why bestbuy dot com is NOT the best buy

"caveat emptor". pretty much the only Latin that I remember from school. and that, my friends, is the topic of today's posting.
I am closing the barn door after the cows have gotten out, but i feel that this still needs to be said. Here is a very sad and horrible story that was relayed to me just now by my darling wife, Tracey. I'll do my best to convey her anger, but believe me, i won't even come close....

Earlier this month she ordered some gifts from bestbuy dot com since the items were not available in our local store. I'm sure that you, too, have done this. No big deal, right? Well, this case was different.

We get our mail delivered to a PO Box, since there is no home delivery in our neighborhood. This usually isn't a problem, except when we order something that is shipped UPS or FEDEX, since they won't deliver to one of these (foreshadowing):

Call me crazy, but they won't. Their shipping form won't allow it. So we have no choice but to put in the physical addy, which doesn't show up in any system. We have to force a different town and zone improvement plan (ZIP) code in order to have items delivered via UPS or such. Confused yet? Wait, it gets 'better'.

UPS is the carrier that best (not really) buy dot com uses. Fine. We've been down this road before. So Tracey filled out the form appropriately. But the package never came. Online tracking and email notification showed that it was shipped 8 DEC. Here we are on the 20th, and no package. NADA. Not even one that had gotten mis-delivered to the neighbour's house. So she called BB, and was told that UPS had handed the package off to the United States Postal Service (USPS). Having inside knowledge, we know that this sort of thing happens more often than the public knows. Are you starting to see how this is about to unravel?

So if USPS has the package, but can't deliver to our house (the physical address used by UPS doesn't really exist, @ least not in the minds of the USPS), what do you suppose happened to the package?

That's right. It was RETURNED TO BEST BUY ON THE 15TH. But no one told us. FIVE DAYS LATER we find out, only because Tracey called to check on it. So we have no items. The nice lady on the phone suggested that Tracey re-order the items. Ummmm....HELLLLLOOOO!!??? we'll just be in the same boat. duh.

Then Tracey got transfered (or something. she was talking so fast and was getting madder and madder that I was having a hard time keeping up!) to some other genius, and had to tell the story all over again. Mind you, this is all happening while Tracey is at work. Those of you with kids: Have you ever noticed that your offspring can be so calm, peaceful, and content until the second they see that thing behing held up to your head (no, not a gun. a PHONE)? Alright. now imagine this TIMES 6.

By now, I am sure that Tracey looked a bit like this lady, and things weren't going to get better any time soon. The brainiac said that she should just cancel the online order and go to the store. Duuuuh, the store doesn't have it, so that's why we did the dot com thing. "Oh", he says. "Well, i can't help you."

"how about i order it and have it sent to the store for pick up?" "nope. can't do that. perhaps you can have it sent to your house via UPS." "or", said Tracey, "perhaps i can order it sent to your proctologist and he can shove your idea up your ass. but wait, there isn't any room. it is occupied by your HEAD." i swear she said that. I DID NOT just make it up.

Ok, I did. I made it up. She probably said something more like, "please let me speak with someone higher up."

get this, the dufus claimed that he WAS the highest up, and that there wasn't anyone to talk to. what did my lovely wife say to that? here's the best part:

"I doubt that the CEO is answering calls in the customer service center, so there HAS TO BE someone higher than you. You have made a very unsatisfied customer today. I will be telling all of my friends and family NOT to shop at BB any more and I have a BLOG, and I'll be writing about this today. Feel good that you have made many, many people not want to shop at best buy dot com."

He then hung up on her.

So, I hope that you have had better experiences with this company. Beware, though, that UPS will often dump their packages at the post office. If your delivery has glitches like our neighbourhood does, 'caveat emptor', my friends!