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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

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[Praise] Best Buy Geek Squad Protection Plan service

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I bought the Best Buy Geek Squad Protection plan on a $300 HP all in one in 2010 and it was good for four years and was going to expire this July. Well fast forward, the printer dies it says paper jam with no sign of a paper jam. And it makes the clicking sound of death. So I unhook the printer and drive over to the Best Buy at Holyoke Mall and I go to the Geek Squad counter and tell them my problem, they said they'd just swap it out so just go over to returns. They process it and since that model is discontinued I could have any printer up to the value of the original so I got a good old laser jet that is commercial quality since I only print in Black and White (haven't bought a color cartridge in eons) and it gives the most pages on a cartridge (even though the cartridges are $$$). I only had to pay the sales tax on the new one but I'm happy with the service from Best Buy and the Geek Squad protection plan.

The reason I didn't get another all in one is they were a dime a dozen and I didn't want to trade a $300 printer for a $129 printer.

I am overall happy with the service from the Holyoke Mall Best Buy today.

DocDrew
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DocDrew

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I bought the Best Buy Geek Squad protection plan on my Panasonic Plasma 50" TV several years ago since it was an open box display model (heavily discounted).

That TV lasted until about a month before the plan ended (2 or 3 years) and died with a sudden pop. Call support, they sent out a tech to diagnose a few days later, and he ordered parts. It still didn't work after the part replacements were installed a few days later so he told me to take it in for replacement. The remaining boards to replace were backordered and wouldn't be available for a month.

I traded the broken TV for another model 50" Panasonic plasma (new this time), Geek Squad warranty, and a gift card for $40 since the prices had dropped. That lasted about a year, then it also died with a pop. Called support, tech shows a few days later, diagnoses bad boards, and orders parts. Comes back a few days later, replaces boards, still has problems, and again sends me back to the store for a replacement.

This time I picked a Vizio LED 55" Smart TV, got the Geek Squad warranty (cheaper now since it's a LED TV), and a $60 gift card. It's been over a year now.

Gbcue
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join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA

Gbcue to IowaCowboy

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to IowaCowboy
After getting that workhorse, I don't think you'll ever have to buy another printer...
15444104 (banned)
join:2012-06-11

1 recommendation

15444104 (banned)

Member

LOL....

HP LASERJET printers are good....really good, workhorses!

I have a hp laserjet 1000 series that is now 13 years old and used daily and it still works perfectly!

HP consumer quality computers & prehaprials have been improving over the past 5 years and are mostly also good quality now. But their business products are almost always
EXCELLENT.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme to IowaCowboy

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to IowaCowboy
I have an OfficeJet Pro 8600plus and it has been great. Some of the lower end HP printers can be hit or miss.
djlar
join:2009-04-23
799228

djlar to 15444104

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Indeed, here at work we still have a couple of HP LJ 1300's 8+ years and going strong (no paper jams like the brand new xeroxes)

DataRiker
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join:2002-05-19
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DataRiker to IowaCowboy

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to IowaCowboy
HP's unbelievably bad software that unfortunately gets installed far too often more than makes up for the quality of the hardware. Speaking from a support standpoint.

That may have changed since I left the industry.

I remember installing a 330 MB driver for a client and later that day a 7 MB Lexar driver for another client. Both printers had all the same functions and both lasted about 2 years of heavy use.

r81984
Fair and Balanced
Premium Member
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX

1 recommendation

r81984 to DocDrew

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to DocDrew
said by DocDrew:

I bought the Best Buy Geek Squad protection plan on my Panasonic Plasma 50" TV several years ago since it was an open box display model (heavily discounted).

That TV lasted until about a month before the plan ended (2 or 3 years) and died with a sudden pop. Call support, they sent out a tech to diagnose a few days later, and he ordered parts. It still didn't work after the part replacements were installed a few days later so he told me to take it in for replacement. The remaining boards to replace were backordered and wouldn't be available for a month.

I traded the broken TV for another model 50" Panasonic plasma (new this time), Geek Squad warranty, and a gift card for $40 since the prices had dropped. That lasted about a year, then it also died with a pop. Called support, tech shows a few days later, diagnoses bad boards, and orders parts. Comes back a few days later, replaces boards, still has problems, and again sends me back to the store for a replacement.

This time I picked a Vizio LED 55" Smart TV, got the Geek Squad warranty (cheaper now since it's a LED TV), and a $60 gift card. It's been over a year now.

