Best Buy Geek Squad Consumer Reviews - Page 2

AVON, INDIANA -- In September of 2010 I set out to purchase my first laptop, and against my own gut - and the warnings of most of my friends - I went to Best Buy. Money was a big deciding factor, I was looking in the $700 range but I need fast with lots of virtual memory to coddle my adult A. D.D., so I settled upon the new kid on the block, an Asus for around $800.

I will bypass all the hoop-jumping that came with the actual purchase, the explaining to my bank on the way home when they phoned frantic that someone had stolen my card, no, that was just the inept boy at the register who ran it a DOZEN times trying to get the buttons pushed correctly, after the other boy took three times to enter my info properly to set up an account, blah, blah, blah, all so I could find out they were going to keep my brand new machine to do 'stuff' to it???

By this time I was exhausted and was pretty much just like - whatever, just get it back to me quickly! I had walked out of Price Club a decade ago with my first computer and never looked back! This, however, was only the beginning of my hell with this laptop.

First they put on a different free security program than what I had specified, but I don't think it really made a difference, you get what you pay for. Within two weeks or so I was hacked and lost years of e-mails collected in folders and untold numbers of my over 400 contacts. Fortunately I went through my account with a fine-tooth comb and removed the intruder. But I digress, the real issues were the touch-pad and its attitude, and the cursor in general. Other things that showed their ugly face could be tended to in time.

When I took the laptop back to Best Buy, first I was told the touch pad complaint was a common one with Asus laptops - but somewhere in the shuffle of Christmas Eve confusion for some reason mine was not going to be covered by one thing, but it would be covered some other way. But it was going to take FOUR TO SIX WEEKS to get my computer back?!?! Are you freaking kidding me??? To install a new touch pad???

Then the Geek Squad representative runs an "MRI" and tells me "Oh, you have a virus, and it's a bad one! That's $130 min. to fix..." All I heard after that was Charlie Brown's teacher until he said $249 or something - then it all went fuzzy again... Well, I have spent two days with the folks at F-Secure, my security of choice, and they have helped me run every kind of diagnostics imaginable and there is no virus on my laptop according to them!

So where does that leave me? Best Buy lied? To get money from an old broad who lives on less than $1000 a month Social Security??? Those are pretty stiff allegations... But, the proof's in the pudding, as they say. I have the logs my security guy ran right here. Oh, the log Best Buy ran is saved on here, too - but no one can read it. Imagine that!

As for the touch pad - I will go straight to the manufacturer and ask for help! I'm not shy! I have a sneaking suspicion that will correct a couple other issues I'm having as well. As for Best Buy... Shame on them. And we are all going to be held accountable one day for every decision we make. I don't have to answer for their business practices, I only have to answer for how I handle them. Hopefully doing this won't come back to bite me too bad! ;o) But I'll never spend another dime of my puny little stipend in their stores.

MERCED, CALIFORNIA -- I've just returned from a BEST BUY store/service center in Merced, California where I have been a loyal and consistent customer for the better part of my life but this is the end to all that. What happened this last time is too much for any customer to bear hence why I feel compelled to take even more time out of my life to inform you and everyone else out there how I got ripped off from BEST BUY so that they will all think twice about ever doing business with you or suffer the fate I have here below....

First, Some History - On October 22, 2004 - I Purchased a Toshiba Laptop P35-S609/P4 for $1799.99 (Serial Number **) along with a Platinum Service Plan (**) for $499.99. I wasn't going to purchases this extended service contract but the assistant manager on duty assured me that if anything were to go wrong with this laptop in the next 3 years all I would have to do is to return it to a service center and I would have it repaired at no cost and returned back to me within 7 days.

Jump Forward to 2 weeks Ago - August 21, 2007 - I turn on my laptop and notice that it has two distinct vertical lines in the LCD display. I decided to turn it in to BEST BUY Geek Squad and have the LCD and a few other items fixed at the same time. No one likes to be without their computer for very long, right?

August 22, 2007 - I drive the 35 miles to Merced California to return my laptop to the Service Department at BEST BUY. I explain that my LCD display is not functioning properly, the 1394 Firewire port no longer works, the dvd burner/player doesn't recognise blank DVDs (making it very hard to burn DVDs) and the PCI slot has a hard time working because the eject button seems to be twisted and not pop in and out the wireless cards I've used in the past.

The Tech takes my Laptop and informs me that it will be at least 2 - 6 weeks before I will hear anything and that they will be in touch with me then. Surprised at his response, I told him that I had purchased a $500 Platinum Plan and he said yeah we sold those once a while back but that my turnaround time would be the same.

