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Geek Squad fixed my iPod by sending me a broken one

consumerist.com — Geek Squad messes up again when they mailed a damaged iPod instead of a promised new one

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monkeyswitch 1 year 200 days ago, made popular 1 year 199 days ago

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132 Comments
Who Dugg It?

corporalclegg24, on 10/12/2007, -4/+50do it yourself next time, why pay extra? There is plenty of sites that offer extremely easy guides.
- rebopper, on 10/12/2007, -11/+19Yeah but on the bright side they got rid of the iPod logo for her.
  Also, why does/did Apple not do the warranty repairs?
- Scyth3, on 10/12/2007, -27/+8Haha, leave it to the consumerist to report really dumb stories...
  
  Example: My K-Mart bacon was too fatty! Geek Squad couldn't fix my iPod! My watermelon had too many seeds! [enter another dumb complaint here]
- Leonx, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1somebody send me an ipod please?
  i'll check if it's true when it dont work
- etx313, on 10/12/2007, -14/+3Because then they wouldn't have anyone to bitch about but themselves. America, ***** YEAH!
- hater2win, on 10/12/2007, -8/+44As many people have said below. The Geek Squad does not work on these, they send them out to a third party service center with apple certified techs. This isn't Geek Squad's mistake, except for the part where she was told she was getting a new one.
  
  Also, why does the Consumerist's crap keep hitting the front page. They are obviously just chihuahua's trying to be pitbulls. Is EVERY single person who whines about best buy going to get a story on the consumerist and subsequently a front page digg?
- fuzzmello, on 10/12/2007, -10/+2that's what she gets for buying apple over and over.
- danielwsmithee, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Who cares. The same thing happened to me with Apple. My iPod broke the last week of the warranty. They sent me a replacement, it was dead on arrival. I took it in to the store. My warranty had expired in the mean time so for some odd reason it was really difficult to order a replacement. The manager replaced my photo with a brand new video iPod.
- motheroats, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2geeksquad is a joke. BUY THE APPLE CARE PLAN!!!! or nothing at all (like i did)
- NickDaddyKing, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3hate to say it (no i dont) but geek squad, just like any other big major company, is soulless. Geek squad also takes jobs from millions of the self employed,
  giving people who barely know how to email, the right to fix one, so when they come to your house it takes them 2 hours to fix... my dad even knew what was wrong and thats saying something.
- gxcdesign, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3You guys are getting this all wrong.
  
  Geek Squad do not repair computers, iPods, cameras, camcorders, etc period. They simply diagnose, install software, restore computer OS, and do networking inhome.
  
  They send them off to a repair center and go from there. Since these are B2B centers the consumer brings them to Best Buy or other retailers.
  
  For example our cameras are sent to Precision Photo where they do ***** up from time to time, however we always take care of the problem, our repair shop messed up a guy's camera he purchased in 2002...which he paid 700 for...a ***** 2 MP cam...and walked off with a Rebel XT.
  
  Please don't speak down on a company just because you had one bad experience at a store, you don't ever hear from the good, just the bad.
  
  I take pride in all my work, and I often find myself fighting with the repair center of a ***** job if it means I'm going to get a customer a better deal from it.
  
  These are all facts, and if you are ever in Johnson City, TN, feel free to come to my store.
  
  `octavio guzman - DI Specialist
- hoshizakistar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1To everybody who says that this isn't Geek squad's fault:
  
  If you'd bothered to look at the pictures on the site, you'd see that there's a big red circle drawn around a sticker that says (in caps) "BEST BUY QUALITY TESTED." Even if Geek Squad sends the iPods somewhere else to be fixed, their sticker says that Best Buy has tested the product for quality. So this IS the Geek Squad's fault. Either their product quality testing has seriously low standards or they just didn't bother to check the product's quality. Either way, it's their fault.
  
