Best Buy Holding Disabled Girl's Laptop Hostage

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This story is just horrible, even by Best Buy's standards. A disabled girl has her computer dropped off to the Geek Squad while it is still under warranty. Best Buy screws around with the PC for a month, during which time the warranty expires. Now BB will not return the computer unless she pays the full price of the repair. :mad:

Jenni's sister is a disabled invalid for whom her laptop is her portal to the world. So when her HP laptop had to go in for repair, it was a big deal. It was an even bigger deal after the Geek Squad spent over a month dickering with the repair and while it was in their hands, the warranty ran out. Now Geek Squad won't give it back unless the full out of warranty price is paid, and HP says it's not their problem, it's Geek Squad's. Meanwhile it's been almost three months and Jenni's sister has no computer.
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Oh geez... as word of this begins to spread, like so many other recent customer service nightmares, I predict:

- Best Buy will make a public apology
- the girl will get a brand new laptop for her troubles
- Best Buy will still take a massive hit for it in the public view (as they should)
- people will forget about this next week

Moving on...
 
BB scores again! It's just sad. I barely saved my own sister from taking her laptop to the Geek Squad for repairs (she'sd got some malware). The general public just doesn't know what lame excuses for customer service are going to be "fixing" their computers at BestBuy. We see these stories all the time but, the general consumer does not. The best we can do is word of mouth. Don't wait for someone to ask your opinion, tell everyone you know, "Don't send your computer to the Geek Squad for repair!"
 
What a foul move by Best Buy, I have not shopped there in 57 centuries and have no plans on it ever again.
 
I don't understand why anyone would buy from BB in the first place. They're pricing and customer service is one big joke. HP may do something about it as well if they contacted them about it again.
 
I can't see the future... but something tells me they won't be holding her laptop for much longer. :D

JoeAverage hit it on the nail.
 
douches, this is why newegg and amazon get all my business
 
Not only should she get a new laptop, the manager that made the decision should be fired.

This is absolute garbage, All people involved should be ashamed of themselves.
 
It never ceases to amaze me how bad of a company BB really is, and how much they deserve to burn in hell for all their lying and deceptive practices.

I don't just hate BB, I absolutely LOATHE them.
 
Makes you sick to your stomach. Greed and stupidity in it's rawest form. If anyone is looking for proof of satan and pure evil ... this is a small bit of that.
 
So now if a Best Buy representative asks me if I want warranty, I can say " no thanks, I don't support people that hate disabled people".

Or I could say, "It didn't work for Jenni's sister, then why would it work for me?". Either way, I got new phrases to further frustrate Best Buy employee's. Given I ever into a Best Buy ever again.
 
That is absurd. They allowed the warranty to run out and now won't honor it? Fucking ridiculous.

Plus, how does ANYTHING computer-related even take a month to fix? Even replacing the motherboard (arguably one of the more time-consuming fixes) would not even take more than a week or two assuming they had to order the part and wait for shipping.

I haven't been to a Best Buy in months and hearing stuff like this just makes me not want to go there even more.
 
Fucking best buy...this doesn't surprise me much. Are they really THAT desperate to where they feel they need to steal from disabled/handicapped people? I hope the pricks responsible for this get what they deserve...ie: something horrible, possibly painful and/or torturous.
 
Hmm odd situation. I worked for Geek Squad back when it first came out and ran into this same predicament. The computer was submitted to us for repair before the warranty expired and came back well after the warranty expired. The repair was even dated after the warranty expiration date and everything was fixed without any problems. I'm sure its a dick move by management and not best buy as a whole.
 
Whats even worse is that she paid $300 for extended warranty. I didn't think they were extended through the actual manufacturer but a 3rd party?

Why didn't they submit it to the 3rd party warranty?

Either way it doesn't matter... 1 month waiting for a laptop to be fixed is insane! You can send it in to HP and get it back in 2 weeks.

Why didn't GeekSquad have an adapter, don't they fix computers. They don't have any HP docking stations around (crap they sell HP and only a few other brands)? No universal PSU bricks/adapters???? The fact they supposedly do not have the basic tools to do their job says something.

