yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[EVO 4G General] Apex i ITR:
I worked at Best buy for a long time part time. They (Sales Reps) mis-represent the warranty ALL THE TIME. It works the way its supposed to (according to the pamphlet no one reads), but not the way they present it.......("If it breaks we replace"). I've been screamed on too many times to count.

Nothing you can do until the General Manager comes back or if you deal with a Assistant store manager with some balls. Good luck
[EVO 4G General] cruise350:
Go back to Best Buy with a friend and pretend to buy a phone, when they try to sell you on the best buy insurance video tape it and then you have proof that they lied about their insurance plan and force them to replace your phone.
[EVO 4G General] fenixjn:
Yep... even though they do not work in commission they still have a hard time explaining to leadership why the service plan does not sell, and then when it sells its all based on lies.

to OP: the reason why they won't just exchange the phone on the spot its because it hits its revenue: you see, when the phone is authorized for exchange by the service center, the insurance company that backs up the plan refunds the retail price of the phone to the department but when they do it 'on the spot' basically the department has to eat 100% of the retail cost because they cannot send the phone for repairs (even if under warranty) and for the new phone that you are getting. The store might sent the phone back to the manufacturer but the store wont get full credit for the retail price on the device.

The best thing you can do is either locate the original associate that helped you and request the manager from the department or even the store manager and confront the associate in front of the manager OR call customer relations and see if they can help you as they can force the hand of the store manager and allow you to get a new device.
[EVO 4G General] _MetalHead_:
Hell, I would do that but instead of videotaping it I would just wait for the associate to say that they replace it on the spot and then whip out my busted EVO and say "OK then buddy, replace my busted EVO".
[EVO 4G General] suck3rs:
My phone stopped reading the SD card and charging. I have a wall charger for batteries thank god. Took 19 days for them to say yes your phone is broke and you can have a new one. This completed my warranty so I have opt back into the BB warrant again. I said not now. They asked me a total of three times.

The first phone call I made was to Sprint to get their insurance.

....scam me once.
[EVO 4G General] afazel:
Now that you got a repair from Sprint, cancel your black tie "protection" and get the TEP. Costs $2 less per month and it's a much better plan. That's what I just had to do with my Evo to get a replacement screen because the touch sensor was all screwed up and it had a white spot in the middle of it.

Best Buy manager wouldn't do anything, so I had him call and cancel for me and told him I'd be getting Sprint's plan. Maybe I'll even blog about it.

Sent from my phone with the geebees
[EVO 4G General] Beejis:
Please blog about it, Best Buy is pretty evil and I see way too many people get f'ed over by their scams.
[EVO 4G General] Apex i ITR:
You'd be surprised how many times the customer service number will over ride the store.

Best buy isn't evil. Actually on the outside looking in and on the inside looking out I can honestly say for such a large chain they are pretty decent. Its hard to satisfy everyone. What gets everyone riled up is the way the service plan is sold and the unwillingness to help (in some cases) after its put to the test.

I've also seen customers try to scam the system as well so it goes both ways.

If you know what you are getting into and don't listen to the sales people that are put under TREMENDOUS pressure to sell the service plans (More important then the prduct itself). Then there are no surprises.
[EVO 4G General] r.storm85:
Ok well I have best buy insurance. Havent had a problem yet. But wouldnt it be better to copy all your sd card on to the computer. Erase your sd card. Then drop it in the toilet. They cover water damage right? Then the'll be no way they can fix it and they have to give you a new one the same day right? Good idea??

