Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[DanTos8715]

I am very upset at the customer service I have, or I should day,
haven't received from Best Buy/Geeksquad.  I spent alot of money
recently, and included in my purchase was a 47in Insignia with the
warranty.  I opened it a few days after purchase to notice a red dot
on the left side of the screen.  I then called geek squad to report
the problem.  I gave them my information and was told I would be
contacted.  I then waited approx. 10 days and still hadn't been
contacted.  I then called again and gave the same info.  I was told
that the area I lived in wasn't covered, and that it would have to be
sent up to a supervisor to handle and I would be contacted.  Approx.
the end of June/beginning of July I was contacted by voicemail by an
Electronic repair company.  I returned the call to them (I have all of
their contact info) and there was no answer.  I left multiple voice
mails for them, and never had my call returned.

I then called Geeksquad today, the 15th of July to be informed that
unless there are 3 red dots on my tv they will not repair it under
warranty.  I explained to them that I was not given this information
any of the times I had contacted them, but if I had been, I would of
returned the TV under the 30 day exchange.  I asked them why this
information wasn't told to me then, to which they never gave me an
answer and only asked me why I didn't call back sooner after no one
had contacted me.  I explained to them it is not the customers
responsibility to handle customer service issues.

The bottom line is, Geeksquad basically gave me the run around for
over a month so that they would not have to handle my issue.  After
that 30 day exchange timeframe was up, they explained to me the
details of the warranty and let me know I was out of luck.

This is not a proper way to handle a customer.  I do not want anything
more than what I paid for, a perfectly working Insignia 47in lcd tv.
If I was informed by Geeksquad the two previous times I called about
the details of the warranty, I would of returned it then and there.  I
wasn't, and somehow their lack of handling customers resulted in my
problem.

I have spent lots of money on high end electronics with best buy, and
I always get the warranty.  This is the first time I needed it, and my
first time has been a horrible situation.  I have the ID number of the
supervisor who I spoke with, and he was very spiteful towards me with
his responses.  He never apologized or showed any sort of sympathy for
my purchase problems.  He basically pointed his finger and blamed me
for them not contacting me.

I need to speak to someone higher up.  Either by phone or email.  As
it stands right now I am disgusted by Best Buy and do not want to ever
step foot in another Best Buy and I will let my opinion be heard by
many ears.

[ABF2]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here. Firstly I want to thank Best Buy for having these forums. As an informed consumer, I try to do my research before making any major purchases like the new TV I am currently in the market for. I am on a very limited budget living just off of my meager Naval retirement, but I do save up to buy myself some treats sometimes. I usually buy all of my electronic needs from Best Buy, but up until now I have never purchased the Geek Squad extended warranty, mainly because most of what I bought wouldn't need a warranty. That being said, I stumbled upon these forums and am not reading all of the reviews about this warranty plan.

I also wanted to thank DanTos8715 for this very informative post. It just so happens that this particular model was one of a few that I was contemplating buying.Now I am sure that all products have defects from time to time when they are new, but this certainly gets me catious and may sway me to buy another brand of TV. Moreover, after reading further into his post, I am not sure if I want to buy the Geeksquad warranty at all or to go even further, if I even want to buy the TV at Best Buy period! If this is the "customer service" that people are to receive from this company, from the "run around" to the rude supervisor, I may avoid the hastle all together.This may be an isolated incident, but isolated or not, this does not sound like a good way to treat a customer, especially one making big purchases like this. 

I really hope that there is some resolution to this matter from the Best Buy people that reply on here. If you could DanTos8715, post some follow up on this issue or send me a personal message, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[ChrisFL]

As a former electronics retail store manager, ABF, I can tell you that the nice thing about buying service plans, assuming you can afford them, is that it gives store management a reason to go above and beyond.  When an employee tells a manager about a customer defective product, and it's either outside the manufacturer's warranty or they have an issue the warranty doesn't cover, the first thing the manager asks is: "did they buy the service plan?"  If the answer is "no," then the manager says "screw 'em."  If the answer is "yes," then a lot of times the manager will bend over backwards to take care of that customer because the last thing he wants is for that person to regret buying the plan in the first place, and decide never to buy one again.  Best Buy does a good job taking care of its customers, and the posts on these forums are evidence of that.  

