Reader Lorraine would like her laptop back. Geek Squad sent it to HP for repair then never contacted Lorraine again. Eventually she drove over to the Best Buy (she couldn’t get anyone on the phone) where they told her that her laptop would be replaced, but only after HP sent it back. When would HP send it back? No one knows. It is a mystery for the ages.
Lorraine writes:
Dear Ben:
Consumerist is a fantastic blog. I recently discovered it when I googled “Geek Squad” in a desperate attempt to get action on a service problem. As you advised, I sent Robert Stephens an email –pasted in below–but aside from an auto-response, I haven’t heard boo.
Four weeks ago I dropped my laptop with Geek Squad for repair. Not only has Geek Squad NOT fixed it–but they have not contacted me once. My many attempts to reach Geek Squad by phone–Best Buy’s circular phone menu never connects customers to a real person–were futile. In fact, I had to drive to Best Buy in order to speak with Geek Squad. That’s how I learned–after returning from a two-week out-of-town trip– my laptop is irreparable and must be replaced.
But Geek Squad won’t replace it until the laptop returns from HP whence Geek Squad sent it for repair four weeks ago. When will my laptop return from HP? Geek Squad can’t say . Aside from a single electronic request to HP, Geek Squad tells me there is nothing more they can do.
I’m fuming. Aside from complaining–in person–to managers at my local Best Buy , I seem to have no recourse.
Geek Squad’s incompetence is more than inconvenient. It’s costing me my livelihood. I’m a copywriter who works on a laptop 8-10 hours daily. My utter dependence on my laptop prompted me to buy a three-year warranty when I purchased the laptop from Best Buy last year.
Thanks for the opportunity to vent. Do you have any further suggestions?
Sincerely yours,
Lorraine
A few days later, Lorraine wrote with an update:
Dear Carey:
Thanks for your email and kind offer to check out my problem.
Since I wrote you, I’ve filed a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and
with complaint.com–all cc’d to Geek Squad’s CEO Robert Stephens and Nirov,
manager of my local Geek Squad.I’m appalled that I haven’t yet had a single communication from Geek Squad
or Best Buy.On Monday I plan to file a small claims suit.
I appreciate all you’re doing.
Best regards,
Lorraine
You know, we’re starting to get the feeling that Lorraine might like her laptop back. We suggest she try calling HP to complain. If her laptop is stuck in repair limbo over there, they might be able to help her get it back. Call: +1-650-857-1501, ask for Mark Hurd’s office.
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Gawd some of you need to get your facts straight.
I am the Lead Tech at CompUSA repair shop. Everything happened as it should.
1. Best Buys/CompUSA extended warrenty will cover some things that the mfg warrenty will not such as a battery replacement and lcd screen protection.
2. HP requires any tech shop that does repairs under warrenty, to send in the unit to HP to get fixxed under the mfg warrenty even if they bought an extended warrenty from the business that sold them the computer. This is a requirement to be certified by HP.
3. HP will not reimburse the store(bestbuy) until the store recieves the old broken unit back. HP often replaces the unit in this fasion. This is out of best buys control.
4. There is nothing that best buy would be able to do at this point. HP will stop giving info to the store once that the unit has been marked for replacement. At most the store can get the shipping tracking number.
5. ANYONE that depends on their laptop to do daily business should have a 2nd or even a 3rd laptop. Computers are like cars, they go when they want to. You can not plan when a computer doesnt work. So you should always have a backup of your data and a backup computer to use for when your primary computer goes down. Thats just common sense.
And yes everyone is right that best buy dont have the greatest of rep, BUT this would have been handled the same at best buy OR COMPUSA. That means its how things are handled through HP, not through the stores handling the business such as compusa or best buy.
We had a similar situation happen at our precinct as well. Our agents have been trying to get ahold of HP for weeks now, but cannot find any way of getting in touch with the proper people. My boss spent over an hour getting bounced around India trying to talk to someone that could help with the issue and eventually just slammed the phone into the wall. We get just as pissed as you guys do when this kind of stuff happens.
