var json_comments = new Array("

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tbax929

December 16, 2009 10:25 AM

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\"Sure, I don't know anything. I just work for Geek Squad.\" I couldn't have said it better myself!

5 replies

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 3:29 PM

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To be honest though, they aren't completely wrong, an OS \"can\" kill hardware. It's just really, really rare. There was an instance a year or so back where Ubuntu was killing internal Intel network cards. I seriously doubt any of them knew that though.

Though, I do agree that using the fact that you work at Geek Squad to support your claims at technological know how is pretty sad...

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 10:40 AM

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I actually laughed out loud when I read that. The Geek Squad is the last place anyone should take a broken computer.

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December 16, 2009 10:37 AM

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Winner winner chicken dinner.

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December 16, 2009 10:28 AM

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Winner winner chicken dinner.

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December 16, 2009 10:40 AM

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Damn double posting taking all the clever out of my comments. Argh.

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December 16, 2009 2:14 PM

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It's still clever. In fact now it's doubly so!

","","

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duskglow

December 16, 2009 10:30 AM

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My worst experience at best buy was when two female salespeople were standing there fighting about who was going to have to help me. Meanwhile a male one walked up and he got the sale. I won't go back to that store (Tustin Marketplace). I go to the one at the District now.

But other than that, I've only had good experiences at Best Buy. Sometimes they're not all that knowledgeable, but that's kind of rare in my experience.

7 replies

$\"user-pic\"$

December 17, 2009 12:30 AM

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the district is no better. i was just there maybe two weeks ago with my friend who was buying a PS3 slim. that girl at the checkout would NOT stop hassling us after we said no plenty of times to the best buy warranty. awful.

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December 16, 2009 2:39 PM

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I don't recall ever having an issue at Tustin Market place, but I really enjoyed the District store when they opened it Heck the District was awesome when it opened. .

your post makes me miss my old OC haunts

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December 16, 2009 2:16 PM

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Why does the sex of the workers matter?

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duskglow

December 16, 2009 3:20 PM

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Because as much as it may be irrational, having two females fighting over who doesn't help me reminds me of those old high school dances where girls were fighting over who didn't have to dance with me.

It's purely personal and shouldn't really have any bearing on anything, but frankly, it does. And there *is* a lesson there, actually. If you treat a customer poorly, it's *not* purely a professional thing, it is a personal thing, and can be (and sometimes even should be) taken personally by the customer. Treat them like valued people and they will earn your loyalty - but the opposite is also true - and maybe even for reasons you don't know or understand.

Off my soapbox now.

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December 16, 2009 3:23 PM

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So girls in high school didn't like you so any women that don't like you as an adult are exactly the same as immature high school girls? That's probably a bad mental association to have there buddy.

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duskglow

December 16, 2009 3:27 PM

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Probably. But I'm in Orange County, so not entirely unwarranted.

But, whatever. Bad mental association or not, it *was* the association that was there.

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December 16, 2009 10:33 AM

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Why would they fight if they get no commission?

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duskglow

December 16, 2009 10:50 AM

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tbiscuit: You seem to misunderstand - they were fighting over who DIDN'T get to help me.

I asked one of the ladies \"want to sell me a netbook?\" Another was walking by, she said \"just a minute\" in almost a frantic way and called her over, and they stood there for a couple of minutes arguing over who was going to help me - neither wanted to. Finally a guy came over while they were going on and I told him \"well, while they're over there arguing about who doesn't get to help me, want to sell me a netbook?\"

I don't really know why, but I thought it was tremendously unprofessional and put in a complaint to corporate - a rather rare thing for me, actually.

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friday3

December 16, 2009 2:05 PM

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Exactly! Best Buy does not pay their people on a commission basis. Their thought is to stop high pressure or bad sales practices that many other appliance/electronic stores did before they came around. The flip side is, if it is 5 minutes before my shift ends, and you look like a PITA customer that might take 30 minutes or more, I would consider avoiding that customer. Being a commissioned sales person would run to get more sales.

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December 16, 2009 2:29 PM

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You get paid to do your job, friday3. That means you help those pain-in-the-ass customers just like you would anyone else, and that you do it even if you only have five minutes left on the clock.

It's not something that's up for consideration either. It's your job to take care of your customers one and all, so do it. Complain about them afterwards if you must, but take care of them while you're on the clock.

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cjnewbs

December 17, 2009 12:44 PM

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You don't seem to understand what friday3 is getting at. If your shift ends in five mins, and a customer takes 30 mins, then thats 25 mins you wont be getting paid for. You can tell how long some people are going to take by just looking at them. Would you want to stay for 25 mins extra not getting paid?

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January 5, 2010 11:52 AM

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Actually best buy you clock in and out. so YES you would get paid for it... then written up. My stint of insanity working there was .. you DO NOT help a customer if not on the clock, tell them let me clock in and ill be glad to help but never start and not clock in. Something bout Best Buy had been sued around 2000 for failure to pay hourly emps within the guidelines of the law

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duskglow

December 17, 2009 2:53 PM

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At that point, as a customer, I would understand if it were *explained to me*.

\"I'm sorry, I'm about to go off shift, but I'll find someone to help you, please wait a minute or two.\"

Not \"hang on\" *runs off to coworker* *argues heatedly with coworker*.

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December 16, 2009 10:41 AM

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From the tone of duskglow's comment, it sounds like neither one of them wanted to have to actually \"work\", so they were fighting over who would have to go over there and deal with a customer.

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 4:51 PM

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I run into this all the time. Everyone acts like they're entitled to things but have no intention of actually putting forth an effort to get them. The McDonalds down the street hires at $9/hr, but they're always hiring because no one wants to do any actual work. Shit, I started in fast food at $4.30/hr and kept that job halfway through college. I didn't make more than $10/hr until 2 years after graduating from college. I have friends that still don't. If I would have stayed a zookeeper I still wouldn't ten years later.

And get off my lawn!

","

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AlexTNOA

December 16, 2009 10:31 AM

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You redacted the first instance of the Best Buy location, but not the one near the end of the story...

5 replies

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coren

December 16, 2009 1:28 PM

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What was the location, out of curiosity

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Scatter

December 16, 2009 11:41 AM

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What's wrong with posting the location of the offending store?

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December 16, 2009 4:59 PM

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Exactly, it isn't helpful to customers to not know where \"problem\" stores are located. Or perhaps, where the stores with \"problem\" employees are located.

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December 16, 2009 11:09 AM

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I was going to say Consumerist is about as good at redacting as the TSA, but you beat me to it.

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lotussix

December 16, 2009 10:50 AM

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i noticed this as well. but my comments are acting weird.

","

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MsFab

December 16, 2009 10:32 AM

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The BB manager's behavior his horrible. I refuse to buy anything from them.

But question for the OP: why didn't you just buy a netbook that was already running Linux? I know when I bought my Eee-pc I had the choice of a Linux version or a Windows XP version. Are they not selling the LInux ones anymore? (I got mine last year).

2 replies

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lemur

December 16, 2009 12:05 PM

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Sometimes they don't have Linux preinstalled on the model you'd like to buy.

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December 16, 2009 11:44 AM

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No, it seems they only carry Windows Netbooks for now.

","

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ubermex

December 16, 2009 10:32 AM

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I've never seen a warranty with the \"we can refuse\" business at the end. If it says in the warranty that they don't have to honor the warranty, then it is not actually a warranty at all.

5 replies

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squirrel

December 16, 2009 12:21 PM

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He purchased an $80 \"warrantee.\" This isn't really a warrantee, it's a service contract. There's a very big difference between them.

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MrEvil

December 17, 2009 3:35 PM

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Actually, according to the Magnusson-Moss Warranty act anybody that offers a warranty for a consumer product, be it a car, refrigerator, or computer, is covered by the terms of that federal law. Even those \"we reserve the right to refuse service\" clauses don't cover their ass from this law. If they choose to refuse service they have to offer a refund of the product's purchase price and pro-rata refund of the warranty.

Also Best Buy's no lemon policy in their service plans isn't offered out of their good nature. It's part of the Magnusson-Moss warranty act that the warrantor either refunds the purchase or replaces the product after a reasonable number of repairs have been completed.

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December 16, 2009 12:16 PM

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This seems to be common on all store warranties these days, which is why I avoid them like the plague because they can and will use this clause. Retail stores also have a clause usually on the wall or something that says they can refuse service to anyone, so if your seen as a problem customer that is costing them money, they can refuse service to you.

