Slamming Lenscrafters

A couple of weeks ago I went to the local Lenscrafters and went through the process of getting an exam and purchasing glasses. Never again will I try that. Their service quality was great when it came to helping me find frames while my eyes were dilated. It was fine throughout the process. What was not fine was the quality of the glasses. I put them on and immediately vision was impaired greater than without them. This is supposed to have the opposite effect. I was seeing a halo image around everything. I told the woman helping me and she at first took them back into their lab returning with a statement similar to this: The technician said they are correct and you may need to upgrade to a different lens with anti-reflective coatings.

Needless to say this did not sit too well for me. I said I was not upgrading to anything and they needed to make them right. A couple more trips back and forth to the lab resulted in a big nothing. At this point I was wanting my money ($186) back and said I would come back the next day to see the manager. Then she had the nerve to ask if I was going to take them home that night. I said no they can stay right here. No way was I taking them out of the store.

Well to their credit, my refund was handled in a timely manner. The manager wanted to re-measure the pupilary distance again and found that it was 2mm off. They measured the first time with their proprietary measuring device. The re-measure was done with the hand-held device everyone uses. I am glad about this too since I did order my glasses online later that night.

So I am slamming Lenscrafters for sloppy service when it comes to production of glasses. They could have done better.

Fry's Electronics Gets Rave

We bought one of our sons a laptop for his birthday. It was a Lenovo and we felt like it was a good deal. He loved it of course and it has been trouble free so far. But this is a story of how Fry's Electronics gets my vote for outstanding customer service.

Laptop clipart
from Clker.com

Several days later I was scanning their ads when I noticed the same laptop on sale. Well I had heard they had a policy for buyers who found a better price so I went to work researching it. Sure enough they did. On laptops you had 15 days to claim the difference in an advertised price. I thought cool and was about to go straight there only one problem. I could not find the receipt.

On day 12 after the purchase I decided to go anyway sans receipt. I walked in and waited my turn in the customer service line, mostly for returns, until it was my turn. A pleasant young gal was helping me and I was next in line from a real asshole type who was totally abusing her and everyone else. She could have met me coldly but she did not. She was pleasant as I stated earlier.

I started by saying I could not find my receipt and that I needed it for a rebate. Which I did by the way. She informed me after looking up the transaction and writing down the transaction number and an 800 number, that she could not print the receipt but this number could help me with that. Great I told her.

Now I also noticed the laptop on sale here for less money. Without saying a word or batting an eye she looked up the current price and looked at me asking if I wanted it returned to the card or cash. No fuss no arguing just service. I liked that and Fry's Electronics gets my rave.

Big Slam to Best Buy or is it Now 'Try to Buy?'

Last night my son's went in search of a gift at Best Buy. They had done their research online and the company's website showed what they wanted to buy was "available at the store." Immediately upon walking into the store they were greeted not with, "Can I help you?" But rather "Do you use cable or satellite?" Of course they told the person what they wanted, a Kindle and they were not directed to the location in the store but besieged with more questions of their viewing habits.

I don't think this is the way to treat a customer who is clearly intending on spending cash at the store right now. But wait there's more!

Upon finding the area of the store where the Kindles were, right opposite the TVs, they informed a sales person in this section of what they wanted. He didn't know anything about Kindles and tried to up sale them to something else. But my sons persisted and he went to ask someone else only to return and treated them again as if it was the first time he saw them. He left once more and never returned to help them but did help another victim. But wait there's more!

Frustrated they tried to get help from the TV salesperson who declined to help but said he would get someone in that department. Thirty minutes later they left without a Kindle.

Do you think this is an isolated incident? I don't think so. Read this from Forbes on why this writer thinks Best Buy will be out of business sooner rather than later.

So I am slamming Best Buy and declaring them 'Try to Buy'. Try to Buy had a willing customer in the brick and mortar store, their most costly venue for retail products, in the store cash and desire to leave with a Kindle in hand and let them leave with nothing but a bad taste to return ever. The sale by the way did go through and the winner this time was Amazon.com. Go figure!

Slam Best Buy and I declare their new name to be 'Try to Buy'.

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Side note unrelated: I like the free use graphics from Clker.com. Try them out and support them via their ads etc. There are nice graphics here and an amazing selection. Rave to Clker.com.

Slam - 4myrebate.com

Rebates are a big reason many of us make purchasing decisions. We all want the best price for our dollar. When someone advertises a rebate, they should follow through if the customer has made all of the right choices in all the hoops they are presented.

