HDTV Purchase Nightmare
I’ve just gone through a night mare. I’m still just exhausted from the experience. I’ve recently got my tax refund on payday, so I have over $6,000 to my name at this moment. What better way to spend it then invest in a nice HDTV?
I’ve trodden along with my mother in-law going to different stores and comparing prices and features. I finally settled on a 42″ plasma HD Monitor from AKAI for $1497.76. I went into Sam’s club, picked up one of many tickets available under the television and went to the front to purchase it. I headed over to customer service afterwards to pick it up. Unfortunately, there was only 1 television in there inventory and that was the floor model.
After a half hour of store employees running around and figuring out what to do, I was left with a refund of $1572.65 including taxes. Since I purchased it with my debt card, they could only refund in cash. The cashier started counting money and quickly ran out of hundreds and fifties. I’m there looking at the pile of money dreading the fact that I would be carrying it all out in an overstuffed wallet.
“Don’t worry, we can just call the bank if I don’t have enough”, she said. “More time”, I thought. In the mean time, my mother in-law and niece were waiting outside in the van for me. I came up with an idea and asked if it could all be put on my Wal-Mart card. “Just pretend that you cave me all the cash, and then take it all back as a payment on my card”, I said. After thinking about it, she agreed that it would work.
So in the end, I walked out with an over-paid Wal-Mart Credit Card and a form to file a complaint. It took me a while to find that form as well, as it was well hidden behind a display at the exit. I spent a minute trying to reach back far enough to grab it.
I’ve got such a head ache from this. My wife started rubbing my temples and it helped relax me much. Still, I feel like I went through all of that hell for no reason. Next time I’ll go to customer service first if I make a purchase like that in Sam’s Club again.
The cashiers computer should have picked up the fact that there were not any television models remaining. Even if the floor model was available (which it wasn’t), the computer should have flagged it as such and directed the cashier to confirm that I did want it. Customer service should have been able to issue a ticket of some kind to me to let me come back when the televisions did come in stock again so one would be reserved and paid for in my name. Someone should have removed all tickets under the display model once all available inventory was sold out. I should have been given some form of compensation for having gone through this ordeal.