Best Buy Store

Recently while traveling I lost the charger for my portable DVD player.  Last night I ran into a Best Buy and told the greeter I had 7 minutes and what I was looking for.  He steered me to the Home Theater area where via headset he said someone would be waiting for me.  I was thinking at this time, “wow, great customer service.”  Three employees indeed were in the department, but I felt like I was interrupting something more important than me, the customer.  They didn’t have the part.   Call the whambulance.   Don’t you hate those rush nights when you get nothing done?

Today, however, I checked Best Buy’s website for the Eagan location which stated they opened at 9 a.m.   I rushed over once more as I am traveling again.  The store wasn’t open until 10 a.m.!  But OMG, the store manager, Cole was outside telling me to come in. They would take care of me.  Cole had changed the hours last night on the website, and understood there would be customers this a.m. based on the listed website store hours.  Guess what, yup, I left with my charger and am loving Best Buy again.

These are two great examples of why it is so difficult for a large brand to have consistently great service across all locations.  There is nothing worse than the feeling you get as a customer when employees don’t treat you with respect.  In contrast, the manager of the second location knew the change in store hours might create confusion for his customers, so he made sure the store was open and ready at 9 a.m.

Lynne Vannelli