Sharon’s husband had Best Buy repair a laptop, and when he got it back the Windows 7 operating system was missing. They complained to Best Buy, which refused to reinstall the system, saying it had held up its end of the bargain because it had originally sold them a laptop, not Windows 7.
She writes:
My husband and I purchased a Toshiba laptop from Best Buy in August 2010. In early October, the laptop wouldn’t boot. My husband took it to the Best Buy we purchased it from. They said they would send it to Toshiba for warranty work. (Later in this story, that turns out to be important)10 days go by. Best Buy calls and says the laptop is ready. They replaced the hard drive. Husband picks it up and brings it home to discover it wouldn’t boot because there was no OS installed.
Back we go to Best Buy, where we are told *we* need to install the OS. We said we wanted the device back to the way it was when we purchased it. No one knows for sure the new hard drive works until we have an OS. Thus the repair was not complete. We were told over and over that it was up to us to install the OS.
I called Best Buy Corporate and was told that indeed the repair was not complete until the computer booted. That we should order the restore discs (we couldn’t find them), Best Buy would reimburse is for this cost and then they would install the OS to complete the repair.
We call Toshiba to order the discs – who told us that if they had repaired the laptop, they would have returned it with an OS installed – and 5 days later, the restore discs arrive.
Sending the laptop to Toshiba was what Best Buy said they did. They sent it to an authorized Toshiba repair center, which I would assume is as good as sending it to Toshiba. But if they had sent it to Toshiba, there would be an OS installed.
I went to Best Buy with the restore discs and was told for $130, they would be happy to install the OS. That their repair obligation ended when they replaced the hard drive. If, after the OS was installed, the computer still didn?t work, I should bring it back for further work/repair.
From the parking lot, I called Corporate again. Consumer complaints took my cell phone number and called the store. He called me back and said this was all true and that if I wanted the OS installed, I had to pony up $130.
I’m completely capable of installing an OS but that’s not the point. The point is we took in a computer under warranty that wouldn’t boot and was returned a computer that wouldn’t boot. We don’t know the hard drive repair is complete until we have an OS and the laptop boots.
Best Buy didn’t sell us an OS, they say, they sold us a laptop. It was up to us to install the OS. Except the OS was installed on the laptop when we purchased it from them. Following this line of reasoning, they should return cell phones or game stations after repair without an OS. How does that make sense?
Warranty work should return the device to the condition it was when it was purchased. In this case, we purchased a computer that booted into Windows 7. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect the warranty repair to return it to booting into Windows 7.
If you’ve ever had a repaired computer come back with missing programs, let us know how you approached the problem.
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This just sounds like a shady upsell technique on Best Buy’s part. Imagine how many people don’t feel comfortable installing an OS onto their computers. Best Buy has them by the short and curlies. Also, this is why I purchase Dells…they come with OS discs included, which is really nice if you have to format your computer or replace the hard drive.
I’m interested in knowing how Best Buy managed to note the repair was complete if the problem it was sent in for was that it wouldn’t boot into the operating system. Pretty hard to test if that issue was fixed if there’s no operating system installed at all.
Frankly I’d guess they just got the geek squad to format the hard drive and claimed to have sent it in to Toshiba. I’d demand the paper trail since if it really went in to Toshiba’s authorized repair center, they’d have returned the device with paperwork detailing exactly what they did to it, what faults they found, and if they returned it in full working order.
Actually it’s quite easy. You verify that the hardware is functioning properly post HDD replacement.
Ok, but supposing Toshiba is correct that they send back laptops with working operating systems, as a consumer I’d like to see the statement of work Toshiba’s authorized service center sent back. I’m wondering if BB would be able to provide it if they were forced to.
Where I used to work (not BB), the customer got a copy of the store’s repair sheet as well as a copy of the statement of work provided by the service provider the repair was sent out to.
very shady indeed. When the computer was purchased, the specs probably specifically stated “Windows 7 [some version]” as being installed. Now, it’s not installed. Best Buy clearly didn’t fulfill it’s end of the repair.
Best Buy is really trying to scam the OP here (and probably succeeding with those that aren’t as tech-savvy). Sadly, it’s mostly the tech-impaired that shop at Best Buy to begin with and get caught in these upsell traps unknowingly.
The Dell I purchased recently did not come with any discs. Which reminds me, I really need to get around to creating them.
Interesting…I purchased a laptop for my wife about 2 months ago and it came with discs. Likewise, I purchased a netbook from them a year ago and it came with discs as well.
