First off I went through a ton of these reviews and came to one realization, most of the people who have writen a review, wrote their review on geek squad. and most of the time they seem to complain about the service. I personally have never had a problem with their service. and there are 4 reasons why (I would advise all those dissatisfied people to fallow these 4 rules)

1st-always ask questions to find the right employee that is honest and willing to help (and when they don't know the answer they are willing to go find the answer) and continue to shop with that same person everytime.

2nd-always buy the service plans. ask questions as to what it covers and what it doesnt cover. and if you fallowed the first rule you will know that you are getting truthful answers. (the reason I say buy the service plan, is so that when you have an issue, all you have to do is walk into the store and say "im having a problem, heres what theat problem is, please fix it.")

3rd-even when you have a single bad experiance remember all the good and don't linger on the last bad experiance.

4th-also remember the employees are people and they are not the people that put the products together, so treat them with a little respect and humility and they will do the same for you. (if you treat them like crap they could give a shit about you and your problem and could care less if they fix it for you)

this is the exact reasons I will always continue to shop at Best Buy, Dilards, Albertsons, costco, and others.

and is also the reason I wont shop at walmart, ambercrombi (they just treat me like shit cause im a bigger person, but thats another story), banana republic and others.

My 5-month old HP laptop ceased functioning so I returned it to the Middletown, RI Best Buy. I was told by the Geek Squad that it had a bad motherboard and had to be mailed back to HP for repair as part of the manufacturer warranty. I was called a week later by the Middletown Best Buy Geeks and told that they found the problem and had a quote for how much it would cost to repair. I told the Geek that it was under warranty and was supposed to be mailed to HP. I was told that the Geeks had no record of this. I asked to speak to a manager. I never did. Two weeks later I was called by Best Buy and told that my laptop was repaired. Upon picking up my laptop I was told that it had been tested by the Geeks and that it worked just like new. I tested it myself and it still was non-functioning! I was clearly lied to by the Geek Squad. I asked to speak to the manager. I was told there wasn't one available. I asked that a manager call me. They never did. I still have no idea what is happening with my laptop. The Middletown, RI Best Buy is a disaster and should be avoided at all costs!

Best Buy has a contract agreement with Dell to prohibit all guarantees and technical support for computers sold in their stores. This is a scam that allows Best Buy to sell their tech support in the form of the Geek Squad. The worst part about this practice is that Best Buy keeps this a secret at the point of purchase, and will not inform you of it until something goes wrong with your computer and Dell tells you that since you bought it at Best Buy they cannot help you in anyway. If Best Buy were honest and offered this information upfront they know no one would buy a Dell product from them, hence the dirty little secret marketing and the Geek Squad GOTCHA when you need help. I will never shop there again.

Best Buy will not take my defective Sony Vaio laptop back without a 15% restocking fee. I spoke with Sheryl Harris, consumer advocate for the Cleveland Plain Dealer on 1/13/09. Her comment: 'Pete, Best Buy has some sort of agreement with the Ohio attorney general's office, which sued it over customer service and other issues. You may want to file a complaint with the Ohio AG -- www.ag4ohio.gov -- because usually when companies have these types of agreements they take care of things brought to their attention by the AG very quickly. It just may save you added hassle. Sheryl'
1/6/09 - purchased new Sony Vaio Laptop VGN-FW235J/H (clearance)for $808.11. Laptop was shipped to my home.
Received laptop however several defects:
1. Dead pixels on screen
2. On/off switch misaligned
3. Factory installed software was defective/corrupted (Internet Explorer would crash)
Returned laptop to Best Buy in Cleveland, Ohio and store promptly replaced laptop on 1/10/09.
Tried new laptop at home. This laptop was also defective:
1. Upon turning on laptop there was a loud noise from the hard drive.
2. Factory installed software was defective/corrupted (Internet Explorer would crash as well as propagate screen with multiple windows crashing the computer itself, scroll mouse would not be recognized and would not work properly, printer would not work ... I do have the latest Vista compatible 64 bit drivers for these devices).
Attempted to return this to the store for full credit on 1/12/09. After keeping me waiting for a half hour Best Buy claimed there was no defect in the laptop. Service manager Mo Hamdan stated that if I returned the laptop I would be charged 15% for restocking fee. He said that the hardware tested good. I again stated my problems with the laptop and again he insisted that if I return it I would be charged 15% ($112.50) or exchange for another laptop. I did not want this option since the Sony model we bought and were returning as defective had been our choice. Obviously with two defective machines it no longer was our choice. I than stated I would take them to small claims court if not resolved. He said go ahead. I demanded to speak with his manager ... he refused. Best Buy refused to take the laptop back ... I took pictures of the irate store manger charging after me to take the computer. In one picture you can see that he had the laptop box at almost head level. I fled the store. Best Buy refused to issue a receipt for the return.
I attempted to call two other Best Buy stores (North Olmsted and Mayfield Hts) to talk with a manager. Neither store picked up the phone. I attempted to resolve this with Best Buy customer relations that evening and talked with someone with a like 'Latef' at 1-888-237-8289 who said they would log my complaint and pass on to the managers.
1/13/09 I tried calling the store but apparently the store was not taking calls. I again called Best Buy customer relations and spoke with someone that identified himself as 'Leep'. I again gave my complaint and added the question ... if Best Buy considered the laptop to be defect free and wanted to charge a restocking fee, why would they offer another laptop with a restocking fee? Obviously no customer service since I requested a full refund and by offering another laptop they were admitting there was a problem. 'Leep' kept me on the phone on hold for a very long time. He stated he spoke with John the store manager and that I either pick up the laptop or return it with a 15% restocking fee. He also stated that I had 'abandoned the product' at Best Buy.
I contacted VISA disputes and they are working on a full charge back against Best Buy. I told VISA that Best Buy claims that I "abandoned" the laptop in the store, even though I clearly attempted to return it
for full credit and even have the card and picture of the violent service manager. Visa disputes says that I will be covered and consider that what I did was "left product with merchant".

