For the past week I’ve had a consistently frustrating customer experience both online and during several in person visits to my local store. If it had been an isolated incident with a single person I wouldn’t be posting, but this has been consistent and incredibly frustrating.
It started with what I thought was a simple task. I bought a new 4K TV and wanted to swap one of my existing HD set top boxes for a 4K box. Here’s what happened when I visited my local store to exchange the box in person:
- Thursday, Jan 28th I went into the store and was told that the 4K boxes were out of stock and that I should try back the following week
- Tuesday, Feb 2nd I wanted to check on the inventory so I tried to find the phone number of my local store. I could not find it online so I used the online chat and asked for the contact info. During the conversation the agent asked why I don’t just move my existing 4K box to the new TV when I want to watch that one. I explained that it wouldn’t be feasible to keep disconnecting and reconnecting the device. They then offered to ship me the box but that it would require a shipping charge. I said no since I wanted it sooner and could drive to my store. I asked about the phone number and was told that there is no way for me to contact the store and my best option was to drive to the store to find out if they had stock. I asked if the chat support person could tell if the store had stock and was told ‘No’.
- Wednesday, Feb 3rd I drove to my local store (2nd time) and asked if they had 4K boxes in stock. I was told they did and was given one. I did not have my HD box with me but was told I could return it afterwards. I was also told I would need to call to have the 4K box activated.
- Thursday, Feb 4th I installed the 4K box and called to have it activated. On the call I was told that the 4K box was a DVR box and that I would be charged an additional monthly fee. I explained that I didn’t need a DVR box since I already have a 4K DVR box attached to another TV. I asked about a 4K box that was not a DVR and was told that I could get one from my local store. I asked if they knew if the store had stock and was told that they did.
- Thursday, Feb 4th I drove to my local store (3rd time) and explained what happened and asked for a 4K non-DVR box. I was told that all 4K boxes are DVRs and that a 4K non-DVR box doesn’t exist yet. The employee then said “nothing is available in 4K anyway so it doesn’t matter”. I returned the 4K DVR box and asked to have it removed from my account.
- Thursday, Feb 4th Back at home, I used the online chat function again and asked if there was a 4K non-DVR box. I was told there was. I explained what I have been going through and the agent asked why I didn’t want a DVR box. I explained that I already had a DVR and didn’t need 2. They said they understood and offered to ship me a “HD Box”. I replied that I already had a HD Box and was looking for a 4K Box. I then asked my original question again, “Is there a 4K non-DVR box?”. I was told they needed to transfer me to Technical Support. My chat was transferred but I didn’t get to an agent, I was stuck in an automated chat that kept asking me to select from a series of topics, none of which gave me the option to speak to an agent. I left the chat.
My local store is the one in North Wales, PA.