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December 16, 2009 6:26 PM

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Yep Staples has that same line. stating they have the right to refuse any return for any reason. Which gives some of my managers that option to just be lazy every now and then

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December 16, 2009 5:02 PM

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You AND your laundry.

","

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tbax929

December 16, 2009 10:33 AM

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I don't understand why Best Buy is requiring him to do all of this at another store instead of forcing the store that's most convenient to the OP to do the right thing. If they agree that he was mistreated and the warranty is not voided, then why can't he go to the original store with which he dealt?

6 replies

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PsiCop

December 16, 2009 11:00 AM

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You have a point ... however ... if it were your computer, would you want to leave it in the hands of people who've already treated you badly and (presumably) have been directed by higher-ups to help you even though they'd initially resisted doing so?

I'm not sure I'd take a chance on them.

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 7:08 PM

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Not just treated badly, but by their own comments are obviously incompetent.

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tbax929

December 16, 2009 11:31 AM

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I would agree, but the OP is indicating that he can't take his netbook back there, as if they won't allow him to do so. Maybe I'm reading that wrong.

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coren

December 16, 2009 1:30 PM

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No you read it right, but I think corporate might be thinking along those same lines - don't want to make a bad situation worse by involving that store further.

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Tiaris

December 16, 2009 10:42 AM

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I imagine they're afraid of the same thing I would be: That the GS at the original store would take retribution out on his poor little computer and break it further. A sad statement, to be sure, but a valid fear.

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SaraFimm

December 16, 2009 10:58 PM

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The original store personnel could also look up everything on his computer and copy it. They could also \"find\" something that \"looks\" illegal and call the police on him. They could really screw him up one way and down the other when it comes to computers and what a tech savvy person can do. Of course, not sure BB's Geek Squad really qualifies as tech savvy...

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tbax929

December 16, 2009 11:44 AM

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Again, the fact that the OP is describing how much of a hassle it is for him to have to do this at a different location makes it seem to me like he wasn't given a choice, not that he doesn't feel he has a choice.

","

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 10:33 AM

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Thankfully no. At this point I'd send an EECB, along with a copy of the story to the local news outlets. I'd kind of like to know where this took place, as certain places in the country are almost notorious for having horrible customer service amongst electronic retailers. Cough*NY/Brooklyn*Cough). I'd politely demand a full refund for at least the service plan, and if you didn't want to contact the netbook manufacturer about the hardware problem, I'd probably ask for a refund for it as well.

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MsFab

December 16, 2009 10:35 AM

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The BB manager's behavior his horrible. I refuse to buy anything from them.

But question for the OP: why didn't you just buy a netbook that was already running Linux? I know when I bought my Eee-pc I had the choice of a Linux version or a Windows XP version. Are they not selling the LInux ones anymore? (I got mine last year).

1 replies

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 2:40 PM

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I think a lot of the big box stores stick with the Windows version only because it's familiar to most consumers. I know the Asus models at Target tended to be Windows only, I think I saw a shelf tag for the linux one, but I don't remember seeing them in stock.

","

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AlexTNOA

December 16, 2009 10:36 AM

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You redacted the first instance of the Best Buy location, but not the one near the end of the story...

1 replies

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zacox

December 16, 2009 11:00 AM

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Best Buy Store 537
100 Cambridgeside Pl
Cambridge, MA 02141
Phone: 617-577-8866

So there's this site called mailpoop.com. For the low, low price of 9.99, one can actually mail dog sh!t to anybody in the United States. Hrm.....

","

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gavni

December 16, 2009 10:36 AM

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Massachusetts has very good consumer protection laws. Write up a 93A letter to the store, mail it to them (google for the form, and KEEP IT SIMPLE AND FACTUAL, ONE PAGE SHOULD DO).

They'll probably respond; if they don't, when you do go to small claims court you're entitled to triple damages and attorneys fees.

","","

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MsFab

December 16, 2009 10:38 AM

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The BB manager's behavior his horrible. I refuse to buy anything from them.

But question for the OP: why didn't you just buy a netbook that was already running Linux? I know when I bought my Eee-pc I had the choice of a Linux version or a Windows XP version. Are they not selling the LInux ones anymore? (I got mine last year).

1 replies

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 11:21 AM

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Because he can just load Linux onto the hardware that he wants rather than being limited to the netbooks where it's preloaded.

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ARPRINCE

December 16, 2009 10:40 AM

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They do have a point there. You technically modified the unit by installing a different OS thereby voiding your warranty. So even if you restored the original OS, they would point out (which they did) that the warranty is already voided with your previous action. You should have brought it to another BB store with the restored OS for repair.

13 replies

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 5:19 PM

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The big problem with their argument is that the issues couldn't have been caused by a different operating system. Okay, I'll grant an extreme point for the touchpad as a driver issue would cause it not to work.

A power adapter however is strict hardware. That's something a basic tech should have known. This Geek Squad was giving the customer flack just for the sake of giving him flack.

Sure they have the ability to void their contract if they so choose, but it's not a great decision for them to make and serves to make them and their company look like complete jackasses.

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DH405

December 16, 2009 4:01 PM

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Wow, you're just here to troll, aren't you?

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Starrion

December 16, 2009 11:57 AM

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Once the restore disk was run the unit is back to an out-of-box condition minus any changes to the BIOS. If Geek Squad thought that linux might be responsible for the hardware failure (plausible if driver driven like pointers, USB ports, or video But abjectly foolish for a power supply issue) then they could have run the restore.

This is an excellent example of \"I'm smarter than you\" arrogance from people who are in the wrong.

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AI

December 16, 2009 11:49 AM

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An operating system is software, and software of any kind (except stuff that flashes firmware) is absolutely incapable of damaging hardware in any way. If Geek Squad is going to claim that installing Linux voids a hardware warranty, they can just as easily claim that installing Skype or Firefox voids your hardware warranty, which we all know is absolute bullshit.

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endless

December 17, 2009 2:08 AM

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learn something about PCs before you post.

http://www.breakitdownblog.com/ubuntu-power-saver-settings-could-damage-hard-drive/

i will admit its a LONG shot type issue and i think it was only in beta, but OSes do have the ability to affect hardware.

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ARPRINCE

December 16, 2009 12:35 PM

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Your argument is a little bit screwy once you added firefox, skype or any other program for that matter. The OP bought a NB with WINDOWS OS. He was returning it for repairs with a LINUX OS. See the difference there? Try getting warranty support from DELL or HP and stating that you changed your OS of your NB and his having hardware issues. Most likely, you're scrw@ed too. So we are not talking about software that runs on the OS here.

BB sited a technicality in the warranty clause stating that it was an unauthorized modification on the unit voiding his warranty no matter if the modification he did had no impact on the hardware issues he was having.

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December 18, 2009 2:43 PM

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I have, on several occasions, called Dell about problems with my systems running Ubuntu and Redhat linux. None of those were pre-installed, I either got the system with windows, or for my servers, \"No operating system installed\"

Dell was fine with that, as long as i could show it was a hardware problem. (and for servers, they have staff that support Redhat). I basically took an identical part out of another machine, and it worked, showing it was hardware problems. Of course, that was Dell's Business tech support, which is way better than consumer support. I can even understand them.

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 6:46 PM

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Actually that isn't what it says. It says \"this warranty does not cover damage due to spyware, viruses and ... unauthorized modifications.\" Does not cover damage from modifications, not that modifications void the entire warranty. In this case it seems obvious the modifications did not cause the damage.

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HunterZ

December 16, 2009 3:48 PM

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Dell won't give a rat's behind what OS is on a laptop with a hardware issue, since they have you take the hard drive out before shipping the laptop to them for repairs.

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SacraBos

December 16, 2009 3:14 PM

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I don't see the difference. You see, if you brought it in with a hardware problem and there was NO O/S, the hardware would still be broken.

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AI

December 16, 2009 1:11 PM

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A warranty covers hardware, software is specifically not covered, so what software is running should make no difference. I understand they can't troubleshoot properly in Linux, but once Windows was reinstalled, they should have done their job and warrantied the hardware. If the system has to be running WINDOWS OS, then do they not have to honour the warranty if the hard drive crashes, because then it would be running nothing? Plus, they said Linux was unauthorized software. What exactly is authorized software????? I sincerely doubt that Best Buy maintains a list of authorized software, so that argument is invalid. They might as well have said that your iPod can not be warrantied because country music is not authorized.