  I think that the Geek Squad shouldn't have to take responsibility for the mistakes of whoever they sent the iPod to to fix it but because they put that sticker on, they made it their fault.
- SIRBERUS, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Wow really? They don't repair stuff themselves?
  
  http://www.geeksquad.com/agents/detail.aspx?id=535
  
  Weird... coulda sworn the brochure said they do. But you must know better.
VaporBro, on 10/26/2007, -6/+63If you knew they messed up before...why the HELL did you send your broken Ipod to them? What did you expect?
- CptAmerica, on 10/12/2007, -18/+1attention...
- Balanced, on 10/12/2007, -5/+29Morbid curiosity?
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Send it to who? Geek Squad does NOT repair iPods.... Read your ***** service contract you BUY before bitching about it... This article is sensationalist ***** (buried as inaccurate).
JrGhoull, on 10/12/2007, -25/+32 things

A. charlie has the worst ***** luck

B. is hot? i can tell...she might actually be kinda hot...or plain...or possibly ugly which is why i wanna know...
- willbb123, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20http://cache.consumerist.com/assets/resources/2007/03/charlie.jpg
- JrGhoull, on 10/12/2007, -12/+1lol man from the way i'm getting dugg down people must really...i dunno
  
  anywayz, thanx will!
- halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1@jrghoull
  @willbb123
  
  And now we see she's well into the Hot category. The appropriate response to the photo would require me to be able to roll my "R"s but as I learned in my College Spanish class many moons ago, it's something I just can't do.
- sulaco, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3@halleyscomet
  
  Hot??! You need to get out more, my friend.
- hater2win, on 10/12/2007, -13/+4That bitch is ugly. Her iPod stopped working because it has to look at her every day!
- Grimboy, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4*fap*
- halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5@sulaco
  @hater2win
  @grimboy
  
  Yeah, like any of you guys regularly date perfect 10s. You all know if you posted her picture on hotornot.com she'd get rated an 8 or an 8.5, if not higher.
  
  It's too bad we don't have a full body shot of her, you could piss and moan about her sharp knees. (Fark readers will get that one)
  
  Go back to your porn and your anime so you can drool over the women you consider attractive.
robflm256, on 10/12/2007, -11/+31Geek Squad is pathetic. People are even more pathetic to send their stuff to them.
- asaturn, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13Geek Squad does not repair iPods.
  
  does it say "Geek Squad" anywhere on that box? no. it says "Best Buy"
  
  yes I know Best Buy owns Geek Squad, but being a former employee, I know that they actually send the iPods to a third-party repair location full of people with even less competence than the zit-faced salespeople pretending to be technicians at your local Geek Squad.
  
  No I'm not sticking up for Best Buy or Geek Squad, they are both horrible and I can't wait until they fail (just like every other time they've tried to make a PC repair division)... dugg down for innaccuracy.
- Gir53457, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Yeah they are not all that pathetic; except for the fact that they want to hire me, a non-certified computer tech, and give me the whole pack package including suspenders, pocket protecter, and the "car" (Shudder). All I had to do was assemble a computer out of their spare parts in front of them under ten minutes and they hired me.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1So you've been to every Best Buy and met EVERY Geek Squad agent huh? What. The. *****.
AJH16, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3It is the freaking Geek Squad. What do you expect, they are a bunch of high school dropouts that know how to plug something in to the wall and maybe, just maybe run some software. Anything else and they are calling up their managers for help and/or sending it to the manufacturer. I know a few people who have worked with the geek squad and I've had to fix very simple computer problems for them.
Bakedwafer, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6But Apple is awesome and nothing ever breaks, ever.
- FBMGriever, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Why is this man getting dugg down!? He is right!! Almost all of my friends have had their iPod's break at least once.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Apple has sold well over 50 Million iPods, OF COURSE there is going to be some broken iPods.... think about it... anyone with at least a 3rd grade education can see that.
Nlewis4, on 10/12/2007, -8/+6People should have learned by now that GeekSquad sucks and they have no idea what they are doing especially for their overcharged "service"

Learn how to fix computer problems yourself so you dont have to deal with these idiots
- khyberkitsune, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7@nlewis
  
  iPod != computer. It's a little more complicated to fix than you'd suspect. How about reading the article, or even the ***** HEADLINE, computer ain't mentioned.
Adrianc333, on 10/12/2007, -13/+6Two things to learn from this...

