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  • Report:  #704221

Complaint Review: Best Buy Geek Squad - Richfield Minnesota

Reported By:
Melanie - Antioch, California, U.S.A.
Submitted:
Updated:

Best Buy Geek Squad
7601 Penn Avenue South Richfield, 55423 Minnesota, United States of America
Phone:
Web:
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good? What's this?
I took my business computer to Geek squad to have my main hard drive restored and Windows 7 installed.  I instructed them to leave my internal backup drive with all my important business files alone, it is in the paperwork.  The tech did not disconnect the back up drive and all my company files were erased.  Best Buy tried to restore the lost info. but were not able. So after having my business computer for 1 month, charging me $448.47 for the work they did before they would give me my computer back, they told me "they had done all that they were prepared to do", in the words of the store manager, Marc Owens.  

I wrote a letter and sent in registered mail to Brian Dunn at corporate headquarters and another to the store manager back in December asking to hear back from them about some compensation.  Never heard anything.  I spent so much time reentering the lost information.  It was really stressful.  I have 2 businesses, and I do the bookkeeping for one other and all that info. back 20 years was gone.  I had to really book to just get 2010 reentered in time for tax forms to be due.

They admitted it was their mistake but still gave me back a computer with all the important info. gone.  I don't know what to do to get them to care about all the pain and suffering(not exaggerating) they caused me.

 


5 Updates & Rebuttals

Larry

Phoenix,
Arizona,
U.S.A.
Just wondering

#2Consumer Comment

Sun, March 20, 2011

What would you have done if your computer was stolen or destroyed in a tsunami?  Your only back up was inside the very same computer where your original data is stored.  That's like putting the only two keys to your car on the same key ring.  Lose one and you lose them both.


Robert

Buffalo,
New York,
USA
Best Buy Incompentence!!!

#3Consumer Comment

Sat, March 19, 2011

The tech did not disconnect the back up drive and all my company files were erased.

These clowns are incredible.  It is NOT NECESSARY to disconnect your secondary drive to prevent data loss when reinstalling Windows to your primary bootable drive!  WHAT the heck did they do to your secondary drive?

IF the only thing they did was a quick format then these incompentent fools SHOULD have been able to recover your files.  But, as you wrote:

 

 Best Buy tried to restore the lost info. but were not able.

I'm very curious as to what they tried.  There are other reports where these fools claim to be able to restore lost data for a palty $169, and yet they couldn't help you??? 

Based on the amount they charged you, I suspect that they might have REPLACED both of your drives rather than merely performing an OS reinstall.  I would double check with the store manager to learn what was REALLY DONE to your computer.  Best buy used to advertise a complete OS reinstall (without backup) for about $169 yet they charged you over $400!!!

Here's a tip for you.  There is a FREE program called RECUVA from Pirosoft that will recover all of your files if they merely erased them or performed a quick format.  The program is FREE-just google for it and download it from Pirosoft.

If recuva can't restore your data, the DATA CAN STILL BE RECOVERED but it is going to cost you a pretty penny to do so.  The data is still recoverable even if they did an extended format.  The problem might be that they REPLACED your drive and your original drive is LONG GONE.

Good luck.


Ramjet

Somewhere,
Michigan,
U.S.A.
Pay attention folks

#4Consumer Comment

Sat, March 19, 2011

This report is useful in that it points out once again why you NEED to keep all of your data backed up in more than one form.  Every company I ever worked for had their critical data backed up in "Grandfather, Father, Son" procedure and in addition had a current off site backup.

It's so easy and cheap to do that there is no excuse anymore.

BACKUP!

You have only yourself to blame.


Cory

San Antonio,
Texas,
U.S.A.
Yeah, They Screwed Up But...

#5Consumer Suggestion

Sat, March 19, 2011

Having all your important business files on the same computer ISN'T the same as having them "backed up". Having them "backed up" means having the data on a completely different, seperate system or file, an EXTERNAL hard drive. I see 1T external hard drives for $60 or $70. So for $60 or $70 you could have saved yourself all that pain and suffering. Penny wise and pound cheap. Also you can buy a NEW computer with windows 7, 6G RAM and 1T hard drive for under $500. By the way, best buy is probably the last place I'd take a computer to have worked on.


NJel

V-Town,
USA
Reputation

#6Consumer Comment

Sat, March 19, 2011

Speak with your business' wallet and take your business to another retailer. The next step is to tarnish Best Buy's reputation by letting the public know what kind of risks they are taking by allowing Geek Squad to operate on their computers. Let the corporation of Best Buy know what you are doing so they understand how serious you are about your complaint; otherwise, it'll just be left in a pile of other unanswered mail from other consumers with the same issue.

Businesses only speak money.

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