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ARPRINCE

December 16, 2009 2:06 PM

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The warranty of the OP covers the UNIT not only HARDWARE and and pre installed SOIFTWARE. If the system does not boot up because the OS was corrupt, so you're stuck with it with no recourse? The point I'm trying to put across is BB will find any technicality to scr@w you up and changing an OS \"technically\" constitute an unauthorized modification no matter how you want to twist it.

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AI

December 16, 2009 2:24 PM

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If your OS won't boot up, but your own logic, that person wouldn't be running WINDOWS OS anymore so Best Buy shouldn't warranty them. By your logic of course. By actual logic, Best Buy would just reinstall WINDOWS OS, and then troubleshoot/warranty from there. Once the OP reinstalled WINDOWS OS, Geek Squad should have no choice but to warranty the system, as there was no 'unauthorized' software on it. Seriously, you could do a forensic analysis on the hard drive once WINDOWS OS was reinstalled, and there would be no traces of Linux, so WHY THEN IS BEST BUY NOT HONOURING THE WARRANTY?? Are you under the impression that software changes are permanent? Sorry, I can't see why you think Best Buy should be able to void a warranty permanently for a temporary and easily reversible software change that has nothing to do with the hardware issue.

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Rena

December 16, 2009 7:25 PM

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Their reasoning is that software could *somehow* have permanently damaged the hardware. They probably know this is utter BS, but that's the excuse they're using.

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December 16, 2009 1:10 PM

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Your lack of computer acumen is telling. Operating systems are merely software which handles other software. The only thing close to hardware would be that BIOS issue that would turn off fans and fry your MB. That hasn't been an issue for years.

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ARPRINCE

December 16, 2009 2:10 PM

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Don't put words into my mounth. I would just stick to scuba if I were you! ;)

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December 16, 2009 12:20 PM

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Actually, I'd beg to differ. Not too long ago there was an issue with an Intel ethernet driver that was part of the Linux kernel. The driver ended up corrupting the firmware in the ethernet card, rendering it useless. It's since been fixed but the point is that it was software (not a firmware upgrade) that damaged the hardware.

That said, I still think it's crap that the BB manager can hide behind the \"unauthorized modification\" clause.

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gavni

December 16, 2009 10:50 AM

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Hardly. Installing an operating system is not a significant modification of the computer. They can't simply point to an irrelevant operating system change to claim the hardware failure need not be addressed; to void a warranty they need to point to a material alteration.

And besides, who cares what Best Buy wrote on their warranty: the warranty of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose almost certainly attaches, and if the hardware is as flakey as the OP says, then those warranties, which Best Buy CANNOT disclaim, require them to repair the darn computer (or pay him triple!).

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 11:49 AM

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The warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are implied (default) warranties. It is usually easier and more effective to argue rights arising from the express warranties - Manufacturer's warranty and Geek Squad's Black Tie. The manufacturer would very likely have repaired or replaced the unit under warranty.

Since Black Tie does not effectively kick in until after the manufacturer's warranty expires (with the exception of physical damage) then the OP would be best off pursuing his claim against the manufacturer first - as his Black Tie protection will remain untouched.

I don't understand why the OP didn't appeal again to the store manager. The store manager had already said that he would help him if he reinstalled Windows.

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RPHP

December 16, 2009 11:12 AM

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I am not sure how the warranty of merchantability fits in here. Warranty of merchantability ads a term to all contracts where goods are to be fit for the purpose they are ordinarily used. It seems that when bought the netbook to be fit for the purpose it is originally used for. Only 4 months later was there a hardware problem. I never was under the impression that the warranty of merchantability extended for such a long time after purchase. The same logic would follow for the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.

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gavni

December 16, 2009 1:56 PM

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Fitness and merchantability include an ordinary amount of durability.

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sp00nix

December 16, 2009 10:49 AM

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In that case installing Office or FireFox modifies the unit beyond what it was out of the box. Software is ones and zeros. Hardware is nuts and bolts.

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 11:24 AM

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To be fair, a virus is ones and zeros as well.

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AI

December 16, 2009 11:51 AM

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A virus can't void a hardware warranty, as you can always reformat the hard drive (or remove the hard drive) and completely get rid of the virus.

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Bob Lu

December 16, 2009 11:46 AM

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and a virus is a software

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December 16, 2009 11:11 AM

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unless you modify the firmware... then you're messing with the nuts and bolts...

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$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 10:40 AM

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After all these stories -- why do people still buy computers from Best Buy and deal with the Geek Squad?

Yes, we can all say that Best Buy should be abiding by their own rules...but we all know they don't... they continue not to, and probably never will. Thus it begs the question, why buy \"high end\" electronics from them given their continuing shoddy customer service issues?

2 replies

$\"user-pic\"$

December 17, 2009 10:38 AM

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People say this all the time, and I think I have an answer. Best Buy is pretty much the only place you can go and handle X computer in person, see if you can tolerate its keyboard, trackpad, etc. I just bought a new laptop from them and did so because A) it was the only place that sold said laptop, especially at said price, and B) If I had bought my #2 or #3 choice online without using them first i would have instantly returned them due to ergonomics issues (looking at you sony and HP) with either the trackpad or keyboard. I won't take a chance with a laptop I can't try first because I'm fairly picky about the feel of those 2 things.

On that note, why do all of the major OEMs make crappy track-pads or keyboards? with the exception of Gateway and Dell, it seems like every manufacturer uses a terrible feeling track-pad. I'm also not a fan of the use of high gloss plastic, since all it does is show fingerprints, yet every new electronics purchase I've made in the last 18 months has been glossy black plastic and that was really my only option.

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tbax929

December 16, 2009 11:35 AM

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I don't think this was a high-end purchase for the OP. I think he went there because he found a good deal on the netbook he wanted. Whether or not he should do business with him, they gave him shitty service.

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$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 10:46 AM

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Are the comments acting weird today?

Are the comments acting weird today?

2 replies

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aka_mich

December 16, 2009 10:56 AM

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Ya, seems like there are loading issues.

$\"user-pic\"$

December 16, 2009 12:05 PM

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It's been a problem for days. Comments take forever to submit. Even some stories have disappeared.

","

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December 16, 2009 10:47 AM

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you know those extended warranties arent so bad, i bought a $250 car stereo 8 years ago and 30bux for the warranty when they first started. 6 months later it broke and they let me swap it out no questions asked. 1 year later i stuck a cd with coke on it into the stereo didnt break it but gummed up the gears, they repaired it. a year later they swapped it out after it started over heating and cutting out. had to buy the warranty again. 2years later it stopped taking in discs. finally my car got broken into and stereo stolen. that was about a year ago all the times it broke was due to my abuse of the stereo and everytime i upgraded and got more features.

2 replies

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isodon

December 19, 2009 12:43 AM

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and you all wonder why best buy is slow to replace things under warranty? it's because of dumb asses like this that abuse it.

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December 16, 2009 1:20 PM

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Perhaps you should use another surface to cut your coke? I usually use a mirror, but to each his own

LOL

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OmniZero

December 16, 2009 10:48 AM

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Why do awful, unwavering, and unkind human beings still exist? How do we remove all jerks from the planet?

3 replies

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MyTQuinn

December 16, 2009 5:29 PM

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The first step is to identify them. We're doing that by tagging them with manager's badges from selected retail outlets. Step 2 hasn't been finalized yet.

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dwasifar

December 16, 2009 12:40 PM

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Considering that we're all jerks at some point or in some way, that would require extinction of the species. I'm pretty sure we're in the process of doing that.

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OmniZero

December 16, 2009 1:27 PM

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This is a very true statement indeed.

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December 16, 2009 10:48 AM

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Real IT people don't work at Geek Squad, we don't want that stain on our resumes, or our name assoicated with wanna-be IT people.

1 replies

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endless

December 17, 2009 2:09 AM

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Real IT people should avoid broad generalizations.

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cheviot

December 16, 2009 11:08 AM

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Firstly, no, installing an alternate OS does not void the warranty, the manufacturer simply won't support the alternate OS. Don't believe me? Call the manufacturer.

My guess? This is an Acer or MSI netbook right? See, neither of those companies reimburse the service center for sending the laptop out for repairs, nor will they allow the store to order in parts. They get nothing out of helping you but a lot of work for no money. So they refuse to help you with a trumped up excuse.

Go over this losers head to their corporate offices. Make sure they know their manager won't honor a hardware warranty because he didn't like the installed software. I bet they fix this so fast the Geek Squad manager's head will spin.