Only when I pulled out my paperwork with my plan details on it did he admit that it did say 7 day turnaround and that if it didn't come back in that time span I could "ask" for the cost of my plan be returned to me since BEST BUY could not return my laptop in that time frame..... All this even before I LEFT the store... I was not feeling at all good about leaving it there but what choice did I have? BEST BUY had my $500 for the service plan so I had to leave it or pay someone else to look at it.

August 29, 2007 - (exactly 7 days later) - I drove 35 miles to the BEST BUY Store in Merced California and asked about the status of my laptop. The technician behind the counter told me that the service center had tried to contact me that day at my work (where I was ALL day) and that they needed an approval to complete the work that needed to be done.

Of course I NEVER received a call asking me about this so I was SHOCKED to hear that in order to return my laptop to me in working order that I would have to pay $954.97 in repairs to the motherboard. I asked why I would have to pay an additional $954.97 since I had purchased a service agreement for $500 and he told me that the service center had determined that the laptop had been "abused" and this was not normal wear and tear or daily use issues. They acted like I drove over my laptop and handed to them and said fix this. This obviously was not the case since the laptop still to this day functions but with the above issues broken.

Completely irritated at this point I told him that I would contact the service center and discuss the matter with them since there was nothing that the technician could do about it at store level. Several days had passed and I received a phone call from ** at BEST BUY in Merced.

September 6th, 2007 - I receive a call from ** telling me that my laptop was available for pick-up at Merced BEST BUY and to return a call if I had any questions. I returned his call and spoke to the head technician **. When I asked about the status of my laptop she seemed puzzled at first but went and pulled the work order and told me on the phone that my laptop was in the store and that she wasn't sure if the work had been completed or not.

After 15 minutes or so on the phone with her I asked that she call me back once she had determined if the laptop had been fixed or not. She agreed and I hung up the phone still puzzled about why they would tell me they wanted almost $1,000 to fix my laptop but then ship it back to the store fixed?

September 8th, 2007 - (TODAY) After not receiving any calls back from ** that my laptop was completed or still broken I decided to drive 35 miles once more to the Merced BEST BUY store and inquire about my laptop. When I asked the technician about the status of my laptop I was referred to ** who told me that the laptop was in the store and ready to be picked-up. I asked why she never called me back to tell me and she said that someone else was supposed to do it. Still I got no call. She then told me that the laptop was returned with the LCD repaired ($35 labor bill - no parts needed) and that labor was covered under my service agreement.

The rest of the items that I had listed were not repaired because they were not covered under the $500 Agreement that I paid for because the service department deemed them to be "abuse" or not daily wear and tear. Again, it was not like I hit it with a baseball bat or let my 2 year old jump up and down on it. I paid a lot of money for this laptop. I have taken good care of it. I was honestly offended and shocked that I was being taken advantage of like this. I asked that she get her store manager involved and she quickly called for an associate named **.

I asked ** if he was the store manager since I didn't want to waist anymore of my time dealing with this than I had already and he told me that he was the Service Department Manager and wanted to help me. After reviewing all the paperwork and listening to my story as told here above he went to the back of the store and pulled the technicians'€™ notes. When he returned he read back to me exactly what ** had told me earlier and that I should write a letter to BESTBUY.COM to explain my displeasure with this decision on the part of the service center and that there was nothing he could do to help me any further.

I told him that I was extremely upset with the service that I had received at that point and that he did not want me to leave his store angry about this experience and he again told me there was nothing that he could do. Poor ability at store level to help make me a happy customer.. This could have all been avoided if he had but it didn'€™t. He handed me my laptop I left the store and now I am writing this letter.

The Problem is..... I still have a Laptop that is broken. I still paid $500 for a service plan that BEST BUY now refuses to honor. I'm still upset and angry that the consumer (ME) who rightfully and honestly pays for everything gets ripped off by the Corporation (BEST BUY) because it is not financially feasible to fix the $1,000 part for the price of the $500 plan......

I really hope that is not the case but I am beginning to believe that it is not about what someone thinks is "abuse" or not but simply a numbers game of gains and loses to repair my laptop. It would have been better and easier to just fix it or give me a new one since the cost of repair is more than the cost of a newer one.

So here I am taking up your time and mine over a broken $1,000 laptop and a $500 service plan that I paid for and BEST BUY won't honor. I have decided that I will post this letter to several Blogs in the hopes those others who at contemplating doing business with BEST BUY will read this and think otherwise. I feel it is my duty to warn them about my treatment here and guide them towards other retailers with better morals, ethics and customer service.

