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geek squad
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geek squad
repairs
It Took 10 Emails, 4 Faxes, 40 Phone Calls and 7 Months To Get Acer To Replace Laptop
Scott in Ireland writes in with proof that it's not just American/Canadian consumers who get screwed by bad customer service. When his new Acer laptop went kaput, it took him over half a year to finally get a working, equivalent replacement—and after all that, Acer told him they wouldn't extend his warranty for the time he was without a laptop. More »
scams
Man Accused Of Gutting Computers, Returning Them To Best Buy So You Can Buy Them
Have you purchased a computer from Best Buy, only to find that it had no internal parts? No hard drive. No video card. No motherboard? If so, you (allegedly) have Joseph Denice of Silver Spring, MD to thank for your gutted PC. His hobby is buying computers from Best Buy, removing the parts, and then returning the empty shell. Best Buy's employees would then put the computer husks back on store shelves where they would be repurchased by unwitting consumers such as... you. More »
accolades
Geek Squad Replaces Soaked Computer For Free
Nicole's computer seemed to have developed water damage after she sent it in to Geek Squad, a favor for which they wanted to charge her $730. After her story posted to The Consumerist, some higher-ups cattle-prodded Sam, in charge of Geek Squad's "Public Defender" team, and he jumped into action. Now Nicole has her computer back, completely repaired, free of charge. She says, "Sam at Geek Squad corporate was really helpful." Woot, internet pillory wins again! PREVIOUSLY: Geek Squad Soaks Your Computer, Blames You (Photo: Getty)
insiders
7 Confessions Of An Apple Macintosh Specialist
It was a dark and stormy night, and the Consumerist team was hunkered down at HQ poring over leads. Suddenly, we heard a ruckus coming from the alley. Footsteps, followed by the sound of breaking glass and a cat crying out as if to say, "OMGWTF?" We ran out to see who it was, but by the time we got there they were long gone. Only the noise of faint footsteps could be heard dissolving into the distant hum of the night. I glanced down and spotted something on the ground. As I knelt down to pick it up I saw it was a tattered white envelope bearing the words, "7 Confessions of an Apple Mac Specialist." Its contents, inside...More »
shipments
FedEx Breaks Your MacBook, Doesn't Deliver It, Says Your Questions Are Irrelevant
We get that accidents happen. What we don't get is why FedEx won't tell this guy what happened to his laptop—why it went out for delivery, why it got returned back to the warehouse, why it was then reported damaged and undeliverable, and finally why the person he was sent to for help keeps stonewalling him by responding that his questions are irrelevant. More »
fail
Despite three attempts, HP cannot fix the video vomit that is going on in Willy's laptop. After Willy sent it in for the third time, describing the problem to HP as "Video Related Problem: Lines, Spots, Scrambled," HP replaced the audio PCA and sent it back marked "Repaired."
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Thrice Has HP Attempted To Fix This Laptop, And Thrice Has HP Failed
Despite three attempts, HP cannot fix the video vomit that is going on in Willy's laptop. After Willy sent it in for the third time, describing the problem to HP as "Video Related Problem: Lines, Spots, Scrambled," HP replaced the audio PCA and sent it back marked "Repaired."
More »
complaints
Dell Celebrates Earth Day By Sending Me Junk Mail After I Said Stop
Despite my repeated requests via online form and phone, and even a few posts about it, including one where I made a photo spread of burning the offending items, Dell keeps sending me catalogs. So here is another post for the online pillory, but, in celebration of Earth Day, instead of burning these catalogs, I have recycled them (see above). Their inability/indifference is all the more stupid because two different Dell execs contacted me to say they would look into the issue. They even had me email them the cryptograms on my address label to help remove me from their mailing system. Dell, please, help me save the planet and take me off your stupid catalog lists. Otherwise I guess I'll just have to deem your material "pornographic" (hey, I know it when I see it, right?) and use USPS form 1500 to get you stop. When you decided to get people to lust after your XPS line, that probably isn't what you had in mind.
PREVIOUSLY: Dell Won't Stop Sending Me Catalogs So I'm Burning Them
apple
Jeff says an Apple Genius gave his girlfriend back the wrong computer!
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"Apple Gave Me Back The Wrong Laptop!"
Jeff says an Apple Genius gave his girlfriend back the wrong computer!When my girlfriend encountered problems turning on her laptop, she was frustrated with yet another problem. 6 months ago, her hard drive crashed and she had to have it turned over a couple days of repair at the Genius Bar at the King of Prussia, PA.
