Complaint Review: Tim Fairman

It's unfortunate you feel this way about the very company you work for. I'm not sure of the business practices that your Orlando store executes, but by and large, the company stands by it's products and services. Please be sure, I'm not out to call you a liar because I don't know how your particular store handles things, but Geek Squad can certainly repair computers in-store. My location specifically will repair 10-15 computers in-store, and only when absolutely necessary send out computers to our certified Geek Squad repair location, around 5 or less a day. This is only done when necessary, such as replacement parts for laptops that we certainly don't keep in stock in the store--LCD screens, keyboards, batteries--things that are unique for most computers and couldn't physically hold them in store for repairs. As for doing repairs with CDs, it's true Geek Squad uses discs when they work on computers, but I guarantee you it still takes a technical grasp of computers in order to use these discs. They just compile a number of approved software tools in one place, and any techie worth his pocket protector has software tools at his belt. Without knowledge on the Operating System, and software used, one could easily break a computer further. Some tools are automated of course, but that is simply to save time so we can keep up with our work load. One still needs to know how to use the tools otherwise you're putting customer data at risk. I would encourage you to spend more time with your Geek Squad department in order to get a better idea on how that specific department works.

If returns are sold in your store even though they are defective, your customer service representatives are returning the products incorrectly. If done right, the product must be sent back to the company warehouse/repair center, or the manufacturer's location depending on the specific type of product returned. If returns are sold in your store after being verified functional, then there should be open-box stickers on the product along with a label for the new reduced-price clearly visible on the product. All these things are automatically taken care of during the repair process, so if your store isn't doing this properly, get with your General Sales Manager or Customer Service Manager so they can improve the department.

If your store doesn't honor the warranty, which is clearly described in pamphlets across the store, you aught to report that to HR. The store itself isn't economically impacted by performing warranty work on products, so there is no excuse for them not performing the labor/repair. However, I do see a lot of products physically damaged that cannot be sent for repairs. Things such as cameras and laptops have optional accidental damage protection that the customer can purchase at the time they purchase their product, and without that damage from dropping or physically harming the product cannot be fixed. MP3 players, with an exception of iPods (and maybe Zunes), are always covered under accidental damage (this was recently changed, and any product purchased before the change is covered under the original warranty the customer agreed to). Other things, such as Desktop computers, TV's and most peripherals cannot be covered under accidental damage protection. These are products that generally should NOT be moved and the omittance of accidental protection makes sense in my opinion.

It sounds like a lot of these practices your store might encourage is strongly against what the Best Buy company as a whole wants portrayed. If my answers didn't help, I would strongly encourage you to report this to your HR department.

Best Buy is an excellent store. They have competitive prices and a highly trained staff with tons of technological expertise. They really do care about the customers and will go out of their way to make sure you leave the store satisfied. The General Managers of the store are known for proactively helping customers and, personally, I find that they are a total delight. If you believe any of this, I had dinner Darth Vader and Bigfoot last night.

as an Ex Geek Squad agent - you are correct here are some suggestions for you

there are inventory & Store GM's that are earning literally $70k-160k a year in your store.. make them work for a living. when dealing with an upset customer - explain to them what the store policy is... that's it... don't discuss it with them at all.. "I'm sorry there is 14day /15% restock fee on laptops" if your unhappy I can call a manager for you to yell at (sorry I mean speak with) someone making $7-$16 an hour .. your not making enough to be yelled at

In my old store, manager's hated me for doing this.. and implemented a policy that "store managers no longer speak to customers" they pushed this down to Dept Senior's (or sometimes Supervisor's) with the excuse that this was management training.. I understand what they were trying to do with me since I was a senior. so I got them to put in writing that I was empowered to make decisions to improve customer satisfaction...

so when a customer complained I would knock 20% off the price of the computer & issue the customer a $100 gift card for his trouble... needless to say this didn't go over too well.. When I got called in for a review. I explained That I was told to act like a manager & I made an executive decision and they shouldn't question me on it.... long story short District office got involved and told our Store Manager to "do thier job" and stop pushing down customer issues to employees. (you can't give people the responsiblity of being a manager, without the authority, pay or title of the position)

your correct, Best Buy honestly doesn't care about it's customers, the only reason the Better Business Bureau (BBB) gives them a great rating is literally the thousands of dollars they pay into them for membership