Best Buy Uber Sucky Customer

[fma_fanatic]

I was privy to a rather interesting exchange yesterday at Best Buy.

I went in to look for a microphone for my computer as WoW now has voice chat. I found what I wanted and was looking at some of the computers when I hear this shrill yell at the Customer Service counter.

Apparently the customer making a fuss had bought an iTunes card and left that as well as some other purchases and left them in her car. The car got broken into and the card was stolen along with the other stuff. It wasn't a cheap card either; I think it was whatever the highest amount is (50 I think?).

Anyway, she had the foresight (or not) to keep the receipt in her purse, and was trying to get her money back for the iTunes card at least.

SW: Sucky (or maybe in this case stupid) Woman
CS: Customer Service

CS: I'm sorry ma'am, but there are no returns on gift cards. It's in our policy.
SW: But I'm NOT trying to return it, you idiot. It.got.stolen. *pause for histronic breathing* do.you.under.stand.that (yes, she did annunciate it just like that)
CS: There's nothing I can do. Perhaps your insurance -
SW: *leaning over the counter* I don't have insurance! don't you think if I did, I'd be here?!!
CS: Ma'am, please stop yelling. You're making a scene -
SW: I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! *then turns around* DON'T BUY GIFT CARDS HERE!! IF YOU DO, YOU'LL GET CHEATED IF THEY'RE STOLEN!!!

About this time, what appeared to be a manager and security approached the CS desk and escorted the woman to the back. There was stunned silence for a moment, then everything went back to normal.

Honestly...don't people know that gift cards are to be treated as cash once they're purchased? There is only one store that I am aware of that will at least give you a new card - Bath and Body Works, but you have to write down the card number and pin in order to do so.

[chops]

That reminds me...didn't Starbucks had a way of protecting gift cards that have been registered on their web site?

(I could be wrong, I often am)

[SubwayGirl]

We had a lady come into Subway. She had been in the night before, so I was forewarned. The employees told her to come in the next day to talk to me. Apparently she had received a Subway gift card and had lost it. She wanted a replacement. The employees told her that they couldn't replace it and she got kindof sucky.

The next day in comes sucky gift card loser. She showed me her birthday card and said she had received a Subway gift card in it. She lost the card and wanted me to replace it. I told her that unless she registered it I could not replace it. She did not understand at all. After all, she had the birthday card still and could not understand why I wouldn't replace the girft card. Finally I told her that if she had received a $20 bill in her card and lost it, I would not be able to replace it and a gift card should be treated just like cash.

She finally left, but she was mad and still could not understand why I could not replace it.

[myswtghst]

Wow, people are dumb.

I never understand why people expect to be given stuff when they lose it or have it stolen. It's not the stores fault in any way, shape or form that your car was broken into, why on earth should they be the ones to pay?

[CancelMyService]

SW: *leaning over the counter* I don't have insurance! don't you think if I did, I'd be here?!!

Is she referring to car insurance? If so then she should be under arrest for driving without it rather than screaming at a helpless Best Buy worker.

[Banrion]

Is she referring to car insurance? If so then she should be under arrest for driving without it rather than screaming at a helpless Best Buy worker.

Most states only require you to carry liability insurance. Liability only covers damage you do to someone else. In order for damage to your car to be covered you have to carry comprehensive coverage, and in my personal experience in the industry, only people who still have financing really carry the comprehensive, as the bank makes them. Most people drop the comp coverage as soon as they pay off the car because it is usually about 2/3rds of the premium due to things like glass and theft of property being covered.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I'm confused here...how is the store expected to eat the loss if someone gets robbed? By that logic, if I lose some money, my bank should replace it.

[draftermatt]

I guess you could say that Best Buy could turn off the card so the people who stole cannot use it, and can give her another card since she couldn't use the original one if she still had it.

But for that she would need the receipt or some way to prove she had bought it, and that had the info of the card on it so it could be cancelled.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

But for that she would need the receipt or some way to prove she had bought it, and that had the info of the card on it so it could be cancelled.

And this is precisely why most companies have a policy of no refunds on gift cards...because they are usually given as gifts, hence few people ever have receipts for them. Honestly, I can see why they have that policy. I think this would be more trouble than it's worth otherwise.

Whenever I get a gift card I put in in my wallet along with my driver's license, insurance card, etc. It stays safe there, and I'm less likely to lose it since I keep a close eye on my wallet.

[Catwoman2965]

Yes, you can register your card at Starbucks...I did...so i guess if you lost it or it was stolen, you could get a replacement.

My store will replace them, IF you have a receipt with the amount, and serial number, showing proof of purchase, but its done through CS, not at the store level.

DUH - its IS like money, so if your dumb enough to leave thigns like that in your car...well.

Reminds me on an incident last winter, at a local gym. A number of cars were broken into, and one woman had thousands of dollars in "stuff", money and credit cards stolen. It was a Prada bag, Gucci makeup bag, an ipod, blackberry, a GPS, and something else, plus several hundred dollars in cash, and cc's. Um, if you have that much valuable stuff WITH you, take it into the gym, and lock it in yoru locker, or here's and idea - LEAVE IT AT HOME!

[Boozy]

Reminds me on an incident last winter, at a local gym. A number of cars were broken into, and one woman had thousands of dollars in "stuff", money and credit cards stolen. It was a Prada bag, Gucci makeup bag, an ipod, blackberry, a GPS, and something else, plus several hundred dollars in cash, and cc's.

Every time I hear about people keeping that much stuff in their cars, and then their cars get stolen or broken into, I can't help but think:

Did they actually HAVE all that stuff in there, or are they just telling their insurance companies that they did?

[hawkchick11]

The company I work for will cancel the lost gift card and issue a new one but only if you have the receipt for it and it hasn't been used.

So if the card was activated, you lost it, someone found it and used it but you still had the receipt for it.. you're screwed. I just had to deal with a customer who had that exact situation happen to him.

[Gurndigarn]

Her assumption was probably that it was like a credit card... gets stolen? Cancel it and they'll give you a new one.

[Gost2036]

From reading the story it was an Itunes gift card so if she really wanted her money she should be going through Itunes not Best Buy. They are not responsible for it and have no way of cancelling it short of calling up apple's customer service line and asking them to. However the reciept wouldn't show the number they are looking for anyway, at best it might have the last 4-6 digits of the itunes card number.

[fma_fanatic]

It was my impression that once money was put on a gift card, you were to guard it like cash. I for one never thought that there was the warning that the issuer of the gift card was responsible for it being lost or stolen was there for the heck of it.

I was talking to some co-workers at lunch about it and someone brought up another question: If the gift card is used, is it possible to be traced, say if it were used online?