Comments on: In-store pickup needs to work every time. It doesn't

What are your experiences with Best Buy's in-store pickup option? Don Reisinger paints an ugly picture, not an easy, predictable shopping experience.

[cgreenejr]

Office Depot is the worse. I got a good deal off of Dealigg.com and the manager refused to honor it. I called the corporate number and complained. But still I almost had to fight the store manager over it. I have not been in that store since then. When I went back the assistant manager apologized and the store manager hid in the back.

[pentest]

I used it once, they didn't have the item I ordered, so they gave me a model considerably better and more expensive without any fuss. I suspect, the morons they hire didn't know they were giving me as good of a replacement as they did.

With BB running those scams like $60 backup DVD's I am not likely to ever shop there again, despite the above.

[roland827]

I have good experiences here in Bestbuy Canada. They send a confirmation if your order is ready for pick up, and 100 percent of the time I get the item I bought (upon confirmation). There were instances that I get an email saying it is out of stock, but I think it only happened once, and they did honor the price as soon as they had stock (even when it was a price error although it was the difference was less than $20)

All in all, they were consistent with my in store pickup experience, as since a confirmation email is usually REQUIRED to be able to pickup your order (although sometimes I just show them my online order receipt without a confirmation)...

[gregrochedc]

I haven't had problems with the item not being in stock by the time I got to the store to pick it up. It is that when picking up the item, I have had to wait in line behind several people who were there to return or exchange other merchandise. In that case, it would have been faster and more convenient to just buy the item off the shelf, but I have to wait in an extra line to get what I've already paid for......

[TotallyMadeUpName]

From reading all of these comments, it's clear that people are having inconsistent experiences:

Some stores have a special parking spot for instore-pickup customers.
Some stores have staff that have no other duties but instore-pickup service.
Some stores retrieve items from the shelf before the confimation is sent.
Some stores retrieve items from the shelf before the customer actually gets to the store.
Some stores don't sell your item to someone else after you've bought it.

And some stores apparently don't do any of these things. It appears that local management has too much flexibility in how instore-pickup orders are handled. The parking slot is a luxury, and I don't think it's realistic to expect the every store to have someone who deals solely with online orders. But there needs to be a bottom line of enforced-from-above behavior. Actually fulfilling the illusion that your item has been pulled before the confimation is sent, and not giving it so someone else after senting your confirmation is, I think, a good baseline expectation.

[gsmiller88]

I have never used a service such as the one offered by Best Buy (I never had much faith in them to be honest) but I have used Walmart's Site-to-Store service. In the time I spent waiting for an associate to help me I could have just purchased the item there in the store, checked out, loaded it in my car, and been on my way. The only reason I used Site-to-Store is that my Walmart was sold out of the item, but magically got more in stock the day my order arrived. The only time I will ever use Site-to-Store is when my Walmart does not carry the item at all. As for the "in store pick up" services, I will probably never use them.

[alexacker]

Look at the employees of walmart vs bb. It's like grandma's and grandpa's that work there -- you think they even know what a computer is, let alone buying online and picking up?

[ddanckaert]

I've used BestBuy's pickup many times over the years and it's always worked. Granted, I've never ordered something and gone there two hours later. I tend to order them and pick them up on my way home from work the next day.

If I was going there in two hours, why would I bother doing that in-store pickup? The only possible reason would be if there was only one such item in stock and I wanted to secure it. That said, there are four Best Buy stores within 15 minutes of me so I would be hard pressed not to find the product I'm looking for in at least one of them.

[d--keller]

Circuit City got it right nearly every time for me. I used it often and I can only remember 1 time they screwed up. Call it 29 out of 30, and the one time they did screw up? I got a $24 dollar gift card out of it. Best Buy is 2 out of 5 correct for me. When I wrote an email to them, it took 2 weeks to get back a generic: "We're sorry your recent purchase did not meet your expectations. We are continually striving to give all of our customers and excellent experience."

I've made all my purchases on Amazon ever since.

[alexacker]

too bad they're gone, huh?

[ghostfear]

I had the same experience with Sears. Waited around two days or so, when I showed up, I was directed to some back room place and no order. Just had to buy it directly (they have stock at the same price), but, wasted my time to pre-order before arrive at store. Will not use it again.

Dan, I love your articles, always interesting!

[Zoobie]

My problem with in-store pickup is that you have to go to the customer service counter. The amount of time I spend waiting in line behind all the people making returns, applying for credit, or arguing with someone about something makes the wait time horrible. I've tried in store pickup three times, and all three times it would have been faster for me to go over to the shelves to find the product and wait in the normal register line that moves a lot faster.

The last time I used it was to get an on-line price that the store wouldn't match unless I bought on-line and selected in-store pickup. How stupid is that? I'm so tired of hearing retailers use the excuse that their on-line store is a different division and they won't match each other unless you do some stupid "trick the system" method.