1. Don't use Geek Squad.
2. Don't buy a iPod (Or anyother Apple Product)
- astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3Amen brother.... and worst of all buying an Apple Product from a Best Buy store.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1See my reply above....retard.
Scyth3, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1I hate to say it, but did you honestly expect a fixed one returned from the Geek Squad? You should've gone to an Apple store, stood in the long line for 2 hours, and then you would've gotten a brand new one if it was seriously broken [thanks to the warranty].

As for the Apple bashing - to each his own. I love my iRiver and won't ever buy an Apple product. However, I believe everyone should have a right to their own opinion (and brand of mp3 player).
- Katana314, on 10/12/2007, -6/+24Unfortunately, Apple often refuses to believe there can be problems with their product. One time they declared water damage, even though it had been nowhere near water.
  
  Consumer: Hi, my mac got this error with the networking protocol. Can you-
  Genius: I'm sorry, that's just not possible.
  Consumer: What, you can't give me-
  Genius: No, no, it's not possible that you got an error.
  Consumer: Well, guess what, it happened, and I wrote down what it said, so here...
  Genius: I can read it telepathically! "This program is proceeding to work completely normally! It will never crash ever, because macs don't include crashes!"
  Consumer: Hey GeekSquad...the Genius Counter couldn't fix my mac, so I was wondering if you could-
  Geek: No problem!
  
  Consumer: OK, I'm not going to give it to you if you're starting up a chainsaw.
- jester30188, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Chainsaws are not part of the SOP for best buy. btw
- halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3@Scyth3
  
  I've never had to wait in line for two hours. You can sign up for a time slot online. The few times I've needed warranty service on an Apple product, I signed up for a Genius Bar appointment on apple.com and timed my arrival at the store to be a few minutes before the appointment. There was one time I had 45 minutes to kill, but they already had my name so I walked around the mall until my appointment time rolled around.
  
  @Katana314
  
  That's odd, because I've never had any problems with warranty returns on an Apple product. My experience has been the Genius Bar staff tends to assume there's a legitimate problem that needs to be addressed. It sounds like more of a problem with the staff at a particular store than with Apple itself. Where did you get such shoddy service?
- Korexz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12Are you kidding me? APPLECARE SUCKS!
  
  I had a 4th Gen 20GB (non-photo).
  
  I sent my iPod to them 4 times. The headphone jack was DEAD. They claimed the product was functional and refused to fix the problem.
  
  On the 4th retry they finally opened the unit and replaced the jack, but then dented the back of the case when putting it back together. My unit was PRISTINE!
- bobartig, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@korexz
  
  What in the world are you talking about? Apple stopped servicing iPods long before 4th gen. There's no way Apple opened your 4th gen ipod, did anything to it, and returned it to you, unless some rogue technician played with your product for fun, then returned it as non-repair.
korfafla, on 10/12/2007, -11/+3The Geek Squad couldn't even install a PCMCIA modem properly...it's so sad.
- astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -7/+6Don't even get me started with Geek Squad... I've repaired WAY too many of their mistakes.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Your implying the entire Geek Squad tried to install a PCMCIA modem and failed....
  
  Wow. Sensationalist? alarmist much?
  
  You're pretty sad actually.
writh3n, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24GeekSquad actually doesn't fix these, when you bring it in it gets mailed to a service center which is licensed and certified by Apple to make the repairs to the iPod. If you are looking for someone to blame I would put it on Apple for licensing these dumb asses.
- khyberkitsune, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6And if you'll note, you'll get a piece of paper that says "All work is performed by Apple-Certified technicians."
  
  Would you like to wager what percentage of those technicians actually have that certification?
  
  Hint: It's BARELY in the double digits. I used to work for an Apple Repair depot - they contract everything out to third-party repair centers that use temp agencies to hire people.
  
  I hope you're not buying Apple's line.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@writh3n
  Finally someone not jumping on the bandwagon, someone with some common sense.
  
