Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[Golffer5]

I was under the impression that Best Buy was a decent company with good Customer Service. What a joke. I purchased a Samsung DLP HDTV two years ago. I added on the $399.99 Warranty Plan just in case there was a problem. The TV worked great for two years and now there are the "blinking lights of death". I'm not here to complain about the television, but the fact that when I called the so-called Geek Squad I was scammed. Here's how it went;

I called on a Monday night (Nov. 3) approximately 4:30 p.m. The customer service rep was very polite, looked up my information, verified it and asked me if tomorrow was ok for a Service Technician to come to the house. I was surprised, but said, "Well sure". They asked if I wanted them to come between 8-12 a.m. or from 12-5 p.m. I accepted the 12-5 time slot knowing that I could afford to take a few hours off to meet them.

At 12:30, I called (just to confirm) that the technician was coming and another customer service rep confirmed that my appointment was set between 12 and 5 BUT, if I wanted to call the company that will be coming to the house, I could and they gave me the phone number.

I called the company just to make sure that they were coming and I was met with a surprise. First they only had me on the schedule to CALL me, NOT come to the house and the soonest that they could come was Nov. 10th. That Best Buy was "terrible" about making appointments for them and they were sorry. But...But, I was told they would be here, and I took time off of work. Crap.

In the mean time I called a local television repair man and just asked if they could look at my television today. They said they COULD.

I then called Best Buy back and talked with a fellow names Eric. Without letting him know that "I knew" the OTHER repair company wasn't coming, I asked if I was on schedule to have someone come to the house today. I got a "Yes Ma'am, you are scheduled between 12 and 5. Yeah, right....I asked for his supervisor.

I spoke to James the supervisor and he told me he was sorry, but they (Best Buy) have "no control over the repair companies schedule." I asked why was I told on 3 separate occasions by 3 separate people that the repair company would be here today. Obviously frustrated the Supervisor suggested that I "call the repair company and try to get on the waiting list if someone cancelled". I then asked him if there was a Repair company in my area that we could use instead of the "other" one. He put me on hold and came back and said "No Ma'am, there is nothing else in your area". Yeah right. I explained to him that I had already called another company, that they IN FACT do service calls for Best Buy and they would be willing to come out today. I HAD TO GIVE THE SUPERVISOR THE PHONE NUMBER. Please..what kind of customer service is that. I had to do HIS job.

I asked to be put on hold while James called the service company and gave them the ok to service my TV. He then came back on the line like a happy little camper and asked "what else can I do for you". Jeez, what HAVE you done for me?

In conclusion, if the economy isn't bad enough, why would Best Buy have customer service reps out there like that. I won't buy from there anymore, I will go across the street to Circuit City.

[MtnXfreeride]

you got a terrible 3rd party repair company.  Best Buy should drop them

[Golffer5]

And you know, I am not so much upset at the third party repair company as I am with Best Buy. I would have probably been shell shocked if they had told me they couldn't get someone out there until Nov. 10th, OR even told me the truth, that they don't have the ability to make an appointment for their third party repair companies. The bottom line is, I was lied to, on three separate occasions.

Lying to a customer is the worse kind of sin in my book. I would have rather have someone tell me that they don't know than to make up something. Maybe they don't make things up but are trained to answer in that way. Still, it is bad business practices.

Once again, with the economy as bad as it is, you would think that Customer Service would be that last strong hold on customers. I would be a repeat customer even if the prices are slightly higher if the customer service was exceptional.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hey Golffer5,

I was sorry to hear that you took a day off of work for no reason. When a customer calls to schedule an in home repair on their TV we try to get them scheduled with a Best Buy® technician, but sometimes there isn’t a Best Buy® technician that services the customers’ area. When this is the case we contract a local repair center to do the work for us, and since this is a separate company we cannot schedule their technicians. We send that company a service request, and then that company should call the customer to set up a time for service.

It sounds like you were misinformed, and I can assure you that this is not the quality of service we expect.  In addition to forwarding your comments on for internal review, I also would like the opportunity to try and restore your faith in Best Buy® so I am sending you a private message.

Thanks for posting,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate

[Golffer5]

Credit where credit is due. At least I was contacted by you and we are working on a solution.

I will be sure to post here when the television is actually fixed because I am a skeptical person. Like I told Alan in a private message, "actions speak greater than words."

We will see.

[Golffer5]

 I said that I would update on the current situation. I gave information to Alan and he in-fact called the Television Repair Company. I can confirm this because the company called me with the same information he gave. His "good faith" effort is admirable because he said he would contact me the day after my television is set to be fixed.

This is far from resolved, but I am willing to take a step as long as Best Buy is willing to do the same.

Golf

[Golffer5 · Accepted solution]

I wanted to update everyone on my "situation". I have been working with Allan-BB Representative and I must say, if they could clone Allan and put him in every store....all of our problems would go away. He was polite, concerned and persistent. The following is a success story

After my post here on this forum, Allan a Best Buy Mod here on this forum contacted me. We spoke on what it would take to make me a happy customer. He fully understood that it was all about the way I was "misinformed" by the 1800 BB representatives. I told him that actions were better than words. Allan actually called the service company the following day and spoke to the Repair Company. He stayed in contact with me via this forum and offered to stay in contact with me until my television was fixed.

Mills-Pinkham TV came to my house at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday 11/11 exactly the time they said they would. I also got a call from someone with Best Buy today asking how the repair on my television was going. I told them (at the time) the repair had not been made, but they (Mills) were on their way. She said that she would call back tomorrow.

They (Mills) changed the bulb, and the television has been working for 1 hour now. I signed the work order and kept a copy for myself.

On the way downstairs (where I have another big screen television) the service rep with Mills noticed a sound coming from my "other" television. He said that from the sound, I have a color wheel going out. I have had this television for 6 years, it was one of the first HD DLP's on the market. This television is no longer on its warranty, however, I did ask him to order a color wheel for me. It was nice to know that the service rep from Mills was willing to go above and beyond to help his customer. If Mills-Pinkham television is not on your list of certified technicians, I suggest that you put him at the top of the list. His company certainly saved Best Buy's proverbial "back side" on this complaint.

Allan contacted me again later today to ask how things were going. His actions spoke louder than words to me and that is what will make me walk back in the doors at Best Buy within the next two weeks to make another purchase.

I can honestly say, if it wasn't for Allan-BB Mod here at this forum. I would have never been back. Allan....I hope they (BB Managers) give you a raise.

Golf