Cy-Kill Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Here go the retards at Geek Squad again, seems like every other day they do something stupid: An anonymous reader said a Best Buy manager refused to replace his broken laptop and threw him out of the store twice when he tried to argue. The reader had even gone so far as to purchase an $80 extended warranty. He writes:I've seen examples of Best Buy's poor service on the Consumerist, but what I faced last weekend at the [redacted] Best Buy in [redacted] blows them all out of the water. My four month-old netbook's touchpad and power adapter all stopped working. I took the machine into Best Buy for service under the Geek Squad's Black Tie Protection Plan on Saturday, and demonstrated its problems. The manager of the Geek Squad informed me that installing Ubuntu Linux on my machine voided my warranty, and that I could only have it serviced if the original Windows installation was restored. Furthermore, he insisted that the touchpad and power adapter had been broken because I installed Linux. Another employee ridiculed me for insisting that Linux couldn't cause a hardware issue, saying "Sure, I don't know anything, I just work for Geek Squad!" The entire department was hostile, acting as if I was now a problem rather than a customer. I waited at the desk to see the store manager, who gave the impression that if I reinstalled windows I could return the computer. That night, I bought an external CD drive, dug out the system restore disc for the netbook, and reinstalled Windows. On Sunday, I brought the computer back, proudly demonstrating that the machine was in its original state and that the hardware problems still persisted. The Geek Squad manager shot forward, looked me in the eyes, and said that Linux had permanently voided my warranty, and again insisted Linux had caused the computer's hardware problems. I could "lie" to another Best Buy and take it back, but could not do so at his store. I recalled from our previous conversation that he made no claim the void was permanent, and was again called a liar. I asked if the warranty actually said such a thing and, after the manager answered in the affirmative, demanded to see the warranty. At this point, my entire confidence in the $80 protection plan I had purchased for a $300 netbook had been shattered, and I had to know just how flimsy this so-called protection really was. http://consumerist.com/2009/12/geek-squad-...ction-plan.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minifig Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I would sue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabron Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Jesus, only grandpa will buy services from these *******s of the Geek Squad. They apparently hire any idiot that know how to operate a computer :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorbing Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Another great reason not to buy that stupid, useless so-called "extended warranty". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 18, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 18, 2009 This is when he needs to call the corporate number and escalate the issue immediately. You can't let the idiots who don't know anything screw you over that easily. I work for Best Buy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy-Kill Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 This is when he needs to call the corporate number and escalate the issue immediately. You can't let the idiots who don't know anything screw you over that easily. I work for Best Buy Read the rest of the article on the source's web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhpuqrgrpgvirzhpujbj Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Linux actually did break a laptop once because it didn't have drivers to control the fan and spun it out of control, but that's beside the point. Sue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted December 18, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 18, 2009 Read the rest of the article on the source's web site. Woops. I only skimmed and missed that part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kondrath Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I got pretty frustrated reading about this. All of the best buys near me do this same thing to their customers. They're not as screwed up as these guys, but they never bother to fix anything. My friend's laptop's speakers stopped functioning and they refused to fix them. But they offered him a crappier, less powerful laptop as a replacement. I ended up fixing his speakers. I've just had so many problems with them. I tell my friends to ALWAYS come to me before Geek Squad. In every instance I've ever known, they've never been able to fix or replace any of my friends problems, whereas I have been able to do so. I'm not some IT guy or anything, most everything I know I learned from right here on Neowin... But still. Seems like they just hire kids who don't know anything. I applied there and got an interview and that's as far as it got. Probably because I told the lady "I've been able to fix computers that your employees can not." when she asked my "tech level" :rofl: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berserk87 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 best buy employee :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pasty2k2 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Sounds malicious to me, sue the hell out of them - this sort of thing needs to stop, and the culprits shamed in public. Ban extended warranties, period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*RedBull* Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Did I ever mention how I wanted to upgrade my laptop's memory and CPU, so I bought the parts, took it to Geek Squids and had them do it for me? I didn't want to risk damaging anything so I was willing to pay their fee. Well they did it for me, but they neglected to upgrade the firmware for the CPU so since then my laptop shows it's running on battery even when plugged in. I had to install Vista by removing the battery and running the install otherwise Windows would not install. I even explained the problem and showed them, they just looked at me dumbfounded unwilling to correct the problem. Computer experts they are not. I had told them they would need to upgrade firmware when I brought the laptop in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AltecXP Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Did I ever mention how I wanted to upgrade my laptop's memory and CPU, so I bought the parts, took it to Geek Squids and had them do it for me? I didn't want to risk damaging anything so I was willing to pay their fee. Well they did it for me, but they neglected to upgrade the firmware for the CPU so since then my laptop shows it's running on battery even when plugged in. I had to install Vista by removing the battery and running the install otherwise Windows would not install. I even explained the problem and showed them, they just looked at me dumbfounded unwilling to correct the problem. Computer experts they are not. I had told them they would need to upgrade firmware when I brought the laptop in. um... 1. they arnt hardware moders 2. Why would you have GS do that? 3. why didnt you flash it yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted December 19, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 19, 2009 Linux actually did break a laptop once because it didn't have drivers to control the fan and spun it out of control, but that's beside the point.Sue. software controled fans are idiotic... all cooling fans are supose to be hardware controlled by a thermasistor that tells them how hot a