Charlie gave her 4th gen iPod to Geek Squad for warranty repair. They promised her a new iPod in return. Instead, she received an iPod with a sad face screen. When she shook it, its hard drive rattled around. There was a ding in the side. The back of the iPod was buffed shiny, so much so you couldn’t hardly see the iPod logo. When she took it back to the store, she says they were kinda obnoxious to her. The iPod is sent away again, but her hopes are not high.

This is Charlie’s second Consumerist story, she also gave us this one in these two posts, Apple Won’t Sell You A Computer Because You’ve Got Too Many Gift Cards, and UPDATE: Apple Will Sell You A Computer If You’ve Got Too Many Gift Cards!

Perchance this one will also result in a toothsome thumbs up?

Charlie’s letter, and more pictures, inside…

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Charlene writes:

A week ago the hard drive in my 4th generation iPod failed for the second time. The first time this happened, I took my iPod to the Geek Squad and had them fix it under Best Buy’s warranty. They said I could expect it back in around 4 weeks. Over two months later, I had not heard from them, and I called about my iPod. They lost it. No, it was at the warehouse. No, it hadn’t shipped yet. No, it was being worked on. I was finally told that if my iPod did not come in the next day that I would be getting a brand new one. It came the next day.

Okay, fast forward about one year to last Saturday. I took my iPod back to the Geek Squad and gave it to them again. I was told that it would be sent off for Rapid Exchange and that “basically, just don’t worry about this one any more and you’ll get a new one in about a week and a half” A new iPod! I was very excited. In one week I got an iPod in the mail. The box said it was a refurbished 4th generation. Not exactly new. Oh well. Then I opened the box. I took out the iPod, and the first thing that I noticed was that they buffered the back of it until it was as shiny as a mirror. I couldn’t even see the Apple logo or the serial number unless I held it at just the right angle. Then I found a dent on the side of it! A perfect little ding! I was so frustrated, but I needed my iPod for work, so I went to load it up anyways. Well, I tried to turn it on, and the hard drive was also dead. Not just dead, but you could feel all of the parts inside shaking around!

I took the iPod back to the Geek Squad and I was furious. I wanted to talk to a manager. Unfortunately, I barely talked to anybody. Anyone with any competence at least. The one guy who seemed to know what he was doing was having problems with HIS computer. He had to call a Best Buy employee to show him how to work their POS system. The guy that he put me off on wasn’t any better. I pointed at the box with a “Quality Tested” sticker printed on it (twice), and he just laughed. I told him about how I had so much trouble the LAST time I wanted to get my iPod fixed, and he just said to his buddy, “Were you working here then? I wasn’t either. Man, that sucks” I was so furious that I couldn’t even yell or be rude at them… I knew it would all be wasted. Then he was holding the iPod in his hand and said, “Man, this thing really is busted!” Good job, Einstein.

Anyways, so their solution? Mail it off, try again!!! I didn’t know that I was getting somebody else’s broken iPod. I could have just kept mine. And now, I’m waiting to get ANOTHER used and probably broken iPod in the mail. Why couldn’t they have just fixed mine? I was under the impression that I was getting a brand new iPod, and I willingly gave them my broken one. This is not what I bargained for.

Good luck, Charlene, Maybe this time they will get it right. Never forget the power of calling up customer service and complaining. They might be able to hook you up with something for your troubles. And bear in mind, you can always contact the CEO of Geek Squad by emailing info@geeksquad.com with the subject line, “For Robert.” — BEN POPKEN

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