  Thank you.
Homunculiheaded, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12I've had Apple fix my ipod by sending me a broken one, it sucked but is this really front page news? I mean any organization is going to make mistakes, it's a pain in the butt to wait at the 'genius' bar for a while, only to get a 'new' ipod, get home and find it dead, but that happens, a day later an all is well.
- ceralor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The Genius Bar is for "marketing genius", not actual computer genius. Why else would they constantly be making you either buy a new one, or give you a broken one?
inajeep, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11So every time a Best Buy screws up it's gonna hit the front page?
- tdk2fe, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5I think its important for people to understand Best Buy's practices when it comes to customer service. Basically, they try to sell you every sort of protection you could possibly need, but when it comes time for them to live up to their guarantee, they try and screw you any way they can.
- MDrake, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Heh, we don't want another HD-DVD event.
ewang, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Hey, at least Geek Squad knows how to seal an envelope. As I document here:
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showpost.php?p=46179&postcount=96
Nokia took almost a month to "fix" my N800, then sent it back in an unsealed envelope - so not surprisingly I got envelope but no N800. While Nokia requires you to insure your package when you ship it to them, they don't do the same. So I'm out my $400 and have nothing but an empty box and an empty envelope to show for it...
- halleyscomet, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10@ewang
  
  You're not out $400, you're just being too passive and polite in dealing with the bastards.
  
  It's their responsibility to get you a functional phone. It's THEIR problem if it doesn't arrive, not yours.
  
  Did you report the loss to the Postal Inspector? The police?
mrbroli, on 10/12/2007, -7/+7Just out of curiosity, has anyone who's been to the Geek Squad ever heard of the "Better Business Bureau?", or do they just stick random crap like this out on websites hoping that the right guy will pick it up and make a stink in the court of public opinion?
- astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Good idea. The more people who report Best Buy's Geek Squad to BBB, the more black marks they will get on their
  report, and possibly an investigation.
- tdk2fe, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2The BBB _does_ work. Recently one of my friends was sold a laptop and bought it under one of those "6-Month No Interest" plans if you sign up for a Best Buy credit card. Well, the salesman told her she didn't have to make any payments for six months. Six months later she went to pay it off, and found out that not only did she have to make a minimum for the last six months, that because it wasn't paid off in six months it had accrued back-interest from the date of purchase and left a bad mark on her credit rating. One call to the BBB and they took the mark off her record, and she didn't have to pay the interest. Classic example of Best Buy employees outright lying to customers.
- animeguru, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3@tdk2fe
  
  Actually, it sounds like your friend is one of the hundreds of thousands of morons who don't bother reading a contract before signing it and then cry like a little bitch when it bites them in the ass.
  
  But hey, it's more fun to cry about how bad the big box stores are then to take on a little personal responsibility for once.
overneath42, on 10/12/2007, -6/+6Do we really have to have every story from the Consumerist appear on the front page?
dustin0, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Wow the Geek Squad never stops disappointing you.
- way2jaded, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Or living up to their supposed reputation...
ibeetle, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9Would you take your Ford to a VW dealer?
Do you take your Cingular cell phone to a Verizon dealer?
Why the hell is she taking her iPod to a dealer that does not fix iPods?

1) Go to your nearest Apple store, or send it to Apple.
2) Pick any computer magazine (usually Macintosh centric), and flip to the back. There are a dozen companies that specialize in iPod repair.
3) Google search: iPod repair.

When Geek Squad tells you; We do not fix these. We send them out. Oh... and there is a $50.00 charge from us plus the repair cost... walk-a-way. Walk a way very very fast.
- johnbellone, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Let me put this into words that you can understand:
  
  Person bought iPod from Best Buy. Upon buying the iPod said individual also bought warranty.
  Said person, when iPod broke, goes to the place where they bought it in order to receive repair via their warranty that the purchased.
  Said company now sends said item back to "Apple licensed professional service" to fix said item. Got it?
  
