Best Buy needs to think about customer service

So off we went to Best Buy to pick up a Toshiba Ultrabook.  Nice computer for Anna; light, powerful and very nice looking.  The Best Buy Mobile store in the Indian River Mall had it on sale at a very attractive price.  I had seen it beforehand and Anna decided to go for it rather than a much more expensive MacBook Air that had almost the same specs.  We went to the BB Mobile and were approached by a salesgirl who was quite friendly, and happy that she didn't really have to sell us anything.  We knew what we wanted.  But, they didn't have one in stock and thus the trouble started.  She checked the inventory at the nearby BB store, the regular retail outlet which sits only yards from the mall.  She noted they didn't have one either, but the manager on duty suggested she call over and sure enough they said they had one.  The manager indicated that she would be happy to walk over to the store and pick it up for us.  I was okay with that, and she had the salesgirl call back to verify is that was okay with them.  She then found out that since she was the manager on duty that she could not leave the store.  So, another call.  Each call took several minutes since it seemed as though no one in the BB wanted to deal with the Mobile store.  I over heard the conversation and that the BB manager, Mark, was busy but he would bring the Toshiba to the Mobile location.  This is about a five minute walk if you go slowly.  The sales girl and the Mobile manager asked if we were okay with the plan, and we were so we decided to run an errand and then come back.  This had already taken most of an hour due to the BB store being slow to respond.  We did leave and then return within about 30 minutes.  Upon returning we learned that neither the Toshiba nor the manager had come yet.  The salesgirl then called the BB to find out why Mark had not brought it yet.  Again a long wait for someone to pick up the phone.  That someone should have been Mark, but apparently he was too busy to comply with the request.  It would now be two or hours before he could bring the Toshiba since he was busy.  This was really annoying.  You might ask why I just didn't go pick it up myself: 1) I greatly dislike that particular BB 2) I didn't think it was fair to the salespeople in the Mobile store to lose the sale after how gracious they had been 3) I greatly disliked the arrogance of Mark 4) the Mobile manager told me they really were slow that day and the sale would greatly help.  But, now we either walked out or waited for Mark to show up.  It kept crossing my mind how little respect Mark gave to both a waiting customer and his fellow workers in the Mobile store.  They all work for the same company, yet it seems this was not the first time that Mark and the BB employees acted this way toward the Mobile outlet.  What a shame.  We left!

Anna called the Melbourne, Florida BB and they indicated they had the Toshiba in stock.  We decided to make the 60 mile round trip and get it.  When we arrived at the store the salesgirl was quite friendly, the Toshiba anxiously awaiting our arrival.  I told the salesgirl why we were there and of course the usual "wow that's terrible" reply came.

This reflects very poorly on Best Buy.  I posted on their customer service site and one of their trollers replied with a "that should never happen blah blahs."

It has a happy ending in that Anna loves her new Ultrabook.  It's name is Vespa.  Don't ask.

Zimmerman, Martin and Gardner

No, they are not a law firm. No, they are not a rock trio. They are "news" of a sort.

First, there is Zimmerman. His guilt or innocence is not what I will write about. What concerns me about him is why he would feel the need to arm himself, because if you carry a gun and are a community watch person then surely something bad will eventually happen. Obviously I was not there the night he shot Mr. Martin. Are we to believe that Zimmerman just randomly walked up to Martin and shot him in cold blood, or did he feel the need to defend himself against an attack of some sort? The jury will decide. The Fed is looking into this as a racial conflict. Give me a break.

This leads into my next rant...

A few days ago in a place called SCHERERVILLE, ILLINOIS, three thugs murdered a young mother named Jacqueline Gardner. They stole $85 from her after following her home. They shot her in cold blood. Have you heard about this on the news? Have any politicians called her family to express their condolences? Has Al Sharpton shown up to express his sorrow over this heinous crime which has left two small children without a mother? Has the White House spoken to her parents? Is the Fed going to investigate this as a racial murder, a la Zimmerman? No? Why not? Maybe I'm naive, but Ms. Gardner was white. The three thugs are black. Could that be why Mr. Sharpton has kept his mouth shut for a change? Could that be why we don't see a memorial popping up at the site of her murder? Could that be why there are no comments on CNN, USAToday, Fox, etc crying for justice? In a colorblind America the reaction to her murder would be just as vocal as that which we heard from the Martin killing. Dead is dead.

Here's the heads up on one of these fine gentlemen: "Stephen Lee Henderson, who is still at large and considered armed and dangerous, was arrested by Hammond Police in 2007 for cocaine dealing. He pleaded guilty in 2009 and received a six-year sentence. Typically, Indiana offenders serve half their sentence."

So, he deals cocaine, gets six years, serves three, then murders this young woman. Has anyone EVER heard of someone killing a person, robbing them, and being a first time offender? I haven't. They usually, or probably ALWAYS, have an arrest record that is downright frightful. Maybe what we need is jails that are punishment instead of recreation.

Or am I politically incorrect?

Speaking of which: Have you been to an airport lately? I mean since September 11, 2001? I have. Let me tell you what I saw. As I entered the Orlando International Airport I was immediately struck by a very odd scene. There was a large group of ducks going through security. Each duck had to take off their shoes, empty their little wing pockets, and go through tight security. And they were no longer ducks. They were now "animals" as described in the latest TSA Manual of Political Correctness. And all animals were subjected to rigid security just as though it was a Great White Shark. Why? Because, Ducks and Great White Sharks are indeed animals. And all animals are treated the same. Thus, Ducks and Great White Sharks are lumped together as potential threats to both the airline and national security. Both the Ducks and the Great White Sharks have relinquished their Fourth Amendment Rights of probable cause in the name of national security and airline safety. The Ducks asked for a warrant but were warned that they might lose a few feathers if they did not submit (they were not told they couldn't get on the airplane since they could already fly). The Ducks then asked what was the probable cause as mentioned in the Fourth Amendment. The TSA agent was becoming annoyed, since he just had lifted a 90 year old lady out of her wheelchair so he could check the seat for dangerous weapons like false teeth or maybe a bootleg copy of the AARP Monthly. So, he mentioned that his favorite meal was Peking Duck and that shut them up.

Now I am sure you are aware that both Ducks and Great White Sharks are equal in the eyes of the TSA. But, even the TSA cannot stop a shark from being a shark.