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Best Buy - Geek Squad -Computer Experts or Circus Clowns? Daytona Beach, Florida
Bought a Gateway laptop with 3 yr extended service warranty from BB. Just 2 months before the warranty expired, my hard drive stopped spinning and the computer wouldn't boot up. Took it to BB's "Geek Squad", the computer "experts". They called a couple of days later telling me the hard drive had to be replaced and I would lose all data as well as not get my old hard drive back. No problem, as I was prepared for this eventuality. Got a call 2 weeks later that the computer was ready to pick up and to bring the recovery CD with me. I brought the CD there and was told it would take another couple of days. I opted to do the recovery myself at home (no big deal). I asked the tech. if the computer would be ready to go once I used the recovery CD. I was told, "yes, no problem, everything will be working fine". Got it home, ran the recovery disk and brought it up to the Windows desktop. However, nothing worked. No sound except for an annoying mono-tone. No internet. No programs on it. No nothing. Apparently my old hard drive had all the drivers needed to run the computer and the new one did not. Geek Squad should have known this and informed me about it, but they didn't. I spent hours downloading drivers from Gateway on another computer, burning them to a disk and running them on the computer in question. Now it works, but I'm still missing some free software that came with the original hard drive, like CD burning software, etc.
Are these Geek Squad techs hired from the local circus where they previously worked as clowns? It almost seems like these computer "experts" know little more than I do about computers, and that's saying a lot. Hahahhahahahahha.
Long story short- back up your essential files, don't buy an extended warranty and if your hard drive fails, just buy a brand new laptop and load your backup files onto it. You're only wasting your money trying to get your laptop fixed, when you can buy a decent new one these days for around $400-500.
18 Updates & Rebuttals
leet298hub
United States of AmericaGeek Squad Repair Services
#19UPDATE Employee
Fri, January 28, 2011
I am currently an employee of Best Buy's Geek Squad co,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,mputer repair service. I have worked in computer repair for over four years and have seen many customer issues similar to this. When people purchase a computer they expect everything to be covered under the warranty (hardware, software, 'acts of god', etc.) but unfortunately that is not the case.
The extended manufacturer warranty that we do offer with the computer covers only hardware related issues. This includes hardware defects which this customer experienced unfortunately. What we do under the extended warranty, as stated in the terms and conditions which are given to every customer who purchases a computer or other electronic device from us, is repair the damaged/defective hardware component and attempt to install software given the customer can provide us with the software.
In this customer's case it sounds like he/she only possessed an operating system disc which would only install the operating system that came with her computer. almost all retail computer manufacturers give you the option of creating your recovery discs from the new computer itself or purchasing them directly from the manufacturer via telephone or website. these options either include: (Operating System disc, Drivers and applications disc and third party software - Dell does this) or they have combined discs so all you do is feed the discs in one at a time until all of the information is on the hard drive and it installs it in a more stream-lined fashion (sony, toshiba, hp, and others offer this method)
Since it it sounds like she only had the OS (Operating System) disc, she would have either had to order the appropriate discs from the manufacturer or in the almost three years of owning the computer would have had to create the 2-6 dvd's (varies by model and manufacturer) which would have contained all drivers and programs originally installed on the unit.
I do apologizethat this customer had problems with the repair service but if she had let us complete the repair for her, we would have installed the operating system, installed drivers from the manufacturer's website, performed software updates and optimized the computer, which is done as a courtesy and not included in the warranty (normally this service is 129.99).
StCWalker3
Guess,Michigan,
United States of America
You really need to stop being stupid and go to college
#19Consumer Comment
Sun, December 26, 2010
you think you know everything and get pissed when you realize they are smarter and was polite enough to think that when you tell them "oh, i can do a recovery no problem". I wish I knew you so I can put a face to all the stupid people I see day-to-day. Don't agree to do something you want to do and then Bi*** when you remember you don't know s**t. I hate people like you, I really wish you didn't exist. When I went to UK everyone stereo-typed Americans because of people like you. I know education isn't free but you realllllly need to go and learn something about communication and maybe get some manners and respect. Mostly you need to be nice and stop Bi****** about your mistakes. To add, you should find a job or hobby (maybe computers) and leave the internet alone for awhile.
Robert
Buffalo,New York,
USA
By all means.
#19Consumer Comment
Fri, December 24, 2010
The lighter a computer is the better it will run just like an human or ahnimal. We sell good products and when I graduate I hope to be a manager their
By all means stay in school.
