Provide Better Customer Service Training, Best Buy

"I am seriously considering purchasing a TV at Walmart instead,
even though it may mean I would have to go with a 720p TV"

Why spend thousands of dollars on a TV that's not everything that you
want?

I'm sure there are more than two retailers who carry a television that
would meet your needs and budget. Neither Wal-Mart nor Best Buy is
known for good service (though, staggeringly, Wal-Mart beats Best Buy
hands-down in my experience; see my other comments below).

Try an online retailer (I'm a huge fan of NewEgg) or other electronics
retailer.

n/t

So he walked past you twice, and didn't stop to offer his help. Did
you ASK him for help either of those times, or at your third
opportunity when he was standing at the service desk? It would be
nice, and certainly more in the way of good customer service, if he
had offered his assistance instead of you having to ask, but you have
to consider the possibility that he may not have known who was next to
be helped if he was busy at the time, and he may have had other
business requiring him to go to the service desk.


The only way someone can "refuse" to help you, is if you
ask, and are told no.

There is no such thing as reverse racism-hatred based on race, whether
it be against blacks, whites, hispanics, or little green martians, is
just plan racism, period. That said, I think this was a good letter.
Some people would have demanded gift cards or a free TV. Kudos to you
for being above that!

When I am ignored by a Caucasian, a Native American, an African
American, a Pakistani, a Venezuelan, or anyone else, I open my mouth:
"Excuse me, but I have been waiting, and I believe I was here
first."

No one has ever refused me service after I opened my mouth.

I've been ignored more times than I care to remember. My husband,
too. I used to try to figure out why, but now I just speak up. I
think the reason is sometimes more simple than what we suspect.
Discrimination exists. It's a part of life. I think how we handle it
is what matters.

I learned a lot reading your letter.

Patience is a Virtue
The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Oil
Percieved Racism is still racism, no matter how politely the adjective
that follows happens to be.
Toshiba's 52" REGZA is one nice product (I checked it out on the
net)

It's just sad, this perception can't be proven, the sales associate
may have had a lot on his mind, and racism was probably not even one
of them.

Thanks for the feedback from both of you, I will definitely look at
all the angles should this ever happen again. I am not sure why it
happened but you are right, noone knows why.

They are EXTREMELY expensive! I am by no means a computer whiz or
anything, so when my wifes computer could not establish an internet
connection I tried everything I knew, and had to take it to Geek
Squad. They wanted 80 bucks to diagnose the problem and then another
200 just to fix it. I took the computer to CompUSA and the guy typed
in a few numbers and had me back up and running for free! He said
they normally would not charge for that anyway, because it's such an
easy fix. So, thats why I don't like Geek Squad.

$280 to diagnose an Internet connection problem?!! That's insane! I'm
not a huge fan of CompUSA (at least not in terms of customer service;
they do have a great selection and deals though), but I'm glad to hear
that they helped you.

Btw, most ISP (Internet Service Providers) offer free support for
connection issues. That's usually your best bet--you don't have to
take the computer anywhere. They can usually talk you through common
connectivity issues.

You're providing no evidence to suggest that racism is an issue here.
Sure, it could have been. It could also have been that he didn't like
your shirt. Or that he mistakenly thought you were going to try to
use an enormous jar of Canadian pennies to pay for the TV. Or that
you looked like someone his boyfriend used to date. Or that he was
planning to murder you later on and didn't want to arouse suspicion by
being seen with you on a surveillance video. Or that he was a time
traveler and, having recognized you as his own father, was worried
about whether selling you a TV could result in his never being born at
all.

Racism is really awful. So is being falsely accused of racism. If
you're going to suggest that something ugly was involved, you kind of
need to have some kind of evidence besides, "Well, he and the guy
he was helping were from one race, and I'm from another." If you
*have* better proof -- which I doubt, because it didn't occur to you
until you talked to your friend -- then I'd suggest you rewrite this
letter to make it clear.

Yes, he should have acknowledged you, given you a chance to say,
"Hey, I'd like some help," and either helped you promptly or
said, "I'm sorry, that man has been wandering around here for
awhile but I'll be with you as soon as I can" or something. He
didn't do those things. And that's a valid complaint, but it's not a
significant (let alone horrible) enough valid complaint that the whole
"My friend said it might be racism and now I want you to have
diversity training" doesn't completely overwhelm it.

Also, if you want your "You lost more than $3,000 because of what
may have possibly been racism according to my friend" to have any
punch, you may want to revise "I am seriously considering
spending my more than $3,000 at a store other than yours even though
they don't have what I want" to something stronger.