I had been researching Apple computers
online when I decided to go to Best Buy to see them in person, u close and
personal. As I approached the Apple display, a young salesman approached and
asked if he could help. Almost immediately, another salesman approached with an
Apple MacBook Pro 13 in his hands. That was the beginning of the end if my
customer relationship with Best Buy.
I only started shopping at Best Buy
again in 2008 after a 15-year hiatus for an "integrity" problem I had
with a store in Colorado Springs, Colorado. After moving to Kansas City in
2008, I decided to give them another chance, spending several thousand dollars
there over the last 5 years.
Back to the story. The salesman with
this "new" computer told me it had a small blemish, but was a new
computer and had been checked out internally, passing with flying colors.
Intrigued, I proceeded to ask specific
questions about the computer. Remember, I only went to the store to look, not
buy. I ask hill specifically about the size of the hard-drive, telling
him I needed a 500GB hard-drive for my business. He assured me that it was
in-fact a "new" model with a 500GB hard-drive.
I have never purchased used or slightly
used electronics before, except for deeply discounted floor models with a full
warranty, which HE ASSURED ME WAS THE CASE with this particular computer. He
added "it has a 1-year warranty, parts and labor. If you have a problem
with it in the next 12 months, simply bring it back to the store".
I verified AT LEAST one more time with
both salesmen present:
1. New computer? - "Yes!"
2.
500GB hard-drive? - "Absolutely, no doubt!"
3. Bring it BACK TO THE
STORE if I have ANY PROBLEMS in the next year? - "Yes sir, bring it back
and we'll take care of it!"
SOLD! After all, these clean cut
young men are not working on commission and have no reason to lie, so I left
the store with my new Mac!
I noticed over the next several weeks
that the battery did not seem to last as long as I had heard Apple batteries
did, so I found the user manual online. The manual stated that this model's
battery was supposed to last 10 hours, but mine was lasting only 2 hours or so.
As I was learning how to use this new
operating system, I did some digging and found out that it only had a 250GB
hard-drive (this as just a few weeks after I bought it), but because it seemed
to be working well and still had plenty of space on the hard-drive, I decided
to let the salesman's "little white lie" go ... BIG MISTAKE BECAUSE,
AS I FOUND OUT TODAY, I WAS STILL WITHIN BEST BUY'S RETURN POLICY LIMITS AT
THAT TIME.
A week or so ago, I unplugged the power
charger, which was lit green at the time, meaning that the battery was fully
charged, to use the computer while watching TV. When I unplugged the cord, the
computer displayed a message saying something like "battery critically low
- attach power". However, when I plugged the computer back in, the display
indicated that the battery was "98%" charged! I decided to
check and see if the display was correct, so I unplugged the computer once more
and IT WORKED ... 98% power, so I continued to use it remotely for an hour or
so.
No problems until this morning, April
30th, 2013, only 50 days after my purchase AND WELL WITHIN THE ONE-YEAR
"RETURN TO STORE" WARRANTY PERIOD. Again unplugged the (lit green ...
battery fully charged) power cord, sat down, and tried to turn the computer on
... NOTHING, NADA, NIENTE! I returned the computer to its power supply
and after it finally came on, taking longer than usual, the battery indicator
displayed only an "X", indicating that there was no charge in the
battery. In-fact, when I checked the battery's status using one of the System
Tools, the report indicated that the battery was 0% charged even though it had
been plugged in overnight. The report also stated that there was "no
battery detected" ... UH OH!
While I was digging through the system
report, I saw the model number of the computer for the first time ... It read
"MacBook Pro 13 - Model 2010 Mid-Year". WHAT? 2010? NOT 2012 OR 2013
AS I WAS TOLD?
That was the last straw! I backed-up my
hard-drive, contacts, emails, and so on, gathered my receipts, and left for
Best Buy to return my faulty, misrepresented computer that I had purchased less
than 60 days prior. I should not have a problem, after all, I am well within
the one-year Best Buy warranty period ... right? Wrong!