Dell now, again, doesn’t include recovery disks with certain models. The idiots think they’re saving $2 a system by doing this. They did this for about a year several years ago, and it cost them. Amazing how short-sighted and stupid corporations can be
Not to defend Dell on this (or any other laptop maker for that matter), the reason why most laptops don’t come with install/recovery discs is because Microsoft doesn’t want them to include them. Microsoft thinks you’re going to take those disks and install Windows 7 on every other laptop/desktop/netbook you happen to own. Nevermind the fact Windows 7 is supremely locked down in terms of doing so, especially with the OEM version that would have been preinstalled in said laptop. Meaning: hope you made those recovery disks, or made yourself a Linux live CD that could boot that recovery partition should Windows decide to take a crap on you.
Faflunkie, that is ridiculous. Where’s the proof of that? What do you just make stuff up and post it???
If you custom build your order on the Dell website the recovery disks are available for $5. And the OS will install on every Dell that has been available with Windows 7 no activation required. You could order 50 computers with home basic and 1 with Ultimate and media. That media WILL install on all 50 with Ultimate and never so much as ask for a product key.
Read on on SLIC 2.1 if you don’t believe me (or SLIC 2.0 for Vista, SLIC for XP).
> Microsoft thinks you’re going to take those disks and install
> Windows 7 on every other laptop/desktop/netbook you
> happen to own.
This is stupid. Brand name laptops haven’t come with real OS install disks for a very long time. What they do come with are “recovery” disks. These simply aren’t usable on a random machine. There is no reason for anyone to be concerned about piracy over such disks.
“Recovery disks” are all that most people would be comfortable dealing with.
The CDs included with most Dells are generally driver CDs but OS CDs aren’t included. There is however a utility built in to the PC that will allow you to make your own full restore CDs.
I guess I’ve been extremely lucky; every Dell I’ve purchased comes with an OS CD/DVD, including the $391 14″ i3 laptop I purchased a month ago from Dell Outlet.
Lesson:
1) Open new box to make sure what you think you purchased is in box.
2) Check receipts to make sure you’re not agreeing to give your account information to a third party.
3) Test “repaired” device in store before you sign off on the repair. Make sure the device works and make sure the device has the same CPU, RAM, OS and hard drive specs as the device you dropped off.
4) Compare your serial number with the device you’re accepting back. If the serial numbers don’t match, make sure the replacement you’re accepting is being transfered to the warranty and that it is acceptable to you.
Actually this sounds like a case of where the Best Buy store probably didn’t have the restore CDs for this model and must have had a problem ordering them themselves.
This sounds a lot like the shady mechanic who repairs what is wrong with your car, but then “accidentally” breaks something else so you have to come back for more repairs in a month’s time.
Her line of reasoning ends when she says “My husband and I purchased a Toshiba laptop from Best Buy.”
not always true…sometimes good deals can be had at big box stores, including Best Buy. Example: I may buy a computer at Staples soon because I can get $50 to $100 off (in addition to any sale/rebate) when I turn in my old desktop (with current market value around $5).
The OP’s sense of reason failed when they tried to get it fixed at Best Buy with their entirely incompetent workers. Instead, they should have contacted the manufacturer directly for any repair/warranty work.
But repair was contingent upon being done at Best Buy because they purchased it from Best Buy.
And that’s why buying from Best Buy is illogical.
So you fail the logic test. A good deal at Best Buy isn’t worth it.
Are you sure? If it’s under the manufacturer’s warranty, they should have been able to send it directly to the manufacturer for repair. After all, many stores that sell computers don’t have a repair center at all.
If they bought an extended warranty from Best Buy for repairs…well, that would also have been a major fail on the OP’s part.
But some people like to battle it out with the likes of Best Buy.
I remember a coworker who claimed a ‘win’ because a car she purchased had to be purchased with an extended warranty. The win part was that she got the warranty at a “discountâ€.
I’m sorry but I purchased a Toshiba at best buy with warranty and have been very happy with that decision. It works great and every time I’ve ever had a problem best buy has always been pretty good about getting it fixed in a timely matter. Plus if you get a lemon and you have enough valid repairs they will replace it for free (this happened to me with my first laptop, it was pretty awesome).
Sometimes you just get a bad store and bad luck.
No business stays in business when a significant majority of their products fail or the majority of people experience bad customer service, all of course in relation to their prices compared to competitors. Best Buy is in business because the majority of the time, stuff works.
But what makes a company a bad one is based on exactly how bad it gets when things go bad. Companies with high customer service marks are the ones that deal with their mistakes promptly, don’t give the customer a lot of grief, and/or go above and beyond general expectations.