Evo - Myn 2.2 RLS 3 - Clockwork - HBoot .76
[EVO 4G General] Jbcarrera:
Ummmm....last i checked they don't cover water damage only tep from sprint does
[EVO 4G General] Jbcarrera:
As much as they deserve this and i would love to do this too i think its considered black mail or coersion isn't it?
[EVO 4G General] pinoy724:
I had an issue with my Hero and had the Best Buy warrenty crap. My Hero wouldn't turn on, charge or anything. Pretty muched bricked. Took it into Best Buy to get it replaced, they told the same bull$*#+ that they have to send it in to their repair center. They told me I would get my phone back 3 weeks from that day. Wrong, actually it's 3 weeks from when the repair center receives the phone. At my situation, they didn't receive my Hero until 5 days later. I was like, OK an extra 5 days no biggy. Wrong, 4th week did not receive any calls or updates on repairs. Went in and asked Geek Squad what's up with my Hero. They told me it was in repair stage, no complete reports yet. 5th weeks the same. 6th week, I was like really you guy efing suck. Asked to speak to a manager, she told me the same bull$*#+. On the corner of my eye I saw a District Manager name tag and ran to him and explained my story. He told the store manager to replace my phone for whatever phone I wanted. That's how I got my Evo. Also they gave me a $50 gift card. While checking me out they had the nerve to ask if I wanted their extended warrenty, I laughed and said are you kidding, NOOO! All in all bad situation but ended up with an Evo. Next day got TEP from Sprint.
[EVO 4G General] amirborna:
I work(ed) at best buy as Geek Squad agents.

First and foremost the Black Tie Protection is a great warranty. On some products more than others, it is a great investment to protect your product.

Now if a salesman tells you that it is "exchange on the spot no questions asked" he was LYING to you. Now this isn't lying in a cold sinister way. Why? Because Best Buy employees are not commissioned. Furthermore, if one does sell a warranty, they receive nothing but a "It is your job". So whether a Best Buy employee (all departments), Geek Squad, or anybody else within Best Buy sells you a warranty or not, their paycheck at the end of the month is not any more or less.

Now, the salesman helping you is most likely mis-informed. As a former Geek Squad agent, a problem that reeks is that many of the employees aren't given proper training. They "hear" of it, not "learn how it works.". AKA : They HEAR that the warranty does this, but not see it or understand the backends of it.

The GSBTP for mobile phones (EXC. Blackberry?) are all serviced out to the service center. There, they get repaired and billed to the insurance unless the damages exceed cost (Junkout : You get a new phone or credit towards a different phone) or simply get the phone fixed. That or if the damages are not covered the phone doesn't get fixed.

Now when you bought the protection plan, you should have and you verified receiving the Geek Squad Black Tie Protection Terms and Condititions Booklet. If you say "I don't have it", that is your fault as a consumer because during POS(Point of Sale), you clicked yes on "I have received..." section in which 100% every sale you must click yes if you bought warranty.

The GSBTP for mobile is worth it. One can argue the pros and cons for the Sprint Warranty, but when you look at this one advantage : Customer bought HTC HD2 when it first came out. It has now been 1-2 years and the phone is beyond repair. They get the FULL price of the phone to get towards another one. What does that mean? You get 549.99 towards any phone.

Don't put down GSBTP because of an incompetant salesman. Don't put down GSBTP because you are an incompetant buyer. The terms and conditions is the fine print of the warranty, and if you didn't read it, that is your problem.
[EVO 4G General] 00_MACKIE_00:
This may be a little off topic, I bought a Western Digital Element 2 TB external drive on black friday. Friday evening after a reboot , drive is no longer responding to any pc it is connected to. Called Best Buy. Told since it was a black friday sale to jump in a lake, in a polite way of course. Then I called Western Digital. I said I have had this drive less than 30 days, they were cool at first and then talked me into doing an advanced exchange. Then told me I would have to give them my credit card # and they would authorize 175 bucks but I would get it back when I returned the drive. Then said it could take a month total time of having 175 bucks tied up. Seems like a load of garbage for a drive less than 30 days old. So I am doing the normal RMA process which will take a few weeks and will be sent a REFURB. Seems alot of bs to go through for a purchase less than a month old. They straight up told me not to buy from Best Buy ever again during black friday sales and to buy from them instead. Said I would have received a free overnighted brand new drive if I bought from them instead of Best Buy.
[EVO 4G General] fenixjn:
No, the phone still has to go to the service center so it can be evaluated for the repair, if the quote is too high then they will authorize the store to get you a new device.

