Best Buy ®

Full review
When shopping for the new Mac OS X 10.6, "Snow Leopard," I came across a note indicating that Best Buy was selling it for $5 less than the local Apple Store.

So, I went to their website, checked inventory, noted that a store not too far from me (about 30-40 minutes, driving) listed it in stock, and placed my order. That was all quite easy - their website is laid out rather well, and the store locator works by city/state or ZIP code.

I quickly received the e-mail confirmation of the order, which informed me that I would be receiving another e-mail to tell me when the item was ready to be picked up.

A short time later, I got the e-mail, titled "Your order is ready for pickup".

I jumped into my car, drove to the store, and discovered that not only was my order not ready to be picked up, that store had no stock of Snow Leopard whatsoever.

The "Customer Service" representative at the counter couldn't explain it, and the store's Manager On Duty came over to reassure me that my order would be automatically cancelled in 7 days, and the authorization hold they'd placed on my card would also be removed at that time.

That's all. No apology, nothing. It wasn't until I called their 800 number while I was still in the store that they showed any signs of concern that they'd just wasted my time.

Needless to say, I won't be shopping at any Best Buy in the foreseeable future. This last experience was just the straw that broke the camel's back, but I've had it with their push for extended warranties (assuming you can even find a salesperson on the floor in any particular department - "Sorry, that's not my department" is almost a mantra at Best Buy) and complete lack of service.

A well-laid-out and convenient website simply does not make up for an utter lack of concern for customer service.