Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[bhcraine]

I am a regular, long time, customer of Best Buy; in addition to other smaller purchases, I have bought from Best Buy 3 Samsung TVs in the past 12 months.  For each one, I added the extended warranty, thinking that I would be well serviced and protected by the Geek Squad; that has not been the case.  

The first Samsung TV developed a fairly loud high pitched tone; after talking with Samsung, I knew that the problem was in a power supply.  I called the Geek Squad, and they made an appointment to come out; within a week, two techs came out, and, in a few minutes, determined that the problem is a bad power supply.  So far, so good.  They said they would order the new part and that I could expect to hear when it's in, approximately a week.  Within ten days, I got a call saying that the part is in.  Per the VM instructions, I called to make an appointment; what a joke!  The first person said she was showing the first available appointment would be a month away; this was after being put on hold three times.  We both agreed that would be unacceptable.  She said she would have a tech contact me within 48 hours.  I waited . . . and I heard nothing.

Several days later, on 12/29, I called back: after a couple of times on hold, I was told that I would get a call back within "24 hours."  Four days later, on 1/2, I called again, and I was told that they had sent an e-mail to the "Lead Tech," that I would get a call within 24 hours.  Today, now another four days later, I went to the store and met with the store manager.  He explained that the stores no longer have any control over Geek Squad activities.  I explained that the stores need to be concerned, as their sales will suffer if good customers become disenchanted.  I spent over 30 minutes while he called the same number I call for service.  

The person on the line told him that they had scheduled my repair install for January 26th, well over a month after my initial call to set up an appointment.  No one had ever called me to tell me; no, there were no voice mail messages.  I told him that it is ridiculous to have to wait over seven weeks after my initial trouble call, and he agreed.  Finally, I was told that they will try to squeeze in an appointment for January 15th, but that they have to request the change on a "form," and that I will not know until someone calls me back "within 24 hours" to confirm that they can do it on the 15th.

Frankly, I find it totally unacceptable to wait so long for a repair, and I will think more than twice when I am making my next electronics purchase.  Again, I have bought from Best Buy thinking that the Geek Squad would be a benefit.

HARDLY! Rather a detriment. 

As I said before, I could not be more unhappy with the Geek Squad service; honestly, I have no choice but to look for other alternatives when I am making purchases that could need service by the Geek Squad.   

[juvmul]

I'm juvmul and I've had the same experience I will never buy anything from this place again. You should contact the better business bureau.

[bhcraine]

I just hit the button accepting the juvmul solution, but, frankly, that is not what I intended.  Though I have not received a response from a Best Buy Forum rep, I did get a call yesterday from the Geek Squad.  They acknowledged my post and were extremely accommodating in setting up a timely appointment.  When I was in the store the store manager was being told that there were no appointments available, but, somehow, they did adjust the schedule to fit in my repair.  So, yes, my problem was solved satisfactorily; I just think it would be better for Best Buy if I did not have to go to their public forum to get it handled.

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Dear bhcraine, 

Thanks for posting your concern on our Best Buy® Forum.  Your issue has been assigned to one of our Community Connectors for further review and response, and you should be hearing something within a maximum of 3-5 business days.  Please note that it may be sooner depending on the complexity of your issue and the current volume of posts.  Thanks for your continued patience as we work to assist all of the customers who have reached out to us on this forum.

[John-BBY Community Connector]

Hello bhcraine,

When our customers contact us to perform repair services, Geek Squad® Agents do their best to make sure that you enjoy a superior experience.  We make every effort to keep the commitments that are made and complete the repair as quickly as possible.  This is the expectation that our customers have.  This is not the service that it sounds like you received and I’m disappointed by that.

There are many things that can impact how quickly a repair can be completed, including availability of parts and techs and whether a backlog of service requests has developed.  Any one of these things can extend the repair time for our customers.  Service appointments are always provided to our customers on a next available basis and most times there is not an extended timeframe between visits, but they can occur.  This is not said as an excuse, but as an explanation.  Commitments made to you by Geek Squad® were repeatedly not kept; this is no more acceptable to us than it is to you.

I’m gratified that you were contacted and given a more timely appointment for the completion of your repair.  I’d like to make myself available to you as well in the event you have additional concerns on this issue.  Please feel free to send me a private message and I’ll do my best to address your concerns in a satisfactory fashion.  To send me a message, just click on my user name and then on “Send a private message to this user” under Contact on the right.

Thank you for taking the time to let us know about your experience.

Sincerely,