I have to say that, 1) HP is mainly at fault. They should repair the laptop and send it back in a resonable turn around time. Its not the way it should be, but the fact remains that HP is the decision maker on all their laptops within the first year (manufacturer’s warranty). 2) Best Buy and Geek Squad should screen who they hire a bit better. There is too many younger individuals that are hired to fill slots. They don’t understand that the customer needs to be contacted consistantly in order for them to have faith in the repairs being made. The agents cant be blamed as a whole, but the individuals that are not doing their job that are behind the scenes. I deal with issues constantly because of manufacturers and our own repair facilities. As for the agents under my wing? I know we are solid. It bothers me when others degrade my name.
Although 4 weeks entirely unreasonable time for repair, it’s about to be expected from Best Buy. I had a Compaq laptop that needed be repaired repeatedly. It would usually take between 3-6 weeks, but the 4th time it broke (and 3 months of total repair time in the first year), they gave me a new one. The “comparable” model was another Compaq, but they did allow me to get an HP instead at no cost (even though it was $100 more or so). Everytime I tried to get an estimate of how long until it would be done they’d have no clue though — except the rare occasion when it was in “shipping” state which meant it was on it’s way back to the store. The rest of the time it was just in a “repair” state which wasn’t helpful at all.
On the bright side, one time they replaced the MB + CPU + RAM; and in the end I had a new laptop. Sucked being without it for months at a time though.
Yes there are some problems with geek squad but if it was sent to hp then that means it was under manufactures warranty. It’s out of geek squads hands and is really HP’s fault.
As an Agent at Geek Squad, I must say that we go through this a lot more than we’d like to. We send computers out to service centers for HP, Sony, Gateway, and even our own service center, Geek Squad City, and sometimes there’s delays on repair; usually due to parts being sparse.
Once a client’s product is out at the service center there isn’t much beyond filing an escalation and actually calling the service center that Precinct Agents can do. However, speaking with the GM of that store can prove useful, I would start there, then move onto the 888BESTBUY (our corporate) number. And for those of you folks posting here with derogatory comments about Geek Squad and what we do, keep in mind that you can’t penalize an entire company over a few bad eggs, that’s like saying that an entire car dealership is god aweful just because one of their mechanics didn’t properly tighten down an oil filter completely. Mistakes happen, and unfortunately 4 out of 5 times there isn’t much more than the previously mentioned that we can do in-store to take care of getting a laptop back. Ask the Store Services Manager about a loaner program that utilizes an open-item laptop.
Best of luck, and I hope Geek Squad and Best Buy set things straight for you; Take Care.
Its posts like these which make me truly appreciate my MacBook Pro, my Apple Store and my Mac Genius oh so much!
NEVER buy a computer where you have to send it in for repair. Or anything, really. Make sure it will be fixed onsite or that the replacement will be sent to you before you send yours back. But we can’t be expected to look out for our own interests any more, can we….
I used to work for a Best Buy with Geek Squad, and this happened at our store, too. A lady dropped off her laptop, and after a few weeks the repair center it was sent to had apparently lost it. All of us in the PCHO (computers) department, and in Geek Squad, were kept unaware of the situation until the lady actually came in to complain. By this point I was in a weird experimental position called CES (customer experience specialist), where I got to work independently around the whole store, and I ended up taking care of this lady. I went back to the manager’s area to ask about it, and I think I caught the managers when they were busy or frustrated, because upon asking them they went “Her laptop has been missing for weeks and we don’t know if we’re ever going to get it back.” All quick-like, like they were telling me the really simple solution to her problem.
Except, that wasn’t really a solution at all.
About 2 seconds after one of the managers let that slip the light bulb went off above his head, and he jumped up and said, “Don’t tell her that. Tell her something else. Say it’s being worked on but we don’t know how long it’s going to take.”
By then I was pretty much done with my “career” at Best Buy, so after reassuring the manager I was on his side, I went out and told the lady that her laptop was gone, everyone else was going to give her the runaround, and she should try to step things up to the next level with an e-mail or phone call to the regional manager, or the repair center itself, or HP.
I don’t know if she ever got her laptop back, but I like to think I helped her avoid the gang rape that is Best Buy customer service.
@sleze69:
The reason its not theft is because whenever someone brings a computer to any service-providing company, they sign a waiver releasing the computer to them and cannot hold them responsible for any damage when sent out for repair. Get a copy of that agreement you should have signed, then get a lawyer.
