Batteries Plus Bulbs - Reviews and experiences

I wouldn’t trust them with anything I care about. I’m saying that up front because I don’t want you to read the story and then forget the point. I once had a solid experience at their Fort Collins spot and even bought a lifetime battery plan for a Stührling Depthmaster. That’s why I assumed dropping the watch off in Ankeny would be quick and fine. I was wrong.
The tech in Ankeny was friendly enough. Really, nice guy. But he struggled with the watch right in front of me and then disappeared into the back room. Longer than expected. Longer than my lunch break would allow. I had to leave without the watch set because I was already behind. I thought: okay, fine, he’ll finish it up, set the time, good to go.
Twenty minutes later I try to set the time myself and the whole movement slides around inside the case like a tiny ship in a bowl. The case back was loose. The crown turned and the mechanism shifted. Not normal. Not okay. I wore the watch for an event that night, telling myself I’d sort it out later. Sunday passes. Monday I call and explain. The manager basically says, nope, not our fault. No curiosity. No offer to look. Just denial and a weird tone that felt like "don’t make waves."
I ended up at my local jeweller in Ames. They took the watch, opened it up and pointed out the problem: a small plastic bracket was missing, the piece that holds the movement secure. Without it the mechanism can move. The jeweller said it was a straightforward fix. Which made me feel stupid and annoyed. Stupid for not checking right away. Annoyed because it’s a small piece and I’d been charged for a service that apparently didn’t put things back together properly.
I called Batteries Plus back and asked them to find and return the little plastic bit. I’m pretty sure I spoke with the same tech — his speech had a distinct pattern I recognized over the phone. He couldn’t account for the piece. He said maybe one extra part could be mine but it might be too old. The manager then got on the line and dug in his heels. Repeated denials, legal-sounding talk, and refusal to even email a photo or set the part aside so I wouldn’t have to drive 35 minutes each way to confirm. After 12 minutes of that, he hung up on me. No voicemail. No follow-up. I’m left thinking they probably tossed the part. Which is infuriating because it’s a 30-cent plastic bracket and yet it turned into a whole weekend of aggravation and a shaky movement in a watch I paid decent money for.
So, to sum: nice tech, sloppy work. Manager? Unhelpful and stonewalling. I feel a bit burned, and honestly a little petty watching the mechanism wobble in my $160 watch. Won’t go back. Might seethe for a while, but at least I’ve got the jeweller’s fix lined up.