My Mother -in-law purchased a XM Satelite Radio for my husband for Christmas this year. During the purchase the sales clerk neglected to ask us about the extended warranty, so I ask about it and we decided to purchase it later along with the installation. On 1/08/09 I called out local BB and was directed to the installation dept. and set up a time and date to have the machine put in my husbands SUV. While on the phone he asked me the year, make and model of the car and then asked the time and date I would like to have it installed. I set up the appt. for the very next weekend 1/10/09. I had to change the appt. the day of the apt. from 11:00 am to 3:00pm due to my husband schedule. The man said when I called that it would be okay to change the time. So, now my husband is at the store and I give him a call to ask if they had started to work on the car yet. He asks me if I had told the guy at BB the year, make and model of the car. I told him that I did give him all the information that he had asked for when I set up the appt. He said okay I'll call you back. At this point I knew something was up, so I waited for his call back. He came to the store that I was in and proceeded to tell me that they did not have the parts necessary to complete the installation. They needed to order the parts from another store which was going to take anywhere between 3 to 5 days. They wanted him to reschedule his appt. to accomadate the employee's mistake.. What the hell is that? My husband got into a lengthy dispute about how they don't know what they are doing and yadda, yadda, yadda. He then said that after the cost of the XM radio and the cost of putting it in and the yearly cost it was just not something that he was willing to have anymore. So, he said that he wanted to return it. I told him that I have the original receipt at home and that he should wait if he wanted to return it. He said fine and went back to BB. An hour later he came back and said that he had returned it and they gave him a gift card. I said that they more than likely didn't give him the full price for it considering he didn't have the receipt. I looked at the receipt that they gave him that had the balance of the gift card on it and it said that they gave him $158.99 and the cost we paid for it was $180.19. I told him that we could take it back and hopefully get the full refund and get it in cash not a gift card. So, the next day 1/11/09 we went into the store (which I might add is 40 minutes away) I went to the customer service desk and explained the problem to an employee there. He said that he would let the guy who worked on the problem the day before handle it. I said that it would be fine. I explained to the guy that we have the original receipt and that we would like to have the rest of our money and what is left on the "gift card" in cash please. He said "I don't think that I can do that, but let me get my manager". I said fine. He went and got a manager named Megan. So, I then proceeded to ask her the same question. She said " You should have called the same day of the return". I told her that yeah, maybe I should have called, but I didn't because I had gotten side tracked. She said " well, i'm sorry I can't help you. If you would have called or came in the same day as the transaction I could have helped you". I asked, why does it matter? I have all the appropriate papers and you said that you recognize my husband from yesterday anyways. She was very unemotional and not interested in what my complaint was. She said again, " I'm really sorry there is nothing I can do you should have called yesterday". I was getting disgusted at this point, because she was not just saying it politely she was being kinda robotic and crappy. I told her that I was no longer interested in dealing with her and ask if I could speak to her manager. She said " i'm the manager". I then was getting more annoyed and told her that yes Megan I can read your name tag, I would like to speak to your boss. You have to answer to someone. She then stated that " you will have to speak to someone at Corporate". I said fine. She said " I'll give you the number". I told her that isn't going to happen. YOU will call them for me and I will speak to them while I'm waiting here. She said "fine". She dialed up the number to "Corporate" and handed me the phone. She then said " I'll be back"( she never did return willingly, I might add). What ever! I was thinking. So, I'm standing there listening to their elevator music and was told by the automated system the approx. hold time was 15 minutes. Can you believe this? I ask my husband. I then waited the entire time and then I got to speak to a (ugh!) moron, named Herb in the customer service dept. I was told I was going to speak to a manager in "corporate". Herb was just your everyday run of the mill customer service rep. I proceeded to tell him that he was not going to be able to correct my problem and that I would like to speak to a manager. He said that " he would really try to help me with the issue". So I