  Blame Apple because they are the ones who licensed the service to repair the iPod. You can blame Best Buy for a slew of other offenses (because they rightfully deserve it - and the same goes for the Geek Squad). The Geek Squad is terrible, but sometimes when you want warranty service you need to take it back where you bought it. You can't just go to the Mom and Pop Computer Shop (That rhymed) to get it fixed.
- jester30188, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Actually its a 24.95 dollar charge and then the service center calls them if anything happens.
  after working with GS for almost 2 years now I don't have a problem with the service in stores
xspinkickx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1It makes me wonder how best buy is still in business considering all the ***** they have been busted on, really after they got busted running two websites an external and internal site I am shocked that people just don't get all they want is your money.
Ranose, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Hey, I love the Geek Squad! they are the main source of my income, if it was not for them breaking stuff all the time, people wouldn't come to my store in the droves that they do. I can guarantee that if there are 10 computers on my service shelf, 5 of them have already been worked on by Best Buy, you can tell by that little pink sticker they put on it. On top of that, they call me at least once a day looking for help on how to fix things. Ex. "Hey this is ******* and I was wondering if you could help me with a problem" "Ok, is this a computer we built for you?" "Well, no, it's a Dell *I* bought at Best Buy" please note that he did state it was his, "Ok, what is the problem?" "Well, I wanted to know if you could explain real quick how to reinstall Windows XP" *Man's voice over the intercom asking for someone to go to Home Theater* "Sir, your a Geek Squader, aren't you?" "Ummm...." "Ok, heres how you fix it, first unplug the system completely" "Ok" "Now hand it to the person who owns it and tel them this 'I am sorry, but the only way to repair this is to take it to a competent technician, you can find one just down the street at Tech Advanced' got that?" "Hey you didn't have to be" *click*
- jester30188, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2that is awesome and I even work for GS.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ranose
  ranose: "Well, no, it's a Dell *I* bought at Best Buy"
  
  Too bad Best Buy does NOT and has NEVER sold DELL PC's... Way to make some ***** up.... loser.
test5477, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Man these whining posts are multiplying everyday, gotta love the internets for the ability to let everyone vent.
- Nlewis4, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2gotta love the internet for the ability to let any idiot post
d03boy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+8Don't let geeksquad do anything for you. They're legally retarded.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You're implying you've met EVERY Geek Squad agent.... it would seem, that you, sir, may be legally retarded.
kiiiburn, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Best Buy gets refurbished Ipods from Apple. You think a corporation like that has the time to check through every box of every broken ipod?

When I used to work there, we would replace Ipods constantly, regardless of the no lemon policy, clearly stated in the service plan brochure. As much I can't stand Best Buy now, this is one thing where I'll defend them, and say that we go above and beyond 90% of the time to make the person happy. (if you're a jerk, is when we wouldn't help)
- andycr512, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"You think a corporation like that has the time to check through every box of every broken ipod?"
  
  Yeah, I do, when they put a sticker on the box SAYING they did.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@kiiiburn
  
  I agree with everything you said EXCEPT your very first sentence, The refurb iPods do NOT come directly from Apple, they come from an Apple certified service center. And YES, the refurb iPods should be 100% quality tested.
SwissCamel, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Funny thing is, I send them a completely broken iPod and they sent me someone else's working one! I'm quids in!
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1quids in? what the hell are you talking about?
wrestlingnrj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3She received a "new" iPod under Best Buy's new Rapid Exchange program. The way it works is that instead of having your iPod sent out to the iPod service center in Minneapolis for a couple weeks, you (the customer) are given the option to receive a refurbished one in 2-3 days shipped directly to your house. The reason that you cannot see any logos on the back is because during the refurbishing process they are buffed so much that it barely leaves any of the logos on the back. If you saw this iPod in person, there actually would be a barely visible logo on the back. Just another way the Big Yellow Tag is screwing its customers and employees.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1While I agree it appears that iPod was buffed WAYYYY too much, a lot of customers have a absolute FIT if they hear their iPod will be gone for 2 weeks. Therefore, Best Buy created the RapidExchange program, which LOTS of customers have been very happy with the quality and QUICK turn around time.
  
  Try to see the whole picture before blabbing like an idiot.
MeLikesPower, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1For all of you that have no idea how apple warranty works...

Apple stores will only take ipods for service if you bought it from the apple stores.