Any
Granada Hills,California,
U.S.A.
geek squad training
#19UPDATE Employee
Sat, December 18, 2010
I work for Best Buy's Geek Squad. We are hired based upon our resume and computer skills. Often I don't know what the problem with a machine brought to me is and I do my best to figure it out. Usually you need to get better stuff inside it so it works faster and might cost you money. Thats just how it is. The lighter a computer is the better it will run just like an human or ahnimal. We sell good products and when I graduate I hope to be a manager their.
ComputerTechCA
oxnard,California,
United States of America
I would have to disagree with you on this one.
#19Consumer Comment
Sat, November 06, 2010
First of all many times the recovery disks provided by the computer manufacturer already include the drivers. Sometimes the drivers are included in a second disk but I have seen some that don't include the drivers at all. I agree maybe the tech should have informed you that you would have to download the drivers but it could have slipped his mind at the moment or assumed that the drivers would be included int he recovery disk. I fail to see how this is a major mistake by Best Buy when after all they did offer to install it for you and you decided to opt out of it. You having to download the drivers is not Best Buys fault.
jamesontaylorson
United States of AmericaOverreacting for the win.
#19Consumer Comment
Sun, June 13, 2010
You opted to restore the computer yourself. You don't know how to install drivers, which has to be done every time a computer is restored. "No big deal" until you realize you don't know what you're doing. You can't take drivers from windows on an old hard drive anyway. Geek Squad did know all of this, but I'm sure you were angry that you could have your computer right then so they probably didn't want to piss you off more. You got one thing right here, to back up your files, other than that you are extremely ignorant.
Hahah your up on your intelligent high horse, but one day you will realize you're the idiot.
peerData
Alabama,United States of America
Grow Up
#19General Comment
Thu, February 11, 2010
You need to grow up and realize that you accepted a job that you knew very VERY little about. This is not fault of your own, entirely though. I do blame the Sales Reps for this matter. I do again in the same breath blame you as well for not READING! Your Manual and the Information Files on your Computer or the INSTALL AGREEMENTS on the said software!
jess
United States of AmericaWOW REALLY ?
#19Consumer Comment
Thu, February 11, 2010
Wow, you are a real smart guy aren't you?
It is obvious that you are more than an ID10T than you portrayed through your orignial report. Do you realize that you are completely childish. Most teenagers are actually more mature than you are.
How can you file a rip off report against Best Buy when you chose to do all this on your own?
You should grow up, and stop blaming others because you are impatient and think you know everything.
Melvin
United States of AmericaYou should have brought it back in
#19UPDATE Employee
Tue, January 26, 2010
If you would have brought the computer back in and told them that you were having issues with the drivers, they would have installed them for free. It's part of the service that you paid good money for. It is kind of your fault because you opted to reinstall the OS yourself. Maybe there was some mis-communication. Some factory disks do contain drivers for the particular model of computer, some have even have separate disks with drivers. There's no way that the associate could have know what was on that disk.. did he even see the disk?
Jocko
biloxi,Mississippi,
U.S.A.
This is one of the best
#19Consumer Comment
Sun, January 03, 2010
Not only does your family know your a dumbarz, but the entire world...
Ashley
springfield,Missouri,
U.S.A.
I have to agree with the others
#19Consumer Comment
Wed, December 23, 2009
This is not best buy's issue at all. You declined to let them reinstall the recovery disk and drivers. You agreed to do that yourself. They upheld their part of the bargain by replacing the hard drive with a new model. if you had just brought them in your recovery disk, they would have gotten it going. If they gave it back to without it working at that point you would have a complaint.
As for they should know what you need:
They have no idea what software you had on the computer. Nor do they know what drivers you need for everything on the computer. They service hundreds of makes and models of computers. I wouldn't expect them to know what software came with every computer that they ever service. Not to mention they have no idea if you've installed after market hardware on the machine that needs special drivers.
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
I'd have to agree
#19Consumer Comment
Wed, December 23, 2009
That this report does not sound like a RipOff..at least with Best Buy
You bought a Service Plan/Extended Warranty(what ever they call it). Your Hard Drive Crashed and they replaced it. That is exactly what that was supposed to do. They offered to restore the drive for you, but you opted to take it home and do it yourself. You asked if it would be ready to go and they said yes. So them saying it would be "working fine" was a Mistake or Mis-Communication, but no where near a RipOff.
If there was any issue it would be between you and Gateway. Companies create "Recovery" disks to be able to take the machine back to "factory specs". That is once you do the Recovery Process(Notice I said Process as in more than one step) it is supposed to be identical to how it came out of the box. If it did not do that then that is either a Gateway issue in that they for what ever reason did not include the drivers and/or other software. Or they did include the drivers and software and it was your fault because you didn't know how to reload them from the disk.
If it was the former, Best Buy really can not know what every computer company does for every model. If it was the later, then if you had let Best Buy restore the drive they would have done all of the drivers for you.
