Best Buy ruined my Super Bowl party!

ruined party.. BOO HOO!

John,
Although I feel your frustration in having a TV that broke quickly, I
have to say in defense of the company that they were following policy.
You did purchase an extended warranty/service contract on the TV.
Under such a warranty/contract, the company promises to repair the TV,
not replace it. Replacement is usually only offered if the item can
not be repaired. I know this because I work for Sears and we sell
service contracts. We are not allowed to replace the TV unless
service cannot fix it. This often makes our customers angry too, but
we simply explain to them that the contract is for service, not
replacement. Also, the return period on TV's is 30 days, no matter
where you bough it. So they do not have to replace it after that
period. I know that it is frustrating when products break quickly,
but at least you are having it repaired for free. And not to sound
mean, but is the SuperBowl really so important that a broken TV had to
ruin it?? Did you not have another TV to watch it on?? Or somewhere
else to watch it?? I'm not trying to say it wasn't important to you,
but it is just a game.

Sincerely,

Lovie Smith

Your last purchase from Best Buy ever? Really? Really, really?

Eh, I've got nothing.

Best Buy ruined my Super Bowl party too. They ate all of my chips and
dip, and left empty beer cans all over the house.

I received a call today from one of the nicest people I have spoken to
in a while. His name was Tony Mason and he was a Customer Service
representative with Best Buy's Executive Escalations team. Honestly,
he really made me feel guilty about even complaining in the first
place. After discussing the issue, he felt that the worst detail
about this entire issue was the timing...the day before the Super
Bowl. He reiterated the 30-day return policy, but expressed that he
wished that when I had called on Saturday to request an exchange, the
store had taken that opportunity to make a bad situation into a great
customer experience. After talking for a few minutes, he offered to
allow me to exchange the TV in a store at my earliest convenience. At
this point, I was really overwhelmed with the feeling that he truly
cared about what had happened and keeping me as a Best Buy customer.
I accepted the offer and told him that I would return the TV to the
store where I had bought it tomorrow (Thursday) and exchange it for an
identical TV. He confirmed that the store did have two of them in
stock and that he would be emailing all the managers in that store to
be prepared for me and explaining my situation. Then, he went over
and above all my expectations. He offered me a $100 Best Buy gift
card. I declined the offer, but he said that he would not allow me to
decline it. He said that since he offered it and I have not asked for
it, that I should not feel guilty about accepting it. After a short
argument about the gift card, I finally accepted the offer and felt
like even more of a bad guy. Anyway, if this experience has taught me
anything at all, it is to have patience and not write complaints when
I am emotional and upset. I know there were many people who felt like
I was being unreasonable, and in the end, I wound up feeling like they
were right. To sum up this entire situation, as long as everything
pans out tomorrow and they let me exchange the TV, then I am a true
believer in Best Buy and will continue to shop with them. Tony Mason
has completely restored my confidence in Best Buy's commitment to
their customers. Thanks Tony!

I bought a large tv a few years back, and it proved defective within a
couple of months.

I didn't ask someone to fix it on the weekend. I didn't get a panty
wad because it took 4 days for someone to come and pick it up.

My set was replaced within a week and a half. I thought that was
completely reasonable.

Your demands seem unreasonable. The fact it was the superbowl should
have nothing to do with your complaint. Doo doo happens, and it
happens anytime, anywhere.

Best Buy will do just fine without the patronage of the King of
England.

BTW, extended warranties are a waste of money.

Had it not been Superbowl Sunday, you never would have complained.
Just bad luck, get over it. By the way, $3500 for a TV. Be thankful
to God that you can afford such luxuries while people go to bed not
knowing where their next meal will come from.

What's to stop you from buying another one and returning it later?
How about integrity?

I was just thinking...since Beest Buy has no restocking fee on HDTVs
and the return period is 30 days, what is to keep me from buying
another one and returning it to the store when my TV is repaird and
returned to me?

Dang, $3500 for a tv that worked for a little over a month. Hmm, glad
I don't spend more than $350 for one.