I would appreciate a response to my efforts here to inform you of my situation but if BEST BUYs' history with calling me back is an indication of what I can expect then I will just forward this letter on to the Better Business Bureau and my State Attorney Generals Office for filing a claim next. I appreciate your time and effort in helping me makes things right here.

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA -- I went into a Best Buy store tonight to pick up a computer and a phone that I left with Geek Squad last week, as well as, to get a replacement phone for an HTC phone on my account. My arrival time was about 5:10 pm. Upon arriving in the store after waiting in line I was helped by **. From the start he seemed unable to help me successfully€.

He took a long time getting my phone transferred over to the replacement phone and he tried to get me to sign the contract stating that I received the phone back even though the service wasn'™t on or transferred over so my phone was not complete serviced as yet and I explained that I would sign the paperwork after my phone is complete in working order.

So as that was still incomplete he started to work on my computer issue and he told me that I will not be getting a fixed computer and that I would have to get a gift card for the replacement value of the computer. He went on to tell me that the computer would cost more to repair than the computer was purchased for and that it's now junk. I told him I need to see that in the contract and he showed me some statements none of which stated that when the computer is 85% or more than the cost of the item it is then deemed junk and no portion of the insurance would be given back to me.

I then stated that I did not want to accept that offer of the gift card for the cost of the computer. I let him and ** know that because by this time I asked to see a store manager. I then let ** know that I wanted to start the process of getting a replacement for another phone ordered that I have insurance on. He started typing on the terminal walked to the back and back to the terminal seemingly lost and not knowing what he was doing.

He finally tells me that he's going to have to give me the balance of my insurance back because the phone isn'€™t worth anything and I couldn'€™t get a new phone because the plan is going to expire next month. I then asked him to repeat the date of the insurance plan then he reads it to me and says "oh it expires December 1, 2014". I then state to him, "You see you are so quick to disregard insurance and junk everything out based on how you feel at the moment." He then slams his hand on the table and tells me that he is tapping out and then he walks away.

Before he walks away maybe about 10 minutes before he tells me he's "€œTapping out!"€ While at the terminal ** starts talking to someone else in Geek Squad and he tells the person that ** wants him to get someone else to help me. So I just listen and take notes as to what is transpiring because at this time I a€™m already in the store now for one hour and thirty minutes without a resolution to any issue that I had before I first walked into the store.

Back to the tap out situation when this happened I went over to ** told him what happened and he said he would be over to me when he was done with his customers. I then stated to him I'm a customer as well. He ignored me. I went back over to where I was standing, waited a few minutes and then went to the front door where security was and asked about the stores general manager. He got a card and handed it to me and at the same time I asked him who the store manager was. And as I did that he, the store manager, was walking nearby and he pointed me to **.

I proceed to address my issues with ** and he was short and curt with me and seemed to know a bit about what was going on because he asked me what ** was going to do about my computer. I then went on to tell him that wasn'€™t my main concern. My main concern was the way I was being treated with the lack of true customer service.

How is it that a clerk can walk away from a customer mid transaction and it's OK? He is still curt and short with me until he sees me talking to another customer who was standing next to me who approached me and asked me what was happening because she noticed that I was taking notes and she said to herself "€œthey must be giving me a hard time"€. She then goes ahead and gives me detailed information that she overheard ** stating to someone else that he was tapping out.

Before she leaves she gave me her name and number because she was just that sympathetic to me about the situation. So when ** sees this he is willing to help me because the woman was white. This is what I believe changed my whole experience around. This is so disheartening that this was the catalyst to getting some customer service that took a total of three hours to accomplish.

He sent over a young lady that provided me with exceptional customer service and couldn'€™t understand what was going on because she stated to me that I was so nice on the phone when she helped me with getting an appointment. So I let her know I didn'€™t understand either and I felt because I'€™m a black customer, as well as a woman, the white men there don'€™t respect me because I questioned them and pointed out that they were wrong for their behavior. She then went on to connect my iPhone, and get the service transferred over, she also swapped out the HTC phone, as well as, processed the paperwork for the computer all within one hour.

I'€™m a long time customer of Best Buy. I shop online on BestBuy.com. I've shopped at Best Buy's in NY, MN, FL, GA, CA, MI, I spend a lot of money in Best Buy because I mistakenly thought that all customers would be treated with respect regardless of the color of their skin. I was completely brought back to reality tonight although I have experienced some levels of discrimination before in some of the stores that I frequented before. However, I would talk myself out of believing it was race based. But when it's blatant there is no way to deny it.

I now know that if you're black and go into a Best Buy store your time and money is disregarded and disrespected because of the color or your skin. It should never have taken three hours to accomplish what I needed done and it also should not have taken a white woman who I do not know at all to come to my defense in order for customer service to take place. I am completely appalled at the situation and I'€™m not satisfied with what took place tonight.

