Geek Squad Consumer Reviews - Page 4

Okay, where to begin? I had bought an HP laptop and was told by a Best Buy associate that it was a "pretty good one". After having it for about a month it began freezing on everything I was trying to perform on it. It then began to do check disks at the beginning when I started it up. I took it to Geek Squad (I have the "black tie protection" plan) and explain what is going on with it.

2 days go by and they say it was a minor problem with the drivers that needed to be installed and they would be charging me over $100.00 to fix it. I told them no and I would go pick it up. After I get it, all of my data was lost on it and it is running worse than before. I then went back and asked what they did to my computer and they said that they just ran a diagnostic on it. I asked if that wipes out all of the info and they said it was an error on my behalf.

I then had them look at it again and they then said it was fine, drivers needed to be installed and it would run fine. I get home and call HP support and they tell me that the hard drive seems to be going out. I then take it back to Best Buy and talk to the general manager and ask him if he can do an exchange. He allows it. I ask a Geek Squad guy what a good computer is and he recommends a Dell to me. I get it and it is working good for me. About a week and a half go by and it starts freezing up and doing pretty much what the other one was doing. I take it to Geek Squad again and they tell me that it is running fine.

I get their manager and ask him to take a look at it (he looks like the only one older with experience) and he tells me that he will run a diagnostic on it for me and give me a call the next day, since it was so late in the day already. I get a call the next day and I was told my hard drive went out and it was replaced. I was kind of upset because I lost all of my data again, but I figured at least the problem got fixed. I get it back home and it is making a loud noise and is getting extremely hot, not to mention the keyboard keys now have a huge lump in the middle of the keyboard.

I take it back and the "special agent" tells me that they don't do work of that nature and it was something that I had to have done to it. I explained that I had just picked it up literally an hour before and it was still my fault. He then stated that I would have to pay for the damages on the computer if I wanted them to get fixed that the black tie service did not cover it. I then said I could break it and get a new one and he then told me he was going to note it in my file that I was aggressive and I was going to intentionally break the computer, not be an accident. I then called the store manager and spoke with him and he gladly exchanged the unit and offered his apologies.

I then got an ASUS which I was told was "top of the line" by Geek Squad. I get home and the thing is vibrating like crazy. I then take it back to Geek Squad and the new geek is now telling me that it was normal. He then made e seem as if I was a liar and was imagining the vibrating in the computer. At this point I was ready to ring his neck, but I kept my composure and then my wife steps in and began yelling at him (which was funny to me). She told him that we are not crazy and we know that it is not normal for a laptop to vibrate. A Best Buy manager then came over and asked if there was something he could help us with.

My wife began giving him an earful and I just felt sorry for the manager and I stepped in and kind of calmed my wife down. The manager stated he understands our frustrations and he will be willing to help us in any way and told the Geek Squad agent to do whatever makes us happy, shook my hand and departed. I then told the agent that I just wanted my money back and he then cooked up some story stating that we needed to pay a 15% restocking fee. I then showed him on the receipt that it does not apply if the product is defective. He then stated it was not defective and he was going to be charging the restocking fee.

I then asked for the manager and he stated that he stepped out. I asked an actual Best Buy employee for the manager and explained the situation and this girl brings me the same geek. I then told him I was done speaking with him. He then suggested I just take my computer home with me that it was a good computer and nothing was wrong with it. I asked another store employee for the store manager I had spoken to and I was told he had left for the day. I then took my computer to a different Best Buy and got my money refunded without any incident at all.

So... if that doesn't tell you anything about Geek Squad, then I don't know how much more in depth I need to go. Bottom line, I don't trust Geek Squad, of all my hours I spent at their little huts, I just hear complaints from other customers on how they screwed up their computers and not to mention the jobs they had done on mine. The customer service sucks also. I had talked to maybe 2 cool guys that worked there, but they were impossible to locate when I needed them. I will never take my computer to another Geek Squad location again.

PERRYSBURG, OHIO -- April 26, 2008: Screen Saver on our desk top, Dell XPS 400, freezes, computer locked up. Try to restart, screen all fuzzy, shuts down. Make the mistake of taking it to Geek Squad, which is twenty minutes away. April 27: Geek Squad calls and says they cannot get into our computer without the Dell keyboard and mouse. Explain that Dell can be like that. Have to drive the mouse and keyboard up there.

April 28: Told that our graphics card had gone bad (computer only 18 months old) and that it had 65 viruses and spyware on the computer. Said it would take around $420 to fix everything, promised computer would be good as new (Did I mention I am in the middle of writing my dissertation, I NEED my computer). Tell them to go ahead and fix it.

