Complaint Review: Best Buy - Mobile Alabama

yes... i have the carry in psp. no they did not put anything back on the hard drive for me (no os - no nothing). they replaced the 80 gig, and i purchased a 120 gig. i do alot of video editing and need alot of space. i have 5 more computers to buy this summer and i am debating about going back to best buy,,, but if i do you can be assured i will not be buying the psp. if i had not bought the psp, i could have bought the 80 gig harddrive, saved two days of frustration, and still saved money!

I'm glad they resolved the problem with your hard drive, but like you, I'm a little put off that you had to go back a second day, speak directly to the GM and feel like you had to show 10K in reciepts to get their attention. This kind of takes the shine off the service plan. Did you buy an additional 120 HD, or did you replace the 80 with a 120 and just pay the difference? Also, did they transfer all the data off the original hard drive? All it should take is you showing up (I assume this was a carry-in PSP) with your unit and that ONE RECIEPT with your PSP attached. Sometimes the customer service people had a preconcieved notion intheir heads about what you want, and they block everything else out. It once took me ten minutes to get through to them that a) I didn't buy this piece of gear at Best Buy, b) I don't have a PSP on it, c) I know that it's too old to be covered under warranty, d) I just want you to perform the service and LET ME PAY FOR IT!! Mind you, THIS was at my own store! Grrrr! Oh well, hope in the end the experience was somewhat positive.

oh yeah, the reason that i could not use one of the other 6 machines is that my machine is specifically for video editing. (translated-lot's of extra stuff inside that the others do not have)

and while i understand your points respectively, i got my new hard drive(80 gig) replaced under my psp and that same day purchased a 120 gig hard drive. so you must be thinking... satisfied customer ... right? well not exactly. i went back the next day. i had to go to the store's g.m. who was somewhat uncooperative until i prodused over $10,000 in receipts from the past 18 months. at that point she she did replace the hard drive. (plus i am planning to buy 5 more computer packages this summer) i did finally get the psp honored in an acceptable manner, but why does a customer have to go through all that trouble? and what if i was not that magnitude of customer? had i only purchased the one computer, i feel certain i would have had to purchase a new hard drive that day (from someone else) all the while having paid for the psp.

Having worked for Best Buy for three years in a store, in a service center, and at the corporate office I know that Best Buy is the same as any other business...it is all about the bottom dollar. I understand Mike from Alabama's frustration with the service contract. He paid a lot of extra money to get the guarantee that his computer be repaired when it is broken. However, you have to make sure you read the fine print. There is never a guarantee on the length of time of service. This is truly a buyer beware scenario. You spent the extra $200 dollars for a service contract for a business computer because you thought it was a good deal, not because you expected Best Buy to bend over backwards for you in case of a mis-hap. If you really NEED the computers to be operational at all times with minimal down time, you should have skipped the service contract and hired an IS person at $35,000 a year. You get what you pay for. ON THE OTHER HAND - T from Florida. You have a lot of nerve telling Mike that he needs a corporate service contract. You know darn well that the managers in the stores make the employees offer service contracts to every customer. It is 'recommended' that they qualify the customer, but that is COMPLETELY bogus. I know the pressure that the employees are put under to sell the service contracts, internet packages, premium gold cabled, print cartridges, paper, etc. (Do I think it's wrong to make profit? NO! But be upfront with the customer and let them know what they're getting...that is the honest way to do business.) My guess is that each of the 9 times Mike purchased a computer with a service contract, he was NEVER told that the PSP couldn't be used for business purposes. Also, the employees mislead the customers by offering a three year service contract as a warranty. The computers have a 1 year warranty, then the service contract takes over for years 2 and 3. It doesn't matter if a customer has the service contract on his/her computer...as long as it is a Sony computer within its first year of purchase, it can not be covered by PSP and if the manufacturer says it needs to be sent to Sony, then you're going to send it to Sony. Don't make it sound like you do special favors for those people who buy service contracts. ****************************************** The fact is, the sales staff at Best Buy are not knowledgeable enough to sell their products. They're trained to sell by store managers who couldn't make it in the real world of sales if their lives depended on it. Don't get me wrong, there are a few...but I have to say, it is up to the buyer to research and not make impulse decisions.

First of all Mike, let's be clear; Is the Sony computer in question actually covered by a Best Buy PSP or is it existing only with the manufacturer's warranty? If it doesn't have a PSP, then Best Buy is correct in telling you (up front) that they MAY have to return your computer to the manufacturer for repair - IF - it is still under the terms of that agreement. Even though you may not have use of the system for 2.5 weeks, that really not too bad considering shipping time, and you do have six other systems at your disposal, correct? Secondly, be sure you purchased a commercial PSP and not a private use extended warranty. Your private use PSP could be voided if you are using it for business. Even though (to you) it's only an $80-$90 hard drive standing between you and ultimate satisfaction with Best Buy, you must realize that NO retail entity is a charity, and unless specified under coverages you may/may NOT have purchased with this unit, that will determine if the fix is covered or not.