Geek Squad — Local services in Tacoma

I would give zero stars if the option was available. The reason is because the Geek Squad Protection Plans are misleading to the point that I would call them a form of swindling. It is a policy thing, not a person issue, in my case. It has come down to, for me at least, 'buyer beware'. Here's what happened: I bought a small appliance ($200 vacuum) a few months back and purchased the Geek Squad 5Yr Protection Plan. When the cashier sold it to me, they told me that the protection plan covered "all kinds of stuff," and was not too expensive but really worth it. I wanted a protection plan anyway, and would have bought one regardless of how they sold it to me. Though, it should be noted that this was the first 'red flag' that I missed. The cashiers should be knowledgeable about the protection plans or at least have a Geek Squad team member come explain it to the customer purchasing it.

Now, the other day, the appliance unexpectedly breaks. Okay, it happens, and is the reason for the protection plan. Then, I take it in, tell them what happened and about the protection plan and such. They immediately get me a replacement. Now, the way it works is they are supposed to attempt to fix it and only then, if unsuccessful, would they replace it altogether. I only know this information about what they are supposed to because I spoke with someone in the 'care center', wherever that was. In this case, they did not attempt to repair it, let alone even take it apart or troubleshoot it. They simply replaced it and offered another protection plan. This was the second 'red flag', but better safe than sorry, so I got it. I thought about it later and decide to call, because something felt 'off'.

After the horrible automated and inefficient system that laughably said they wanted to quickly get me to the right person, I reached someone in a 'care center' not anywhere near my store. I told them that I wanted information about the protection plans. They provided the following information: If I buy a small appliance, say a $200 vacuum, and get the 5yr Geek Squad Protection Plan, then I am only getting it on that specific appliance, as in that exact one. This exact one is not to be confused with that exact model or anything, but the literal one I was returning. The Geek Squad is to then attempt to repair it and if it cannot be repaired, a replacement is given. This, then, makes the 5yr protection plan null and void because I was given a replacement. Then, I would be offered a new plan at the same cost as the last one, as the replacement appliance is new.

They do not offer any protection plans that extend to more than one replacement, as nearly every other warranty does, regardless of which small appliance purchased. I was told that bigger appliance's protection plans cover much more and are better than the smaller appliance's protection plans.

It's a shady way to do business, but again, 'buyer beware'. They did not try to repair it. They just replaced it, which meant that I would have to buy a new protection plan. In the end, it turns out that the 5yr Geek Squad Protection Plan is really just a discount on a new one when it needs to be replaced. The small appliance was a $200 vacuum. So, basically, I got the protection plan for like $60 and when the product broke, I didn't have to pay for a new one at full price. Instead, I ended up buying another $60 plan for when this one breaks.

I will not be returning to Best Buy and would caution anyone purchasing a protection plan to make sure you speak with them prior and find out exactly what you...

If you have custom builds beware the geek squad:

I give it a 3 star because there was a negative experience with a positive resolution.

We brought in our custom built mid tower for repair. It was overheating during high performance games and needed a new CPU heat sink. The part was purchased, repairs made, we were called to picked up the completed PC. Upon arrival for pick up, they opened up the tower and showed us our new fan and they had rearranged our cord management. We asked to plug it in and, to our surprise, the man says "oh it doesn't boot". We had it documented in our service order the PC was completely operational upon drop off, aside from the heating issue. My initial question was why did you call me to pick up my PC if it doesn't boot? They then told us there was no way to run diagnostics on the PC and then they suggested we buy a NEW MOTHERBOARD and PROCESSOR WITHOUT knowing if they actually needed replacing. They then suggested we purchase a NEW PC from them! After they damaged our build. There clearly was some communication issues between employees and everyone seemed to be on a different page.

One guy finally took charge of it because clearly they screwed up and no one at the store, including the manager, knew what to do. Mind you our PC was in the shop for about 2 weeks. Anyway, this guy and I will name drop, Eric Schmitt, takes a look at our machine and discerns that the power supply had shorted and needed to be replaced. He pointed out the way the cords had been bent and strained when they were rearranged wasn't good for the power supply, but he wasn't sure what caused the short since he hadn't initially made the repairs. He went above and beyond trying our parts in different machines to test functionality. I think the largest issue I had was no one else was able to actually tell me what was wrong. An 80$ part was needed and they tried making us buy a new PC or spend 300-600$ on parts. Id give Eric a 20/10 rating for knowing what hes doing, finding a way to run diagnostics, and fixing the problem. All we wanted was for this PC to run. We left satisfied and got a discount on our membership because my husband insisted we keep this service. I wouldn't recommend the geek squad service for hardware issues. I think most of the employees are more equip for software issues and troubleshooting. Some are more experienced than others.

If he'd serviced our PC first I'm 100% certain we would've had no problems. You need to get something done as far as hardware trust no one at this store but Eric. I don't believe our PC would've been repaired without him, at least not by this company.

We are just grateful the PC is at home and...

My phone was purchased at Best Buy near the Tacoma Mall in Washington. I have never had a problem using the Geek Squad, with their customer service, or this store in the past. Yesterday, I called and spoke to an agent. He did tell me they do limited troubleshooting, but could look at my phone, and if nothing else give me possible solutions to the issues I was having, and made me an appointment for today, suggesting I do a factory reset first to see if that helped. I did, and the reset didn't help so I kept my appointment.

Today, at the counter, I explained the issues I was having. The "agent" immediately turned to another, asking if he should call the geek squad (assistance I guess)??? He did so without even looking at my phone, trying to see what I was talking about, or anything else. He spoke briefly to the lady at the other end then handed me the phone. Long story shorter, I was given no choice but to mail my phone in for replacement by the manufacturer no matter the issue if I wanted it fixed, or replaced. The agent in front of my face apparently couldn't check to see if I had a setting incorrect, or some other simple solution (which probably wasn't the case). He just decided he couldn't do that, and admitted he was "just a tech in the back and worked on computers". If that was the case, why was he out front? He didn't even touch the phone.

If nothing else, he could have said he would try to help with anything by looking at it rather than passing the problem on to some person on the phone who wasn't even there.

He admitted he was clueless about a cell phone and if you are a member of the Geek Squad, you should at least have a basic understanding of the products in your store, and the ability to take a few of the 20 minutes allotted in an appointment to personally try to help.

I understand that cell phones aren't typically fixed by the Geek Squad. I understand also that sometimes a quick look by someone more familiar with operating systems of electronics can identify an issue I cannot.

This man wasn't even willing to try. It was pointless for the agent yesterday on the phone to make me an appointment, and pointless for me to waste my...