Bad companies are the ones that, should you be the one to get the lemon product, how terribly are you treated? Best Buy is one of the companies that those who do have a bad experience happen to have monumentally terrible experiences worthy of Consumerist articles.
I agree. This is ENTIRELY the OP’s fault for doing business with Worst Buy. You had problems with Worst Buy’s customer service? Too damn bad – you get no sympathy from me.
I agree – to avoid such problems, don’t patronize WorstBuy. No matter what you think is right and fair, they will turn your beliefs around 180 degrees and surprise you. Since staying away from that festering pool of scum and villainy, I have been much happier with my technological needs…
Reason #1254867342095 why not to ever buy a computer from a major retailer. They don’t give a rat’s ass about you.
Always buy your computers from an independent store, whether online or local.
Would that local business were always the greatness we want them to be.
My low-tech relatives bought a desktop system from a guy who really sold them on how Microsoft sucks and Windows sucks and Corporate America sucks and so on. He built them a system and when they killed it a year later partially due to their own bad computing hygiene, they called him and *poof!* he was gone. In the wind.
That – seriously – is why they now shop at Best Buy.
Or you could build your own…or have someone you know do it and pay them. I can build a computer from the parts and get it going. Been doing it since high school.
I know not everyone is as tech savvy as that, and not everyone KNOWS someone who is that tech savvy. The point is finding ANYONE to build it from the parts gives you the warranty directly from the maker of the parts, and also gives you the flexibility of going to ANY computer place and saying “Here’s the computer, here are the install discs, please get it started again.” Using general parts that work with general computer knowledge is better than depending on brand names and big-box stores.
Really? How many laptops have you cobbled up from parts, and how much money have you saved doing so?
Laptops are a different story. They’re harder but doable. I haven’t done it myself, for the record.
Laptops shouldn’t be bought from a big box store anyway, because of things like this. Buy it from the manufacturer directly or through a website that cares. Newegg cares, I know that. Never had an issue with them ever!
I did one. It was rough. So many screws. but in the end I got a laptop for 230 dollars.
I just bought a PC from MicroCenter. Great prices, Good service. I bought their PowerSpec line. It’s built with “normal” off the shelf components (like you would use). The price is much better than any name brand out there. If you don’t live near a MicroCenter, they will ship it to you.
As a bonus, Micro Center will repair or replace pretty much anything you ever bring in, regardless of where you purchased it or the current warranty status, for free.
All you have to do is complain loudly, threaten to call HQ, and give the store a terrible survey score.
I can’t help but feel that all the people that claim this are people who run their own shops. When you buy from an independent store you’ll not only likely pay more (they can’t buy in bulk as large chains can) but you’ll also have a “Bob” warranty. Now, no offense to Bobs out there but I’d feel a whole lot more comfortable with a HP or Dell warranty.
An HP or DHell warranty doesn’t mean jack when you call into their tech support centers and they refuse to fix it because they don’t want to and there’s no storefront retailer/service shop that can do warranty repairs.
I think that there’s a lot less of a chance of HP outright refusing a warranty claim within the first year than Bob refusing to repair something under warranty. A manufacturer warranty is spelled out pretty clearly and there’s usually a whole lot of authorized service centers that you can go to for help. A “Bob” warranty is usually a lot more vague and Bob is the only one that will perform the service.
Hello, my name is Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, but you can call me Maxwell.
THIS is why a warranty with HP, Dell, etc. isn’t worth it. When I have a problem with a Microsoft product for example, I want to speak to someone in Redmon, not Rampur Karkhana.
Best Buy. You Lose.
“I’m completely capable of installing an OS but that’s not the point.”
You’re right – it’s not the point. But, if this were me, at this point, I’d give up. I’d reinstall the OS and if everything worked, that would be the end of my relationship with Best Buy.
I think you’re totally in the right, but in this modern world of ours, that doesn’t mean anything anymore.
Vote with your wallet.
My tendency would also be to install the OS myself and be done with it.
But here’s a thought:
Any little problem or non-standard procedure the customer may encounter while installing the OS is fair game for Best Buy to use as an excuse and then claim it was the cause of any possible immediate problems with the laptop. In other words, if the customer installed the OS themselves, and were still experiencing the same problem, or even experiencing a different one, there is no way to prove whether the problem was there either before or after the OS was installed, and Best Buy, being Best Buy, would definitely choose to blame the customer’s install efforts rather than their own work. It’s a risk I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking.
One more thing…charging $130 to install an OS is a joke…sure, it takes a while for the installation process to finish, but the actual human work involved is minimal.
Finally, I wonder if the Best Buy employee performing the installation also goes to the manufacturer’s website and gets current drivers for the computer. Without correct drivers, some computers barely function.
