Complaint Review: Best Buy Geek Squad - Portage Michigan

I find it interesting that you feel that Best Buy is responsible for the Keyboard locking up your computer. Best Buy is simply a retailer and they do not make the product. Many things could have been the cause of the lock up such as you having a virus, settings issue, compatibility issue etc etc etc... The truth is Best Buy has every right to charge for repairs since they do not make the product that damaged your computer. If that is the case then if I buy an antivirus program from Best Buy and I get a virus should I expect Best Buy to remove that virus for Free? No and not even the maker of the Antivirus would be responsible.  The people you should have complained to should have been the manufacturer of the keyboard and even then they would have not been responsible.

I own a small computer repair shop and my best clients came from Best Buy. They were tired of being taken advantage of and over priced. They have too many employees and have to pay them one way or another.

Always look around for a reliable yet reasonable small computer repair shop. You will get better treatment and not "book smart" knowledge. Not to mention your computer will be finished in 4-5 hours instead of 4-5 days!

It really must be best buy's fault that you don't know how to properly install a product you purchased, and shame on them for charging you for a service, they don't need to make a living. 

I'm sure it was easy for your local repair shop, but best buy can't just restore a computer, they have to jump through hoops because if something of yours gets lost, ignorant jerks like you will sue them.  From what you said, your computer wouldn't turn on?  I would say a $100 repair for that is extremely low, but I'm assuming your just another moron who doesn't know the difference between a computer turning on and Internet Explorer not loading your favorite porn site.

I wouldn't bash the TC, drivers can go bad for a variety of different reasons.

Anyway, due to lawsuits, consumer privacy laws and other considerations, there is very little that Geek Squad can actually do to your computer in store without your express consent. What this TC didn't tell you is what the additional $100 fee was actually for.  Whenever Best Buy restores a computer (whether using system restore or the restore disks), they must have your permission to delete data.  A system restore won't generally affect files saved, but it can remove programs.  Using the restore disks will delete the entire C drive.  The $100 fee is what Geek Squad charges to backup your harddrive and re-install all of the deleted information once the computer has been restored.  TC had a choice of paying the $100 fee to have Geek Squad back up his computer, give express consent to delete the files, or take the computer back.  He chose the latter.

No Ripoff here, folks.

one thing to make $$ another to become greedy and under promise under deliver. Them geek squad agents couldnt find their way  out of a paperbag if i gave them  a compass and  a terrain map. I seen some good geeks i seen some stupid geeks who should be banned from ever touching a comp again. however taking your comp to best buy is the worse thing you can do.

Time to face facts about the Geek squad model; any geek not reaching department numbers by NOT SELLING enough services or anti-spyware or whatever will be "promoted to customer" AKA "FIRED".

Best Buy is a retail store and everyone, including the geeks, is there for the sole purpose of making money. Some of these geeks have a clue, and some are dunces. Sometimes a dummy mistake makes situations appear to be the result of mal-intent....but it might not be.....who can say?

However it is true that they did not manufacture the keyboard.

First of all you were dumb enough to let them charge you an insane amount of $$ for something that shouldnt even take an hour to fix.  tweak squad  hires noobs who do not know the difference between bdo, edo, ecc & ddr 1,2,3 ram. 

second these "agents" worry about how many people they can talk to into getting services they dont need. You should watch the managers (guys that have baloons attached to clipboards that walk about the store. ) if a dept isn't hitting their numbers or volume which is checked like every hour to 3 hours. The managers yell at the dept supervisors and it goes down the line.

Thats how the management gets their bonuses. as for geek squad  they are the biggest joke in the cmputer repair industry all they do is use 2 cds that "magically" called MRI and customizer its all they know how to do and without them 2 cds they are dead in the water.

 What people do not know is that when you pay almost $220 for a  advanced diag and repair which 85% you shouldnt have to pay them for. What people dont know is that your computer is hooked up if it can get on the internet to something Called aju aka agent johnny utah. ITs some guy in india or pakistan or somewhere from that region that will trash your system.

When you get your system back you will "think " its running all fine an dandy. Just before 30 day rework gurantee is up Your pc goes. They put something in your system that tampers with your os or makes you panic. That is something coporate does not want you to know. its a big scam long as people are dumb enough to go to them tweak squad will keep ripping you off.

I was a geek squad agent at one point and to be honest. Geek squad makes me sick to know that they trash peoples systems for $$. Try the mom and pop stores at least they look after their customers.

The problem is BestBuy knows boxes.  Boxes and profit margins. They don't know technology.  People go to them, sucked in by their marketing efforts and the promise of low prices. 

