<-- Clicky

There was a previous digg story, but it was linked to a site that required registration to read...oops.

Timeline of Broken DLP (Covered by BBY PSP):


May 13: Contact BBY In-home department through 888-Bestbuy. Explain to them the issues my TV is having; When switching from SD to a 1080i signal the screen goes black and eventually says no signal. The other issue is only on HD only as well, horizontal lines appear through text or ticker bars. Unfortunately both of these issues are intermittent.

May 19: I have heard nothing from BBY regarding repairs, so I contact BBY In-home department through 888-Bestbuy again. In-home repair rep. states that on Monday, May 21 I should contact CS Electronics here in town to setup an appointment. Apparently they would not do it for me.

May 21: Get in contact CS Electronics to get appointment set for May 22

May 22: Service technician from CS Electronics arrives to look at my DLP. After about five minutes I was able to duplicate both issues for the technician by switching channels back and forth between ESPN and ESPNHD (Comcast had replaced the HD cable box just the week before and both had the same issue. And, this issue occured with my PS3. Cable was hooked up with component cables and HDMI for the PS3 -- so I knew the issue was the TV). The technician turned to me and said he had no idea what the issue was, but that he would contact LG and see what they had to say.

June 13: I turn on the TV that is still sitting in my living room with zero updates from CS Electronics (I had called with and received no answer or voicemail, but I mistakenly did not document date/time) or Best Buy and I get a very, very dim picture. As if the brightnest had been turned all the way down. Setting it to 100 did not help. Not more than a few minutes later the TV powers off on it's own. It will not power on anymore.

June 15: Contact BBY In-home department through 888-Bestbuy. Explain to them the issues my TV is having and that nothing has been done with my prior opened service call as of yet. I am told that I will receive an update in 48 hours.

As this didn't satisfy me I went down to the store I bought it from and spoke with one of the assisstant managers. She listened to what my issues were and called the BBY In-home number herself while I waited. They informed her that it would be the same 48 hours as was previously told me before anything else would be done. They also attempted to contact CS Electronics but they did not answer once again. At this point she decided that they the service was unacceptable so she said she would replace it, but that she had to run it past the store's general manager. Five minutes later she returns and says that the general manager said that she will not allow an exchange and that I have to wait for repairs.

At this point I leave and drive to the other side of the city to CS Electronics to see for myself what is going on. I arrive at their location to find what might possibly be the most run down repair shop ever. There are TVs in boxes sitting outside the front door of the shop. Inside it doesn't get much better. There are TVs stacked on top of other TVs, TVs half disassembled sitting on the floor, and PCBs and CRTs sitting on a cart in front of the door. After stepping over this mess to their counter I get to talk with someone, finally. He sifts through papers and finds a workorder (see attachment) for me dated May 21. On it, according to him, it shows that they ordered a signal and digital PCB back in May. He does not have an order number for it. He tells me that it typically takes at least 3-4 weeks for parts to arrive from the manufacturer if they have them available. He assures me that they parts have been ordered and ordered from LG. I update him on the new issue that I was having regarding the bulb/lamp and the unit not powering on. He says they are likely related and will order the lamp.

I head home wondering why it has taken so long for the parts, so I call LG directly. I am informed by Chris from LG that CS Electronics has not ordered any parts from LG since September of 2006. LG verified the company name and contact information once again before confirming that they have received no part orders from CS Electronics. He also stated that once it was ordered it typically took three weeks from when ordered to get the warranty payments worked out before the part was shipped (TV is covered by BBY PSP, not LG)

With this new information I figure that Best Buy would try and help out one of it's consumers by replacing the television as it has been over a month for since the original service call was made and nothing has been done at all. Today was effectively day one of the process.