More »
insiders
5 Confessions Of An Apple Tech Support Supervisor
A tech support supervisor, from what we figure to be Apple, has stepped forward to break down some behind-the-scenes workings with his underlings who sometimes make both his and consumer's lives difficult. For instance, one of the reasons you might be on hold so long is agents using fake work codes to avoid taking calls. Also, we know that metrics rule the call centers, but, in one of the confessions, he talks about how not only is it important to not go over your average handle time, you also can't go too far under. Just strive to be perfectly average, and you'll go far... More »
complaints
Why You Should Buy A Backup Harddrive
Waffling about whether to invest in a backup harddrive? Maybe this story will help convince you:
I am crawling under my desk in my work clothes before I have to take children to school and then run for the train. There is a phone wedged under my ear and a bowl of cereal in one hand. With the other, I am trying to pull a cable from behind my computer while a customer service rep for Treo (like a Blackberry, but worse) attempts to diagnose why the computer just wiped out every article I have ever written and my appointments through next year. She is in Bombay. My children are in my kitchen. They are yelling for me.Hard drives WILL fail. It's just a question of when. Protect your sanity, and your work clothes from getting wrinkled, and get a backup harddrive.
Your call is important to us [Larchmont Loop]
(Photo: Getty)
damage
Best Buy: Only $1700 For This Awesome Broken Computer
Reader Scott says:I was wandering around Best Buy yesterday here in Missouri when we came across this. Essentially, the back of this "open box" tagged computer was completely broken off. I realize that this may indeed be the nature of "open box" product, but seriously... 1700 dollars for a computer with this kind of blatant damage?More »
smashed
Drunk Dell Tech Repairs Laptop With Hammer
A boozy Dell tech tried to repair the headphone jack on Andrea's Inspiron 9100 with a hammer. Andrea's sense of propriety kept her quiet when Joel arrived reeking of booze and cigarettes, and neither she nor her boyfriend spoke up when he started wielding a hammer to install parts that wouldn't fit onto the motherboard. Joel ended up cracking the case and putting nail holes through the wrist pad. When he left, Andrea called Dell to complain and asked for a new tech. Who did Dell dispatch? Joel! More »
dell
PHOTO: Dell Breaks Your Laptop, Sends Replacement Full Of Pubes
Reader K's call to Dell tech support for his laptop resulted in the tech helping him break a different computer, then sending him a replacement laptop full of human pubic hair. After diagnosing a faulty power adapter with K's laptop, the Dell technician asked him to plug the malfunctioning adapter into his other, out-of-warranty Dell to confirm the problem. K was reluctant, but complied, and fried his old laptop in the process. To their credit, Dell offered a replacement; unfortunately, it had a full bush. Full email, with picture, below (photo is NSFL: Not Safe For Lunch). More »
defective products
Apple's MagSafe Adapters Still Fraying, Melting, Sucking
Apple's perpetually melting and fraying MagSafe adapters—apparently these things are made out of Styrofoam and rice paper—continue to cause trouble. Christine, call Apple and explain your problem, and see if they'll replace it for free.Hey Consumerist,
I've been using Apple products for years. I've always been satisfied with their customer service and exceptional products. Naturally, I was upset when I noticed the MagSafe power adapter on my Intel Core Duo Macbook (ca. 2006) was fraying by the magnetic port, rendering it mostly useless (or at least, useless if I didn't want to set my house on fire charging my Macbook with exposed wires).
More »
false advertising
Apple Sued: New 20" iMac Screens Display 260k Colors, Not Millions
Anyone who has been on the receiving end of an Apple ad campaign in the past 10 years knows that they tend to play fast and loose with the truth in their ad copy. Their towers are the fastest, their laptop is the thinnest, their phone is the most advanced. With so many unchecked exaggerations, Apple sometimes comes across as the consumer electronics version of Donald Trump, augmented by killer industrial and UI designers. Now a law firm in California has filed a class-action suit against the company for misrepresenting its new 20-inch iMac models as being capable of producing millions of colors, when in fact they use a substandard el-cheapo screen that is nowhere near as capable as what's in the 24-inch models. More »
spin
Geek Squad Feels "Unfairly Targeted" By Consumerist Expose
When personal finance magazine Kiplinger asked the Geek Squad about our video that caught one of their technicians stealing porn from our harddrive (peeping tomism, hardly limited to Geek Squad, is just as rampant in the computer repair industry as the photo developing industry), an unidentified Geek Squad spokeswoman ingenuously responded, "We have been the target of a blog that prefers to focus on the exceptions to our service and not the overall, vast majority of successful services we provide to clients." That's like saying dirt is unfairly targeted by a broom. Where there's a valid complaint, we'll post. Where there's a consumer whose rights aren't respected, we will defend. We don't have a vendetta against the Geek Squad, or any other company. We have a vendetta against bad customer service. That's our bottom line. After the jump, the original undercover video...
readers
