A recent experience with Best Buy, a large chain store in Wichita, has reaffirmed to me the need to shop at home.
This is not only for the benefit of our hometown businesses, but because whatever we think we may save-and I do emphasize think-is not worth the time, hassle and impersonal service that seems to accompany these mega stores.
About a year ago, on a trip to visit family in Wichita, we got caught up in the glitter and glamour of the Sunday sale ads and big-store conveniences. Thinking about the coming school year and the need for another computer in our home, we decided to stop at Best Buy and see what great deal we could find.
After studying the various products and speaking with all the "knowledgeable" service people, we decided to buy a Compaq laptop computer. Naturally, we would also need to purchase the service warranty because there are many costly things that could go wrong with our new computer in the next two years.
In August we needed to use that service warranty. Good thing we purchased it, because even minor repairs can be expensive. So I made the trip to Best Buy in Wichita, kids in tow, to have the "B" key, the touch pad, and one USB port fixed.
I left my computer and the power adapter with the expectation of having them back in about two weeks.
Two weeks later, we see the FedX driver coming up the road. Sure that he was bringing our computer, everyone ran out to meet him. Homeschooling with five children and one computer is difficult, so we were all very excited to have the laptop back.
We brought in our box, opened it, and there it was, fixed and ready to go. The only problem was, there was no power adapter. You can only use a laptop for so long without recharging.
Not to panic, I would just call Best Buy and get everything straightened out. This was not as easy as you would think. I will spare you the painful details of numerous phone calls, long periods of "on hold" time, two unfruitful trips to Wichita-costing almost $20 in gas each time- being sent the wrong adapter, and the ordeal of explaining my personal situation over and over because I never dealt with the same person twice.
Believe me, I am sparing you the details.
In the end, we had to locate, order and pay for another power adapter. We were told to take our receipt to our "local" Best Buy and they would reimburse us.
That meant another trip to Wichita where, after explaining our personal situation a again, we were told by the barely-out-of-high-school manager that she was not authorized to give out any money.
I asked if they could send me the reimbursement when they did get authorization. "You're welcome to call here before you come back again," she said.
I explained to her we were not very happy with the customer service and would be reconsidering where we spend our money in the future. But the look on her face told me she did not really care. Her job was safe. Nobody would remember us or our problem.
And the money we spent there was pocket change for a large company like Best Buy. They will never miss our business, so why bother with any personal customer service?
As a former business owner in Hillsboro, I know how important it is to treat people with respect and to show personal service.
When we owned the Donut Shop, my husband made it a point to provide a worthy product and service. This principle of good customer service is not just to keep patrons coming back, though this is important to any small business owner, it is a matter of taking pride in the product or service being provided, it is an understanding and love for the community in which we live, it is knowing who the customers are and their personal needs or wants.
So as I choke down the fact that we will probably not see any reimbursement for the adapter and that Best Buy does not really care if we shop there again or not.
I want to send a heartfelt apology to Marc Penner at Sorb Computers for not shopping at home first. He has more then once answered my silly tech questions at no charge and is certainly far more knowledgeable then those "professional" sales people.
Small business owners typically not only need, but want, our patronage, and are willing to make the effort to keep it.
And I think, if we took a good look we would see that prices are usually comparable to those of the large chains, and if they are a little bit higher, I'll pay it for a little bit of personal service.
Katy Magathan
Hillsboro
Thanks, local donors, for giving blood
On behalf of the hospital patients in our region, we would like to thank the people who came in to donate blood at the American Red Cross blood drive Sept. 5, and all who volunteered during the drive.
We can feel proud we did out part to ensure lifesaving blood is available to those in need.
Our blood drive will help accident victims, surgery patients, people undergoing chemotherapy and many others.
Did you know that every two seconds, someone in the United States receives a blood transfusion? Our blood drive helped to ensure that blood was available for those patients.
We hope you all look forward to saving more lives at our next blood drive Nov. 30.
