Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

returns and exchanges

Best Buy makes my head hurt.

Thinking I’d come up with a foolproof idea for my dad’s birthday, I corralled my mom and siblings into pooling our money together to get him a big Best Buy giftcard that he could use on whatever he wanted. He has his gift cards — as well as two more that arrived unbidden and are proving to be a gianormous headache.

On Oct. 18, I ordered two gift cards in preset amounts via bestbuy.com, and they arrived in Tucson in time for my dad’s birthday. On Nov. 3, I received a confusing e-mail from bestbuy.com:

We recently identified a systematic issue with our gift card processing and fulfillment for orders placed between 10/16/2005 and 10/31/2005. Because your order fell within these dates, your gift card(s) is affected. In the next 2 to 4 business days we will be shipping you replacement gift cards so depending on your geographic location you should expect to receive your card(s) between 11/8/2005 and 11/15/2005. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this will cause you…

New gift cards were shipped out on Nov. 4, and my dad received them on the 11th. So now he has two sets of gift cards. When I spoke to him on Sunday, I promised I’d contact Best Buy and try to sort it all out.

First, I tried to contact customer service via a form on the Best Buy Web site. I looked up my order number, filled out the form and hit “submit” — only to be taken to a blank screen. I tried again, with the same results. Since I didn’t receive any kind of confirmation e-mail, I assumed that my message simply vanished into the electronic ether.

So I went to Plan B: Call 1-888-BEST-BUY.

I probably should have just switched to the PC and tried to use the Web form from there. Telephone helplines generally are a breeding ground for frustration and confusion. Tonight certainly was no exception.

The first person I spoke to seemed initially confused by my story (I can’t blame her; I probably would be, too), then, after putting me on hold a few times, told me that my dad would have to return the second set of gift cards to a Best Buy store. When I asked what information he would have to bring with him to the store, she put me on hold again, then advised me to call back and talk to another representative, as her computer system was being updated.

So I called back. Even more confusion from the rep on the phone as I re-told my story. Her computer seemed to be a bit snappier, as she didn’t have to put me on hold every time she looked up information about my order. The sharper computer didn’t seem to make her any sharper, though. The conversation (not quite verbatim, but close):

“So I see here that you ordered four gift cards.”

“No. I ordered two, and a second set was sent as a replacement.”

“Okay,” she said, faint understanding in her voice. “Would you like to pay for them or return them? If you don’t return them, your credit card will be charged.”

“Well, since I didn’t order them, I’d kinda like to return them.”

“Okay. Just bring them to the nearest Best Buy location.”

“Will he have to bring anything with him when he returns the cards?”

“Yes. The order number and the credit card.”

“Wait. Are you saying I need to give him my credit card number?”

“You’ll just need to bring your credit card with you.”

“No. He’s in Arizona. I’m in Virginia. I can’t give him my credit card, and I’d rather not give out the number.”

She hesitated. “Let me put you on hold while I research this.”

Loud Muzak suddenly blared from the telephone. I held the handset away from my ear until she returned.

“He’ll need to take the second set of cards to the nearest Best Buy store.”

“Does he need to bring any kind of documentation with him?”

“Yes. The original packaging.”

“Ok. So the packing slip with the billing information and all that.”

“Yes … Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“So, just to make sure, he needs to take all this to the regular returns desk?”

“Okay. Thankyousomuchforcalling. Bye.”

Click.

God, I hope the people at the Best Buy returns desk have a better handle on things than the people on the phone did. I almost feel like I should call the store near my parents’ house in Tucson and give them a heads-up, just to confirm that everyone knows how it’s supposed to work. “Here’s the deal…” The last thing I want is for my dad to walk up to the returns desk and have the college kid behind the counter just stare blankly at him, uncomprehending. Because if that happens, it’s not going to be pretty.