In this case, in my opinion, BestBuy didn't stand behind the product they sold in charging the customer for support which obviously amounted to just a little technical know-how.  Should they be expected to give services for free?  Of course not - but in the practice of selling the product they've made money on the customer's purchase - support the product out of the box for a reasonable period of time.

These situations are fairly common with BestBuy from my experience.  And really, it will never end until consumer learn to seek out qualified businesses that can both sell and support technology products.

aspiretechnet

Dear Lug Nut -

I am sorry that you experienced what I consider inexperienced technicians at Best Buy. I have a computer business and we often receive the need to diagnose and repair problems with input devices such as keyboards.  I would NEVER take money from a customer who brought me a computer, asked me to repair it and to whom i sold a piece of equipment.  Clearly, they should have either repaired it at no cost, or accepted your keyboard as return and refunded your money.

 Geek Squad typically hires entry level technicians with A+ Certifications.  They are generally inexperienced at the start.  The problem seems to be the management.  These entry level personnel are not in a position to make a management or customer relations type decision but THE MANAGERS are in the position.

Thankfully, Geek Squad messes up so often, they I can make a living off of their ignorance. I work for Doctor Digital and we service the NY Metro area. www.drdigitalmd.com

Okay so you bought a keyboard from best buy and the drivers locked up your system... and you go to best buy? best buy didn't make the drivers... how does best buy have anything to do with the drivers for the keyboard?

Speaking as one who has fixed friends and families computers AFTER Geek Squad had tried, I don't think they hire very experienced techs. My friend took her laptop to Geek Squad because it wouldn't boot. They told her the hard drive and the motherboard were no good and that she needed to buy a new computer. I booted it without a problem in safe mode and had repaired the offending driver in less than 1/2 hr. My mother (who lives in another state) took her desktop to Geek Squad because she could not get her external USB hard drive (which she just bought at Best Buy) to work. They told her the USB drive was bad and swapped it for another. That didn't work either, so they told her that her computer was broken and they would send it off for repair, for $100+. She declined. When I flew in for a visit, it was obvious that her computer was missing a driver that the USB drive expected to be in the operating system. I located and loaded the driver and everything worked fine. I myself had a similar experience with these guys a few months ago. Bottom line : I am not a professional PC tech. I have a passing knowledge of how they work. The guys at Geek Squad don't seem to know much about diagnosing or fixing computer problems. I don't think they are dishonest. I just think they are not well trained and therefore cannot be expected to be much help when somebody really needs it. PC diagnostics can be complicated and requires a lot of specialized knowledge. I have no doubt that there must be some good qualified techs that work for Geek Squad. It's just that I nor anyone I know has ever run into one. My tech friends in our corporate IT division (all with 10-15 yrs. in the field) say that no one who really knows their stuff would work for Geek Squad. They could make twice the money anywhere else.

The fix for everything in Windows, as long as it is software error, is to restore to an earlier point in time or factory-restore your computer. Sometimes solutions can be there that will go around this, but usually a good reset fixes everything. The technician you must have dealt with at Geek Squad must have been extremely inept. I work for Circuit City's firedog and it is in our actual Scope of Work where we are to utilize restore points if we cannot correct an issue. Obviously they did try to squeeze out extra money, and I'm sorry that you had to deal with that. I'm not going to say that all of Geek Squad is bad, but I'm sure there are some techs out there that want to make budget just the same with firedog. I try my best to be an honest tech, but I'm not going to overcharge a customer because I would not want that to happen to me. And as for the two users arguing in the comments... just stop. Thanks.

Blahsblah2001 Copley, Ohio U.S.A. 'The computer was locked up by the Author, or the drivers. The author can only lock the computer by running software, and the software he ran locked the computer. Therefore, the author locked up the computer.' 'The phrase 'back up that statement, prove it!' comes off as infantile and asinine.' This is a typical low IQ response from someone like you, who can't back up what he or she just said, but states it as fact'. Don't say it if you don't know whether it is true or not! Be an adult and deal with it like an intelligent adult would. Now I can understand why asking for proof is such a sensitive area for you. You try to pass off guesses as facts. Your conclusion; Therefore, the author locked up the computer', is absolutely false! Do you want me to educate you and the rest of the class' about WHY it is false? It doesn't even require a high school education. One of the problems with logic is that it is so simple, that people like you, trying to show how smart' they are make GLARING errors. I am not even going to respond to the rest of your post. You are about to show the class' how to eat crow' properly! Here is the correct way to figure out who or what locked up the computer, but this time using CORRECT logic and NO guessing. You said 'The computer was locked up by the Author, or the drivers.' You have just set up an OR' criteria for the problem. This means either the author locked up the computer, OR' the drivers locked up the computer, but not both. Then, you state the software he ran locked the computer.' Because your OWN OR' criteria restricts the conclusion to only ONE possibility, you can't continue. You are finished! You just proved the software he ran locked the computer.' Congratulations! 'Blahsblah2001' You proved MY conclusion INSTEAD of yours!

