the $800 laptop warrenty

[Cory]

as some of you may know, my employer is best buy. above, you can see the newest (along with the napster buyout) idiotic decision made by the company. hell, why not shoot for the stars when these things are pure profit right?

now, to be fair, these plans might be attractive to certain groups of people. they include trial removal, recovery disc creation, and anti-virus protection at purchase. also, accidental damage as well as manufacturer defects are also covered. finally, the customer is given 5 gb online storage, 4 support calls a year, and once a year virus removal. oh yeah, throw priority repairs in there too.

now, i have no problem with these services, but i just can't wait to show this to a customer and have them laugh at me "are you serious? i could buy a new laptop for that much!"

our managers tell us that we are offering this because its what customers asked for. i was thinking, "sure, but not at that price".

greedy bastards

does corporate really think this will sell in an economy that is in such slowdown right now?

thoughts?

[Omniscia]

Who the hell do they think they're kidding with rates like those?

I did buy the 4-year protection plan for the monitor I picked up there last week, but that was only $25!

[Lorini]

Have you actually plugged that in at a store? When I was working at BB, (seasonal) the warranty was about half of that or maybe even less. You know that the protection levels are different? There is accident protection and then just the regular protection. People actually do want the warranty, not everyone, but some people will ask for it to be put in. I don't know if it's worth it or not, but it's certainly not worth $800 for a $1200 notebook.

[Cory]

@omniscia - yeah, those monitor plans are usually pretty good for the money.

@ lorini - these skus launched last sunday, and they show up with all the other options when you scan a computer. all the old warranties still exist, these ones just kind of combine and re-brand stuff into higher tiers.

[rei]

send that into consumerist.com :)

[Lorini]

Originally Posted by Cubit

@omniscia - yeah, those monitor plans are usually pretty good for the money.

@ lorini - these skus launched last sunday, and they show up with all the other options when you scan a computer. all the old warranties still exist, these ones just kind of combine and re-brand stuff into higher tiers.

Well I just went online to pretend to order a HP laptop. The Black Tie Premium Protection Plan which includes accident was $349. So it doesn't seem consistent with what you are showing.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Lorini

Well I just went online to pretend to order a HP laptop. The Black Tie Premium Protection Plan which includes accident was $349. So it doesn't seem consistent with what you are showing.

The $349 you are seeing is the re-branded accidental warranty that they've always had. The new, more expensive premium ones are in-store only, since they include advanced geek squad setup. (recovery discs, trial removal, anti-virus, ect...)

[Lorini]

You could get to $800 with that. Well the anti-virus is $150 by itself. Plus $350 for the standard warranty. So now you are at $500. The one time data back up is $100, so that's now $600. The computer checkup is $100 so that's $700. You also get 4 free telephone calls and virus/anti-spyware removal, which could easily be priced at $100 through GeekSquad. And there's your $800. The computer salespeople (which is what I was) won't be pitching it as $800, they'll be pitching it as a combined warranty-protection/Geek squad plan. And emphasizing that if a consumer buys it, they'll have all their bases covered, they'll never have to worry about an unexpected computer expense again.

Now is it worth it to us? No. But there will be people who will pay it if it's pitched right.

One edit: These are going to be selling in their upscale stores, I'm sure that's the target audience. The store I sold at was an upscale one, so I would guess they'll sell at least 50 of these before the holidays are over.

[Fugitive]

Yeah, I could see business guys not even blinking an eye at that. They want somebody to do the drudge work of setting it up for them or to at least hold their hand through it, and price isn't much of an object.

[Robert Sharp]

Anti-virus is 150? What the hell is it made of? It better spray Lysol at me when I'm catching a cold at that price.

[Bad Neighbor]

I like how the lowest tier has you paying twice as much as the product itself.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Lorini

You could get to $800 with that. Well the anti-virus is $150 by itself. Plus $350 for the standard warranty. So now you are at $500. The one time data back up is $100, so that's now $600. The computer checkup is $100 so that's $700. You also get 4 free telephone calls and virus/anti-spyware removal, which could easily be priced at $100 through GeekSquad. And there's your $800. The computer salespeople (which is what I was) won't be pitching it as $800, they'll be pitching it as a combined warranty-protection/Geek squad plan. And emphasizing that if a consumer buys it, they'll have all their bases covered, they'll never have to worry about an unexpected computer expense again.

Your absolutely correct, Lorini. The whole thing is just a combination of previous services offered with a couple additions. But it doesn't matter how the computer guys pitch it, it is still over $800.

As far as which stores its being rolled out in, I believe it is all stores. If not everywhere, then everywhere in our territory. Our store couldn't be less upscale. They tell us our biggest customer segment is rural folk.

[Lorini]

Sorry I was misleading. I'm sure all stores will have it. But as you probably know, they categorize their stores and have sales goals and stuff depending on the category. And actually for sales purposes it's a lot easier to pitch an all in one solution. Because what would happen is that I'd get the services stuff and then have to separately get the warranty. With this, I just would have to pitch one thing. And I could be talking about it for 5 minutes before I even said the price cuz there's so much stuff! I'm sure it'll do good things for them because there are a fair number of people with money who do want exactly this. And it doesn't cost them anything to package it like this so they might as well anyway.

[Lorini]

Originally Posted by Robert Sharp

Anti-virus is 150? What the hell is it made of? It better spray Lysol at me when I'm catching a cold at that price.

It's the antivirus plus the antispyware plus the install of the antivirus and antispyware plus the creation of the restore CD. No, we would never pay for this but a lot of people do, an amazing number of people do.

[tromik]

Originally Posted by Robert Sharp

Anti-virus is 150? What the hell is it made of? It better spray Lysol at me when I'm catching a cold at that price.

I think you mean Windex.

