Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[JustCounting]

That's the latest story from the Manager of my 'local' Best Buy as to why he changed his mind about exchanging my PS3.  I've posted this elsewhere, but I do think it bears repeating, for I cannot determine what the Moral of this story is..?  Is it:

Don't Buy Online !

Black Tie Protection Means Squat !

Prepare to be Humiliated.

Or.. Take Your Business Elsewhere.

The story thus far:  My PS3, still under BT Warranty ($79 plan in 12/08) recently went out.  I bought it online and was told to take it to my local Geek Squad, which I did.  They said they had to send it in for repair, which they did.  One week later, a "refurbished" unit arrived at my house, which was defective.  The eject button refused to eject the game, so I had not only lost the PS3 again, but a new game.

I called the local store.  Was told to bring it back and ask for the manager, who would at this point just replace the unit.

I took it back to the local store and asked for the Manager.  He apologized and offered to just "replace the unit with a new one".  They told me to go pick out a new unit and we'd exchange it.   My grandson was ecstatic!  45 minutes later, they're trying to get my new PS3 into the computer system and decide they "can't do this".  They took the new unit away from me gave me back my old refurbished one, and told me to take it to the Geek Squad, it'd have to go in for repair.. AGAIN.  I asked them how many times I had to go through this before I got a new unit and they said "FOUR".  (by that time it will be out of warranty, how convenient)   They also said this was "Sony's fault" and Sony's policy.  After being so kind and courteous, at this point they turned rude and dismissive. 

When I got home, I called Sony, who said it was indeed NOT their policy, but was Best Buy's policy.  I called Best Buy Consumer Relations, and spoke with a very nice man who apologized profusely, but was unable to offer me anything but a gift card for my trouble.

I again called my local store and NOW they say the reason they can't REPLACE my PS3 is because I "bought it online", and because it's "almost 2 years old".  Well, DUH.. that's why I paid for Black Tie Protection (she says laughing).

This is truly the most horrendous experience I have EVER had and will certainly not be buying from Best Buy ever again.  I just can't wait for my second "refurbished" unit to arrive. This is just simply wrong, and certainly I would not advise anyone to count on "BLACK TIE PROTECTION" for anything but wasted time, wasted gas, total allocation of your only day off dealing with the same problem over and over.. and elevated blood pressure. 

[cr_client]

To clarify, the terms and conditions of your Black Tie protection specifically state the policy regarding "No Lemon" replacement. That is, if the unit needs to be repaired 4 different times, it will be replaced by something new, and the policy will be considered completely fulfilled.

Also, if the eject "button" on the unit is not working, you can eject games and discs from the XMB (PS3 menu) by navigating to the game/movie, pressing the Triangle button, and selecting "Eject disc". Obviously the unit is still faulty and needs to be repaired/replaced, but the game inside it is not lost, unless the eject mechanism itself is broken.

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Good afternoon JustCounting -

Aaron, from our Community Connector team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern.  I appreciate your patience until he is able to contact you.

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Greetings JustCounting,

I’m not sure why the first refurbished console you received wouldn’t have been fully functional, but I can imagine how frustrated you must feel!  Your disappointment at discovering that we couldn’t exchange your grandson’s PS3 is also understandable, especially if there was any confusion regarding your service options.

I regret to inform you, however, that the manager you spoke with was correct in denying an exchange – your grandson’s PS3 would only qualify for replacement under its service plan coverage if one (or more) of the following conditions are met:

• The console cannot be repaired
• Replacement parts cannot be obtained
• The console has accrued three previous rapid exchanges and a fourth confirmed hardware failure

Now, I’ve had the chance to look into this situation and it’s my understanding that this second refurbished console is scheduled to arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon.  If you encounter any difficulties with it, please let me know and I’d be glad to see what can be done to assist you.  You can send me a private message by signing into the forums and then clicking on either my signature below or the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

[JustCounting]

Thank you for looking into it, Aaron. It is Wednesday, and it has not arrived. Maybe tomorrow. We'll hopefully have the weekend then to see if this one works and we won't have to spend a second consecutive Saturday in a Best Buy store. This is really not much of a warranty plan, when it involves so much time and effort on the part of the consumer just to obtain a working machine.

[JustCounting]

cr_client: Of course we tried that, and so did the people at the Geek Squad. Did not eject.

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

JustCounting,

I’ve sent you some additional information, so please make sure to check your private messages.