reluctantly explained the story to him. He said " okay, well our policy is that if you return something without a receipt you can not redeem the gift card that is given to you for cash. So this conversation was going nowhere and I was only getting angrier by the minute. I was getting really fed up with the stupid a** people that BB likes to call employees. I was on the phone by this time for around 30 or so minutes. He said to me " I need to speak to Megan". I said fine, but don't plan on putting me on hold for very long. He said "fine". He did exactly what he said he wouldn't. He put me on hold for 5 min. Then came back and told me the exactly the said thing. He said that " there is nothing more I can do". I ask him if he had more authority than Megan and that was not the case as I had predicted. Then I had another employee ask me if I need help? OMG!! Are you not hearing this stupid conversation that is going on in front of your face? I looked at her and said, you know I'm supposed to be getting help, but that isn't the case... I told her the longer I'm on the phone with this prick the louder I'm going to get. So, please be aware I'm in the front of the store and other customers are in ear shot from me lady. So, yet again i'm fussing and fighting with Herb and nothings is being done. I finally told him that I would like to speak to a supervisor. He was not real happy to be passing the call on to the supervisor. Like he was going to help anyways. He said "m'am I'm going to put you on hold to transfer you". I told him that he better not be jerking me around. I don't want to be here all damn day, please make it quick. He said that he would. I waited on hold for another 7 or so min. By this time now I'm down right irate. I look at the time on the phone and it said that the time elapsed is 36 minutes. Can you believe this? About 45 minutes in, he comes back on and introduces his supervisor named Rob. Okay, for the third time now I am telling the story of their employee not doing their job and not giving me cash and the same old story that the other people have heard. He listened to my story and agreed with Megan's decision.. I really at this point was getting quite loud and was very fed up with the entire situation. I pulled out all the stops. I'm for the most part very quick on my feet and I remember what was said in the other conversations that I had with the other people. He just like the other employee's started to quote policies. Ugh! If I heard one more time about the dumb policies they "try" to enforce I was going to have a melt down. Rob and I went tick for tack for quite sometime and he was not willing to make things right. Well, " according to me" he said. He told me that " it is policy that we don't take returns with out a receipt and that as a courtesy they were able to give my husband a gift card int he first place". I told him that they didn't even ask for the receipt so there for how does he figure it's a "courtesy" when were not notified of any such thing. He said that " it's policy that our employee's ask for the receipt and he would have done so". I'm telling you there was no discussion of the receipt and that my husband just said "can I return this?". Over and over we went about the conversation that had gone on the previous day. He was getting very upset with me at this point because i'm yelling into the phone. He basically told me that "he was not getting into semantics with me and if there was nothing else he was going to end the conversation". I then yelled across the store to Megan who had been absent all this time and told her to get over here NOW! She come running over and we disagreed some more and then she took off again. So, more with Rob and by now I'm fighting back tears because of the entire situation. I realized that all the complaining in the world was not going to change this morons mind. He was programmed very well by BB and he was not changing his mind. I finally got to the point that I was making a fool of my self in the store and yelling obscenities' at him and just in general. He then ask me in a very sarcastic tone " is there anything else that I can do for you". And I yelled in the phone YOU CAN GO F**K YOURSELF!!! I know, I know what a lady I am, right? But, after being on the phone with this crap for 1 hour and 11 minutes it was bound to drive anyone past the point of no return. So, I then screamed for Megan to get over to me NOW! She ran over and I told her that she is going to put the rest of my money on the stupid gift card and stop wasting my time! She thought for a moment that she was going to get sassy with me, but honestly she is really messing with the wrong person at the wrong time. She attempted to say " if your going to talk to me like that" and I interrupted her and screamed at her to put the money on the f**king card NOW or i'm calling the cops and making a report of someone trying to rob me. I threw the gift card at her and she picked it up and walked over to the register. I told her to hurry up!!! She said " if you going to talk about the cops" and I cut her off and told her that she isn't going to do nothing... She stood there shaking and finished putting the rest of the money on the card. I grabbed the card out of her hand and started for the doorway. On the way out I decided that I may as well tell the all what my feelings are about the store so I yelled THIS STORE F**ING SUCKS!! Mind you, there is quite a lot of conversation that i've left out. Such as Rob the manager telling me that "if I wasn't happy with the gift card that they gave me that maybe I should give it to someone else, or sell it to someone for money". I told him that I was flabbergasted at how they take care of their customers and that they should take some tips off of Macy's, they seem to have it right. I have realized since I've calmed down that I did make a complete a** of myself and that bothers me, but I felt very put in the corner about what was going on. I can't believe that BB has such a huge empire and they treat their customers like this. I've since then filed a complaint with their corporate office and i'm in the process of writting a letter to their CEO. I'm not going to get my cash back and I now know that, but I do feel very vindicated in yelling at the people who were at the cause of all this stress. I hope Megan and Rob slept well that night knowing that they ripped off yet another customer. And I hope that Megan though that I was some crazy person that she need to watch over her back for... lol I do find it embarrassing yet amusing at the same time. I hope she had a really bad day after that. So, in conclusion please, please reconsider if you are wanted to buy something or have something installed from BB. I hope if you do your experience was much better than ours. Buyers beware!!!