Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[Mrs-Ipod-less]

Please hear my imbroglio...

I am a professional woman with among other things purchased an Apple 30Gig Ipod on 01/27/07 at the time I purchased this I was offered a 3 year protection plan for 59.99 of which I did and hoped I would never have to use, but to my dismay my screen started to have some condensation and my Ipod would not hold a charge anymore. So my husband and I pulled out the original receipt and protection plan and went in to Best Buy. I have never experienced such rude unprofessional behavior in any store in my life! The employee behind the customer service desk said it has water in it(Isn't that what condensation/humidity is)and she said "we can't help you". We then asked for a manager (since clearly in my PSP plan, it states that it covers this), and the manager said the same thing. Obviously the screen had droplets  of water in it (that's what condensation is.....)Well I said "OK let me speak with someone higher than you" she replied "let me take this in the back and get my general manager" She came back minutes later to tell me that the General manager was clocked out for lunch and he is not paid to talk to us on an unpaid lunch. (Well I didn't just fall off a turnip truck. I, as most of the human race, can pretty much see that, one, your manager not only did not want to help me but she outright lied to me, Come on what GENERAL MANAGER for a corporation clocks in and out for anything much less a "LUNCH" at 6:00pm???) Being frustrated, my husband and I left and chalked it up to maybe she was just having a bad day, so we decided to just go to another Best Buy store where we were directly sent over to your Geek Squad. I told them the problem that my Ipod had condensation, and would not hold a charge and they actually seemed to want to help  me, they said they could send my Ipod in for repair or I could do a Quick Return option. I opted for mine to be repaired. I talked with the manager and he said it would be repaired or replaced. This was on 04/19/09. I received a phone call from the Geek Squad telling me that my Ipod was ready to be picked up. I was excited it was ready so soon(my excitement didn't last any more than the 30 minute drive there!!!)When I got to the counter the guy went and got my Ipod and told me that the repair center told them that the battery was wet and unrepairable and said that I must have gotten it wet or had it in the bathroom.(1. I did not get my Ipod "wet". 2. There are no restriction on what room in my house I may carry my Ipod...) Basically calling me a liar, I then talked to the manager at that store to be told there is nothing that he could do, if he replaced it he would be out $250.00 because mine could not be fixed and if I wanted anything else to call the 1-800-Best Buy which I did... I spoke to a lovely girl, which switched to me to another lovely girl called a costumer consultant which told my husband and I that she had no record of my Ipod being sent to the repair center... (Another lie from one of your Best Buy store managers......) She then gave me the corporate phone number of which I called and told the whole story to him again, and the person on the other end of the phone, said he "DID" see it go into the repair center and the battery had water damage and suggested that maybe we should go back to the store and ask that it be relooked at because of living in Florida, where there is HEAVY humidity, and that my WARRANTY CLEARLY SAYS THAT IT COVERS HUMIDITY/CONDENSATION.

If this is how Best Buy is going to treat their customers by using semantics to get out of their responsibilities that go along with the warranties, then I know I will not be one of those customers! Nor will the hundreds of people that I will tell! And without customers, there will be no Best Buy. I now own an Ipod that I may only use on my dock, since I'm a runner, I don't have a long enough extension cord that will make it around the lake or subdivision. I guess Best Buy has stolen $250 out of my pocket along with another $60 on top of that for a warranty that basically is worthless. LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR RESPONSE!

                                                                                    Sincerely,

Mrs.. Ipodless

[michelle13]

While one of the MOD's will be better able to help you with the ipod situation i did want to clear up one of the points you brought up. All 30 min breaks at best buy are called "lunches" no matter what time of day you take your 30 min break. It is also true that all employees even GM's clock out for these "lunches" per policy, so it is entirely possible that the GM was clocked out for his "lunch" at 6pm so they were probably not lying to you.

but your ipod should be covered and im sure one of the mods will be able to help you out! 

[starhelper2587]

Have you tried visiting an authorized Apple dealer or repair center?  Maybe a 2nd opinion from them would make the store more willing to assist you.  I know this shouldn't be the protocol expected of our clients but this is something you could do until a Community Connector can address this.  Usually they aren't on here on the weekends.  Also, your PSP may be able to be returned for a prorated refund if the store won't let you use it for what your literature states it covers.

[Mrs-Ipod-less]

Thank you for reading my Ipod mishap at Best Buy, I have considered doing this, but since I bought both my Ipod and Ipod warranty at Best Buy , I think they should act in good faith like any other reputable company. I also don't think I should have to run all over town due to Best Buy not holding up their end of the transaction. Thanks for listening and responding.

Sincerely, 

Mrs.. Ipodless

[Mrs-Ipod-less]

Thanks so much for reading my Best Buy  mishap, I sure hope they do the right thing and honor the warranty that I bought from them. In retrospect I still find it hard to believe that a general manager clocks in and out for lunch, since I was once a regional supervisor for a large company and was paid on a salary. This is nether here nor their I still believe as a general manager clocked in or out you come to the floor when asked by a customer for help,after all a am one of the many that pays his salary.

Sincerely,

Mrs.. Ipodless

[Elizabeth-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hi Mrs-Ipod-less,

I've asked John, one of our Community Connectors, to look into this and follow up with you.  You should be hearing from him within the next few business days.

