Batteries Plus – TERRIBLE service

Between 11 AM and 12 noon on Saturday, June 2, 2007, I visited Batteries Plus at 3733 Nolensville Pike with the intention of purchasing a battery for my notebook PC. I had already called the day before to ensure the store carried the battery I was looking for.

When I called June 1, I spoke with Jason and told him I wanted the HP brand battery for my nx9600 notebook. He assured me there were several in stock. When I arrived, I had my old battery in hand, to compare with the new battery, and told the gentleman working that morning what I was there for. He grabbed the battery off the shelf and brought it to the counter. I noticed immediately that the battery was NOT the HP brand, even though I had specifically said that is what I wanted when I phoned ahead.

Still, I was willing to settle. However, the packaging for this battery did not say it was certified with my notebook model, although it listed several other models. I expressed my concern over the compatibility and the employee took the battery out of the box so that we could compare them. While the battery did seem to be the same, I was understandably nervous about placing an unsupported battery in my notebook, worried that it may damage the pc. The male employee (he didn’t have a nametag) assured me it WOULD work and stated that Batteries Plus would cover it if the battery did damage my PC. I told him that was a relief, since I really didn’t want to damage a $2700 laptop this way, but if Batteries Plus was willing to cover it, then I would try it.

At this point, the employee seemed to change his mind, as he started trying to convince me not to buy it. He said he would put it in his computer without a second thought, but that if I was nervous I should buy it elsewhere. I replied that I really needed the battery ASAP and if they were willing to guarantee the battery’s compatibility to the point of fixing or replacing the laptop if the battery damaged it, then I was going to buy it.

I then asked him to hold the battery at the counter while I shopped through the store for some other things. I was interested in a AAA battery charger and a Power Inverter and wanted to see what their offerings were. I gathered some information about both, and then returned to the counter to purchase the $150 battery. There was now another customer in line, and I waited patiently for my turn, even though the gentleman who had previously waited on me was taking what seemed to be an inordinate amount of time to replace a watch battery. Still, I waited in line almost 10 minutes.

Then a 3rd customer entered the store. The gentleman who had previously waited on me IMMEDIATELY called a female employee from where she was working on something and asked her to wait on the 3rd customer. Since they had not offered to have her ring me up in the 10 minutes I’d been waiting in line behind the other customer, I assumed she was simply going to help the 3rd customer find what he needed and he would wait in line behind me to check out. Imagine my frustrated surprise when she found his battery and then took him to the register to ring him up!!! At that point, I was veritably insulted.

These two had now made it plain that my $150 purchase was not wanted and my business was not important to them. I pointed out that I had been waiting in line for some time, and that if she could ring up sales, she should have already rung mine up. The gentleman said he thought I wasn’t going to buy anything. I answered that I had already told him I was going to buy the battery and asked him why did he think I’d been waiting in line for the last 10 minutes if I wasn’t buying something or didn’t need something???

He again seemed intent on trying to talk me out of the purchase, and I repeated that I needed the battery ASAP. I also told him that I was very insulted by the treatment I’d suffered at their hands and I would have walked out already had I not needed the battery immediately. At that point, he gave me a look of smug spite, cancelled the sale in the register, and refused to sell me the battery.

I am amazed at the way this employee treats customers, and while the woman that was working was not actively rude to me, she should have rung me up sooner if she had the ability to do so. She could clearly see me waiting in line from where she was working, and I hold her as responsible as him for the lack of attention to my sale. It is astounding that these two let a $150 sale walk in favor of two inexpensive watch battery sales. I can only surmise that the gentleman was lying when he assured me that the battery was certified and that Batteries Plus would cover any damage it caused to my laptop if it didn’t work, since he changed his tune as soon as he heard the value of my notebook PC.

I could understand refusing the sale if I had been yelling or cursing, but I was not. I was extremely frustrated and insulted, and did not let them off the hook. I told them in no uncertain terms where they had failed in the customer service department on my sale.

Store information:
Phone: (615) 331-1551
Fax: (615) 331-1858
Address: 3733 Nolensville Pike, 37211-3301, Nashville
Manager: Rusty Cowart

Jennifer Ray
http://www.jenaray.com/