Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[Irate]

Why do we bother?  We all know now not to shop at Best Buy.  Yet, I suppose we hope we're having some positive effect. Dubious.

I bought TWO HP dv7 laptops, which are great when they work. I set one up for a friend (yes, I'm a little bit of a technoid). I set up the second for myself. The one I had for myself (like the one on display at Best Buy in the store in Santa Rosa) had a problematic cursor while writing an email in Winmail, or in a web browser with links.  It would jump all over the page erratically, inserting itself into strange and amazing places, and assuming that I had hit the enter button.  So... the obvious answer is the Touchpad, right? Wrong. I turned OFF the Touchpad, and it still happened. Restarted the computer.  Multiple times.  I then packed up the HP dv7 (utterly beautiful, speedy machine!), returned to the store, whose Geek Squad guy ran a series of diagnostics on the hardware... and decided that the computer had nothing wrong with it.  Well, I've only been a computer programmer for 11 years. Clearly he knew what he was doing... ? uhhhh hmmm.

Ahhh, I had not been told that the inability to write an email or the computer deciding willy-nilly that I had hit the enter key didn't qualify as a faulty product. Ergo, they wanted (I have to stop laughing at this) a 15% fee from me to return the computer.   Oh, puh-leeeeeze!  So, what does one do? I'm really astonished that people have not gone "postal" in that store.  So, what is a computer worth that decides on its own to insert carriage-return/enter whenever and where ever.  It's junk.  $1000 worth of junk.

Best Buy management -- listen to us, and hear us.  A few years ago I purchased the Pioneer big screen tv, the one that cost me about $5k. Then I bought these computers.  You have lost a return customer, and many of my friends.  You will fail with these policies. And I will throw a block party.

[GeraldRose]

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Irate wrote:

Why do we bother?  We all know now not to shop at Best Buy.  Yet, I suppose we hope we're having some positive effect. Dubious.

I bought TWO HP dv7 laptops, which are great when they work. I set one up for a friend (yes, I'm a little bit of a technoid). I set up the second for myself. The one I had for myself (like the one on display at Best Buy in the store in Santa Rosa) had a problematic cursor while writing an email in Winmail, or in a web browser with links.  It would jump all over the page erratically, inserting itself into strange and amazing places, and assuming that I had hit the enter button.  So... the obvious answer is the Touchpad, right? Wrong. I turned OFF the Touchpad, and it still happened. Restarted the computer.  Multiple times.  I then packed up the HP dv7 (utterly beautiful, speedy machine!), returned to the store, whose Geek Squad guy ran a series of diagnostics on the hardware... and decided that the computer had nothing wrong with it.  Well, I've only been a computer programmer for 11 years. Clearly he knew what he was doing... ? uhhhh hmmm.

Ahhh, I had not been told that the inability to write an email or the computer deciding willy-nilly that I had hit the enter key didn't qualify as a faulty product. Ergo, they wanted (I have to stop laughing at this) a 15% fee from me to return the computer.   Oh, puh-leeeeeze!  So, what does one do? I'm really astonished that people have not gone "postal" in that store.  So, what is a computer worth that decides on its own to insert carriage-return/enter whenever and where ever.  It's junk.  $1000 worth of junk.

Best Buy management -- listen to us, and hear us.  A few years ago I purchased the Pioneer big screen tv, the one that cost me about $5k. Then I bought these computers.  You have lost a return customer, and many of my friends.  You will fail with these policies. And I will throw a block party.

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Interesting dilema Irate, typically speaking when you go to return a laptop the Geek Squad will attempt to replicate the problem to be sure the item is defective and not a customer who wished to use the product and then return it.

Obviously here GS could not replicate the problem and therefore couldn't find a defect, and that led them to want to charge the standard 15% Restock Fee which applies to non-defective returns of laptops. That is not to say you didn't have this problem, but you will not be the first nor the last to have to pay a fee when you feel there is something wrong with the computer, and BBY and GS cannot replicate it.

You would hope "tie" goes to the customer and BBY would let it slide, but also think about how many customers DO try and pull one over on BBY and then try to "rent" merchandise.

It's a tough problem, did you seek out a Manager? Did you yourself try to replicate the problem with Geek Squad? Have you contacted the mfg to see if this is a known problem of if there is a solution to this problem, perhaps they will exchange it for you?

I would try speaking to the Store Manager, and also trying to duplicate the problem.

[MobileExpert]

I agree with everything Gerald said. And I wouldn't throw a party if BB goes under. Then you get to buy from Wally World! Imagine the response you'd get asking them what sort of graphics card a computer has.

[Irate]

Gerald and the BB employee - I was a Sr. Engineer at Hewlett Packard in my hay-day, which is to say that I'm comfortable with computers. I don't need to try to fool Best Buy or try to get away with a "fast one". For you to suggest that your customers are going to rip you off implies a basic lack of respect for us customers, don't you think? You act as though accepting the return of a defective computer is unheard of, or will drive you bankrupt.  Look at Cstco's returns policy. It's 90 days...  I don't see them struggling or accusing its customer base of trying to rip them off. (interesting that your message board refused to post this if I spelled that store's name right... )

  Best Buy's no-return policy for pre-loaded software flaws does not look like my dilemma to me.  For me it amounts to a thousand-dollar fraud, not a dilemma.  The Best Buy Geek squad tech ran diagnostics "for a hardware problem".    Ask the Manager?  Sure, we talked. He backed up Best Buy's returns policy, if it doesn't show up as a hardware problem, it's not Best Buy's problem.  Did the tech attempt to replicate the problem?  I would say probably not, as it didn't require much effort to duplicate it.

