Friday Night Video

I get emails all the time that are trying to sell me one thing or another. Some of these I look at, and some of them I don't. One of the emails that I get on a daily basis is from Best Buy. They call it their Deal of the Day. I think over the course of a few years, I've bought maybe a couple of memory cards and possibly a CD and a DVD. Never had too much to complain about. Until now.

A week or so ago, I ordered some software and it arrived the other day. I didn't have time to install it the day it arrived. I installed it the next day. It’s an updated version of some software that I already use and I figured it would be worth getting since it was at a pretty decent price.

So I go to install the software, but before I do, I figured I should uninstall the previous version- just so things will go extra smoothly.

As soon as that was done, a sign of trouble came when I looked at the box. There, in the upper corner, was a sticker that said “This software will not work until purchased and activated at the register”. This was under the label of “Theft Protected”.

I figured a company like Best Buy, which specializes in electronics, does this kind of thing in their sleep. So, I proceeded to install the software. I put the disk in and pretended to read the software agreement, I checked the little box and entered in the 400 character serial number. The trouble came when the next box came up and wanted to verify this code. I got the following error:

It was obvious that the software had never been properly scanned at the register and therefore it was never activated. I searched my emails for the receipt and called the 800 number for Best Buy's customer service (actually, 877 number). After a recorded warning that my call may be recorded, which I have since decided is either baloney, or if they are recording it, it’s only being done for their break-time entertainment, I got through to a woman who was actually quite helpful.

When I deal with something like customer service, I really do try to be patient. I figure that whatever the problem is that I have, is not the fault of the person on the other end of the phone, and as long as they're trying to be helpful and as long as they're being polite, I figure, hey they’re doing their job. This could very well be one of my kids someday, so a little patience wouldn't kill me.

So the helpful customer service service agent tried to remedy the situation in various ways, but nothing seemed to be working. I'm not sure she had the best grasp of what the problem was, but she was working at it. Eventually she decided that the solution may be for me to bring the software to my local Best Buy and maybe they could scan it. She put me on hold and tried to get a hold of someone in that particular store. But somewhere around 20 minutes into the call, I got cut off.

I tried calling back but instead of getting the enthusiastic and helpful customer service agent that had cut me off, I instead got a hold of someone who really didn't belong in customer service. I have absolutely nothing against people that speak English as a second language. After all, they’re doing better at my language than I would ever do at their’s. But the thing is, if somebody struggles with English, and they’re in a predominantly English speaking country (sort of, anyway), perhaps customer service is not the best position for them to be in. I’m not really sure that that’s their fault.

The woman that answered the phone tried to be helpful. At least I think she did. Between her badly broken English and what sounded like her using a phone from the 1970's, it was pretty hard to tell.

By the way, It seems to me that that if you claim to be experts in electronics, you should invest in some decent equipment for your employees, rather than the apparently bargain basement rejects your customer service agents are stuck with.

Anyway, I started at the beginning, again, explaining every step, just as I had to the previous woman. I could tell that this woman clearly didn't know what I was talking about. It certainly didn't help with the connection continually breaking up in between being garbled.

Still, I felt like there was some possibility that we were heading toward a possible resolution, but this woman couldn't understand me any better than I could understand her. Trying to explain how I had software that needed to be activated at the cash register was a nearly impossible task.

At one point she offered me a refund, at least I think that's what she was saying. I tried telling her that there was nothing wrong with the software, it just needed to be activated. She asked me if I had already opened the package. Of course I had already opened the package. How did else would I know that it wouldn't install? What was she thinking? Was she thinking I was trying to shove the entire box into the DVD Drive?

My frustration was growing and I could tell her's was well as well. She was going to talk to her supervisor and call me back. I told her I was leaving in 10 min. She called me back about a half an hour later. I was gone and Sam took the message.