I would buy a surge protector.
davidhoffman
Premium Member
join:2009-11-19
Warner Robins, GA

davidhoffman to DataRiker

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to DataRiker
Those full HP driver installations can be aggravating. There is NO duplex support for most light weight driver installations. You have to sit through the full install to get that.
TheMG
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TheMG to IowaCowboy

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to IowaCowboy
I generally don't buy extended warranties (aka "protection plans"). It is rare that I have actually had to use one. More often than not the device in question works perfectly until well after the protection plan is expired.

Nice to hear that it worked out for you, but keep in mind that MOST people that buy a protection plan, will in fact NEVER need it. Think about it... Best Buy has to make a profit from selling the protection plans, the only way they can make a profit, is if most people never end up needing it.

It's kind of like gambling. You might get lucky and get something out of the protection plan... but odds are more likely that you will not.
JoelC707
Premium Member
join:2002-07-09
Lanett, AL

JoelC707 to DocDrew

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to DocDrew
said by DocDrew:

Call support, they sent out a tech to diagnose a few days later, and he ordered parts. It still didn't work after the part replacements were installed a few days later so he told me to take it in for replacement. The remaining boards to replace were backordered and wouldn't be available for a month.

That's funny. I had nearly identical experience as you. I had a 42" Panasonic Plasma with Geek Squad protection on it get hit by a surge or something (yes it had a surge protector on it). Tech came to the house with two new boards (IIRC there were two or three boards total in it) as they weren't 100% sure which one was dead. Put one at a time in the TV, no such luck. Took it with him to the shop and determined the replacement boards were bad. Ordered another and the second set was also bad. By this time they have had my TV about two weeks. They're reluctant to continue ordering more possibly bad parts and instead "buy back" the TV and send me to get a new one.

I don't normally buy warranties like this but in this case I'm glad I did. Prior to this case, there was only one other situation where I ordered an extended warranty and that was on a laptop through Office Depot. They had some special on their warranty where the warranty cost I think $150 but they gave me $200 off the laptop price if I bought the warranty. Basically I saved $50 and got a free warranty in the process.
TheMG
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TheMG

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said by JoelC707:

Tech came to the house with two new boards (IIRC there were two or three boards total in it) as they weren't 100% sure which one was dead. Put one at a time in the TV, no such luck. Took it with him to the shop and determined the replacement boards were bad. Ordered another and the second set was also bad. By this time they have had my TV about two weeks. They're reluctant to continue ordering more possibly bad parts and instead "buy back" the TV and send me to get a new one.

TV repair certainly isn't what it used to be.

Seems they just swap boards according to a troubleshooting flowchart and hope it works. But sometimes the fault is not always with the boards that the manual says it is.

The days of actually repairing electronics are pretty much gone. Things either get tossed, or module/board replacement. So sad.

DocDrew
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DocDrew

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said by TheMG:

The days of actually repairing electronics are pretty much gone. Things either get tossed, or module/board replacement. So sad.

Much of the electronics are too complicated and delicate to repair economically in the field. Building an excess of boards costs a few dollars per board when done during the initial manufacturing runs needed to produce the TVs. Paying an experienced tech to diagnose and replace a soldered chip takes several times that, much longer, with less reliability when done outside of a lab.

The bad boards can be sent back to a repair facility to be dealt with there.

If it were mostly caps, resistors, pots and/or vacuum tubes like older TVs, it'd be a different story. Analog TVs (and devices in general) were much more forgiving of out of spec parts, voltages, and repair jobs.
Happydude32
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join:2005-07-16

Happydude32 to TheMG

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to TheMG
said by TheMG:

I generally don't buy extended warranties (aka "protection plans"). It is rare that I have actually had to use one. More often than not the device in question works perfectly until well after the protection plan is expired.

Nice to hear that it worked out for you, but keep in mind that MOST people that buy a protection plan, will in fact NEVER need it. Think about it... Best Buy has to make a profit from selling the protection plans, the only way they can make a profit, is if most people never end up needing it.

It's kind of like gambling. You might get lucky and get something out of the protection plan... but odds are more likely that you will not.

Exactly!

Those rip off plans are 100% pure profit. That’s why they’re offered, that’s why they’re pushed so hard. I had the unfortunate experience of working for the bastards at Worst Buy for three months and its all about the Service Attachments with Geek Squad Protection and Extended Tech Support. It’s all about overpriced accessories as well. The profit margins on electronics are razor thin or even sold at a loss. Product knowledge isn’t important, having a wide selections of items isn’t important, what is important is finding out why a customer wants to buy an item, what they will be doing with it, and using the information they provide as ammo against them to deploy scare tactics to convince people to buy these plans.