About the activation code... Couldn't they call HP to get it? They have the product #, serial # etc HP doesn't care if you are the actual owner. Believe it or not I liked HP service when I supported their models at my last job. Usually you just submit an online form (you get to learn what to say) and they either send the part in 2 days or send a box for warranty repair.
 
Another example of "penny wise dollar foolish".

Consider for a moment the amount of money a company spends on Advertising. Now look at the publicity damage they caused thelmselves over what? a few hundred dollars?

Morons. It's just plain bad business.
 
Joe Average said:
Oh geez... as word of this begins to spread, like so many other recent customer service nightmares, I predict:

- Best Buy will make a public apology
- the girl will get a brand new laptop for her troubles
- Best Buy will still take a massive hit for it in the public view (as they should)
- people will forget about this next week

Moving on...
Click to expand...

1. Ya, more than likely.
2. Maybe.
3. Sure will.
4. Only the masses will, power user... NEVER!
 
I use to work for best buy geek squad and if it's in for repair while the warrenty is still good it's covered even if it runs out while it's in for that repair. Hell the repair is coverd for 30 days. So I don't who at the store is being a cock but i'm sure there going to loss there job.
 
redmasc said:
Hmm odd situation. I worked for Geek Squad back when it first came out and ran into this same predicament. The computer was submitted to us for repair before the warranty expired and came back well after the warranty expired. The repair was even dated after the warranty expiration date and everything was fixed without any problems. I'm sure its a dick move by management and not best buy as a whole.
Click to expand...

I was wondering is this a problem of no one knowing what the chain of command is and the laptop problem keeps getting dumped around in a circle and no one taking responsibility.
 
What more has to be said that hasn't already.

Its Best Buy, they're huge, they're going to make stupid mistakes because they are so
huge.

When they do, there are rabid wolverines there to tear them apart (Consumerist) and
rinse and repeat.

Are they shit for doing this, of course they are. Its like saying what the Nazi's did was heinous. Everyone KNOWS it was. Saying so doesn't really put anymore emphasis on it. Its just a given fact these days that BB is going to shit on the consumer, they are still going to buy there, and no matter how hard you try, you can't fix stupid.
 
The only thing that irritates me more then stupid crap like this is the fact that this is only a story because the girl is disabled. Remove the disabled girl and this crap goes on regularly at computer repair places (not only best buy) and it doesn't make the local news much less national.

Either way though more business for me. Just another thing I can use to get customers to use me instead of the illiterate morons they hire for the GS.
 
Her being disabled has no point in this story...I would (do) hate BB equally if they did this to a person with no disabilities.
 
I had thought I convinced my parents not to go to bestbuy. When I visited a few weeks ago all their computers/laptops had geeksquad stickers on them (they weren't even nice enough to take off the sticker...)

My mom's computer won't boot, they told her it was the motherboard and said it would be $400 to replace it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I convinced her through an hour of talking to not do it, took my PSU tester down there (like I thought it was) came out bad, spent $50 on a cheap but still way over the top PSU for her computer and it works fine...

I wish best buy would only sell dvd's/blu-rays/games and house hold appliances...
 
As much as I'd love to pile on the hate for Best Buy, I'm never really comfortable with a story when I've only heard one side. They probably did something stupid that exacerbated the issue, which of course they would not include in their little sob story. Geek Squad techs are stupid but are we really supposed to believe that they couldn't figure out how to look on the bottom of the laptop for the product key? I'm betting this tard chick peeled the sticker off thinking she wouldn't need it. Also, did I read it right that they gave the laptop to best buy without a battery or a power cord? I guess they figured all necessary repairs wouldn't need the laptop to actually be on or could be done within the 1-2 hours the battery lasts? :rolleyes:
 
MATRIXSHARK said:
Another example of "penny wise dollar foolish".

Consider for a moment the amount of money a company spends on Advertising. Now look at the publicity damage they caused thelmselves over what? a few hundred dollars?

Morons. It's just plain bad business.
Click to expand...

Sounds like someone needs to make a new commercial featuring employees in blue shirts.
 
Last time I was at bestbuy which was probably 5 years ago I returned a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff because another story like this. Don't remember the exact story but f best buy.
 
her being disabled has nothing to do with anything its just media flame bait.

thats said Best Buy is obviously in the wrong.

Just not a fan of making the issue more about her being disabled then the fact Best Buy is screwing around.
 
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