chip its supose to cool is... some of them have manual software controls that can override that... but you should never have to do that... Acer One 150 is an example of this... its fans are hardware controlled but you can also control them on the software end if you really wanted to... but having to install a driver to control a fan is idiotic it should be automatic if there is no software controller present Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pasty2k2 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Thermasistor... :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted December 19, 2009 Member Share Posted December 19, 2009 I dealt with Best Buy many times and I've never had any problems. The people at our local store are quite nice and they try to help. Maybe I am the exception rather than the rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilo Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 He shoulda called up corporate and had them talk to the manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy-Kill Posted December 19, 2009 Author Share Posted December 19, 2009 He shoulda called up corporate and had them talk to the manager. Read the rest of the article on the source's web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*RedBull* Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 um...1. they arnt hardware moders 2. Why would you have GS do that? 3. why didnt you flash it yourself? Dude, I asked them if they could do it, they accepted. Changing a CPU is no more difficult than changing a memeory stick. I explained why I asked them to do it. I don't have the setup to recover from a bad flash. They should or can provide me with a replacement. Asking these questions makes me think you are GS worker... :| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdodson Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Dude, I asked them if they could do it, they accepted. Changing a CPU is no more difficult than changing a memeory stick. I explained why I asked them to do it. I don't have the setup to recover from a bad flash. They should or can provide me with a replacement. Asking these questions makes me think you are GS worker... :| How long ago did you have all of this done? There is a 30-day warranty on that type of service, so you should be able to get the work done if you're in that window. Otherwise if you feel comfortable running the BIOS update, there is a pretty low likelihood that the flash will fail as long as power doesn't get interrupted. There is no way they should be responsible for replacing your computer. At most they should return it to the way it was before you brought it in and refund you for the service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Helix Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I had a hardware failure a mainboard on an HP laptop that I purchased the extra $239 geeksquad warranty for, when I brought it in I paid $149 for the service to backup all my data, and I expressly said that I wanted the entire hard drive backed up and they said ok, the $149 service was "Supposed" to backup everything. I cam to find out later that their version of everything meant only files in the MY music, My videos, My Music and My Documents with an unlimited amount of data. Needless to say they wiped and formatted my hard drive and I lost a lot of stuff because at the time I did not have another system or adapter for a SATA drive. When I argued with them that I wanted the entire Drive backed up they said that was illegal because it was "Illegally copying or pirating" the software that was installed on my drive. I then proceeded to calmly walk over to the PC software isle and grab EVERY separate software they sold in the store that would bit-for-bit clone my hard or backup the ENTIRE drive to another drive. (It was a very large stack) So then I told the guy here you are selling software whose primary purpose to commit illegal acts of pirating software do you want me to report you to the police or the FBI and he looked at me with the most blank vacant stare or not understanding what I was talking about. I asked to see the manager and requested my Money back which i got the $149 back but they forced me to give back the cd's of the "My" folders right there I said Fine but I am going to physically break them here and now, so I did If I had lost anything important or valuable I would have sued them within minutes, jagoffs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I had a hardware failure a mainboard on an HP laptop that I purchased the extra $239 geeksquad warranty for, when I brought it in I paid $149 for the service to backup all my data, and I expressly said that I wanted the entire hard drive backed up and they said ok, the $149 service was "Supposed" to backup everything.I cam to find out later that their version of everything meant only files in the MY music, My videos, My Music and My Documents with an unlimited amount of data. Needless to say they wiped and formatted my hard drive and I lost a lot of stuff because at the time I did not have another system or adapter for a SATA drive. When I argued with them that I wanted the entire Drive backed up they said that was illegal because it was "Illegally copying or pirating" the software that was installed on my drive. I then proceeded to calmly walk over to the PC software isle and grab EVERY separate software they sold in the store that would bit-for-bit clone my hard or backup the ENTIRE drive to another drive. (It was a very large stack) we are only allowed to use approved tools, because we sell the software doesnt mean we have the ability to use it. So then I told the guy here you are selling software whose primary purpose to commit illegal acts of pirating software do you want me to report you to the police or the FBI and he looked at me with the most blank vacant stare or not understanding what I was talking about. I asked to see the manager and requested my Money back which i got the $149 back but they forced me to give back the cd's of the "My" folders right there I said Fine but I am going to physically break them here and now, so I did If I had lost anything important or valuable I would have sued them within minutes, jagoffs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Helix Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 That still does not mean that it was illegal for them to do so or to charge $149 for basically nothing And so what if you can't use those particular software, for $149 then GS should have their own approved software to do just that and not falsely state the service as backing up "Everything" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 well if we dont have the software to clone a drive, how do you want them to do it? You can buy the software and have us clone it, thats not a problem but it is illegal for us to use that software unless the customer owns it. 149 is to backup all data not including windows and program files, if you copy program folders they wont work anyways, so whats the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Helix Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 well if we dont have the software to clone a drive, how do you want them to do it? You can buy the software and have us clone it, thats not a problem but it is illegal for us to use that software unless the customer owns it. 149 is to backup all data not including windows and program files, if you copy program folders they wont work anyways, so whats the point? Because this was a XP system and many many of the programs i Used at the time by default saved data in the program folders rather than in the "My" folders provided by MS in the OS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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