They do.
[EVO 4G General] fenixjn:
If the device is tested in the store and does not work you should be able to get a refund on it. Try another store. I'd understand if you were just returning product for giggles but if the device is authentically broken I do not see why you should not get your money back. Have the store test it.
[EVO 4G General] donatom3:
Just FYI, you can ask for SPRINT TEP while buying a phone from Best Buy instead of their Black Tie insurance.
[EVO 4G General] r.storm85:
Evo - Myn 2.2 RLS 3 - Clockwork - HBoot .76
[EVO 4G General] fenixjn:
It does not matter. The store won't want to lose money because, as I stated before, the service center is the only one who can authorize the replacement so the store gets the credit for it (and can replace the device because at that point there is no loss for the store). If the store replaced the device right there (by manager authorization) then the store must eat the entire cost of the phone.

Remember that the service plan is actually an insurance plan, without any documentation (damage, notes, quote for repairs, parts list, etc.), the insurance company will deny the claim and the store gets stuck with a device that cannot be sold unless repaired and if they sent it for repairs it would be billed to the store... of course that does not make any sense since even if repaired, the device cannot be sold as new (or cannot be sold at all).

Having the phone severely damaged like that is better in terms of higher chance of replacement if sent to service.

Regardless of the damage, ideally, the phone should always go to service to be quoted on repairs so they can decide to fix or replace. The only devices AFAIK that can be replaced on the spot without going to service are the blackberries and the prepaid phones (and that could change at any moment, read below).

As some poster said before, it is not that BBY is evil, it is that the service plans gets misrepresented and then a mess like this starts. If any associate tells you that any product can be replaced regardless of damage, the associate is outright lying or severely misinformed . Some, again, some devices can be replaced in store without going to service but the list for those is becoming smaller. So, always assume that any device with a '[extended] warranty' or service plan is going for repairs, not for exchange in the store. If you are fortunate enough, then maybe the device still qualifies for in-store replacement and you'll get a new one.
[EVO 4G General] suck3rs:
BB does cover water damage I am pretty sure. You don't get a phone same day. That is a lie. I have 4 other coworkers under the same impression. The reality of it is they will ship it off for 2-3 weeks. Even if you run it over.
[EVO 4G General] r.storm85:
Damn maybe I should think about changing to sprint TEP. Id rather have a refurb in a couple days than wait 3-5 weeks!!

Evo - Myn 2.2 RLS 3 - Clockwork - HBoot .76
[EVO 4G General] mastermarc:
This is all pretty disheartening, i've got the BTP from best buy and my evo's got a busted external speaker (shocking i know), and a few other issues that i don't really mind dealing with (dust under screen, power button crack etc). But even without all these ridiculous stories, i have already brought it in and told them no i don't want to send it in because i don't want to be without my evo for 4+ weeks.

If BTP will get me money towards a new phone is it worth just replacing the speaker myself and then destroying the phone when i want a new one in a year or so?

I'm not even sure i apply to sign up for TEP since it's way past 30 days since i got it. I know there used to be a way you could deactivate your phone, re-activate it and enroll in the TEP then but that was a long time ago.

And do you really get a new one from sprint for $35? how does that all work, their insurance policy shows that there's a $50 deductible and even then you get a refurb AFAIK
[EVO 4G General] amirborna:
There are PROS/CONS of each warranties. Sprints / BTP

I myself have the Sprint Warranty despite clearly knowing the front and backends of the BTP. Why? Because I only plan on having the Sprint Warranty for 1 year. The only part of the Sprint Warranty that attracts me is the theft protection. Other than that, I like the BTP better, because it covers accidental damage with no $100 deductible.