Worst Buy and Geek Squat are actually worthless, I try to stay out of that place as much as possible. I don’t know if HP can help you as much as they did me, but I purchased my laptop and had major issues with it. I have had my laptop replaced three times through HP. If you have your serial number and that information you might want to call the Quality Case Manager of HP at 877-917-4380 then press 94 and then 1. See if they can help you get your laptop back.
I’m having the same thing happen with CompUSA and HP. I took my laptop in for a simple overheating problem, since I bought a 2-year warranty with CompUSA. They told me it’s company policy to send it to HP since it was still under their warranty before they could try to fix it. I get a call a WEEK later saying they’re shipping it to HP.
I get a call a month later from CompUSA that HP needs the okay to replace my laptop, since it’s taking too long for repairs, with a “comparable laptop” since the repairs were taking too long. When I asked what that meant, the guy said it’d probably be a better laptop, but HP would be calling me first with more information.
I did some research, and it seems that the type of laptop I had (Compaq Presarios) have a defect with some screws that, over time, they become loose, which leads to the overheating in the left hand corner. I would have attempted to fix it myself had I had the right tool for the screws.
I’m prepared to fight for my laptop back. It had everything on that, and I REALLY didn’t want to pay the $70 to have the hard drive backed up. I would have done it myself onto a CD if I had thought a)it would be so bad and b)that I’d never see my laptop again. The laptop offered a disk-less backup, which I did, but without the laptop, I’ve got nothing.
I’m starting to wonder if HP is just doing this to cover their asses for the defect.
As an ex-GS employee, and “service sup” (before GS), I can tell you that, basically, 1 of 3 things happened.
1)The GS agent that filled out your paperwork missed something, and either the serial didn’t match, the model was incorrect, or the shipping destination was wrong. This is the most likely thing that can go wrong. This means that your laptop is stuck in limbo somewhere–but the Service Manager of the store should be able to find it in less than a day, or he/she just doesn’t care.
2)Your laptop got put on the wrong shelf(or in a corner), and never got shipped at all. This doesn’t happen a lot, but I’ve seen it happen before. Again, the SM should clear this up right away.
3)HP lost it. This is the least likely scenario.
Based on reading your post, I would guess either 1) or 2) happened and the store is feeding you a bunch of BS unitl they get around to figuring what to do. Let me state categorically that MOST GS PRECINCTS WILL NOT WILLFULLY LIE TO CUSTOMERS but in the past I was sent to “clean up” GS precincts that would lose units then lie to customers on a regular basis.
Complain to these people(repeatedly), in order:
DCI (service supervisor)
Service Manager
General Manager
Corporate Office
Remember that you will get farther being calm but firm than yelling, screaming, and threatening. If you can muster up a few tears, definitely do that, it goes a LONG WAY.
4 weeks is too long to wait. At my old precinct, it was much easier to give the customer a new laptop than deal with corporate over something like this. It sounds like the management at that store is shady or doesn’t care.
Ric writes:
“Another suggestion. Some years ago the Los Angles Times ran an article
that suggested the IRS as a way to persuade people/organizations to be
honest. In a case like this, you purchased an extended warranty, you
gave them a laptop that you thought was mal-functioning (you’re not a PC
expert), you gave them your data (on the hard disk). All of which have
value. You received nothing in return. All those items then become
INCOME, for which HP/Best Buy need to pay income tax on. Given the
HP/Best Buy mechanism for obtaining the income (not returning the laptop
& data, et al), it is reasonable to assume the income is unreported on
their taxes. Unreported income is what Al Capone was sent to prison for!
Type up a polite letter to the IRS describing the your loss, and
indicate that the loss is income to HP/Best Buy. In the letter, ask for
an investigation (aka TAX AUDIT). Before you post the letter to the IRS,
send a copy directly to the CEO’s of both HP and Best Buy along with a
letter describing your issues. Many companies would really prefer to
solve problems rather than deal with the issue of unreported income. If
they choose to be a hard case, then send the letter to the IRS. WARNING,
don’t lie, exaggerate or engage in deceit with the IRS. Tell the truth
as accurately as you can. The IRS can be a very bad opponent if they
feel misused. You are asking for an investigation by the IRS. The IRS
will decide what to do, if anything. You can’t make the IRS do anything.
A polite request is all. Frequently, a polite request is enough. If it
works, thank the LA Times.”
