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Author Topic: Businesses to Avoid
OlavMah
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All right, we've all dealt with them, now let's spread the word around so they don't vicimize others. I've got two:

Best Buy - Do NOT buy electronics from these people. My husband bought a laptop from them 2.5 years ago and got their three year "warranty". The thing has been crashing every six to twelve weeks for the last year and a half. I've brought it in to their Geek Squad somewhere between five and seven times (I've lost count). Each time they keep it for two weeks.

Now, they claim that if you bring it in four times with hardware problems, they'll give you a new computer under their "No Lemon" policy. In fact, they fixed hardware problems on three separate occasions, then took the position that everything else wrong with this computer was software. Believe me, I tried everything I could with software, short of using a really basic version of Linux (not a viable option for an attorney who needs to email documents). This last time I brought it in, their Geek Squad agent found not one but two hardware problems. But they won't replace the computer because it's not "economical" for them. They also didn't fix the hardware problems, which were both on the motherboard. Instead they replaced the hard drive and told me to come pick it up.

I've already reported them to the Better Business Bureau, and I've made it clear to them that I'm not picking up my computer in its current condition. They'll have to honor their warranty or I'll take them to small claims court. I can't really see another option at this point.

Cruise.com They overcharged my parents $150.00, and they admit it. They've got the bills they sent and then the amount they charged my parents' credit card, and there is a $150.00 discrepancy. They say they cannot return their money until they determine where the error was made internally. Furthermore, if they can't find where the error was made, then they will not return the money.

This is the latest chapter in what has become a second career for my mother. She spent literally (and I do mean literally) hours a day for two months calling their rep because names weren't entered right in the reservations, reservations weren't made, or they were made then lost, a name that was entered right once was then changed so that it was wrong, and although my mother booked the trip six months in advance, the tickets did not arrive until four days before the ship left port.

So for those of you that can afford cruises right now... stay away from this company.


Hatrackers, whom have you had trouble with? Post it here!

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Will B
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This isn't a particular business, but . . . if you're in a hotel room or at a pay phone, and they have your usual calling-card deal 800 number blocked, don't take the credit card option. They charged me $29.50 per call. I disputed it, so I didn't have to pay it, but they did try.
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Speed
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That's why I don't do extended warranties. They always offer them at Best Buy and Circuit City, with various levels of insistance. Once I went to Best Buy and bought a CD deck for my car. The guy I bought it from was explaining their selling policies, and just mentioned, without explaining that it was even an option, that they were going to add $40 to the tab for the warranty. Then, without taking a breath to allow me to retort, he walked me up to the front counter, handed the invoice to the checker, and slyly told her to sign me up for the extended warranty while she was ringing me up. He then left, at which point I told the checker to do no such thing.

They say that their salespeople don't get commission, but they must get something. They're really jacked up on those warranties.

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OlavMah
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Okay, more Best Buy stories (and you're right Speed, retailer warranties often aren't worth it anyway, nor is buying a computer from a retailer, which I don't do, but some people like the guy I married have done once in their lifetimes... but that's another topic.)

A writer friend of mine had her computer taken by the Geek Squad for 9 weeks, total, and the last time they returned it to her they dropped it on its corner, right in front of her, shattering the casing.

A law student friend had her laptop sent in for service and they kept it for over a month. Whenever she asked them where it was and what the status was, they'd make a half-hearted attempt to look, shrug, and tell her to come back later.

Another writer friend said that she bought a computer from Best Buy in the '80s, and that it was such a piece of junk that she still hasn't forgiven them. As she puts it, she's forgiven both of her ex-husbands by now, but not Best Buy. I don't have details, but she did ask if I would go and sue them so that she could know they were getting grief.

In case anyone reading this thinks my experience is uniquely bad. I've dealt with three different store locations, and the stories above deal with at least one more out of state.

