Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[sms1975]

I purchased a Mitsubishi TV in November 2009. This month, my TV stopped working. It would not stay on for more than 15 seconds. When I hit the power button, it powers up and the green light blinks and then it promptly turns back off. I got the 4 year black tie protection plan when I purchased the TV. I called the Geek Squad for help and they scheduled an appointment for a repair man to come to my home and diagnose the problem. The day the appointment came, the repair man showed up and told me that my TV's circuit board had to be replaced. He said he needed to order it and it would take 7 days for it to arrive. So far so good. Then on the day the second appointment comes around, I wait for the repair man all day starting from 7am in the morning. He was supposed to show up between 8am and 12pm. When he didn't show, I waited a couple of more hours because he could have just been late, had a accident or some other problem. After a couple more hours, I tried calling the phone numbers he gave me for him and his supervisor and was not able to get through on either number. I then called the Geek Squad again and they said that the part that was needed did not arrive on time and that they tried to call me the night before to tell me that they needed to reschedule my appointment but they could not get through. I did not receive any such call from Geek Squad and even double checked all the phone calls for the last 5 days to make sure and there was no Geek Squad number or numbers from the repair man or anyone else. This was the first lie. The second lie was when he said the reason the part didn't arrive on time was because it was just ordered and hadn't been shipped out yet. However, the repair man previously said he ordered the part 7 days ago and it would be here by now. So either the customer service person I spoke to on the phone is lying or the repair man is lying. It has been more than 7 days now and my TV is still not fixed and I am very angry about this. I really hope I don't have another issue with my TV any time soon because if have to go through this again, I am going to request and try to get back every cent they I paid Best Buy for the TV AND this protection plan. The only reason I decided to use Best Buy was because of their protection plans, but my experience so far has not been good and I don't think I will be using their protection plans or purchasing anything from Best Buy again.

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

You can buy a TV without an extended service plan, but you would be paying for your circuit board on top of waiting for it. If parts are back-ordered or unavailable, you could be waiting up to 30 days.

You've been waiting 7 days so far and they had to order parts? I don't see anything unreasonable so far... Is there more to the story I'm missing?

It's unfortunate that you didn't get a call, chances are they don't have a recent number or just didn't see the part delay. I don't believe that your tech or the phone support people have misinformed you with any malicious intent. I don't even know why the repair guy would quote you an exact 7 days... unless he said "around 7 days" or something.

You will not get your TV returned, but you can return your service plan at a prorated price....however any repairs would be out of pocket from that point.

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Good afternoon sms1975 -

Allan, from our Community Connector team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern.  Thank you for your continued patience!

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi sms1975,

I can certainly relate to being upset that this TV repair is taking longer than expected, and that you waited at home to have this part installed for no reason. It is concerning that you have decided to no longer be a customer of ours due to this one experience with us, and if there is anything I can personally do to earn your patronage back I will most certainly do my best.

I do show that you contacted us on 1/8/2011, our tech was out on 1/11/2011 to diagnose the problem with this TV, the part was ordered on 1/11/2011, and you were scheduled to have the part installed on 1/19/2011. I confirmed that the part hadn’t arrived in time to be able to be installed on 1/19/2011, and because of this we attempted to contact you on 1/18/2011 to reschedule the part installation appointment. It looks like the phone numbers associated with your repair might not be correct, and this could explain why you were not able to verify that we attempted this phone call.

I do see that UPS delivered the part to the technician today 1/20/2011, and you are currently scheduled to have the part installed tomorrow 1/21/2011. I will check on this repair on Monday 1/24/2011, and follow up with a private message. To check your messages you should log into the forum, and then click on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page. If prior to that date you have any specific requests for me just send me a private message by clicking on the link in my signature.

Thanks for posting,

[sms1975]

The reason I purchase from Best Buy in the first place is because of their protection plans. I used to order my electronics from Circuit City and used their warranty plans until they went out of business and they were excellent including the products they sold to me. I was hoping that Best Buy would be the same way. You may be right, this could be just a misunderstanding and the incorrect words were used. Ordering the parts and waiting seven days was not the issue I had. The issue started when the seven days were up and it seemed as if the part was never even ordered until this week and the lies they were giving me to cover their mistakes. This is just the way it seemed to me, I am not saying this is what actually happened. I just hope this was all just simple misunderstanding and not what I can expect in future calls for service.

