Anyone have an actual good experience with Best Buy?

[Born2bwire]

I was reading the other Best Buy thread the other day and this morning while I was unpacking I found my protection program that I bought for a TV from Best Buy. I suddenly remembered that against all the odds I had a legitimately good experience with the protection program.

Several years ago they were starting to phase out some of the better CRT HDTV's at the time for the new LCD's. I still felt that despite the loss of resolution that the CRT's looked better so I bought a floor model CRT HDTV that they were liquidating. But it wasn't until I got home that I found out there was a glaring flaw in the phosphor in one area. I returned it and got a Samsung slim HDTV and this time, knowing that the reliability of CRTs was starting to go down the drain, bought into a protection plan.

Turns out my Samsung always had these bad geometry problems despite my best efforts to correct them in the service menu. So after a year or so I finally got fed up and, using the protection program, I had them send out a repair tech that looked at the TV. The tech finally decided that it was to be junked (the cost of a new tube being more than the TV). In return, I got store credit for the full purchase price of the original Samsung on a new TV and the remainder of the protection program transferred over to whatever new TV I got from Best Buy. Plus, I got to keep the old TV which I sold on Craigslist (though I think I gave it away since it was "junked").

Still, I don't think I'll ever buy another plan from them. I only made this one exception because I did not have much faith in the reliability of the new tube TV's at the time (I had been burned by a bad CRT TV right before all this too).

 

[LookBehindYou]

I bought a blu ray movie there (was Avatar I believe). Had a great experience. I gave them 20 bucks, they gave me a movie. Then I left. I think they were satisfied, I know I was.

 

[Saint Nick]

Yeah, I worked there for a year and bought tons of cheap shit.

 

[moshquerade]

Yes, I just now posted in the other Best Buy thread that I recently bought 2 HP TouchPads from BB. One was in store and one was shipped. Couldn't be happier with the purchases.

Before that I bought a 1¢ t shirt online with in store stock and picked up for a penny. My cc was charged 1¢.

I think you can get good deals, and experiences @ BB as long as you know how they operate.

 

[her209]

As long as I don't have to interact with the staff, beyond paying for it, I have a good experience.

 

[Wyndru]

I'm in love with a member of the geek squad. She gives me lots of good experiences.

 

[YoungGun21]

Yes, I just now posted in the other Best Buy thread that I recently bought 2 HP TouchPads from BB. One was in store and one was shipped. Couldn't be happier with the purchases.

Before that I bought a 1¢ t shirt online with in store stock and picked up for a penny. My cc was charged 1¢.

I think you can get good deals, and experiences @ BB as long as you know how they operate.

There is a difference between getting good deals and having good customer service.

I have had mainly terrible experiences with BB. Got my phone through them - when it went bad they sent it off, wanted to charge me $150 for a loaner (I was told it would be free), didn't even have a loaner to give me, wouldn't help me activate my loaner that I got myself, made me stand around for hours waiting for help (then didn't help me), and my phone didn't even get worked on for 6 weeks (I was told I would have it back in 2-3 weeks). Like it hadn't even been started to be worked on. Finally I just went in and told them how ridiculous they were being and that I wanted a new phone, Geek Squad people helped me out and cleared me for a new phone. When I went over to the Mobile dept., they tried to tell me I couldn't get a new one even though I had a signed document from Geek Squad Manager (who authorizes the warranty replacement stuff) saying I could.

Even after all of that, my problems still weren't done. I got the warranty on my new phone as well, but they kept charging me for my original warranty each month until I finally noticed that they had billed me 5 months ($50) that was incorrect. Calling and getting this taken care of was easy though, presumably because I went through the BB hotline for warranty and not through the idiotic store.

I'm generally really forgiving when it comes to retail since I worked in a store like this for over 3 years, but that was just stupid. There was like one helpful person that worked at this BB store, the rest were incompetent and not helpful at all.

 

[moshquerade]

There is a difference between getting good deals and having good customer service.

I have had mainly terrible experiences with BB. Got my phone through them - when it went bad they sent it off, wanted to charge me $150 for a loaner (I was told it would be free), didn't even have a loaner to give me, wouldn't help me activate my loaner that I got myself, made me stand around for hours waiting for help (then didn't help me), and my phone didn't even get worked on for 6 weeks (I was told I would have it back in 2-3 weeks). Like it hadn't even been started to be worked on. Finally I just went in and told them how ridiculous they were being and that I wanted a new phone, Geek Squad people helped me out and cleared me for a new phone. When I went over to the Mobile dept., they tried to tell me I couldn't get a new one even though I had a signed document from Geek Squad Manager (who authorizes the warranty replacement stuff) saying I could.

Even after all of that, my problems still weren't done. I got the warranty on my new phone as well, but they kept charging me for my original warranty each month until I finally noticed that they had billed me 5 months ($50) that was incorrect. Calling and getting this taken care of was easy though, presumably because I went through the BB hotline for warranty and not through the idiotic store.

I'm generally really forgiving when it comes to retail since I worked in a store like this for over 3 years, but that was just stupid. There was like one helpful person that worked at this BB store, the rest were incompetent and not helpful at all.

Hence why I said, "as long as you know how they operate". I don't buy anything that I may need costumer service on from BB, because... I know how they operate.

 

[purbeast0]

ive actually never really had a bad experience with best buy, ever. everything has always gone smooth as butter for me there. i really only shop there now when there is some sort of deal, not nearly as much as i used to.

i did work there too. had to work 30 days to get your discount. on my 30th day i bought about $1500 worth of shit and saved $1400, and quit on my 31st day. it was the plan from the get go, since i was already working another job at hte time.

