I'd like to share this about Best Buy

[KageSong]

I'll be fairly brief I hope, and I hope this is an okay topic. I know it's a bit spicy.

SOOO, please, for the sake of encouraging good business, never ever step into a Best Buy.
I've been dealing with call centers all weekend, essentially claiming they don't have a corporate office, or that I can't get to an actual manager, etc. Honestly, I'm learning disabled, and I was only trying to get a bit of help with the manufacturer's warranty on my TV. Eventually, during laundry day, I went up to the store 3 towns away, and the manager said if I bring the TV back tomorrow (today), he'd get it replaced at no cost. They'd told me on the phone they couldn't service it in store, so I didn't bring it with me. They'd said not to. So, I came back today, with the TV nicely boxed and taped. Even the booklets. And he said he doesn't have that TV, and I'd have to pay extra to replace it. Anyone who's ever shopped at Micro Center knows better than to EVER accept an answer like that. So, I didn't. I asked how to speak to corporate. He swore it was the 888 number, which, it is not, obviously. And those call centers proceeded to claim there was no corporate. Leaving the store, I was beginning to have panic attacks, and I have panic induced seizures. Two ambulances later, I'm on crutches. Best Buy still refuses to let me speak to anyone that matters. I do of course intend to issue a chargeback and work to seek a lawsuit.

P.S. - Toshiba (RCA which is actually the TV I was replacing, see edit) made a claim that no amount of dead pixels on a screen is considered defective, as they do not affect image or functionality. I'll let you determine your own thoughts on that.

Finally, I hope it's okay to share this review. I think it's important to pass things on.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Hbn8AtNA7bwRVudHA

Edit: So... I didn't notice until a further response from CurtisCS, aka RCA support, that the email about dead pixels being cosmetic was from them. To my knowledge Toshiba has then not responded. I had been confused because the issued I'd reported with the RCA was that a large portion (80%+ I suspect) now displayed just white and large artifacts. I don't have any guess to the cause. I was using it to watch YouTube live, at 1080p. As of right now, they've asked me to provide video. I'm think of the best way to do that, as the TV is currently put out of the way, but I intend to. They still seem to say that dead pixels are cosmetic only, when my friend's wife who has barely heard the term saw them and said it was defective immediately. I suppose it's left to be seen what Curtis says when I send imagery of the TV (I think I'll just hook in the xbox real quick for easy power and picture? roommate is tinkering with the remote somehow). So, I could end up with a pretty lucky break anyway, not that I'm any happier with Best Buy.

Edited October 26, 2023 by KageSong
I goofed :( But, most still stands.

[Kisai]

13 minutes ago, KageSong said:

 Honestly, I'm learning disabled, and I was only trying to get a bit of help with the manufacturer's warranty on my TV. Eventually, during laundry day, I went up to the store 3 towns away, and the manager said if I bring the TV back tomorrow (today), he'd get it replaced at no cost. They'd told me on the phone they couldn't service it in store, so I didn't bring it with me. They'd said not to. So, I came back today, with the TV nicely boxed and taped. Even the booklets. And he said he doesn't have that TV, and I'd have to pay extra to replace it. 

Not to point the finger, but NO big box store has the capability to service electronics. None. What they do is take your gadget and send it to a third party service depot (Futureshop used to send everything to Nexicore (which went bankrupt in 2011.))

 

But here's the part I want to highlight. Best Buy's "geek squad", is basically just that. They don't fix things in store. Other than reinstalling the OS on a computer, everything just gets sent somewhere else. They do not have the time, or the parts to fix anything under warranty, those have to go back to the manufacturer. Outside of warranty, they just have to say no.

 

So it sucks that you basically had to experience what is essentially modern Retail (where nobody wants to take ownership of an issue.) As for Toshiba, if they weren't going to tell you what authorized repair center to bring it to, I'd probably scratch them off the list of brands to purchase from.

[Spotty]

If you have a learning disability that makes dealing with issues like this difficult for you I would recommend asking a friend, family member, or carer to help you. 

 

When getting a replacement for a defective product they should replace it with either the same model or a like-for-like replacement. If they no longer stock the same model they might offer the newer one or something similar instead. If you bought a $700 50" tv they should replace it with another $700 50" TV. Though, if you go in and ask for a more expensive 65" tv to replace it they'll probably say you have to pay the difference in cost. If they don't have anything that is a like-for-like replacement you should ask for either a refund or if they refuse that a store credit/gift card for the value of the TV. 

 

Which model TV did you buy? How much did it cost?

 

1 hour ago, KageSong said:

I do of course intend to issue a chargeback and work to seek a lawsuit.

A chargeback and lawsuit for what exactly? 

[Blue4130]

11 hours ago, KageSong said:

, I was beginning to have panic attacks, and I have panic induced seizures. Two ambulances later, I'm on crutches.

How did you go from having a panic attack to being on crutches? Did the ambulance back into you?

[BrandonLatzig]

You know, I thought this was just another "Best buy sucks" thing
I didnt expect the rest

[KageSong]

14 hours ago, Kisai said:

Not to point the finger, but NO big box store has the capability to service electronics. None. What they do is take your gadget and send it to a third party service depot (Futureshop used to send everything to Nexicore (which went bankrupt in 2011.))