If an ipod is bought from a store like best buy, you must send it to apple directly for their warranty. It will take forever.

Best buy will only service an ipod with their extended warranty. Plus did you guys even see the ipod? its like gen 2. Apple designed them not to work after 1 year, that piece is like 5 years old.
- Wivell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Apparently you don't have any idea how the Apple warranty works, because you're completely wrong. Apple will look at any iPod, for free, except the HP branded ones, per their agreement with HP a few years back.
  
  I read some stupid things on this website, but none have ever made me want to register just to point out they're wrong. Thanks buddy.
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@MeLikesPower
  Actually, thats a Gen4.... dumbass.... die in a fire.
nolanjurgens, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10For those not familiar with the Geek Squad's iPod Rapid Exchange program, the idea behind it is that instead of making you wait for 2-4 weeks for your iPod to be sent out, repaired, and then shipped back to the store, a refurbished iPod is mailed out to you immediately. Many people miss their iPod just as much (or more) than their computer, so this is Geek Squad's attempt at minimizing that wait time in a way that's also cost efficient for the company. Processing begins shortly (roughly 30 minutes from what I'm told) after the service tag is created and you should receive the refurbished iPod (same model, color, etc.) within a few business days. You also receive an accessory pack with the iPod. Again the iPod is refurbished. It's polished up to remove scratches, but it still was once someone else's broken iPod. The normal repair option is still available and the Geek Squad agent should offer and explain both. Also your service plan will transfer to the refurbished iPod if you decide to go that route.

As far as this case goes, the agent dropped the ball by telling her that she would receive a new iPod instead of a refurbished one. As for the iPod not working, there's no excuse for that.
- billymonster49, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1i just had to deal with this rapid exchange buisness. i am on my third ipod, and it broke. geek squad sent it in and two weeks later it came back with a new motherboard. when i gave them my ipod i had a clear screen protector on the front, and it was gone when i got it back. the entire front face on the ipod had zig zag scratches, and when i reported it to the manger, he said i probably did it. i talked to his manager and he sent it out for rapid exchange. my "rapid exchange" ipod is a little scuffed but not bad. what was the worst was the fact that there were used headphones in the box with it!
- bobartig, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Polish old iPods and give them as replacements? Man I wish I knew what GS was doing here, because its sounds plain weird. Where are these ipods coming from?
  
  I've serviced hundreds of iPods at an authorized service center. Whenever a customer resisted because they were receiving a possibly refurbished ipod, I said "This could be a new ipod, it could be refurbished. I certainly can't tell. If you can tell the difference between this iPod and a new one, I'll swap it again until you are satisfied." This happened dozens of times, and I never had to perform even a second swap. All certified repair parts were perfect, flawless, pristine out of the box every time. Sometimes, very rarely, a service part would be defective. But the exterior was still perfect.
weebit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5They are not honoring warranties. I help computer users, and the number one complaint is if the manufacturer says replace Geek Squad will do everything in their power to fix. I also believe that manufacturers need to check with their customers, to be sure that the customers are getting what the manufacturer asked of Geek Squad. I don't think they are. They lie, cheat, have ***** repair, and harass the customers. Looks like to me that Geek Squad needs to loose their business license. If I was a manufacturer, I wouldn't trust this company at fixing my ink pen. (It only needs ink )
- WickedIllusion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"They lie, cheat, have ***** repair, and harass the customers"
  
  Citation needed, you posted an awful amount of opinion that you tried to masquerade as fact.
  
  "Looks like to me that Geek Squad needs to loose their business license"
  
  Fat chance *****.
  
  "I wouldn't trust this company at fixing my ink pen"
  
  You get your pens fixed? loser.
Korexz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4AppleCare did the same thing to me... what's the big deal!
shwerm601, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3The geek squad is quite a horible group of people. Last time I brought my laptop in, the hard drive died, I discussed with them that I would like the hard drive replaced and willing to pay for the hard drive and labor to replace it. I go back to pick up my laptop, sure enough they charged me 70 for a diagnosis, wanted me to extend my warranty, and suggested that other issues were causing my problems as well. I have no problem with a suggestion, but I know a thing or two about computers and when I say I want my hard drive replaced I want it replaced. These huge companies are killing our economy... cant find an honest corp. anymore.