April 30: Told to come in and get our computer, good as new. Pick it up, get it home, and start it up. When we restart it again the computer screen just flashes and then dies. Call Geek Squad, "please bring it back" they say, and back we go. The guy pulls out the video card, says he reset it, it should be good to go. May 1: Get up in the morning and the computer screen just flashes and dies again. Take it back up to Geek Squad, they mess around with it for over two hours, which I stay there looking over their shoulder. Decide that they had installed a bad graphics card, not their fault, will install a new one. Back home we go (picture me still lugging around my tower).

May 2nd: Screen on, computer working, but the thing sounds like it is about to take off. New graphics card has a fan that it's just running as fast, and loud, as it possibly could. Do some searching online and decide that this is not right. Something is going to burn out, not to mention the fact that I could not even hear myself think when I was sitting next to the computer. Call Geek Squad, they say "bring it back."

May 3: My wife runs it up there because I am writing on the laptop, and they tell her in a very condescending manner that the graphics card has a fan, it should run. She tries her best to tell them it is not running right, but all they do is tell her that they have done us a favor by looking at it again for free and give her a 10 gift card and send her home. (Picture my wife carrying the tower at this point.)

May 5: I call the manufacturer and it takes the guy I spoke to all of three seconds to say that there is no way I should hear the graphics fan running when I am just using Word. I might hear it when I am playing graphic intensive games. I tell him that it sounds like an airplane's ready for takeoff. I call Geek Squad and they say they checked it out and it is working fine, but if it will make me happy bring it up and they will look at it for free (How nice).

So up I go again to Best Buy, and this time I call the manufacturer on my cell phone and have him talk to the Geek Squad Tech (who at this points says "I never thought to call the manufacturer to see how this card should run.") He then proceeds to tell me that we were right, it should not run that loud and says he will put in a new graphics card.

Manager comes over, gives me another $10 gift card (At this point me and my wife have spent $420 "to get our computer back like new" and over $50 in gas going back and forth) and explains to me they are doing this because they care about us as customers, but that the computer was fine yesterday when they checked it and that "something" must have happened when my wife took it home. I smile, because if I do anything else at this point I would probably have to be escorted out of the store, and leave.

Get home and realize the guy never gave me back my mouse (which I had to bring up because they can't get theirs to work on Dell's) and I call up there and the manager I dealt with before says "I'm sorry, we don't see it up here, you must have lost it on the way home." (Remember, they think I cannot use any other mouse on my computer, which I can, when they can't. So they think they have just killed my computer.) I strongly advise that anyone with a problem with their computer finds a local service that actually has experts and are concerned about their image to handle their problems.

USA -- Pathetic. Excuses came right after they took my money. Trained to give excuses. Really can't believe they don't have competition. Their software slowed my computer. Chrome not working. It is ridiculous how bad the synchronization has been.

I was sold the Geek Squad service with the purchase of a wireless router from the Best Buy store in Auburn Hills, MI. The soonest appointment they had was 10 days out, but the sales representative told us we could call to check back to see if anyone had canceled an appointment so we could have our installation sooner. 2 days later we called to check for any cancellations and were able to get an appointment for today [October 10] between 8am and 12noon. Obviously, the sooner the better so we were happy to be able to complete the installation sooner than we anticipated.

However, no one showed up during this allotted time. I called the Best Buy store around 12:20pm to see where the Geek Squad representative was. He said he could see on the order AND in the computer where my visit was supposed to be today between 8am-12pm. He also said there was another place in the computer that said between 12-4pm but directly next to my name said between 8am-12pm. The store associate didn't know when the Geek Squad representative was going to be coming so I had him call your dispatch to find out.

I did not receive a call back from the store associate and had to finally call the store back and speak to a manager around 1:05pm. He told me I had to call your dispatch directly. Once I finally got a hold of someone at the dispatch number, she told me she could see where I was scheduled for today between 8am-12pm and that she needed to call the person who would be coming out here directly and placed me on hold. She came back to the phone to say that there were 2 conflicting times in the system and the installer didn't have me on his schedule for today. There was a THIRD time in the computer for me that was on the 14th between 12-4pm.

I am unclear as to how this time could have been in your computer system, as this date wasn't even my original date and was 2 days earlier. Dispatch offered to call someone else to see if they could make it out to my house today but at this point, it was too late for that. Most of my day was wasted waiting around for this "amazing time-saving service" and I wasn't going to spend one more second waiting to see if someone else was going to show up. Time is money, and I definitely was not going to waste it on waiting for the unknown, uncertain, and unorganized.

To add insult to injury, I was never offered any sort of compensation, nor an apology up front from either Geek Squad or Best Buy. The only apology I received was AFTER I had explained my inconvenience. Shouldn't that have been obvious? I had been waiting around for over 5 hours for something that never showed up. I plan on using every forum possible to let others know not to waste their time or money on this Geek Squad service.