And no I am not or have ever been an employee of Best Buy or Geek Squad.
Inspector
Tobyhanna,Pennsylvania,
USA
This ROR should be directed at Gateway
#19General Comment
Wed, December 23, 2009
Your first mistake was buying from Gateway. Your second was assuming the techs can know what drivers were on your unreadable hard drive.
Your hard drive was damaged beyond the capacity to recover any data which means the data was unreadable which means as far as they know you could have it loaded with kiddie porn, which means you sir, are the clown.
Kevin
Port Orange,Florida,
U.S.A.
What teenager?
#19Author of original report
Wed, December 23, 2009
Jack o' Lantern: Like I said (and for the 4th time), I installed the recovery disk and drivers myself. I never had a problem with a recovery disk as you so claim. The only reason this report was published was to highlight the incompetency of your Geek Squad clowns, and yes, I have no doubt that you are one of them.
By the way, your unnatural and unhealthy obsession with teenagers is quite disturbing and creepy. Perhaps you should get one of them to teach you how to read and comprehend.
Jocko
biloxi,Mississippi,
U.S.A.
Why thank you it means so much from a dumbazz like you
#19Consumer Comment
Wed, December 23, 2009
Like others stated here, I stated my case only a dumbazz will have issues with a recovery disk. I guess you found that teenager.
Kevin
Port Orange,Florida,
U.S.A.
Jacko, the Geek Squad Hero
#19Author of original report
Wed, December 23, 2009
To Jacko (or is it jackass or is it Geek Squad Clown Ring Defender Extraordinaire?): "While most people are able to do a recover with the recovery disk it appears you missed Computers 101." I think I clearly indicated that I did a disk recovery along with installing the drivers. What part of that did you not understand?
"Its your fault that you do not know how to install drivers" Once again, I think I clearly indicated that I installed the drivers. What part of THAT did you not understand?
"I suggest you read it or find a teenager to finish the install. " It sounds like you're one of these Geek Squad clowns, judging by the way you took this report so personally. I suggest you find a 2nd grader to teach you reading comprehension skills, since you are clearly lacking them.
1) While this is not really a complaint report, it's quite amazing that the computer "experts" at Geek Squad (a.k.a. circus clowns) neglected to inform me that I would need to install the drivers which the new hard drive lacked, esp. when clearly asked if everthing would be working once I used the recovery disk. No mention of drivers, no mention of readme on the recovery disk (which did not exist, jacko, err jackass) After all, they are the "experts". They can't possibly assume that I would know this, can they???
2) I'm still missing quite a bit of software that came with the original hard drive. This is software that is not available for free on Gateway's website. I am assuming that when you have your computer repaired, at least it will contain what it originally contained when you 1st purchased it or is that an unreasonable expectation, JACKASS?
3) This was posted as a cautionary report for anyone but JACKASS. Do not buy extended warranties. Do not ever let the Geek Squad clowns touch your computer if you want to get it fixed. Take it to a local independent. Best bet: Buy a new one. You'll end up paying almost as much fixing the old one and still not end up with a fully functional computer if you take it to the clowns. There's a reason why there are so many complaints filed here about these clowns.
Jacko: "Your incorrect". By the way, it's "you're incorrect". Go back to elementary school and learn to spell before posting here. Or better yet, keep your pie hole shut.
Jocko
biloxi,Mississippi,
U.S.A.
Your incorrect
#19Consumer Comment
Tue, December 22, 2009
While I would love to blame this on Best Buy this in fact is all your issue and problem. I have been working with computers, networks and security of business networks for over 20 years and your statement/report is unfair to Best Buy/Geek Sqd.
While most people are able to do a recover with the recovery disk it appears you missed Computers 101. Recovery is a 2 step process; first step is the OS (Windows) the second step is installing drivers for hardware if needed (sound, video, nic or internet).
You need to finish the install prior to placing blame on a company. You accepted the full responsibility of this install when you removed the PC from their store. Its your fault that you do not know how to install drivers; not theirs. There is a readme file on the recovery disk; I suggest you read it or find a teenager to finish the install.
slc.munoz
USAI don't think the complaint is justified.
#19General Comment
Tue, December 22, 2009
Sure they should have known that before hand... but, I'm sure if you would have let them know about the problem, they would have offered to fix it. A real complaint would have been them refusing to not help you at all. I'm not a fan of Best Buy's geek squad myself...but you just don't have any real justification to call them circus clowns is all I'm saying. Sure it was a minor inconvenience but if you would have let them do all the work (back up disc), they may have resolved all issues and could have gotten your computer up to tip top shape.