Ipods are easy to fix, open the case and replace the broken part... ebay has cheap parts, get on it. Apple makes most of its money in my oppinion through warranty extentions. They charge $100 to fix a out of warranty ipod, thats half the cost of the bloody thing.
- stryker2you, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3If you can replace an ipod hard drive, then you should have NO problem replacing a laptop hard drive.
OniDracula, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I once was employed by Best Buy and I was with the Geek Squad department.

Rapidexchange is alright, but you have to realize that it's a very easy way of getting a replacement ipod. You also have to realize that the ipods they send out are refurbished, meaning imperfect.
- Topher06, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Despite Apple's warnings about replacement products, THEIR refurbished iPods sent back always in better condition then the iPod sent in. Apple won't send out a scratched or dented iPod back. Apple cares about their customers, Best Buy is put out because of a customer returning a product. Most manufacturer's "refurbished" means, made perfect again.
  
  I am torn to digging you up or down because while admititing to working for Best Buy and validating their failngs, you had the sense to leave the company.
dustn, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1i sent my laptop in to the geeksquad, only beacuse it was under warranty, the ac jack had a short in it. after i told the guy what was wrong with it he said ok let me do the "pen test" he then pulled a bic pen out of his pocket and stuck it in the ac jack and shook it around and said yep seems loose. they sent it off and i got it back a two weeks later and the dvd drive and the touch pad didnt work and there was a big scratch on top of it. so they sent it off again. this time they fixed those problems, not the scratch, but they replaced the top deck lid, around the keyboard. i wouldnt take anything there again unless it was going to be a free repair.
skyscape, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0It happened because of your stupidity. This is the second time geeksquad failed on you.
ErikHK, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0"I was so furious that I couldn't even yell or be rude at them..."
Why not be honest and admit that she doesn't have the guts to yell at people?
mykos, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Everyone has a bad customer experience from time to time with any company. The geek squad deals with millions of people. Get over yourself.

The consumerist is a website whose content comes from the most irritating customers possible. They probably talk up about how calm they were and how rude the 17-year-old at the counter was, but all of us who have worked retail know how it really works.
- frostieDude, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0@mykos
  Oh, I get it - you are one of those dumb ***** who works retail.
- PacoBell, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1@FrostieDude (#6584147) said: "Oh, I get it - you are one of those dumb ***** who works retail."
  
  ...said the thieving TSA parasite ¬_¬
OrangeTide, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4I don't really care to read about your iPod.
OwdenBowden, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Funny I found this on Digg today as a Co-worker asked where he/she could get a Nano close to the office and I told him/her go to the Apple store and stay away from Best Buy.
Topher06, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Not for nothing, but when it comes to Apple, stick with Apple. They have top notch customer support and will definitely provide better service then Geek Squad. Save whatever the extra warranty costs from some Big Box store and put it into an Apple Care warranty. The few people that I know that have had iPod problems received excellent support, and in a couple of cases got a better iPod out of the deal (replaced an older model with a newer one, or got one that was in pristine condition over the scratched or dinged up one they sent in).

The bottom line is that you should deal directly with the manufacturer rather then some big box "added value" warranty. The big box stores scare you into believing you have to pay much more for your product to cover it for several years when the original warranty runs out. They want you to believe the manufacturer won't support your product after the warranty expires. I have found that many companies are more then willing to treat customers right when their product breaks, whether its on warranty or not. My sister had silly little cheap Logitech pocket camera that broke down, a year later after buying it and the 90 day warranty more then expired, she called up and had it replaced, the replacment failed on arrival and they sent an upgraded model. She was told to keep all the old stuff, and the first replacement started working later one. A friend of mine had a laptop case where the rubber handle broke and he was going to try and fix it or just use it as is. I told him to call up the company and he had it replaced with a new one without having to send the old one back. I remember an Epson printer that seized up because I didn't RTFM and took off a sticker on the ink cartridge I wasn't supposed to and the ink bled out and dried up clogging the heads. It was my own damn fault, but had a replacement printer sent 2 days later even before I shipped back my old one. Same deal with a Maxtor hard drive I had that failed within a year, a replacement was sent a day or two later. All this was done for free. Even after the warranty expires, its often CHEAPER to simply pay for the repair or replacement costs rather then paying extra for the extended warranty if the company doesn't do it for free. Companies WANT you to stay customers, there is no advantage to pissing off customers by quibbling about warranties.