The good news is that they got the restore disks. Those should have the correct drivers as opposed to a general Windows install.
Actually, Windows 7 has a REALLY good set of built-in drivers. I’ve never had to manually find and install more than about 2-3 drivers, and I’ve done probably 40 Windows 7 installs in my life. I only had to find an ethernet or wireless driver once in order to install other drivers, and that was my 5-year-old eMachine that barely runs 7, so I was sorta asking for it…heh.
Yeah…it’s the wireless drivers I was thinking of…those can be a huge pain to find if you don’t know what you’re look for (for example, one of my older computers requires an nvidia controller driver to find its network card, even though the network card isn’t manufactured by nvidia).
With a multicast setup using something like Ghost, it might take 5 minutes to install an OS. $130 is simply ridiculous.
That wouldn’t work for the small in store shop because of the license. They will only install from the customer provided original install media… Or they will sell you a retail copy.
I have several issues with this. The first is her argument “No one knows the hard drive works until an OS is installed” actually they do, it’s what diagnostics are for. Any quick drive fitness or drive stress test would confirm it functions. The next is that while she purchased the laptop from Best Buy they didn’t make it. Why didn’t she just call Toshiba? They would’ve done all the work and reimaged the drive for her. I’m getting annoyed with these BBY didn’t do this or didn’t do that stories. They’re a retailer, geez.
it’s what diagnostics are for. Any quick drive fitness or drive stress test would confirm it functions.
What, and you actually think Best Buy did this?
Or that the minimum wage high school dropout they call a “tech” would even know how?
No they probably didn’t. Then again there’s usually no reason to run a diagnostic on a new warranty replacement drive.
At this point it doesn’t matter if they did or did not perform any diagnostics on the replacement drive. The fact is that installation of an OS is not necessary to verify proper operation of a drive. In fact, such installation would only verify basic functionality and would be unlikely to reveal defective media – something proper diagnostics would easily do.
I’m with you 100% here. It is absolutely possible to verify the proper operation of a drive without installing an OS. Granted, the typical consumer that would bring anything to Best Buy for repair is unlikely to know this, much less grasp the concept when told, but that’s not Best Buy’s problem or fault.
Outside of a reasonable infant mortality period, who returns defective products to a retailer for warranty repair?
That’s not true. A diagnostic would tell you it SHOULD work. You can’t verify that it actually WILL work until it works. A diagnostic scan can be faulty, or some weird problem could come up. Stuff happens.
As a technician I must respectfully disagree. Diagnostics are great at proving something has failed, but they’re horrible at proving it’s good.
The last and best test that the hard drive replacement fixed the laptop is to install the OS and make sure the computer boots and runs normally.
It would be nice if Best Buy had completed the repair process. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to put the restore DVD in and press install. The process should be relatively quick. If they still have problems then they can contact Best Buy. This story isn’t the worst I’ve heard about Best Buy.
The customer didn’t get the restore CDs from Toshiba until after Best Buy returned the laptop to her/him. What was Best Buy supposed to have restored the hard drive with?
But then if there IS a problem, they’ll say “Oh well since you installed the OS yourself, you can’t prove that we are responsible for X problem that you have now.”
Why would anybody who reads consumerist go to bestbuy for repairs?
+1 (+1 +1…)
=2, PEMDAS
+1^(1+1+…)
+ 1
Going to Best Buy for computer repairs is like going to the mechanic for a root canal.
I went to Best Buy to repair my laptop when the screen blanked out a few months ago. We bought it there (good price), and had a manufacturer’s warranty that was still good.
Fortunately, they sent it to the manufacturer, and didn’t try to do it themselves.
Had a good chuckle when the customer service ‘tech’ tried to explain what a wire harness is. Hint: it doesn’t hold the wires.
Best Buy sucks, always has, always will. They DO NOT have computer techs working there, they have sales associates in a shirt that says Geek Squad. Install the OS yourself, then take the $130 you saved and invest it in a long stick, a poster board, and a sharpie; then peacefully protest in front of the store. Otherwise just take it as a lesson learned and never return to Best Buy, eventually they’ll end up like Circuit City.
I know out of principle, Best Buy should install your OS as part of the repair.
Then again, we are talking Best Buy here. If they haven’t repaired it by now, they probably never will. In the amount of time you’ve spent haggling with them, you could have installed the OS and been up and running by now.
Cut your losses and do it yourself. Installing an OS isn’t that difficult. Besides, Best Buy would have screwed up the install anyway.
Sorry. Sometimes you just can’t win.
Wait a second.