 

[sourceninja]

You can typically get the pre-order bonuses on video games at best buy even when you didn't pre-order.

It's why I buy there and not gamestop.

 

[Svnla]

I bought the famous mislabeled Gateway laptop that was supposed to be an "i3" chip but it was really an "i5" chip inside then sold it for $250 extra or 50% gain. I wish that I did keep the other two GW laptops (bought 3 and returned 2).

I also had good deals when DVDs and games on sale. I don't think BB is bad, just another decent B&M store when they have things on sale. I never bought any full priced items from BB.

 

[Insomniator]

I've picked up some nice clearance stuff and would definitely consider buying a TV or something huge from there but the staff and customer service is literally inept. The store is full of high school kids and drop outs that don't know wth they are talking about and don't really care.

If I have to go to the customer service desk I already know I have to wait 15 minutes even if no one else is online... I know they probably won't know how to handle the return or where to find my in store pickup item.

 

[spacejamz]

I pricematch alot of blu rays that are onsale at Fry's at Best Buy because they are alot closer...Most of them pricematch right away (the manager just keys in his code), but sometimes they will call Fry's just to see if they have it in stock)...either way, they have always PM's these prices with no problems...

 

[GrumpyMan]

I had a great experience, it was over a 100 degrees outside and I went in to pee and cool off. It was very nice!

 

[BladeVenom]

No. Every time I've talked to Best Buy's customer service, I've gotten the worst customer service I've ever experienced.

 

[Aikouka]

I may see how my luck goes with them tonight or tomorrow. I bought a Motorola Surfboard SB6121 from them about a month ago and it started messing up last night. I can either mess around with Motorola for awhile trying to get a replacement or return it to Best Buy. :hmm:

Hopefully I didn't get rid of my receipt... that would be a bummer.

 

[Soundmanred]

I only go to Best Buy for loss leader items, that's it.

 

[SunnyD]

Yep. I have a t-shirt with the bestbuy logo on it that says "Broke Guy" instead. I walked around a bestbuy wearing it one day, and got doubletakes and laughs from employees all over the store, nodding in approval.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I had great experience with the protection plan I bought on my Xbox. I bought the Xbox Pro in early 2007 and it croaked 4 months later. By the time, the Elite dropped in price so using my protection plan, I was able to upgrade to a brand new Elite package for less than $50.

That Elite eventually died in a December, near the holidays. I didn't want to mess with shipping it to Best Buy and getting a gift card in return because I wanted to play it over the holiday break, so I took it to the local Best Buy and sweet talked them into letting me exchange it right there. I got the latest Elite package and it had 2 games (Forza 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance).

Unfortunately, Best Buy modified the extended warranties on Xboxes and the last I heard, they basically took it from you and shipped it to a repair center and in return, you got a refurb or your repaired console back. This is exactly what Microsoft does, so the only thing the Best Buy warranty gets you is extended coverage on the non-RROD failure modes. Not worth it in my opinion.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I do remember another time I dealt with their customer service that started out rough but was resolved satisfactorily at the end of the day. Back in the day, Best Buy actually had some decent deals on components. One day, they had a sale on a Maxtor 15 GB drive (yeah, I know, don't say it) for, IIRC, $79.99. The regular price was either $99.99 or $119.99, so I bought one.

Anyway, within a week or so, the drive started clicking and died. So I took it to Best Buy to swap out. They told me to go get another off the shelf and then tried to charge me the difference between the sale price and the non-sale price (the sale was over at that point). I argued with the lady at customer service and she got a manager and he agreed with me and therefore, I got the replacement free.

 

[punjabiplaya]

when I walk in, buy what I want, and then leave

 

[RockinZ28]

Bought a Moto Droid there in June '10, after using it for a week I determined it was too slow. Brought it back and upgraded to the HTC Incredible for the extra $50, no questions asked.

Then a few days later I killed my Inc with water damage. Let it dry out, then went to BB again and said my phone stopped working. They checked it out for a couple minutes, then opened the cabinet and handed me a brand new one. Really saved my ass on that one lol.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Anyway, within a week or so, the drive started clicking and died. So I took it to Best Buy to swap out. They told me to go get another off the shelf and then tried to charge me the difference between the sale price and the non-sale price (the sale was over at that point). I argued with the lady at customer service and she got a manager and he agreed with me and therefore, I got the replacement free.

That's really shady of them. If you purchase a product, it fails within the return window, and you want an even exchange, and it's in stock, they should provide that. Without charging you a dime.

I can relate one of my worst BestBuy experiences. I went in to purchase a bunch of their clearance "EyeToy" PS2 USB cameras (could use with PC). They were like $8 or $6 on the website, so I took a printout in to pricematch, and the guy said he could pricematch, and the price was going UP on his register as he rang them up.

Apparently, they were ringing up in-store at an even lower price. But instead of being honest and selling them for the lower price that they were ringing up as, they "price matched" to a HIGHER price.

Talk about jerks!

I later returned the whole lot of them at a different store. What a PITA.

This is why I rarely, if even, shop at BestBuy. They are crooks.

 

[Fingolfin269]

when I walk in, buy what I want, and then leave

This.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

That's really shady of them. If you purchase a product, it fails within the return window, and you want an even exchange, and it's in stock, they should provide that. Without charging you a dime.

Exactly, and that's what I told the lady. It made no sense to charge me the difference because I was basically returning a defective product well within the return window for an exchange. The manager agreed with me as well.