Last Christmas I purchased a power supply for my son form NewEgg. They are a fine online retailer and I have no arguments with them. It is the rebate site 4myrebate.com that I have an issue with. In this case they offer a 5-7 days processing and the text leads one to believe they will have their rebate very quick. Of course this extra process is $3.00 for a service fee charge. I agreed as you can see in this screen capture of the original documents: (I should mention this is the only thing I liked about 4myrebate.com)

 

As is plainly visible I elected the Amex Reward Card and accepted the $3.00 service charge. Well I did not receive an Amex Reward Card but a check for $27.00 and it took a month to get it. See next screen capture:

 

Somehow it went from the Amex Rewards Card to a check. How did this happen as you can see in the first image I selected the card. And it took a month to get the rebate check. So I was dinged $3.00 for fast service, didn't happen, dinged $3.00 for a card, didn't happen and it took a month. Not what I call great service.

Well the story doesn't end there as a second purchase I made from NewEgg also involved a rebate handled by, you guessed it, 4myrebate.com. See the screen capture for this one:

 

Unlike the first case this one was handled in a decent fashion and I received inside a month an Amex Rewards Card for $27.00. The big thing I am griping about here is their claim for 5-7 days for processing. I can hardly believe it took ten days to arrive and once it is claimed to have arrived they do process in 5-7 days as they say. In this case it was six days. But it still took nearly 4 weeks to arrive and the verbiage on their website leads you to think that for $3.00 you will be holding your rebate in about a week. After all it was entered and the process started on the web.

Well for the future I will just wait for the checks since it takes about the same amount of time. Slam goes out to 4myrebate.com for not following through completely on their advertised agreement.

Gary's Automotive - Rave for Great Service

Gary's Automotive

These days it is extremely difficult in my opinion to find a business that will service your car and not just your wallet. Gary's Automotive does just that and does it great. We have had both cars serviced here and each time they are done correctly and with terrific customer service. Gary and his team listen to your concerns about your car and then go to work for you. I have been extremley impressed each and everytime I visit. I feel like I am walking into a friend's garage instead of a business. Now that doesn't mean things are not run like a business because it is. But you will find the work is done for a more than fair price from someone who cares about your business coming back.

We will be coming back since I know that I will be treated honestly and fairly. Gary really wants the best for his customers both in the quality of the work and saving you money if possible on the repairs.

Raves all around for Gary's Automotive in Chandler Az.

Slam on Goodyear Tires, Now a Rave for Discount Tire Company

Well at least I was being treated as a valued customer for once. I never blamed Discount Tire Company for the problems with the tires. They always treated me fairly each time. But it was this last tire, number six to blow out, when they suggested to put on the new set from a different manufacturer.

I was very pleased to hear that and even happier when I was charged $0. I appreciate it when a business stands behind their work. Things do go wrong in many different situations and businesses. It is how they handle it that sets them apart. Discount Tire did an exceptional job this time and I will be giving the a shout out for the service I received. So here's the rave for Discount Tire Company for a job well done. Thank you.

I went from this to four new Pirelli tires in less than an hour. Great job!

Dealer Courtesy Cars Observation

I was driving down the freeway the other day when I noticed something odd on the rear windshield of a Toyota Corolla. It was the decals indicating it was a courtesy car for Lexus of Chandler. Hmm, Lexus luxury car, Corolla economy car, it just wasn't adding up right. Yes I'm well aware that Toyota is the big brother of Lexus. But really any Lexus model is easily 30K more than the average Toyota Corolla. This is not to say that the Corolla is a bad car but rather a statement on Lexus of Chandler obviously not willing to put their faithful customers in a like model during service. I have seen in the past BMW, and Mercedes courtesy vehicles and they were of course BMW and Mercedes. Is this a statement of our own economy? Is it just a dealership not willing to pony up for a classier model?

I personally do not own either of these cars. Nor do I plan to anytime soon. But a luxury car is supposed to be just that, luxury. And like all cars they will need some service. If it were me and they told me my Lexus was going to have to spend extra time in the shop and I was driving out in a Corolla, I would have told them who are you kidding? Lexus of Chandler definitely gets a big slam on this one for being cheap and not looking at the big picture. People buy their cars for the look and the status of owning a Lexus not a Toyota Corolla.

No Customer Service From Danny's Car Wash

I think this is a total lack of caring for their customer. Today my wife drove in to Danny's to get the oil changed and a car wash. She thought she was going to Fletcher's but since she had cut the coupon apart did not recognize the difference. Well the folks at Danny's did but never said a word to her until it was time to pay. From the beginning they accepted the coupon knowing it was not theirs. Total bill was over $52. The manager was unwilling to match the price in the coupon so she asked for the corporate phone number. They too would not do a thing to help her but only insulted her saying she knew full well where she was and what she was doing. They knew what they were doing to and should have said something at the beginning about her not having a proper coupon. Most companies would welcome new business and meet them at least half way with a discount and an apology. But not Danny's. We will never give them business ever again and I am urging all of my friends to boycott the Danny's in Gilbert too. Their total lack of customer consideration is definitely not worthy of anyone's business. And to top it off their prices are way higher than the competition's. Danny's Car Wash and their lousy service is a total slam.