Best Buy gets a low grade for customer service
December 15, 2022
On Tuesday, my new Apple desktop computer was delivered. I signed up for Best Buy’s Totaltech program, paying $200, because a tech would come to my house and install the computer. My iMac desktop is heavy and I didn’t want to lug it to Best Buy and also have to get a new heavy computer back home, too.
It was supposed to be a great day. The tech arrived wearing fragrance, which bothers my allergies. He said he didn’t get the message that I asked for a fragrance-free person to do the installation.
The technician began transferring data from my old computer to the new one. It ran for about half an hour. Then, the technician went out to sit in his car, another half hour.
He came in and said he needed to go to his next client. I asked when he’d be back. He said the next day; he had to go to Ocean Shores.
I was upset. How would I know if everything worked? What about installing Microsoft Office 2021? What about taking away my old computer? Could a co-worker come? His boss?
He shrugged it off, saying there wasn’t anyone else in the area. He also said he couldn’t take my old computer even though the Best Buy video on the Totaltech program says it covers haulaways.
A half hour after he left, the transfer was complete. What was on my desktop looked correct, and I could access my photos.
Then the trouble began. I tried to install Microsoft Office 2021. I had to contact Microsoft customer service, now only through chat rather than by phone, to get the installation finished. Then, I couldn’t get the program activated. I spent two-and-a-half hours on the phone with a tech person, only available to those having serious problems. I bet she was happy when the call was dropped.
It was a password problem. Microsoft wanted to send a text to the phone number it had for me – my landline.
I couldn’t access my documents. I couldn’t work on my newsletter. I wasted an entire work day and was so frustrated I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
The Best Buy tech, wearing fragrance again, arrived the next morning. He knew how to fix the password problem and was able to get Office activated in 15 minutes.
Then he left … not fixing the following: the backup wasn’t working, some of the links in documents from my previous computer weren’t working, and computer shuts off after my first session in the morning. Also, he didn’t give me much information on how my new computer works.
When I called Totaltech to try to get some answers to these problems, the technician was hopeless. He scheduled an appointment for me to take the computer to Best Buy on Sunday. More time wasted.
I complained to TotalTech about the technician who came to my house.
On Thursday, I called Apple technical support and got most of my questions answered.
Best Buy TotalTech, what a bust. I wasted valuable time that put me behind in my writing and holiday preparations.
Sorry to hear you had to deal w/all of that, I wish I could say I was surprised. Glad you persevered and now seem to have a fully functional PC again.
I use some fairly local (40 miles away) seller & tech people and while mostly they've been able to fix whatever needs fixing--some photos were inexplicably lost when they transferred "everything" from an old PC to a new one. Something I like about them/the store is that I purchased both desktops from them, and so was able to "customize" them a bit--I got a solid state hard drive installed before they became common, & a CD/DVD drive installed in my most recent desktop even though that's no longer standard. Be even better if I could learn how to build my own (they sell boxes & components), I suspect I may never manage that.
Oth, I won't get the kind of great deal you got on your new laptop.
Posted by: azure | December 16, 2022 at 06:12 PM
I got a great deal on my iMac because this is the last 27-inch Apple is making at this time. They wanted to get rid of them. The only reason I needed to get a new one is my Apple desktop was 12 years old and Apple was no longer issuing updates to the operating system. I appreciate the good quality computers Apple makes, a PC I had for travel died around five years of age, but it's like other corporations -- it's more interested in profits than consumers.
I'm glad you found a business fairly close that is helping you with your computer needs.
Posted by: Rita | December 17, 2022 at 01:17 AM
Thanks for sharing, but why didn't you install the system yourself?
Posted by: بلیط ارزان هواپیما | December 18, 2022 at 04:14 AM
So why didn't you install it yourself, it was not better؟
Posted by: abdi | December 18, 2022 at 05:54 AM
it is really helpful. i wanna try this.
Posted by: jainjas | December 19, 2022 at 06:02 AM
I technically used it and it was really good.
Posted by: ghasedak content | February 01, 2023 at 05:36 AM