[E-P]

I've had my issue with Geek Squad but, just to add my 2 cents.  I purchased a 42" tv at Circuit City 2 yrs ago and purchased the 4 yr. protection plan.  Had a problem with it a couple of weeks ago.  Though Circuit City is no more, I must admit the service contract impressed me.  Called for repair and I immediately got a service date.  Within 7 days, and the tv was repaired on the spot.  The problem?  The tv would not stay on but would continuously reboot.  The repairman knew what was wrong before he got to the house and repaired it on the spot.  20 mins.

I had a problem with my cell phone, took it Geek Squad Nov. 30th with one symptom (no display), got it back on Dec. 26 with display woriking but, now had 2 other issues that were not there when I took my phone in.  I was told it had to be sent back for repair and wait another 4 weeks.  Got it back on Jan. 17th, one of the problems taken care of but, still had an issue of no spkr phone that was addressed and not fixed.  Told to send it back again for another 4 wks.  I said NO!  I am holding on to my phone and requesting some other solution. (Like a NEW phone).  Mobile phone manager and store manager are working to expedite this situation.  We'll see what happens next.  First time using Geek Squad also.  Will think hard before purchasing the "black tie" again.  And you'd be surprised what percentage of sales of service contracts means to them. 

[sms1975]

Best Buy promotes their Geek Squad very much and it is very popular because of the promotion that is given. I figured because Circuit City and Best Buy are similar and sell similar products that I would get the same kind of service and protection and so far this has not been the case. I take very good care of my electronics hoping I would never have to use their plan and in the case I ever did have to use the plan, I hoped they would be able to provide me with the same level of service that Circuit City provided. I am very scared to purchase any other big purchases from Best Buy simply because of this experience. I was seriously considering purchasing another TV this year from Best Buy, but after this experience I may decide just to use another company and another protection plan. 

It seems amazing that your television was diagnosed and repaired within 7 days and here I am 12 days later still waiting for my TV to be fixed. What worries me about the cell phone issue is that after it was supposedly fixed, the customer started having more problems that were most likely caused by the repairs. I am supposed to have my television repaired tomorrow and hope I do not start having the same problems and have to call them back again. Nothing will make me more angrier than to have to already wait 12 days (3 days for first appt., 7 days for second appt. and 2 days for current appt.) for my TV to be fixed and then to have to wait again because of more problems caused by their repairs. 

[E-P]

You know come to think of it. I'm going to call back the repair center that did the repair on my tv and see if they have any kind of service contracts available to consumers as opposed to getting major store service agreements. There's got to be something available for us. I really appreciated the service I received from the former Circuit City agreement. Would absolutely use them and recommend them. Will be giving them a call.

[E-P]

Also just remembered that Verizon was offering a service contract for all tv's in the house for $10.00 a month.  And it included ALL tv's in the house.   This was a couple of month's ago.  Didnt' take the plan because I just had 2 tv's and both had service contracts.  I need to call them up and inquire about that offer.  You see people THERE ARE CHOICES.  We just get bombared with the promotions that seem too good to be true until we read the fine print.  Other then that it's "sell the service contract, there's money to be made in it".  Don't lie but, don't tell the whole truth unless cornered to do so.  Yeah....I've been there done that.   A company that is BIG is just out to meet a profit margin for its' investers.  Sometimes we may have luck and get a good deal.  But my experience right now with BB is not good at all.  Too much red tape to get something corrected.  And the service agreements....who has the time to sit and read the contract before signing.  You take what they tell you and run with it.  Which again is NEVER the whole truth unless you are savvy enough to ask the right questions.

[cr_client]

When it comes to ordering parts from the manufacturer, almost any service company is going to have the same wait time to receive a part as Best Buy has. So, whether you have a service contract with Verizon FiOS, with a local TV Repair shop, or Best Buy, if it needs parts, there is going to be a wait time for that part to arrive.

I find it ironic that a company as large as Verizon is used as a counter-example in an opinion about how Big, Bad Best Buy is only looking out for its investors and its bottom line.