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON -- Hello World, I have a larger story than most, but well detailed – the bottom line, Best Buy Bellevue Washington sold me a DVD player, sold me the extended protection but refused to service the device due to the price that they sold it for. Since they refused service, and refused to discuss this with me – this leaves me with a contract that I don't trust at all – as I don't believe they would fix any problems with this device due to that sale price. (The item was not “As-Is”).

My story begins - I purchased a HT-X710T DVD/Audio system – a cool but discontinued DVD player with Bluetooth streaming audio, USB video/MP3 playback and speakers at a great price even with the Black Tie coverage and found that Best Buy Geek Squad denied repair service of this unit.

The local BestBuy had a Managers table setup with open box items that they wanted to get rid of – and on one particular day (9/2) they put up a sign that said 50% off the last marked price. That made this device only $65 (was marked $130) and sold with speakers and a remote. The sales associates were surprised to see the price but were more than happy to sell me the device and the black tie Geek Squad coverage for this electronic device. The usual salesmen talk here, fully protected, if it doesn't work they'll send it off to the manufacture and they'll fully support me after the manufactures warranty – yeah I know I shouldn't have listen to it 

I run home with my new toy – but upon setting it up I found that the remote did belong with this device, and my universal could not handle the all the unique features of this DVD/audio system. So I get online and find the model of the remote, call Samsung to ask what other remotes (including universal) may work with this device – but only one remote can work.

I write down the model and then drive back to BestBuy (~20 miles) and talk up their Home Theater team and we start digging through their remote drawers – 30 minutes later we still could not locate the correct remote – they then offered to sell me a universal remote – but I told them my experience already with a universal – it's not made to handle this unique device.

Then I told them that Samsung had quoted me $29+$10 S&H for the correct remote. The sales agent happily offered to give me an additional discount on the device to ‘make it right' for the customer and give me what I thought I purchased. So – we take the $65 and subtract $40 and get a total cost of $25 + the Geek Squad coverage. Seriously a great bargain for me!

That night I get to playing with the device, I could use the very basic controls on the body of the device to start DVD playback – but found that the screen was filled with artifacts (random colors/static) and was unacceptable. So – having been sold on the Geek Squad Black Tie coverage the previous day – I call the store and they say to bring it in and they'll send it out for manufacture warranty! Cool – saves me the shipping hassle and getting the details to have it done.

I take the device in and they accept it, it then takes 8 days for it to actually ship out from the Bellevue Best Buy to their service/repair station in Kent WA (~30 miles). The device then suddenly is listed as “Final Inspection” on 9/30 – Great! I'm about to get my repaired DVD player! I arrive in the store on 10/3 to check on status and the Geek Squad agent asks me why I asked for it to be returned unrepaired. Say what?

I state that I asked for no such thing – that it should have been repaired. But there was no details as to why it was being returned, only that a member of Best Buy Bellevue had directed their service/repair team to return it. He promised to call me back when he got more details as none of the key players were around Saturday. (Never did get that phone call back Kevin!)

I get an automated call Monday 10/5 stating that my DVD player is ready for me to pick up – I call the store to confirm and get more details and the lady in the Geek Squad team spoke to me in an accusing tongue for doing something shady – as far as I can tell the shady thing was buying an item off their sales table and returning the next day due to it not working. How that makes me shady I have no clue and I took great offense to that – they were more than happy to sell the device and make their profit by selling the Geek Squad Black Tie coverage!

I drive to the store to pick up the DVD player and continue to feel in the wrong by their manner, I demand my device back first (To avoid being credited back without choice and losing my device) and then asked for a manager to discuss this failure – but there were no managers around, I was told that the ‘managers' had discussed my purchase of this unit in detail and were refusing to repair the unit – in fact they were guided to have me accept my money back for the device.

This is not what I wanted – I may have paid a lower price but I indeed bought this DVD player with all expectation that it would function – there was no ‘As Is' notice on the device, it was sold as a product off their floor, and was sold with the Geek Squad protection. If these are unreasonable expectations the device should not have been sold at all.

Having no reasonable explanation of why the device was returned unrepaired, and no feedback from the Geek Squad agent about why they didn't just return it for Manufacture repair (no cost to BestBuy!) – I spot the service location phone number on my service order. I call the repair center, give a quick recap about the device being returned and was told it was done because the Bellevue Best Buy did not produce proof/receipt of the sale to prove it was within warranty period.