One day I had a lady come in and want three Amazon Kindle Paperwhites because she has one and her two kids and husband keep using it, so she bought one for each of them. She didn’t buy and accessories, GSP or tech support, my ‘notional margin’ on that sale was -$30 and I got yelled at by the dipshit manager. I sold an $800 Sony laptop and that made the company $4, the guy also wanted a laptop bag and external mouse, that made about $35 or $40 profit.

If you buy these ripoff plans on everything or almost everything, you will never be ahead of the game, you’re just wasting money. I refuse to buy any. I didn’t buy the extended warranty on my $47,000 luxury SUV that would have ‘only added 6 months of payments’ and I sure as hell am not going to buy one for throw away electronics that I will replace with a new model before it has a chance to die or break. In the long run these things are just designed to separate you from your money with the very good chance you will see nothing from it.

Since Worst Buy started offering Geek Squad Protection on DVDs/Blu Rays and Video Games for $2 or $3 per title, I won’t shop there anymore. It’s not like they carry much of anything that’s decent when it comes to consumer electronics. I’m sick of being bothered and being hit up for these rip offs. Just let me walk in, let me get what I want and let me pay for it. I don’t want a Worst Buy Credit Card, I don’t want your crappy anti-virus software, I don’t want to be protected from things that may never happen. Even as an employee, when you I’d buy things, they still tried to talk me into that extended warranty garbage. And if something were to happen, do you think I’d actually my stuff and let those nimrods who work in Geek Squad touch anything I bought? Hell no!

On one of my last days being employed by that company I was told that the store was not selling enough Tech Support services on tablets and was given a print out at how much one can ‘save’ by flushing $80 down the toilet on tech support for a tablet. I still have no idea what ‘software coverage on a tablet means’ and why the hell it is worth $200 and I’m not sure what ‘Personalized set up of a tablet’ is either.

Won’t matter anyway. All of these rip off tech support services and warranties are provided by Worst Buy themselves, not a third party like Circuit City and others did. So in a few years when that company finally goes out of business, it will all be rendered useless anyhow.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

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I just got the United Mileage Mileage Plus Explorer card from Chase and I think it has some kind of warranty extension protection on it as a card member benefit. I think it extends manufacturers warranties. Many people don't realize it but certain credit cards offer the same protection for zero dollars.

Msradell
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Louisville, KY

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Steve, I certainly year were you coming from the discussion of Worst Buy but unfortunately in most areas there are many other choices where to buy consumer electronics locally. You either buy it online, which in many cases is a good option or you buy it At Worst Buy. Their competitors have been dropping like flies in recent years. The only competitor left in our area is HH Gregg and believe it or not they are much worse than Worst Buy in almost every way!

IowaCowboy
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Springfield, MA

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IowaCowboy

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I like shopping at Best Buy. I like shopping at brick and mortar stores period.

I refuse to pay shipping unless it's an item that cannot be purchased locally. Then there is the issue of having the package left on the doorstep where some neighborhood thief can help himself to it. With the drug abuse problem here people have no problem stealing packages to feed their addictions. As a matter of fact they follow UPS/FedEx trucks to steal packages. If I shop at Holyoke Mall or Enfield Square, I can take the merchandise from the mall after I pay for it, lock it in my trunk (while I finish any errands) and take it straight inside when I get home.
Happydude32
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join:2005-07-16

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Happydude32 to Msradell

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to Msradell
said by Msradell:

Steve, I certainly year were you coming from the discussion of Worst Buy but unfortunately in most areas there are many other choices where to buy consumer electronics locally. You either buy it online, which in many cases is a good option or you buy it At Worst Buy. Their competitors have been dropping like flies in recent years. The only competitor left in our area is HH Gregg and believe it or not they are much worse than Worst Buy in almost every way!

We have no HH Greggs around here, I've been to the one down in Erie, PA multiple times, and the product selection is even more pitiful than Worst Buy, but the great thing is, the sales dweebs don't annoy the hell out of you. Or at least they didn't the few times I've been there. I was showrooming some refrigerators last year and no one bothered me at all. Down the road at Worst Buy I had to tell three different people to leave me alone. Which is ironic since the location I worked at here in the Buffalo area there was never really anybody in appliances.