Once again I contact BBY In-home. After explaining this new information to the rep on the phone she informs me that I will have to wait for the TV to be repaired and there is nothing that she can do. She says once it hits 45 days of service time they consider that to be long enough to warrant an exchange. She then transfers me to her supervisor after I ask if they can make an exception as it seemed clear to me that this repair is going to take longer than 45 days since the parts haven't been ordered. Tonja (I'm not sure on that one, I couldn't quite understand it), the supervisor, begins to tell me, without me saying a word, that she will not make any exceptions to the policy. She also states that the 45 day timeline started today because the parts weren't ordered until today (she says they called CS to verify). I try and explain that it has already been over 30 days. She says that makes no difference and that if they have to order more parts later the 45 days starts again. Then she asks if I'd like to make a complaint so she could transfer me. So I agree, she promptly disconnects me and I have to call back.

I do get ahold of Ryan at BBY Consumer Relations and he pretty much tells me the same thing I had already heard. I asked for clarification about the 45 day issue and he was unsure as it wasn't his department but that he could transfer me back to the In-home department and that I would hopefully get a different supervisor. I declined.

Since the only person that really seemed any help at all was the assisstant manager at the store I decided to call her again. She took my cell phone number and said she would contact the In-home department and try to get an approval for the exchange.

So now I wait.

A case with BBB has been opened.



June 18: I contacted LG again today and once again they verified that no parts have been ordered since 2006 from CS Electronics. I called 888-Bestbuy again as they did not bother to return my call within 48 hours as promised last week. This time I am told I will get a call back in 24 hours. I call the store and attempt to speak with Alice, the GM. I am told she is not taking calls. I hold for another manager for 5 minutes before hanging up without talking to anyone.



I am attemping to find a district office phone number now.


June 20: After being promised that I would get my phone calls twice returned by the 888-Bestbuy number and five times by the management in the store, two by an assistant manager (Christina), twice more by a different assistant manager (Michelle), and once by the general manager (Alice), I still have not received a single call from Best Buy updating me on my TV.



So I called the 888-Bestbuy number. This time they were able to contact CS Electronics who told Best Buy that they have not bothered to order any parts. Which I had already told Best Buy yet they chose not to believe me or find out for themselves until today. The rep at the 888-Bestbuy number sent in a request for a replacement TV because CS Electronics told her that if they ordered the part today it would be another 3 or 4 weeks before the part even arrive. I was informed that the request would take 5 business days before they approved or denied the exchange.



Foolishly thinking that Alice, GM from the store, would care enough to do something about the long wait I called her again. On my third call I was finally able to speak with her. I wish I hadn't. She goes on to say that she will do nothing until she gets approval and that her hands are tied and that she cannot make an exception at all. After persuading her she finally says that she is willing to contact the 888-Bestbuy people to see if she can get it done any faster. But, it will have to wait until Friday because the the store was getting busy so she couldn't do it tonight and she is off on Thursday. She didn't want one of her assistants to help because she said I told her they weren't trustworthy and that she had to do it herself.



At this point I was pretty upset, though I refrained from raising my voice or resorting to cussing. I asked her if this was the kind of customer service she provides and she replied with, "do you want me to do anything or not?" I told her to do whatever she wanted to and then said bye and hung up.



I'll assume that I'm going to have to wait until sometime next week, at least, to get my TV replaced. I plan on speaking with her boss, the district manager for Colorado, tomorrow. Whether he does anything for me or not, we will have to wait and see. However, I do plan on letting as many people know about this horrid service as I can.



Before I call this district manager I'm going to contact BBY receipt department and have them calculate how much money I have spent at BBY. Between myself and my wife I know, for a fact, that it's many tens of thousands of dollars...that in the future will likely be spent elsewhere.


========CLIFF NOTES========

TV breaks.
Call for service.
Call back for service.
Tech says he doesn't know what problem is.
30+ days later TV has more issues.
Assisstant manager says she'll replace TV.
General manager tells her not to.
Repair center says they ordered parts in May.
LG says repair center did not order anything since last year.
BBY In-home rep says I have to wait at least 45 days since initial call for replacement if repair isn't complete by then.
BBY supervisor says I have to wait 45 days from today since parts were ordered today.
--It has become obvious that someone somewhere isn't telling the truth.