2 replies

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mizmoose

December 16, 2009 7:02 PM

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AHA. I have an acer (laptop, not netbook) I bought at a Costco. Costco automagically gives you a 2 yr extended warranty on computers (and probably other electronics).

When talking to their customer service about something else they happened to inform me that putting *any other operating system* on the box voided the extended warranty. I had mentioned that i wanted to downgrade the machine to Windows XP. It came with Vista.

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amuro98

December 16, 2009 12:40 PM

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Going to the district or even corporate level won't help much. At best, Best Buy will send a \"Customer Experience Expert\" to the store to observe, confirm the problems and write a report. Unfortunately this person is also powerless to actually DO anything to help the customers.

My wife and I had a horrible experience at a Best Buy trying to buy a laptop. We ended up driving to an distant Best Buy to try and buy the laptop, only to deal with an incredibly rude sales girl and a equally apathetic store manager. Worse, the manager told us that he had gotten many complaints about this sales girl's behavior before, but obviously refused to get rid of her.

The manager couldn't do anything for us. On our way out, a lady approached us and introduced her self as being part of this program at Best Buy to improve customer experience at stores that had been receiving complaints. We told her our story and she told us our problem was far from unique, which was why she was on the premises - but she was also unable to do anything for us. At this point, all I was looking for was a $5 gift card or SOMETHING to show that Best Buy was sorry about wasting 2 hours of our time, plus the gas we'd wasted.

She was unable to do anything but said she would take my suggestions back to the corporate office. Finally, I asked her, why should we ever shop at Best Buy again, given that we had so many other stores selling laptops (including Circuit City at the time) ? All she could do was smile and shrug.

We bought the laptop from Frys later that day.

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jsl4980

December 16, 2009 11:08 AM

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I had Best Buy install a radio in my car and they did a good job, but the kid sat on my center console and broke the latch. I demanded that the installer department manager put in writing that they would cover any and all costs to fix it if the super glue they offered me did not permanently fix the damage (it didn't). He wouldn't budge until I took the argument out into the busiest part of the store I could find and he quickly put in writing that they would pay for all my damages.

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December 16, 2009 11:14 AM

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Every Geek squad employee is dumb as a rock. Thats like asking the stereo install guy at best buy \"why did you cut my wires in my car when they make an adapter\". They are not trained, and they like finding the stupidest people.

I feel for you man, linux does not cause hardware problems. but maybe best buy does. if it was me I might have just clocked the guy.

4 replies

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ctyankee

December 16, 2009 12:14 PM

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I have often wondered if they hire the computer geeks from high school who don't go on to college or trade school

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Kryndar

December 16, 2009 3:33 PM

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If they do they are getting the wrong high school comp geeks. Out of high school I knew more than these guys, errr the ones in the article that is, seem to. I'm also in the middle of the computer geek spectrum at best.

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December 16, 2009 11:59 AM

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I actually take offense to that, atom. I used to work at Geek Squad (USED TO being the key term here), but left after seeing what started as a good brand get destroyed by the greed of the STORE Management at various locations throughout the country. And before you make a laughable remark about me moving on to flipping burgers or something of that sort, NO, I now work in IT at a Aeronautical company, and I did get a lot of great experience in the field at a Geek Squad agent many years ago.

Are there some people in Geek Squad that would be better suited just selling CDs and DVDs? Yes, but not all of them are bad. I've known some extremely intelligent and honest people who did work for Geek Squad. What you have in this instance is sadly a group of Geek Squad employees who were either not trained correctly, or not trained at all. OP, make sure to forward your issues to Robert Stevens (Founder of GS), to see if you can have this store investigated. They obviously aren't doing business correctly (Customer Dis-service and Management Greed over Customer Service and Customer Needs). Hope everything ends up right for you in the end.

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tbax929

December 16, 2009 12:04 PM

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I agree. That's a sweeping generalization. There may be some really bright folks there who just can't find jobs doing IT anywhere else right now.

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December 16, 2009 11:16 AM

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http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Best-Buy-and-Geek-Squad-Policies/Ive-got-a-question/td-p/18803/highlight/true/page/2;jsessionid=BB53A7A60F23E3314AE2F44D4A42BD48

The above link to the bestbuy forums includes a response from a geek squad moderator that answers your question.

A snippet: \"Switching Operating Systems (OS) may not innately void under the service plan as software issues are not covered. It simply means that we can opt to refuse service until the original OS is reinstalled\" \"This service issue is not about supporting Linux but rather about ensuring the unit works according to manufacturer original standards and eliminating non-native software/OS as the cause of the issue.\"

2 replies

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December 16, 2009 11:18 AM

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So, it looks like the manager was correct to require you to restore the machine to it's original OS. At that point though he should have had his lackeys troubleshoot the still non-functional power adapter and touchpad.

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January 5, 2010 11:54 AM

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agreed. if a restore did not fix the issue then it should have been taken from there by the \"techs\"

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December 16, 2009 11:16 AM

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This is going to sound completely against everything I read on this site, but the Best Buy here is actually OK. I have a friend from high school that works in the computer sales department and he will actually help out everyone as much as possible. That can't be said for everyone else in the store though. I have had to talk to other employees about products and they sound like they know absolutely nothing.

The Geek Squad is still a big joke. It is ran under corporate mandates to try and sale useless software or software you can get for free instead of actually being there to try and fix someone's problems as quick, cheap, and effective as possible.

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December 16, 2009 11:18 AM

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\"..., saying 'Sure, I don't know anything, I just work for Geek Squad!'\"

QED.

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December 16, 2009 11:23 AM

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This is when it feels right to stand on public property outside the store with a sign loudly proclaiming \"BEST BUY RIPPED ME OFF and HELPED!!\" or something akin. I can't stand low-end managers with delusions of greatness.

2 replies

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December 16, 2009 11:29 AM

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Grrr I meant \"BEST BUY RIPPED ME OFF AND MANAGER NAME HELPED!!\". First posting ate the formatting.

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dwasifar

December 16, 2009 12:45 PM

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LOL, this made me think of the old Shake 'n Bake commercial with the little girl: \"...and ah hayulped.\"

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Goatweed

December 16, 2009 11:27 AM

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No offense to the victim of BB stupidity, but if he was well aware of the poor service he would probably receive, he really should have avoided the store and shopped elsewhere. To me, BB is a good place to get a game or some DVDs or whatever - if you're buying something major, be prepared to deal with nonsense if there are technical issues.Their prices aren't even that great, most times...

1 replies

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krownd

December 16, 2009 5:18 PM

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I agree 100% and i have no idea why people still buy computers from them even though you know something bad like this (and the 100 other BB horror stories on this site) will happen

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TheHat

December 16, 2009 11:34 AM

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I seem to be the only one who has had a good experience with a extended warranty. I bought a HP laptop from Circuit City 3 years ago. It broke twice during that time.They fixed it without question. I had the warranty that covered even dropping and spills because I have 2 young children.

Now OTOH the warranty I bought a Frys for another laptop was not honored. When it broke Frys first agreed to fix it then decided a day later that I had done something to it and they would not fix it. I contacted the Corporate Office and was basically told to go pound sand. I talked it over with a friend who is an attorney and we decided it was not worth my time to pursue it due to the age and price of the laptop.

Frys lost a customer for life with that one.

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December 16, 2009 11:34 AM

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Stick to your guns and do an EECB with Best Buy and rub the managers nose in it. They are treating you unfairly. Don't give up. You've done an excellent job keeping it professional up to this point. Stay at them.

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Scatter

December 16, 2009 11:39 AM

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I can't excuse their acting like idiots to you but having a little experience in extended warranties I know that they generally do not cover failures while the unit is still under the manufacturer's warranty. you mentioned that your netbook was only four months old. Extended warranty companies can offer phone support and troubleshooting under the first year but once a hardware failure is determined you generally need to go through the manufacturer for repair unless Best Buy is also an authorized service provider for that brand product. And even if they were I probably would have taken that route one Best Buy started asking like idiots.

1 replies

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December 16, 2009 11:58 AM

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You're correct that that is the policy that many retailers fall back on but considering that he purchased a separate co-running warranty from Best Buy, I doubt that they have a legal leg to stand on for turning him away. They are required to repair or replace the unit and they failed to do so.