I was finally given a laptop and insurance for the computer and after getting home I plugged it up and immediately realized that it was not a new computer as ** stated. The screen doesn't stay on all the time and the packaging wasn't the same as a new computer although it was in the box that it should have been in. I did not open the box in the store because I was assured it was a new computer.

So I was misled and deceived by ** that the computer was new. I will have to take my time again to go into the store to get a new laptop once again after spending three hours in the store tonight. My kids ended up missing the basketball practice they were scheduled to attend tonight, all because of Best Buy employees with discriminating behavior.

I feel very strongly about the situation. I feel that ** and ** need to be fired because of the situation. ** clearly set the precedent that it is OK for his subordinate to clearly and willfully disrespect me by telling him to get someone else to help me, as that someone else was a black Best Buy employee. He gave permission to ** to walk away from a customer. I know for a fact if I were a white woman with the same issues and concerns and same questions that I had the treatment would be markedly different. I'€™m saddened that in 2013 I have to write a letter about discrimination that I faced.

** along with the rest of the store, as well as all Best Buy€™s needs to be made aware that treating black customers differently than white customers is unacceptable and intolerable. Because of the vague way that the insurance policy is worded it gives the employees of Best Buy the discretion to totally void an insurance contract based on a case-by-case basis, ignoring any biases the employee may have.

I hope this letter isn'€™t in vain and that some true changes start from the top down. Training on race relations; treating customers fairly, and without racial and gender biases must take place immediately. These occurrences happened at the Best Buy location in Cary, NC. I went back to the store today 9/19/2013 to get the replacement for the faulty computer and was appalled that ** was still employed there!

NORTHGLENN, COLORADO -- On 05/04/13 I purchased a new HD TV from Best Buy. I am completely lost when it comes to electronics, but I did the research and knew what I wanted/needed. I had already purchased an HD DVD player and surround sound from another store. The salesman at Best Buy told me that the DVD player I had at home was not compatible with the TV.

He said if I did not purchase a Blu-Ray player, all of the movies would be distorted and difficult to view on the new TV. Based on his statements, I spent $250 on a Blu-Ray player and returned the DVD player. 34 days after I purchased and set up the Blu-Ray player... it stopped working. I kept my receipt, but the box accidentally got thrown away.

I called Best Buy and the first guy on the phone told me they could not help me because it was beyond the 15-day return date and I did not purchase the extended warranty. He told me the store would likely not honor the manufacturer's warranty because I no longer had the box. He added that the Blu-Ray player was not working because my daily workout video (used all 34 days, once a day) was "over use" of the player. Seriously!? 34 uses is apparently the maximum for a Blu-Ray player. I hung up with him and called Samsung.

They confirmed that I had a 1 year manufacturer's warranty. Told me to take it to the store, with or without the box and Best Buy would exchange or refund the system. I packed it all up and took it into the store, where the Geek Squad guy told me immediately that he was unable to help me because it was beyond the 15-day return policy. I explained that the unit was not working.

I told him what the Best Buy person told me on the phone the day before and what the Samsung person told me on the phone, and he told me "those people that answer the phone, will say anything to get you off the phone." I confirmed this was something Best Buy employees were told to do, and he nodded. I told him his customer service sucked! I eventually had to talk him into checking on the manufacturer's warranty. He agreed it was under manufacturer's warranty, so they would send it to Samsung to be repaired.

While I was waiting for him to complete the paperwork, their computer crashed. He had to fill everything out by hand because they couldn't figure out what to do to make it work (This did not boost my confidence in their abilities!). He asked me how I liked the unit when it was working (Again, really!? It worked for 34 days, how do you think I liked it!).

I explained that the salesman told me the one I had was not compatible. His response, "Sales people that lie to customers don't usually last here long." He then informed me my salesperson did indeed lie to me about the ability of my previously purchased DVD player as it would have worked just fine, as long as it had an HDMI cable (It did and I told **, the salesman that). They ended up taking my Blu-Ray player and I was told it would be shipped to Samsung for repair.

Today, 6 days later, I received the first update regarding my unit. It advised that the unit was at the Geek Squad service center awaiting parts. I called to confirm that they were fixing it, rather than Samsung (since the other two Best Buy employees told me Best Buy could not assist me because I did not purchase their extended service plan). The guy on the phone this time, told me that the Best Buy employees "lied" (his word) and Samsung would only get involved if the repair could not be made in 15 days, at which time they would send me another unit.