However, if you sell a computer with pre-loaded software, which is always the case, since the operating system is software, then operating system problems, and I'm including touch pad drivers here, constitute serious problems.  If you think that a computer is merely hardware, try removing the operating system and see how far you get.

In this economy, a cut-throat returns policy earns you negative feedback, and your existing customer base will take note.  And Yes, I will still throw that block party when Best Buy dies from not supporting its customers--specifically this ex-customer.

[MobileExpert]

I meant I agree that you should've duplicated it for him. And yes, some customers will rip us off. I think that's a given. I've had it happen in my store, specifically customers returning some cheap case bought on e bay in the packaging of a $30 case that we sell, thus getting the case for a couple dollars. I'm not saying you were trying to, because I don't believe you were.

And you can't use other company's names on here due to legal issues. But, their return policy used to be a year. They shortened it because they were losing too much money from customers returning computers after a year and buying new ones, effectively using CstCo as Rent-A-Center.

[SlimJim77]

---"Gerald and the BB employee - I was a Sr. Engineer at Hewlett Packard in my hay-day, which is to say that I'm comfortable with computers. I don't need to try to fool Best Buy or try to get away with a "fast one"."

Dude, calm your ego.

---" For you to suggest that your customers are going to rip you off implies a basic lack of respect for us customers, don't you think?"

People run cons on a regularly basis at even small chain stores. BB is a nationwide retailer. Stuff like that happens all the time. What planet do you live on?

[GeraldRose]

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Irate wrote:
  

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Irate wrote:

Gerald and the BB employee - I was a Sr. Engineer at Hewlett Packard in my hay-day, which is to say that I'm comfortable with computers. I don't need to try to fool Best Buy or try to get away with a "fast one". For you to suggest that your customers are going to rip you off implies a basic lack of respect for us customers, don't you think? You act as though accepting the return of a defective computer is unheard of, or will drive you bankrupt.  Look at Cstco's returns policy. It's 90 days...  I don't see them struggling or accusing its customer base of trying to rip them off. (interesting that your message board refused to post this if I spelled that store's name right... )

  Best Buy's no-return policy for pre-loaded software flaws does not look like my dilemma to me.  For me it amounts to a thousand-dollar fraud, not a dilemma.  The Best Buy Geek squad tech ran diagnostics "for a hardware problem".    Ask the Manager?  Sure, we talked. He backed up Best Buy's returns policy, if it doesn't show up as a hardware problem, it's not Best Buy's problem.  Did the tech attempt to replicate the problem?  I would say probably not, as it didn't require much effort to duplicate it.

However, if you sell a computer with pre-loaded software, which is always the case, since the operating system is software, then operating system problems, and I'm including touch pad drivers here, constitute serious problems.  If you think that a computer is merely hardware, try removing the operating system and see how far you get.

In this economy, a cut-throat returns policy earns you negative feedback, and your existing customer base will take note.  And Yes, I will still throw that block party when Best Buy dies from not supporting its customers--specifically this ex-customer.

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 You act as though accepting the return of a defective computer is unheard of, or will drive you bankrupt.  Look at Cstco's returns policy. It's 90 days...  I don't see them struggling or accusing its customer base of trying to rip them off. (interesting that your message board refused to post this if I spelled that store's name right... )

  Best Buy's no-return policy for pre-loaded software flaws does not look like my dilemma to me.  For me it amounts to a thousand-dollar fraud, not a dilemma.  The Best Buy Geek squad tech ran diagnostics "for a hardware problem".    Ask the Manager?  Sure, we talked. He backed up Best Buy's returns policy, if it doesn't show up as a hardware problem, it's not Best Buy's problem.  Did the tech attempt to replicate the problem?  I would say probably not, as it didn't require much effort to duplicate it.

However, if you sell a computer with pre-loaded software, which is always the case, since the operating system is software, then operating system problems, and I'm including touch pad drivers here, constitute serious problems.  If you think that a computer is merely hardware, try removing the operating system and see how far you get.

In this economy, a cut-throat returns policy earns you negative feedback, and your existing customer base will take note.  And Yes, I will still throw that block party when Best Buy dies from not supporting its customers--specifically this ex-customer.

---

Really Irate I am just thrilled to hear how important you were at HP. Really! Let me clear a couple of things up for you though, I DON'T WORK AT BBY. For me ( a non-employee) to suggest a customer may try and pull a fast one shows disrespect??  By that theroy then BBY locking the doors at night is disrespecting people since no customer has ever tried to steal something from Best Buy either. Right?

I don't think anyone suggested YOU were trying to put one over, but that isn't to say it doesn't happen. Thats why they have policies so BBY doesn't get ripped off.

You mention Cstco, just because they have a 90 day return policy you think people don't try and rip them off? Get out from whatever rock your living under, people run scams ALL the time. Bernie Madoff anyone?