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December 16, 2009 11:57 AM

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I actually like this. Now when someone at Best Buy asks me if I want to get the extended warranty, I can say, \"Nope.\" \"Why not?\" \"Because the last page of the warranty says you can refuse to service my item for any reason, and I'm sure you'll think of one.\"

1 replies

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December 16, 2009 5:10 PM

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You sir/madam are a genius. I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

I can't wait until I have an opportunity to say this and watch their little heads explode.

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December 16, 2009 12:10 PM

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Just curious: Why was the store location redacted? When it comes to bad customer service, NAME THEM and SHAME THEM!

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TandJ

December 16, 2009 12:13 PM

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Everytime I see a Best Buy story; it reminds me of why I will not shop there.

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December 16, 2009 12:20 PM

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The best buy side should have been simple. Tell the customer to restore windows and bring it back with the hardware problems existing under windows. Or take the laptop, tell the consumer that step one will be to restore windows and that if linux was the cause, you will be charged for the restoration. If linux was not the cause, then it will be serviced under warranty.

Granted it is within their right to force the customer to restore windows on their own. Since restoring windows does take up a workers time that shouldn't be necessary.

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bruin14

December 16, 2009 12:32 PM

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I once had a Best Buy employee tell me that a Plasma TV hummed because I had a cheap surge suppressor. I asked him the explain the mechanics of this and when he hemed and hawed I explained to him how a surge suppressor works and again asked him about his theory ... silence

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HogwartsProfessor

December 16, 2009 12:43 PM

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I hate going there. My laptop power supply crapped out on me and I went to Walmart to get a universal one and guess what? They were out. None of the Walmarts had one (it was some kind of supply issue) and the only other choice, now that CC is gone and at that hour of the evening, was BB.

I did get 10% off because 1) they didn't have the cheap one in stock and I had to pay more and wasn't happy about it, and 2) I was so upset I cried and the salesman felt sorry for me. Heh.

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muad_dib

December 16, 2009 1:02 PM

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I'm a career IT pro, and we used to have a helpdesk guys who would answer phones...we fired him because he was completely inept.

Know where he ended up getting a job? Geek Squad.

1 replies

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pittstonjoma

December 16, 2009 1:17 PM

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That's great. More reason to avoid the geek squad! lol

I suppose I should be glad that Best Buy never had any interest in me when I applied for the Geek Squad. I can't imagine working with people like this.

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pittstonjoma

December 16, 2009 1:14 PM

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As someone who has used Ubuntu in the past, I find it idiotic that the Geek Squad would for a moment think Ubuntu would damage hardware. The computer I have with Ubuntu still runs just fine, but it is very outdated and old.

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coren

December 16, 2009 1:27 PM

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Hey, I don't know why the location got redacted, but I don't think this location of Best Buy deserves any sort of protection or privacy for this one. Where is it?

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December 16, 2009 1:46 PM

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I had this same kind of thing happen to me with my iPod. I had issues with the hard drive clicking and crashing inside my video iPod so I took it in to be fixed and they ordered me a refurbished unit. The refurbished unit had the face buffed down so much that if i applied even light pressure to the screen, the LCD would get smashed. So I showed this to the Geek Squad manager and he told me that it was normal. So I told him lets go look at the iPods you have on display and show me that its normal. He started accusing me of damaging the iPod even though I had just literally opened the box and showed him. He refused to fix my iPod and sent out a letter to the entire store not to help me ever. In this email he wrote that I physically damaged the iPod in front of him (pressing on the screen) and I was trying to scam them. I went the same iPod to a Best Buy close by and told them what happened and showed them the issue. They let me switch out the iPod for a iPod Touch. I have never set foot at the 1st Best Buy again.

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haoshufu

December 16, 2009 1:58 PM

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The OP asked for this himself. He had read about the terrible things at BB and yet decided to pay them the extra money for the non-protection.

I bet you the manager would tell him any freeware anyone installs on the comptuer would void the warranty. The clause about spyware, virus, etc. voiding the warranty is also a red light. Imagine you just got a trojan and they void your warranty permanantly even you do a factory restore with the recovery CDs?

1 replies

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December 16, 2009 2:39 PM

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You folks are reaching way too far to blame the OP these days. Who is to say that he didn't read those stories in the four months after buying his laptop?

Instead of blaming him for shopping there, why don't we turn our focus to the fact that Best Buy is a piece of shit business, and use the energy we'd spend being dicks to come up with some way of pressuring them into fixing their many faults?

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ryanmol2

December 16, 2009 2:16 PM

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LOL those g33k squad ppl are n00bs!!!

But really, Ubuntu could never cause these problems. Just because they have no experience fixing anything other than Windows and Mac doesn't mean that it can void the warranty. There is nothing expressly written about that!!
What idiots. Seriously, if they knew ANYTHING they would know Ubuntu would not cause ANY of those problems.

1 replies

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krownd

December 16, 2009 5:27 PM

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\"Just because they have no experience fixing anything other than Windows and Mac..\"

Dude, i doubt they can even fix these two!

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cosby

December 16, 2009 2:19 PM

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I would ask best buy to mail you a shipping box directly with a return label saying that you don't want to deal with that store again. Better yet if the netbook is under gateways warranty ask for a refund of the entire warranty cost and send it to them yourself for warranty work.

From my past experience as a notebook tech(not with best buy) tamping with the default windows install(be it upgrading it to the business version of the os or loading linux, bsd, etc) would mean that the first step a vendor would do is wipe the os and restore it back to factory settings to verify the function of the system. In the case of loading linux they might also do it because they run software test tools off a usb stick that run under windows(hp used burnin pro for instance).

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Overheal

December 16, 2009 2:20 PM

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I've never had any experience with Best Buy techies, because I found Consumerist First.

And why do you redact location names? Name and Shame! This could be in my hometown! I wish to know!

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December 16, 2009 2:55 PM

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When I worked for the Geek Squad (6 years ago, before it went from a service-center to a rip-people-off up-selling center), we would use Linux live CDs to diagnose malfunctioning hardware components.
Example: Laptop trackpad doesn't function under Windows after reinstalling the driver, but works under Knoppix? REIMAGE IT! (they still do this, but now use the chance to sell some $180 data migration bullshit instead of actually investigating and resolving the issue)

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December 16, 2009 3:08 PM

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Best Buy is dead to me, as is Walmart. These companies really need to learn how to treat customers and stop their douchbaggery.

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December 16, 2009 3:23 PM

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I'm not at all surprised. The lesson here, is not to buy anything from Best Buy and not to trust Geek Squad any farther than you can throw it.

They're just looking for reasons to void the warranty.

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Starfury

December 16, 2009 3:33 PM

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I've never had an experience like this at Best Buy.

Mainly because I never shop there.

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December 16, 2009 3:42 PM

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Pretty off topic, but a big Geek Squad truck nearly ran into my car in the shopping center parking lot today as I left Kohl's after some quick lunch-hour shopping. YIKES. I had to *slam* on the brakes. They kept hurtling along, away from Best Buy.

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jackinthegreen11

December 16, 2009 3:47 PM

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I bought a Kodak ZI8 Camera from Best Buy in Albany, NY. About a week after I got it (and maybe 2 hours of light use) it stopped holding a charge. I went back to the same store where I got it with the original box, receipt, and everything it came with and was told I couldn't exchange it. Fortunately I know how to deal with customer service people. I always go in armed with 3 plans.

Plan A- Be nice. Friendly. Just try a basic return. Works everywhere but Best Buy (Whom I now boycott)

Plan B- If they are busy just keep looping around in line until someone helps you. (Plan B worked when I exchanged this). The girl who eventually helped me exchanged it with no questions asked. The first two employees glared at me while I smiled politely at them.

Plan C- Only if your as crazy as I am. Sit Indian-style on the counter, demand they call the district manager.

Boycott Best Buy- and Verizon too.

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December 16, 2009 3:49 PM

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\"Sure, I don't know anything, I just work for Geek Squad!\"

Diet.Dr.Pepper.through.the.nose.

I smell a new Consumerist t-shirt!

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athmsVT

December 16, 2009 3:56 PM

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Your use of technically could be used to technically mean any piece of software. As it falls under general practice to install software on a computer, see Add/Remove software under the control panel, It serves to reason that software modifications do not void hardware warranties and can not be used as a reason to void a warranty. Furthermore, the Best Buy warranty explicitly acknowledges it will fix your computer if software is the issue provided it is not caused by one of a few listed causes. The customer has returned his computer to a pristine software state. The customer has not broken his side of the contract. The customer purchased the warranty to specifically avoid the specific situation he is currently in. It would paramount to purchasing health insurance, being wrongfully denied coverage, and having complications. The health issuance provider is easily on hook for the damages caused by the complications, but could easily accused of fraud for collecting money if negligence was used in denying said claim. The Best Buy managers own testimony may only be enough to prove incompetence.

