Amarillo Business Review: Best Buy, Thumbs Down!

My father, who is a successful, self-employed member of the Amarillo community, bought a Toshiba netbook at Best Buy in Amarillo yesterday. He took it to his office, turned it on and the screen was permanently cracked inside. You cannot see the crack unless it is turned on. He returned it to the store not thirty minutes later and asked for the Store Manager. He was NOT referred to the General Manager, but instead was referred to Bryan Hayes, the Geek Squad leader. He asked Bryan if he was the Store Manager and Bryan, along with another female employee, confirmed that he was, indeed, the Store Manager.

My father told Bryan Hayes, the Geek Squad leader, about the cracked screen on his new netbook. Mr. Hayes refused to give him a refund or exchange, telling him that he believed that my father had broken the computer after he left the store! My father is fifty years old and licensed in several types of body maintenance and care. He is a responsible, upstanding man who takes extremely good care of all of his electronics. He was being treated as if he was an insolent teenager in Mr. Hayes' house, rather than a valued customer in the Best Buy store in Amarillo. What happened to the customer always being right?

After my father was informed that the several hundred dollars he spent on a broken computer would not be refunded or exchanged for a working computer, he raised his voice. He wanted to make sure that other customers knew what was going on and about the horrible level of customer service he was receiving. Bryan Hayes then threatened to have him escorted from the store!

You might ALREADY be disinclined to shop at this store, but the story continues. My father and I reviewed the facts of the case, looked up the Best Buy Customer Service line and phoned in his complaint. After speaking to an attendant in Consumer Relations, we were informed that Bryan Hayes was NOT the General Manager, but only the Geek Squad leader, and that the attendant was trying to contact the General Manager. We were told that we would be contacted the next day after Consumer Relations spoke with the REAL General Manager. It has now been more than twenty-four hours after the attempt to return the broken computer. If we do not receive a refund or exchange TONIGHT, then we will be contesting the charges on his credit card.

What sort of experience have you had with returning an item to Best Buy?