When the service center asked for it, a manager type at Geek Squad saw the purchase price and denied the warranty repair. WTF? It doesn't matter what price I pay – it was sold and should be covered, Especially if the bill was on Samsung's plate! Within 5 minutes of leaving the store, I get Samsung repair on the phone – they authorize the repair; even without receipt the warranty for the device was available until November (will extend to one full year once I fax my receipt). Thank you Samsung! Supporting a product that your retailer refuses to.

Today (10/6), after waiting for a few days for _anyone_ at Geek Squad to call and explain what failed in their support process, I call in and speak to a poor man in the middle; as no managers were available (again? Tuesday @ 3pm?!) – he was able to at least get some information to me about why it was denied by their management – it's still unacceptable but here's their side of things – The unit was purchased at too steep of discount, the salesman was not authorized to discount the price further by correcting the wrong remote at the time of sale (he was honoring the sale and pleasing the customer NOOOOOO!).

The unit should have been replaced or refunded if returned within 30 days. Their service department (according to the sales managers) refuse to repair any device that should have been swapped out within that 30 days. The Management team balked at anyone footing the repair cost for this $25 device – as basic repair would generally be many times the purchase price

The Management thought that something shady was going on – the sales price was too low – and my actions of wanting a repair seemed suspicious (Agent corrected his words and suggested management thought the sales person did something shady, not the customer- Seriously? Then why not communicate ANYTHING to the customer yourself?). The Management really wanted me to return the item for the $25 + Geek Squad protection – not accounting for the $40 for the remote already received from Samsung out of my pocket

So it appears to come down to – The sales team failed by supporting a customer's purchase by replacing the wrongly sold remote control. Sales team failed again by selling an item under cost (...??! Managers 50% off the last clearance price anyone?!) The Geek Squad team failed by accepting the device for repair even if considered a manufacture repair within that first 30 days. The Geek Squad Management team failed for not simply telling me, the customer – that they can either refund the money or have me ship it directly to Samsung within the first 30 days.

A lot of noise for a $25 DVD/Sound system (+GS Coverage+$40 remote total around $100 or just under 25% of retail) – but if you're going to sell it and profit off the extended services, you should support it. If it's not going to be covered as a working covered item then don't sell it, or put a “As is” sign on it. You couldn't sell it at full price, that's not my issue – you sold it – I bought it – you support it.

I'm told that my Geek Squad coverage is _NOW_ valid – as I'm 30 days past the sale – (it's been in their frigging hands for 30+ days!). The Geek Squad agent said that since the device is now out of the 30 day return policy that if any electronic component of the device fails that they will send it in for service, but if it's not repairable then they will credit the PURCHASE price ($25) toward a new system – not replace it with a like system.

I read the Geek Squad coverage, this would be correct – but anyone want to take any odds on them actually footing ANY repair bill for a $25 system that retails for $450+? I have a hunch that any attempt to get this device repaired after the manufacture warranty period will be flat out denied – regardless of the stated coverage that says the device will be repaired if the repair cost is less than the market price of the unit, if the repair is going to cost more than a refund/credit of up to the purchase price will be granted to the purchaser. (Repairs and price at Geeks Squads discretion).

There is no logical reason why it took Geek Squad 32 days to decide not to repair it – and no reason for their management to hide and not just simply explain the reasoning – granted I don't like their reasoning but they could have given me a workaround instead of the runaround. Stating I could ship it or return it would have been pretty simple, instead they choose to act like I'm pulling a scam on them and avoid talking to me – so with their behavior I'm more than happy to share my experience to those that may consider their “Black Tie” service – it failed for me.

I believe it's pretty well documented. My timeline based on Geek Squad's repair details (image below), there is no current ask of Geek Squad other than their assurance that the Black Tie coverage will be valid and not ignored in the event of failure 365+ days from the date of purchase.

9/2/09 Purchased Samsung HT-X710T DVD/Home Theater system. 9/2/09 Returned to Best Buy – the remote control sold with the unit was the incorrect unit, after spending 45 minutes helping Best Buy representatives search a drawer for the correct remote – they decided to discount the device to reflect my costs in buying the remote direct from Samsung. 9/3/09 Returned to Best Buy as the DVD player had problems playing DVD, screen had artifacting during playback.

9/5 Unit was ‘received' by Geek Squad as a ship to repair. 9/11 Unit was shipped to repair. 9/18 Unit is in Repair. 9/30 Unit is in “Final Inspection, Awaiting Shipment”. 10/3 Unit received at local Best Buy. 10/5 I picked up the DVD player. 10/5 After walking out of the store, I call Samsung repair and schedule shipment of my DVD system for repair under warranty.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA -- Geek Squad and Best Buy Repair Service is really awful.