Big box extended warranties are scams people. Many of the people buying them never have problems with their products, it makes the Big Box stores a lot of extra profit for doing nothing. I have never heard anything but problems with them when people try and deal with a problem product, yet most people I know that dealt directly with the original manufacturer have had good to excellent support. Yeah sure, companies like Dell need a shot in the *ss to get anything done about customer support, but many others do care about their customers and want the repeat business and good word of mouth. Big box stores don't care, they know your going to come back if they advertise something thats 60% off, except that they know many people will be guilted or scared into paying extra for the warranty so that there isn't really a 60% savings, your paying full price or even more.
wiphey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1We were lucky enough to get an actual replacement plan from bestbuy before they stopped giving them for ipods and started giving "repair" plans.

When we went back to replace the ipod a 2nd time because it broke.. again... they insisted that they didnt have to replace it because they only repair ipods now. We insisted that it's too bad for them because we purchased a replacement plan, not a repair plan.

We stood our ground and ended up getting another ipod, but they would only give it to us if we agreed to give up the replacement plan that we had paid for so we couldn't use it again.. (they didn't give us a refund for the cost of that replacement plan we purchased either..).

BESTBUY is total BS if you ask me. They mark up everything about 40% over what you can get it for online and have terrible customer service.
Suplyndmnd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2In other news today, the sun came up. Are we not tired of these stories yet? Seems like one of these "Best Buy screwed me over" stories makes its way to the frontpage at minimum once a week. Flat out. If you use Best Buy Geek Squad, you deserve what you get.
peepoop, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Is Digg really the best place to air your customer support horror stories? Probably not. Try complaining to the BBB or - shocker - Best Buy itself.
nellonoma, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1god I wish I still had the link to that ex geek squad employees 10 page article. It would answer ALL your questions. (btw, if someone did post it, sorry)
GeneralKickass, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1These guys bring a bad name to geeks everywhere.
KineticShampoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Guys this is getting boring.

We all know that Geek Squad has a shady reputation. I'm kinda bored and annoyed of all the sob stories surrounding this organization.

Same *****, different day. *buries*
IJS209, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2there's your problem. A 4th generation ipod. that thing is so old it probably just "burned" out. you might as well just get a Brand spankin new one.
MDrake, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4This isn't Geek Squads fault, we simply send the broken ones off to apple with a program called RapidExchange, they send a refurb to the customer. Blame Apple not the lackey that simply ships it off and never sees it again.
otakushark, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0I had to send my iPod in for service four times under Best Buy's extended warranty program back before the RapidExchange thing. Every time except the last it came back completely dead on arrival. The paperwork said they changed the battery twice, the logic board twice, the hard drive and the hard drive cable. Hard to believe someone can change all those parts and never bother to check if the thing works before sending it back.
wshwe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Why would you expect the Geek Squad to be competent? They're owned by Best Buy. Enough said!
Gee1004, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0A million Apple stores, Applestore online and people like to buy Apple products and fix them at Best Buy..LMAO
andykling, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have this same warranty for my 30gb iPod and I was just sent a "new" one today however, these replacements are not new and Best Buy clearly stated this to me. IT'S REFURBISHED! I still have my 3 year service plan with BB and if there are any problems I still have a few years and by that time it will be outdated and I will want a fancy new one!
- Suplyndmnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Do you have the Service Plan or the Replacement plan? Because if it's the Replacement plan, it's used up I do believe. I dont think iPod's have service plans, they have Replacement plans. I never sold them when i was there so i'm not sure. Might wanna double check.
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Geek Squad fixed my iPod by sending me a broken one

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