 

But here's the part I want to highlight. Best Buy's "geek squad", is basically just that. They don't fix things in store. Other than reinstalling the OS on a computer, everything just gets sent somewhere else. They do not have the time, or the parts to fix anything under warranty, those have to go back to the manufacturer. Outside of warranty, they just have to say no.

 

So it sucks that you basically had to experience what is essentially modern Retail (where nobody wants to take ownership of an issue.) As for Toshiba, if they weren't going to tell you what authorized repair center to bring it to, I'd probably scratch them off the list of brands to purchase from.

Yeah. It's annoying. I mean, the only other competitor, Micro Center, in the area also has this annoying stuff with call centers, but I CAN call the store eventually, and if I go in with an issue like this... well, I took back a $100 monitor once and came out with a $250 replacement because of the mistake that had been made, which was that the $100 box advertised features it didn't have. The closest monitor with advertised features was $250. He asked me if I would be okay with that monitor. I asked if I would have to pay the difference. Of course not.

 

2 hours ago, BrandonLatzig said:

You know, I thought this was just another "Best buy sucks" thing
I didnt expect the rest

No. Nothing 'just' about it really. But Best Buy really does suck... turns out so do too many people on internet forums too. Who would have ever guessed? /s

[KageSong]

12 hours ago, Spotty said:

If you have a learning disability that makes dealing with issues like this difficult for you I would recommend asking a friend, family member, or carer to help you. 

 

When getting a replacement for a defective product they should replace it with either the same model or a like-for-like replacement. If they no longer stock the same model they might offer the newer one or something similar instead. If you bought a $700 50" tv they should replace it with another $700 50" TV. Though, if you go in and ask for a more expensive 65" tv to replace it they'll probably say you have to pay the difference in cost. If they don't have anything that is a like-for-like replacement you should ask for either a refund or if they refuse that a store credit/gift card for the value of the TV. 

 

Which model TV did you buy? How much did it cost?

 

A chargeback and lawsuit for what exactly? 

Unfortunately, you have no idea that this is disrespectful to me, but you can't know before now that I'm trapped as an adult living with an abusive and neglectful family. Here's really the only thing I can give to make that make some amount of sense: https://hopefulpanda.com/how-to-escape-abusive-parents-for-adults/

This leads to not having friends or family members that are willing to assist with things like mental disability, or even acknowledge that they exist in the first place. I promise you that no big box store I've ever walked into would have up charged for such a replacement, and in a different reply I shared an experience with Micro Center who is Best Buy's ONLY competition here, and therefore absolutely sets the bar on what customers SHOULD expect. I ended up getting a $330 TV in an open box for $117. They offered to replace it with a 720p budget model for free. With the bar Micro Center sets, that's absolutely absurd to expect of me, and then they refused to even process a refund, hence, my father (who actually made the purchase as this is an early holiday gift) intends to issue a chargeback (if he hasn't already). The bank will probably ask him questions that imply I could have commited fraud, he'll tell them what happened, and they'll charge it back. Similar thing (as the bank goes) happened with Build Redux. They absolutely never sent my order, and never answered a phone call or responded to an email. The bank grilled my dad to make sure I hadn't stolen his card, got lectured to not shop at a retailer an longer at which he's had to issue a chargeback, and that was it.

Sorry if I got lost and missed something. I don't communicate the very best, and I'm still seeking proper diagnosis and treatment for my LD.

[Donut417]

Were you within the return window for the TV? If not then its on the manufacture as your located in the US. If the manufacture doesn't do anything you have three options. 1) Small Claims court, 2) Contact the FTC (bear in mind they are under funded and probably wont help), 3) eat the cost of the TV and never shop at Best buy or buy a Toshiba product again.

[TetraSky]

That's the thing with dead pixels. NEVER admit that your monitor or TV has dead pixels when returning it.

Get your refund, saying you changed your mind.

 

If there was no refund allowed on it due to it being an open box (likely because it had dead pixels... another reason to never buy open box monitors or TVs), say it was defective/not fit for purpose. They "might" check and unless you get a complete asswipe who loves licking the rear of their bosses, they should immediately see the dead pixels and say "yup, that's defective". Especially because they DID accept it back once before and then sold it again regardless of it having dead pixels. Literally NOBODY in their right mind sees a dead pixel and thinks "yeah I can live with that". Except corporations who have money to lose when you return said items.

[KageSong]

4 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Were you within the return window for the TV? If not then its on the manufacture as your located in the US. If the manufacture doesn't do anything you have three options. 1) Small Claims court, 2) Contact the FTC (bear in mind they are under funded and probably wont help), 3) eat the cost of the TV and never shop at Best buy or buy a Toshiba product again.

It was literally the day after, then the day after that.

Edit: Your last point is more or less the idea of posting this. To share my experience and encourage people to avoid both, with strong bias and prejudice, admittedly.

[KageSong]

Update: I just got a call from ... I guess she said she's a member of a corporate investigation part of Best Buy. She was openly concerned about my health, and didn't attempt to make any excuses for what's happened. I'm not sure what that will lead to, but reaching out to me, and being concerned about my health certainly mattered.