Gary got a laptop computer from Best Buy three years ago. Three years and three days, to be precise. The extended warranty expired three days ago. Two days ago the whole thing just plain stopped. When he took it in yesterday, they told him what the problem was, and nope, they couldn't fix it under warranty.
Thing is, he's had the machine in twice this past winter for the very problem that finally brought the computer to being utterly unusable two days ago. Best Buy kept insisting there was nothing wrong with the machine. They essentially told Gary that he didn't know how to plug in the machine. If he just plugged it in right, there wouldn't be a problem. Uh. No. How do you make them honor the warranty, short of going to small claims court?
Same day, my oven was blanked out and unusable too. As I tried to figure out online what might need to be repaired, Gary began taking the back off the control. I don't know what he did; I'm not sure he knows what he did. He did get a little zot. But somehow the electricity came back to the control panel, and now the oven is working again. Yeeee haw! (I've been without a stove twice already in the last 9 months, and really really didn't want to do it again.)
Now, if only the computer repair were as easily resolved.
Gary says the moral of the story is to never buy an extended warranty. I don't know. Without the extended warranty, that computer would have only made it a year. I think the moral of the story is to never buy a laptop. (And now all you laptop-lovers, especially the Dell folks, can tell me I'm silly.)
Friday, May 30, 2008
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Or you could say "Moral of the story is never buy a laptop from Best Buy" They may have the lower prices but they don't always know how to fix the problem. :)
ReplyDeleteI think Dell laptops are good, but PC's will probably last longer. As for the extended warranty... Yeah, actually, I agree with Gary on that - don't get them. If you buy a good laptop with good reviews that has been known to last for a while, and you take good care of it, then you should have no problems.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a docking station is incredibly, incredibly useful for a laptop. The less that you have to plug things in and out of it, the longer the ports will last.
But, yeah, that's one of the dangers of buying a portable electronic device... You can't take care of it yourself. Which really makes a tech guy like me very, very nervous. :-/
Susan, dear friend - contact the store manager and offer him one more chance to do the right thing before you file a complaint with the State Attorney General's office.
ReplyDeleteThis is part of what our tax dollars pay for and companies need to honor their own agreements. If they never really repaired the issue, they are responsible.
Be clear in what you want - do you want it repaired? A significant discount on a replacement? (take a good look at your warranty to help you weigh what you want done).
It isn't as difficult as it sounds as long as you know your rights, obligations and don't listen to the bluffing. They make a fortune on bluffing.
Thanks for sharing this information. I agree with cessai comment that they may have low prices but don't know how to fix problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteI've found that just working my way up the ladder calmly but forcefully works really well. Make sure you keep a list of everyone you talk to, what they told you, and keep it with the documentation from the first two attempts to get the laptop fixed.
Also don't discount the value of calling their corporate headquarters. The store manager won't want you to make that call, it looks bad, so he might be willing to help you out before it goes that far.
Problem at this point is Gary's long work-days, being out of town last weekend and then again for a reunion coming up soon, and the other employees making it very hard for him to get a hold of the people "up the ladder." On top of that, when he asked for information on how to contact district managers or whatever (y'know, the next step up), they refused to tell him.
ReplyDeleteThen get on the website and find out who to contact and complain about that too. That really stinks.
ReplyDeleteBest Buy is often more convenient, and unfortunately Circuit City is having financial problems. Circuit City is much better at backing up their products. They've fixed things for me well beyond the extended warranty or if I didn't have the paperwork...just knowing they have carried the product.
That kind of service is rare anymore.
Hope everything gets resolved to your satisfaction.