Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[wantresolution]

I bought my college kid a lap top and the Protection Plan that was so eloquently "sold" to me by the store rep.  He really sold me on the fact that a lot of college kids end up cracking the screen since they have to carry it to classes in a backpack.  He told me should that happen, the lap top would be sent overnight for repair and would return just as quick, which is great for a college kid.  Well, the screen did crack.  I got a disparate call from the college kid and told her to take it to the local Best Buy and trouble shoot with the Geeks.  Option one was for her to purchase outright a new laptop, have the data swaped and send the broken out for repair, all of which I was willing to pay to have done so she could finish her semester without the stress of losing her stored classwork.

She called after her experience with the store and was overjoyed to know that she did not need to buy a new one, that the broken one would be sent overnight for repair and would return promptly.

Again, in despair she called today after viewing her "status" on line.  The status indicates "awaiting shippment".  She dropped it off 2 days ago.

I called the store she was working with to inquire as to whether the computer has shipped only to spend 2 frustrating hours of listening to the phone ring, and ring, and ring and then go to some unknown voicemail.  I kept calling until someone finally answered.

 After finally reaching a live person, I was sadly informed that she could not get to the order since her "computer is and old IBM and very slow".  Finally she found a working computer and let me know that the lap top had in fact left the store for repair, but no other status update is available and the estimated date of return is Dec 5th.  Needless to say, this college student was mislead that the turn around time would meet her needs, but fell well short of what was promised.  Typical over promise, under deliver.

 I will be buying her a new lap top, extermal hard drive back up and WILL NOT be buying it from Best Buy because of the misleading information and the LONG wait and poor customer service that we received.  In this not so great economy I will be able to get a great deal and I am sure that I any vendor would love to have the business. 

[Aaron-GS Community Connector]

Hey wantresolution,

I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s recent computer problems!  I understand how difficult it can be for college students to be without their computers, especially if they are taking any writing-intensive classes or have an upcoming term paper.  I regret to inform you though that most actual hardware repairs on laptop computers do take longer than 1-2 business days.

Because Best Buy’s in-store technicians are not always authorized by every manufacturer to perform hardware repairs on laptop computers, they generally must be shipped to an off-site repair facility for service.  Our stores primarily rely upon UPS two-day ground service to ship computers to and from these facilities, so customers may expect a 1-2 business day delay at minimum before their laptop can be seen by one of our service center technicians.

If you were told otherwise at the time of purchase, I do certainly apologize for any misinformation that you may have received.  Please keep in mind though that Best Buy® does try to perform repairs as quickly as possible, and that updates may always be obtained by clicking on the “Check Repair Status” link found on www.GeekSquad.com.

Should you have any questions regarding your repair, please feel free to send me a private message.  I would be glad to help you out!

Thanks,

Agent Aaron
Geek Squad® Community Connector
Go Ahead.  Use Us.