Ipad 2 and best buy mess

I bought an ipad 2 32GB from Best Buy store's Customer Service Desk today (11th march, 2011). I was told that a customer just returned an ipad 2 32GB so it was made available to us at 19:23 hrs on the day of its release (awesome? Nope, AWEFUL). I went home, removed the wrapper and opened the box that had ipad older version in it and NOT ipad 2.
I rushed to the Best Buy store from which I bought it at around 20:00 hrs,
They said the guy who returned it had given it with seal which the lady at the service desk testifies it to be "Apple Seal" from her experience. They said we switched it with ipad older version in 30 mins not considering the fact that it has been returned by their previous customer and he could have switched it.
As a result we are losing money and product, which I do not need

Questions we asked,
1. How could we ever trust you? Do you want us to open the pack right at the store when we buy stuff?
Answered by Sales Manager: 'Yes! you probably should open it right here'

2. Do we pay for YOUR fraud customer?
Answered by Sales Manager: 'Yes! because you opened the box and we don't know who switched it'
Answered by another lady (I suppose a rep): 'our previous customer is not a fraud because he had returned with good seal and I could totally say it was genuine. I don't know if could say this, but he returned it because he bought it for his friend who couldn't pay'

3. Are we stuck with this then? Do I have a solution?
Answered by Sales Manager: 'you can talk to Apple. they are reputed and will consider your complaint because this is not the previous customer's fraud return - If you believe you have not switched it'

4. I just bought it from best buy and i'm back here in 30 mins. Are you saying I switched it?
All of them: 'we can't do anything about it. Talk to the manufacturer'.

Experience: The lady Service Rep was rude and was arguing that the customer who returned was genuine only because of the transparent wrap. When I came home and checked out the wrap - it was one of the cheapest plastic material that Mr. Jobs would laugh at. And of course my husband didn't realize it while opening it and I did not bother to touch it and feel it when I was expecting a brand new ipad 2 in a neat white box.
I am sure the lady who argued about it wouldn't have agreed with us about the wrap because we could have switched that too. This makes me feel that she definitely has her HAND in it or she doesn't like brown skinned like me. May be she doesn't want to accept her fault for not having checked it properly when SHE received the return and believed the story of her fraud customer.

Need help what can i do

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Keep all the packaging that came with the iPad

by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Mar 11, 2011 11:02PM PST

If the plastic wrap material is as bad as you say it is AND, you have the original Apple Seal attached to it, your case has more credibility.

Contact Apple and explain the situation and ask them if they have a record of the iPad serial number that you have in your possession.
If you ever contact Apple with a service problem, they ask for the serial number of the machine AND who you are. If you are not the person to whom the machine is registered, it becomes real difficult to get service.
It is possible, almost certain, that this iPad was registered on-line and that an Apple ID was created for the original owner of this iPad. Apple has this information.
Keep pushing Apple, ask for the supervisor and their supervisor, until you get some sort of action.
If I remember correctly, the only way to get an iPad to work, initially, is to activate it via iTunes.

Consulting with an Attorney may help in the next step.
Compose a letter to Customer Service at Best Buy headquarters, google for the address, and put down exactly what happened. Leave out your comment about "brown skinned people" as that is not a fact, just an opinion and does nothing for your case. In fact it makes it worse and is not a card you want to play.
Send the letter by certified mail to Best Buy.

Hope you get this sorted out.
Let us know what happens

P

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by Vinnan Mar 12, 2011 10:39AM PST

Hi all

Thanks a lot for the comments again

Just came back from best buy and met the manager...

initially when i started explaining the story to the manager she stopped me and said "Wait i heard this happened yesterday and we cannot do anything"

i was like wth and started raising my voice in the middle of the floor..then a guy came in apparently "Customer Relations guy" and i explained him about the story in detailed and told him if this cannot be resolved in a civil way..i will have to call the cops and even go on to an extreme of doing a finger print analysis in the "fake wrapper" to see if the best buy sales reps finger print is on it....

The guy took my receipt inside and asked me to hold on to the product and the "Wrapper" and came back after 30 mins and said "i took a copy of your receipt and will have to investigate with all the employees involved and will call me back by tonight"

and he called me back said he was really sorry and he checked a lot of things and then finally gave an exchange with in next 1 hr

thanks for all your help. it is really appreciated in getting this matter solved.... i am really really really happy now and gonna go grab a drink...

