Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[AnotherBestBuy]

I have new Panasonic Viera 50 G10 that is dead. No problem, I called the Squad and they will come next week and validate that it's dead and then order some parts.

This is the second TV that I have used the Best Buy in-home support service and it always goes the same way. They take a week or two before they can get on over to verify my report of failure and then another couple weeks to obtain and install replacements. It is always a good experience and the technicians are always nice, but this is the most efficient process I have seen. Do you really have to send someone over to figure out what's wrong? Why do I know what's wrong without doing anything more than going to the manufacturer's web site? Can't someone give me a triage call? Is two trips really necessary? Is that efficient? Isn't that bogging down your technicians' schedules?

Learn from Dell in-home service. I report a problem, I spend time on the phone with a technician who does triage to understand what might be wrong. The technician orders parts and in 24 hours I get a call from a field tech who wants to set up an appointment to replace the needed parts. It works perfect every singe time and it is fantastic service.

I think the Geek Squad can learn some efficiencies from this model. No matter what product you are servicing, your customers probably bought an item from you because they need it working and likely are dis-serviced from some major purchase sitting dormant for a month.... like a TV.

I will report back to let you know how long my current repair request takes.

[Adamtech Emerging Expert]

Hi there, I can say it is difficult to determine the exact part(s) that are bad and need to be replaced from just talking to the customer on the phone. Televisions are a bit more complex. In any event, a Community Connectors will get in contact with you about your experience and they will forward your feedback to the proper people.

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hello AnotherBestBuy -

Aaron from our Community Connector team should be reviewing and responding to your concern in the next few days.  Thank you for continued patience!

[AnotherBestBuy]

Adamtech,

Just a note to your comment. I do believe, in fact, that today's televisions have extremely few "moving parts." Therefore I believe with the proper training from the manufacturers of those products you sell and service you should be able to narrow nearly any TV troubleshooting issue down to a small set of possibilities. And this goes the same for a number of the items that the Geek Squad should find themselves having to service.

[Nokia]

Just because something has no moving parts doesn't mean almost any part can't break.

[Adamtech Emerging Expert]

Correct, fewer moving parts but more circuit boards.

[AnotherBestBuy]

What are you two, the cheerleading squad? You want to talk moving parts and circuit boards? As an engineer I would be happy to have that chat with you. Back to the main point....

It isn't rocket science to uncover what goes wrong with a TV set. I was able to troubleshoot my issue with a quick stop to the manufacturer's web site and determine exactly what the issue is, that it is a known issue, and what has to be replaced. So, it I can find this out, someone who is responsible to service this item should know at least as much as I can find out before they come to service it. There is little reason that a "Squad" member can't be equipped with that knowledge when approaching a repair in hopes of having the solution in their bag of tricks when they arrive the first time.

[AnotherBestBuy]

Yes, I am cross posting on purpose - so that the issues I am having are well documented - get over it.

Update - whether it be a new process or a coincidence I have actually received a triage call from the Geek Squad field technician who is scheduled to do my service call next week. He was knowledgeable of my repair request and the issues identified with my Panasonic and will be making an attempt to have the needed replacement parts before he shows up to do the initial service call.

Brilliant. That is as it should be.

[Aaron-GS Community Connector]

Greetings,

I’m sorry to hear about your recent TV difficulties!  Like many others, I use my TV on a nearly daily basis, so I can imagine how frustrated you must feel to be facing repairs.  Rest assured though that our technicians strive to ensure that each and every repair is completed in a timely fashion.

Now, it’s certainly regrettable if your current repair experience does not meet your expectations, but please bear in mind that we require that diagnostics be performed before parts are ordered so that we obtain the correct parts.  To do otherwise would be a disservice to our customers, especially considering that it is impossible to guarantee that the exact same parts will always resolve two similar-sounding problems.

If you are in need of assistance with your current repairs though please do not hesitate to let me know.  You can send me a private message by clicking on either my signature below or the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

[mstng87gt Trusted Contributor]

I wouldn't use Dell as an example.  Last time I had a problem I spent 6 hours 3 days straight on the phone with supposed Technicians who read from a book and had me do the same thing over and over again. 

My problem was both the cd drive and dvd drive were dead.  What did they want me to do, reload the drivers for the cd drive and the dvd drive with the included cd.  It took 18 hours to get through there head that it didn't work and how could I load a cd in a cd drive that doesn't work.  That doesn't seem efficient to me.