[/rant]

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TomDavidson
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Oddly, I've bought three machines from Best Buy, and never had a problem.
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citadel
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Lypha.com - web hosting propvider
About year ago there was a problem with my account. I couldn't get a warm body on the phone. I left numerous messages and sent several emails. My account was finally fixed (it took ~10 days) but they never returned my calls or replied to my emails!

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theCrowsWife
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Verizon We decided to try their internet plan as an alternative to dial-up, because we live out in the country where cable or dsl is not an option. They had a 30 day return policy. We were unable to connect, and we spent several hours on the phone with tech support. It never worked, so we returned the equipment. Not only have they not refunded our money, they insist that we pay them for the service (which we had cancelled as soon as it was clear it didn't work). We have sent them documentation proving that we sent the equipment back in time and that they received it, but still have not gotten closure.
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Boris
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Just so you know, Geek Squad techs have as much technical knowledge as your average high-schooler. It's the absolute bottom edge of the technical support industry, even lower than phone tech support. No really. The application to work there specifically states (in paraphrase, of course) that they don't really care how much experience or training you've had, just whether or not you've fixed computers before. Yeah, don't ever go there if you want it fixed. Take it to a shop, or find someone who has some actual work experience.
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Tante Shvester
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Rental Furniture/Electronics/Appliances: These are always a bad deal. They tell you not to worry if you have no credit or bad credit; that's because they will come and take their stuff back AND extort the money from everyone that you had to list on your rental application (references for friends, family, co-workers who don't live with you) And if you saved up the money that you were spending on monthly rental, you'd surely have enough to own the stuff anyway. But miss one payment, and all your furnture (or whatever) is gone. I see clients at home, often in poor neighborhoods, and I've seen slum apartments furnished with all new furniture, big screen TV, enormous stereo system, air conditioner, washer-dryer, yadda yadda ya. And then the next time I come by, they are sitting on boxes, sleeping on the floor, and wondering what went wrong.

Bottom line -- if you can't afford to buy it, you can't afford to have it.

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Tante Shvester
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Also, try to avoid Loan Sharks. Their lending rates tend to be higher than is typical at banks, and their collections departments are notoriously difficult to negotiate with.
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scottneb
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quote:
The application to work there specifically states (in paraphrase, of course) that they don't really care how much experience or training you've had, just whether or not you've fixed computers before.
First off this is a bunch of crap, and I think you're just jumping on the bandwagon. I've seen the application process for the Geek Squad first hand, they offered me a Manager Position but the pay was too low. There is no such phrasing as "we don't care how much experience you have," and I think you need to show me some proof on this one before I discredit everything you say.

As far as Best Buy in general, I've never had a problem with them. In fact, Best Buy has an employment requirement for most of their stores. That policy requires the store to pay their employees $10 an hour or more. Now, I don't really care how many bad rumors I can hear here, this one fact will always trump them.

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scottneb
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quote:
Just so you know, Geek Squad techs have as much technical knowledge as your average high-schooler.
I've seen my share of high-schoolers tear into a computer and fix a very difficult computer.
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Tante Shvester
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quote:
quote:
Just so you know, Geek Squad techs have as much technical knowledge as your average high-schooler.
I've seen my share of high-schoolers tear into a computer and fix a very difficult computer.
Maybe they were above average.
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scottneb
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Yeah, I missed the "average" part. My bad.

...but still.

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Xavier
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quote:

They say that their salespeople don't get commission, but they must get something. They're really jacked up on those warranties.

I can't speak for Best Buy, but I did work for Staples. We didn't get commision, but selling warranties was a huge deal. They kept a chart of how much money in warrantees each sales associate had sold that month. They didn't directly pay you any more if you sold more warrantees, but that was the way to get hours (we were all part time). Don't sell a warrantee in a week? They drop your hours down to almost nothing, essentially firing you.

So yeah, it does matter, commision or no.

