Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[admiralct]

I am getting a bit frustrated with the repair process for my desktop PC.  I originally diagnosed and confirmed with Geek Squad tech on 12/28 that I had a bad memory module in my PC.  After a week 1/3/13, I was told that not only the memory was bad but the Motherboard (MB) as well and the PC would need to be shipped offsite for repairs.  So on, 1/3/13 (Thursday last week), the tech created a UPS shipping label and I assumed that by at least Friday or Saturday I would see a status of the item in transit to the facility (no dice).  I called back on Sunday (1/6) and was informed that they were waiting for a box to ship the PC out in and would be shipping out the next day (1/7). I then called back on Tuesday 1/8 and was told the same SOB story that they didn't have a box but would ship it soon.

Getting more frustrated...

Called 1-800 Geek Squad and the lady on the phone conferenced me in with the store (South Elgin, IL), the person they seemed to think the PC was being shipped by went and looked further and saw it sitting in their warehouse with the UPS label on it (not boxed up).  The person at the local Best Buy store told us she was getting a box and would wrap it up right away (Tuesday 1/8).  After that I felt things were being resolved and things were moving along..

Further frustration... Checked again today and the status on Geek Squad Site for my work order ({Removed per Forum Guidelines})  shows "In Transit", but when you look at the UPS Tracking #1Z3V8E300295300888, it still hasn't even arrived at a UPS facility (which is the same status it has been since 1/3)!!!

UPS Message:  "A UPS shipping label has been created. Once the shipment arrives at our facility, the tracking status--including the scheduled delivery date--will be updated."

At this point, I almost want to just pick up my PC and demand that the Motherboard and Memory replacements be shipped to me and I can do the repairs myself.   Other than calling the 1-800 or the store again (which seems to have not helped), I don't know what to do next.

I am extremely frustrated now and need some assistance in what my next steps should be.

THanks,

Chris {Removed per Forum Guidelines}

[Aaron-BBY Community Connector]

Hello Chris,

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

[admiralct]

Great.  If they need my phone number, they can PM me or e-mail the address in my profile.

[Mbrguy Emerging Expert]

Service Center repairs take, on average, 2-3 weeks from when they are created for the item to come back repaired.  This time-frame usually accounts for slight delays in shipping.  Your computer is still well within the timeframe for repairs.  Trying to do a realtime track of your repair is probably just going to frustrate you, and will do nothing to speed up the repair.

I've seen similar instances on these forums where someone was trying to track the repair and was complaining left and right that the laptop wasn't shipped yet, or that it wasn't checked in at the Service Center yet, and "how long does it take to replace the memory", etc.  But at the end, when the computer was returned to the customer, it was under the 3 week average.  So, if the customer had just taken the timeframe to heart instead of trying to micro manage the repair, then he would have had a much less stressfull time.

My suggestion is to let them do their job.  If you haven't heard anything at the 3 week mark (from when it was supposed to be shipped), then call and check up on it.  Heck, even if you wanted to call within a week and just check on the status, you could do that.  But give them time to do their job.

As for them giving you back the computer and just shipping you the motherboard and RAM to let you replace it yourself, if this is a repair that you are paying them to do, then be my guest.  But if this is a Warranty or a Service Plan repair, they aren't going to even consider that.  The warranty and Service Plan REQUIRES any repais, especially something on the scale of a motherboard replacement, to be performed by a factory certified technician.  

So again, I'd recommend to let them do their job.  If the computer isn't back within 3 weeks of them tellling you they need to ship it out, then it'd be a good time to check into it.  Anything before that, or what you have been doing, is merely pestering them while they have other customer's computers to work on.  If they're waiting for a box to ship it out in, they can't ship it until the boxes arrive.  Calling them over and over again won't make these boxes magically appear and it only serves to take them away from helping other people.  Unfortunately, you are not the only person they are helping.  

[admiralct]

The issue that I am describing is that an agent told me that were waiting for a box.  I then called back a few days later and it was still "waiting" for a box.  The tech then said she would wrap it up and ship it out early yesterday morning, yet it still is sitting there. 

I do PC repairs myself and next time will buy my PC directly from the manufacturer and/or just extend the manufacturer warranty.  If I treated my customers with such long delays, I wouldn't have any.  I can easily order a part and have it installed within a week or less (barring any delays due to parts availability)

Chris

[Kevin-GS Community Connector · Accepted solution]

Good afternoon Admiralct!

Having your computer out of commission is never pleasant, but I can’t imagine how you may have felt if you were told that it had to wait for repairs because we may not have had a box to ship it in. To me, that sounds ridiculous and I feel that we should have been able to find a solution in a timelier manner than what you described. I’m very sorry for that experience as something like that shouldn’t have happened.

I was able to look up your account information using the email address you provided when joining the forums and it appears that a resolution has been offered to try and get you taken care of. You should have been contacted earlier today with the details. I’d like to offer some additional assistance and will be reaching out to you through private message. Please check your messages by logging into the forums and clicking on the envelope icon at the top right-hand corner of the page. 

Best wishes, 

[admiralct]

It turns out Best Buy junked out my PC at the service center and told me to go to the store and get a new PC.  When I went to the store I was expecting that I would only be given the amount the PC originally cost me (+tax) or less, but I was extremely surprised when I decided to pick out a little beefier machine that Best Buy comp'd the entire cost.

In addition, they were able to ship me back the 2 internal HDD's that I had in my old PC and let me keep them.

Now I am eagerly waiting my new PC to arrive.

Thanks again to Kevin and all those that helped at Best Buy.

Chris