Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[MrVu]

I am currently undergoing the terrible service of the product replacement plan, which it turns out, is not really a product replacement plan. Going to tweet to take a poll on this, but looking through the forum, it looks like I am not the only customer who was mislead by a salesperson driven to make a sale on a service plan, and then legally cover themselves by handing out a pamphlet with fine print in case the salesperson said something inaccurate.

Very disappointed in the service plan. It was not sold well, nor was it executed well. The service desk was confused about how to handle my damaged camera. First they said it is beyond repair and allowed me to replace it. Then when I bring them the replacement item, they say actually I can't replace it. They need to send the camera out for repair. Waste of time in the store looking for suitable options. Then more waste of time waiting around for them to fill out forms. Meanwhile, I have to leave empty handed and be out of a camera that I use everyday at work.

It had permanent shadow spots all of the pictures it takes, but it was still ok for work. I wanted to replace it because my Best Buy replacement plan was running out and I had a big camping trip coming up that I wanted perfect, clear pictures of, since you don't have many moments like that.

I get no phone calls from them after that. I get an email a day or so later showing me the progress. At first I thought this was good, they have an update on what's wrong with it. No. They just wanted to let me know that after 3 days of me being without my camera, that now someone is finally looking at it. More waste of time.

Then exactly 7 days later, some generated email tells me that they are looking at it. So in another 7 days will it auto send me the same message?

I don't hear from a single person, just auto-generated emails, making claims that they are working on it. I am a patient person and I like to let people do their job, not just because they work better without people hovering, but also because I don't believe in using my time to call and babysit other employees to make sure they do what they're supposed to do. However, at this point, I'll be honest. I need a little more convincing than an auto-generated email every week.

I'm about to buy myself a new camera so I can go back to work and prepare for my trip coming this weekend. This means, they still have my money for the product replacement plan (I will never get that back), they have my camera, and I still have to pay full pop for a new camera.

I guess when the customer base figures this out and enough of my friends hear my posts and tweets, they'll need to remarket their service plans under even more confusing names and more tiers to confuse and dupe customers.

Seriously, I buy a lot of stuff from the stores and I have never had an employee break down the service plans and explain what Black Tie vs ADH vs PSP vs Standard vs Advanced vs TV plans vs laptop plans vs etc... It's just easier to blanket it all as "product replacement plan" from the point-of-view of a college kid looking for a summer job. It's way faster than making sure the customer understands what level of protection they are getting, and it doesn't hold up the check-out line.

I usually see no point in voicing issues in a forum setting, since, ultimately, I can't blame anyone but myself for not getting my facts straight and reading the fine print. No one forced me to buy the service plan. In the big picture, it's not a big deal, just accept the loss, and buy the new camera from somewhere else since it seems like there isn't much in the way of buyer protection that differentiates this establishment from the rest of the market. However, I understand the appeal of the forum, as it does help emotionally to rant about this disappointing lesson I've learned about Best Buy.

Mr Vu

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Best Buy has never sold a replacement plan on a camera so no you don't have a replacement plan. Typical repair times range from 14-21 days so a connector can look into your repair and see how much longer it is going to take.

[jsaunders7329]

I agree with CrystalWoW ... However, CrystalWoW does not work for Best Buy, which furthers the OP's point: that while other people may understand the plans being sold by Best Buy, the sales agents employed by Best Buy certainly do not. The historical content stored within this forum shows countless occassions where a sales agent has misled a customer (intentionally or not) into purchasing a service whose actual function differs greatly from the pitch used to sell it. At what point does this issue get addressed by the retailer? Will it take a class action suit?

[Mariel-BBY Retired: Community Connector]

Hello Mr Vu -

Allan, from our Social Media team, will be reaching out to you regarding your concern. Thank you for your continued patience!

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

CrystalWow also USED to work for Best Buy so this would be why I had the knowledge of the plans, from being an employee so that doesn't make a lot of sense.

[jsaunders7329]

I meant no offense, CrystalWoW... When I browse the forum on mobile, I don't see signatures, so I did not know that... I see from your postings that you possess professionalism and integrity. I'm simply stating that a lot of salespeople these days seem devoid of either, and value personal gains over customer satisfaction.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

OH no I wasn't offended or anything. I was just saying that I learned what I know from Best Buy's training programs and information. Didn't want you to think that I just picked it all up on the go. The good thing about best buy associates is they are not on commission so experience no monetary gain by selling you things. You do have to take some of the forums stuff with a grain of salt and realize that it is a very very small percentage of Best Buy's customer base and a lot of issues are miscommunication issues, confusion over time of what the customer was told,and of course misinformed employees too.

[jsaunders7329]

No commission? Really??? Are there incentives or bonuses given to promote the sale of plans? I ALWAYS get asked about buying protection, and I figured something behind the scenes might be driving that consistency...

[MrVu]

There usually are not incentive programs or quotas for these type of things. I have worked in retail places such as GameStop and service places such as Century Theatres, and you are always asked to sell a subscription, reservation, or encourage customers to pay a few cents more for a larger popcorn. I've had friends that worked at Godiva where there is no quota, but strangely, they post a chart with gold star stickers showing how much everyone sells per hour. I have hung out with law enforcement and, again, no quotas, but your experienced sergeant who assigns you to a specific intersection knows just how many citations are usually the norm there, so if you show up with much less, they know if you were playing hookey or not.

The driving force behind why you are consistently asked to buy protection is because that employee's performance is being tracked. They may not get a commission, but they get to keep their job if they prove that they are meeting company expectations. In this economy, every company is looking to cut the fat. Even at Best Buy I'm sure no one wants to get their position taken by a transfer that has been selling more services to help that store location.

I don't blame the employee for not stopping me and saying, "Please understand this protection plan for cameras is different from plans for other Best Buy products. You will get these protections and NOT these protections. Are you ok with this?" For (1), I should have dug deeper and asked these questions instead of assuming that for an extra 40 bucks they'll take care of anything that went wrong with it for the next 2 years, and (2) I don't know for sure, but I suspect the employees just aren't trained to break things down like that.

Also, CrystalWoW is correct. This forum houses the very few customers who have something to say. In general, only a small percentage of customers voice complaints or compliments. Most just walk away and never buy again, like having a terrible meal at a restaurant. You just don't go back and warn your friends. Why waste your time telling the owner how they can improve? That takes effort. Unfortunately, it's the same thing for compliments, people like something, they keep buying it, but they hardly let someone know they're doing a good job. Businesses can only rely on sales figures as a metric.

Since Best Buy continues to sell their service plans in this way, I can only assume that they are making money from this service plan model, which is positive feedback for them that this is the correct model to use. No company is perfect and can satisfy every customer, and for those few dissatisfied customers, it is their decision where to spend their money going forward.

[jsaunders7329]

I don't think that could have been better said. Sharp writing skill, MrVu!