If you got the BBY PSP then you have protection. Once the repair goes over 60 days you are entitled to a new computer. Until then however you will just have to wait for HP to fix it, nobody can wave a magic wand. If you have to wait for parts, you have to wait for parts. If you rely on it so much for work, you really should have all your data on an external drive. Keep that in mind in the future, computers can fail at any time!
I would suggest that if you talk to a manager, ask for the store’s GM. Explain that you really need something for work. And see if he/she will let you buy a laptop on the condition that he will let you return it when yours comes back from repair (which could be over the standard 14 days). BBY doesn’t rent computers, but they will bend the rules in some cases. Offer to buy an ‘open box’ computer, they are already returned once and have already been marked down accordingly.
Just try to be calm, and polite. They aren’t trying to screw you, there really is nothing they can do once HP has your computer….
Good Luck!
Here is a web site that I look at frequently to find different Class Action Law Suits against companies that are creating problems for us the consumers.
The first link is specifically Best Buy:
[www.lawyersandsettlements.com]
This is the homepage:
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com
Allow me, please, to stand up for the Geek Squad. I was in a similar situation to that which is described above. My problem, after two months, finally ended with me obtaining a free laptop from Best Buy. Let me explain:
I went to the Geek Squad after my laptop (under the extended warranty by this time) started overheating again. Because this was the fourth or fifth time that I shipped my computer away to have it repaired, the “no lemon” policy should have allowed me a free computer.
The hitch was this: My computer’s original warranty expired and was replaced by an extended warranty. That meant that repairs were free, but replacements might not be.
The real problem: Best Buy kept my computer for over a MONTH! I was calling every day by the end of the month, trying to figure out what the deal was. Because I had to fly to France for two months, I wanted to know that my computer wouldn’t be arriving while I was abroad. Best Buy has a policy where any item that is not recovered by the consumer after a set time period can be disposed of (I think it is sixty days).
Needless to say, I wanted my computer back. If they couldn’t fix it, I could find a way to do it myself. The problem was, they wouldn’t give it back. Finally, after the manager learned my name because I was calling so frequently, I told them that I didn’t even care if it was done, just bring it back to me.
The manager excused herself from the phone conversation and asked if she could call me back. I waited about ten minutes before she called. She told me that I could come down and pick up a laptop. When I arrived, as promised under the “no lemon” policy, I was allowed to pick out a computer matching the price of my original.
Best Buy earned a lifelong customer that day. And it only took one excruciatingly long month of poor customer service to do so.
I’ve been with Geek Squad for about a year now, and I’m sorry to say, but it isn’t their fault that HP hasn’t been in contact with Geek Squad. Basically the service center has to approve a junk out but HP apparently hasn’t given them authority to do so. Go to the Geek Squad supervisor and have them fill out an escalation form with you present (read it before you leave) and corporate will do an investigation. The local precinct has no authority over what the service center does. When a computer is sent off and they say it can’t be fixed, we have to wait for the approval before we can replace it in the store.
Once they send the laptop to HP, there’s NOTHING GEEK SQUAD CAN DO. I worked there for about a year and learned that manufacturers are very much separate from the stores. Geek Squad isn’t going to call HP for two reasons. a) they have the same number as you do, so they are not going to sit on the phone for half an hour before talking to someone. b) Once your laptop is shipped out of the store, the work number associated with your repair leaves the store’s work queue until it is recieved back from the company. When I worked there, it was always hard to tell when it would be back and you would have no more luck dealing with HP yourself. I usually gave the general time period of 2-5 weeks for a manufacturer repair. The best thing you can do if you are in the market for a new laptop is to make friends with an employee in the warehouse and have him lookup a laptop that is “Devo: Yes” in their inventory lookup system. What Devo: Yes means is that if your laptop breaks and you have a service plan on it, best buy will look at your laptop and if it’s not something simple (harddrive, memory) they will replace your laptop with a brand new one (often a new model as they change rapidly). The store is SUPPOSED to do the same for manufacturer repairs, but that costs the store money in shipping so some stores make you deal directly with the manufacturer with the tagline “shoulda bought the service plan”. If the laptop is Devo: Yes then the manufacturer will give best buy credit for a defective item. Otherwise, 4 weeks is not bad and you should have some kind of backup system like an old PC with word processing or wahtever you use on it.
