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.

[apodlecki]

I DISAGREE WITH THIS BLOG,I BOUGHT ITEMS ON LINE AT CHEAPER PRICE
AND PICKED THEM UP AT THE STORE AT THE CHEAPER PRICE I PAID ON THE
INTERNET.OTHER WISE IT MAKES NO SENSE TO PAY THE FULL PRICE ON
THE INTERNET AND PICK THEM UP AT STORE PRICES.
THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR IS TAX,IF THEY HAVE STORE IN YOUR STATE,YOU THAN HAVE TO PAY TAX ON THE ITEM.WHICH YOU
KNOW AHEAD OF TIME WHEN YOU PAY ON THE INTERNET.

[dano_48]

Trash Circuit City as much as you like, but their buy on-line/in-store pick-up always worked. BB is big, bloated and famous for lying and other sleazy business practices. America has a penchant for picking and supporting losers. Yo get what you pay for...Carpe Diem!

[JMcMusicman]

Ok, so I've never had any problem with my item being available for pickup... but if you ever need an exchange, forget about it!!! And if you paid with a gift card... even worse!!! Ok so I got a Harmony One, and paid with gift cards that I recieved for Christmas. Three weeks later the remote died, I called Logitech and they were going to send me one as of course it was under warranty, however wanting that instant gratification, I said wait I just bought it so I'll just take it to best buy and swap it out... good luck!! Ok so they had no problem processing the return, except for the fact that it took 30 minutes, then they would not let me just swap it out. They said I would get a refund and I would have to buy it again... What?!? Ok, so not a big deal except for I paid with gift cards, and since I had no intention of returning the remote I threw away the cards. No problem (according to the best buy rep), they'll just mail me a new card!!! What?!?! So I've got a defective product, and not only can I not exchange it for one that works, I have to go home and wait for "bestbuy.com" to mail me a new gift card!!! They couldn't just take a gift card of the rack in front of me!?! So home I went, extremely unhappy, and I waited... and waited... then I emailed bestbuy.com, and waited... and waited for 6 weeks to get my replacement gift card!! So what I expected to be a 10 minute trip to best buy to exchange a defective product they sold me, turned into a 6 week ordeal!! I will never again use BestBuy in store pickup!

[marko8407]

I've used BB in-store pickup a total of 5 times from 2 different stores. Each time I've used in-store pickup I had no trouble at all. They take the email I printed off with the bar code, scan it, and get my item in less than 2 minutes. Maybe the BB stores in the Indy area have less flunkies than your BB stores?

[tvviewer46]

Hey pal, if you really did your homework on line at Best Buy's website, you would have written down all the information about the product and Best Buy's numerical identification for the product. Then you'd call your local store, giving them the information and asking if the product was in their store's inventory. The local store personnel would know better than anyone if they have it in stock. When you take initiative, you get results. Everyone wants a fall guy for their laziness when things don't go their way.

[C433Z]

hmm, maybe it depends on the item? I've only done this once, way back with a 512mb sansa something or other. It worked just the way an ideal 'pick-up' should.

of course, that's just one occasion.

[koreanaddiction]

Unfortunately, not everyone is perfect nor is every retail store. There are always problems that may occur. The stock system does not always re-update in a quick amount of time because there are so many items being bought at retail stores that it is hard to keep trying to update every item in the store in a minute's worth of time. There are individuals that may or may not have a problem with their service when they come into a store regarding a Best Buy dot com pick up. But there are also inviduals that have no problem with the process. Unfortunately, there is not one person who's main priorty is to do in-store pick ups and the customer service. If there was, than wouldn't you get angry if you were processing a return and saw an employee standing at the in-store pick up register? It seems that we can not please our society. Unfortunately, we don't have as many workers and as much labor to do these things as you suggest. Let's take a look at the bigger picture. Im regards to Don's complaint about instore pick up, I did not see anywhere where he waited for the confirmation e-mail that was supposed to be sent to yu when purchasing a best buy dot com order. I would just like to know if there is anything that would serve the society as a whole and not put damage on our business? It seems to me that there is not.

[spanishinquisition1428]

Picture this instead:

You just got screamed in your face by a customer who assumes that something is your fault when it is actually (pick your scapegoat). Your line is backed up so far you can't see the end. You can't get help because you work the HARDEST and most specialized job in the store; your lead is helping ring people out up at the checkout because that is also backed up and someone called in sick. The phone is ringing off the hook because the Sales Operator didn't come in today. Then some jerk tried to jump everyone in line because he has an In-Store Pickup and gets angry about the 5 minutes he had to wait all the while not having his paperwork with him. Then all of the customers waiting in line proceed to scream in the face of the Customer Service Representative for letting the person jump the line.

Do you think it's fair to let someone jump ahead of another person who has been waiting just because they have a different thing they're doing? Absolutely not.

Cut Customer Service Representatives some slack. They take peoples' crap all day and are treated like animals that have no feelings. Next time you want to complain about how long you had to wait in line or how nothing was done right, that Customer Service Representative IS a human being and should be treated like one. As long as things are done right for you in a timely fashion, no complaint should be had. The warehouse team may grab the wrong product for an In-Store Pickup but as long as an employee apologizes and fixes the issue there should be no problem.

Obviously the person that wrote this does not remember there are other people shopping at the store at that time and has never worked in retail before.

Keep up the good work Best Buy!

[BKnight75]

Ok, as an employee of BBY. I'm not going to make an excuse as why people have a a bad experiance with this aspect of the business. All that I'm going to state is the following. One pick your item out and pay for it online at bestbuy.com. Two WAIT & I mean WAIT for a conformation email from BBY stating that your product is in stock or out of stock at the store if you don't wait for that email and rush to the store you have a high proballity of being dissapointed; our website while generally accurate doesn't take into account holds for ads, rainchecks,and special holds done by a manager. As an indivdual that works in the department that is responsible for this aspect I have spoken to customers that have an issue with there order and 9 out of 10 are they don't have the confirmation email or they just check online and ran to store without completing the sale. On occasions when we have made a flat-out mistake, which we do we are all human beings, we rectify it by giving discounts, giving upgrades or getting the item shipped straight to customer at no charge. I know its not what people want to here but its generally faster than having us trying to order items in the store. Lastly if you have a question about your order, ie why isn't it in stock at your location when your website says it is please call the store ask.