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December 16, 2009 4:12 PM

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My Best Buy cranks up the music near the Geek Squad counter. That makes it very hard to have a conversation and argue a point. Last year my new PC did not work out of the box & the hard drive was making grinding sound. I took it back the same day - with my Best Buy warranty. They claimed they couldn't hear the grinding but with the music cranked so much you couldn't hear anything. I won that battle but they wanted to send it out for repairs & not do an exchange. I'm a stubborn thick skulled sod, stood my ground, & had to yell to be heard - much to the embarrassment of my family - but I succeeded getting my exchange.

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teke367

December 16, 2009 4:56 PM

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If the manager was so smart, he'd know that vague contract language gets resolved in favor of the party who didn't write the contract, in this case, it would favor the customer. Not sure if $300 is worth a suit, but I imagine he'd win if he did.

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December 16, 2009 6:23 PM

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What a bunch of idiots they have at Geek Squad. And they are supposedly computer experts. Get your heads out of your asses. What next voiding the warranty for installing utorrent or program they don't like. Buying the warranty on a $300 netbook was a mistake. Doesn't the laptop have a 1 year manufacturers warranty.

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December 16, 2009 7:20 PM

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Best Buy? Geek Squad? What do you expect?
I haven't bought anything at Best Buy in over five years now when I had a similar experience with a defective digital camera...the incident ended with my wife literally dragging me out of the store after the people at the counter said they were calling the police on me.

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unimus

December 16, 2009 7:36 PM

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I think it's fair for Geek Squad to refuse the warranty since the OS is different. If they take the netbook back with Linux, I think they'll just wipe your drive clean and reinstall Windows before they start working, which probably creates a whole new Consumerist article.
However, once the netbook is restored to it's original state, Geek Squad should honor whatever service they promised in the warranty.

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December 16, 2009 7:39 PM

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Goodness, and I was actually considering going to a best buy to by a new notebook.

These kind of managers really don't understand how business works and shouldn't be managers. They protect a hundred or so dollars in the short run to loose many thousands from a future customer. And this is absurdly common. Maybe it's bad management higher-up that trickles down and pollutes managers who would otherwise be a normal human being.

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Zclyh3

December 16, 2009 7:41 PM

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This is why I don't buy systems from Worst Buy, cause it ain't a Best Buy I can guarantee you that.

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December 16, 2009 7:51 PM

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Wow, it blows my mind when people who are suppose to be computer techs are this in the dark about Linux or any other OS besides Windows. If I was this guy my next trip would be to to court and I would actually contact Ubuntu and see if they could try communicating with Best Buy to help prevent this from happening again. Sure Windows totally holds Worst Buy's (err I mean best) balls but this is ridiculous. Not only were they beyond rude with a paying customer that bought their shitty warranty but all the guy did was install an OS that best buy sells (why do they sell free software again?) that would not have caused these issues. It sounds like the manager and staff had a person vendetta here.

This kinda thing makes me so angry!

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soj4life

December 16, 2009 10:04 PM

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And this is why Geek Squad is a sham. Geek Squad might have been better when it was independent or when it was smaller after best buy bought them but today it is a brand that BB can exploit for the most profit. If Robert cared at all about the company he created, stories like this would not be posted. You can't blame bloggers for not being real journalists, the journalists on FOX shoot that line of thinking dead.

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phonic

December 16, 2009 10:21 PM

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First, I am not surprised that this was Best Buy's reaction. But seriously, how do you have the balls to admit you spent almost 1/3 of the purchase price of this netbook on an extended warranty??? You kind of deserve to be burnt for your stupidity.
In any case, contact the manufacturer and RMA it that way. I bought an Aspire One from Newegg last year and the battery went bad. Called them up and they shipped me out a new one (battery). No questions asked, and didn't even want the old one back.
So what did you learn from your story??
1) Don't shop at Best Buy
2) Don't by extended warranties
3) If you violate rules #1 and #2, expect to take it up the @ss.

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December 16, 2009 11:24 PM

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This sort of hell is exactly why will never purchase anything over about $50 at Best Buy. Plus their prices are insanely high compared to just about every other retailer in the world, online and off.

The one time I had to return an item to Best Buy I had no trouble at all. It was a $40 Logitech mouse with a spongy mouse wheel. I was allowed to replace it right away and am still using the replacement mouse today, 4 years later.

Though to be honest, Logitech hardware has really gone downhill over the years. I've never seen a mouse with a mind of it's own like this one.

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December 16, 2009 11:25 PM

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When i bought my computer and monitor at the Ottawa Best Buy in May of 2005, I noticed the monitor had a few dead pixels. I took the monitor back for a replacement, and it took them 4 hours to give me a new one and get out the door. To this day I have NO IDEA what could possibly take that long.

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the_mike

December 17, 2009 3:15 AM

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The manager was mistaken. Plain and simple. I really notice alot of bad flak relating to geek squad.

I work for Geeksquad, but in canada. And I can tell you honestly that people have come up to me before with hardware problems with their computer, and I give them the honest truth.

A computer came in that was under our warranty and was dual booted /w linux and xp. The machine was vista to begin with. I told him that he's fine (not posting in a bad memory type of way) and that we'd just swap the stick. Another one came in with just ubuntu and i told him that we can send it out but its gonna come back formatted /w the correct OS (vista).

tl;dr, not all geeksquad employees are ignorant and stupid, especially not my store.

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bwcbwc

December 17, 2009 6:31 AM

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Except that he was getting repair under the extended warranty/service contract he bought at the store. Not the manufacturer's warranty.

On the other hand, if the netbook failed after only four months, he should probably seek service under the terms of the manufacturer's warranty, rather than the pseudo-warranty from BB.

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Manne

December 17, 2009 8:41 AM

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Though not that useful but still interesting:
Next time fire up Netcraft in-store and show them their website runs on Linux.

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jared

December 17, 2009 9:04 AM

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I don't understand why anyone buys anything from Best Buy. Furthermore, why does anyone buy extended warrantees? Can someone explain it to me? Any time I see someone write an article that says “Best Buy” and/or “extended warrantee” I know the plot without reading the article. Best Buy sucks. Don’t buy from them. It’s that simple. Don’t buy extended warrantees from anyone. Extended warrantees are designed to make profits for the company. They are not designed to protect you. The real reason they are telling you to leave is: 1) As soon as they accept the broken product in the store it’ll come out of their pocket to see that it gets fixed. 2) They probably don’t know how to fix it.

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bdeimen

December 17, 2009 10:02 AM

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Geek Squad is Incompetent. My friend, who has been working in computer and network tech support for a school district for around 6 years, tried to get a job at best buy on the geek squad. He was passed over for a high school student with little experience with computer maintenance at all. All best buy wants is clean slates that they can teach to use a certain set of software and to replace certain components. They don't hire many actual problem solvers, so it wouldn't surprise me if they actually believed the things they told you.

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December 17, 2009 11:30 AM

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years ago, I took a printer that had a bad print head back to Best Buy. I had bought the printer a couple of years before and when it broke, I bought a new unit and put the broken one away. Well, while looking through receipts one day, I found the original printers receipt and saw I had purchased an extended warranty that I had forgotten about (I don't usually buy those and can't remember why I bought that one). Off to the store I went where I explained to the tech (this was before \"geek squad\") and was told it was the print head and it wasn't covered. Neither the tech, nor the manager could show me where in my warranty it said the head wasn't covered but I pointed out the numerous times it was printed that any problems would be covered. The manager claimed the print head was a consumable item like ink and since I had bought a new printer ( I had relayed the whole story to them about not realizing I had a warranty) why did I need this one anyway!!! After an hour of arguing with the knucklehead, he finally agreed to replace the head but it came in a kit with ink cartridges and I would have to pay for the ink. I wish I could say I have never been back to Best Buy, but I have. I did stay away for a couple of years though and I will never forget.

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December 17, 2009 11:48 AM

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Honest question: What's the point in redacting the offending store location? Isn't it pertinent to warn consumers of the specific location that provides bad service?

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Benoit

December 17, 2009 1:17 PM

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Linux *can* break your hardware in very extreme case, installing Mandrake 9.2 (now Mandriva) using an LG CD-ROM drive was destroying your CD-ROM drive permanently.