One more thing because there’s always TONS of these complaints, SOFTWARE IS NOT COVERED BY ANY WARRANTY. Windows, included. For a short time, my store refused to reinstall windows on the machine if the harddrive went bad, then new management changed it. If the hardware all checks out, they can wash their hands of it because then they can charge you the $200 to diag and reinstall windows for you.
In reference to the Geek Squad/Hewlett Packard Laptop problem–ALWAYS call HP first, but, do not ask for Mark Hurd’s office, ask for “Case Management” and explain the problem to them. It is, however, Best Buy’s responsibility, they should have informed you they were unable to repair it, and would send it to HP, get the case number from them. HP would’ve fed exed you a pre-payed package to send your laptop to them, and you normally get it back in about 5 business days. Stick with HP! They are extremely compliant to customer needs, leave the Geek Squad to their delusion that they know how to fix computers!
@Jon Parker:
you people need to learn that once the computer is at the manufacturer, there isnt @$*# that best buy can do! it IS hp’s responsibility, and best buy did nothing wrong.
also, when this lady signed the agreement for her PSP, she should have read it first. its a SIXTY DAY policy before she is supposed to be eligible for a replacement.
Regarding the issue- the unit has a one year manufacturer’s warranty. If the issue occurs within this time, Best Buy does NOT handle the issue. The customer calls HP, troubleshoots the issue, if it is determined a repair is necessary, HP makes arrangements with the customer to ship the unit to the repair center. After repairs, the unit is returned to the customer. If the issue occurs AFTER the factory warranty expires, and the customer has purchased an extended warranty with the vendor/store, the store in this case, Best Buy handles the issue. If Best Buy’s policy states that it will be repaired insted of REPLACED and they send it to HP, then BEST BUY is RESPONSIBLE to the CUSTOMER. If there is an issue with HP, it’s up to BEST BUY to take up the issue on BEHALF of the customer with HP – Best Buy is still responsible to the customer and has to honor it’s warranty with her.
I can sympathize with Lorraine. Depending on the Precinct you go to you get different service. It can even be different depending on which Agent you get. I can assure you that when you approach my counter you are informed that YOU, the customer, are responsible for all data that should have been backed up on a regular basis. If the machine is your life then don’t you think a backup system should be in place?
I know the computer should not have died after six months but sometimes these things do happen. That is why there are rules in place to protect you as a customer. Your one year manufacturers warranty can be used in two ways. 1.) You can deal with HP directly. Good luck getting them to pull the drive when they get it and backup your data for a reasonable price. 2.) You can go to your neighborhood Geek Squad drop it off so we can send it to service for you, free of charge. We even offer to backup your super-important information for a fee. A fee that would be much less than the $250 quotes I’ve heard from manufacturers. Heck, we can even setup a backup hard drive and schedule on your new computer that you should have bought as a standby. For a fee.
The Agent at the counter should have informed you of the possibilities. You could see this computer in two to four weeks, possibly longer if parts are unavailable. If you have not received a call after the four week mark give them a call and speak to them calmly and check the status. A good attitude will make your life much better when talking to an Agent. If they decide to junk the computer you will never see it again. Junkouts happen when the cost to repair the unit exceeds 85% of the cost of the unit.
The Agents want to help you. At least I would want to help you and I would follow the correct steps to get the issue resolved. I would send escalations weekly. Get on a first name basis with the Geek Squad supervisor and/or the Services Manager. ” Hey, you know that nice customer Lorraine? She still hasn’t gotten her computer. File an escalation every Tuesday until this issue is resolved. She never gets angry or swears at us. I sure would be mad if I was her.” That’s the type of Agent interaction you want to take place. I know it seems dumb but conversations like that do happen.
People really need to read what they sign. Look at the piece of paper you signed. It states the kind of service you are going to be getting. The people that work there are as bound by that contract as you are. I’m sure they would love to give you a computer to make you happy but they can’t until HP gives them credit for one.
All I am asking from Lorraine is that she put herself on my side of the counter. We deal with angry people all day. No one likes it when their computer breaks. A good attitude will get you a new computer.
P.S. Do you know why they give us clip-on ties?
It is so we don’t hang ourselves from the rafters after the 50th PO’d customer we had to deal with. -Agent C