Batteries Plus

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted]

I talked with the company and explained that I took my watch to a repair place who fixed it and said that the battery had not been installed correctly.   When I called Batteries...

Plus, they offered to fix my watch but I had already seen someone else and they installed the battery correctly and it worked.  I asked for my life time battery amount to be refunded since I will not be using them ever again.   Sean, the Manager, said he would request a check be sent to me.   If I don't receive it, it means their headquarters are denying the request.

Be very careful with the screen replacement with this store. There really is no warranty because there is no condition under which they will agree to replace the screen. The price to replace a screen is high compared to other services I have found since having my iphone screen replaced. It is not worth the money. My screen broke straight across in one line and was not due to a dropped phone. They would not even consider my claim. They could not even give me an example of when they would replace the screen under warranty!","neg-1

On 04/12/2015, I took 3 watches in to have the battery replaced at Batteries Plus Bulbs in [redacted] MS. They replaced the battery in all 3 watches but could not get the back on my [redacted] watch so they took it to the jeweler and asked me to come back 20 minutes later, which I complied. When I returned to pick all 3 watches up, the time was adjusted on 2 watches but the time on the [redacted] watch was not set, so I attempted to set the time and the stem broke. I have had this watch for several years and no problems whatsoever. I immediately went back into the store and spoke w/the manager and he looked at it and said he would send to his Jeweler who would be out until Tuesday and he would call me then. I never heard from him until I contacted the store on 04/21/15. The manager was not available and they took my contact information and said he would follow-up. I called again: 04/25, 05/01, 05/03, 05/05 and no response. I then asked for his manager and was referred to a [redacted] at XXX-XXX-XXXX. When I called this number, I spoke with a [redacted], who stated he would have the [redacted] store manager give me a call. [redacted] never called and I reached out to [redacted] again and again. The [redacted] store finally called me on 05/08/15 at 12:45pm. The call sound was distorted and then the call disconnected and I never heard from them again. I have contacted [redacted] at the [redacted] location but to this day I have not received a call about my [redacted] watch from [redacted] and still DO NOT HAVE MY [redacted] WATCH and no one will return my call.Product_Or_Service: Battery watchDesired SettlementMy [redacted] watch repaired and returned. Business Response The customer's watch has been available for pick up since Friday, May 29 and we have left her 2 messages so far making her aware of this. As stated, she brought in 3 watches to have the batteries replaced to us. All three had the batteries replaced and were working fine. The stem on the [redacted] watch would not function to set the time, so we offered to send the watch to our jeweler, since a stem repair is beyond what we are capable of doing. Our store manager at the time told her that it may take up to three weeks to receive the part, since [redacted] has a very specific stem and cannot be substituted with a generic stem. The stem took almost 5 weeks to be received, rather than the 3 we said it would take. The customer called after one week, and we let her know the part had been ordered and her watch was with the jeweler. We continued to follow up with the jeweler, but only followed up with the customer twice. The last time, the manager said she hung up on him, but I think they just had a bad connection and her phone cut out. She called my office store, and the manager at this store followed up with the [redacted] store and the jeweler as well. I got involved on May 21. I called our [redacted] store for an update, they said they had gone to the jeweler on Tuesday, he received the stem that afternoon, and would have her watch done by Thursday. As I later found out, this is a small watch/clock repair place and they are only open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I called the customer gave her an update, and told her the store would call her when they had her watch in hand. They went to the jeweler at 4:00PM on Friday, May 22 and he already closed for the day. He was closed on Monday for Memorial Day, and stayed closed on Tuesday. We left messages on his phone system but they were not returned. We called him that Thursday morning and told him we had to have the watch, and we picked it up Thursday afternoon, May 28 and started contacting the customer that her watch was ready for pick up. We absorbed all of the costs involved in this repair, the customer was only charged for the battery replacement. Our normal procedure is to pull the stem out to test it to see if the hands move, and if they don't we do not take the watch to replace the battery, and refer the customer to a jeweler. The customer came with three watches on a Sunday, and I believe the person working that day failed to test the watch before she replaced the battery, but once she opened the watch, we took responsibility for the watch. The process of changing out a battery does not involve the stem, other than to set the watch, so nothing the associate did in replacing the battery would have damaged the stem, but we stand by our work and once we take the watch in, unless it is something that is obviously wrong with the watch's mechanisms, we will return it to the customer in great working condition. In this case, the part took longer than we anticipated to receive, and we could have kept the customer better informed on what we were experiencing. The delay in repairs may be on the jeweler, but we could have done a better job of updating the customer beyond the two calls we did make. But, as of May 29, the customer's watch has been available for pick up with a new watch stem.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)My Rebuttal:Store: The customer's watch has been available for pick up since Friday, May 29 and we have left her 2 messages so far making her aware of this. Customer: The store only called and left one message that stated my watch was ready for pick-up, not two. I was out of town at the time and immediately picked my [redacted] watch up upon my return to the city. Store: As stated, she brought in 3 watches to have the batteries replaced to us. All three had the batteries replaced and were working fine. The stem on the [redacted] watch would not function to set the time, so we offered to send the watch to our jeweler, since a stem repair is beyond what we are capable of doing.Customer: All three batteries were replaced and only 2 of the watches were set with the correct time. When I went to set the [redacted] watch the stem falls off. Why weren't all 3 set with the correct time, if they are going to change the battery and set the watches with the correct time?Store: Our store manager at the time told her that it may take up to three weeks to receive the part, since [redacted] has a very specific stem and cannot be substituted with a generic stem. The stem took almost 5 weeks to be received, rather than the 3 we said it would take. The customer called after one week, and we let her know the part had been ordered and her watch was with the jeweler.Customer: The representative at the store never identified himself as the store manager. I called after one week because he never told me if may take up until three weeks to receive the part. He only stated her would take it to his jeweler who would not be open until Tuesday and he would follow-up which he never did, I reiterate. Store: We continued to follow up with the jeweler, but only followed up with the customer twice. The last time, the manager said she hung up on him, but I think they just had a bad connection and her phone cut out.Customer: Never a follow-up as to the status of my [redacted] watch. Why would I hang up when I have been inquiring about my watch on numerous occasions? My phone didn't go out. He hung up on me. Per their own admission, awful, poor horrible customer service. I did pick up my watch on June 2nd. The original rep. came from the back and never spoke and never offered an apology. The face lining on my [redacted] watch is scratched horrible. My [redacted] watch was in perfect working order before the replaced the battery and the lining was not scratched. Final Business Response