1. They make promises they can't deliver regarding service times.
2. They don't refund charges previously charged "in case" that turn out to be covered under manufacturer warranty.
3. They create bogus charges and do not have any documentation of proof of charge agreement.
4. They lose items accessory items in for repair.

The details: I brought in a Sony Laptop for repair that was purchased 8 months ago. I was told that if the error was the hard drive or other hardware it was covered under warranty. However, I was charged about $ 250 "in case". Several days later, we received the laptop back and were told they could not put the operating system back to the way it was because we did not have the "recovery" disks from Sony but could order them from Sony.

When it was picked up, they had replaced the hard drive, therefore, was covered under manufacturer warranty. We were told it would only be the service charge approximately $60 since it was covered under manufacturer warranty. It's been 3 weeks and no credit has been placed on the original credit card for the extra $200.

Then we ordered the recovery disks from Sony directly. We received them. Within 48 hours, the laptop died again. No power. We brought it back to Geek Squad along with the power adapter and recovery disks that had been received and the data backup disk they had created when replacing the hard drive. (At that time, they couldn't print a receipt because their printers were down. And they're supposed to be able to fix computers???)

Then Geek Squad said they could not fix it and were sending to Sony directly. About a week later we contacted Sony directly. They did not have any idea of where it was. Turns out Geek Squad hadn't sent it yet because they didn't' have a box. (I'm not kidding. This is seriously what we were told.)

So I wait another amount of time. I contact Sony directly and they say that there is liquid water damage in the computer and it will be $1200 to fix it. (How convenient being we haven't even had it near any liquid.) So we have the laptop returned to the store. Of course I ask Sony if there's any charge, and he says no.

Best Buy Geek squad says it is ready for pickup. When I get there Best Buy has an invoice for $50 charge for labor. (Nowhere did we ever sign any documentation or were advised there was any charge for anything.) Even Sony's receipt for the work done at Sony says N/C for no charge next each item, including labor, shipping, and the like.

The Geek Squad representative can't explain why there is a charge. He gets the Best Buy Manager, who states that the store doesn't put the charges on the invoice, that it's done between Sony and Geek Squad Corporate, and if we have any question about the $50 we need to contact Geek Squad at the 800 number.

In addition, the Sony recovery disks they try to return to us aren't the ones we purchased from Sony. They are in a different case and completely different color than the ones we brought in. (Their invoice even denotes a different color of the recovery disks!) WORST of all there isn't a data recovery disk either. They have no idea where it is, claim we never brought it in... remember the "we can't print a receipt" story?

At the Best Buy 800 number Customer Service, the representative states that "labor and shipping charges" are all the same, and that the store manager can give me more information on the charges. I repeat several items back to the Customer Service representative making sure he is saying that the manager can give me information.

Basically the Best Buy Manager gave me the 800 number just to not deal with the complaining that was happening at the counter. They had no intention of justifying the $50 charge. Even with Sony's receipt saying n/c, they won't acknowledge they're making it up. They have no documentation that we were given saying that there is any charge for the computer, shipping, etc.

So basically, Best Buy Geek Squad is a REALLY BAD PLACE for getting your computer repaired. They charge you for things that are definitely covered under manufacturer warranty. They lose accessories, and then when you try to complain to the management, they blow you off and tell you to call the 800 number who says the manager can resolve the situation. Bottom line is they have the computer, and in order for the data to be recovered, I'll have to shell out the $50 regardless of the above circumstances.

MINNESOTA -- Wikipedia states: The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as "a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, etc." This word comes from English dialect geek, geck: fool, freak; from Low German geck, from Middle Low German. The root geck still survives in Dutch gek: crazy, and in the Alsatian word Gickeleshut: geek's hat, used in carnivals. I wished I would have looked up this word prior to calling to fix an email and browser problem.

I am not software savvy and I paid over $400 to find that out. The geek (true to its name) just needed to reset a password for the email problem and remove the internet explorer 8 upgrade, but instead offered to move a file from outlook express to outlook. He felt it would be more efficient. I said as long as I can send and receive emails and not lose any data, OK. I was having problems with the new upgraded Internet Explorer 8 and asked him to uninstall this newly added upgrade.

After he left, the horrors began. I could send and receive emails, but the geek deleted all of my business contacts and email addresses. He merged a higher release of outlook express into outlook 2000. See above definition for geek. As a merchant, I tried to access my credit card system to debit the customer's accounts and received a system error. After contacting the merchant service dept., giving them control of my PC, they had to fix some programs and reinstall the original programs that were installed over 2 years ago. See above definition for geek.

I contacted them and they sent another "geek". This one actually knew more and was unable to retrieve my addresses, but did fix the password problem and suggested that I upgrade my office, which I agreed with and he left. Again, after he leaves, I try to send an email and it won't pull it from the address book. I have to manually enter it. Again, back to the geek calls. Long periods of waiting after I called and then told that they did what I had asked them to do.

