Geek Squad Repair Service Story of the Day

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Because we all love to read stories like this, I give you the worst repair service story you will read all day.

At the service center they replaced the motherboard but the replacement motherboard was also defective. They replaced the motherboard again. Then they replaced the CPU. They declared it fixed and returned it to the store. I was instructed to come pick it up. When I arrived there was nothing on my computer, not even an operating system. I had to return the next day to pick it up again.
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They are plenty of small local computer stores in almost every major city. Places where you will be treated as a valuable customer, and not a target for padding a ticket. Why people buy PCs from BB never ceases to amaze me.
 
after being a retail tech support guy for 3 years previously (no longer am THANK GOD!) at circuit city and at staples, I understand how shitty some of these places are. I almost always had to break the rules to make sure the client got their computer fixed fast and right. Those warrenty services are usually BS and completely a scam (why do you think that none of the employees have em?).

So glad that I never have to deal with these issues ever.
 
i remeber in highschool i took my pc to milwaukee pc (last time i ever had another person touch a pc of mine)... i was in a pinch... i suspected a fried cpu.

400$ later they said "we copied all your music off your hard drive"... and it they played quake 3 on it all night... they love your pc its so fast (lol old school amd 7)..

i take it home = fried. the cpu had melted since they didnt hook up the fan. they wouldnt refund me any $.

now i'm a tech lol... i cant ever do shit like this to people, to much on my concious. best buy employees have no soul, i have seen the fine print.
 
That's because Geek Squad doesn't hire real computer techs. They hire kids who know a little bit about computers.
 
You only need to read the first two words of Steve's headline to know what's coming.
 
The problem is some of the Techs at Geek Squad are actually real live techs that know how to fix stuff. I know a few of em and actually was a tech at BB back in the day way before Geek Squad ever existed. Best Buy used to offer pretty decent service, used to being the operative word there.

I had a monitor go bad, DVI port went out on it. Had to send it off for service. Went to Best Buy in the same shape that it came out of the box from the factory in. Perfect, no scratches, nicks, dents dings etc. No finger prints on the screen. It comes back finger prints all over the screen and somehow they managed to damage the Front Bezel. Big honking scratch on the front of it. They called me told me I could either pick it up as it is now fixed, but has cosmetic damage or I could trade it for an equal new monitor.

I had a 24" 1920 x 1200 LCD which of course BB doesn't sell anymore and paid 500 for it new less than 2 years previous. I decided on a 23 " Sammy PX 2370 LED monitor as it was the only thing on the shelf that even halfway interested me. I was expecting a 200 dollar store credit as this new monitor was only 300. They inform me that no you get equivalent technology not same dollar amount. Bullshit ! They changed their policy, bastards.

Used to be on an exchange you got equal dollar value item , now it's equivalent technology. They then inform me that since I'm taking a new monitor that my service plan will be finished, again Bullshit !

I stated you damaged the monitor, you don't have the equivalent technology available to me any longer so the only way I will be satisfied is if I get to keep the new monitor, and keep the remaining 2 years on the service plan. Thats what finally happened but that took a little over an hour of strongly discussing the only way I would leave happy.

Their "service" after the sale has gone way, way down from what it used to be back in the 90's.
 
That's because Geek Squad doesn't hire real computer techs. They hire kids who know a little bit about computers.
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geek-squad.jpg
 
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Someone I knew just needed a DVI cable instead of VGA but was clueless, and they wanted to charge her $100 to recover important files and burn them on a CD so she could probably buy another PC. Vermin.
 
This story reads like a comedy to me. I used to hear this shit all the time when I worked at a local mom and pop PC repair shop. Fixing Geek Squad's fuck-ups was the norm there.
 
A friend of ours with a master’s degree in Information Technology, ten years of experience working on much more complicated problems and systems than the Geek Squad agents are qualified to handle and diagnostic tools of his own, ran the same diagnostic that Best Buy runs
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So your buddy couldn't help you either?
 
singe_101 said:
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Someone I knew just needed a DVI cable instead of VGA but was clueless, and they wanted to charge her $100 to recover important files and burn them on a CD so she could probably buy another PC. Vermin.
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WOW, thats intense
 
It sounds like part of BB's problem was incompetent "techs" installing equipment, what with all the failing parts and at least one confirmed motherboard short. :eek:

I hate how in the comments section some stupid feck comes out and recommends a Mac labeled/priced PC. :rolleyes:
 
qdemn7 said:
They are plenty of small local computer stores in almost every major city. Places where you will be treated as a valuable customer, and not a target for padding a ticket. Why people buy PCs from BB never ceases to amaze me.
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Eh, not the case where I worked... I tried to help out the customer a lot and lied to my boss many times to get the customer a cheaper bill... even if it meant I wouldn't get paid for part of the time I was working... which was all of $10 an hour...