If it’s still under warranty, just bring it in again, stating that the laptop won’t boot.
Their solution will be to install an OS.
Try a different BBY.
Sorry, won’t work. Software issues aren’t covered under manufacturer warranty.
However, as this should have been done as part of the hard drive replacement (and is covered under warranty in that circumstance) they should take it right back to that store and demand it be fixed.
Since they gave you the OS disks, I would quit while I was ahead. Reinstalling the OS and restoring your data is less annoying than fighting this battle.
Incidentally, this sort of thing is an excellent argument for disk imaging as a backup method. Last time my laptop drive went bad, I replaced it, restored the image I take weekly, and was back up and running in less than an hour.
What do you use for imaging, out of curiosity?
Not that I am agreeing with BestBuy in this scenario but…there is some information missing from the story. Mainly was the backup and OS install service declined by the user? Also several years ago OEM’s stopped including installation media in with their laptops, as a result the onus is on the user to make a system back-up prior to heavy usage of the laptop. In-fact this is one of the very first pop-up screens with Win 7 or Vista upon startup of the unit.
Anyways as a hardware repair tech, if the repair was for a faulty HDD and this was replaced and due diligence was performed by testing the installed repair then the repair stops there. There is additional work involved with data migration, OS re-installation that warranty services do not cover. This information should have been communicated to the user prior to the warranty service being performed. At that point it is up to the user to proceed with the repair (hdd replacement sans ANY data transfer or OS install…) and accept non warranty work performed on the unit.
“If you’ve ever had a repaired computer come back with missing programs, let us know how you approached the problem.”
… I used the restore disks and followed the embarassingly simple restore procedure, and an hour later, everything was factory new.
While it sucks for the OP, isn’t the real problem with Toshiba? My take on this is the “authorized Toshiba repair center” screwed up. It sounds like the item was being serviced under Toshiba’s warranty NOT BestBuy’s. So it would really be upto Toshiba to make things right, the Bestbuy employees weren’t being paid for the job and probably wouldn’t want to touch anything for fear of screwing up and incurring some liability.
Best Buy’s real douchebag move in this case was probably selling a warranty that runs concurrently with Toshiba’s which probably has a big exclusion that doesn’t cover anything covered by the Manufacturers warranty.
Or, Best Buy actually didn’t send the laptop to Toshiba at all, and just swapped in a new HD in-house. It wouldn’t be the first time Best Buy lied about what they had done.
I can tell you exactly what happened here, as I was a “geek” for a couple years.
They sent it to Geek Squad City. Which is a ‘authorized Toshiba repair center.’ They replaced the HD, never booted it, and return it to the store.
The whole process is annoyingly difficult because Geek Squad and Best Buy don’t have a legal right (Copyright issues, DMCA issues, etc) of holding on to the restore images.. They have no legal way to install that OS with out your discs.
Eitherway, I -know- first hand, that they -can- waive the $130 fee. It’s labor. Especially if you provided the discs.
If they didn’t have a copy of the recovery disks they have no legal way of reinstalling the os. Toshiba would but corporate policy dictates that they are not allowed to keep copies of any manufacturers recovery disks on hand.
This is actual fact.
Funny how there haven’t been any responses yet, only to the posts with speculation.
But that’s right, it’s fun to blame Best Buy for everything. The customer clearly holds no responsibility for making their restore CDs before the hard drive failed.
I bought my new desktop right off the shelf at my local Sam’s Club.
It came with a 90-day store return policy and a 1-year warranty from HP.
I also purchased a 2-year extended warranty from Sam’s for thirty bucks which begins after the HP warranty expires.
There’s a small computer repair shop in my neighborhood with guys who are real pros at fixing PC’s and have saved my ass when my old clunker crashed a couple of times. I pay them to fix my PC (or laptop) and they guarantee their work for sixty days – which means if the same problem occurs, they will fix it for free, no questions asked.
What I really don’t understand is why would anybody bring their computer back to their retailer for repairs ? It just doesn’t make any sense. I wouldn’t trust Sam’s Club to repair my PC…
But you just said you bot a warranty from Sam’s. This is confusing
2 + 2 = 5.
Confusing yes – sorry…
The extended warranty from Sam’s is more like “purchase protection” than a repair plan.
Sam’s does such a huge volume of business that if my PC completely craps out 18 months from now, and I bring it back to Sam’s, it will be more cost effective for them to give me a new PC at the price I originally paid, or credit toward the purchase of a more-expensive model.
There comes a point where replacement overshadows repair. But in any case, I *still* would not expect Sam’s to “repair” my computer – for the same reason I would not expect them to sew on a button which may have fallen off a garment I bought there.
