Honolulu Advertiser columnist Robbie Dingeman wrote this column last week in her Are You Buying This column:
Refusal of cash astounds, angers customer
Store says back-up cashiers work to speed up lines, but they don't handle money
Albert Young just wanted to buy a video cable when he and his wife went to Best Buy a few months ago but they left empty-handed after two cashiers refused to take their cash.
Young was shocked that his attempt to pay cash got rejected. The Honolulu resident had been a regular Best Buy shopper, spending about $6,000 there over the past three years. He doesn't think he'll go back.
He said he stood in line for 10 minutes before a cashier told him that he couldn't accept cash and would need to go back in line. When he reached the next cashier, the same thing happened and he was told to get back in line. When he said he had already waited in line, the clerk responded: "So have the other people." And that's when Young left the item on the counter without buying anything.
We checked with Best Buy at Iwilei and found that Young likely got stuck in a practice that retail stores use to try to shorten lines by having back-up cashiers — who don't have access to cash — help ring up purchases when the store gets busy.
That's the explanation from Best Buy general manager Shawn Troup, who runs the Nimitz location and apologized for the treatment.
But Young found the situation — which happened at the 'Aiea store — both baffling and frustrating.
Troup said that what happened was the result of a practice meant to speed up the lines. He said his company — as well as his former employer, The Home Depot — and other retailers are using more back-up cashiers to help expedite lines.
Young, who is 76, said "I am totally confused that making a cash purchase is not acceptable."
Young said he sent an e-mail to try to find out what the Best Buy policy is and never got a reply.
He admits that he may be old-fashioned in his approach but prefers to shop where employees are friendly and helpful.
Best Buy's Troup was sorry to hear what happened and he said that Young shouldn't have been shuttled around that store. He said the back-up or temporary cashiers usually aren't given a cash drawer because they may only serve as cashiers for a few minutes each day while the regular cashiers all have cash and can make change accordingly.
"Cash will always be king," Troup said.
But that's not what Young found.
When Troup learned of the incident, he said he would like to apologize, offer Young an explanation and likely a small discount on a purchase. Troup said the practice is designed to help, not hinder people in line.
But he said Young should have been referred only once from the back-up cashier and directed to someone who could take cash.
Supermarkets and drugstores have been dealing with similar issues for years and usually mark the lines that have payment restrictions to avoid such confusion. That's why we see "cash only" lines or "credit and debit only" lines.
Troup said his company strives to help people and grow the business with good service. "We're here for the long haul," he said.
If something like this happened to him as a customer, Troup said he would ask to speak to a manager or supervisor and explain what happened.
Young doesn't plan to return to any Best Buy in the future. In the past three years, he felt he'd been a good customer for the store, buying a 50-inch TV for $3,500 two years ago, a camcorder and a monitor last year in California that cost more than $1,000; and a computer and monitor this year for nearly $1,500.
Since the incident earlier this year, he has gone to other stores instead — spending $840 for a laptop for one grandson at an Office Max and $2,000 at the Apple store for another laptop for an older grandson.
"This is not to brag but to emphasize to these big box retailers that they should give more thought to procedures that would have a negative effect on their customers," Young said.
On the other hand - I just found a CompUSA debit card in my wallet. It was from a mail in rebate. I guess instead of sending checks, nowadays they send debit cards.
Anyway, I noticed that the debit card expired on 02/09. I was just about to dump it when I thought I'd call - just to see what will happen. I didn't expect anything out of it considering it was my fault for not using the card sooner.
So I got the customer service rep and after confirming my name and address, I told him about the expired card and asked if he could do anything for me. He looked up the card and confirmed that it did expire on 02/09 but he also said the balance of the card was $0. He asked me if I had used the card previously and I told him that I didn't. He dug a little further and found that the "inactive use" fee was charged against the card for a few months until it drilled the balance down to $0. Nice.
The rep then said he'll see what he can to do.
He was able to reverse the "inactive use" charges so the original balance was back on the card. But then he said that to reissue the card, there's a one-time charge of $6.95. Then he mentioned that the card was a $10 rebate card.
At that point, I was just about to tell him to forget it being that the card would only be worth $3.05 after the reissue fee. But he was then able to waive the reissue fee and said that a new card for the original $10 should be arriving in about 5 to 7 days.
I was blown away. Here is this card that expired over 7 months ago and had a $0 balance on it due to fees and this guy was able to reverse the fees and waive the charges and give me a replacement for the full amount!
I thanked him profusely and let him know that I appreciated his help.
This case gave me a renewed faith in customer service.
I remember when I worked at The Halekulani where customer service it their top priority, they stressed the importance of asking the guest if everything is to their satisfaction - while they were on vacation.
Maybe it's the Japanse culture to remain humble and not speak up - and unfair in a way as it doesn't allow the business to correct a problem - so The Halekulani would ask their guests if everything is okay - during their stay. Because they know that a guest will return home and tell 10 of their friends who in turn will tell 10 of their friends and so on and so on. Good or bad.
And finally, at the Ala Moana Center post office, I've witnessed customers that had boxes incorrectly wrapped or addressed and the clerk at the window would tell them what they needed to do to correct the problem. But then the clerk would say to them "Go over to the side and rebox/readdress the package and when you're done - don't stand in the line again, but come directly back to my window." Now that's Customer Service!
What kind of Customer Service experiences have you had - Good or Bad? Share your stories here.