Thanks for posting,

[John-BBY Community Connector]

Hello Mrs-Ipod-less,

I was quite disheartened to read of your experience seeking repairs for your iPod.  Most repair situations are handled in a straight-forward manner with a minimum of inconvenience for our customers and I’m disappointed that your situation was not as smooth as so many are.

The first store you visited should have offered to send your iPod to our service center for diagnostics and repair.  That you were told flatly that the unit was liquid damaged and not covered is surprising.  However, Geek Squad® Agents at the store do have some experience in determining if a product was damaged by liquids or is suffering from humidity induced condensation.  The second store you visited followed the correct procedure in offering service alternatives.  I know that this represented an inconvenience for you and for that I offer my apology.

While you may have been informed by the Geek Squad® Agent at your local store that it was condensation, our service center technicians will make the final determination as to the cause of damage during their diagnostic process.  Damage to an iPod caused by humidity or condensation affects all internal components equally, where exposure to external liquids – as the technician determined was the case here – would affect an iPod in the manner you’ve described.

Even so, if you wish, you may seek a second opinion from another authorized Apple service provider.  If they determine that the damage is due to condensation and not exposure to external liquid, Best Buy® will reimburse you for the expense of the repair once the required documentation is provided.  Otherwise, you are entitled to a prorated refund for your service plan by visiting your local store with the original purchase receipt.  If you’d like more information about the reimbursement process, please let me know.  To send me a private message, click on my user name and then on “Send this user a private message” under Contact on the next screen.

Sincerely,

[Mrs-Ipod-less]

Hi,John, and Thank you for responding to my Ipod mishap-However I myself  can not believe that you as a "Company Connector" condone the behavior that my husband and I received at the Best Buy stores. A friend of ours went on the Geek Squads site and looked up our service order of which he showed us where #1 it said my Ipod was fixed and ready for pick up #2 Time frames did not match up , which leads me to believe that the one honest person in your company on the other end of the 1-800-Best Buy line that told me that she had no record of my Ipod ever going in to the service center was actually telling the truth. Since our conversation my 15 year old son has fixed my Ipod and It was actually something quite simple and is working just fine, this also confirms what ever  idiot did make the diagnosis on my Ipod

should not be handling customers merchandise(maybe you should refer out to my son). Since your idiot did say that my battery was wet and the ipod was unrepairable. My friends, Coworkers and Myself were all appalled at your response and quite honestly(means telling the truth) disappointed. I just want to say that if you continue as company to treat your customers in this behavior, not only myself but the many many more that I can see on your website ,that your company has neglected you will have no customers, because as you should have learned in RETAIL 101(You make a customer Happy they will come back and Maybe bring a friend You make a customer Unhappy and you've lost a customer and possible all the people they tell of their experience,and everybody knows that an Unhappy customer tell 10 times more people than a Happy one. In retrospect I sure hope one day I do not see the $10 dollar an hour sign guy standing on the sidewalk of Best Buy holding the sign for your liquidation sale- But if this does happen your company brought it on themselves.                                                                                               

Sincerely ,

Formally Mrs.Ipodless                     

[vampchic23]

Hi Mrs-Ipod-less.... this may come as a shocker but I too, am a mrs.ipodless due to the rat race of Best Buy. I purchased the 80gb Classic less than a year ago. When I went to the cashier the "kid" working told me that if i purchase the service plan that EVERYTHING will be covered, and that he uses his to trade his "up" every once in a while. After spending $250.00 on the classic I figured that it was a good deal. I was totally wrong. I noticed "bubbles" behind the screen one night, then in the morning when I went to show the husband, it said that the battery was dead. I charged it for 24 hours and nothing. So I drove the 30 minutes to Best Buy for some child to tell me that he "knows" it has water damage... which is odd because the ipod is only ever in my arm sleeve when working out, my ihome in my bedroom, or in my car, where it has its own separate compartment where there is no water. So, it having water damage was a little shocking to me. Anyways... he told me that they would send it out to be repaired. NOW.... when the "kid" lured me into the service plan, he told me that they would pretty much just hand me a new ipod no questions asked. Not the case. So there is a little bone to pick with Best Buy...  train your employees to make the proper claims on the service plans. So, the ipod gets sent away and 4 weeks later they call me telling me to come pick my ipod up. So I go in. OH! Shocker it has water damage... whatever. The REAL kicker is that I had to PAY THEM $30.00 in order to GET MY IPOD BACK!!!!!! Are you kidding me??????????????????????????????? Needless to say, I blogged my little heart out about how big of a rip of Best Buy is. I cut up my store credit card. Rip up every sale ad and flyer that comes in the mail, and salute the store when I drive past. I will NEVER shop there again. I paid them $90.00 for absolutely NOTHING!!!!! In todays economy they should think more wisely about ripping thier customers off, because most, like me and doing the dreaded and shopping elsewhere, at one of those "carry all stores" for my new Ipod. They are cheaper there. The service plans are cheaper. And you do not have to deal with a boy with a "geek squad" shirt on.

Hmm... i never thought about condensation/humidity.... wonder if that works in PA??? Wait... who cares! They lost my business.

~no longer a Best Buy customer.

[Nokia]

Your water damage came from having it in an armband while working out. You sweat, sweat evaporates, some of it condenses inside the iPod. Sweat is extremely ionized and will kill electronics very quickly.