Best Buy

Product
2011

Note: minor tirade ahead...

Normally I'd be reviewing an actual product, however in the age of big box stores the specialty stores - like record shops, appliance stores, computer and electronic stores  - are disappearing on a daily basis. Since these behemoths like Best Buy, Walmart and Target force our consumer hand I thought I'd chime in on Best Buy itself.

There's a lot to like about Best Buy as we all know. One stop shopping for any number of gadgets is convenient. Notice I didn't say convenient and simple. Over the last year alone I've had numerous experiences at Best Buy where I became livid.

As you well know we've all been pitched the extended warranties or services by every kind of retailer, but Best Buy has taken it to the next level. That's not necessarily what my gripe is about. Said service should have taken the burden of uncertainty out of the picture not add to it.

I bought a new dishwasher and having no truck, van or station wagon I was going to need it delivered. No problem Best Buy can handle that. The choice was to take a day off work and wait for the delivery man or pay $50 to get the "you pick the time" service - or I could wait through 2 weekends because they were booked on the weekends.

A few days later I get a call from the delivery service saying they would be by on Tues at 2PM. But I'll be at work, I said. I told them I thought I'd bought the right to have them come 6PM when it was convenient for me. We can't do that, they said. Hackles up!

The long and short of it - they don't offer that service anymore, but by golly their system took the money and no one batted an eye. Eventually 2 weekends later I got the dishwasher and my account was credited. All was well, but Best Buy had one strike.

Next I bought a new laptop and was of course given the Geek Squad service pitch. No thanks, I said, I can do it myself. So at home I spent hours setting it up, getting the pictures, music, files, programs and games loaded. Finally done I rebooted as required by some of the programs I loaded. The thing came up with a Best Buy app (trying to sell more $#@#% services), but the app would not close and nothing would make it go away and nothing else would run either - the Best Buy app held the computer hostage. Hackles up!!

A call to store had the response of bring it back, we'll give you a new one. Umm, no, I just spent hours setting this one up. Then they said you'll just have to call Geek Squad. Can't you just get one of them on the phone, I asked, they work in the little shop right behind you. Sorry, you have to call the 1-800 number. Reluctantly I did.

1-800-GEEKSQUAD got me a menu and then the most God-awful hold music I've ever heard. Call Center 101 says your hold music should be soothing because the customer MIGHT be irate. By the time the geek answered I was spitting nickels. After lengthy discussion where I suggested I boot into safe-mode and run msconfig and pull it out of the Start-Up tab (if he would just give me the name of the executable). Better yet I said how about I just uninstall the program altogether. He said no - I would void the in-store (short term) bring it back warranty. He said I'd have to bring it back to the store.

In the end the geek squad tech at the store booted the laptop into safe-mode and uninstalled the offending app. It was over in ten minutes, but my rage wasn't.

Recently I went with my father-inlaw to get him a new computer. We picked out a model and were just about close the deal when the pitch for Geek Squad services came up. My father-inlaw said, what would I need that for I've got a geek right here (pointing to me). I said the manufacturer does give it a one year on defective parts, right? The salesmen began to hem and haw - sometimes yes, sometimes no. Hackles up!!!

It's up to the manufacturer whether they'll send a new part, a Geek Squad contract guarantees it. Wait a minute under what circumstances would the manufacturer refuse to replace a hard drive or a power supply or a DVD player or a flipping motherboard if it was bad. He said they won't cover wear and tear. WEAR and TEAR on a computer! This young salesman lost the sale.

We ended up at a different Best Buy and found a salesman who either blew smoke up our asses or determined right away that I knew what I was talking about. He said all the right things and he made the sale. (This was of course after Dell Computers was called and we verified they stood behind their one year warranty without question).

Christmas season is approaching and Best Buy will do great business again. If I walk through their doors it will be because Target or Walmart will not have what I'm looking for.


2 of 5 stars


CW