Geek Squad — Attraction in Salem

Never broke a phone before, but always buy extra coverage anyway just in case. Bought a new phone 3 wks ago and the screen cracked falling off of the sofa...literally about 2 ft onto carpet. That said, I bought the additional 2-yr Geek Squad plan when I purchased it, so I gave them a call to see what to do since I'd never had to take advantage of such services before and wanted to know how to go about getting it fixed, hopefully without having to drive out to Best Buy since the nearest one is pretty far away.

After sitting on hold for 40 mins, I was hung up on, so I tried the online chat option, which also was pretty useless. At any rate, I wound up having to drive to the Salem store with 2 kids who regularly get carsick, hoping that would not be an issue. I wound up talking to one guy at the Geek Squad desk after waiting in line. He sent me to the mobile counter, where I waited for 10 minutes before a guy told me he was with someone and asked me to wait, which I did for another 20 minutes. At that point, a smarmy guy who looked like Stephen Miller after a decade of meth use condescendingly told me I'd have to get a refurb phone...for a screen repair.

The plan specifically indicates that a replacement phone will be provided IF it cannot be repaired, but screens can be repaired/replaced. That is like me getting in a fender bender and my insurance company telling me that they'll just send me someone else's throwaway car that they fixed up instead of putting a new bumper on my otherwise-perfectly-fine car. To top it off, they wanted to charge me $200 for a phone that isn't new to replace my phone & telling me there are places that do screen repair where I can take my phone if I'd rather keep my exact phone. WHY DID I PAY $159 FOR YOUR 2-YEAR PLAN?

Anyway, I wound up calling Batteries Plus and got my screen replaced for $109, about half what Geek Squad wanted to charge me to get someone else's phone, and that's even without including the $159 I paid for the plan in the first place. I also called the Best Buy's customer line and got the plan refunded and canceled because it's basically a worthless plan unless you have major damage to deal with. They'll try to charge you to replace devices when repair is the typical solution in order to squeeze the deductible out of you.

In the end, I wound up getting hung up on after 40 mins on hold, having a useless chat experience, spending over 2.5 hrs in the car with 2 kids who were not thrilled about it (luckily, neither got sick), and having to deal with a condescending jerk at Best Buy only to wind up taking it to Batteries Plus anyway...where they fixed it for half the cost of the deductible and were 1000x nicer to deal with.

Never giving a penny to Best Buy or Geek...

Disorganized and poor customer service. Go elsewhere. I had an appointment for 06:40pm today. I arrived earlier at 5:20pm. There was one person sitting in the waiting area. Granted i was earlier than my time, so i was patiently waiting. However, people that came after me… including a couple that had a 6:40pm appointment who arrived at 6pm were immediately entertained. How is that possible? I felt discriminated big time. Maybe i shouldve been more vocal? I now understand why some people become-“karen’s and ken’s” due to poor customer service. I didn’t mind the wait, It was the lack of communication and lack of follow through that was disappointing and frustrating. I would’ve came back on my appointment time no issue. But, nobody even bothered to check-in. Geek squad staff passed me by sitting patiently in their waiting area for assistance. When i finally got helped at around 6:50pm to 7:05pm, i was informed the battery replacement i needed will take about an hour. That i should come back before the store closes at 8pm to pick up my phone.

I returned at 7:45pm, was attended to by 8:06 and informed that they had a samsung repair that took longer than expected and they havent even started on my phone yet. I was told that the quote given to me by Logan was for an overnight repair. I should come back tomorrow when they open at 11am. Guy said, he is not trying to add insult to injury but it wont be ready until then or i could cancel the repair.

Seriously? I told the guy i dont really have a choice. He gave me a look saying i do, but really not a choice or i just wasted 2hours of my day that i could have utilized doing other things HAD I KNOWN.

I understand a lot can happen, but if i was just informed first hand, i didnt mind coming back tomorrow and just pick it up. But to be told that i will be squeezed in or that it will be ready in an hour when NONE OF THAT HAPPENED TODAY????? That is poor customer service.

Salem, OREGON Geek Squad needs a make over for customer service.

Communicate to the customer, i understand short staffing but VALUE YOUR CUSTOMER’S TIME AS WELL! It doesnt take much to let us know whats going on. You’d be suprised how that can go a long way. STOP SETTING UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS.

Unless that’s changed, please take your valuable time and money elsewhere. Go to the Eugene location, they are worth the drive for...

Went to take in my sons Apple iPad today, a charging chord metal piece got stuck in the charging port. iPad does not turn on as it is out of battery. Somehow the tech pulled up on the apple website that it doesn't have Apple Care (which it does, and if he could of actually searched via the proper criteria he would of seen that but I don't know how he pulled it up on Apples website when you can't get any of the pertinent or identifying information.) So they then refused to send it off without a payment which I had already been told previously I wouldn't have one. So I proceeded to decline their services after I had talked to Ethan (Geek Squad Care Member) on Saturday. No longer recommending Best Buy or Geek Squad to any family or friends and will find other avenues from here on out for any electronic issues as Best Buy and Geek Squad no longer hold the same customer service values and level of service that is to be expected from a store that has been standing in Salem for over 20 years. Utterly disgusted by this behavior and...