Best Buy + XMEX = Customer Service Failure

Well in advance of its release I ordered Batman: Arkham City from Best Buy. I did this mainly because there are extras (the Tim Drake-Robin playable character and maps) that were only available if you pre-ordered through them, with the guarantee that it would arrive on the release date of 18 October.

And I was even more excited when I got an email on 13 October telling me that my package had shipped. And I attributed the tracking link on the order that went to a site which said it had no record of my package to the package having just shipped out.

But now it's the 18th. The day the package is supposed to ARRIVE. The link STILL goes to a site (Streamlite, which used to be XMEX) that says it has no record of my package.

So I called Best Buy customer service to find out what's going on with the order. And I was TALKED OVER by a CS rep who said that the tracking information isn't updated until the package is delivered.

Then what's the purpose of the tracking link if I can't find out the package's location until it's in my hand? She tried to say that the number is from the USPS and that they don't scan packages until they're delivered. This, of course, is completely untrue. I've had packages shipped via USPS before and they've given me status from the moment the package was picked up.

And, either way, if that's the case then shouldn't Streamlite/XMEX have updated the status on their site (since that's where the link goes) to say "Delivered to US Postal Service" or something similar? Why all the shenanigans?

Then she explained that my package may not show up until next week on the 25th because I chose the wrong shipping method; i.e., ground shipping does not guarantee delivery on the release date.

In that case you might want to, I don't know, put that on your website if that's the case. When I ordered I selected to have the package delivered on the release date and was not warned that shipping via ground would be later.

All in all a horrible customer service experience. I won't be pre-ordering items again through Best Buy based on this event. The extras just aren't worth this sort of poor customer service.