Bummer.

Let me start off by saying I'm not a Best Buy fan or employee. That
being said, I think it is unreasonable for you to call for a repair on
Saturday and expect it to be fixed by Sunday no matter how much you
spent on your TV. I also don't think they should have exchanged it
either. You were beyond the 30 days. It doesn't matter if it's 1
day, 12 days or a month. It's 30 days for a return.

Their performance since then has been less than stellar and you do
have a complaint there but I can't comment because I don't know the
work load at the repair facility. Do you think you should be bumped
ahead because of how much you spent? I don't think that would be
fair.

Have you tried unplugging the set and letting the computer reset? We
have to do that periodically with our TV.

JD,
In the mean time get a local company to give you their best estimate
on what is wrong with it, how long it will take to fix etc...and then
weigh your options of eating the cost of repair, trying to backbill
Best Buy or just borrowing a tv ( all be it not as big as your's )
from a homey in the meantime.
Bill R.

You know, after reading this, I started to get nervous. I thought to
myself "Holy Crap! The Super Bowl is only showing on John D's 55"
plasma TV!!! No one will be able to see it this year"
But, surprisingly enough, I was showing in my very own living room,
the livingrooms/rec rooms of family and friends, and at sports bars
all over the country!!!

I hope you found someplace to watch the big game last night, and that
your repair goes smoothly today.

Do you mean that the TV (they didn't build) stopped working and they
couldn't wiggle their noses and make it magically start working in
only one day, and they are now the Anti-Christ???? Wow, I don't blame
you! Dang, maybe you should have purchased it at Wal-Mart! You didn't?
Then maybe it was all YOUR fault for buying the same TV it at the
wrong location!

If I had had a 55 inch TV would Rex have looked better?

Seriously a 2 day turnaround is pretty good. Bad timing.

Did you call them and run through a check as well? That sounds goofy
what happened. Maybe you hit something by accident. Right after I
got the computer I'm typing on right now I hit something and my
brother had to come over and flip something.

As we speak, Best Buy is in the process of ruining my Super Bowl
party. They sent their employees over to my house, and they're
currently eating all my chips and drinking all my beer. I'm pretty
sure they spiked the punch too.

Stupid blue polo-wearing jerks.

Your new TV died on 2/2/07, you called the next day and they told you
that someone would contact you on Monday, 2/5/07 to schedule a repair
appointment. That sounds to me like about the best they can do.

As a previous poster stated, your extended warranty doesn't kick in
until after the one year manufacturer's warranty expires. And unless
you have some sort of a service plan that says they will replace the
TV within 24 hours of a problem, then you're just out of luck.

Does the situation suck? Yes. Will life go on? Yes.

Granted - - the Super Bowl is a major sporting event and there most
likely won't be a party at your home, but there are other alternatives
to watch the game and let's just hope that your favorite team wins to
make up for this situation!

That would be my last purchase from Best Buy too (although myself I
have never had problems with them and shop there all the time).
That's a sucky situation. I don't see why they just won't let you
exchange it for another one though? Next time go with a Sony! I
still believe that's the best brand in electronics. More expensive,
but well worth the money if you can afford it.

Oh man that stinks!

I feel your pain, the Super Bowl is huge in my family and we go where
the best TV is. This year it's me and I can't tell you how
disappointed I would be if my first Super Bowl with my new snazzy flat
screen TV was ruined by a technical error. Especially when you
concider all the planning that goes into this little shin dig.

You couldn't by any chance borrow a friends TV for the day so you
could at least go through with your party?

I understand your frustration. But surely YOU must understand that
there are other people who need technical assistance and they can't
send out repairmen that they just don't have. And if they don't have
another tv in stock, there isn't anything for them to exchange it for.
Rental centers are a good idea. Maybe you can rent one for the party
and return it the next day. YOU make a party sucessful or not, not a
tv. Get creative!

It sure sounds like to me like this is an area of compliment for Best
Buy. You've called in a problem today and they're telling you that
they will contact you by Monday to start working on the issue. They
have not told you there would be any further charge. KUDOS for Best
Buy!!!