All these *HORROR STORIES* of Geek Squad Black Tie Protection are incompetant buyers who blame their ignorance on their salesman. The salesman does not get commission and whether you get your warranty or not, they really don't give a damn. It is your phone, do you want to protect it? Yes ? Buy the warranty and go over the fine print. Don't believe everybody's words 100%. I don't sometimes believe what I say, as I double check the fine print all the time.

Learn to be a smart consumer. Those who are not smart take it up the ass day and night and complain and blame others.
[EVO 4G General] suck3rs:
First off go firetruck yourself. Secondly explain to my why 5 other people that got the EVO in my IT department came back with the same understanding of what best buys said protection offered.

With that said now the associates do not get a cut but I believe their management teams do. What else besides you rolls downhill?
[EVO 4G General] afazel:
When I got the BTP it was better than Sprint's TEP despite the suggested 2-week turnaround time. A couple of months ago, Sprint changed their TEP in such a way that it was much better than Best Buy's BTP, but you can only sign up for TEP within the first 30 days of activation.

However, after a repair at Sprint, you can get TEP on your line. So, when my touch sensor went on the fritz, the guys at Best Buy said they can't exchange it in store, and the mobile manager offered me a Blackberry as my loaner phone, I had them call to cancel for me and I ponied up the $35 because Sprint dropped the deductible on accidental damage (as long as the phone is in less than 3 pieces). I now have a plan that covers loss, theft, and accidental damage for $3 less per month.

If you have Sprint, Black Tie Protection is completely not worth it unless you want a new phone after your old one is destroyed.
[EVO 4G General] 00_MACKIE_00:
I didn't want my money back

and I had original box, original everything bought on Black Friday. Paid for by me with receipt. The less than 30 day old hdd is in a box on the way to Western Digital in California via UPS Ground to be scanned and sending me a refurb. Should I have had to do all this within 30 days of a purchase? NO!

It must be too difficult for Best Buy to handle such a task. They are going to end up just like Circuit City.
[EVO 4G General] suck3rs:
So I got a new Evo as a replacement using the best buy warranty. It was nice shiny and new, but with one flaw. The keyboard does not vibrate nor do the buttons when pressed. I took it back then I was told that they could not do anything for me. I did not opt into their warranty the second time around so they refused to replace my 11 day old phone which was defective when I received it.

Literally the associate told me they did me a favor by replacing my phone in the first place.

I then called the store and demanded to talk to their gm or dm. Gm was pretty nice. He took care of me completely. Now I have a replacement phone that works, including the feedback.
[EVO 4G General] fenixjn:
The problem is most consumers assume the salesman is the expert on this matter and they forget for a moment that the salesman might not have the best interests in mind. Yes it is the consumer's responsibility to accurately check if whatever the salesman said is up to par with the TOS. But remember, it is the same salesman that tells you that the "extended warranty will cover any damage, all you need to do is come to the store and we'll give you a new one"... there are so many things wrong with that statement... besides it is very likely that unless you are a lawyer or you have a lawyer friend with you or you actually sit down and read the 15 pages of the TOS, you'll actually believe this.

I agree on the fact that you should not go through the hassle but keep in mind that BBY will likely just give your money back instead of replacing the product. The reasoning behind this is 'limited quantities and promotional offers', it is better for the store to give you money back so you can pony up the difference between the original price and the current price of the equivalent product. It could be worse... they could just give you store credit...
[EVO 4G General] -viperboy-:
What was said before by fenixjn is correct. I currently work for Best Buy Mobile and here is what I can tell you about Best Buy that makes it a bad company for the comsumer: lack of employee knowledge. But why? Why is that an issue at BBY more so than other places? BBY doesn't train its employees. They have an online Learning Lounge, but they don't get instructor led training or anything like that.

I worked for Verizon Wireless previously to BBY (only switched because I couldn't work as a Tech part time, and I needed some kind of job as I went back to school) and VzW trained you all the time. This helped the employee be knowledgeable and made the customer feel like the employee actually knew what they were talking about. This is what is lacking at BB.

