Inconvenience at Best Buy

[Norton]

This is really more of a vent than a sighting, but this seemed to be the most appropriate forum.

I bought the M.A.S.H. movie and The Blues Brothers movie at Best Buy last weekend. I was very excited about M.A.S.H. I'm a big fan of the series, and have never seen the movie. Also, it was the only copy of the movie in the store. On my two previous visits, there were no copies.

Anyway, I go home and pop M.A.S.H into the DVD player. Toward the end of scene #8, the disc started skipping and froze up. The movie would not play correctly unless we skipped ahead to scene #10. I did the basic troubleshooting: took the disc out, inspected it, wiped it clean, turned off the DVD player. The same problem happened.

It had to have been the disc, because the DVD player worked perfectly earlier in the day, and again when I gave up on M.A.S.H. and watched the Blues Brothers instead.

Yesterday, I stopped at BB with the movie and the receipt. Of course DVDs can't be returned, only exchanged for another copy of the same DVD - fine with me, I just want a functional movie. Sadly, there were no more copies in the store. My options were to go to another BB 30-45 minutes away in a town I never go to, or to keep checking back at my local BB to see if one came in. The girl at the return counter could not tell me for sure if/when another copy would come in.

I know it's not really a big injustice, but I have a rather busy schedule for the next few weeks. Driving out to the other BB is a waste of time and fuel unless I have other business in the area, which I never do. I have 3 weeks to get the movie exchanged. If the local BB still hasn't gotten a copy in by then, I guess I have to go to the other one. I'll keep checking the local BB on my way home from work (a small, but still annoying inconvenience), but I feel like the company should make some kind of effort when it comes to exchanging a defective product.


Anyway, that's my gripe. What do you think, is it a valid gripe or not? Any ideas/advice about how it could be handled differently?

[Shangri-laschild]

Can they not order one in because of this?

[Norton]

Ah, forgot to mention. The young lady at the returns counter said it was very unlikely they would order one from another store. Both she and the yellow-shirted man at the door said my only options were to go to another store, or keep checking back.

I suppose I should have pressed her to order one, but I was already in a pissy mood over an unrelated matter, and trying not to take out my other frustrations on the employees.

[Becks]

Maybe when you're in a better mood you can ask them to order you a new copy.

[RedRoseSpiral]

That seems to happen alot with their DVDs. I had bought a copy of Rocky Horror Picture Show. It had worked perfect up until the 10th or so scene and then it crapped out. Me and my then boyfriend ended up watching some DBZ movies instead. Luckily, I was able to get a new working copy when I returned it. If I were you, I would go back up and strongly suggest they order a copy from another store especially with gas prices raising as they have been.

[MrSunshineState]

Ah, forgot to mention. The young lady at the returns counter said it was very unlikely they would order one from another store.

I know if you order something from Best Buy's website, you can select "in store pickup". I wonder if they can order it for you from their site so you can make the exchange.

[Record Store Tough Guy]

Yeah, they should be able to order another copy. Should have actually offered to do so when you brought it back. That was always the first option we offered on exchanging a defective DVD that was out of stock at the record store.

[k386trl]

There was a laptop I wanted at Bestbuy & only another store 30 miles away had it. They ordered it over to my local store for me and I picked it up in a few days. I would ask them.

[Kogarashi]

Let me add to the chorus of "Ask them to order it in." Seems like only common courtesy for a store like Best Buy, especially if they have in-store pickup for orders made online.

I know Wal-Mart wouldn't do it, but Wal-Mart would still have the decency to call the next nearest stores to see if they have the item, and if so, to hold it for the customer. And I think the only reason Wal-Mart doesn't do the order in or in-store pickup options is because a lot of the products are provided by vendors, and a lot of the online merchandise is online-only.

But Best Buy should definitely offer to order it for you, or at the very least call the other store to see if they actually have it and will hold it for you.

[KaeZoo]

Alternately, call the other store, and ask THEM to transfer it to the first store with your name and phone number on it. It's worth a try.

Every Best Buy store I've been in has a system in place to transfer items between stores in the same district. I suppose it's possible that the nearby store is in a different district. They'll also temporarily stop the transfers if one of the stores is preparing for a physical inventory. But otherwise, all the transferring store has to do is put a tag with your information on it, and add it to the shuttle load.

[Dips]

Another route to try is the DVD manufacturer. We got a scratched copy of Toy Story and called the 800 number printed on the DVD. Disney sent out a new disk and a pre-paid mailer so I could send back the scratched one.

I don't know if other companies do that, but it's worth trying.

[ReverendBSB]

I had this happen once at Best Buy, and since they could not exchange it they gave me a full refund.

[marasbaras]

People still buy things at Best Buy even with ALL the bad publicity they get?

Go in and ask nicely for them to order something or transfer something in. If that doesn't work, go borderline SC on them. It'll bring out their spineless manager who will likely give you a new TV set for all the trouble you've gone to ... plus replace the M*A*S*H movie.

The movie is hilarious. Don't drink or eat while watching it. You'll either choke or make a mess of your living room.

[Boochan]

Another route to try is the DVD manufacturer. We got a scratched copy of Toy Story and called the 800 number printed on the DVD. Disney sent out a new disk and a pre-paid mailer so I could send back the scratched one.

I don't know if other companies do that, but it's worth trying.

I did this with one of the local distributors here for a Roseanne DVD I got, where for some reason their was no sound. In this case I actually emailed them, explained the fault and they asked for an address and sent a shiny new copy, after scanning proof of purchase. Did it straight away like that because I know what return policies are with that sort of thing, and I can't really say that I'm interested in going back and trying when I know it will either be rejected or take a hell of a long time to get done. Definitely worth a try if the store can't/won't really do that much for you.

[Becks]

People still buy things at Best Buy even with ALL the bad publicity they get?

As a matter of fact, some of us even go to the Evil Empire Store©, too.