Complain about a product or service

Best Buy - Computers

Seema of Alpharetta, GA October 2, 2009

I went to Store #516 in Alpharetta, GA on October 1st 2009, with the intention of buying a printer for my mac. Upon entering the store I was greeted and I went to the section where I was supposed to go and asked the employee for help. I was treated with the utmost respect and enjoyed dealing with this employee. After making my selection, I went to another department to purchase something else but realized that I had to go back to the computer department as I needed a router to network my printer.

The employee Sam who had been helping me previously was assisting another customer so I decided to ask another employee for help. I went to the routers and found Jada, an employee and I decided to ask her for help. I asked her but she ignored me, thinking that she didn't hear me, I asked her again and she continuously ignored me. Finally, she responded when I asked a fourth time but I was met with an attitude and an unfriendly face.

I asked her for help and she turned and asked two employees (Jordyn and Tony H.) that were behind her if they could help me. They both looked at each other and said no. They saw my appalled face and carried on talking to one another until I asked again and Jordyn reluctantly came to my aid. He was very rude, not answering my question properly, and constantly turning back to Tony H. and Jada. He went to the counter where Jada and Tony were standing and as I left without the product I needed, they all started laughing. I felt very hurt, disrespected, discriminated against, and I just wanted to leave the store.

I approached the cashier (Jonathan S.) with my printer, and he saw that I was distraught and I proceeded to tell him what happened. He advised me on my product as much as possible but as he was the only cashier at that time, he had a long line and could not fully assist me. At this point, I asked for the name of the store manager, I bought my printer and left, not wanting to step foot in the store ever again.

As soon as I left the store, I looked at my receipt and proceeded to call the number so that I could speak to the manager and file a complaint about the way that I was treated. I called the number ten times between 6pm and 9pm but there was no answer, the phone just kept ringing for about ten minutes each time. I tried both at Geek Squad and the Customer Service desk.

At about 8.45p.m, I finally had had enough of trying to call that Best Buy store and called the Customer Relations number that I found on your website. I was treated with the utmost respect and I am truly happy with the way the issue was being dealt. The customer service rep who I spoke to gave me the names of the general manager (Nate) and the customer solutions manager (Albert and Peter) as I wanted to speak to someone in person about the ordeal. The only reason I did not speak to the manager at the time was because I live within walking distance of Best Buy and did not want to cause I scene in front of customers, and I did not want to file a complaint with the manager when the employees were there. As you can see, I was wanting the utmost discretion as I felt threatened by these employees.

I decided the following morning to go and speak to any of the managers that the customer service rep had mentioned to me. Upon arriving at the store and asking the man in the yellow shirt at the front of the store that I needed to speak to either Nate, Albert, or Peter, he proceeded to inform me that they weren't there however, John, the manager in charge at that time would be quite happy to assist me. Upon meeting me, he proceeded to talk to me at the front of the store, in front of some of the employees which is not what I wanted.

I told him that I was told by the customer service rep that to speak to one of these three managers regarding the issue but he told me that as far as I was concerned, he was the one to deal with the issue. He asked for my name only, not for any contact information and said that he was going to bring it up with the employees. I wanted the utmost discretion however, he did not seem to be offering that. I am a single, minority, female, that lives within walking distance of Best Buy and I did not want to have my name mentioned where if someone had an issue, then they could find me.

Going to the store I expected to be treated with respect, as any one of your many other customers. I was definitely not treated like that and when I brought the issue to the Manager, John, the issue was handled in front of other employees and without any care to the sensitivity of the issue. No one has the right to disrespect another person, especially a customer. I told the manager that I was going to file a complaint with the FTC (claim # 24207584) and he asked me what they could do about it. I again felt very disrespected by the manager and got the feeling that he did not want to deal with the issue. I called the Customer Relations number again regarding the issue and from the previous day and the way that it was handled by the manager which is where I got the address to send a letter to the C.E.O.

Judy of Sandwich, IL September 24, 2009

My husband purchased a Gateway Computer for me for my birthday on 04/07/2007 since this time I have had this computer in 4 times. Twice the hard drive has gone out on it. They found a virus on it but the real problem was they had to remove the GPU fan shield so the Gou fan could run properly which was put in with electrical tape. Another time was because we had the kiss of death screen they called it.

I took it in on 9/15/2009 at which it was on of the time I mentioned above where the hard drive went bad again. So They tell me they need a recovery disk so they can put everything back on the computer. I was never issued one with the computer. The first time I had to take it in because the hard dive went bad they never ask me for the recovery disk. They fixed it give it back to me with everything on it, they backed up my photos ( which I paid for).

This was at the original Best Buy my husband bought it at in Naperville, IL. I had the computer in at that best buy 3 times. I moved to Sandwich,IL and I took it this time to the Best Buy in Oswego,IL. They tell me for the second time the hard drive is bad and they need the recovery disk to put everything back on it. WHICH I NEVER GOT WITH THE COMPUTER. They tell me I have to call Gateway to get a Recovery Disk for it. Which I did , They charged me 39.00 just to talk to them for 1/2 HR. just to have them tell me they do not make that recovery disk any more.