I then into Best Buy, talked to a general manager (older geek) and purchased the upgraded software and was told that if I still had a problem with my email system, I shouldn't put in the upgrade until it was fixed. He said that he would have a geek come out again and help with the upgrade. He calls after I leave the store and was told that it would cost another couple to fix and install, as they had previously done what I had asked them to after he had reviewed their paperwork. At this point, I told him he has lost a business customer and hung up.

I paid #139.99 to iyogi.net (not iyogi.com) for one year's service and I gave the tech remote control of my computer and was absolutely amazed at how much analysis this man did first before he started to make changes. What a wonderful experience. I ended up having to call iYogi a total of three times as we troubleshoot, for email, browser and printer connection problems. They optimized the system and I am completely satisfied with their service.

Each time I called, I didn't wait and I had an expert take control of my computer within 5 min. It took them a total of three calls and about three hours to fix what the "Geek Squad" messed up. At iYogi, one price, one year and unlimited calls 24/7/365. I could have bought three years of service for what I paid the Geek Squad. Geek Squad really does have Geeks!

HIRAM, GEORGIA -- I was having trouble with my computer and took it to the Geek Squad. They said that I needed to max it out with more RAM. They installed it and although I felt I was overcharged, it seemed to be a little faster. However 2 weeks later, it opened with a black screen. I took it to Geek Squad and they said that I needed a new hard drive. They installed it and I took it home to load the recovery discs. It wouldn't load so I took the PC and the discs to Geek Squad and they said that they would have to charge me to load it.

I left it there and the next week I called to find out when I could pick it up and they said that the disc wouldn't load because there was a scratch on the first disc. I called HP and had a new set of recovery disc sent and took it to them (unopened). The next week I called to find out when I could pick up my computer and they said that the disc wouldn't load because the first disc was scratched. Now I am getting somewhat suspicious but I told them that those were new disc from HP. Then they said that the hard drive that they loaded may have been bad and that they would analyze it and call me back.

NO CALL. I called back the next week and asked for an update. They said that the hard drive was good and that they had called HP and ordered a new set of recovery discs that was being overnighted and they would call me when they arrived. NO CALL. I called back the next week and asked for an update. They said that the discs arrived from HP but it would not load and they didn't know what the problem was and they were going to clean it and start over and that they would call me when it was ready. NO CALL. I just called back and asked to speak with the supervisor. They said that he was out for a couple of days.

I called the 888-237-8289 number and may as well have been talking to the head of the "I don't know and I don't care!" department. I called back to the store and was on hold for 47 minutes and finally spoke to someone who is almost in charge and he said that they were trying to load the discs and that he would call me with the results! Any bets on that call?? I am so disappointed with Best Buy. I usually deal with Micro Center and they are so knowledgeable. This is what I get for taking a NASCAR problem to a bike mechanic. I have learned a lesson!

Geek Squad is basically salespeople who may or may not own a computer. There are very few real techs that actually work on computers or know them. They will get your money, sell you stuff that you don't need but they are not capable of actually fixing something past running a program or analyst software. Best Buy sometimes has so good deals but don't buy their warranty from Geek Squad as they are only capable of running a cash register and not repair of your problem. You would be better served finding a local IT person who actually has had some training and experience on computer problems.

I have over $300 invested now and have not had a computer for over a month! I had to pay for my taxes to be done as all of my last years information is on my computer (turbo tax). I feel like a victim of theft by deception as they have my money and my computer and it is not being worked on and no one there knows what to do.

My GeekSquad Ordeal. I purchased an HP notebook computer (dv2000) from Best Buy (BB) in 2007. with 3yr service plan for an extra $300. Last month, the computer stubbornly refused to power on. After employing power reset strategies (easily found online), I got it to power up 2 more times (enough to make system recovery plans). Then I took it to GeekSquad (GS).

The Geek powered it on (using the same reset strategy), and so argued with me for more than 30 minutes, that sending it for service was a waste of time and that it would undoubtedly be sent back unchanged. I filled out the forms and left the machine anyway, resigned to the 2-3 weeks quoted service time.

On the eighth day I entered the tracking number on the GS website to see if any information had been entered. It showed my drop-off and an entry for later that same day said, "picked up by customer; ticket closed.” This is like returning to an empty parking space where you know you left your car. The store was closed; I did not sleep well.

***NOTE calling 1-800-GS would have yielded no additional information, but I could have called 1-888-BB and asked for consumer relations, and they MIGHT have been able to tell me what happened; they can access the GS toolkit system (1-800-GS apparently can not). So... the next day I went back to BB (and BTW, stood in line for 10 minutes again because, according to a Geek, they had queue pagers, but the computer broke and they never fixed it. lol).

