Slashdot Mirror
Do You Want Best Buy Opening Your New Laptop?
An anonymous reader writes "I went to Best Buy the other day to get a new laptop for a client. I didn't realize till I got it home that they had broken the seal and opened the box. They put a sticker on the box that said, 'Inspected by Best Buy.' I found they had created the user profile, recovery disks, and installed a trial of Trend Antivirus. Seems to me this is more of a marketing agenda than inspection."
Would you buy from Best Buy?
Life in Orange County
I'd take it back and tell them it isn't new, then demand a heavy discount or an unopened/unstickered laptop. Better yet, I'd go somewhere else.
While you're at it, take some time to wonder why you're buying a client's computer at Best Buy. Are you really doing your client a favour by getting them a machine with a return-to-depot-and-you-probably-won't-get-your-data-back warranty?
This article is from 2009. Why is this now hitting the front page?
Any big ticket electronics I buy from best buy gets unpacked, plugged in and inspected by the employee and myself as proof that the device works, that its not scratched, dented or damaged and we both sign off on it. The difference here is, they do it in front of you. They have asked me before if I want their shit installed on the laptop before I leave and I always decline. I've purchased 2 laptops for personal use and 5 for friends/family (not as gifts, just helpful shopping) and never ever had this happen
Tell me when they AREN'T doing shady practices like this and then that will be news to me...
"Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded." -Archbishop Fulton Sheen
This article is from 2009. Why is this now hitting the front page?
Taco leaves and the place goes to Hell.
If I shop on NewEgg or Amazon, unlike at a brick and mortar store, I don't get a chance to try a laptop's screen and keyboard before I buy it. So if I find a keyboard or screen unusably unergonomic, I may have to pay a 15% restocking fee.
Back in highschool, I worked in Geek Squad before it was called Geek Squad (we just wore black polo shirts instead of blue, and we were called "Tech Services") and can confirm they've been doing this for more than a decade now.
This was standard practice when I had the unfortunate experience of working for Geek Squad. They would have us do some 'pre-setup' units that would also have a 'pre-installed services' bundle attached at the register.
If it was the only unit left, and you didn't want this service, you could get them to remove the cost by complaining, but otherwise they'd get you a unit that wasn't 'pre-setup'.
Of course they're going to hand you the pre-setup one if you dont specify, and don't check...
In my experience, when you by a consumer laptop from Best Buy, you'll want to wipe the drive just to install Windows. Best to repartition it, actually -- whatever's on that "Recovery Partition," you don't want it coming back.
Just make sure, if it's an HP laptop, that you burn the "SWSetup" directory to a DVD before you start. It has all the hardware drivers in it, and I've seen cases where not all of those drivers are available from the Web site.
Breakfast served all day!
How about a link from this March or even
end of June? Within a month and a half recent enough for you?
Do You Want Best Buy Opening Your New Laptop?
No, I don't. And I'd hope the security at the Apple Store is good enough to keep the Best Buy guys out!
is this news?
It's more history than news, considering this article is from 2009 . But lately that time scale seems par for the course. /. quality is declining.
Yep. I went to BB with my dad to buy him a new PC. They explicitly offered this setup service, which we declined. I'm perfectly capable of doing this kind of stuff myself.
Like the AC says: Next time, pay attention to what you purchase.
Have gnu, will travel.
had a camera covered by Best Buy warranty, one of those point-and-clicks (Canon Powershot SD400 or something). After a while, something mechanical failed --either the lens barrel wouldn't extend/retract, or the lens cover wouldn't close up. Also the slider switch (to select Photo/Video/Playback) was loose. It was covered by the 4-year warranty, so I went to Best Buy and they took it and sent it back for repair.
After a month, repair dept sent it back to my local store, and I picked it up. It was exactly the same: mechanical failure, loose slider switch. I showed the staff at Best Buy, that it was malfunctioning and I hadn't even walked out of the store after picking up the camera. So they sent it back for repairs a second time.
