Best Buy
Geek Squad Broke my disc drive, removed current Norton Antivirus without permission, didn't fix easy problems, installed unworkable program

This took place in August at the Best Buy in Leesburg, VA. I highly recommend avoiding the Best Buy Geek Squad. I brought my laptop in because the sound had stopped working and I couldn't get Macromedia Flash Player's latest version installed properly. I asked them to fix these two problems. The Geek Squad guy who examined my laptop to analyze its condition described it as "scratched" on the official paperwork - no other problems.

Problem 1: When I came in to pick it up, the first thing I noticed was that the disc drive would no longer shut. It was unusable. (The drive was not brand-new and no longer popped out on its own, but it was fully functional and had never given me any trouble in the year I had owned the laptop.) When I brought it up, the guy (whose name is Rashad, unsure of exact spelling) insisted that it was broken when I brought it in. I produced the paperwork, where he had written that the only problem was "scratched." He said that it was obvious when I brought it in that the drive was broken. I was appalled at this complete lie. He and I both knew that he would have written "broken disc drive" if it was broken when I brought it in. The manager came over eventually and did not help at all. I was told I could pay to have them ship the laptop away to have a new drive put in. I refused, of course, as there was no reason why I should have to pay more.

Problem 2: Rashad had not installed Macromedia Flash Player. That was a big reason why I had brought it in, because I couldn't see videos that were posted on Youtube and elsewhere online (the new version was required) I talked to a different Geek Squad guy, who was actually surprised that this fairly simple thing had not been done, and he was able to install it after a short delay. So, the problem was solved, but no thanks to Rashad.

Problem 3: I had just paid $30 for an additional year of Norton Antivirus 2005. Without asking my permission, Rashad had completely uninstalled the program, because it was "outdated." It was not outdated. Many people pay to upgrade the previous year's version without buying the new one, as I did. No apology was given and I was not refunded.

Problem 4: I did give permission for SpySweeper to be installed. The program simply did not work. I brought it to a computer expert at my workplace just to be sure and the guy told me that something had gone wrong with the installation. I was so frustrated that I simply uninstalled the program and didn't even add it to my list of complaints to Best Buy.

Problem 5: I had zero success getting in touch with the Geek Squad by phone. Repeated attempts over a number of days had the same result: the phone would ring and ring and no one ever answered. Other departments at the store would answer, but not the Geek Squad.

Problem 6: After a long conversation, the far from sympathetic manager said he would order a new disc drive and I would get a call when it came in. This was August it is now January. I'm sure not holding my breath that he will ever call.in the meanwhile, I bought a disc drive fairly cheaply on Ebay and had my dad install it.

I spent close to $300 for the Geek Squad work. (They supposedly did a scan and removed some spyware also.) The only thing that was actually done right initially was the sound, which was fixed. Other than that, it was a nightmare and I lost $30 on the uninstalled Norton, $30 on the unusable SpySweeper they installed, $60 to buy a new disc drive, and $50 to buy a new antivirus program.

What was frustrating was both the very poor and shoddy work, and also the deception of Rashad. He broke the drive, and he knows it. So here's my advice to anyone with computer problems: Support a small business and find a privately owned repair shop. You won't be sorry to avoid the Best Buy Geek Squad.

Rebecca
Berryville, Virginia
U.S.A.

Company: Best Buy
Country: USA
State: Virginia
City: Leesburg
Address: 600 Potomac Station Dr. NE
Phone: 7036694100

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