Comments on: The WarranTards!

By: Baran

Baran — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:51:38 +0000

I walked into an Apple store once. I was shocked how dirty it was.

Less surprised by how unwelcome I felt.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 04:18:45 +0000

Hah. My husband runs his own computer support/service business, and we've done warranty work for BB (the nearest of which is like 2.5 hours away). We're getting to the point that we just won't do it anymore.

In order to fix anything for them, we first have to fill out their forms, then diagnose the problem and let them know what it is, and what our estimated repair cost will be. They then either approve it or not, at which point we bill the customer and Best Buy reimburses them (so long as the amount had prior approval). They will also cover the repairman's hourly wage up to and including $15/hr (which I guess is what they pay their techs). Our rate is $65/hour, which is perfectly reasonable to get someone of his calibre and experience working on your machine, so the customer gets to either pay to ship it back to Best Buy to be worked on by them directly, or get stuck with an extra $50/hr in our wages. Or we get to work for $15/hr, which he, as a tech, hasn't done for about 25 years.

On top of that, they grill us very closely as to whether the damage looks at all user-inflicted (we always say no), because if they have the slightest hint that the problem didn't just spontaneously develop then the warranty is instantly void.

So, as a contract tech, our choices when working for them are basically: (1) screw the customer or (2) screw ourselves.

Fucking Best Buy.

By: jen grove

jen grove — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:00:52 +0000

I was physically intimidated out of the Shelbyville Rd Louisville KY store. five guys. They crossed their arms in a cop stance and escorted me to the door and watched til I left the parking lot.
i did not raise my voice, or cuss I stated firmly that it was the worse customer service I had ever had after they refused to apply a $200.00 gift card I had to my account. WHAT? They cannot tell me how to spend my credit. I FINALLY found (after 2 weeks of spamming them and telling my story on their Face Book page) a customer service fellow, Kevin, a great polite person, who helped me out and finally applied that gift card to my account after I had written what black-mouthed, soul-less corporate bastards Best Buy is repeatedly. What allows them to physically intimidate single ladies in their store? I will never go back. it was an adrenaline BS situation and I deeply resent the time I had to spend on that issue. and look I just got sucked in again. yet, I think ppl should know my story.

By: Nes

Nes — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:18:22 +0000

It used to be that Circuit City was the ONLY store I could go to. The Best Buys in my region don't seem to stock any useful computer parts, like empty towers or power supplies, and the independent computer stores that I knew about had all closed. Unfortunately, the only Circuit City within like 200 miles of me closed, so now I have to do my computer part shopping online.

Needless to say, it's so much harder to get something like a tower or power supply when all you have to look at are tiny pictures (with frequently inaccurate or incomplete specs) instead of the real thing.

By: AmazingAdrian

AmazingAdrian — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:20:48 +0000

Minefield, the ad about nothing!

By: Duder

Duder — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:03:06 +0000

I bought an Xbox 360 at BB a while back and specifically got a warranty because of their failure rate. well sure enough two weeks later I got the dreaded 3 red lights. I went to get it replaced and they actually told me I needed to send it in to MS! I very politely told them that either they replaced my xbox or refunded me the cost of the useless warranty. They only agreed to replace it after I asked to see a manager and threatened to call the Better Business Bureau.

By: DTM

DTM — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:00:47 +0000

I work at BB as well, so I felt the need to comment, for some reason *shrug*… Anyway, yeah, the warranties are pushed because that's where the money is. However, while some of them are pointless, there are some that are useful, even if you sometimes have to jump through a few hoops to get results. This is especially true if you get a service plan with accidental protection on a camera or laptop. I work in the geek squad, so I see day after day people coming in with broken tech. Not one person who dropped their camera and had it repaired or replaced because they bought the accidental protection has ever been upset that they bought it.
All I'm saying is, just because they're trying to sell you something more than what you originally wanted doesn't mean it can't be to your benefit.

By: Orclev

Orclev — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:13:20 +0000

The CC near me has never had good service in any way shape or form. In particular since they stopped giving out commission a while back it's just about impossible to find any employees there that give a crap about anything, not that I particularly blame them, if I worked in retail I probably wouldn't give a crap either.

By: Orclev

Orclev — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:11:34 +0000

The stores around here do mark open box items, but I've never noticed "hella discount" on any of them. Usually it's something like 5 to 10 percent off the normal retail price (quick example, there was a open box Apple keyboard which normal is priced something like $60 and it was marked down to $55). I mean, sure it's discounted, but it's hardly much of a discount most of the time.

By: Orclev

Orclev — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:07:19 +0000

If you get any particularly juicy customer stories make sure to post them on http://notalwaysright.com/

It's quickly becoming one of my favorite sites and almost always makes me laugh.