My co-worker's issue with Best Buy's Geek Squad

[oregonjen]

Dear Du-ers,

My co-worker is trying to resolve an issue she's had with Best Buy's Geek Squad with no success. She sent out a mass email to all of her friends and relatives, just trying to put pressure on them to get her laptop back.

With her permission, I'm letting DU-ers know of her issue by copying and pasting her email here. Her name has been removed. I am well aware of the bad reputation the Geek Squad has. She is contacting various local tv stations and the Attorney General of Oregon in hopes of seeking a speedy resolution. She's also considering picketing the store. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Here is her story:


Hi everyone-


You all know that I am not a huge fan of chain-mail. Unfortunately I feel compelled to send this request as a reprisal for the appalling treatment I have recently experienced with the Beaverton, Oregon- Best Buy Geek Squad.

Last Christmas I received an HP Laptop from Santa. Within a week, the laptop began to have technical problems. I took it to the Geek Squad and was told it would need a motherboard repair that couldn't be done "in house". I weighed the three weeks for the repair versus the technical problem and concluded that I couldn't be without a computer at that point in my school term.

Early this December I returned to the Geek Squad with my laptop, prepared for computerlessness. Although my computer still had the bar code stickers from my first visit, the geek squad insisted on another diagnostic test. The geek I spoke with refused to write down my information about a possible motherboard issue. At this point the computer was still under warranty. I waited in the store for an hour that day before the geek finally agreed with me that I did not need to be there during the test. They said they'd call with a diagnosis. A week later, I called and spoke with a geek who told me the test had been completed a week ago. There was nothing wrong, just a couple of viruses. I reminded them that the problem had been diagnosed before any viruses could have been picked up. They told me that the problem was caused by the viruses and they could remove them for $130 (which isn't covered by warranty). Because I'm not making much right now, $130 is a lot of money. I asked them to guarantee that if the problem happened after their repair then I would get my money back, they said no problem.

Well, the problem happened within two hours of bringing the computer home. I went right back to the Geek Squad and was basically told "Too Bad." I got attitude from the supervisor, he refused to reimburse the payment and he insisted on running another diagnostic. Again they said they would call. After a few days I called and was told that the laptop had been sent out for repairs. They sent my computer out without telling me or allowing me to remove all of my important pictures, music, documents, programs, etc. I was livid!

At this point I have been without my computer for two months. The geek squad has given me little in the way of reassurance that my programs were salvageable. I have been told after repeated calls that there is no possible way for the geek squad to communicate with the service center working on my computer. That's ridiculous.This treatment is deplorable. I have spoken to people as far up the chain as I have access to and it has gotten me nowhere.

Please consider boycotting Best Buy for the entire month of March. (or longer) And please forward this to as many people as you can. I would really like to get some sort of message across and guerrilla e-tactics might just work.

Thanks everyone-
Power to the people-

(name removed)

[kirby]

1. I dont understand...

"They sent my computer out without telling me or allowing me to remove all of my important pictures, music, documents, programs, etc. I was livid!"

Why would anyone take their computer to a third party without backing everything up. Especially if the computer has been 'acting up' and could die at any moment.

[ima_sinnic]

2. I will be glad to boycott Best Buy. I hate that place & boycott it anyway.

and my brother, a geek, said he would never work for Geek Squad because they treat their employees horribly.

It will be my pleasure to forward the message to several other people.

[oregonjen]

3. Thanks!

:toast: :hi:

[4lbs]

7. What's your issue with them? I've never had problems with them.

I buy all my movies and music there.

[ima_sinnic]

12. I just think they're very overpriced. Have you checked out their appliances?

in addition, when I did go in there, they would always insist on rifling through my bag as I was leaving, while I was walking directly away from the cash register! I don't like being treated like a shoplifter. I did nothing to deserve that kind of suspicion. Screw their "policies." How can people shoplift between the cash register and the door?

[backscatter712]

13. I'll buy little stuff at Best Buy.

They have a halfway decent selection of movies, music and video games, and they have some of the more common and simple parts for computers and such.

I won't make big purchases there, and I absolutely REFUSE to let the assclowns in Geek Squad touch my computers. DO NOT WANT!!!

[4lbs]

17. I don't use Geek Squad either, since I put together and fix my own computer systems.

I also don't buy computer parts from them. I instead go to several dedicated computer stores near me for that.

[Warpy]

4. Send an email back to this person

and tell her to put in a complaint to the Better Business Bureau both in her city and at Best Buy's headquarter city. Their website should tell her where it is.

The complaint should be factual, dates given, no adjectives, they don't care how furious she is.

Trust me, this sort of complaint gets action but it should be used as a last resort after all attempts to get the corporation to honor its end of the bargain have failed.

She should have been given a new laptop when the mobo problem was diagnosed, period.

[pacalo]

8. BBB was effective in a situation I had with a court-reporting school.

They sent me the initial form to fill out, but I updated to the BBB with every communication I had with the school. A newspapaper reporter called me for an interview about secondary schools & I was called a second time requesting that I testify at the state capitol.