Waiting on reply from store.

Goodluck! I worked for BBY in Customer Service. My advice....stay as calm as can be, dont give up, take it as high up to corp as you can get...then look into filing a complaint with BBB and let corp know you don't plan on being silent.

I'd have already filed a BBB complaint. If they refuse to uphold their contractual obligations and believe they do not answer to customers anymore...a BBB filing might get their attention.

I've had to file 3 BBB reports in my life and each time, it got the attention of people in the chain of command of the company who COULD actually make a decision to support it's customers.

I just submitted one yesterday, having massive problems with Sears and their willingness to come out and fix my refigerator, which is 100% under warranty...so far I've waited 2 weeks for a technician to show up after they decided to cancel 2 previous appointments for no other reason than lack of being able to maintain a simple work schedule. Alas, I digress...

If the BBB complaint doesn't work, move up to your local Chambers of Commerce, file a complaint with them too, then to the State Chambers of Commerce. Sooner or later YOU WILL get someones attention. With every report, make sure you CC the president/chairman of the company with a copy of the complaint via registered mail. This creates another paper trail, which can be used in small claims court. You've been FAR more patient than I would have been.

Sorry, to hear about your problem that sucks.

My slogan for Best Buy:
Best buy it some place else.

That pretty much sounds like Best Buy. I'm an electronics junkie. So last year I was shopping around and I went to the Best Buy in Chino Hills, CA. They had a general manager there who I met that day and he was great. So I began shopping there. I spent over $15K at that Best Buy last year including the audio system that's in my 4Runner, and audio system I had installed into my in my Matrix, a navigation system I had installed into my Tundra, Home Theatre equipment, an HD DVD player, a couple of computers, on and on...That GM was great. Anytime I had any kind of issue, he took care of it. I had his personal cell phone number and I could call him on his day off and he would send me into the store and take care of me and in turn, I kept on spending lots of money there. Well, something happened and they let that GM go (he was probably fired for delivering good customer service) and he was replaced with this new guy who is a jerk and a creep. Last I heard, he is still there and he's still the GM. Since they replaced the GM, customer service has stopped. No one who works in that store has been willing to provide me with any form of customer service and I have been asked to leave the store as well. Calling corporate customer service does no good. I only get lip service. I cannot get any service at any of the other Best Buy stores that I have tried as well. I watch their face and something must come up on their computer when they look me up because their demeaner changes immediately as soon as my information comes up on the screen. Now, trying to deal with anyone at any of the Best Buy stores is always a Pain in the a##. I still have a pile of rewards cards that I got from them for all the purchases that I have made there and I guess they will go unused. I will never spend another penny at a Best Buy store ever again. If you go on the internet and look them up, you will see complaint after complaint about how they are when you are spending your money compared to how they are when it comes time to servicing your purchases. This is just the way Best Buy operates.

A case with BBB has been opened.

June 18: I contacted LG again today and once again they verified that no parts have been ordered since 2006 from CS Electronics. I called 888-Bestbuy again as they did not bother to return my call within 48 hours as promised last week. This time I am told I will get a call back in 24 hours. I call the store and attempt to speak with Alice, the GM. I am told she is not taking calls. I hold for another manager for 5 minutes before hanging up without talking to anyone.

I am attemping to find a district office phone number now.

Make sure you keep a detailed log of EVERYTHING you do, how long you wait and EVERY person you speak with, get their full name or Employee number if possible.

That same thing happened with me when my friend dropped my camera. Supposed to back into my hands 2 weeks after I dropped it off. 1 month later still no response. I called that 1-800 # and got high up on the tier and the chica in charge proceeded to yell and swear at me I did the same. Pretty funny too since it was right in front of the GM of the BB store. finally after many complaints and no responses I threatened them with the BBB and they complied with my wishes. Honestly BB can go f$ck themselves. I have had SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better luck with Circuit City now. Also BB cheat on customers with a second fake site with higher prices. A lawsuit has been filed in CT and I fully expect BB to go down in flames.