My last in-store pickup I waited forever behind a guy that previously purchased an antenna that didn't work, so he wanted to exchange it for the same item. They wouldn't let him without a receipt. Finally, the guy says, "if I go buy a new one of the same item, I'll have a receipt. Can I use that receipt to return this item?"

Best Buy clerk: "Oh yeah, people do that all the time when we won't offer an exchange."

Stupid.

[81s]

I find this article funny, actually. I absolutely despise going into a store and having to ask for help - mainly because I look 17 and people think I'm just some kid play around. I've used Best Buys Store Pickup MANY times (probably 20 in the past few years) and I've never had one single problem! When you purchase something and choose in-store pickup, it tells you to wait until you receive an email saying the product is in stock. I always get that email, print it out, and have never once shown up and the item not been ready or not in stock. I don't know where you people shop, but maybe you should come to Texas and go to the store in Waco!

[Zortek2006]

I used pickup at Circuit City all the time and never once had a problem at several of the stores in the Detroit area or in Oklahoma City. My experience with Best Buy, however, was a disaster. I purchased a 42" Sharp HDTV on-line for in-store pickup. The instructions were to go to the internet sales counter. They had never heard of me. After about 30 minutes of examination (and constant referral to the invoice which I had printed), a supervisor finally was able to locate my order. Altogether, the pickup took over an hour. Several days later I attempted to take advantage of the Best Buy refund if a lower Best Buy price was found (which was found in a flyer two days later). I went to the pickup location and was told all issues with internet sales could only be resolved by calling the "special" internet sales number. This took another several hours as I was shuffled from one customer service rep to another. In the end, I never did get Best Buy to honor the refund. I will never, ever, use Best Buy on-line shopping for store pickup again. Oh, how I am going to miss Circuit City!

[DJOmega6]

So Don, you must have ran out of negative things to say about blu-ray, so you're moving on to other negative things. Ever thought about writing a positive article for a change? CNET really needs to stop posting your crap.

[Joliet Eddie]

Used in-store pickup several times with now-defunct CC with total success, same day purchase/pickup. The last time was last summer when I purchased a dSLR . Guess I was lucky.

Used in-store pickup for a couple of laptops at BB,and that went well, but that was back in 2005. I used BB online ordering for work once. Item arrived DOA and BB arranged for me to return it to one of their stores and they shipped out a new item at the same time. Surprisingly, that went okay. Now with only BB having retail outlets and an online ordering system and in-store inventories being kept pretty minimal due to the current economic situation, no telling how well the system will work.

If we get down to JUST online ordering and no physical showrooms, I won't like NOT being able to handle the hardware before purchasing. Especially laptops and cameras, where ergonomic factors are critical to everyday use.

[peteyboy84]

I had the worst experience with the in-store pickup. I ordered headphones that were supposed to be in stock. Went to the store, and they weren't there. They told me to come back tomorrow because they were coming in. I went at 7pm the next night and was told they were bringing them in from the truck but I would have to wait until after the store closes at 10pm to get them! 3 F'n hours and two days of waiting for a pair of headphones!!! Then at 10pm they said they couldn't find them but that I could try another store if I feel like it.

[babinsuit]

I just wouldn't shop at Best Buy, yesterday you had the article about their poor application of the price match policy. To tell the truth i've never had a good experience at Best Buy. I've had two products break in the first week and they didn't return or repair them even with the warranty.

[pfh777]

Each time I've followed the instructions, I've picked up my Best Buy purchases at my local store without a problem. It seems that those who forget to wait for the reply email from the store saying things are ready do sometimes have problems.

[hblauer]

I used BestBuy in-store pick-up 1 time to get my monitor. I had been checking all sources for a 19' widescreen monitor. Then on a Sunday morning, BB had what I was looking for at a substantial savings over everybody, including on line. I bought one, opted for in-store pick-up, printed out the paper work. I finally got to the store on Tuesday. No line, monitor in my hand in less than 5 minutes. Completely satisfied.

[planblove]

Last year I got a better TV (thousands better) due to the incompetence and reading skillls of the people helping me with my in-store pickup purchase. So no problems for me!

[planblove]

Forgot to add also, it also included a free tv stand, there computer inventory said the stand wasn't in stock but it actually was so I got it right then, but I kept getting their automated emails telling me to come pick the stand up at a different location. I finally decided to obey the email and see what happens. And guess what... another tv stand.... for free. I gave it to my mom since I only needed one. Thanks Best Buy!

[cactus797]

I have used this pickup service well over a dozen times, and love it... The only problem I have ever had was just the waiting for the item... and both times. they apologized and not even the typicall retail apologize it did seem sincere on their part. Not only did they apologize, but I got my stuff discounted both times I had issues. Also to note: SOME store still follow their original policy of pickup and out the door within a few minutes.... forget the time period.. my store doesnt anymore... Maker sure that they SCAN your receipt for this policy to be enforced if your store still has this... They will try to get around this one by not scanning the bar-code, and then will take longer,, and then they wont give you the "time" discount or gift card.....