The opposite of BEST BUY

(Cross posted on our Oulu Best Buy Blog and the CHAFF Blog.)

It is not often that we get angry or are deeply disturbed by an experience which will radically cause us to publish a very negative entry in the Best Buy Blog. However, during the last few weeks two things have deeply disturbed us. We felt we should let you know and add these shops and companies to a Oulu Best Not Buy list.

If you have a similar experience, please let us know.



The incident reported here is our experience with a large and well known organisation known as Instrumentarium. It sells medical equipment and also many consumer products including spectacles. Annikki and I have been so-called preferred customers in the shop and also our son Mika and Annikki's mother, Hilja, has been given this status. It was not our choosing but when we bought our glasses from them many years ago the shop added us to this list.

Last week the frames of the spectacles of both Mika and Hilja broke, resulting in us having to order new spectacles for them. As both are invalids in my care, Jacob, who handles all the outside work for them, took the spectacles to Instrumentarium to get them repaired, or failing which, to get new glasses for them. The latter turned out to be true.

The pleasant lady who took the order took all the details, and Jacob found that out would take a few days before the glasses would be ready. So she gave him a note saying that the company would intimate him when they were ready.

As glasses are quite expensive and since the financial matters of Hilja are not controlled by us but a Public Guardian, Jacob thought it would be best to get the bill for the glasses and give them to the Guardian well before the glasses arrive, so that it could be paid directly by the Guardian. Jacob's life is so hectic, he likes to get things done well in advance so as not to be rushing around at the last minutes sorting out issues.

He visited the shop and gave a notification to the store clerk of the details of the Public Guardian asking them to send the bill for Hilja's glasses to the Guardian. The store clerk tried to ring through to the 3 phone numbers provided but she could not get through. So, Jacob asked the clerk to make out the Proforma Invoice for the glasses so that he could take it to the Guardian so that they could pay the amount before the glasses arrived.

Strangely, he was told that this was not possible. The computer could not produce a bill unless he was willing to pay 30% of the amount.

This was a stupid demand, as an invoice is not a binding document. All Jacob was asking was for a document so as to pay the dues before the glasses were even available or taken from the shop. They were due several days later.

Jacob was met with an absolute blanket statement that this was store policy. The refusal was so ridiculous and illogical and there was no way that it could be explained why it had to be.

We handle the purchasing of many items for Hilja and we deal with many shops. In most cases we just have to give the Public Guardian's name and address and show Hilja's Social Security card. The shops take all the steps to ensure that the bill is sent to the Public Guardian. In one case, for her sanitary supplies, we just order it by email and request the bill to be sent directly to the Public Guardian. It has never been a problem.

But this totally illogical, customer-repellent attitude of Instrumentarium suddenly set our memory cells working.

We recalled that almost 6 years ago when we went and ordered glasses for Hilja, we were told that we could not pay the bill through the bank, but had to pay by cash. We had to drag my half-invalid then 81 year old mother to the bank to draw cash from her account and then return to the shop with the cash to collect the glasses. (At that time Hilja did not have a Public Guardian.)

The store clerk refused to listen to reason as the policy seems to be universally applied in Finland by Instrumentarium.

I have told the store clerk that she tell her management that this story would be publicised broadly on the internet through our blogs, that we would put them on our NEW BEST NOT BUY list and also inform the top management of the company of this incident.

If Instrumentaroum does not tender a public apology, inform us that this policy has been rescinded and we are not compensated for the waste of our time and money in this matter, Instrumentarium stay firmly posted on this list!

Further, this will be the last purchase we will make from this company.