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OlavMah
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Well, my story about the Geek Squad is no rumor. I can attest to it first hand, but the problem goes deeper than that. I've spoken to three store managers and two people at the corporate office, and everyone's put me off, saying I have to work it out with the local store.

Paying people good wages is a very positive thing, and Best Buy should be commended for it. But I stand by what I say. And hey, here's more:

- the first time I brought the computer into a store for service, they sent if offsite, then the offsite service center mailed it back to a different store location fifty miles from the first one and a hundred miles from where I live.
They said, at the time, "Oh, are you sure? That Never Happens. That's Very Serious. Are you sure?" I asked them to check their log, and they had to admit, that which Never Happens, had happened.

- once, when I went to pick up my computer from the Geek Squad, I turned it on in front of them and found that it would not boot up (which is is its recurring problem). They wanted me to bring my install disks and leave it with them for another two days so they could reinstall my OS. They stated it Could Not be a hardware problem (turns out the video card is shot, but they didn't catch that for another eight months). I took the computer and reinstalled the OS myself.

- once when I went to pick up my computer from the Geek Squad, the hard drive was formatted. I asked why, and what repair or test had necessitated that. They said that according to their log, no one had touched the software. I gave the computer back to the guy and said, "does it look like someone formatted the hard drive?" He checked and said, "Yes, this hard drive was formatted within the last week." So I asked again, why? I just wanted to know what had been done with my computer. He said they had no record of why and according to their log, it had not.

- the last time I brought the computer in, there was a very competent Geek Squad tech there. He pulled out a CD did a diagnostic, and found the hardware problems. He also found record that the hardware problems had been occuring even before I had brought it in for service the last time. When I asked him why no one else caught it, he said he had "reservations" about the offsite service center. He didn't go on and elaborate. He didn't say anything else negative about his company.

To their credit, they're now saying they will honor their warranty. But this is the second time they've said such a thing. The first time the manager stopped calling me back and would not come to the phone to update me when I called to see what was going on and what their position was on all this.

But I am seriously glad to know they're good employers. I do know how much that matters in this modern workforce. So, people who read this, do what you will.

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Tstorm
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quote:
They say that their salespeople don't get commission, but they must get something. They're really jacked up on those warranties.
Yeah, they get to keep their jobs.

You don't have to like the offer. Just understand what your options are.

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Annie
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The Mafia. I sent my laptop off with my uncle Paolo last week, and when I got it back, it had a cryptic blood-spattered note taped to the back. Also, I once had dinner with the mob bosses, and even though SweetCheeks Puccinelli has a Grandma straight from Sicily who can cook a cannoli you'd die for doesn't mean she keeps her kitchen up to health department standards. Dang Italian botulism.

.
.
.

re: this thread:
I'll see your anecdote and raise you two.

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TL
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[ROFL]
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Troubadour
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Jet Shaft er... I mean... Jet Star. Australian airline. Extremely rude and unhelpful Sydney customer 'satisfaction' manager that caused me to have to leave my bike in Sydney for three weeks because their bikes on flights policy is entirely different to: 1) every other airline in Australia 2) their own parent company's policy. Also, got lied to by their sales staff regarding bike policy. They were just not interested in helping me.

When I got on the flight, I took my 'usual' seat (if I can get it), halfway down the plane in the emergency exit aisle by the window. My window-arm was getting scratched by something. I looked down to notice that where airlines normal remove entirely the armrest against the emergency exit, Jet Shaft had merely sawed it off and covered the end with alfoil.

Stella job.

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Xavier
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I had a problem with a Best Buy's warrantee as well OlavMah.

My Dad bought me a laptop for my 18th birthday (I'm now 23). He bought a three year warrantee with it, which cost him almost a thousand dollars extra.

So a year and a half after purchase, my brother Zach accidently knocked it off my desk, causing the casing to crack when it hit the floor. I called Best Buy, and they told me that the case isn't covered. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't that angry either. If it wasn't covered, it wasn't covered. Plus, it was only a crack, and it didn't seem to be affecting anything with the running of the laptop.

