Look, I normally love Best Buy, and on the whole, have had pretty good experiences with them (aside from sometimes the sales reps having no idea what you're talking about if you're looking for something other than a "common" product). And generally, the staff are pretty eager to help, and are friendly.
My beef is with the "Geek Squad Protection", which is pushed on you with the pretense that it'll save you from ever having to deal with the manufacturer's warranty, and that if you purchase it, you won't have to worry about ANYTHING (unless you decide to use your new tv as a Nintendo Power Pad of course).
The last tv I bought was an open box model, the last of its kind on the shelf, and after expressing my concerns with that fact, and asking the staff repeatedly if THEY would purchase this particular unit, I was told to get the Geek Squad protection, and if anything ever went wrong with the tv, it would be covered. So I merrily took it home, and installed it, cables behind the wall and everything.
Well guess what....it wouldn't connect to the wifi. No problem because I had bought the Geek Squad Protection right?
Oh no. Quite the opposite. I called the shop, and they told me to call Geek Squad. I called Geek Squad, and they told me they couldn't do anything because it was covered under the manufacturer's warranty still.
Hang on, Geek Squad doesn't kick in until the manufacturer's warranty ends? This was news to me. In fact, the sales reps at Best Buy had said quite the opposite. Geek Squad would REPLACE the manufacturer's warranty.
Geek Squad then proceeded to pass me off through multiple departments, and multiple automated menu options, until I got through to one woman, who said a special allowance would have to be made by her manager to enact the protection and get someone out to my house to look at the tv. Sounded good at first, but then I was put on hold for, no word of a lie, 45 minutes, at which point I just hung up.
They passed me off into the netherrealm without any intention of addressing my issue. Basically put me out to pasture UNTIL I hung up.
I realize now Best Buy has no problem with selling open box/returned stuff without checking it out to see what the problem is, because they'll just sling it back on the shelf, and sell it to someone else and push the Geek Squad Protection on them, which actually does nothing to ensure the product they bought works. So they make money either way.
DON'T BUY THE GEEK SQUAD PROTECTION. It's a cash grab and a rip-off, and based on my experience, they'll do anything in their power to avoid actually having to come out to your place to fix your product. read more
