h3%5kr3w Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 (edited) So I went to Geek Squad in the closest Best Buy today to put my laptop in for service since the battery lost 1 hr's worth of time per charge, and the laptop charger no longer works. Sounds simple enough... Replace the charger and battery and be done with it! They can't replace the battery since you have to call a special number for that, however they can usually (I believe) replace the charger. I bring my laptop up, with ALL my warranty information, and papers. The guy tests the charger (which has an intermittent charging issue mind you) with a multimeter, and says it passes.. Then he plugs it into the laptop, wiggles it a bit (it's always had a bit of play from the day I bought it.. I think it was a design idea so it would be harder to break it from the mtb), shrugs his shoulders, says it's the port, but here's the thing.. He told me it was NOT covered under my 2 year "black tie standard" warranty, saying it's an incidental issue, and I could get it sent in NOT under warranty and they would call when they knew how much it would be to replace it. So then I told him about the battery.. "Oh well.. hey (some near co-worker)! how long do batteries usually last? around 14 to 18 months?! Oh yeah.. That's not covered under the warranty either" So I asked what the hell the warranty DID cover. He told me pretty much every f*ing thing EXCEPT the battery and the charge port. And strangely enough he also told me it covered lightning... Since when the hell has a NON Accidental warranty EVER covered lightning damage? I have never known one. It's usually pretty well worded in ALL warranties that it does not cover "Acts of god". So here's what I did. I went to the car, called Geek Squad Tech support, asked them what my warranty covered, gave all my info, then asked if it would cover a dead battery or charging port on the laptop... The answer was "Absolutely". So then I gave the guy on the phone the run down of what just happened. He told me this word for word "That guy is full of it" so I took him (well on the phone) back in with me and confronted the idiot at the desk, put the guy from the phone tech support on loudspeaker, and he also had his manager standing by to hear the rest of the conversation between me and the Geek Squad clerk.. After that everything was golden. Hell yes I am getting everything fixed, I have all the paperwork and etc. I am still in warranty till September. This turned out ok, however that really pisses me off because even though I know that there are people that try to get stuff replaced toward the end of their warranty just to do it, I was clearly in line with all regulations of said "Warranty". This dickhead tried to point blank punk me.. Just remember. Know your warranty. Edited June 11, 2010 by h3%5kr3w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I know my warranty, all electronics have 1 year warranty and must be replaced with the same or equivalent device or refund by the retailer if they stop working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3TeK Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 i just bought a compaq laptop from this dude (i think its stolen) and the wifi card is bad...so i did some research and come to find out HP recalled this model number because the card shorts out the mini pci-e slot. now im on the phone with HP and the guy is telling me my warranty expired like 610 days ago. then i emailed him the link and he's checking to see what i need to do to send it in. lol. damn indians trying to screw me over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sablefoxx Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I used to work for the Geek Squad (crappy College job), and this really doesn't surprise me. Out of the I think 20 odd people I worked with I can only recall 3 that knew anything about computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3%5kr3w Posted June 12, 2010 Author Share Posted June 12, 2010 Well, hey sablefoxx, since you used to work for them, was this kinda common practice or something? Geek Squad is infamous for screwing people however they can (or at least that's their rep seemingly) but what is it really?... Is there some kind of repair budget/cap that they are not supposed to go over or if they fix so ever many things without sending off or going over budget they get a bonus for the month? Reason why I am asking is this guy wasn't just the run of the mill dumbass that seemed to get a job off a buddy he knew, but this guy completely tried to rook me. If I didn't know any better, I would say he either didn't give a shit, or was a con artist. If it was not for the detailed documentation I received once he finally did decided to help me within warranty, I wouldn't have trusted him with it. Luckily also it says exactly what the laptop looked like when I gave it to him "minor scratches across the surface". If any of you think about smirking you ought to know, it's the compaq cq series which features a mirror black finish that you could scratch just by looking at it funny. I have babied this thing like it was a solid brick of gold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 This is why you should buy Dell Enterprise class machines, and get a next working day on-site warranty. 10min phone call (once you know both the system and the machine) and you can get a replacement part installed by someone at your house or office the next day. You can get this for 3 years, but battery's are only covered for a year as they will only last 12-18months under mobile use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seshan Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Sucks you only have warrantee until September, you probably won't get it back until November. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3%5kr3w Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 (edited) Oh god don't tell me that Seshan! lol. I am already missing it. @VaKo- Yeah, it would be awesome to have the Dell Enterprise (or the IBM as well), but when I bought it, this was the cheapest I could get with a 2yr warranty short of a laptop from Walmart, and I would have ended up paying more for less in the long run there. I just wanted a warranty to make sure it was covered through college. Hell, if it were not for me having a warranty I would have fixed it myself, about a week ago. Edited June 13, 2010 by h3%5kr3w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foo Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 meanwhile, h3%5kr3w awaits his laptop while geeksquad copies all his pictures off of his hdd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted June 14, 2010 Share Posted June 14, 2010 Everyone does the porn check when they get someone else's machine. Its even better when you find the home made stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 I guess I am lucky that I don't have any pr0n on my machines. Or go to GeekSquad for that matter (I wouldn't let them touch my machines with a 50 foot pole) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greendixy Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 My mother took her computer in one day, And the ones who tried to fix her computer fried it. Was funny watching it go up smoke. Like don't they screen the people before they allow the kids etc to work there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParMan Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 (edited) just replace the port yourself its really easy. It would cost your about 5 dollars. You will also know if its actually broken or not. on topic: They will always try to