I do my best not to shop at brick and mortar stores, especially for electronics. Most of the stuff I buy can’t be found at brick and mortar stores and what can be is a lot cheaper online, plus no tax. Computer City and CompUSA where two great places back in the day, Circuit City wasn’t the best but at least they helped keep Worst Buy in check. Ultimate Electronics was the Ultimate Joke. The Buffalo area location opened up in November of 2010 and the company as a whole announced they were going out of business in January 2011. That place did help build up my blu ray collection though with their store liquidation sales. I forgot what state I was in and went to a Tweeter that place was pretty cool, but I guess you can’t sell high end equipment in a WalMart world and live forever.

A few of the locally owned high end electronics shops around here have moved on to home automation and smart home technology. That's why Worst Buy sucks, and why they will go out of business. They refuse to adapt. Instead of giving people value added services, properly trained employees with knowledge and emerging into different markets, they’d rather peddle their same old snakeoil extended warranty crap and hire employees who are more like con artists rather than people who have real knowledge about anything.

»www.screw-blue.com/

This website is spot on about what Worst Buy is all about and is an excellent read on how employees are treated at the only major CE chain left in the country and how clueless that company is. The comment someone made about the stupid ‘rec sheets’ is dead on. It was so stupid to try to show people products and answer questions while having to write down a bunch of nonsense on a Product Recommendation Worksheet. And in reverse roles, as a customer the last thing I want is some asshat store associate taking notes on our entire sales interaction. Just before I left, as a computer sales guy, they enacted a new policy and a new line on the Rec Sheet about cell phone upgrades and I was supposed to start pushing that for the four hours a week I worked after they cut my hours back from 36-38.

But hey, now I have a great job for a real company working in IT. Full time, terrific benefits, if I was paid hourly, my pay rate would be over 2.5 times what I made an hour at Worst Buy. I get to play with servers, configure Exchange and I went from a place where the average employee couldn’t spell SQL to a place where I manage it. Life is grand. And I every chance I get to step foot into one of their stores I will, just to screw with their counters.

It's a race to the bottom, who will be the first to die, Worst Buy or Radio Shack, and eventually they both will. After Worst Buy's secret intranet site was exposed years ago, I find it strange on how people actually still trust that store with their slimy, sleazy, underhanded tactics.

Puggies
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Puggies to IowaCowboy

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With Worst Buy you can just buy online, save a few $$$$ since their online store has lower prices ALWAYS than in the store and then just go pick it up. Heck- you can even do that in the store on your device or in the car. Even the in-store self order systems are cheaper than in the store. While walking around your item is getting ready.

And yes, NEW who does the Worst Buy Plans is the most horrible company to deal with- the SAME company that does the ones for cell phones. Total joke and PURE profit for any company since 99% of everyone who buys them, NEVER uses/claims them.

ilikeme
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join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme to Msradell

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said by Msradell:

Steve, I certainly year were you coming from the discussion of Worst Buy but unfortunately in most areas there are many other choices where to buy consumer electronics locally. You either buy it online, which in many cases is a good option or you buy it At Worst Buy. Their competitors have been dropping like flies in recent years. The only competitor left in our area is HH Gregg and believe it or not they are much worse than Worst Buy in almost every way!

Here in Texas we have a store called Conns and they are the absolute worst, probably more so than HH Gregg (never been to one, but have heard of them). They are probably also worse than the stereotypical used car salesman. At Conns their sales people are on to you the second you set foot into the place. Its almost as if there is an invisible 2ft leash tied between the two of you. When looking at the televisions or appliances and you find one you like they will always try to get you look at the much more expensive models. If you have not given up on them by this point and are actually able to get the model you want, next comes the huge push for their credit card where they almost will not take no for an answer. After that, the extended warranty? You thought best buy was bad about that? Conns is much worse.

I have been to Conns twice to two different locations, first one to look and ended up giving up because of the horrid sales people, second for the benefit of the doubt but left after a few seconds once I discovered they were exactly the same. Later on saw horror stories online about them and also heard some stuff from family and friends that had been there.

I now usually buy my televisions at Costco or online. For appliances I shop around, last time I actually found a good deal at Sears.

Thespis
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Keller, TX

Thespis

Premium Member

I know it was probably named for the owner, but I just can't trust a store named Conns...

ilikeme
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join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

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It probably was, but with the way they run that place the name fits them perfectly.