All said and done, the customer service at Best Buy sucks. They have lied to me on numerous occasions and if I weren't already $250 in the hole (a lot of money for me!) I'd leave the unit and go buy something else.

RICHFIELD, MINNESOTA -- Current Issues with the TV: TV does not play in Full Screen for Non HD as it has always done. TV Comes on during the night after shutting it off. What I want to see done this time. Replace the TV with same.

Geek squad 7-12-11. I place a call to report problems again with the Samsung 63" Plasma 3D HD. TV has come on during the night by itself and we are unable to view the full screen mode with watching non-HD. After the TV was repaired back in April of this year we could watch full screen either HD or non-HD. In the manual the screen is to be set to 16.9 to view full screen for non-HD. Pay close attention to the time I once again had to deal with Geek Squad personnel not knowing what to do or just to give me a run around. I spent $598 dollars on their Black Tie Protection Plan that is clearly a SCAM.

(5:11PM Spoke to # 1 Agent **). Gave my address, name, phone number and what I was calling about. He had to transfer me to the TV Repair for set up service.

(5:15PM Spoke to # 2 Agent **). Again I gave him my address, name, phone number and what I was calling about. Explained the problems, cannot view full screen in non-HD and TV comes on by itself during the night. Agent ** set up service with Sherwood TV and Appliances for 7-14-11 between the hours of 12 and 5PM. He did say the TV would need to come off the wall for servicing. Well here I go again because Agent ** transferred me to another department to set this up.

(5:30PM Spoke to # 3 Agent **). Again I gave him my address; name, phone number and what I was call about. I explained to him the Sherwood TV and Appliances would need the TV removed from the wall for servicing. I also explained the Geek Squad would need to be here the same day so after removing the TV and let's say it was repaired they could hang the TV back up. If this did not get done I would need to reschedule another visit from Geek Squad to re-hang the TV.

You can already see what I'm going through just to get it down. Agent put me on hold. He came back on the line to tell me there would be a $99 dollar fee. I told him I purchased the Black Tie Protection Plan for 4 years at $598 and was not going to pay anything. He puts me back on hold and a little while later tells me he needs to transfer to his boss.

(5:45PM Spoke to # 4 Agent **). Guess what? Agent ** that was supposed to be Agent **'s boss must not have been. I had to give him my address, name, phone number and what I was calling about. I explained it all over again about removing the TV off the wall that Geek Squad originally installed day one and the $ 99 dollar fee. Agent ** proceeds to tell me he don't have enough stroke to reverse the $99 dollar fee that we should not even be talking about seeing I purchased the Black Tie Protection Plan. Guess what I get transferred to another agent.

(6:11PM Spoke to # 5 Agent **). Guess what? I had to give her my address, name, phone number and what I was calling about. I tell ** what I was calling about. She pulled up my records and she was amazed that first starting with why they have not replaced this TV due to all the calls and service that is in the data base. Don't pay the 99 dollars because that was covered in the protection plan. I finally found someone that seems to know what they were talking about and she understood the protection plan the same way I did. Nevertheless, I was finally transferred to the installation department.

(6:25PM Spoke to # 6 Agent **). Guess what? I had to give her my address, name, phone number and what I was calling about. At this point I'm trying to explain to her that Sherwood and Geek Squad both need to be here on the same day same time to remove and re-hang the TV. She transfers me to the other agent but I did get a work order # ** to remove the TV but still not set up for the same day.

(6:40PM Spoke to # 7 Agent **). Guess what? I had to give her my address, name, phone number and what I was calling about. At this point I'm trying to explain to her that Sherwood and Geek Squad both need to be here on the same day same time to remove and re-hang the TV. At this point and had finally had enough, ask her to transfer me to someone that could authorize the REPLACEMENT TV. She told me to contact the store I purchased the TV from for replacing. I will do this on 7-13-11 to see what reply I get but I'm sure they will tell me to call Geek Squad.

(7:05PM Spoke to # 8 Agent **). Guess what? I had to give her my address, name, phone number and what I was calling about. I explained the entire case from even back with when I turned my first complaint over to BBB Case # **. Agent ** set the removal up for 7-19-11 and he was going to contact Sherwood TV and Appliances for also 7-19-11. Agent ** did call me back and said that repair shop had closed but he would call them on 7-13-11 to set up for service on 7-19-11 same day as Geek Squad.

Reason for turning this over for support from BBB is to show what Best Buy and Geek Squad's service is poor, personnel are not knowledgeable about how the Black Tie Protection Plans work. The run around you have to go through and as a consumer I have to do some of their leg work for service I paid for. I'm requesting support from the BBB to help in no longer fighting the ongoing issues with the product and support in having this TV Replaced with New.