When I came home, I called customer service back and got yet another person. Once again, I had to start at the beginning- my name, my address, the whole nine yards. By this time I'm getting thoroughly irritated about all of this. It seemed fairly simple. The software says it needed to be activated at the register and it never was. Why was this so hard to understand? Where is the Geek Squad? Finally, the woman said she would look into it and send me an email. Fine, you do that.

At this point I tried to call the Best Buy down at the local mall. After the usual forty rings, giving up and calling a second time, somebody finally picked up. The young woman who answered asked how she could help. I explained what the problem was. She listened and said she needed to talk to her supervisor- then she put me on hold. After several minutes she came back and I had to explain the problem again. She had to talk to her supervisor again. When she came back, she told me that the problem was that I had to register the software. I explained to her that I couldn't register the software until I installed it and I couldn't install it because it hadn't been activated. This was the same conversation that I had with the woman before her and the woman before that. She put me on hold again and went to talk to her supervisor- again. When she got back, she told me that the problem was that I had to register the software. By this time I'm boiling- I’m trying to tell her that this was not the issue... but thanks anyway. She gave me an 800 number to call for the software manufacturer, and thanked me for being a valued customer.

I figured I had nothing to lose by trying to call the phone number, so I made the attempt.

Let's take a break for a minute. You want to have some fun? Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you the phone number and have you make the call- but before I do, I want you to pretend that you've talked to several different people, explaining the same problem over and over again, and these people have no idea what you're talking about. Also, pretend that you have been dealing with this off and on for close to two hours. One other thing- you’ll need to know that the name of the software is Paint Shop Pro and it's made by Corel. This will be important when you make the call.

Okay, so just to review: you have a program called Paint Shop Pro. It has not been activated where you purchased it, and therefore you have not been able to register it. Okay, Ready? Here's the phone number: 1-877-582-6735. If you're reluctant to call, don't worry. You will never have to talk to an actual person. What you will get is a typical menu for possible solutions to possible problems- none of which will apply to you.

Go ahead- try any menu item you want. You're not going to find a solution. And if you're anything like me, after the third or fourth try, you might try dialing "0" in hopes of getting an actual person. What you'll get instead is a recording telling you that you have made an invalid selection and a "Goodbye", before they hang up on you. Ha! Mindbender! Keep trying, it's like a rubix cube of customer service.

So by now, I've talked to 3 or 4 different Best Buy employees, and I've called Corel’s customer service and I was no closer to getting this thing to work. I finally decided to give Best Buy’s customer service one last chance, so I went back to my email to find the 800 number. Lo and behold, I had another email from Best Buy- in response to my last phone call to their customer service. This new email gave me the phone number to Corel- which was the number I just tried calling. It also gave me a link to a video on how to install the software. I watched the video just for the hell of it, and it was great- as long as the software had been Activated At The Point Of Purchase. Which. Mine. Had. Not.

By now, I was so thoroughly frustrated, I began to bang out a reply to this email using a judicious mix of upper and lower case characters. I explained to them how Corel was not the problem- the problem was Best Buy. Let me quote from my email: “IT HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVATED AT THE POINT OF SALE. Note that the message says to contact the vendor (YOU)! It is still not working. This is the error:..” , at which point I included a screenshot of the error message (see image above). I sent the email. 

Then I realized that the image didn't attach- so I had to send another email. I stressed that this was all their fault.

Several hours later, I get a response from Best Buy apologizing for the difficulties. They offered to give me a credit. What I really wanted is an apology and an admission that they were all wrong and not worthy of my patronage. I accepted the credit. They thanked me for being a valued customer.

Best Buy could have just left me swinging in the breeze, but they did indeed refund my money, so I have to give them that. But geez people- you’re supposed to specialize in this stuff. This is supposed to be your thing.

Anyway, at this point, I've re-installed the old software, and the new software is back in the box, sitting on my desk where it will gather dust until I can stomach the idea of throwing it away.

All of this leads, somewhat, to tonight’s video. Substitute the software for the copy machine...