Generally, retail jobs are easy to get, and finding good employees is tough.  They don't get paid a lot, and have to deal with the general public all day long, so they can get testy, particularly if they think a customer is making an unreasonable request (which you'll see plenty examples of here).  The best employees handle situations the way they do in these forums, and in my experience with Best Buy, the good ones far outweigh the bad.  There's certainly no reason to shy away from buying from a Best Buy.  The users here are typically the most vocal of the unhappy customers, and their stories aren't indicative of the average customer's experience.

As for Insignia...in electronics, well-known brand names aren't just status symbols, they're higher quality items.  You get what you pay for.  If you're trying to decide between getting an Insignia with a warranty and putting those couple hundred dollars into a entry-level Sony, Samsung, or Panasonic, I'd recommend saving up for a few more months and getting the better TV with the warranty--it's saved my bacon a few times, and it gives the customer service pros working here a good reason to take care of you, if you ever need them to.

[DanTos8715]

Insignia is the Best Buy brand.  I was told by many sources that this particular model is basically an LG TV with an Insignia logo on it.

The TV itself, I believe if in perfect working condition, would be a great TV.  However, I've never had the opportunity to experience that because its had a stuck pixel fresh out of the box.  I guess per manufacturer's specs that this is acceptable, as I was told it has to have at least 3 before anything is done.  This is my first time experiencing anything of this such matter when buying something "new".  Can you imagine buying a new car, noticing a dent or a scratch, and the dealer telling you that it has to have at least 2 more before you can have anything done about it?  The difference here is the TV is in the box, so you will never know about it until you get it home.

I made the mistake of thinking my warranty would handle this situation.  My main problem is not with the details of the warranty, but the mishandling of my situation by best buy customer service/geek squad.  I contacted them multiple times and was never told of this "detail" of the warranty or service plan.  Never returned my calls.  It was like I didn't exist.  Then after calling back for the 4th or 5th time, this is when I was informed of the detail.  By then, 30 days had passed and my exchange period were up.

I should of been informed the very first time I called.  2 days after finding out the problem, I would of had it back in the store if I knew that was my only choice.  Unfortunately the closest Best Buy is 45 minutes away and this tv is never in stock.  So that would of been a situation in itself, but likely a less frustrating one than this.  I was lead to believe Best Buy customer service would return my call and inform me on the situation.  Silly me. 

[DanTos8715]

Oh and I do have a service plan.  Paid $150 bucks for it. 

[mstng87gt Trusted Contributor]

Some things I wanted to mention here Insignia (TV's)  are not a bad brand although true it does not compare to Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, LG, or Sharp they aren't garbage.  I own 2 and am very happy with them and the picture quality is above decent.  Just make sure to review each one you are looking at and not to just walk in a buy one.  Granted you do get what you pay for I wouldn't overlook Insignia. 

To the OP you could also try Insignia's website as well they seem very helpful there.

[ChrisFL]

My reply was really to ABF...  I can understand your frustration--I had a similar pixel-outage situation with a monitor once.  Sadly, it's sort of an industry standard that a certain number of pixels has to be out before these displays are replaced under warranty (I seem to remember 10% with my prior employer, which I thought was outrageous).  In my experience, very few employees know this, or exactly how it works. 

It's a lousy situation, I hope they can take care of you.  I think you're in the right place, though.

[DanTos8715]

Thanks.  I wish more service reps were like you.

When I was on the phone yesterday I was totally in shock.  The supervisor had no remorse for anything.  I would ask the question as to why no one had contacted me, and he kept responding "Why didn't you call back sooner?" or "Why didn't you call back more".  I was dumbfounded.

All I really needed to hear was "Sorry we failed to contact you in a timely manner.  I really apologize about your TV.  There is really nothing I can do but let me direct you here, or let me talk to my manager or let me contact the store in which you purchased it from to see what they can do".  It was nothing like that.  It was pretty much, well we're not doing anything and you should of hounded us more...sorry about your luck!

I usually never complain about issues.  I admit I'm usually the one to take things and just let them go.  Not this time though.  Not with the way he came across.

I'm glad this post is getting bigger though.  Hopefully a BB rep posts soon!

[mstng87gt Trusted Contributor]

They will respond and are extremely helpful..  Be patient as there are only like 7 of them and they take care of the complete forum.

[DanTos8715]

Thanks mustang.  I have noticed they have been quite helpful on other posts.  I am also taking the issue up with Insignia and will be visiting the store where I purchased the TV on Friday (2.5 hours away!).  I just want this to be resolved.  I want to be a happy little Best Buy lifetime customer!