(7-13-11) No call from Agent **. # 7 Agent **. As per Agent 7 she told me to call the store I purchased the unit and request a new TV. The below is an e-mail I sent to the sales person that sold me this product. (Please call me at **. Long story short, the TV has been a living hell with problems. In speaking with Geek Squad Agent ** yesterday she tells me to contact the store that I purchased the unit and have you all to replace it).

Please make sure you call me as I'm going to turn the case over to Sr. Executive Resolution Specialist at 7601 Penn Ave S Bldg D6, Richfield, Mn 55423-3645, Phone Number 888-237-8289 and also, for the second time, the BBB. Tell us how we're doing.

(7-14-11). Day two and no phone calls from #7 Agent **. I contacted Sherwood TV and Appliances this morning and spoke to ** and raised the question had he heard from Geek Squad about this service that is needed. Here we go again just like the first case that went to BBB Case # **. Sherwood TV and Appliances is not responsible for the (FIRST YEAR) and I need to contact Samsung.

In closing, I'm done with this 63" Samsung HD 3D TV that comes on during the night and plays in reduced picture for non-HD. Next I will not settle for anything less than the unit being replaced. NO MORE REPAIRS! Next will no longer deal with Geek Squad as the employees have no clue to how the Black Tie Protection Plan works. Oh did I forget to mention they wanted $99 fee to come to my home and over 2 hrs on the phone to find out this morning no one is coming to look at this lemon of a TV!

12.59 Noon today I called the Magnolia Store in Metairie Location where we purchased the TV as directed by # 7 Agent ** due to ** never replied to the e mail I sent out on 7-13-11. Was put on hold again. Not waiting anymore. I expect to hear from Best Buy, LP US Headquarters today. Don't take this wrong but I will fax this document along with the past case directly to BBB and obtain a Second Case Number.

OXNARD, CALIFORNIA -- I trusted the name Best Buy. I never had an experience with Geek Squad though. I felt it would be a good referral. I took my uncle's computer in to be repaired after the OS seemed to be corrupted and was not booting appropriately. I was told it would be 200.00 to do an assessment, repair, re-configure, install updates and drivers. I felt this was fair considering all that was included.

I later called to get the status of the computer and was told the OS was completely corrupt and the only option was a complete re-install of the OS. I was then told that a backup of the system was 99.00. I was a little taken back when the only data on the machine was perhaps 5MB max in the My Documents folder. I then asked how much a new drive would be and how much would it be for them to install the new drive, put a fresh OS install on the drive and then make the existing drive a secondary drive to access the files.

I was told by ** that this would be 70.00 and the OS and drive installation was included in the 200 originally paid. I felt this was a good deal considering it was 99.00 to back up 5MB worth of data through DOS. We then had a new hard drive (existing was 4 years old) and a slave drive in the machine for later use if need be. I was told that my uncle only had to come in and pay for the hard drive.

My uncle proceeded to go to Best Buy and paid for the hard drive. This time a representative named ** was in contact with him and told him he did not need a new drive and that they could salvage the existing drive. This was true, though not what was asked for and instructed to do. Even then ** still proceeded to sell my Uncle a hard drive. My uncle is not technical, nor does he have any knowledge about computers only to click here and click there.

Now he had a ** tell him that he did not need a new drive and that he could fix his computer, he DID not tell my uncle he did not need to buy a new hard drive. Simply, he took advantage of someone who was not informed or had the knowledge to make an informed decision. The manager (**) did not step in and discuss what I had discussed with him, and they proceeded to charge him the money he paid SPECIFICALLY for a new hard drive as data services backup.

My uncle proceeded to get the computer back without the hard drive and actually without a working modem. I called Best Buy twice and spoke to ** to try to resolve the situation only to be told simply, there was nothing they could do and my Uncle would have to come in and pay for a new hard drive. Also, they did him a favor by discounting the backup services from 99.00 to 70.00 which was the price he paid to SUPPOSEDLY get a new hard drive.

** then proceeded to say that he would only discuss the situation with the customer and that the customer stated I was to blame for it. Simply it seems he was not willing to take responsibility for the situation. Again, I was guiding my uncle along this process so he would not be taken advantage of. It seems as though Best Buy thought it best to still exploit the situation and take advantage of someone rather than work with someone to give the best service.

I hope this saves someone from experiencing the same fate. I feel we were taken advantage of, ripped off, and told you have 'better' options irresponsibly. To experience perhaps the same, take your computer to Geek Squad in Oxnard, CA and speak with ** or **.