However – you were right, it did sound like 2 + 2 = 5.
Sorry for the confusion.
You know, actually if I could get a couple bucks off a new computer that didnt have The New Windows (and all that extra bundled crap) on it, I’d take it! I always wind up dumping that pre-loaded crap and doing a fresh windows install anyway.
This is why I will never buy another computer from Best Buy.
These things all come with OS installed anyway. It’s part of the package and you pay for it so it should be repaired along with the hardware.
OP should totally sue and not settle out of court.
Not settle out of court? So, if Best Buy gave the OP everything she asked for and more, she shouldn’t take it? She should rather risk a loss in court?
For what?
No.
They repaired the part that was broken.
Could best buy have installed the OS? Sure, but there’s no way to recover the 30 minutes it takes.
The OP also failed to make the install discs, as the manual and the welcome screen on the laptop clearly instructed them to do so. Sure, it’s cheap of Toshiba not to do it, but that’s par for the course from big box system builders.
“That we should order the restore discs, Best Buy would reimburse us for this cost”
Umm, no. It is Best Buys responsibility to fix the computer, not for the customer to go wasting more of their money and time only to (hopefully) be reimbursed later.
Actually its the customer’s responsibility to provide the restore disks, fail to do so and you get a computer repaired but not restored. Best Buy should have restored the system once the restore disks were available though.
Wow, this exact same thing happened with me, except it was Asus, not Toshiba. I had made restore discs after my initial purchase, and knew that I had them, but was still shocked when Best Buy told me that the computer would be coming back to me without an OS. I said the same thing to them – shouldn’t I get the computer back in the same condition as when I purchased it? I didn’t call Asus to verify (since I knew I had the backup), but did go the rounds with Best Buy on this policy. Unfortunately I also lost – they quoted me the same $130 to reinstall the OS. I was pretty disgusted, but I guess it’s nice to see that they are consistent…
They also told me that if it breaks again, my initial purchase date still stands. So it broke after seven months, and if it breaks again after five months, the manufacturer’s warranty will no longer be in place and I will be SOL. Hopefully it will last longer this time, but I am also done with Best Buy for my future purchases.
However keep in mind that you have a warrant from the HD manufacturer that is probably good for several years. Most are good about replacing them with a serial number and a receipt dated for the new install.
In 2004 I brought in my computer into Best Buy because the 60 GB hard drive was throwing up SMART warnings. They took it for two weeks and replaced it with a hard drive that was 33% smaller and no OS. I told them in no uncertain terms that they were going to put a hard drive that was the same size or larger and had Windows on there, as I bought it, It took two more weeks, but they did finally did it, and all under warranty.
I am still incredulous that they thought they could away with it. Did they think I wouldn’t notice the smaller size? Or the lack of OS upon booting, when the BIOS complained about no boot sector?
This is weird…I had a hard drive problem with my MacBook (the file system got corrupted), and I took it into BB to get it fixed. I didn’t give them the CDs that came with my computer because they had Tiger on them and I was running Snow Leopard. They actually offered to install whatever oS I’m using free of charge if I bring them the disks. I said “no thanks” because I didn’t feel like going back home for the discs, but yeah, the service I received was top notch. The geeks were very courteous and friendly. It’s too bad that my experience counts as the exception, not the rule these days…
I just posted my almost identical story like this over a month ago.
http://consumerist.com/2010/09/best-buy-repairs-laptop-with-fried-motherboard-by-replacing-hard-drive-removing-operating-system.html
We really gotta read Consumerist first, buy later (and NOT from Best Buy).
As an update to my situation: I will be using the Store Credit received to get an upgraded version of the laptop from Best Buy for Business which will include the full manufacturer warranty, untouched components, and the “free” gaming backpack+mouse that all other retailers have stocked with these laptops. All for a cheaper price than the other online retailers offer as well.
Don’t shop Best Buy. But Best Buy for Business might not be so bad. Just act like you own a business.
Best Buy probably shouldn’t have replaced the hard drive at all.They sold the customer a laptop, not the things that come with a laptop like operating systems and hard drives.
Agreed. In fact, what is a laptop? I think Best Buy just sold you the piece of plastic that surrounds all the components inside. As long as that’s working fine, you shouldn’t get any repair under warranty.
“Best Buy didn’t sell us an OS, they say, they sold us a laptop”
That’s false. They sold you a laptop with an OS. There is a Windows registration sticker under the laptop no? I’m sure Toshiba/Bestbuy had to pay for the windows license, and that was included in the price you bought it for. They didn’t just sell you the hardware.