The author said that he tried to install the drivers. To install, they must be on his computer. From here we can infer that either his computer comes equipped with drivers for third-party hardware not included with the computer, or he downloaded it. Unable to do what? This is where we utilize context clues and a basic knowledge of the English language. The computer was locked up by the Author, or the drivers. The author can only lock the computer by running software, and the software he ran locked the computer. Therefore, the author locked up the computer. The author did not say that Best Buy made his computer or keyboard. However, that does not stop the statements from being true. A retail establishment does not know anything about the software or drivers on the things they sell. When they hire someone at Best Buy, intimate knowledge of the side effects of every driver in the store is not one of the requirements. The part where the author claims he does not want to pay for work done must also be found through deduction. Best Buy says 'we're going to charge you to do this' and the author said 'no, give my computer back.' He then files a complaint against Best Buy, and the problem seems to be that they tried to charge him for work that they did. Yes, they should have tried a restore point. But the author says while he was in the store, they tried to boot his computer and 'absolutely nothing happened.' You sound pretty smart, Andromeda, so how about you explain to the class exactly how one goes about restoring a computer that won't turn on. The phrase 'back up that statement, prove it!' comes off as infantile and asinine. He said, 'you sound to me.' Have you ever heard anyone preface a statement of fact with the words 'you sound to me,' 'one would assume', or, 'I think.'? No. He is guessing, thank you for guessing the obvious. (Nice straw man attack, though. You'll make a lovely republican one day.) You then repeat the same argument twice, including the exact same typo. Verbs in the middle of the sentence are not usually capitalized, yet you do it twice, leading me to believe that maybe you copy-pasted it, the work of re-typing 11 words being much to strenuous for you.

The author said that he tried to install the drivers. To install, they must be on his computer. From here we can infer that either his computer comes equipped with drivers for third-party hardware not included with the computer, or he downloaded it. Unable to do what? This is where we utilize context clues and a basic knowledge of the English language. The computer was locked up by the Author, or the drivers. The author can only lock the computer by running software, and the software he ran locked the computer. Therefore, the author locked up the computer. The author did not say that Best Buy made his computer or keyboard. However, that does not stop the statements from being true. A retail establishment does not know anything about the software or drivers on the things they sell. When they hire someone at Best Buy, intimate knowledge of the side effects of every driver in the store is not one of the requirements. The part where the author claims he does not want to pay for work done must also be found through deduction. Best Buy says 'we're going to charge you to do this' and the author said 'no, give my computer back.' He then files a complaint against Best Buy, and the problem seems to be that they tried to charge him for work that they did. Yes, they should have tried a restore point. But the author says while he was in the store, they tried to boot his computer and 'absolutely nothing happened.' You sound pretty smart, Andromeda, so how about you explain to the class exactly how one goes about restoring a computer that won't turn on. The phrase 'back up that statement, prove it!' comes off as infantile and asinine. He said, 'you sound to me.' Have you ever heard anyone preface a statement of fact with the words 'you sound to me,' 'one would assume', or, 'I think.'? No. He is guessing, thank you for guessing the obvious. (Nice straw man attack, though. You'll make a lovely republican one day.) You then repeat the same argument twice, including the exact same typo. Verbs in the middle of the sentence are not usually capitalized, yet you do it twice, leading me to believe that maybe you copy-pasted it, the work of re-typing 11 words being much to strenuous for you.