The Geek said, "Oh, we do that all the time." "We had to open a new service order, and that (picked up by customer) is the only way the system lets us close the old one." Mysteries: Why a new SO??? How can that be the appropriate entry system??? Why not tell the owner (an email --your service order has been updated. Here is the new SO#... would work)??? OK... so what is the new #?? Geek: "I don't know how to print that out."????

45 minutes after arrival, I did leave the store armed with a new SO# (they note the new SO# in the new SO record (doh), not the old one; where it might actually be useful.) and a UPS tracking number, because supposedly, my computer was not only fixed, it had already been shipped back... Except that it hadn't really been shipped. UPS (who has a tracking system that actually works) showed the label requested 2 days before, and 2 other packages in the shipment were in transit. But not mine (another mystery).

Finally, it was delivered at the store (at 10 AM on a Thursday). At noon, GS called to say that the computer had arrived, but would not power on, and they were sending it back. But, "Not to worry, it will be sent back overnight, it will be the first thing they look at since it is a repeat, and it will be back here in a few days." Monday the GS system still just said "shipped" so I called the store to get the new UPS #. It had not shipped Thursday at all, it shipped Friday, in a 7 PM P/U, and it didn't ship overnight, it went regular ground.

Bless UPS, it arrived at GeekSquad City (GSC, and yes this is actually what they call the repair location) Tuesday at 9:30 AM, even though at 4 PM, the GS system still just showed "shipped". They plaster the case with bar codes, so check-in should be a simple scanning process (like UPS does it, for instance). So, I stop by the store again... The Geek says "it was checked in this morning" it will take a while to show up on the web site." ***NOTE: what you see in the GS tracking system often has little to do with reality.

By Close of business repair center time, there was still no sign of it, so I called 1-800-GS. They, have access to exactly the same information that is on the public web and nothing more. The 800-GS person finally suggests that he can give me the number for GSC... and I thought I was finally getting somewhere.

When you call GSC, you have 3 choices: schedule a tour, an automated system to get repair approval (apparently if they want to charge you $, you talk to their computer), and help with a repair ticket. The last one sounds promising but it's a message that this (help, I guess) is not a customer option (call 800-GS) and if you are a GS center you should be using the toolkit (on-line system) --then it hangs up. So then I tried the only other # on the GS web site: 1-800-BB. After navigating their peripheral system, I finally got to someone that was supposed to be a supervisor, but her computer 'froze up' so she said she'd call back. An hour later I started over.

Finally I got to a supervisor with a computer that worked. She said, yes, my computer was checked in, and that it would be 2-3 weeks before it was fixed. It only took them 2 weeks (including ship time) to not fix it before; now they are supposed to be on a rush, and it will be 2-3 weeks (plus more than a week in transit).

She said she could put an 'escalation request' in. Then she gave me her direct number. I asked if I could call tomorrow for an update, but no, she would not be in tomorrow. So, I asked that the case be given to someone that would be able to communicate with GSC tomorrow. ***NOTE: Apparently nobody actually communicates with GSC. It is like the Forbidden City in China. They do not answer calls from anyone, even BB and GS field agents. You can only communicate electronically. Well, I called that direct line number 5 times (over 4 hours). I left a call back number. Finally, I started over with 1-888-BB.

I got yet another 'supervisor' who told me that "parts had been ordered" but they did not know what parts, and no change in the 2-3 week estimate was made. They offered to issue an escalation request. When I asked if that hadn't already been done, I was told that they couldn't see that in the system.

The supervisor of these ‘supervisors' told me that they wouldn't see anything in the system until GSC responded to it, which could take 3-5 days. ***NOTE: Yes, he agreed that what he was telling me was that even though he was a consumer relations senior supervisor, he could not even tell me if my service issue would BE addressed never mind what might be done about it for 3-5 days.

In a strange ray of sunshine, that first consumer relations supervisor that gave me a direct line number CALLED ME the following day with an update. She was completely unaware of any interim conversations, but told me that the motherboard had been replaced and it should proceed to final inspection (apparently it failed because it had another round of parts ordered before it finally got shipped out).

At this point everyone involved had assured me that (regardless of the last sipping mix-up) the PC would be shipped back overnight. But, I admit I was not surprised when I checked the UPS tracking number and found it shipped ground. ***NOTE: according to a Geek, things ship back the way they shipped out, period (so if they make a mistake, they are apparently doomed to repeat it). The Head Geek at BB offered me a ‘loaner' at this point. ***NOTE: Their idea of a LOANER is to let me BUY an Openbox model, and RETURN it when I get mine back.

