I purchased a Palm Pre through Best Buy. It has been replaced three times due to defects in the phone. So, I am on my fourth one now.
When I purchased my Black Tie Protection agreement with it, I had been under the impression from the agents at the Waterloo, IA location that should my phone be accidentally damaged through normal use that I'd just be able to go into any Best Buy in the country (that sold the Pre) and have it replaced same day. This seemed to be a fantastic agreement since I am a truck driver and can NOT wait for my phone to be sent off for repair or other evaluation.
Just a couple of days ago, as I was climbing out of my truck, the phone slipped out of my hand, landed on the metal stairs of my truck, then continued to bounce down to and along the asphalt. There is a chunk of the black plastic missing, scratch on the screen, and the touches aren't recognized or are incorrectly recognized (though this is sporadic, and I can't "force" this to happen at any given time). This isn't even including the dead pixels that existed before the damage occurred (not enough to be considered replaceable) or the color bleeding that is happening at the bottom of the screen.
I have every receipt from defect exchanges to price matches from every transaction made involving this Pre. I am currently close to and can easily access the Best Buy location in Laredo, TX (there are 2...I'm at the main one, not the Laredo North one). They've told me they have to send the phone off and give me a loaner. Even after explaining my situation, they told me to come back at approximately 2 PM to speak to the General Manager by the name of Xavier. I did so, and a representative said he was in and she would go get him, but just needed to know what I had to speak with him about. After explaining my situation, he was miraculously no longer available, and a different customer service manager attempted to help me. I was told by that manager that I couldn't even use the protection at this time due to the screen not improperly recognizing touches at the time he checked it out. As I said earlier, this is sporadic and I can't force it to happen.
I highly expect to be able to use a service that I am paying for. Telling me I can't is like a car insurance company saying that they won't repair a car after a crash because it will still drive, you just may have to stop and tighten the lugnuts occasionally to keep the wheel from falling off.
Ultimately, I just want the phone replaced with a properly working one. While I understand the damage is my fault, that's why I purchased the protection. Is there anything I can do to ensure an in-store replacement rather than waiting for up to 4 weeks for my device to me mailed to some facility for some person to say "Replace it", and I could be on the complete opposite side of the country?
@Dorothy_BestBuy
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