve used this card on trips all over the U.S. and overseas; and I use it on-line A LOT; AND I’ve never shopped in the place where it was used, nor was it at all the type of place that someone with a business line of credit would ever shop. In addition, I rarely use it in stores in MN. All that being said, its funny to me that it occured in my “backyard” and not something a bit more complicated.
Oh, and if you’re the person who took the number and tried to use it: its cancelled. Oh, and all the other purchases & attempts are being tracked. Seriously… be nice. Get a job. Don’t put people through that.
2. I’m hooked on a podcast called GeekBrief (thanks to the recommendation from a friend). Its a great show. Each episode is less than 5 minutes and its a quick run-down of all things tech. Oh, and its in video format, so I don’t have the loss of attention span problem I do with normal podcasts (you know, podcasts like mine).
Anyway, in episode #130, the host talked about possibly doing a meet-n-greet kinda thing in the town of … Dallas. Having parents that are from Dallas, and hoping to one day move there myself, AND liking the town, AND considering it to be “the other Twin Cities” – it just kinda struck me funny that my new favorite podcast was from my new favorite city … which is like my current city, just much less cold.
Anyway … both stories made it seem like a small world. One because of all the places it could have happened, it was “at home” and the other because its a place that feels like a sort of “home.”
I’ve spent the last 6 weeks of my life studying for the CPA exam only to find out the day before I was to take it, that I had screwed up when I scheduled it and missed the date. To add insult to injury I have pay the exam fee again and I can’t take it until next May. By then I will have forgotten everything and will have to study another 6 weeks.
There must be a reason that I am not suppose to take that exam tomorrow. Perhaps I would have gotten into a car accident on the way there or a fire would have started in the building. I guess I’ll never know. I have to go cry some more now.
-J
