Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[mrsell]

Okay, so maybe that's a touch dramatic...but here's my story:

My husband and I had been having some major problems with our Optoma projector. The screen would flicker colors and then randomly shut off, the "bulb failure" light would come on. So, we assumed the bulb was nearing the end of its life, so we shelled out $300 to replace the bulb. After the bulb was replaced, the same darn thing kept happening. Sometimes you'd watch the tv for 5 minutes and it would do it, other times it could go 2 hours.

Contacted Optoma and they said it sounded like a color wheel issue, and since the projector failed exactly three years from date-of-purchase and was out of warranty, for several hundred dollars they could fix it.

Enter my LOVELY Best Buy service plan!

Called Best Buy and asked how I open a repair order. The lady told me since my projector was mounted to my ceiling, it required in-home repair. The repair guy calls me the day he's supposed to show up and tells me the lady indicated it was a rear-projection TV and he's not actually qualified to work on my projector, I must take it in. How she got confused between a tiny box mounted to a ceiling and a gaint TV that takes grown men to move is beyond me, but no biggie to take it in, BB is right down the street My husband brings our projector in on the 31st of December and here we are, February 7, and I have not had an update in a full MONTH as to where my projector is or what is wrong with it.

Upon calling the store, the geeksquad person got a little snippy with my husband, saying they sent numerous emails on several dates, but the last one we have is dated the 14th of January, the one prior to that was the 7th of January. Absolutely nothing changed between the 7th and 14th, so we have had no new information about what is going on in a full month. All the person would tell us was that they don't know what's going on either, but how long it takes to get fixed is out of their control. The guy proceeded to tell m\y husband that if it's gone more than 45 days, they'll give us a new one?

Is it me, or is this amount of time to get something fixed unacceptable? This is the ONLY television in my house...it's super bowl sunday...my annual super bowl party obviously won't be happening. I am so unbelievably frustrated right now, perhaps not at the length of time, but at the lack of communication. I just want my $1000 TV back; I'd actually like to watch a movie or *gasp* USE my brand new PS3 that was also purchased from Best Buy! I hate to say it, but if this situation isn't remedied rather quickly, Best Buy has lost a customer...and the worst part? I'm a FORMER EMPLOYEE!

[Dorothy-BBY Community Supervisor]

Hello mrsell -

Allan, from our Community Connector team, will be reaching out regarding your concern.  I appreciate your continued patience until he is able to reach out to you.  

Thank you! 

[Allan-BBY Community Connector · Accepted solution]

Hi mrsell,

This definitely sounds like a very upsetting repair experience, and given the fact that this is your homes only TV I’m sure this has been very disappointing for you. The fact that this store can’t provide you with any detailed information on your repair has most likely made you wonder if your projector is even being repaired.

As in any repair the time it takes to complete is sometimes longer than what is expected by a customer, but I don’t think it unreasonable at all to expect to know the current status of the repair. I would like to look into your repair, and see if I can get you a timely resolution. I am sending you a private message to gather some personal information I would need to look into this. To check your messages you should log into the forum, and then click on the letter icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Thanks for posting,

[trainedloser]

Former employees should know that optima's are a bit of a niche product, and that the repair center has to send this unit directly to optima for repairs. Thus, it's really out of bestbuy's hands right now.

Sorry you have no projector, but i could have told you this would happen. Why it takes optima so long to replace a color wheel is beyond me, but it does

[mrsell]

I sold appliances, so I had no idea about home theater. The reviews I read at the time were all positive regarding Optoma and the projector. After reading current reviews regarding this unit, I'm surprised mine lasted 3 years before it gave out! The geeksquad kid who took in the repair told my husband it would have to be sent out and was done so almost right after we dropped it off.

Yes, it's taking a long time...however my main frustration is the lack of communication. I'm also curious as to why the Optoma rep that I contacted told me there was a turnaround time of 24-72 hours for repairs and it's taken this long??? At this point I am thinking I should have just paid the $175 that they wanted to get my projector fixed through Optoma rather than using my PSP. At least I'd know who to contact regarding the length of time it's taken to get fixed. I just want to know the progress of the repair and when I could expect it back.

[ttraub]

I'm not surprised.  Unfortunately, this DOES seem to be BB's MO.  I am currently suffering through the same thing with my daughter's camera and in particular the Mechanicsburg, PA store.  They said they would repair in 2 weeks, nothing.  She calls, was told they would contact service department.  Calls again, told it was authorized for replacement to come to any BB to get replacement.  My wife went - Geek Squad guy in Mechanicsburg said "still out for repair".  Daughter calls Harrisburg Store - they said, "No, authorized for replacement."  Went back to Mecanicsburg (neither just down the street, but Mechanicsburg's definately closer and not through city traffic) - denied again, this time by CSM Doug H (also Manager on Duty).  BB Customer Relations told me they had called and worked it out with Mechanicsburg as they were not following standard operating procedures.  Called before going and got . . . Doug H.  He got "snippy" and said they were following policy.  Multiple calls and attempts at excalation have failed.  Just don't know where to go from here, but my daughter doesn't have a camera for valentine's day (and for her that's a big thing).  "Thanks Best Buy.  And to mrsell - hope your case gets worked out.

[mrsell]

I wanted to update on my situation regarding my projector.

Within a few hours of posting this, I was contacted by Allen offering to help figure out what was going on. The next day, I was contacted by a young man in Seattle explaining what had happened to my projector. Apparently they fixed the original problem, but something else was wrong and they were waiting for parts. I asked him an ETA, he said he wasn't sure. Then yesterday (Tuesday) I get another call from Allen saying he had a possible solution. I was THEN contacted by the geeksquad manager at my local Best Buy saying they had a unit of equal comps and they could just do a swap.

My husband went last night, and the unit wasn't anywhere close to being a comparable machine, but they worked to find one that was and had no problems exchanging them out.

All in all, I am very satisfied (and surprised) at how smoothly this went after I wrote this message. I usually don't complain, but we were disappointed because we had to cancel our super bowl party, so that set me off!

Anyway, thank you to Allen, Best Buy, and any other person who helped resolve this situation.

[Nokia]

That's really great to hear how smoothly it went. Sorry you missed the Super Bowl. I'm pised that the Saints won anyways...