Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Boycott Best Buy

My letter to Best Buy customer service:

I want to share with you the experience I had at Best Buy store #133 in Sacramento, California. I’ve been repeatedly disappointed in my interactions with Best Buy employees, and once again my expectations of reasonable treatment were not met.

When I purchased my laptop at this store in 2007, I purchased an extended warranty for approximately $300 because I was hoping to avoid paying extra fees if I had a problem with it. I was assured that any problems I encountered would be fixed by Geek Squad for free, and I’d even receive a loaner computer in the meantime (Best Buy employees now tell me this was a lie).

When my built-in microphone suddenly stopped working last month, I was not immediately concerned because I had a warranty – I was protected. I expected to receive a service for that $300 I paid.

However, when I brought my laptop to Best Buy store #133 and left it there for several days, Geek Squad called me to say that my computer had a virus, which caused the microphone to stop working. I would have to pay $130 to have the virus removed, and my microphone would then work.

I refuse to give this company any more of my money, so I took my laptop to an independent repair technician, who told me that my computer was not infected with any viruses. Not one. I can only assume that Geek Squad invented this diagnosis as a way to generate maximum profit.

My honest repair technician found that my microphone was assembled incorrectly, causing a wire to become loose. He fixed the problem easily. This is a problem that would have been covered by my warranty, had the Geek Squad employees correctly assessed my problem.

I hope that you will understand my frustration with your company. I purchased a warranty as insurance that I would be protected from these types of problems. Instead, I was asked to pay an additional fee for a problem that did not exist!

My warranty was not honored. The only solution I see to this situation is to receive a full refund for the money I paid for a warranty that now seems worthless. I had a problem that should have received an immediate, free repair. This did not happen, so I am unable to see what I received in exchange for my $300.

Be assured that I will never again patronize a Best Buy store. I have posted about my experience on my personal blog, and will share my experiences with many.

Please contact me at XXX-XXX-XXXX for my mailing address, where you can send my refund.

3 comments:

Stefanie K. said...

Yikes! That's TERRIBLE!! Hope you get your refund!! And I'll refrain from telling you that you shoulda bought a mac b/c they're the best. ;)

Ashley said...

Something similar happened to me. However, I had a fit at the store (well, one may have called it a fit, but I called it a very factual and lady like discussion lasting about 30 minutes) and eventually, with other customers there, they gave in and fixed it for free. Same thing though. The warranty covers everything but viruses, so they try to blame EVERY problem ON a virus…real or not!
I have heard similar situations lately, so maybe they will figure out they can't do this anymore?
Good for you for posting about it! So, how much did the individual IT person fix it for?

Rose said...

not to mention the HORRIBLE service we received when looking to buy a lap top!