Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[shanecash]

Little background info on me: I have been buying from Best Buy for quite some time now, just like many others on these boards.  I am a rewards zone silver member, spending $2500 each year with Best Buy.  I like Best Buy and there in store staff.  Now here is some info on my recent experience with BestBuy/Geeksquad.  On 9/12/08 I purchased a 52" Samsung LCD (LN52A650) TV.  This new unit started showing issues one month in (this is where I made the mistake because I should have returned the unit then).  The unit would go into a power off/power on sequence that would not stop unless you unplugged the unit. This was a complete random issue occurring sometimes 10 minutes after the TV was on to 2 hours after the TV was on but once it began the only fix was to unplug the unit.

 After experiencing the issues I decided to put the PSP to work and get an agent out to inspect the TV.  I placed the call sometime in the beginning of November and they came out to inspect.  The technician was clueless and said he was going to order the Main Board for the unit.  End first visit...

The part came in and I rescheduled.  The same tech came back and before installing the part he wanted to load the new firmware because this was a reoccurring issue with my model TV.  This didn't work so he installed the board.  He waited 5 minutes and said the TV was good to go.  I told him that sometimes the TV would take 2 hours to fail, but he said not to worry because he was 100% sure the new main board would solve the issue.  End second visit.

30 minutes after the tech left the TV failed, and this time was different than the others because it was no longer random.  If the TV booted up from a cold start, meaning the unit had been off for more than one hour, it would stay on for 30 minutes before going into power on/power off cycle.  So, the TV was now fully broken and unusable after a thirty minutes of being on.  I called geek squad the same day and rescheduled.  The day finally rolled around for my appointment and the same tech called me and said he would not coming out.  He explained that he was going to order the parts board for my unit and that I needed to reschedule when the part comes in.  This little evolution chewed up about 15 days.  End third visit...

The day rolled around for 4th appointment and the tech showed up with my brand new board.  He installed the board and of course it did not solve my issue.  He went on to say it was cable box so I removed the cable box and plugged straight into the wall jack and it failed again.  The tech was clueless at this point and went on to call Samsung in my living room asking for advice.  The Samsung guy said if it wasn't the two boards he had already replaced the he didn't know what it was.  He then went on to tell the tech that only thing he could try (which would probably not work) is to change the button sensor board on the TV.  So the tech left and ordered the sensor board.  End 4th visit....

Today is 12/23/08 and my next visit is scheduled for 1/2/09.  I wanted to take the time to let everyone read my recent experience with Geek Squad and PSP plan so that people can see how ineffective I think this service is.  I consider myself a very loyal Best Buy customer and hope this is not how they treat their loyal customers.  I have been without a working TV now for almost 3 full months, I have requested a replacement due to the no lemon policy and have been denied twice.  I have spoken to the manager of the store the purchase was made and he sympathized but could not help.  All I want is for the TV to be replaced with the same model because I feel I have received a lemon.  I would like to think that it is not out of the question for a customer not to be treated like a piece of cattle in the masses, but I guess I was naive.

I would be greatly appreciative if one of the customer agents that read these boards could provide me with some answers and help as to why I still have a brand new TV in my living room that does not work after 3-4 months.

Thank you,

Shane C.

Post edited to remove personal information only, per our forum guidelines

Message Edited by shanecash on 12-23-2008 12:54 PM

Message Edited by Dorothy-BBY on 12-24-2008 01:37 PM

[shanecash]

Would any of the moderators care to provide me with some help on this?

Thanks,

[HarleyMN]

I so sympathize with you. We just finally TODAY got our 50 inch Samsung plasma fixed. Same treatment as you. I have a forum posted out here also on the horrible treatment we got from the Geek Squad and Best Buy. We waited 8 weeks, had 5 reschedules and so many phone calls I can hardly count. Never again. We are banning Best Buy and will never give another cent to the company. I reported BB to the Better Business Bureau and was told they had a very "unsatisfactory rating in Minnesota (where I live) and North Dakota". Gee, I wonder why??

[shanecash]

It has been 3 days since I made this post, and I have noticed other threads have recieved feedback and support from the Best Buy moderators.  I am really hoping that someone here can help look into my situation and provide me with some help. 

Thanks,

[Allan-BBY Community Connector · Accepted solution]

Hi shanecash,

I’d like to apologize right off the bat for the delay in my response, and for the length of your TV repair. If after one month of owning a new TV, and multiple service calls I would want a new TV myself. A Performance Service Plan (PSP) would replace a product it covers if it has had three qualifying repairs and a diagnosis that a fourth qualifying repair is needed by an authorized service technician. A qualifying repair is when a part is installed by a technician, and due to the part install the product is determined to be functioning properly by an authorized service technician. If the repair on a product covered by a PSP is determined to be uneconomical to repair the PSP should then replace the product, or if the product is determined to be un-repairable. Since your replacement request was denied twice it doesn’t sound like the TV outright qualifies for replacement under the terms and conditions of the PSP. I would like the opportunity to get you resolution in this matter, and of course a functioning TV. I am sending you a private message so check your inbox by logging into the forum, and then clicking on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Thanks for posting,
Allan
Community Connector
Best Buy® Corporate

[shanecash]

First I would like to thank Allan for his help on support on my situation.  Coming to these forums was my last option of hope on trying to find a solution to my TV repair and Allan worked quickly to help me see this problem come to an end.  The situation with my TV was a very good learning expierience for me but knowing that people like Allan are out there really gives me hope. 

Thanks again for the support and help!

[tjon63]

Shanecash,

         I'm so happy to see that you were able to get assistance through this board. Thank you for posting an update!

Nicely done Allan!

[Kowboy83]

Not surprising to know it took so long for a response.

Since August we have purchased two flatscreen tvs, two blue-ray dvd players, a stove, refrigerator, and most recently a dishwasher. Probably around $10K worth of merchandise. Yet no one cares to provide an alternative when the installer of the dishwasher fails to show for two scheduled appointments. Same old generic reply of wait days for someone to get back to you.

[Kowboy83]

And still no one has gotten back to me.

Should have washed my hands of this company on Tuesday when the installer failed to show for the second day in a row. Now I'm sorry I didn't.