June 20: After being promised that I would get my phone calls returned twice by the 888-Bestbuy number and five times by the management in the store, two by an assistant manager (Christina), twice more by a different assistant manager (Michelle), and once by the general manager (Alice), I still have not received a single call from Best Buy updating me on my TV.



So I called the 888-Bestbuy number. This time they were able to contact CS Electronics who told Best Buy that they have not bothered to order any parts. Which I had already told Best Buy yet they chose not to believe me or find out for themselves until today. The rep at the 888-Bestbuy number sent in a request for a replacement TV because CS Electronics told her that if they ordered the part today it would be another 3 or 4 weeks before the part even arrive. I was informed that the request would take 5 business days before they approved or denied the exchange.



Foolishly thinking that Alice, GM from the store, would care enough to do something about the long wait I called her again. On my third call I was finally able to speak with her. I wish I hadn't. She goes on to say that she will do nothing until she gets approval and that her hands are tied and that she cannot make an exception at all. After persuading her she finally says that she is willing to contact the 888-Bestbuy people to see if she can get it done any faster. But, it will have to wait until Friday because the the store was getting busy so she couldn't do it tonight and she is off on Thursday. She didn't want one of her assistants to help because she said I told her they weren't trustworthy and that she had to do it herself.



At this point I was pretty upset, though I refrained from raising my voice or resorting to cussing. I asked her if this was the kind of customer service she provides and she replied with, "do you want me to do anything or not?" I told her to do whatever she wanted to and then said bye and hung up.



I'll assume that I'm going to have to wait until sometime next week, at least, to get my TV replaced. I plan on speaking with her boss, the district manager for Colorado, tomorrow. Whether he does anything for me or not, we will have to wait and see. However, I do plan on letting as many people know about this horrid service as I can.



Before I call this district manager I'm going to contact BBY receipt department and have them calculate how much money I have spent at BBY. Between myself and my wife I know, for a fact, that it's many tens of thousands of dollars...that in the future will likely be spent elsewhere.

Best Buy sucks, period. I dont buy there unless it's small items on sale, like blank media, cables, etc.


Try dropping $8500 on a race engine for your truck that doesnt run for shit. I have a Ram with a nice KRC Performance race engine in it that I got majorly screwed on, it's not much faster than my stock 2000 Ram, should dyno at about 500 HP at the flywheel, only dynoed about 360 at the flywheel.

Yeah, I feel your pain dude. Go get em......

One thing companies don't like is bad press or media...maybe you can call your local TV station or newpaper to make a story of it...might get some fires lit under some people's butts...

June 21: I've called the district manager, Christina, in an attempt to get some sort of solution. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't available. I left a message on her voicemail asking her to return my call...I won't hold my breath.

Added update to first post to Digg link that isn't broken.

The Saga continues...sadly.

June 29:

I get a call from the regional service manager who says he will get this issue taken care of. Awesome, I think to myself.

His fix: send a brand new technician from a different repair shop out to start all the way over. It's like I just called in today. What the **** is wrong with these people, seriously?


I guess I'm not the kind of customer that they want.


I said earlier that I have spent tens of thousands of dollars at Best Buy, I wasn't lying. I called their receipt department and asked for a total of the stuff I had purchased. Well, today in the mail I got it...but instead of a total, they sent me a copy of every receipt that had my wife's name on it. I guess I'm a shitty customer. One that they don't need.

Also, it should be noted that I spend significantly more money at Best Buy than my wife. Anyways, here it is:


Copies of receipts under my wife's name:












And so you don't think I just made a shitload of copies of the same receipt over and over and over

Envelopes from Best Buy: