Poor Service the whole nine yards

Question

On Saturday, March 29, 2014, I purchased a "Deal of the Day," a Samsung Gear Watch and selected a pick up from Best Buy on Monroe Street in Toledo, OH.  I live 28.1 miles from this location, but I happened to be passing it later that day.  I got a confirmation email stated that my item was ready to be picked up.  When I arrived, I went to the Customer Service Counter, where I have picked up other "Deal of the Day" purchases.  The lady helping me, spent 15 minutes looking for my order, which she could not find even after asking for help.  Between the two employees, they figured out to ask someone else where my item that was alreay purchased was.  It was being held with the cell phones.  They alerted the people I was coming over.  I waited 15 more minutes while I watched a tech agent at the Samsung counter lounge on the counter, and four employees helping two customers.  Once I finally got someone to help me, He pulls out my purchase, set my item down on the counter, and then, proceeded to tell me he couldn't ring me up because he didn't know how to check me out.  He did check me out after another 5 minutes when he realized none of the four employees next to him would help.  Anyone totaling my time yet?  We're at 35 minutes and counting for a "Deal of the Day" pick-up.  After all said and done, 40 minutes later I left the store even though I already had an email stating it was ready.  Clearly it wasn't ready and neither were the employees prepared to handle customers that day.  Lesson #1: Don't pick a Best Buy because you know you will pass it when you know there is a better one just down the road.  
I digress to my purchase.  I get it home, and I open it up to find it doesn't work.  This brand new item doesn't work.  Seriously?  What was the point of spending 40 minutes in a store for an item that doesn't work?  Great...so here comes part two.
I decided to go back to a familiar Best Buy on Freemont Pike, Perrysburg, OH.  It is 12.3 miles closer than the first one.  I take my item in, get my sticker at the door, and I'm being helped before I even get over to the Customer Service Counter.  I tell them that it doesn't work, and the lady sends me over to the Samsung counter where they test it.  He tells me it will take about 10 minutes.  It takes him 3 minutes trying a combination of solutions for him to also determine the watch doesn't work.  He says they don't have the same color in stock, and he asks if a different color is ok.  He goes and gets another watch and takes me back to the Costumer Service Counter, and the lady proceeds to ring me back up.  She gets half way through it and calls over a manager, and then informs me it will cost me $100 more to exchange the watch.  The lady and the manager converse for a few minutes trying to problem solve so I don't own them $100 more to exchange a DEFECTIVE watch.  Here were their solutions: 1. Just return the watch or 2. Drive 11.2 miles where another Best Buy (neither of which I have previously entangle with for this watch) where they have 3 watches that I can exchange them.  Here is the catch, they can't ask them to hold the item till I get there because there are no holds.  I guess I'm not like most Best Buy customers because I didn't have time to drive an addition 22.4 miles round trip out of my way because I had to go to work.  Mind you, these people were as nice as could be, and I didn't have time to argue.  Since I was unable to spend my day doing the leg work to find a watch that did work, I returned the watch per the options I was given.
I am now without a watch, and I am one unsatisfied customer.  One of the things that store #2 mentioned was that "Deal of the Day' purchases are online purchases.  With that in mind, I called the number.  After explaining my situation, I filed a complaint with the first store for poor service, and then I asked her how I can resolve this problem to get a working watch.  Her only option was she could sell me the same watch for $100 more than I paid for it minus $10 for inconveience or something.  After a heated debate and no resolution.  She had not one solution to the problem and no answer for how to avoid this situation.  Here were some of the question she, a representation of the corporate office of Best Buy, could not answer,
1.  Why can I not exchange my watch for one that works?
2.  Why was I told that I had to either drive out of my way or just return the watch because the watch never worked to begin with?
3.  Why did it take me 40 minutes to pick up an item that I already received an email stating it was ready?
4.  If the product I purchase is defective, and I cannot exchange it for one that works, How can you justify selling an item that doesn't work?
5.  Why will you not price match your own sale?
6.  If I decide to make another "Deal of the Day" purchase, can you garuntee that it will work or I can exchange it for one that works?
7.  Are you stating that you do not garuntee "Deal of the Day" items are authentic and not defective?
8.  If you are corporate, do you stand behind the ordeal that I have endured just to purchase a watch?
What's the answer to all of these questions?  It's a simple one, I will continue to call the coporate office daily until this matter has been resolved.  If anyone has a better idea how I can get a watch that works for the same price I paid, I am all ears.
What has happened to Best Buy?

Answer 1

Dear bwbtheatre,
I know the “I can’t wait to get it home, rip it open, and start playing with it feeling”, but to do so and find out that it doesn’t work must have been frustrating. I’m glad that you were able to get better customer service upon your visit to the Perrysburg, OH store. If only the circumstances as to why you were there had been different. I appreciate you calling in to leave your feedback about the first store and it pains me to hear that it didn’t end with a desirable resolution for you. No need to call in every day, I will be your single point of contact to assist you in getting another Galaxy Gear. I hope to answer all your questions with this post.
(1) Due to your order being a Deal of the Day offer, the system wouldn’t do an even exchange if it’s not for the same exact sku on the same day of the offer. However, your situation was a little different due to the fact that you had a defective product. (2)The Perrysburg store could have performed the exchange and created order for In Store Pickup. This way, you could pick the new one up, at your convenience, from the store that showed stock of your desired color. They even could have had it shipped to you for free if that was desired as an alternative.
(3)Your first visit, at the Toledo store, should have been much quicker because normally all product would be kept at the Store Pickup area. A reason for keeping those smart watches in Best Buy Mobile might be, with a Mobile Associate performing the pickup, they could make sure you walk out working with your new smart watch paired to your phone.
(4/6/7)In the mass production process, there are bound to be “lemons” that turn up in the process, this is why we offer our Geek Squad Protection and also why manufacturer warranties exist. It wasn’t a question of, can we exchange it for a working product; it was more, what is the best way to do so? (5)When the store realized it was a Deal of the Day order, they should have made sure to process an exchange like I said. Normally, we wouldn’t price match backwards to a previous sale.
(8)This experience should have been a lot more efficient for you; therefore, I want to make sure both the Toledo and Perrysburg stores get your feedback. I am going to reach out to you via private message to gain some more details from those visits as well as your order. To check your private messages, click on the envelope in the upper right-hand corner while logged into the forums.
Warmly,
JD|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
 Private Message