About 2 months later, the computer would no longer hold a charge. It wasn't the battery, because I had two batteries and they both started doing this at the same time.

I brought it in to Best Buy, and asked them to look at it. I specifically told them that if they needed to replace the case to fix the charging problem, to give it back to me. I saw the man write this down word for word.

So I call the next day, and they hadn't gotten around to looking at it.

I call the day after and they had sent it off-site (hundreds of miles away) to some central repair center. I was annoyed they didn't ask, but thrilled that it was being looked at. They tell me that within the week it will be back.

Then I call the next week, and they assure me it will be back within a couple days, and that they will call me when it gets back.

I call the next week, and they say it will be in very soon.

Another week goes by, and I demand my computer back. They say its still at the central repair center, and they have no way of knowing what's happening to it. It takes about five calls that day, but I finally get the phone number to the central repair center. I got a strong impression that the associates are told not to give out that number. I had to speek to a manager.

I call them, and after much phone tag, they call me back. They say that they can't even diagnose the problem without replacing the case. Oh and that will cost $350 plus tax. I barely manage to keep conversing in a civil manner, but demanded that I get my laptop back. Another two weeks later, the local store calls me to say its back.

So after almost two months of being without my only computer, I don't even get the problem diagnosed. Not a happy customer.

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Megan
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No, no, no! Shop at Best Buy!

I have no ulterior motive, really!

*hides husband's Best Buy supervisor tag*

Seriously, though you may have a problem with one department, that's no reason to write the whole chain off (or even the whole store).

They are actually very good employers, and regardless of what you may have seen in the Geek Squad, they do tons and tons and tons and tons of training, for all departments.

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Tante Shvester
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quote:
Originally posted by Xavier:

I had a problem with a Best Buy's warrantee as well OlavMah.

I can understand your problems with Best Buy, but what in the world did OlavMah ever do to you? [Confused]
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Christy
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Actually, the two times we've ever had to deal with Best Buy's warranty department, it's been quite satisfactory.

Their repair departments, however, blow major chunks; both times we've needed to have something fixed, rather than actually replaced, they've been unable to resolve it. I think there's a margin issue here, frankly; it is considerably cheaper for Best Buy to just replace most appliances and computers than to actually spend the labor diagnosing and fixing them.

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Teshi
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I've had problems with so-called techies with less knowledge than me, which is pretty darn pathetic since I only know what I know from internet research and a few computer crises, so I can attest to occaisional total brainlessness among "techies".
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Megan
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quote:
occaisional total brainlessness among "techies".
Couldn't this be said of any field?
quote:
I think there's a margin issue here, frankly; it is considerably cheaper for Best Buy to just replace most appliances and computers than to actually spend the labor diagnosing and fixing them.
Christy, IIRC, this is actually completely true.
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Jon Boy
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I wouldn't shop at Best Buy, just because their prices don't seem that great. But maybe that's just me.
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Megan
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Where do you think has better prices for electronics? (no rancor; I'm really curious)
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fugu13
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http://newegg.com , frequently. Or just shopping around online a bit.

The Best Buy in town is pretty much within 5 cents on anything except stuff they've been having trouble moving of the nearby staples.

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Megan
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Ah, online, of course. Silly me, I was thinking only of actual physical stores. [Big Grin]

Yes...but...if you buy there, fugu, you're supporting my doggies! Please! Think of the puppies! [Wink]

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HRE
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I have a VPR Matrix desktop PC (the Best Buy brand) that I bought close to three years ago.

With some very basic maintanence, it runs faster and smoother than the new HPs and Compaqs I've used. I wouldn't trade this PC brand for the world, but unfortunately they've stopped making them and I will need to upgrade soon...

I also bought the three-year extended warranty and it has saved my ass multiple times when I need a replacement (like when my video card died) and under the terms of the warranty, they had to replace it with a part that was equal in value to the original part at the time of the purchase. So I got a high-end video card, FREE.