After another month, repair dept sent it back again. Again it was exactly the same, so I told the staff, WTF?? THey said they'd check. After a while, someone called and said, the repair dept could tell that I had damaged the camera, so the repair wasn't covered. What!? I spent almost an hour on the phone with some Best Buy headquarters person, saying, Hey, I just sent it back a 2nd time after having gotten it back from your repair department, and the 1st time there was no mention of damage, so it must have been the repair department that damaged it! (I was confident that it had not been I who damaged it.) The guy said that just because they send it back the first time it doesn't mean that they guarantee that it's in good condition, so it was perfectly valid to say that the 2nd time it was in crappy condition because it was already that way when they sent it back the 1st time.
I said, fine, what about the slider switch that was loose? The guy said, it was already loose, as I had given in my statement the first time I sent it in. That's when it struck me: if I had *NOT* told them about the slider switch, then *THEY* would have been responsible for fixing it since it would seem that they had damaged it during the repair process.
It was maddening, but finally I found a reason to send it back (I remember now: the first time the lens had gotten stuck in the retracted position, and now I could say that it was stuck in the extended position) and it went back. Of course it came back unrepaired, and I ranted and raved at the local Best Buy, saying that I had been missing my camera for 3 months now (in fact, it was a big deal since we had a birth in the family and I had wanted to take pictures). The local staff quietly upgraded to --well, an equivalent camera, but of course the model number had advanced since the 3+ years since buying the malfunctioning camera.
Lesson: if there is more than one thing wrong with the camera, do NOT mention anything else wrong. Gives you more leverage when they try to send it back saying that repair is not covered, and you can say, "What about this here thing wrong? Did you cause this?"
Maddening.
404555974007725459910684486621289147856453481154 in hex is "You sank my Battleship?"
[GPG key in journal]
I used to work for Best Buy Geek Squad (about 3 years ago, and for almost 5 years before that), starting when I was a sophomore in high school. And, I do hear this a lot, but not every "kid" that worked for a big box electronic store was terrible at their job. Geek Squad, yes, I know, I know. But that was a different time for me, so don't hate on it too much.
Anyway, I can personally tell you that we saw at least 1 DOA laptop for every 20 we sold (a certain brand or two I won't name that sold for cheap accounted for most of them). That being said, customers, especially the grumpy I'm-entitled-to-everything suburban kind, do not like getting home, opening their new laptop, and seeing either a blue screen or nothing at all. It pissed off the customer, and then usually the store ends up losing more money because of people who demand to be compensated for the time they spent bring the computer back to the store. Remember, computers don't have a high profit margin, so giving away anything more than 5-10% on a computer which usually end up in a loss for the store. You may have your qualms with this practice, but it keeps their average customer satisfaction up.
Now, in addition to that, I would also like to point out that when I was working for Geek Squad, we weren't installing trial versions of anything on there. In fact, back in the day, we used to do a free performance upgrade (registry fixes, bloatware startup-item removal, etc). I'm not sure why this particular part of the process has changed, but I'm sure there's a marketing reason for it.
Besides, the only people this would really irk is the extreme power user crowd (us), and most of us are wise enough (hopefully) to buy our electronics elsewhere, anyway.
vos nescitis quicquam, nec cogitatis quia expedit nobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo et non tota gens pereat.
"I went to Best Buy the other day to get a new laptop for a client."
Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
So...exactly like he did, but not exactly..??
Burma?
That's what chargebacks were created for.