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HannahK

December 17, 2009 1:20 PM

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I can understand the Geek Squad not supporting Linux, and not being able to assist the OP with getting his touchpad working if it was some kind of driver issue. That would be expecting a lot from people who make $10 an hour at the mall. However, the fact that the power adapter wasn't working is a clear indication that the problem was with the hardware, not the operating system. It's a new low for the Geek Squad when they don't understand that installing an operating system cannot break hardware. After the OP reinstalled windows (though I don't get why he had to buy an external drive to do this, if he got Linux installed without one), that should have been the end of this issue.

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Verdant Pine Trees

December 17, 2009 2:24 PM

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When I pulled out of my driveway this morning, I saw a Geek Squad truck coming in the opposite direction, and I considered how many computers might be saved if I just bumped them, kept them off the roads for a few hours.

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bri

December 17, 2009 3:26 PM

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I feel your pain. I once went up against this kind of ignorance when I was trying to return a TomTom back in the day, back when the darn things cost $400! Basically the thing wouldn't work as advertised and would freeze when making bluetooth calls. So I bring it back to BB and the manager gets their \"expert\" for the department who actually had the nerve to tell me that that feature doesn't work with all telephone numbers. I literally told him, \"You're full of shit.\" At which point he got rather snippy and walked off. Talking to the manager didn't get me any further and she said she is going by her employee's expertise and I burst out laughing. She replied with some quick remark about how I was off base for suggesting that any employee at Best Buy didn't have technical expertise. So she pretty much ran off on me and I fiddled with it a bit more and got it to completely go haywire and thankfully had a nearby employee witness it. The manager did take the return and I made some comment about them questioning my intelligence. She told me that BB never questioned my intelligence and that I was being absurd. To which I replied, \"Maybe not my intelligence, but you certainly questioned my competence to diagnose the problem with this device.\" That shut her up quick.

Got my money back and won't ever do business with those creeps again. I can feel your pain when it comes to BB employees lacking technical expertise, which they seem to excel at doing so well.

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redd77

December 17, 2009 5:35 PM

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I used to work on the Geek Squad. I know, I'm not proud of it. About the time that I left they were beginning to hire people who looked like geeks but were hired more for their skills as salesman. So the line about not knowing anything and working for the Geek Squad is quite true.

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Jasmine

December 17, 2009 5:45 PM

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Couple years back I went to Best Buy to purchase an Acer laptop they had on sale. The guy who came over to help me, kept trying to pull me towards this other laptop, some new crappy model 5 times the price of the Acer. He flat out refused to tell me anything about the Acer! I'd ask a question about the speed of the system or what it ran, and he'd start flapping about the other one. I literally turned around and walked out while he was yapping. Walked right into Circuit City, showed them the ad, and the guy walked right over and pulled one out of the cabinet, told me everything I needed to know, matched the price from BB and even threw in a wireless mouse and a laptop stand. Every time we've ever been to BB we end up being treated like crap. So much for customer service, huh?

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f5alcon

December 18, 2009 1:35 PM

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Linux can not cause this hardware failure.

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tedivm

December 18, 2009 2:29 PM

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Why is consumerist redacting locations now? What kind of censorship crap is this?

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December 18, 2009 6:36 PM

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I used to work at BestBuy (inventory department) and this seams like the standard way of resolving conflicts when the customre should be correct in requesting the \"extended service\" but the store doesn't want to deal with that. Usually it is pretty easy to get around that - first talk to the store manager (or any floor manger), if you get a negative response (and you did), ask them for district manger phone number and insist on calling from the store in his presence - they are required to provide you will that. 50% of managers would back off, for the other 50% get a statement from a manufacturer that Linux did void your warranty get in touch with district manager again and that usually resolves the conflict in your favor.

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December 20, 2009 9:47 AM

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im not completely sure about this, but i think any hardware issues caused by installing a different OS would be a driver issue. reinstalling the original OS with drivers (usually included in the manufacturers restore disk) should fix it. if you have a link to something about that intel card problem i would like to see that.

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sgf323

December 20, 2009 11:32 AM

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I once had a laptop with a bad NIC. After sending it to Best Buy's repair center twice and having it come back saying it was caused by software (even though it was a fresh restore) I told the store manager that I'll pay them to fix my \"software\" problem and if they couldn't they would have to honor the warranty and replace the laptop.

They couldn't fix it, sent it back to the repair center who returned it still claiming \"software\" and so they replaced it. And, when I picked out the new laptop they couldn't understand why I didn't want to buy another warranty from them.

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VoiceOfReason

December 20, 2009 1:36 PM

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I once purchased a 'floor model\" pc from best buy that turned out to be a return that had not been wiped. Had the previous owners personal info all over it which was bad for her, but what was bad for me was the admin password had been changed so I could not wipe it myself. This took a year to resolve. A YEAR.

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December 20, 2009 1:50 PM

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Worst Buy clerks know nothing, and their corporate attitude is we got your money, sucker. Also, dork patrol are no better than the kid down the street who claims he knows all about computers because he can get on the internet. You should never buy anything there.

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kd1s

December 20, 2009 5:32 PM

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I have an easy solution to this. I don't buy anything from BestBuy.

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killj84

December 22, 2009 7:50 PM

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Ok I disagree with all of you about best buy. I have made many purchases from BB and have never had a problem. By the way the Netbook protect plan is not a warant it is a service they provide where the Geek Squad starts the computer and goes through the window setup and installs the windows updates and intalls an antivirus. The protection plans BB ofers dont go over three years either so there is no way you could have asked for technical service with the waranty. Yall need to do more research before you start making bogus clames about service.

As for the character of the employees, BB cannot be responsible except to fire the ones who treated you badly. For that reason and that reason alone you should speak to the higher management of BB.

As for the other clames of another website in store, which I have heard on this site BB has an intranet we use for ordering and a website that is available to the cosomer because it shows the online deals. BB is not doing anything ileagal as far as I can tell.

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serke

December 23, 2009 1:14 AM

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I used to have a HP laptop from Best Buy. I don't recall exactly what was wrong, but they needed to replace the motherboard. They shipped it to Ohio, got it fixed and had it back to me pretty promptly.

The SECOND time it had a hardware issue, the employee insisted that I would need to back up my HD before they sent it to Ohio. It was apparently \"standard procedure\" to wipe the HD at this facility in Ohio. Even after telling him about the first time, he still insisted I needed to back up the HD. Tried to get me to buy that bullshit back-up thing they do that wouldn't back up a tenth of the data I had.

I ended up leaving, buying another HD,switching the two, and then having them send it out.

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seant123

December 23, 2009 4:53 PM

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I actually work for Best Buy's Geek squad and im appauled at the stupidity of the employess saying that installing linux would actually damage a power cord or the touchpad. The first thought that comes to mine is that linux doesn't support the drivers for the gateway touchpad.....this problem is easily fixable with a few simple commands in upon reinstalling windows. I think it's funny how dumb some people are that get hired into geek squad to be honest and the guys who work at my store would (computer department included) would have laughed at the idiots in this other store.

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December 24, 2009 10:17 AM

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In the UK we have PC World and they have Things like the Tech Guys (there a joke) they have asked what i was going to be doing with the ram i was buying as they wanted to make sure i wasnt going to return it and when i said its going in my Computer that runs Linux they told me that it would not be compatible as it was formatted for Windows. Tthe staff at PC would are dumb asses one guy told me that you dont need 2GB's of ram on a netbook as it makes no change to anything lol what a joke. If you come to the UK and happen to pop in to a PC World just try and miss the staff (it can be hard to).

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plumerjr

December 27, 2009 10:20 AM

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Which was more important to the consumer? Getting his netbook fixed or winning his argument? It seemed everyone was quick to bash Best Buy's questionable customer service but, don't question the consumer's action. The consumer seemed to be caught up in wanting to prove himself in the right. He probably could have saved himself a lot of time by making the call to customer service line after his first visit. Even if he had won his argument(in the store) do you think they'd give him good service after that? I don't think so. Even now I wouldn't go back to the same store anyway. Why go back to just prove a point? Yes Best Buy acted poorly but, I think the consumer could have acted wiser.

Disclaimer: I don't and have never worked for Best Buy or dealt with Geek Squad. I haven't stepped inside one in 5 or 6 years at least.

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aeling24

December 28, 2009 5:16 AM

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the reason why geek squad won't help you without windows is because all they know how to do is reformat computers and defragment hard drives. they see linux and their brains fry.