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(NT) Enjoy the iPad2

by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Mar 12, 2011 11:05PM PST

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Best Buy mess....

by JayeD Mar 12, 2011 11:37PM PST

Greetings Vinnan,

After my sad Best Buy experience, I went out to my vehicle, called Apple on my cell, let them know what happened to me & bought my iPad2 from Apple over the phone.

You are not alone with your Best Buy iPad2 aggravation, your entire iPad2 buying experience has been tainted by the flawed 'BestBuy' purchase process. Best Buy's issues are not skin tone related, we could remedy that issue with appropriate treatment options. Best Buy appears to have an adversarial approach to ANY consumers who arrive with a "problem", and they appear to have developed a habit of treating ALL consumers like 'cash crops' to be harvested at will. I have had so many disappointments with Best Buy ranging from telling me the sign posted price on a laptop was an error at $200.00 less than what they were trying to charge at the check out, to selling opened boxes as new, not a fun experience returning for us either. Yet I keep trying to give Best Buy a chance to earn my trust. All I knew was that iPad2 was going on sale at 5PM so I called the store at 4PM to see if the drive to their location was worth the bother, the guy who answered said "come on over, the line is short", no mention at all about any iPad2 purchase tickets being handed out. When I got there, the line was indeed short with about 20 people, but I had no ticket to purchase, and NO one bothered to tell me ANYTHING about needing a ticket to purchase the iPad2 until I got up to the counter where I was told I had no iPad2 purchase ticket, so "sorry, you can't buy an iPad2, but we have lots of 1st generation iPad's you can buy". Sigh, did I look like someone who just wanted to drive all the way to a Best Buy, then stand in some line like a fool for something I couldn't buy?
Why does Best Buy keep disappointing us?

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by Vinnan Mar 13, 2011 1:26AM PST

yeah very bad customer service...they treatment was very bad

I am done buying stuff from best buy...

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Best Buy is horrible

by elle777 Mar 23, 2011 12:29PM PDT

I agree, Best Buy is a joke. Nobody knows anything about tech there.

Has anyone bought an iPad 2 through eBay?

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Defending BB

by Eileen36 Apr 23, 2011 4:50AM PDT

I have, over the years NEVER had a bad experience when returning something to BB. However, I also never had something like a fraudulent situation. Recently I bought a sound bar. My new tv, as it turned out, only had an optical out, no other audio outs. I took it back, salesman brought out a returned bar, hooked it up to tv like, note "like"' so I took it home and.....didn't work. By now I had checked and discovered the only audio out was the optical and I did happen to have the cable. So..back to BB, all in one afternoon, and returned bar and bought a different brand. It cost $50 more so I asked for the same price and they agreed. All salespersons I talked to were very personable and very willing to help solve my problem. So for the San Rafael CA store I have nothing but praise. Also dealt with other BB's and received same excellent service. I suppose it all depends on the personnel.

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(NT) That last line sums it all up!

by mrmacfixit Forum moderator Apr 23, 2011 9:21AM PDT

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Best Buy on their way down the tubes!!!

by m-sherretz Apr 10, 2011 11:46PM PDT

In case you haven't heard, Best Buy just closed all their stores in China. I think it was 9 stores all together. The customers had the same experience here as described in the US. I think we will probably see Best Buy go down the tubes all together pretty soon. Poor Customer Relations, clerks that know less than the customers, poor product selection, using tickets for iPad 2 purchases........ just a few of the nails in the coffin. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt too in China but they did not deserve my loyalty and it sounds like the US stores don't deserve customers either. "Boycot those who disappoint you" is my motto.

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Actually, BB is making a lot of $$

by Pepe7 Apr 11, 2011 2:29AM PDT

You might want to ask someone in the industry how the company is currently performing. The problem sounds a little like it's because Apple is also part of the equation.

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To Pepe7

by m-sherretz Apr 11, 2011 10:33PM PDT

I am in the industrry and Apple had nothing to do with their demise in China. They came in with grand plans and opened up a lot of stores quickly without understanding their customers. The cookie cutter approach does not work everywhere. They are not the first or the last to fall because they diod not understand the market outside their home geohraphical area. There are probably more companies that fail in China than make it. Best Buy was OK when they first opened but then they found they did not appeal to the average customer and they did not stock what people wanted to buy. BB then gradually cut back on their already short supply on the shelves and finally closed the doors. This all took about 2 years I believe.

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A lot of successful U.S. companies fail overseas

by Pepe7 Apr 20, 2011 4:42AM PDT

Look at Wal Mart's failings in Germany as an example of this too. This is not at all uncommon, and to be honest, BB doesn't need China to be profitable. There U.S. business model is doing quite well right now.

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