When I arrived at the store, I asked
the man at the front door if I could please see a manager. After receiving the
"third degree" as to why I needed to speak to a manager, Darnell
Dixon, Customer Support Manager came strolling nonchalantly up, looking as if
he was baffled as to why a customer would want to talk to a manager. It took
all if the self-control I could muster, I calmly explained exactly what I just
told you, every detail. I recorded the conversation as I do all conversations
(telephone and otherwise) where there is a chance that the person on the other
end could be confrontational or "less than totally honest". After
all, Darnell's employees lied through their teeth to get me to buy this three
year-old piece if junk, so why should I expect any less from him? I was
right, I should not have!
All Darnell could say is "you are
outside of our return policy limits and need to deal with Apple". But
Darnell, your employee lied to me, misrepresenting a product and your warranty
limits, and you that is all you can do ... REALLY? But all Darnell could
say is "you are outside of our return policy limits and need to deal with
Apple". Come on Darnell, surely you have some authority to do the
right thing and stand by your employees claims when he coerced me into buying
this computer UNDER FALSE PRETENSES? But all Darnell could say is
"you are outside of our return policy limits and need to deal with Apple".
I asked Darnell Dixon, Customer Support
Manager, fir his card and told him exactly what I thought of his integrity, or
lack thereof, and that I would contact his corporate headquarters and, most
likely, NEVER SPEND ANOTHER PENNY AT BEST BUY! I probably threw a few
other expletives in there as I walked out the door, BUT I WAS PISSED ... HOW
DARE THEY LIE TO ME ... HOW DARE THEY!
When I returned home, I immediately
called 888-BEST-BUY just as Darnell told me and was connected to Brittany in
the Complaints Department. I explained the while story, very calmly, to Brittany,
which seemed to be sympathetic and compassionate. After 15 minutes or so, Brittany
said "let me call the store and see what I can do". I told her
"thank you Brittany" and waited ten minutes while she called Darnell
Dixon, Customer Support Manager.
When Brittany came back in the line,
she said "you are outside of our return policy limits and need to deal
with Apple".
Should I have been surprised?
Probably not. After all, customer service has become a thing of the past even
though businesses are closing daily because in an economy in turmoil. I have
been harassed, abused, and discriminated and retaliated against more times than
I can recall over the past 5, 10, 15 years, So much so that I started a website
called InstitutionalTerrorism.com, documenting story after horror story of
large organizations treading on the rights, the emotions, the lives of innocent
American citizens ... Verizon ... Century Link ... J.E. Dunn Construction ...
Holiday Cruises ... Kmart ... Ryan Lawn and Tree ... Ace Tree Service ... Clean
Green Lawn ... Kohl's ... Go Green ... University of Missouri - Kansas City ...
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon ... Missouri Senators Claire McCaskill and Roy
Blunt ... Missouri State Senator Rob Schaff ... Missouri Attorney General
Koster ... the Missouri Department of Higher Education ... an
"unnamed" school district that discriminated against a woman for
being Italian ... the U.S. Department of Education ... the Greater Kansas City
YMCA ... St. Therese Catholic Parish (Kansas City, MO) ... Kansas City's
Catholic Bishop Finn (convicted protector of a child molester priest) ... TO
NAME JUST A FEW!
Remember the movie NETWORK and the
aging newscaster who wailed "I'm sick and tired and am not going to take
it anymore! ... I'm sick and tired and am not going to take it anymore! ... I'm
sick and tired and am not going to take it anymore!"? Well, let me
just say that I CAN RELATE ... I'm sick and tired and AM NITE GOING TO TAKE IT
ANYMORE!
If you are sick and tired, please let me know your
story. If nothing else, you can cathart a little, releasing some of that
pent-up tension before you explode and do further damage to your body as stress
does. Maybe we can even do something as a group that we as individuals cannot.
These businesses, companies, organizations, bureaucracies, institutions DO NOT
CARE ... THEY DO NOT HAVE TO!