Went to the store to get a battery replaced in a watch. [redacted] tbroke of a piece of the battery and then took the back off and was using a tool to get the old battery out. She broke off a piece of the battery in the process but didn't say she did that. Then she said she couldn't replace the battery and gave the watch back to me. I took the watch to [redacted] where I had purchased it. They took off the back and told me a piece on the battery had been broken off. I called [redacted] the manager at Batteries Plus and told her that [redacted] had broken the piece off. She told me to bring the watch back. She spoke to her boss the owner [redacted] He said they would send the watch to their Jeweler and get it fixed. Today [redacted] calls me and says when I took the watch back to the store they opened the back and it was empty, no battery at all. I said to her, you should have called me at that time and told the watch battery was missing. She gave me some run around answer. That [redacted] must have not put it back in and that her boss [redacted] said he would not pay to have it fixed. It seems like a complete cover up to me and that Batteries Plus is not accepting any accountability in this matter. I know they are responsible for the watch battery belt being broken off.Product_Or_Service: watch battery replacementOrder_Number: XXX-XXXXXXDesired SettlementI feel that the watch was broken at this store and they are responsible for making it right. They deny any accountability in this matter and therefore that is why I am filing this complaint against them.Business Response I have been informed by the owner, [redacted] that if the watch is not covered under warranty, we will cover the cost of repairs, although we still do not feel we were the ones that caused the problem with the watch. Our associate, [redacted] said she took the back off the watch and there was a sticker over the battery saying it was a rechargeable battery. We do not replace this type of battery in any of our locations, this is something that needs to be done by the manufacturer. [redacted] put the back on the watch and suggested the customer take it back to where she purchased the watch. From that point, the watch has been opened and examined by three different people. When it finally got back to us, the battery was missing altogether. We replace literally thousands of watch batteries every year. We feel the battery bracket may have been left off when the watch was made, and the sticker that was over the battery is what held it into place. We feel confident the watch manufacturer will repair this watch under warranty, but we do not want the customer to have to worry with the issue any further. If the manufacturer charges Ms. [redacted] for any repairs, we will pay for those repair costs. We do not feel we are at fault, but we want to save Ms. [redacted] from any additional aggravation.

I was charged for services that were not explained prior to check out. When confronted with this charge refused help.Date- 12/08/2013 problem/purchase dateItem- 2 3v Lithium coin batteries LITHCR2032Sales rep- MIPAmount - $15.27 CASHI TOLD EMPLOYEE I NEEDED 2 BATTERIES FOR MY KEY FOB, HANDED HER THE FOB, SHE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO INSTALL 1 BATTERY, WITHOUT TELLING ME ABOUT AN INSTALLATION CHARGE OF $6.00 PLUS TAX. DID NOT REALIZE THIS UNTIL LOOKING AT RECEIPT. WENT BACK IN AND SHE LIED ABOUT TELLING ME ABOUT CHARGE AND WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING EXCEPT OFFERED REFUND ON 2ND BATTERY. I NEVER ASKED FOR HER TO INSTALL IT, ONLY NEEDED BATTERY. THOUGHT SHE WAS SIMPLY GIVING GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE. HOW WRONG OF ME TO MAKE THAT ASSUMPTION. WILL NOT PURCHASE FROM THIS COMPANY AGAIN. FIRST AND LAST VISIT. Desired SettlementCOMPLETE REFUND FOR INSTALLATION FEE PLUS TAX.