Learn to love Alaska
I have no idea where you get your cars from or what make/model you purchase but with that aside new car purchases with the extended warranty are worth it in most cases. Regardless of how knowledgeable you are about cars/trucks, etc., there are still instances that a warranty is a must have. for example replacing or repair of a transmission (it can be done and I have done it but it is easier a maybe quicker in most instances to have someone else do it), electrical issues, repair of rear axle, bodywork, and engine repair are all reasons to have a warranty. Yes some people can do the diagnostics and repair but even then certain issues require special tools or need a lift to repair the issue in a timely manner. Also for most people it can save thousands of dollars depending on several factors the least of which are locations where you drive, number of miles per year you drive since increased wear and tear can be a big issue in a few years. Additionally the warranty requires the owners to get proper maintenance (either they do oil/filter changes, transmission fluid, coolant, and checks for tire wear, etc. In almost all instances, unless you are a mechanic and do this for a living or have more then one car you can use during the repair and/or have plenty of free time to properly do repairs in addition to normal maintenance then a warranrty/extended warranty is a good idea. This is especially true considering the low price of most extended warranties. Extended warranties don't just extend the standard bumper to bumper, at least in all that I have seen, they usually include a minimum of 3-10+ years of warranty coverage and some cover accidents that cover the difference between what your insurance pays and what they would pay (he manufacturer). Obviously extended warranties aren't for everyone especially those that only have a car for under 5 years since the standard warranty will cover most issues and any recalls. Extended warranties come in many kinds but in general the ones that are worth it are those that have little to no deductible, covers wear and tear (not just failing parts), and roadside service/breakdown coverage, etc. It can and is definitely worth it depending on what you get and for how long you are keeping the vehicle as well as how many miles you generally put on it. Saying that you would never buy an extended warranty or saying that some issues can readily be repaired by yourself is just being ignorant. Each person has different requirements and extended warranties vary wildly depending on where you buy, from which car manufacturer you buy from, and most importantly who is actually providing the extended warranty. As far as other extended warranties, most are rip offs and will never be needed or it's cheaper/better to just buy the same product again. In some specific cases it may be worth it but in general they aren't. Every person needs something different but aside from car extended warranties (from a reputable company) most others are just crap. It's just ignorant to group everyone in the same boat and then say that everybody should do what you do.
I work at Geek Squad.
Before I worked here, I abhorred the Geek Squad. But I needed a job, so I took this one. It's not really that bad.
Tons of people actually want this service. They pay $100 for us to turn on the computer for the first time, go through the Windows out-of-box experience, uninstall the Norton/McAfee 30-day trial, install 1-year (or more) Trend Micro/Kaspersky/Webroot of their choosing, burn recovery discs (since the OEMs don't include them anymore), and install all Windows updates.
All this takes about 2-3 hours and we use automated software to do this stuff.
We "preset" computers as well, meaning we take them out of the box, perform all of these services, and then rebox them up and badge them as "Set up by a Geek Squad Agent." We are only supposed to pre-set up a certain percentage of our stock, however, a lot of what we agents call "cowboy managers" (managers who break standard corporate operating procedure) make agents set up 50% or more of the stock, hoping that people will be more inclined to purchase setups if they are already performed and they're all that's left.
A lot of times at my store we give away the presets because the client doesn't want to pay and the preset stock is all that's left. It sounds to me like you got one of the preset units and they never charged you for it.
By the way, the only two types of tape available in the entire store are "Inspected by Best Buy" tape and "Geek Squad Priority" tape. The tape says "Inspected by Best Buy" because it indicates that Best Buy is the one who sealed the box last. It doesn't mean that the presetup process is an "inspection."
Given the high demand by some to buy their computers pre-set up, I don't think it's such a horrible service anymore. Some people are just stupid and want to turn on the computer for the first time and just click IE. The out of box experience, as silly as it sounds, can be confusing to many users, and they would rather walk out the door knowing that the antivirus is installed properly, even if that isn't hard to do at all.
Before you go hating on Best Buy, keep in mind that margins in PCs are extremely low. Best Buy _loses_ money if you buy a non-Apple computer without any Geek Squad services. This is called selling a "brick." The PC sales market is extremely cut-throat. Office Depot makes its money by hoping you never send in a rebate or send it in incorrectly. Best Buy makes its money by attaching services. Without this, the price of buying a computer from these stores would go up.
Scorta futuere amo!