So I call best buy back and they tell me that there is nothing they can do because they need the disk to put everything back on and that I have to call Gateway again to get some kind of replacement Disk. Now this has Gotten to me now. My husband bought a 3 year warranty for that computer and I should not have to put out a dime to get that computer fixed. If the Store In Naperville, IL put it back together with no problems when the hard drive went bad aren't they trained to do the same. If I call Gateway again it will cost me another 39.00 just to talk to them for a halr hr.

I just think that after I have brought a computer in there so many times it should just be replaced. My husband was Deployed in April and before he left he bought a lap top from Best buy It was a Toshiba Satellite lap top did not have it for a month and the hard drive went bad. I had bought the same computer from best buy so that my husband and I could DO Skype (a program that lets you see each other and talk to each other if your computer has a mic and a camera). The computers had built in Cameras and Mics.

I only had mine a month and the hard dive went in mine. Now My husband has been gone since April and I have not been able to see his face. Our twins can not see their father. Because he is afraid to ship the computer home due to something else might happen to it. So that is 3 computers that I have bought from them in the past 2 years nothing but problems and they never want to make good on anything expecially the PC they have now.

I have two of their Credit Cards I Plan on paying them off and never buying anything from them again. When you that many computers bought from one place and the hard drives go bad with in a year or less and the computer is put together with Electrical tape. Something needs to be done.

jaime of tucson, AL September 4, 2009

i bought a dell lap top from them, after 4 weeks my computer would not charge. i had'nt much time on my hands so, i took it in 3 weeks later, and i only has it less than a 2 months at his time.the charger was not working and they refused to help me. saying the could no longer help because it was a dell problem now, we only give you 15 day warranty.After all the money we spent they would not help. I will never shop BEST BUY again.

Elena of San Diego, CA September 3, 2009

I got a Laptop ( Sony) and a sales person talked me into buying their "in house feature, made by Geek Squad" - the optimization to run applications quicker and smoother. He assured me that if I will have any problems, I will be taken care by Geek squad or by him if I would need to return the computer in case there will be a problem. I indicated, that all my computers I had, were bought from Costco, only because of their outstanding support and return policy. He told me that he promises, that I will have a great experience with Best Buy. I got computer, spent 6 hours downloading all my files, information, software, programs, etc. to customize it for my needs. During that 6 hours the laptop had "6 crush dumps", with the messages that computer just recovered from serious problem. It also gave me a blue screen, messages with the error number etc.... Also, during the download, I opened the DVD/CD drive and saw the Best Buy optimization disc, which they left there.

I was so upset with all that situation, I spent close to the 1,000.00, so much of my time, and ended up with so many problems from the beginning. Unfortunately, I had to go to work yesterday ( I bought it Saturday late night and spent all Sunday doing the stuff on laptop but I called Best Buy and told them ( Jayson, who sold it to me) about problems I have. He told me to bring computer back to Geek Squad and they will take care of me. If I should have any problems, to see him to resolve them. When I came to the help desk, from the beginning they were so clear that I can't return laptop without paying restocking fee, regardless of the problem I have. When I told them that they even left the disc inside, they said if I will not give it ( disk) to them back and will use it, they can sue me!! Finally the Manager was involved and he said that I can exchange/return/fix - any of the options I will select. I decided to return it and get a new one at Costco. 10 min after that Jono ( manager) manager was gone and another "Manager" Ken, told me that he will take it back only with 15% RESTOCKING FEE.

He had to call Jono to verify what he offered, but did it inside the office, so I didn't hear anything. Needless to say, that I was so upset, tired, humiliated and angry. I spend there an hour trying to return it! I was given a defective product and I was charged approx 125 just to have a right to return it back! It is totally ridiculous. If the laptop would be unopened and not altered, I probably wouldn't be that upset. I paid even more for that service, they didn't do it right, and they didn't want to help me out! After all promises about great customer service, the alteration done by Best Buy was done so poorly, I feel it is totally wrong to charge me anything.

tiffany of lena, WI September 2, 2009

my computer was defecictive and declared a lemon but then told me i would get a new year warrenty and then had to pay for it and had more new problems with the new computer and told I need to pay even more to fix that

Mary of Greenbackville, MD August 28, 2009

I bought a computer from Best buys 3 months ago in Delaware. It was a new computer in unopened box. They wanted to sell me the service of Recovery Cds which you need to restore the operating system. I told them I can make them since I have 40 years of computer experience. I came home and installed my software and worked on my computer. It was fine. One evening about 3 weeks ago, the screen was blank and I tried to rebout it and it would not reboot.

I took it back to Salisbury Best Buys and they fixed it. But they called and told me that the operating system had major critical errors and they wanted to reinstall the operating system for 139. I told them no. I would pick up and see if I can fix it. I brought it home and the computer was fine so I decided I better make the Recovery Cds now in case the system acted up. I went to All Programs, PC Help and Tools and then Recovery Disk Creation. The program started and I loaded a CD into the drive, and clicked on Continue but an error came up and said that the Cds were already created.