The author said that he tried to install the drivers. To install, they must be on his computer. From here we can infer that either his computer comes equipped with drivers for third-party hardware not included with the computer, or he downloaded it. Unable to do what? This is where we utilize context clues and a basic knowledge of the English language. The computer was locked up by the Author, or the drivers. The author can only lock the computer by running software, and the software he ran locked the computer. Therefore, the author locked up the computer. The author did not say that Best Buy made his computer or keyboard. However, that does not stop the statements from being true. A retail establishment does not know anything about the software or drivers on the things they sell. When they hire someone at Best Buy, intimate knowledge of the side effects of every driver in the store is not one of the requirements. The part where the author claims he does not want to pay for work done must also be found through deduction. Best Buy says 'we're going to charge you to do this' and the author said 'no, give my computer back.' He then files a complaint against Best Buy, and the problem seems to be that they tried to charge him for work that they did. Yes, they should have tried a restore point. But the author says while he was in the store, they tried to boot his computer and 'absolutely nothing happened.' You sound pretty smart, Andromeda, so how about you explain to the class exactly how one goes about restoring a computer that won't turn on. The phrase 'back up that statement, prove it!' comes off as infantile and asinine. He said, 'you sound to me.' Have you ever heard anyone preface a statement of fact with the words 'you sound to me,' 'one would assume', or, 'I think.'? No. He is guessing, thank you for guessing the obvious. (Nice straw man attack, though. You'll make a lovely republican one day.) You then repeat the same argument twice, including the exact same typo. Verbs in the middle of the sentence are not usually capitalized, yet you do it twice, leading me to believe that maybe you copy-pasted it, the work of re-typing 11 words being much to strenuous for you.

The author said that he tried to install the drivers. To install, they must be on his computer. From here we can infer that either his computer comes equipped with drivers for third-party hardware not included with the computer, or he downloaded it. Unable to do what? This is where we utilize context clues and a basic knowledge of the English language. The computer was locked up by the Author, or the drivers. The author can only lock the computer by running software, and the software he ran locked the computer. Therefore, the author locked up the computer. The author did not say that Best Buy made his computer or keyboard. However, that does not stop the statements from being true. A retail establishment does not know anything about the software or drivers on the things they sell. When they hire someone at Best Buy, intimate knowledge of the side effects of every driver in the store is not one of the requirements. The part where the author claims he does not want to pay for work done must also be found through deduction. Best Buy says 'we're going to charge you to do this' and the author said 'no, give my computer back.' He then files a complaint against Best Buy, and the problem seems to be that they tried to charge him for work that they did. Yes, they should have tried a restore point. But the author says while he was in the store, they tried to boot his computer and 'absolutely nothing happened.' You sound pretty smart, Andromeda, so how about you explain to the class exactly how one goes about restoring a computer that won't turn on. The phrase 'back up that statement, prove it!' comes off as infantile and asinine. He said, 'you sound to me.' Have you ever heard anyone preface a statement of fact with the words 'you sound to me,' 'one would assume', or, 'I think.'? No. He is guessing, thank you for guessing the obvious. (Nice straw man attack, though. You'll make a lovely republican one day.) You then repeat the same argument twice, including the exact same typo. Verbs in the middle of the sentence are not usually capitalized, yet you do it twice, leading me to believe that maybe you copy-pasted it, the work of re-typing 11 words being much to strenuous for you.

Ecurbenyaw Anytown, Michigan U.S.A. 'So let me get this straight.' 'You bought the keyboard. You tried to download the drivers.' Where did the Author say he downloaded any drivers? 'You were unable to do it.' Unable to do what? 'You locked up your computer.' How do you know the computer was locked up by the driver, and not the Author? 'You actually believe that they made your keyboard.' Where did the Author say Best Buy made his keyboard? You left off a question mark. 'You actually believe that they made your computer.' Where did the Author say Best Buy made his computer? You left off a question mark. 'You actually believe that they what, SHOULDN'T charge you for work that they do?' Where did the Author say he didn't want to pay for work done? 'You may not like the company, and that is your right. However, they did nothing wrong in this instance.' Wrong! restoring a restore point should have been tried before trying to charge $100.00 for doing it. 'You sound to me like a prime example of a customer who would walk into a place like that, buy a computer, get the warranty information explained to them about how it can serve to protect you a lot of times, turn it down(you have the right), and when the computer crashes and the store has no liability for the machine, since, go figure,' Now you are just Guessing. Back up that statement! Prove it! 'they DIDN'T BUILD IT, complain that they won't fix it for free.' Where did the Author say Best Buy made his computer? 'The rip off here is your expectations of what you think you deserve.' Now you are just Guessing. Back up that statement! Prove it! Congratulations Ecurbenyaw - You just made a totally useless post!

So let me get this straight. You bought the keyboard. You tried to download the drivers. You were unable to do it. You locked up your computer. You took it to Best Buy. You actually believe that they made your keyboard. You actually believe that they made your computer. You actually believe that they what, SHOULDN'T charge you for work that they do? You may not like the company, and that is your right. However, they did nothing wrong in this instance. You sound to me like a prime example of a customer who would walk into a place like that, buy a computer, get the warranty information explained to them about how it can serve to protect you a lot of times, turn it down(you have the right), and when the computer crashes and the store has no liability for the machine, since, go figure, they DIDN'T BUILD IT, complain that they won't fix it for free. The rip off here is your expectations of what you think you deserve.