So I just want to say to the OP that I'm really sorry about what happened to you. At our store, our BBYM Manager is very good at taking care of the customer and it's a shame that your experience wasn't a great one. BlackBerry's are the only phones that are instant swap. iPhones are a rapid exchange (give us your phone and within 3 days, you will get a refurb iPhone). Prepaid's have PRPs (Product Replacement Plans) vs PSPs (that is what Black Tie is, Product Service Plan) and they are replaced only for manufacturing defects, not cracked screens or water damage or anything like that. All other phones need to be sent for repair. I know they are talking about making all phones a rapid exchange like the iPhone and I hope they do that.

Again, I apologize about your experience. Our BTP is a great service in many ways but, IMO, falls short in a few areas as well. You do have the option of cancelling your BTP via 1-888-BESTBUY if you so choose. If there is anything else I can explain or possibly help you with, let me know via PM. And P.S., I am only a peon, but I thought this thread warranted my attention.
[EVO 4G General] AdamHart612:
Best Buy employees (for the stereotype majority) are retarded, don't know anything about electronics besides they sell them, and really don't give a rats ass apart from the fact that its a job. Best Buy warranties are a serious scam, they tell "fixed on the spot" when getting you to buy, but then shaft you.

I live about 5 miles from Best Buy headquarters, and plow their lots at least once a week during the winter. Anyone extra pissed off? Its my third job and I mostly do it for fun (LOVE driving in the snow), but I could "lose control in deep snow" around a few of the snowed in RWD Mercedes or BMWs in the lot, if you get what I mean....
[EVO 4G General] novanosis85:
Great post! Thumbs up!

:)
[EVO 4G General] Beejis:
It's unethical salesmanship and obviously you don't mind it because you have not been screwed by it (thankfully I haven't either). This has been going on for a long time and obviously upper management knows about it but why would they care when they can swindle customers out of their money hoping they don't read the fine print. It's painfully obviously one cannot trust another mans word anymore with getting stabbed in the back later.
[EVO 4G General] Ivanstein:
The Best Buys around here do, in fact tell, you that you get on the spot replacement of any product. I was smart enough to stand in line and read all the fine print, while pissing off all the other nefarious morons waiting to check out, and discovered that the salesman was a f'n liar. At that point, I looked at the cashier, and asked if I could charge them an extra 35% for lying to me, which returned the now copyrighted "Best Buy Dumb Look". Every time one of the geeky looking twenty somethings with jacked up hair and stupid glasses tries to lie me into buying one of those warranties, I ask them if they have read the fine print, and get the dumb look. FWIW, if Best Buy would sell decent ****, they wouldn't have to sell extended warranties like second rate used car dealerships. So, most of the time, when asked if you want to buy the god forsaken extended warranty at Best Buy, you can simply say: "I take care of my ****, so if the device is so poorly made I need the extended warranty, then I don't want to buy either one."

I do have to say that I nearly cracked up laughing when the cashier habitually asked if I wanted to purchase the extended warranty on a package of D batteries. That one I would have taken them up on. :D
[EVO 4G General] cwbristow@cox.net:
Lesson learned years ago,

NEVER,

EVER,

EVER,

Buy anything at BestBuy that there is the remotest possibility that you might want/need to return.

Drive miles out of way,

Order via internet,

BUT NEVER,

EVER,

EVER,

Purchase at BestBuy something that there is any chance might be returned
[EVO 4G General] nosfanatic2006:
They sell the same stuff you'd buy anywhere else. So you can't say they sell crap stuff. I bet even Lamborghini offers an extended warranty lol. Your an idiot for thinking they offer extended warranties because their products are crap. They offer them because its a great way to get MORE MONEY FROM YOU. Doesn't matter if its the most solid product in the world, accidents happen and you don't want to cough up another ton of money to get a new one. This is America and we like to make lots of money so we can spend lots of money so other people make lots of money.
[EVO 4G General] Klasickwun:
You have until january 31 to return the hd... it falls under the extended return policy for the holiday season