This morning, exactly a month after taking it in the first time, I went to BB to pick up the computer. It looked like it had been handled by grease monkeys (except that my auto shop makes a point of returning the car at least as clean as when they got it). I opened it, and found that one of the hinges was not assembled correctly. When I powered it on, it gave a warning message, started check disk, which failed with an undefined error. ***NOTE: I expect this had to do with the HP quick launch buttons; not rocket science. So the Head Geek tells me that they will send it back. Again. And this time he'll make sure it goes next day air. This was at 9:10 am.

Tonight, the GS system shows it only as checked in; awaiting shipment, so I called the store. I called 4 times and nobody answered the phone in GS or regular customer service. It just rang, and rang. I called 1-888-BB (since I know they can access the GS toolkit). They did not find it strange that the store does not answer calls, but did provide a UPS tracking #.

Amazingly, the UPS ticket is for next day air. Un-amazingly, my computer is still at the store. So, I called the store again, and when they didn't answer again, I used the number 1-888-BB gave me: which is to select option 8 on the store line prompter, and then enter “2180#” to get the loss prevention line because, “someone always answers that one.”

The geek says that it will ship in the a.m. because they only have one pick-up. When I pointed out that the last time it was picked up at 7:30 pm, he told me that he's worked there for years, and they only have a.m. pick-up. Of course, even if they only have one stop (which would be unusual, and contrary to evidence), it appears to be at 10:30 am (when both deliveries have occurred), which means if the Head Geek had really been ‘expediting' things, it would have shipped this morning anyway.

In theory, BB has a no lemon (this is what they call it) clause in their service contract, that if something requires 3 repairs, on the forth repair request, they just replace the item. Apparently, however, the double repair on the same trip to GSC probably doesn't count, so this may or may not be a qualified repair request. Not to mention the headaches from (unexpected) computer replacement, and the fact that this apparently ‘uses up' your service agreement, which becomes void, no matter how much time was left on it. So I wait, and prepare to enter my second month without a computer.

SALEM, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- I dropped off my HP laptop 3 weeks ago at Geek Squad in Salem, NH. The computer was running extremely slow and it was due for a clean up. I had never heard anything bad regarding Geek Squad, so I packed up my computer and took it to the store.

I was met and greeted (after waiting in "line"... I was the next customer for well over 20 minutes) by Agent Rick. He started my computer and claimed this and that was wrong with it. Fine... I know it's slow, I just want it fixed. So he takes his required 20 minutes to review my computer and start the paperwork. This was slow torture but I figured it was part of the process. Finally after getting all of the preliminaries out of the way, I get the OK to leave and "someone will call you when it's done". I had checked online and it states Geek Squad will have your computer for 3-4 hours.

So I called them back that day and I was pretty much laughed at for trying to get my laptop back. That was OK though... I figured it would be just a couple of days and that really wouldn't bother me. A week later... I still have not heard from Geek Squad, although I am calling for regular updates. One of the calls, I actually spoke to Agent Rick and when I asked for the status of the computer he actually said "I have been on the phone all day giving people status updates..." (Well don't you think that they want their computers back???)

I let it go another couple of days and again call back. This time I got a nicer Agent who stated he would start working on my laptop that night. They have now had it for well over a week! Again I am told someone will contact me. SO yet another week goes by. "We got rid of the viruses but now there is a blue screen and we need your recovery disk." I didn't have it! So, I order the disk and thankfully HP gets it to me yesterday. (They asked what it was for and I bring them up to speed. I am told to never use Geek Squad because they overcharge and take forever... Thanks hp! haha)

Last night, my husband, son and I pack up and take the disk to Geek Squad. When I go in, I am thankfully not met by a wait but I do notice the 12 computers all running in the back... waiting for whatever work they need done. Lord only knows when they will see their owners again. Another Agent greets me and I tell them what I am in for. It's 730pm and I know that it won't get started today. When I ask if it will be done tomorrow he says... "well I don't think so." WHAT??? He actually said to me "Well we have all of these computers that just came in and need work done on them."

I inform him that I don't care about those computers and they have kept mine hostage for three weeks! To this he responds (because I have a business out of my house and I have now lost 3 weeks of income), "well if you had signed up for our business program, it's free, then I would have to put your computer first." I told him that this was a trial run and I would not be using them for that service after this.

I just called my husband and we agree... if it isn't done by 3pm (5 hours from when they open... I was told it would take 5 hours to restore everything) then I don't want them to finish it. I am quite competent to reinstall the information on the disk as I have done it before. We will drive up there tonight and get back our laptop! When we started this journey, we did not think it would be this bad! Please... if you want your computer back, don't use Geek Squad!