I brought it in one time over Christmas because I had a problem, and the guy informed me it might take 4-6 weeks due to the Christmas load. So he gave me a temporary fix right there for free (and it wasn't included under the warranty) and told me to come back in four weeks, when he would move my repair to the top of the queue.

No complaints here whatsoever about Best Buy.

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FlyingCow
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I hate Best Buy. A few anecdotes.

1) My mother purchased a copy of World of Warcraft for me for Christmas from Best Buy. When I tried to install it, the discs were corrupted and would not work - you could even see the distortion in the reflective sides of the discs. I went to Best Buy to exchange, and they had no more in stock - Neither did any of the six locations within 20 miles of my house, and they didn't expect any for a few weeks.

I called Electronics Boutique, and they had one copy that I put on reserve. I called Best Buy, asked if I could return the damaged discs and have money credited to my mother's card. She said yes, that I only needed her card number and the receipt, and that would be fine.

I raced over to EB to buy a copy, then went to Best Buy to return mine. I was told that they couldn't give me any money because they don't do that for opened software, even though I was told on the phone that they could. They said I could only exchange it for a copy of the exact same product.

After I got very angry with them, demanded to talk to a manager, showed them the disc distortion, and told them that no Best Buy within any sort of driving distance had a copy, they relented and gave me STORE CREDIT on a gift card. I left angry, and it was seven months before I went back.

2) I still had that damn store credit gift card, and a student of mine gave me another gift card at the end of the school year, totally $70 together. So I decide to go back and get a CD player installed in my car (I only had AM/FM at this point).

Turns out the $50 store credit had depreciated over those 7 months time to $10!!! I had no way to argue this, because I didn't have my receipt from December or any proof what the card was originally. Very angry.

3) The salesman sold me a bunch of other gear for the "free" "same day" installation - totalling about $40 - and told me I had to return the following night at 8 pm if I wanted them to put it in my car!!

When I read the fine print on their sign, it said that it was "free" - except for any additional parts needed for installation. It also said that the same day guarantee was only for purchases up to 6 pm - it was 6:10 (and it took me almost 15 minutes to get the damn attendant to get the product and all the additional parts).

4) When I came back the next day, I was told the installation would take an hour and a half - which would take me until 9:30, which was technically 30 min after their install shop was supposed to close. When I finally got it done, it turns out the salesman had sold me all the wrong parts, that the tech had to sell me all the right parts, and I had to go back inside to return all the wrong parts.

I hate that store, and I will never set foot in one again.

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Jon Boy
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quote:
Originally posted by Megan:
Where do you think has better prices for electronics? (no rancor; I'm really curious)

I usually go to CompUSA or buy online at Newegg.com. Honestly, I haven't really shopped for electronics at Best Buy, so I don't have the best idea of their prices. But their music prices seem high, and I've already got other stores where I buy electronics and computer stuff, so I don't really bother to look at Best Buy. It's just that the couple of times I've gone into a Best Buy, I haven't been impressed with their prices.
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Ela
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quote:
Originally posted by theCrowsWife:
Verizon We decided to try their internet plan as an alternative to dial-up, because we live out in the country where cable or dsl is not an option. They had a 30 day return policy. We were unable to connect, and we spent several hours on the phone with tech support. It never worked, so we returned the equipment. Not only have they not refunded our money, they insist that we pay them for the service (which we had cancelled as soon as it was clear it didn't work). We have sent them documentation proving that we sent the equipment back in time and that they received it, but still have not gotten closure.