If i was in your position at this point, I would just install the OS myself and try to do a charge back (I hope you paid with your CC) of $130 for incomplete work.
I agree – I’d charge back the fee for the original repair. They didn’t complete the repair, “not satisfied”, “service not provided that was contracted for” – whatever you have to call it – charge it back. They do the work they get paid, if not, then no $$$
As a former BBY/GS Employee, this exact scenario was fairly common. The computer’s which had the Service Plan got the restore treatment, while the ones without were left untouched. Toshiba’s policy may be to restore the system, but BBY sends out manufacturer repairs to third party authorized companies. They do as little work as possible, and send the unit back. If the agent put “bad hard drive” into the notes for the repair, the service center would replace the hard drive and send it back, un-restored.
With manufacturer repairs, it’s better to go direct to them rather then the store you bought it at, unless it’s only been less then 90 days since the purchase (then you push for an exchange). In most cases, you’ll get better treatment from the manufacturer then the retailer.
At our store we install the OS on all hard drives that are replaced under warranty whether it’s a Best Buy warranty or a manufacturer warranty. We do need to be provided the discs to do it though.
I would dispute the repair with your cc or bank if you paid that way. If it doesn’t boot up, then they didn’t repair it.
Ok two things here:
1) Bestbuy cannot keep OEM restore discs on hand. If a HDD is replaced it’s always the owners responsibility to provide restore media. Computers don’t often come with restore media anymore so the onus is on you to make them or purchase them and then provide them if needed. It’s against the MS licensing agreement for the store to use generic OEM installation discs.
2) Once the OP provided the discs bestbuy should have sucked it up and installed the OS. However, chances are the way the OP conducted themself lead to the store shutting them down. I know I would have been less inclined to help someone if they have a bad habit of screaming, acting out, calling corporate at the drop of a hat, etc. So maybe there’s two sides to the total story and we’re only hearing one? The world may never know…
I don’t care how badly the customer acts, that’s no reason to lie to them and rip them off.
I understand that many find Windows the operating system of choice. In 1999 I did too. And I found myself reinstalling Windows every 3 or 4 months for some reason or another.
Then I bought a Powerbook G4 Titanium. And after my wife’s Sony laptop refused to play nicely I bought her a 12 inch Powerbook G4. Like many, I still needed a Windows based machine on occasion and when Apple switched to Intel chips I replaced my Titanium with a MacBook Pro 15″. Now I dual boot with XP. That was 2005.
This weekend we purchased a new MacBook Air 11″ so we could give our 12″ Powerbook to our son for school. My wife is sentimental and brought out all 4 Macs. They all boot and work flawlessly. And the Intel based machines run XP and Ubuntu very well.
What does this have to with original story?
I bought a GE dryer that’s been trouble free for 10 years… it’s about as relevant.
Buying a Mac is a spiritual experience for some folks. How can they not talk about it?
Then they should go here:
http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/
I think the point you’re trying to make is that Apple would actually return your machine with an OS on it.
Talk all of the crap you want about Apple, but they’ve been rated #1 in customer service for years. Returning a machine with no OS wouldn’t get you high marks…
Complete scam. They clearly did not send it to Toshiba. They sent it to a 3rd party that is connected to no one. An operation that is quite shady if they don’t even have restore disk.
I would not doubt that best buy just put an opened returned hard drive into the laptop behind the geek squad counter and called it done.
“My husband and I purchased a [...] laptop from Best Buy”
I think I found your problem
I have worked part-time at Best Buy for 10 yrs and while I don’t dispute that this occurred, this is not SOP. Once the customer brought the discs in, the OS should have been restored free of charge. If everything occurred as stated, the store was trying to scam him. The disc should have been taken and the unit should have been restored immediately. It is the customer’s responsibility to have the discs, and the computers do nag you incessantly to make them, so there is no reason not to have them. I’m not saying that is the case here, I’m just saying, people make your discs, they are important.
Not true. I was my store’s Geek Squad senior and in both the service plan fine print and the service order that they signed it says that Best Buy is not responsible for any lost data or software.
well actually, you do have to check your sales documentation. Many stores – not just Best Buy – sells computers with demo systems on them that only work for a short period of time. I know when I bought my laptop from BB, I checked and the it was pretty clear from the instore documentation which ones actually had Windows 7 included and which ones only had demo systems.
What on earth are you talking about? All non-Apple computers sold at BBY have a full version of Windows 7 of them. There are no units with a limited form of Windows that only works for a set period of time.
I think they are confused between WINDOWS and OFFICE.