OHIO -- Right now there is a huge issue in the Geek Squad. I was actually warned to stay away from Best Buy because of their lack of concern in doing the job right. I should have listened. What happened to me personally is beyond anything I could have believed unless I went through it. Here it is...

I took my computer to Best Buy to get a wireless pci LAN card installed. The Geek Squad guy said it would be 50.00 and then when I got there he said it was $80.00. So when I told him the difference he changed the price to $50.00. The next day I picked up the computer and the wireless card did not work nor did the router they told me to purchase, $39.00. I then tried everything to get this to work and nothing.

So I had to call Best Buy and they refused to tell me anything and told me that the reason it would not function is because the wireless pci LAN card had to be configured to operate correctly they told me that this was only possible if they came out and charged me an in home service fee.

I was angry about this because it was never mentioned to me that this was a requirement of having a pci wireless LAN card installed. So I ended up having to bring my computer back into the Best Buy Geek Squad which was not a good thing but I did not know what else to do. So I had talked to the manager of the Geek squad and he said to bring it in to test it. I was told it would take about an hour. The manager told me he would place the info in my file and other techs would see it and know what to do.

So I drop off my computer and 3 days later no one has called me back. I contact the Geek squad and asked them why no one has called me and they told be they were running a diagnostic, which shows nothing in error that they did, of course. So I told them what the manager said to me and none of that info was in the notes of my file and the manager had gone on vacation a day after he told me to bring in my computer.

So now I am so upset I take my computer home and call the company that made the pci wireless LAN card to ask them what to do. One of their tech support walks me through the process of testing their card and it is found that the drivers were not installed with the pci wireless LAN card. It was not receiving a signal because the Geek squad put the hardware in and nothing else. The computer did not recognize the added hardware.

I contact the corporate portion of the Geek squad which had "agents" speak to me about this issue. All they did was work to cover themselves while leaving me looking like the one who was at fault. I was on the phone with Best Buy and the Geek Squad for several days,... more than 4 hours total.

The Store Best Buy and their Geek Squad are only looking to cover their people in wrong doing at the full cost of the customer. I actually had to take the computer to another Best Buy in order to get information that proved that the first Geek squad was in error. They told me that there was no way that the Geek squad in the other location did the right thing and in saying that I thought I could trust them.

I left my computer there and then when I picked it up they said that there was a hard drive problem and that was why their pci wireless LAN card did not work. So I contacted the corporate office again (4th time) and they refused to give me a refund for the LAN card or the router because it was a problem with my computer, not their service or their agents.

I forgot to mention that when I talked to their Geek Squad agent in their corporate office they spoke extra loud and tried to drown out my statements when they did not agree with what I said about something being very wrong in their Geek squad. Every word out of the mouth of this agent was in a means to say that I as a customer was wrong and their Geek squad was right. I believe the reason they did this was to make sure in the midst of failing companies they would cover their company at the expense of the customer, and to cover their jobs.

I have since cancelled my credit card and account with Best Buy. I will never purchase from this company again because they were willing to steal from me to cover themselves while knowing that their employees are doing wrong.

SOUTHHAVEN, MISSISSIPPI -- August 7th of 2008 I returned a bad gateway monitor. It couldn't be sent off so I was told to get one from stock and there wasn't much to choose from so I got a Samsung 25 inch. Tech said he was sorry he didn't have many monitors to pick from but he didn't keep monitors for power users. I'm no power user..

I had troubles with the Samsung monitor from day one but I thought it was my video card or motherboard, I used trial and error to finally nail down the problem as the monitor. I returned to Best Buy November 17 and was told it couldn't be repaired, to get another monitor from the shelf. So after about 45 minutes or so I got the only monitor my size they had that would work. When I got to the service desk they then told me the Samsung could be sent off after all. So I said "OK. I have no choice, go ahead." There was nothing else he said he could do and once again gave me a very insincere "I'm sorry about that."

The estimated completion date was 11/20/08.. I realize it could take longer than that so I waited till 12/01/08 to call the Geek Squad and was told it was ready and sitting in the floor ready for me to pick up, he was looking at it. I said thanks and went about getting a way up there. I'm disabled and can't drive so I got my son off work to drive me up there.. It's 80 miles to Best Buy from where I live, then 80 miles back.

Well when I got there they told me there was just the two geeks working and neither talked to me. I called Best Buy and hit the extension for the Geek Squad and before I left they asked me my phone number before telling me it was there. It looks to me like it was never sent off if it was sitting in the floor and rather than telling me the truth they came up with they didn't know who I talked to. I just don't believe I was done right from the start, why would they lie?? If it was just 2 of them it had to be one of them.