We never used Verizon for internet service, but everyone in my family uses Verizon for cell phone service and we have been very satisfied with the service.
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Zeugma
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I absolutely despise Sears after the endless hassles they gave us for having the nerve to set up a wedding registry there. What a mistake. They screwed the registry up, resulting in us getting duplicates of gifts, and when we tried to return said gifts to the store, they said they don't take returns from the internet. Even though they had the items in stock. They said we'd have to mail the items to their headquarters, at our expense. So we grudgingly took store credit, and used it to buy some camping equipment for a trip the next week. Worst. Products. Ever. I've never seen such crappy sleeping bags, tents, folding chairs... the sleeping bag now belongs to the dog, who enjoys tearing it apart. We cheer her on.

Plus the customer service was unbelievably snotty and frustrating every step of the way, constantly transferring our calls to the wrong department, hanging up on us, or just flat-out refusing to be helpful.

I think we still have some store credit, but I'll burn $20 dollar bills before I set foot in that store again. Oi.

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TomDavidson
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Best Buy tends to have excellent prices on appliances and whole computers, but CompUSA and NewEgg are much cheaper for components. I do all my actual component shopping at the latter two stores, as well, and it's been my experience that the CompUSA techs are slightly better at actual repairs and/or technical consultations (which, sadly, isn't saying much). That said, if you know what you want and aren't building it from the ground up, you can save a LOT of money by waiting until Best Buy uses the item you need as a loss leader and showing up before it goes out of stock (which it will, since they do bait and switch a lot).
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Amanecer
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I like Best Buy. I got my computer there and have never had a problem. My mom got a digital camera with a warranty there about two years ago. It broke a few months ago and she took it in. They said it wasn't fixable and gave her a brand new model- far better than the original. From now on, I'm always getting a warranty.
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Ela
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quote:
Originally posted by adam613:
Verizon is a conglomerate. Verizon Wireless and the division of Verizon that provides DSL are essentially two different companies.

I've been a satisfied Verizon Wireless customer for four years, but I had my local service provided by Verizon for six months before I left in disgust.

Thanks for the clarification, Adam. [Smile]
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TomDavidson
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I'm exactly the opposite. I've always been treated like crap by Verizon Wireless, but I have nothing but good things to say about Verizon DSL. That said, the fact that I need to have Verizon local service to have DSL really annoys me, because Verizon local is ridiculously overpriced.

And the company has been very slow to bundle its services in any meaningful way, which costs me money every single day.

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Zeugma
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Time Warner's telephone "support" has twice made me cry.
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Tante Shvester
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I've been very happy with my Verizon DSL, except for one puzzling little thing. When I signed on to Hatrack, the email with my password never got through to my Verizon email account. And I tried and tried again, emailing the moderators for help. If they responded, I never got the answer. I even disabled my spam filter, in case that was the problem. No help. I tried again, using my work email account, and got the password right away. I have no idea why.

There are a bunch of dormant email accounts with my name on them, though.

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Ela
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quote:
Originally posted by Zeugma:
I absolutely despise Sears after the endless hassles they gave us for having the nerve to set up a wedding registry there. What a mistake. They screwed the registry up, resulting in us getting duplicates of gifts, and when we tried to return said gifts to the store, they said they don't take returns from the internet. Even though they had the items in stock. They said we'd have to mail the items to their headquarters, at our expense. So we grudgingly took store credit, and used it to buy some camping equipment for a trip the next week. Worst. Products. Ever. I've never seen such crappy sleeping bags, tents, folding chairs... the sleeping bag now belongs to the dog, who enjoys tearing it apart. We cheer her on.

Plus the customer service was unbelievably snotty and frustrating every step of the way, constantly transferring our calls to the wrong department, hanging up on us, or just flat-out refusing to be helpful.

I think we still have some store credit, but I'll burn $20 dollar bills before I set foot in that store again. Oi.

I have to say I hate shopping in my local Sears, as the sales help is either impossible to find or unhelpful. The main things we have bought at Sears in recent years are car batteries and a washing machine.

We also refuse to have either a Sears credit card or a Discover Card, ever since they messed up our account and it took months and multiple letters to clear it up.

I still deal with Lands' End, but I have been dealing with them for almost 20 years, before they were a part of Sears.