/those words, they do not mean what you think they mean…
I truly cannot understand why ANYONE buys ANYTHING from BB – are there really that many ignorant people with money?
I wouldn’t buy firewood from Best Buy, let alone a computer. You couldn’t PAY me to let them touch my computer, even if they said it was covered under warranty. This article shows why. They’re both crooked and incompetent.
I stopped even going in to Best Buy a few years back when they essentially publicly announced that they only wanted suckers as customers. Their actual words were more to the effect that they didn’t want customers that only bought stuff that was on sale, or that actually properly filled out rebate forms and got their rebates, stuff like that. I haven’t been in their door since, I buy online now.
This person had 2 months to make back-up discs, and chose not to. Do you put gas in your car, or is that too much work, too?
I repair computers as a part time business. best buy is great for my business, they screw up so many customer’s computers and give so much wrong advice. I shop around Best Buy sometimes, and love to embarress the sales people and Geek Squad people by correcting thier wrong answers to the customers. I call it cheap entertainment.
—> “That we should order the restore discs (we couldn’t find them).”
Ugh, probably because most systems require the user to generate restore disks when you purchase it. Most people blow off this step and only worry about it when their system crashes and some tech tells them to reload Windows.
I used to work for a national hardware repair vendor who sent us out to businesses and residences with the intent to only install the hardware, then a tech support person via telephone would assist with whatever was left to do. That said, we were required to make the system bootable in case of a hard drive replacement, but what ‘bootable’ meant was booting to a command prompt…i.e., install an abbreviated copy of old DOS and made sure the system booted to a prompt. Then the customer could call the help desk for assistance in installing Windows. In any event, the customer HAD to have their copy of Windows or they were going to have to buy restore disks like these folks. ‘We couldn’t find the disks’ isn’t Best Buy’s problem. And shopping at Best Buy always goes wrong in these posts…how are they still in business?
She should have taken all her install disks with her and tell them to reinstall the operating systems. if you dont ask the right questions you dont get the right answers
I am sure that somewhere there was a description of what was sold as part of the “laptop” and I’m certain that it described the operating system that was in the package. This situation is not much different than BB giving back the computer with the pointing device or the wireless port missing. It will still be a “laptop” without such trivial items gone. In fact with these missing it would be infinitely more usable than it is with the OS missing — one might always attach a mouse or external wireless dongle and at least do something with it. (BB would probably sell these to you too, just don’t count on any BB support)
I guess this brings us back to the oft-asked question: why would anyone be stupid enough to go to Best Buy in the first place? It isn’t as if BB’s multitudinous nefarious acts aren’t well-known — they don’t even try to hide it when they rip people off.
The guy writes, “I’m completely capable of installing an OS but that’s not the point.”
If you’re so capable, then you shouldn’t have shopped at Best Buy, and you should also have been capable of swapping out the hard drive. Yeah, maybe they claim it was covered by the warranty, but like everyone knows, Best Buy/Toshiba won’t profit by honoring warranties. You could have bought a replacement hard drive for under $100 and spent an afternoon installing it and reloading the OS. Instead, you decided to tussle with the jerks at Best Buy and Toshiba. This one’s on you, dude, don’t shop there for any reason.
BBY has contracts with some manufacturers to do repairs in-house, sometimes though the companies think they can do it for less and make their customers happy. That often times proves incorrect, so I guess Toshiba is in that phase at the moment. I can tell you though that I’ve seen just as many systems come back “borked” from the manufacturer as from Geek Squad City. In fact I think your odds are better if the system goes to geek squad city.
That said, I would of raised a stink until they just replaced your notebook with another one.
Apple and ASUS are the ONLY notebooks that ship with restore DVDs. Would of saved you weeks of headaches if you people just stick with good notebooks.
I’ve learned a few things by reading the Consumerist over the years. For one, never move to a city named [redacted]. Okay, okay, I joke. But I have realized there is a short list of companies I will never do business with predicated on a pattern of terrible business practices and awful customer treatment: Best Buy tops my never-do-business-with list. It’s followed up with Comcast and Bank of America.
Don’t forget Sears!
Let me recap:
1 Warranties are useless.
2 Repairs and service are bungled.
3 They lie
4 Prices are ordinary
So why do so many people patronize Best Buy so often?
Sounds like a great opportunity to try out Ubuntu instead of Windows 7.
This type of story is why I have advised my parents (who are buying a new laptop) to avoid Worst Buy at all costs.
Why because manufacturers don’t include restore discs any longer? No matter where they buy that will be the case. Also there’s nothing preventing them from buying at bestbuy and getting warranty work done through the manufacturer directly.
Back up your data.