So I called Manny, the store manager at Salisbury and he swore that they did not create any Cds. and told me to contact Delaware Best Buy. I called Best Buy Delaware. I spoke th the supervisor of Geek Squad. He said that they do not create the Cds ahead of time and asked me if the box was opened when I got it and I said no so he said we have to open the box and install the Vista in order to create the Cds. which makes sense. So I called back Salisbury Best Buy and asked for Manny. They asked who was calling and I told them my name and they said he left for the day.

The Best Buy in Salisbury was the only store that had access to my pc and could have made the Cds. Also they told me wrong that there was something wrong with my pc and they wanted to wipe out all my date and install the operating system which would have required them to make the Cds. But they will not admit the creation of the Cds. I believe they do this to make money. If I did not understand computers like I do, I would have said ok and they would have chargted me 139 for nothing plus I would have lost all my data.

I want them to give me either my Cds that they created or give me a new Microsoft Vista full version to replace my cds that I could have creagted. I will have to pay for a copy of my operating system which is Microsoft full version 64 bit Vista Home Premium software which can cost up to 200. I also could have lost all my data if I did not have the computer knowledge that most people do not have.

melessa of arvada, CO August 4, 2009

i purchased a computer for my wifes birthday in june an early present scence then we have had 4 comp not one worked properly they had no paper work with them an are 3 comp we got from them had ponography on it an r 5 yr old granddaught seen it none of thease comp were new i could go on its been a night mare i ask them about warrentys the said the paper work will cost me 30.00

Jason of Etobicoke, ON July 24, 2009

I purchased an open box MacBook pro from Best Buy in CALGARY on July 21, 2009 while on bussiness, the box was open however the original plastic protection around the MacBook still had the sticker intact so this unit was not even used however it was a customer return, I checked the warranty status on Apples site which indicated the customer registered the SN that was on the box since the warranty shows it expires DEC 19, 2009.

Needless to say I was not happy about this and I became furious when I attempted to return this so called NEW laptop that was sold by Best Buy that only has a 5 month warranty remaiming... What happened when I brought it into the Best Buy in TORONTO where I reside to return it 2 days after purchasing in CALGARY?

I explained the situation to the Clerk who in turn went to the manager and started whispering, the clerk then returns to me and get this... he tells me I have to return it to the ORIGINAL STORE in CALGARY!!! Thinking this was a sick joke I immediately asked for the manager who comes over and insists he will not return it and it must go to the ORIGINAL STORE in CALGARY. After trying to convince him that this is nonsense for approx 20 minutes he walks away and basically says go to that store and they will compensate you? How can they possibly compensate me? a plane ticket, hotel, rental car, time and meals to fly to CALGARY to return a product. Is this manager for real? does he honestly think this is how to manage a store, does he even know corporate policies?

What did I do next? Walked into another Best Buy 15 minutes away and returned the laptop with no hassles confirming this manager was on crack or something was seriously wrong with his thought process. I am done with Best Buy and their sister company Future Shop, I have been spending 30-40% of my salary with these companies mostly every year and they will not see another penny from me due to managers that think they can make up their own policies as they go.

JOANN of FREEHOLD, NJ July 14, 2009

I purchased a new Gateway computer from Best Buy 1/11/2009 it died after 2 months, I was told to bring it to the store it was under a 1 year warranty. I called 1x per day for 14 days inquiring as to the status it was essential to run my home based business. Approx 3-4 weeks later Best Buy called stating the hard drive was replaced it may be fixed but I must supply recovery discs (which I do not have) then they will know it if the problem was corrected. I should not be required to purchase recovery discs and have to spend more money on a 2 month old computer under warranty to see if the problem is corrected.

I called the store managers & corporate multiple times no one is interested in correcting this issue nor will guarantee it is fixed properly. I filed a dispute with Discover and was told to contact Best Buy. Best Buy has made no attempt to correct the issue, will not insure me that the computer is fixed, disputed the chargeback. The computer is useless without an operating system. Best Buy has my computer and my 945.00 since 3/25/2009 which is now going on 4 months. I have contacted Better Business Bureau. Please advise which agency can best help me. Thank you.

tiffany of lena , WI July 10, 2009

i bought a computer from this store and the dvd rom never worked right from the start. after them claiming it was a virus that kept it fromm working they charged me 300 extra dollars and i restored the computer myself and they still had to relace the dvd rom. a year and a half later my motherboard and harddrive go out so they sent it out. After getting it back i had problems with it so i called to have a guy come out. They then told me it was damaged and they replaced the front of my computer casing. Now they are saying because of that the new motherboard is more then likely cracked and corperate office would be calling me. No one called me so I talked to there consumer affairs dept which told me they had no record of anything so then they looked into it and told me I had to bring it back to the store that damaged it and never told me in the first place. plus i had bought the in home plan where they came out. This under the lemon law should be being replaced but they now refuse anything

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