TheObiBlog

Sent sometime last year. I should probably mention that this letter was not really written in anger. I have buddies who are on the receiving end of emails like this - and they tell me they get a kick out of them, so I thought I'd oblidge and give them an interesting day at work.

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RE: Order # BBY01-154664005321, Case# 35946755

Dear Best Buy,

So, here's a recap of this transaction:

* Best Buy sold me 3 PC games for $20.

* You didn't own one of the games you sold me. That was lie number 1. 3 weeks after the purchase, you admitted not having the game, and asked me to call customer service.

* Upon calling customer service, I was told that if I canceled the order for the third game, I would be refunded $9.99+tax. This was lie number 2.

* When I discovered the $0.54 credit, I contacted customer service again, they said they would forward my case to the appropriate people, and I would be fully credited for the missing amount. This was lie number 3.

* 2 weeks later, after no contact from Best Buy, I called back, and was basically given the story you document in your email below. Basically "We sucked twenty bucks out of you with a promise of a good deal, but we're only giving you a marginal deal, see you next time sucker!" I said I was happy buying 3 games for $20, but I did not want to buy 2 games for $20. I was told that if I returned the other two games to a local Best Buy store, they would credit me the remainder of the purchase. This was lie number 4.

* When I went to my local Best Buy with the other two games, I was told that no, they could not credit back the remainder of the purchase, because their system only showed that I had paid for one game. They couldn't see I had already returned one.

* They told me if I gave them the other two games, they could contact the bestbuy.com people, and you would credit me. Well, after having been lied to 4 times, I didn't want to shoot for lie #5, especially since it meant giving back everything I'd been sent in return for a promise. When I talked to the store manager, he agreed with me, but all he could do was exchange my two games for $20 worth of in-store merchandise. Desiring to get on with my life without making a liar out of the store manager, I took him up on his offer. This didn't really fix anything, as I started with 3 games for $20, then went to 2 for $20, and ended up with one for $20. But it made me feel a little better to have closure.

Shame on Best Buy for treating me this way. Shame on you for not honoring promises made by other Best Buy people. Shame on you for lying to me 4 times in a row. Shame on you for not fixing this after the first or second lie.

At the close of your email below, you say "We look forward to your next visit". Answer me this: if you were treated the way I was treated, would you do business with you ever again?

If I was sending this to you via snail mail, I'd include the bestbuy gift card I originally used, cut into little pieces even though it still has $10 or so on it. I guess you'll just have to believe me when I say that I'm cutting it up and throwing it away. You'll also just have to believe me when I tell you I'm done buying Best Buy gift cards for various relatives on their birthdays and for Christmas. I'll never buy another clothes washer, dryer, carpet cleaner, vacuum, or TV from you. You have lost my business.

My home expense tracking tool tells me I've spent $4988.30 at Best Buy or BestBuy.com since December 2000. That's around $750/year. Well, guess what - I'm also a customer of Circuit City, Target, Amazon.com, Home Depot and Sears. They'll be getting my $750/yr now. They've got everything you have, at similar prices, and they've got customer service far, far superior to what I've experienced with Best Buy.

If you like, you can forward this email up to someone with the ability to do something about it. I no longer care. Or maybe you can print it out and hang it from your wall. Feel free to forward it to anyone you think might get a laugh out of it - that's what I'll be doing.