Steve Beats Best Buy...

In the ongoing saga regarding our laundry machines, I got $60 back from Best Buy today.

The situation from the other day got a little worse before it got better. Because they smashed the door on the new machine and because I bought the "open box" model, Best Buy was pretty much screwed. They had two choices: Fix the door quickly or cut the losses and bring me a new washing machine. They chose the new machine, which was great.

They still had their head up their ass when it came delivering though. I needed the machine at the latest by Friday. We ended up getting it yesterday between 3pm-5pm. And that was the key to the whole thing I am gonna talk about next.

I went to Best Buy this morning. I have had laryngitis the past few days. I cannot raise my voice without coughing. I sound like crap! So I get there when they opened at 10. I stand in the return line until it was my turn.

So I finally got to the counter. I actually was attempting to return two things. First, they were supposed to deliver two electrical cords. Our house is around 100 years old and we did not know if there was a four prong 220V outlet for the dryer or a three prong when we made the purchase. So we bought both. During the whole delivery fiasco, they never brought the second plug, only the proper three prong one. So I pleaded my case and got $20 and some change back.

But on the $40 delivery charge got the ole talk to the hand treatment on the first attempt. So I prodded along telling my story for the second attempt. I was like, "Dude, c'mon... I purchased the delivery time to have my units set up on the 23rd at 4:30PM. Both units finally were set up on Saturday but I paid to have them set up on the 23rd."

The sales manager was understanding but her response was, "Yeah, we broke the door and instead of repairing it, we sent you a new machine which was an extra cost to us. However the time request you purchased was for you to set a time and day. Normally we just set up blocks not specific times and we give you a couple of days. We set up a new time and date for Saturday." So what she was saying was, we realize we fucked up but what that $40 charge is for, is to set up a specific time. Since we broke the machine, we set up a specific time for the second delivery.

Pretty much most people would have accepted her explanation. She did a great job. She really sold that $40 charge well. And she had too. On their return policy there is no return available for the specific time thing. And if they missed that time, the return was automatic. But since she pretty much proved they didn't miss their two times, they were in the clear. Right?

Well... not so fast.

Seeing that I am a seasoned vet at sales, I was actually listening. (which is rare for me) I told her in the beginning that the unit wasn't delivered until yesterday. We had to wait between 3pm and 5pm for it to come. I explained that we did not get a choice of the 2nd delivery. We were at the mercy of the shipping company they used. I also indicated that when the person showed up to deliver on Wednesday, he came at 2pm, not 4:30pm and he waited until my wife came home. The second time was a block and not a specific time. I had no choice.

It was awesome when she spun around and grabbed a gift card. She really was stuck. There was no button on the register to override and knock that $40 off. So she handed me a gift card and said, "Will this make you happy?" Let's see, $60, $20 back to the VISA and a gift card for $40 to spend at Best Buy... Nothing could make me happier. I went up against the Blue Box and won.