I see things like a lot of the other posters do here; John has just
had an unfortunate luck as to have had this happen on this weekend.
To complain and claim that, because an extended warranty doesn't
provide him an immediate exchange, he will now refuse to support this
retailer. It sounds like a very good reason for Best Buy to not place
very much effort into the service of this particular item. If you
don't get the television working for the next few months, you'll know
why.

It really stinks to hear this happen and ruin your plans for the game.
I know I'd be upset because the SB is the perfect occaision for a hi
def plasma t.v.

Best Buy's repairmen can't be out till monday and
Since you already know Best Buys won't let you exchange a used plasma
tv for a brand new one, would it be possible to watch the game
someplace else, like a friend's house or a sport's bar? I know it's
not the same, but it's an option worth trying.

I hope you at least live in a state that has a team going...otherwise,
the party SHOULDN'T be THAT big of a deal..

My husband works for Hitachi (seriously, he does)... I'll put in a
call in the morning because the Super Bowl is certainly life or
death.

Super Bowl is not a special day. You had bad luck with your tv.
Sucks. I would be ticked. But they can't jump through hoops just
because the Super Bowl is coming up. How could they possibly get to
your television any faster then the other televisions they have to
fix? Don't you think that everyone scheduled before you would like
their television for the Super Bowl as well?

John D.,
No where do I see in your letter mention of you bringing the problem
to the attention of store management.
I might be reading this incorrectly but it appears that you only dealt
with line staff.
This could be a case of the wheel not sqeaking enough.
Bill R.

I'm not sure what the best buy is doing there, but with the Best Buy
here, if you buy online or through the store and something goes wrong,
"if" they have it in stock they will exchange.

Also, the 4 year extended warranty that you bought doesn't kick in
till the one year mans warranty is up.

As I see it, what Best Buy is "obliged" to do is besides the point.
If I were the VP of Marketing of Best Buy, I would not let a single
customer down the day before Super Bowl weekend. In fact, I would
break rank with the rules and go out of my way to help out. Here's
the rationale. The Super Bowl is all about buzz and word-of-mouth,
and the last thing I'd want is to have someone who shelled out $3500
to create a create and memorable experience for his friends and family
(and whoever) tellings others about how Best Buy ignored his
reasonable complaint. It's just common sense to go the distance to
help out this consumer. That he bought the warrantly - an investment
that many argue is a unnecessary anyway - further raises the stakes
for responding....quickly.

-- Pete, Founder, PlanetFeedback

John D.,
Major letdown.
You checked the power supply?
Does the TV have a reset button?
Is there something else online with the TV like a Tivo, DVD or VCR
that might be causing the issue?
Good luck.
Bill R.

Since the Super Bowl isnt until TOMORROW then how could they possibly
have ruined your party?!

An overly expensive tv does not a Super Bowl party make. What in the
WORLD did people do BEFORE wide screen plasma televisions?!

That being said, let me say this. You do deserve to have your tv fixed
and if it cant be fixed then replaced. That doesnt mean they can whip
a tv repair person out of their pocket to fix it before your party on
Sunday but it will, eventually, get fixed.

In the grand scheme of things, when you lay on your death bed, do you
really think this will be important then?

Enjoy your party and try to enjoy the game on whatever tv you can find
to watch it on.

I can certainly appreciate your frustration and do not even expect you
to be reasonable, as I would not be reasonable in my requests if I had
paid that much and were having an SB party. The TV makes a huge
difference...well to us guys at least! LOL

With that said, I do think you are being un-reasonable. Unless the
warranty says that they will fix it in under 24 hours, regardless of
the problem, regardless of the date or you get a brand new TV, then
you have no complaint. You called on a Saturday, they are calling you
back on the next business day. I think that's fair and in the spirit
of the warranty.

Sorry you had this problem though. Also, I would be more upset with
Hitachi quality (though this may just be a 1 in whatever issue) than
with BB. This is coming from someone who refuses to shop at BB.