Including the BBB in her complaint could lead to a more substantial result.

[DCKit]

21. Sick the BBB on BB, for sure.

I was being jerked around on a fridge repair for months and, after a letter to the BBB, a new, upgraded refrigerator was sent.

I <3 the BBB.

[SharonAnn]

5. If you have a choice in the future. Go elsewhere. Geek Squad just doesn't know what they're doing.

[Coventina]

6. Already boycotting "Worst Buy", but happy to spread the word!

That whole company is horrible.

:mad:

[marybourg]

9. I don't understand either.

Was the computer bought at B.B.? If not, did she contact HP and request warranty service? Did HP direct her to B.B? What happened between "last Christmas" and "early this December"? It seems to me that everything before "early this December" is irrelevant and her complaint involves a "repair" that didn't repair the problem. She should write a letter to B.B. corporate Hq. outlining the problem and insisting on an acceptable solution. How far B.B should be expected to go depends in part on whether they are authorized warranty servicer or she selected them on her own. If all else fails, there's always small claims court.

[oregonjen]

11. I don't know where the laptop was purchased

However, she did contact HP and through a series of letters, they finally let her know that the issue is with Best Buy and not HP. Based on HP's response, my guess is it was purchased at Best Buy.

The fact that they have her laptop hostage, refusing to let her know where it is, I find that pretty disgusting. She didn't even have the chance to remove her hard drive because they sent it out for repairs without her permission.

[backscatter712]

10. Fuck the Geek Squad.

Every single time, and I'm not exaggerating, every single time I've heard of anyone taking their computer to Geek Squad, they fuck it up worse and charge you hundreds of dollars for the privilege.

They don't know what they're doing, because they're not willing to pay more than a couple bucks an hour above minimum wage - anyone with real skill can make far more working elsewhere. And they're constantly bombarded with demands from the bosses to upsell various useless shit that, like I said, fucks up your computer even worse.

I personally fix my computers myself - I've got the skills to at least do most of it, and I've got friends who can do the more complex stuff like laptop repairs (I do computers for a living, and I'll say that unless it's the simple stuff like memory or the hard drive, don't work on your laptop yourself - there's zillions of teeny-tiny screws and delicate little parts that break if you breathe on them wrong.)

I steer my friends to the mom-and-pop shops in the area - I know a few that won't rip you off, and they've got technicians who actually know their shit. That or I steer them to fellow geeks I know that have more tech skill in their pinkies than all of Geek Squad, and again, won't rip you off.

[L0oniX]

14. Been boycotting Best Buy for years ...huge asscarrots!

[City of Mills]

15. Sorry to hear about this...hope I'm not offending anyone

who works for big box store PC repair outfits like Circuit City, Best Buy or what have you. I don't think they hire qualified people. Everyone (at least four incidents I can think of offhand) who's had any kind of computer service work done has either had to wait an unacceptable amount of time for the repair, the repair was insufficent or incomplete, or way overpriced for the actual problem. I think they make a practice of hiring entry level techs who don't know what they're doing...a talented technician may be able to cut their teeth there but I think that's a rarity and an exception to the norm.

[Joe the Liberal]

16. Geek Squad is a scam...........

They are way overpriced and fuck up your computer more than it already is. If my computer ever broke down I would never take it to Geek Squad, I can mostly fix things on my computer myself and I would rather just buy a new PC than go get my old fixed at Geek Squad. Best Buy as a whole has nothing but overpriced shit, you can buy all your electronic needs online for way less then what Best Buy has.

[lildreamer316]

18. Geek Squad is complete shit, I avoided this problem myself; it's simple.

Husband and i have three total HP laptops; and one HP desktop - just for background info.

It says on any of the information that comes with the computer that if there is a problem under warranty, to contact HP directly and they will advise you about whether to take it to an HP-verified repair place locallu (supposedly Geek Squad, but they should also have several others if you live anywhere that is even slightly metro; so that you have more than one option). During your contact call/email with HP, when you describe the problem; they usually are able to diagnose whether it is a problem that you need to send the computer to the service center for or not. From the story, it sounds like the initial diagnostic at Geek Squad verified that the computer needed to be sent out. I confess I am not sure why the person decided to not send it out; since either way she was going to be 'computerless'. Either it didn't work, or she wouldn't have it.

For reference let me say that the last HP laptop that husband and I bought was from Best Buy. I got it in July of last year. In Dec. one Friday it decided to not boot up and show no display. We took it to Geek Squad for an initial diagnostic, just like the story above. And just like the story above; I was told it was a motherboard issue and that it could not be fixed in house (although I did not ask them if they could fix it). I was told also that I would need to send it off to the HP service center to be fixed. Per the directions that came with my computer, and also due to having done this before with an HP printer; I returned home and called the HP contact number. I was treated professionally and courteously (in perfect English; call center was in the midwest) and after a couple of initial questions I was told that a packing box and questionaire would be mailed out to me via UPS directly.

The box to send the computer in came within two days. I packed it up and send it off, marking on the included paperwork what the major malfunction was.