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Teshi
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quote:
Couldn't this be said of any field?
This I wouldn't know. Quite possibly. The only thing I've ever had to fix is my computer though, so I have no experience with Cars, Appliances etc.
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OlavMah
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So it's good to hear that some Best Buy stores do honor the warranties.

Some other advice. When dropping your computer off with the Geek Squad, it rarely pays to give them a detailed explanation. The service order only allows them to put in a few lines of what they think is wrong. READ WHAT THEY TYPE THERE AND ASK QUESTIONS TO MAKE SURE IT'S RIGHT. Twice I've brought it in, told them the problem, gotten the computer back with no fix, and found out that they typed the wrong thing. For example, the mouse buttons are not the same thing as the touchpad. If you've got problems with a hard-drive controller, realize this could be one of two devices. One is on the drive, the other on the mother board, etc. etc. If the offsite service center reads that you have a touchpad problem, they'll look only at the touchpad, not the buttons right next to the touchpad.

Also, don't bother to tell them that your hard drive is partitioned and that they don't need to wipe the whole thing to reinstall the OS. I don't think the Geek Squad guys I spoke to about this even understood what I was saying.

And yes, some other departments of Best Buy are most helpful. Some of the techs I've spoken to are quite competent. Truth of the matter is, though, they've cost me over a thousand dollars in a worthless computer and who knows how much in lost income as I fight with this thing. I run my own home business, and at the time and place I am in my life, I've got to watch money very closely. If I didn't have a husband capable of putting together a computer for me from spare parts, I'd be... I don't know. Borrowing money from the parents as a small business loan, I guess.

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Zalmoxis
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A side note:

As I understand it, in most states (and perhaps nationwide) retailers are no longer allowed to do the 'depreciating gift card' thing. I believe there was a court case about this.

I bet the retailers are bummed -- that was free money for them.

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Zalmoxis
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Ah, looks like it isn't a nationwide thing. California, where I live, has had a law on the books since 1996.

According to this 2004 Poynter article several other states are (were?) considering similar legislation.

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ketchupqueen
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The only reason I go to Sears is if they're having a clearance sale on top of clearance. Last time we did that, Jeff got a pair of Land's End khakis for $12.50 and two ties for $2.50 each.
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ketchupqueen
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Zal, New Hampshire and California are the only two I know of that have that law; however, several national chains have stopped doing it.

For instance, I bought my copy of HP 6 with a 2 1/2 year old Borders gift card. Now, they say on the back that they expire after 2 years except in CA, NH, and where forbidden by law, but the full amount was still available to me in TX, where there are no laws against depreciation, "maintainance fees", or expiration of gift cards/certificates. [Smile]

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jeniwren
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That's weird. I love Best Buy.

I've purchased two PC's and a laptop from them and not had a problem so far. I didn't get the extended warantee on the PC's but did on the laptop. So far I haven't needed to use it.

We bought our 42" LCD rear projection TV from them two years ago. The lamp went out on it and though it did take longer than I wanted (a little over a week), they sent a tech out and fixed it. The extended warrantee paid for itself with that one service call.

When I've had troubles figuring out how to properly wire our entertainment system, their people have been unfailingly helpful and accurate, which I really appreciate.

Not long ago, I bought a two line phone from them that started to have some very weird problems after about 3 weeks. I had the receipt, but not the original packaging, so I took it back and exchanged it. The new phone (same model) exhibited similar problems, so I took it back and they gave me a refund. No hassle at all. If they'd had a different model in the same price range, I would have exchanged, but since they didn't, they refunded my money. Even though it wasn't really within their policy to do so. I only warranted an exchange, not a refund.

All in all, my Best Buy experiences have made a really loyal customer.

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Brinestone
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I did some very basic Sears customer service for two summers, and I can tell you that I was not impressed with the company's definition of customer service. However, now that the chain has been bought by K-Mart, I have no idea if their customer service is any better. It might be.
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