Or fixed things very simple things for free when he wasn't around... like the "My wireless isn't working on my laptop" I see the wireless switch is turned off, so I flip it back on and try to connect to our network. That happened a lot... most of the time my boss would try to get me to charge them $45 for a "diagnostic" and then keep it for a day or two to work on it.
 
reason #4123 to just build your own computer... Reasons 1-4122 are just about the same
 
I have been doing network / systems admin for over 10 years, have built every single computer I have owned for over 15 years. I know what I am doing. A few years back I wanted to get a job @ best buy to take advantage of some of their employee discounts. I went in and applied for a job w/ Geek Squad, they said I was over qualified, and put me in sales! When I started, I said I could only work part time 20hrs/week. By the time I quit, they had scheduled me for 36 hours one week, and I was outselling every computer sales person there b/c I was not lying to the customers. I told them what I would do, and pretty much told them that they want me to sell all these extras.. blah blah blah. Anyway, I would regularly have a line of people waiting to have me help them b/c I knew what I was doing. Too bad the guys at geeksquad could hardly install office.
 
We can laugh at this as were all capable of fixing issues by ourselves. Think about all the people who dont know how to fix there own stuff, Your Aunt maybe, She has a problem and don't know where else to turn and she gets screwed over, not very funny for her!
 
BB has to be kidding said:
They have the know-how and skill to set up, install or repair your computer
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LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

(hyperventilate)

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
 
The lady didn't sound too bright either.

where they put in a new power supply (for unknown reasons they did not replace the power supply with the same part, they added a different power supply with a separate on/off switch), claimed all was well and sent me home. When I hooked everything back up I couldn’t connect to the internet. The NIC appeared to have been damaged or was missing.
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Gasp, a power supply with a separate on/off switch?! Where do I sign up?!
NIC damage or missing? Lady, either the RJ45 port is there or it's not.

She sounds like the type who second guesses everyone and think she's better than everyone. My brother's like that. He would treat doctors, mechanics, technicians, repairmen, any professionals with utmost contempt. I'm surprised he's still around.
 
No virus. No malware. No software issues at all. The NIC was simply missing from the ROM BIOS.
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Ah yes! Missing from the ROM BIOS. Whodathunkit?! Thank goodness for IT people with masters degree!
 
How does the guy's NIC seemingly go 'missing' so frequently? WTF is he doing with his computer that a NIC just disappears? Last time I had a NIC go missing, it was at my office and some intern had five-fingered it to use in a rig he was building at home (he was caught on video).
 
its shit like this that drove me to learn PC hardware in the first place. i think i was 15 or so when i started, just got tired of getting bent over so i started to learn myself. i think i decided i wouldn't get ripped off again.

did the same with cars just a few years ago, now i'll tackle just about anything. starting to learn home stuff too but not as good at that :p

true, this isn't for everyone but works for me!
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Isn't RJ45 8P2C, while common ethernet is 8P8C? That ain't no registered jack!

or am I nitpicking? :D
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lol

The entire tone of her blog just irritates me. I don't like Geek Squad any more than the next technician, but she strikes me as the kind of person who yells at helpdesk or customer service people thinking she knows it all. I deal with those kind at work from time to time.
 
Azhar said:
lol

The entire tone of her blog just irritates me. I don't like Geek Squad any more than the next technician, but she strikes me as the kind of person who yells at helpdesk or customer service people thinking she knows it all. I deal with those kind at work from time to time.
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Yea, if they knew it all, they would fix it themselves.
 
This is why I love Best Buy: their beyond-atrocious level of "competence" means more business for small tech shops like the one I work in.
 
singe_101 said:
Someone I knew just needed a DVI cable instead of VGA but was clueless, and they wanted to charge her $100 to recover important files and burn them on a CD so she could probably buy another PC. Vermin.
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personally it's examples like these that give geek squad such a bad name. it turns out that there are actually qualified technicians that work at geek squad. unfortunately they aren't the ones that you run into. the people that you run into are those that are hired for their ability to sell you services and products.
 
Diablo2K said:
We can laugh at this as were all capable of fixing issues by ourselves. Think about all the people who dont know how to fix there own stuff, Your Aunt maybe, She has a problem and don't know where else to turn and she gets screwed over, not very funny for her!
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Well, the company could spend more money on qualified techs, but they refuse to do it because they are cheap, yet they'll charge an arm and a leg for their services.

A lot of people are just too stupid to pick up a phone book and look for other repair shops. If there's a Best Buy where they live, there's most likely a few locally owned PC repair shops that will offer much better service and have lower repair charges. But, Best Buy has a bigger store and many people are convinced that bigger equals better. Paying a higher price for everything must mean it's better as well. If you shop there a lot, be prepared to get screwed over at some point.

I remember Best Buy as a great place to shop about 10-15 years ago. Today I avoid that place at all costs.
 
Azhar said:
NIC damage or missing? Lady, either the RJ45 port is there or it's not.
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I've seen lightning storms kill modems and zap NIC ports. When you go to look for the adapter in device manager or network connections, it has simply vanished... (gone from within bios too).

Sounds like the lady had some crap power problems at her house that was destroying her machine.
 
one other thing it proves. that these extended warranties are just bullshit profit. Everybody knows it. Everybody says it. But morons keep buying them. And they never do what they promise to do.
 
niconx said:
That's because Geek Squad doesn't hire real computer techs. They hire wannabie's who know nothing bit about computers.
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Fix it for you :D


I believe that "Geek Squad" should not have the word "Geek" in there name, as that is a disgrace to all geeks.
 
LoL BestBuy. You fail again! I bet they don't even hire or care about people with a background in computers. Sounds like they just hire people, and tell them to lie so they can make money.
 
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