Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[mrskholt]

I visited Best Buy (in Las Vegas on N. Rainbow) approximately 2 weeks ago with my husband as he was purchasing a new mobile phone for me as a birthday gift. We had decided ahead of time on Boost Mobile as we wanted to go "no-contract." Once there however, the employee who helped us (I cannot recall his name) steered us towards Virgin Mobile and the HTC Wildfire S. The employee assured me it was a superior phone to any that Boost offers. I am not one to make a sizeable purchase without online research first, but he seemed nice and genuine enough so I decided to trust him. What a mistake! First of all, even though he told me he ran my zip code in Virgin's database, once I started using the phone, the call service is fine, but I found the Internet service is hit or miss! That was the reason I was purchasing a smartphone!!!!! Perhaps what angers me the most is that the phone model itself, the HTC Wildfire S is a total joke! It comes "pre-loaded" with so many apps [I will never use] that I can't download any other android apps!!!! Again, what is the point of a smartphone/Android if I can't download and use any apps on it??????? The instruction manual and tips I've found online say that I can always use a larger SD card, but the phone won't even give me the option of downloading to the SD card. I would have to download from the Android Market to the phone first, then transfer to the SD card, and there isn't enough space on the phone to even do the initial download of any apps! My message is two-part, I suppose, first a customer service issue--can I return/exchange this phone? Or what do I do? What are my options if I do return/exchange-- a different model but still Virgin, different service too, full return and refund? It should also be noted I don't have my receipt--can it be looked up? (And why is your employee pushing and praising a phone to me that is so bad?) But secondly a mobile phone "question" or issue that I need advice on-- I'm assuming if it can be exchanged it needs to be exchanged for another Virgin device (in order to keep this new phone number that I have now shared with my contacts). Am I going to run into the same storage space issue if I attempt to get the Motorola Triumph? It seems to be my next option on Virgin.

[hydrogenwv]

That phone has excellent reviews, although it's nto meant to be a top of the line phone. It has similar RAM/ROM and Internal Storage to my Samsung Epic 4G, and I've never ran into the issue you are experiencing. I also find it hard to believe that Virgin Mobile installs nearly a half gigabyte of bloatware. Maybe your phone storage is defective?

I know that Froyo and Gingerbread have App2SD feature that will let you install Apps directly to your SD card. That may be an option for you, if you stick with the phone (or any phone, 512MB of Internal Storage is very common, even in some higher end phones).

  Out of curiosity. If you go to your Settings -> Storage... What does it say under Available Space for "System Storage"?

[hydrogenwv]

The Motorola Triumph has 2GB of internal storage, so it would be less likely to occur. The Motorola also has a faster processor, as well. HTC is known for their build quality, though, while Motorola... not so much.

 At this point, if you are able to exchange the phone (I think you may be able to, but not sure), your absolute best bet it to go to the Virgin Mobile website, look at all the phones they have, and research, research, research. Look up pros, cons, bugs, flaws, reviews, prices, etc... It can be a lot of work, but you'll be much happier in the end.

A Community Connectyor will be by within a few days to discuss your options.

[hydrogenwv]

Upon further research, I see others with your exact same issue with the Wildfire. Virgin Mobile must pack that thing full of junk. Hopefully you can exchange it, but do your research first so you know EXACTLY what you want when you go in.

 My other recommendation, spend some time with the phone you have and determine what aspects of it you like and don't like. Is the screen big enough? Is the phone fast enough? Does it do everything you need it to do? Is there anything you wish it could do that may be an option on another phone? These things will help you narrow down your search.

[mrskholt]

It says I have 6.97 MB of internal storage left. And that's because of all their pre-loaded junk. I've only had space to download Facebook, Chase bank, and Yelp. And it allowed me to move Yelp to the SD card after I downloaded it. So that isn't even part of the internal memory anymore. I'd be happy to learn I was doing something wrong and don't have to download to the phone and then switch to card. But if so, I'm clueless, because everything thing I've tried makes me go phone first --> then SD card. And with 7MB left on phone, I don't have enough of anything. I don't even have enough room to update any of their pre-loaded apps as they want me too! I am also confused why the phone seems to be able to choose which apps are "allowed" or eligible to be switched to the SD card and which are not. Of the three I mentioned I have been able to download, it will only let me put yelp on the card, and wants to "hang onto" Facebook and Chase. I keep trying to transfer in the "make more space" option in settings, but it tells me there is "nothing to move." If there's another way to move apps, I'd sure love to know, because I have 1.73 GB remaining on my my SD card, and I'd be more than willing to buy a larger one if that was going to magically fix all my problems. Also, if someone out there knows how to either delete the useless pre-loaded garbage apps or at least move them over to the card as well. Thanks for your help!

[mrskholt]

Thanks for your advice. And yeah, I sure would like to see a community connector stop by here. I had this issue posted in a different topic and nobody gave it the time of day.

[hydrogenwv]

Just an FYI.. You didn't get a response, because you didn't post it in a Customer Service area. The Community Connectors typically only monitor the Customer Service boards (BB/GS Policies, Warranties, BestBuy.com forums).

Your issue will be assigned to a Community connector, likely today or tomorrow, and you'll hear from the assigned Community Connector  with 3-5 business days after. Lately, they've been pretty prompt with responses, though, so it might be sooner.

  They are Corporate employees, and, from my experience, are your best bet toward a satisfactory resolution.

  Good Luck

[Ryan-BBY Senior Social Media Specialist]

Hello mrskholt -

Jacob from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[Jacob-BBY Community Web Planner]

mrskholt,

Thanks for posting the feedback about the experience you had purchase a mobile phone and the issues you had with the phone. I see that you were able to complete the exchange to the triumph. I hope you're enjoying the new phone!

I feel like the employee had good intentions on selling you the original phone. Unfortunately, the issues you experienced wouldn't be apparent from any of the information they had used to educate themselves about the phone. It is one of those issues you would typically only learn about from using the phone first hand.

I agree that it is terrible to load the phone with un-removable bloatwear. No one likes this. I'll share this feedback with the store involved to make sure they know about this issue with the phone.

Please let me know if you have additional questions. Thanks!