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January 1, 2010 9:42 AM

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I think you should do a follow story on whether that manager is still there, and where the store is. Can I just stay away from that store, or all bestbuys?

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jim

January 5, 2010 2:57 PM

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not a finer moment, but certainly a finer moron.

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May 16, 2010 8:05 PM

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In retrospect and from the bleachers:

When a supposed \"customer service\" dept looks for tiny clauses in fine print to avoid doing the right thing, there is no such thing as \"customer service.\" Based on the the number and type of posts in the Consumerist against BBY, it's a wonder anyone shops there anymore.

BBYs \"Black Tie\" Protection is just another ruse for a bloviated extended service contract. All fine prints of such state that \"the manufacturer is responsible for repairs under its warranty.\" The OP could have gone to another (or mailed to mfr) authorized repair center to avoid the hassle. The plan administrator never (rarely) takes any liability for issues in year one - it would be bad business!! BTW - where you think there might be an exception; there are actually very few claims for power surges in year one for service plans. Much, much, more hype than reality. Take that fact to the bank.

If you must shop retail for electronics, the \"clubs\" provide far superior customer service for their members. Otherwise, plenty of choices online.

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mmmmna

June 17, 2010 1:03 AM

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In general, and posting long after this article first displayed:
a] installing any anti-spyware program into Windows should have have also qualified as modifying the software per the managers argument (Microsoft antispyware? Oh, right).
b] My netbook, which is an Asus EeePC900A and was purchased at a Best Buy in central NH, came with a customized version of Xandros Linux, this OS being known as AsusOS. My spacebar has never (not ever, not since new) worked equally well from either end (the right end works for 90+% of presses, the left end is below 75%); the right mouse button failed when the system was about than 5 months old; the user manual, the OS software AND the OS help system discuss the webcam which is NOT present (and the deletion of the webcam was in fact a last minute change made by the retailer). Linux can't cause switch contacts to be misaligned (spacebar) and Linux isn't responsible for a mouse switch whose contacts wear out. Quality hardware costs more, low cost hardware fails earlier - that is why we think Rolls Royce versus Yugo is a valid distinction.
c] I've had lots of problems with ESPs from said retailer - a protected Whirlpool Duet front loader washer was destroyed by a Maytag repairman who came from from 100 miles away - he was the only repair person that said retailer claims they could locate for the area where we live (untrue - I had met a local man who sold and serviced Whirlpools, his business was in my home town). The Maytag guy (who was authorized by and who was sent by the retailer) openly despised Whirlpool; his repair was completely incorrect. Our torn front gasket was incorrectly replaced which in turn caused the water fill duct to be obstructed by the replacement gasket which was not aligned properly - the fill water was deflected into the control circuitry on the next fill cycle and poof. Argument after argument with the store manager, all was finally resolved by the manager 2 years later (no court action, but clothes were destroyed while we waited weeks for said retailers agent to initially inspect the error situation).

I say don't buy ESPs from Best Buy - get ESPs from third party entities.

This articles initial post arrives on Consumerist at the height of the holiday shopping season 2009... right when Microsoft had published a now VERY famous presentation about 'getting facts' about Windows 7 and Linux, blah blah blah. I'd say that Linux consumers should take one very important step regarding this retailer: refuse to buy from that chain store. By all means, use their stores to review the products they sell, ask their staff about hardware capabilities, run them dry for all the knowledge you can get, but MAKE YOUR PURCHASE SOMEWHERE ELSE.

FWIW, Kubuntu 10.04LTS +upgraded SSD +2gigs sdram in my EeePC 900A seems rather solid. Despite no webcam, despite no left mouse button, despite weak spacebar.

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July 5, 2010 11:06 PM

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Geek Squad can be hateful. I seen these types of nerds for years. Or Microsoft stuck ups. They live in hate in arrogance. They think they are the computer elites and if they can not solve something or understand something they become almost hostile. I see this time and time again. I use Ubuntu and I learn and try to help others. If can not help I am sad.

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kralx

July 31, 2010 4:39 PM

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I'd kind of like to know where this took place, as certain places in the country are almost notorious for having horrible customer service amongst electronic retailers. Cough*NY/Brooklyn*Cough). I'd politely demand a full refund for at least the service plan sincerely

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PENFOLD

August 16, 2010 7:56 PM

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I sold computers on & off for about 13 years and I have NEVER heard of a *software* install causing a warranty-voiding hardware failure.
On top of that, it sounds like the Geek Squad is comprised of Micro$oft Elietist Snobs
.....There's no way possible on God's Green Earth that a LINUX install would cause this problem.
At worst you'd have hardware that wouldn't work or work strangely due to driver issues.

This is the *worst* instance of the Finger Pointing Syndrome (Computer Hardware points to & blames Computer Software. Computer Software points to & blames Computer Hardware people. The Poor User just gets The Finger) I've ever seen.

All in all it's a piss poor excuse to weasel out of making right by the customer & honouring a Protection Plan.
It's also blantant discrimination against someone's choice of OS.
A $25 gift card? BB got off EASY!

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dandysrt@gmail.com

August 29, 2010 11:51 PM

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I actually work for Geek Squad, and though it is true, not every Geek Squad employee knows what they are talking about, saying something like \"Sure, I don't know anything. I just work for Geek Squad\" makes that pretty evident, Not every store is like this. I know that at my store, we most likely would have at least asked for the original Windows OS to be reinstalled on the unit before we took a look at it, because, obviously there could be some issues relating to the hardware not being compatible with linux, though again, there is probably a workaround somewhere... We would not have turned the customer away completely, nor would we have been anywhere near as rude. Some people aspire to be Geek Squad agents, and some people aspire to use Geek Squad as a stepping stone, Geek Squad is not the end-all for many of us, and I hope that an incident like this would not turn people away from the BB brand completely. These are all my own words and are in no way promoted by Best Buy. I as a Geek Squad agent myself, purchase our protection plans on anything I know i'm not going to void the warranty on because they generally are worth it, I wish the originator of this complaint better luck in the future.

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garvo

October 30, 2010 7:51 AM

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wow. My computer was smashed by my own fist in a fit a rage, and my $80 warranty covered it completely. I didn't exactly tell that to the geek squad guy, but by the size of the crater in the middle of the keyboard it was pretty obvious. I told them up front that I ran linux, and they assured me that it didn't matter. When I got my laptop back from them, I looked over the repair report included and found that they replaced my motherboard, disc drive, dvd burner, mousepad, and my keyboard. In all the total parts for the fix were valued at little over $1100.00, more than what I actually paid for my laptop, which I might add was within the last month of protection under the service plan I purchased. In all my experience with geek squad was way better than I expected it to be. I suggest you raise hell with your local best buy.

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November 29, 2010 4:51 AM

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I'm formerly a Geek Squad Agent, and reading this kinda makes me ashamed to admit that. (i'm still technically employed on Military Leave) And the writer is correct in the since that they are BSing him/her, they obviously dont know what they need to know to do the job. The key point in the statement, \"this warranty does not cover damage due to spyware, viruses and ... unauthorized modifications.\" is \"due to\" installing Linux wouldn't cause the said faults to come up, with the exception of drivers for the touchpad, and Best Buy/ Geek squad has ways to test that without having windows operational, or installed, i've sent plenty of laptops and desktop computers sent in for \"out of store\" hardware maintenance with Linux installed.

Again, the store definatly wasn't holding their end of the service plan, and i highly recommend anyone having a problem like this to either contact another store, (within reasonable distance) or contact the best buy customer service center at 1-888-bestbuy (237-8289) I've seen some things happen such as a lady turning in a laptop that was scratched extremely bad, this was noted in the conditions; but when the customer picked up the laptop, she claimed that it wasn't like that when it was turned in. The customer service help desk pretty much sent her a new laptop, to replace her 2-3 year old POS.

Remember the line; let me talk to your supervisor/higher up when in the 888 line.

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the0wl

November 17, 2011 1:26 PM

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I teach computer support for a junior college in San Antonio. One of my former students, now CompTIA A+ Certified, called to inform me that NO ONE who admits to having any knowledge of Linux on his or her employment application, or during his or her job interview, will be hired by Geek Squad. Further, it appears that the \"offended store\" keeps said applicants' names and shares them with other Best Buy/Geek Squad stores along the Austin-San Antonio corridor, effectively black-balling good technicians simply for knowing Linux.

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