Also the young man had a smug attitude, he was always very sorry but there was nothing he could do to help me. I asked him if he could ship it back to me so I wouldn't have to have my son take off again and he couldn't even do that.. I asked to speak to his boss and he told me he was the boss. He was really young to be a boss. I went to Best Buy to get a monitor so if I did have trouble I could get it quickly repaired or replaced.Now I haven't had a monitor that's worked right since August and I'm out the money for the video card and new computer plus a wasted trip to Best Buy and now its 12/17/08 and I still don't have a monitor.

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS -- The Geek Squad at the Overland Park Kansas Best Buy provided me with one of the most awful if not the absolute worse customer service that I've ever experienced as a consumer. I brought my laptop to the store on October 20, 2008 as it was crashing with blue screen errors, and I was unable to resolve the problem on my own.

The Geek Squad employee at the counter ran a test on the laptop to confirm that it was a software problem, and not an issue with the hard drive. He then explained the options available and the cost. The charge to diagnose and repair the computer was $200.00. This seemed high to me, but I thought that it would be worth the price to have the repair done right.

In retrospect, I should have run for the door when they insisted that I pay in advance before they even started any repairs. However, I paid the $200 and expected a call within at least a week. The week went by with no call so I stopped by the store to check on the laptop. The Geek Squad employee searched for about an hour and could not locate my laptop. He could not tell me if repairs were begun, if it had been shipped off site, he had absolutely no information. He apologized and told me that he would call that evening after locating.

There was no call so I went to the store the next day, and a different employee seemed perplexed that I would suggest the laptop was missing. He told me it was right on the bench being worked on as we spoke. He apologized for nobody calling to tell me the laptop was found. I suspect that they did not start work on it until that day.

A day later, I received a call from the Geek Squad telling me that there was a corrupt memory module in the laptop and asked me if I wanted to have it replaced. They quoted a price of $50 for the memory and $40 to install it. I told the employee that I was shocked they would want to charge $40 to install a stick of memory when I had already paid them $200 for the repair. I told them that I would be willing to buy the memory, but I would certainly not pay an extra $40 for them to install it.

On October 31, the laptop was finally ready. I decided not to purchase the memory from because at this point I lost confidence Best Buy and decided to never shop there again. My advice is to stay away from the Geek Squad. They are too expensive, and when you pay in advance, it takes away their incentive to get the repair done promptly. The manner in which they treat the customer is deplorable. They seemed to lack the basic social skills necessary to communicate with the public, and they seem oblivious to the importance of keeping people informed.

As one who manages people for a living, I know these types of problems are the result of poor management. It is a top-down issue where employees are not given proper training and/or the corporate culture apparently does not value the customer.

HAMILTON, OHIO -- On 8/2/08, my daughter dropped off her computer for extended warranty repair which we purchased when we purchased the computer. She was told that it would have to be sent to the repair center and would take 2 weeks for it to be returned. She asked if the data on the hard drive would be lost and they informed her that they could not guarantee it but they could back it for $100. She borrowed the money to have the data backed up and was told it would take 24 hours for it to be ready. It took 6 days for the data to be ready to be picked after my daughter checked on it several times.

When she inquired why it took so long, they would not/could not give her an answer. Since it took 6 days to back up the data, which meant it wasn'€™t sent off to the repair center for 6 days. On 8/15/08, I went with my daughter to check on the status of the computer. We asked the customer service rep if her computer was ready, he told us no. We asked when it would be ready, he said he did not know and could not tell us.

I asked to talk to a manager at that point, 10:15AM, and was told none was available, that they were in a meeting. I left my cell phone number with the customer service rep and asked him to have the manager call me. The manager never did call me. I called the store that night and asked to speak with a store manager and was told that there was no store manager present at this time, approximately 7PM.

I asked to speak to any manager present. When a manager answered the phone, I explained to him everything that had happened and the poor service my daughter had received and expressed my anger. He put a Geek Squad member on the phone to tell me the computer was fixed and ready to ship back to the store. He then hung up the phone.

I called back to the store and requested to speak to the manager again. I told him I wanted my daughter'€™s money refunded for the poor service she received. I was told by the manager that he would not refund her money and that I could talk to a store manager, which magically appeared at the store. He told me the same thing and told me it only took 3 days to download her data.

My daughter received her computer on 8/20/08 with scratches all over the cover of the computer. She was so happy to get her computer back and get out of Best Buy; she left without even complaining about it, which would not do her any good anyway! I have spent well over $6,000 at this store in the past 2 years. If this is what Best Buy considers customer service, I have spent the last penny in any Best Buy store. This is one of the worst examples of customer care and customer service I have ever witnessed.