Pause to say that husband is a dj and relies exclusively and completely on the laptop for his music and to be able to perform. He has been out of steady work for four months, but had a couple of bar gigs that he desperately needed the laptop for. We had to try to get one of our older hp laptops running (both have power jack issues); it was a struggle but we were able to rig it well enough for him to get through his gigs. I considered renting a laptop for the duration of the time it was gone. However,

the fixed laptop was delivered to my door, in perfect working order, within a week and a half of me sending it off. In addition, the HP service center sent updates of their progress, plus notification of reciept and of sendoff of my computer (with tracking code) directly to my email, so that I could know what was going on.

Yes, the way GS treated her was unacceptable. Next time, deal directly with the company.

[Urban Prairie]

19. With the cheap price of data storage

Nowadays, there is no excuse not to back-up your personal data that you consider too valuable to lose for any reason. I have never needed to use tech support to fix any of my computers over the years, and bought used manuals and testing tools on Amazon and eBay, to repair and diagnose hardware problems with desktop and laptop computers. Almost everything (including software and OS problems} can be looked up on the internet, although I also have purchased used books on those as well, and re-read them on occasion when I have the time. I love to learn, but have never taken formal classes on computers, and am self-taught when it comes to using computer technology.

[.... callchet ....]

23. Good for you, but you are describing a talent. Not a skill .

There is a required facility in every repair sector that requires talent to do repairs to the extent that you described. I take engines out of 50 foot boats and replace them with totally different engines. I would not tell anybody that all you have to do is read a manual and change the engines.

[Cirque du So-What]

20. My last transaction with Best Buy occurred over ten years ago

I purchased an eMachines desktop PC at Best Buy back in the mid-90s at a price so good that I felt purchasing the extended warranty still made it a bargain. During the period when it was still covered under the extended warranty, the motherboard did the dance of the dying cockroach, so I took it back to Best Buy for repair.

Having heard that Best Buy was giving their customers the shaft by 'misplacing' the paperwork showing that they had purchased extended warranties, I decided to put it to the test. With proof of my extended warranty safely in my pocket, I presented my broken PC and asked him to look up my extended warranty. Sure enough, he said I hadn't gotten the extra coverage when I bought the PC. I then whipped out my copy and proceded to read him the riot act, asked to see the manager, and held court for any & all customers within earshot.

After I got assurances that my PC would be sent out for repairs free of charge - as my extended warranty stated - I told the manager, clerk, and sundry passersby that Best Buy were no better than common thieves and that I would never patronize one of their stores ever again. It's a promise I've kept to this day.

[.... callchet ....]

22. I bought a Sony Viao from Best Buy for about $2500 and the accidental

warranty for another about $400. I do diagnostic work on electronic fuel injected diesel engines. I was assured that if they couldn't fix the laptop

they would replace it. Subsequently the laptop fell in the bilge of a boat and was covered with water. I took it in and after a week they said the

repairs exceeded the cost of the computer. They wanted to charge me $85 for the diagnosis, but waived that. I went to a local store that did not sell

the laptop and they told me to go to the store that I bought it from. That store had been informed about the situation and also said they weren't going

to replace it. They did refund me the balance of the warranty money. The meetings were always discourteous. To top it off, the store that I bought it

from did not have a copy of the accidental damage policy. They gave me a signed copy of the regular policy. They said that the damage policy did not

cover the extent of my repairs. I asked them if they had ever replaced a computer under the warranty and they said that they did , but they weren't

going to replace mine due to the nature of the water damage. The accidental policy that I was furnished after the fact and gave gave examples of the

kind of damage it would repair. It indicated that it would cover damage from spills and being dropped. They said that spills excluded extensive water

damage. I asked them if I dropped it from the top of a building would they cover that. They would not answer that. I sad that well, that was being

dropped. They still would not answer.That was a jerky technical excuse because they said that they have in fact replaced whole laptops before. That was

about 3 years ago and I still have the laptop as a reminder of keeping my guard up.


I just wish I had some money so I could not buy something there !

[Qanisqineq]

24. Best Buy sucks

I had a CD player that was stuck closed and wouldn't play. It held 25 CD's but there were only about 12 in it at the time. I took it to Best Buy to be fixed. A month later they had "lost" the CD player. I was given a new CD player of lesser value but they refused to do anything about the CD's inside my lost player. The guy that took the player wrote down that there were CD's inside but not how many or anything. I was out all the money of my CD's.

I don't shop at Best Buy anymore.

[LibertyLover]

25. Best Buy blows big nasty chunks of partially digested skunk

I can't offer much beyond "been there, done that; I feel your friend's pain". I hope it turns out ok for her.

[GA_ArmyVet]

26. I had the same thing happen here in DC

At our local Best Buy.

Turned it in for repair (under their extended repair or replace Warranty)

3 month later, No Computer, No estimate for completion.

I talked the Manager who said he could not help. I then presented him with a bill for a rental computer and for the loss of job productivity and depreciation of my computer while they kept it.

He caved in and replaced my system that day.