rip you off or make you pay for more then you need. Edited June 15, 2010 by ParMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seshan Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 My mother took her computer in one day, And the ones who tried to fix her computer fried it. Was funny watching it go up smoke. Like don't they screen the people before they allow the kids etc to work there? From what I have heard, they will hire sales people before computer people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greendixy Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 From what i see down here in Toronto, That is completely reversed lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3TeK Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Everyone does the porn check when they get someone else's machine. Its even better when you find the home made stuff. hell yea dude! i found so much pron when i was working as a service manager @ a local shop. we found a bunch of horse porn on this really hot black chic's computer and she was like "did you like watching it?" when she came and picked it up..i asked her why she was into that stuff and she said black dudes aren't big enough for her O_o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr klink Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 (edited) I'll tell you another one. I am a network admin at a public school and often I get machines from teachers that have taken them to Geek Squad. I have to fix what geek squad broke and what the person originally took it to them to fix in the first place, not for free of course but I don't rip them off either. I've never been impressed with Big Box store tech people nor their warranties. I've been burned too many times and that is why I started to learn how to fix things for my self. Ebay is your friend. Edited June 16, 2010 by mr klink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 (edited) From what I have heard, they will hire sales people before computer people. I've heard that as well. I think most big box stores do that. I know "Circuit City" did that when it was still in business. I would rather fix my own stuff than let them touch it. The only exception to that is a laptop, but so far the one I've got hasn't had any problems and it still has 18 months left on the manufacture's warranty. (Of course as soon as I say that, it'll spontanously asplode) Edited June 16, 2010 by Charles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Out of the I think 20 odd people I worked with I can only recall 3 that knew anything about computers. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sablefoxx Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Well, hey sablefoxx, since you used to work for them, was this kinda common practice or something? Geek Squad is infamous for screwing people however they can (or at least that's their rep seemingly) but what is it really?... Is there some kind of repair budget/cap that they are not supposed to go over or if they fix so ever many things without sending off or going over budget they get a bonus for the month? So there isn't really a repair budget the problem is they'll hire anyone who applies, I would repeatedly have to correct mistakes by people who had been working there far longer then I had. What you have to relies about those 'service plans' is that they're designed to make money. In your case the person helping was just a dumbfuck because AC Adapter replacements/Battery replacements were one of the most common things I did, he must have gotten it confused because the Manufacturers' won't replace AC Adapters/Batteries (but the Best Buy plans do). Wow, I wasted a lot of brain space with all their dumb ass policies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3%5kr3w Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 Not to worry about pr0n or anything else for that matter. Did a triple wipe, fresh reload back to the original O.S. Vista, no passwords, no surfing/cache or anything :) As far as worrying about the store, they said they couldn't do it in store, and it's getting shipped off for repairs. If it comes back screwed up, I'll just contact the shipper, find out if there was insurance on it (which usually with any corporate shipping account there is for the full amount of the item being shipped) and have it cash refunded. I am not too worried about anything. I would have VERY promptly fixed it myself had it not been for the warranty.. You know, just in case I screwed something up which would void the warranty (didnt look at the exact entrails on that). Hopefully I will have it shipped back soon, and then use it for my main computer and use my desktop as a vmware server (or that really cool setup Darren talked about in the last ep.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 DBAN + Restore original factory image (that you made before you booted up for the first time) = win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliminatebotnets Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 NEVER go to Geek Squad. I actually tried them once unfortunately because I didn't know any good computer techs. My problem was a DNS poisoning attack. Had 3 different guys look at it and none of them had heard of it, let alone any knowledge about it. All they do is run thier software, which is basically just a big anti-virus program. Even after I showed them some of the websites that explained it, they just shrugged and said it "wasn't likely" that it could happen. Ended up wasting $300 on this laughable garbage. There are many people that would do the simple things Geek Squad do for free. Just have to find the right people. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr-Protocol Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 (edited) I fix all my computer issues myself. But for kicks I got the disc the geek squad uses. If they can't fix it with their disc, they send it out... I known people who worked for them. They know nothing... The disc is Geek Squad's MRI Edited June 19, 2010 by Mr-Protocol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h3%5kr3w Posted June 20, 2010 Author Share Posted June 20, 2010 Hmm.. This is interesting.. Well either way, I got my laptop back today! Everything was fixed! They replaced my ac adapter (I still stand by the idea that there was nothing wrong with it, but I am not complaining about a free replacement either), battery and adapter port on the laptop, and everything is well :) Actually I think the key thing here is just completely bypassing the geek squad store completely and calling them over the phone with the issue. If they ask you to go to the store first before sending it in, go ahead and bring it to the store, but just make sure you call b.s. on anything that doesn't seem to jive from them, and then call back and get the geek squad phone tech to send you the box to ship your laptop to service. Whole point is, if there is something like a keyboard or other piece that you have to take apart the laptop for, they are not just going to give you the part, they want it for service to let their guys do it, so my stance is just be smart about sending it in. I know I will be if I ever have to deal with them again. Make no mistake I won't be buying a geek squad warranty again though.. I haven't made it 1/2 the way through what it was really worth, and this laptop is a real cheap crapper compared to most laptops and it has only given me this tiny bit of trouble. They just make them better than they used to for the most part I guess :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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