Review: On 6/3/2015, I purchased a $175 [redacted] watch on sale from [redacted]'s for $125. Oddly on 6/4/2015 my new watch seemed to need a battery and I was near a Batteries Plus Bulbs store. Their employee took the watch and several minutes later came back to say that she was able to replace the battery, however, it was difficult to replace. I looked at the back cover of the watch and saw that it was gouged and scratched. I showed her and her manager [redacted] the damage. [redacted], told me that it is common for this to happen. He insinuated that some of the scratches were already there. If it is common practice to cause damage replacing a watch battery, I should have been given the choice whether or not to proceed with the work. He also told me that his employee, who did the work, was new. I asked him why he would have a new hire work on something of value who wasn't trained for the job and what he was going to do to compensate me for the damage. He said that he would call his manager, [redacted], and call me back. I gave him my info, had some other business to take care of and left the store. After 3 hours and no call back from [redacted], I went back to the Batteries Plus Bulbs store and asked what progress had been made. [redacted], [redacted]'s manager, offered to send the watch out,(?) have it polished and returned in 3 weeks. I am not comfortable with a battery replacement store taking possession of my watch. They are not jewelers. Their attitude toward me was "Oh well, it's on the back, things happen, she was a new employee". I am truly disheartened by the lack of respect for customer satisfaction, employee training, care for customer personal property and acceptance of responsibility.Desired Settlement: Replacement of my [redacted] watch would be a start. However, my ultimate goal would be to heighten the awareness of the lack of customer service and management accountability.

Business

Response:

Regarding the events at our store on 6/4/15 and our customer's Skagen watch, after questioning theemployees involved it became clear several mistakes were made in a short window of time:- The customer's watch battery install did take a little extra time compared to some installs but nothingmore than we routinely encounter every day. Our employee should not have told our customer thebattery was difficult to replace.- Our manager does not recall telling our customer it is common to scratch a watch back but rather,sometimes a watch can get scratched attempting to remove the back but it is not common. Further, ourmanager does not recall insinuating our customer scratched the watch but he does recall inquiring if thescratches were already there when brought in - a common occurrence we see daily. Our employeerecalls there were small scratches already on the back of the watch. Our manager does recallmentioning the employee was "new" - an action that was unprofessional and unnecessary that likelyfurther aggravated our customer. We apologize for the unprofessional behavior.We would like to note that our new employee had actually been with us full time for a month by 6/4/15,worked on numerous watch installs and was trusted enough to work on smartphone repairs.- It did take over 3 hours for our manager to respond. He was waiting for our District Manager to returnfrom shuttling between all of our stores in 4 different corners of the city. The wait may have seemednecessary at the time but our customer deserved a quicker response.- Our customer insisted we buy him a new watch. Our District Manager offered instead to assume allscratches originated from us and send the watch to a professional service we use that can buff out thescratches and polish the watch - at our expense. Unfortunately, attempting to set expectations and underpromise/over deliver, our customer was told it would take up to 3 weeks. It can be performed muchfaster than that and we apologize for mis-informing.On 6/16/15, we learned from our franchise Customer Care division that our customer had contactedthem to complain and we are told that the customer informed them he had already sold the watch.We believe that our offer to restore the watch to original condition at our expense was fair andreasonable. Our customer states his ultimate goal is to heighten awareness of the lack of customerservice and management accountability. He has been very successful at heightening awareness. Whilewe perform thousands of watch battery installs every year and have thousands of satisfied repeatcustomers, in this case, we disappointed and frustrated the customer.

Review: I'm writing to inform you horrible customer service and business practices at the union location. I don't know if this is consistent across the branches but I have had several bad experiences. About three years ago I purchased a motorcycle battery. That battery died within a year. I brought it in and they stated it was not a good battery and not able to be warrantee and they would have to sell me a new one. They then up sold me on a larger battery with a longer warranty that I had to modify my motorcycle for it to fit in because it was about half an inch thicker. This is not a problem I was happy to pay the extra money and have better warranty and assurance of a better product and technology, because I do not want to be in that situation again. I also purchased a second battery at that time as a back up. The New battery also went dead within its warrantee time. At the end of last summer I started having issues the battery will charge to 12 V but once the battery is sitting for several weeks the voltage severely dropped and it would not have a strong crank. I contacted batteries plus the end of last year and told them I would bring the battery in when riding season starts because would be the point in bringing it in when I wasn't in a use it for several months. Anyhow I bought in the battery last week what was in its warrantee. They looked at the battery voltage was low as expected, They charged it held 12 V but stated the battery was not a good shape and is probably non-usable. I asked them to warrantee it since I was well within the warranty range and his battery has had almost no use and has been kept in a climate controlled environment all winter. They said they would not but would be happy to once again sell me another battery. I then went to the spare battery out of the box and it is not good will not charge or start the bike. Looks like it may have been a bad batch but none the less they are both within warrantee and they will not stand behind there products.Desired Settlement: Refund or replacement of bad products.