Well, it took two weeks and change, but I got a very pleasant call from a Best Buy quality person named Kristin, who’d come across the rather scathing survey I’d submitted over my unhappy experience earlier this month. She expressed her concern about the survey, and wanted to hear the details. (And, since I had a blog entry, that made it very easy and convenient to remember).
Bottom line, she was sympathetic, apologetic, acknowledged it could have gone a lot better, wondered why they didn’t go ahead and send the hardware to the service center given the warranty time constraints, understood my concern about the way the receipt signing line was phrased, and did a lot of “I can’t say I blame you, that was unfair to be treated that way, and I’d probably feel the same way” sort of noise.
Was she sincere? Was she reading (glibly) a script? I don’t know. But it was the first person in the process who expressed any customer service interest, which was refreshing and positive.
She was particularly concerned over the (lack of) reaction of the manager we talked to at the store, especially when the manager showed no particular reaction, interest, or desire to make it right, even as we told her we were taking a major purchase elsewhere.
Result? She’s says she’s going to dig further into the matter, and will be looking for similar survey results from the store, as well as looking at some process changes (e.g., the “sign off that you are satisfied with the service or you can’t have your computer back” thang).
She also gave me her direct number (or the service number plus the Sooper Seekrit Code to get hold of her) in case the computer fan failed before the 30 days was up, so that she could work with the store, maybe expedite any service, etc. Or in case I had any other service issues with Best Buy.
And, finally, she’s sending me a BB gift card (presumably both to cover the aggravation and to get me back into the store).
I have no intention of dealing with the Geek Squad ever again, and I’ll still avoid that BB in the future, but being treated (sincerely or not) as a valued customer who’s been wronged is refreshing, and make me feel a squidge less animus toward BB as a whole, vs. toward the Southglenn store. If that was Kristin’s purpose, she succeeded.
I generally like shopping at Best Buy, but I don’t buy anything there that I might ever need serviced if it’s the store that’ll be doing the servicing.
I think that is a fairly good rule of thumb.
Might be a script, but may also be actual concern to make things right (even if the contact is due to a standard policy). One thing that learnt in public service is that if your organisation make just two screw ups, they happen to the same guy.
Often the person who is trying to help cant’t it really is another departments problem, but the other dept doesn’t want the hassle when you are passed over. What I used to do in these cases is ‘own the problem’, and bend the rules as much as I can to solve it. Of course thats fine until management crack down and say it’s not your job, because costs, not the customer, is always king.
It could very well be genuine — if not, it was a very good copy thereof. In either case, we had a nice chat about the importance of customer surveys and gathering information that can actually point out problems at a store, with a process, that otherwise can be impossible for the Mother Ship to see.