Well at least they fixed it quickly. Usually Best Buy CS is a huge ordeal.

I need a new laptop... and suddenly I don't think going to Best Buy is a good idea now... Shit, where do I buy a laptop then? I don't want a Mac...

and they got him with the intstalls lol

I am still confused as to why anyone would buy a computer from Best Buy or even let them touch your computer. They have no idea what they're doing and the employees could care less about your PC. Unless it has porn on it.

@Eldritch:
doesnt matter where you get the laptop... it just matters how you take in their sales pitch.

NIB is how you walk out...

What kind of beta lets an electronics store clerk push $500 of worthless upgrades on them?

If that were face to face, I think that someone might have gotten a punch to the mouth.

@dragonfire81: I cannot remember one instance in which Best Buy actually said, okay, we'll fix your headache for you. Nothing I've ever bought from them, except for my Macbook so far, has come without some sort of nightmare or another.

"Mike works in IT and knows how to feed and bathe himself"

I doubt it.

I'd recommend that your friend take his laptop back and get a full refund but if he was foolish enough to get overcharged $500 in the first place he probably "wouldn't want to bother the employees."

Doing tech support is often trying to find a balance between customers who have legitimate problems and customers who really don't know how to do basic things. I've run into people who have done a variety of inexplicably stupid things, including a woman who couldn't understand that she needed to charge her laptop because, after all, it was "wireless".

Obviously BB should have handled this better, especially since they screwed up, but there really are people who don't know how to plug a computer in.

Eh, they tried to tell me that a hardware problem was because I hadn't turned on the volume in the systray, so this isn't at all surprising.

I still feel kind of bad for the guy, he looked like he was going to cry, and I wasn't all that mean. Just in a "no! bad csr!" and whacking him on the head with a newspaper sort of way.

Friends don't let friends buy laptops from Best Buy.

@Eldritch: Dude, you're getting a Dell!

It's the New American Business Model: Blame the customer every time, despite the fact it might actually be the company's fault.

I'm glad it worked out though, however, employees should be sanctioned somehow for this behavior.

@madanthony: You can find some of the best Computer Stupidities at 'Rinkworks'. Granted, some of them are quite old but the collections is extensive and, for those of us in the sys-admin trade, provide hours of diversion: [www.rinkworks.com]

OK, so where did my mental abilities break down when the article said Best Buy installed an HDMI input?

This makes about as much sense as the Chewbacca defense. There are HDMI input cards (PCI) for full-size desktops, I never heard of one for a laptop.

Yah, rworne, I'm wondering that same thing... I"m not doubting that there is a HDMI card out there for laptops, it's more then likely so you can plug into you TV and show movies, but I am doubting that somewhere like BB would carry it.

And Antivirus software install? Will people please learn about the nifty "new" feature from Windows 95 called autoplay? You put the CD in and it "autoplays" the install application. You've just saved yourself $100.

Good times

I would have told them that I could get a good antivirus program for free and if I wanted HDMI input, I'd buy a model with it built in. No one would touch my computer until I unpacked it myself.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I could have sworn that new PCs came with antivirus trialware? All computers I've bought since 99 have come with an antivirus trial bundled with all the other crapware.

He works in IT, yet let Best Buy install antivirus for him? OK.

@rworne: I was about to post the same thing. HDMI output maybe, but input? Is he so anxious to plug his Bluray player into a 15" laptop screen?

@grouse: C'mon, the first three words of TFA are "So my friend..."

@Eldritch:

I have always had good experiences ordering from Gateway, but now that they're part of Acer, I don't know if the quality of their products and services will suffer.

The pre-Acer Gateway laptop I bought last year for something like $950 is the best computer I've ever owned. It runs XP Home Media and seems to be as stable as can be. I can see why people didn't want to upgrade to Vista.

When you order from Gateway, the computer also comes pre-loaded with your choice of software. The machine is truly ready to go right out of the box.

You can order from Dell, but myself I've heard too many horror stories over the years about Dell hard drive failures. Though I know all hard drives will inevitably fail, I have NEVER had a hard drive failure on a Gateway, and my last Gateway desktop is still running beautifully after ten years. (Now I'm probably destined for imminent disaster...)

I also hear good things on this board about the New Egg online store. I like J&R as well, and you might check B&H Photo.

Happy hunting! There is NO reason to spend hundreds more on a Mac, and why would anyone want to emulate the smug Mac dork in the commercial any way?

@cmcd14:
"I am still confused as to why anyone would buy a computer from Best Buy"
What is the alternative? In my city the only options are Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart and buying online.

To echo others... HDMI INPUT on a laptop? wtf mate... Output I can understand, but unless he got a 19" behemoth "desktop replacement" with a super HD screen (not likely for $800+idiocy), there's no reason for it.

First: How do you "unopen" a laptop?

And secondly: How, in good conscience, do you let your roommate pay $200 for an HDMI cable and AV software unless you're out to spite him?

@grouse: The one who bought it was the IT guy's roommate. The IT guy was only trying to help his friend out.

@Byzantine: "employees should be sanctioned somehow for this behavior"

Are you kidding, I use to work at a Best Buy and if you sold add on services the management could care less how pissed off you made the customer!

@cmcd14: Because it's on sale, and has all the basics that a normal person would want. I'm currently typing on a computer that I purchased from best buy. Just run CCleaner, and don't expect to go back for any help. Ever.

@Eldritch: I went to Fry's Electronics for mine, but when the salesguy started trying to sell me on stuff I just told him I knew what I was doing and what I was looking for, and he said "oh.. okay" and didn't try to hassle me or anything.

Costco has some pretty decent deals on laptops, too, at least last time I was in.

First.. What kind of friend who works IT lets his friend go to Best Buy?

Enough Said

I'm wondering why Best Buy needs to touch the AC Adapter.

You'd think they would have one of every power adapter on the workbench. That way you don't have to constantly fuss with getting cables out of bags and such.

Just gotta go with everyone else and wonder wtf an HDMI input is doing on a laptop and why anyone would pay extra for it. For $800 he isn't getting a screen capable of 1080p and VGA should be good enough for anything else (it's actually fine for 1080p too) and you definitely don't want that high a resolution on a 15 inch screen. HDMI output would make a lot more sense.

@ngoandy:

Where would Best Buy get all those A/C adapters?

@Fallom:

Impossible to get a full refund at this point because there's a 15% restocking fee for opened laptops. Also, he wouldn't get a refund for the services that have been done. :/

Oh, and I actually just bought a new laptop direct from Lenovo/IBM. Yay for labor day sales + 10% off coupon + free shipping. :D

And I actually work at Circuit City and wouldn't buy a laptop from there or Best Buy.... or any other B&M for that matter. Every computer I've owned I've ordered online. xD

@sourc3: Well my HDMI out came on my pavillion as standard and so far I've used it loads for hooking into my 42" HD Home Theatre system when I play TF2... so yeah, it has its uses.

This whole thing smells fishy. As has been mentioned before, it's news to me how one ADDS an HDMI INPUT on a laptop. Even if it were an HDMI output, it's not something you can "ADD" on.

The fact that the IT guy can bathe himself and brush his teeth doesn't mean he can plug it in.

Also, I'm not saying they didn't get the right adapter but an IT guy and his friend unopening a laptop with HDMI input added on by Best makes the whole story suspect.

@theycallmetak: I agree. Physically changing parts on a desktop/tower is trivial, but notebooks are so tightly packed with their components that really, anything done outside of the factory is suspect. GeekSquad could absolutely be installing useless software, but I call shenanigans on them cracking open a brand-new, working laptop for any reason. Not saying that they didn't get the right plug (that's pretty believable), but the OP's creds are certainly suspect.

I also don't get the whole 'install an HDMI input' thing either. A laptop either has it or it doesnt.
And once in a while Best Buy does have some good prices on laptops. Just don't let them open the box.

I hate to side with best buy here, but it makes sense to assume he's doing something wrong. I work with tech support at a technology oriented university, and I'm amazed at some of the stupid questions that we get asked (example: My laptop has wireless, why can't I go to another town and connect to the school's wireless network). I can only assume the questions you'd get asked by the average person would be worse.

Now, Best Buy sucks for accusing him of lying and giving him the wrong adapter in the first place, they should have just apologized, asked him to come in, and if he had the right part and was doing it wrong show him what to do, but it is understandable to think that he might be missing something.

HDMI... input? Really? This all sounds so... fishy.

I have to side with Best Buy, because having them switch adapters has to be uncommon. I guarantee they've had the "I can't plug in my laptop because I'm putting the cable in the phone jack" call hundreds of times.

Friends don't let friends goto best buy.

It costs $300 for a warranty on an $800 computer? Holy moly.

@ajlei: Sounds like you talked to me. I don't try to financially annhilate my customers, no matter how much commission I could make.

I bought a custom laptop here:

[www.buyxg.com]

And I have been quite pleased with the machine.

I recently steered a friend of mine away from buying a computer at Best Buy/Future Shop (they're both owned by the same holding company in Canada) and this really gives me the feeling that I've prevented a friend from getting screwed.

@Eldritch: I'd recommend NewEgg. I propose you find a nerd and befriend him if you aren't tech savy, and have him set up your new laptop, say, reformat it and do a clean install of XP and just the apps you use, plus an anti-virus, anti-spyware, and other essentials. Or a small tech shop in town might be willing to do it.

@Eldritch: Don't know if you're still following this thread, but just in case...

Powernotebooks.com is a great smaller company that deals exclusively in laptops. They let you customize the laptop specs, add or take away components, they usually come with a 1 or 3 year warranty (depending on the model), and best of all- 24/7 tech service that is not located in Bumfuck, India. My boyfriend bought his laptop from them and once had a problem with it. It went from MD to NV, was fixed and back in his hands in four days!

i'm still highly annoyed they used the word "unopened" when they OPENED the laptop.