Fusture Ship wanted to charge me $100 to make recovery discs. I can't believe FS and Best Buy are owned by the same company. They both have their share of morons, but at least Best Buy doesn't have pushy, commission-driven sales people.

[rei]

That line Best Buy gives about not having commission-driven sales people is a scam--they push you on their replacement plans.

[Eric Majkut]

I worked at a Best Buy for about 3 months back when I was 19 or 20. Every single day I worked there I felt like my soul was being sucked out of my body by a bunch of crazy corporate assholes. You even get the nazi-esque propaganda videos at the ass crack of fucking dawn on a saturday every month. God I hated that place, and shit like this is one of the reasons why.

[tromik]

Originally Posted by rei

That line Best Buy gives about not having commission-driven sales people is a scam--they push you on their replacement plans.

True. But FS employees basically earn commission on everything.

[rei]

I prefer FS's apathetic sales drones which respond well to a forceful 'no thanks' after the pitch and FS's return/exchange policy is better than BB.

[Omniscia]

Originally Posted by rei

That line Best Buy gives about not having commission-driven sales people is a scam--they push you on their replacement plans.

I nearly got fired from Electronics Boutique, some years back, for not selling enough extended warranties. Never mind that the customers loved me for my honest opinions and willingness to help them lug bulky, multi-hundred-dollar purchases back to their cars...

I was given one week to pull my numbers up, or I was out of there. Seven days later, my clearance rate stood at 75%, head and shoulders above everyone else, but I didn't get to take home the free game because they felt 3 out of 4 (literally) wasn't good enough to warrant a victory.

But it was enough to save my job, for a few more weeks, at least.

[Cory]

Yeah, the "no commission" thing is technically true, but is very much a scam. Here is how it benefits best buy:

1. They save money by not paying employees commission on sales.

2. They get marketing points because customers like the idea of non-commissioned salesmen.

BUT

Managers and others up the ladder put so much pressure on salespeople to sell services that they essentially sell like a commissioned person would.

Its all set up to benefit best buy, and take money from the employee/customer.

I actually believed the shit when I first started working. Now I just get through the day giving away free services when I can.

[Machfive]

It's taking every fibre of my being to not chime in here and echo the sentiments about Best Buy being a horrible, life-sucking demon-beast that will either consume or convert you, but everyone else is doing a pretty good job, so I'll just add that I can at least say that the sales experience I picked up at Best Buy has been a boon to me and I don't regret the time I spent there, even as they fucked me over after years on the job.

Ooops. Looks like I chimed in.

[Cory]

yeah, retail mostly sucks. no matter what company you work for.

[Cory]

Another bit of info that I learned this morning in a meeting.

With these service plans, if your computer cannot be repaired and is replaced with a new one more than a year after purchase, the plan is fulfilled.

This means that if a customer buys a 1200 laptop and the 830 premium plan, then a year and one day later it is "junked out". Then that 830 plan is gone. Completely.

They say they made these premium plans so that customers are "not left hanging" after purchase. hmmm

[Timemaster Tim]

I know somebody who owns an independent computer shop. His margin on hardware sales is teensy-weensy. He sells to small businesses and he makes his living on service contracts. I'm not making any comment on whether the Best Buy Geek Squad is good value for the money, but paying money for service contracts rather than relying on somebody's 13-year old nephew to deal with computer issues is something that small businesses are willing to pay for.

So an $800 service plan may be outrageous for a consumer, or the tech geeks which tend to be the profile for QT3 members, but for a business, it's probably much less outrageous.

[roguefrog]

So how does Geek Squad rate against auto mechanics in the category of ripping people off?

[Cory]

Hmm, i would still say on average auto mechanics are worse. i can't speak for all, but i know the precinct i work in i don't recall ever overhearing a co-worker giving a customer wrong repair information just to get more money from them. the prices just suck horribly and the system inherently screws people.

[Machfive]

Originally Posted by Cubit

Hmm, i would still say on average auto mechanics are worse. i can't speak for all, but i know the precinct i work in i don't recall ever overhearing a co-worker giving a customer wrong repair information just to get more money from them. the prices just suck horribly and the system inherently screws people.

Your precinct might be better than the ones I've dealt with, but some of my clients have been hosed by the Geek Squad's extortion tactics with regards to virus removal.

My favorite was the following scenario, which happened to at least two of my clients at one point:

Originally Posted by The Geek Squad, in not so many words

You've got a serious infection and we need to wipe your system and bring it back to factory. That's called "Advanced Diagnostics," and in addition to it conveniently being more expensive than our rate for a "Virus and Spyware Removal," (and being easier for us to perform!) it also means you'll lose all of your data, so we need to charge you another exorbitant amount to backup the data we're going to erase. This is all because our techs aren't skilled or well-trained enough to remove the rather common strain of malware you have, so we'd rather just upcharge you for an OS install, data backup, and reap the benefits while we inconvenience you. Oh, and then we're going to sell you a useless set of Symantec and Webroot products that will make your 3-year old computer slow to a crawl, and neglect to mention that doubling or tripling your RAM will help offset the system resource rape that these products will inflict.

One of those clients didn't get a very good explaination, because she didn't realize what they were doing was going to wipe out her years of Outlook email, including the stuff relating to an ongoing probate case.

Thankfully, a data recovery was able to pull back the Outlook files, and it cost less than the Geek Squad would've charged to back them up in the first place.

With Geek Squad as my enemy, who needs friends?

[Staff Sergeant]

The no sales pressure stuff is bullshit. I had a friend who worked there and when I told him I was buying a Wii he practically begged me to buy it from him, then he had the nerve to try and upsell me on the warranties.

Also, whenever I go to FS or EB with him he always bashes them for some weaksauce reason... I'm pretty sure he's either incredibly gullible or Best Buy has some sort of propaganda in place to convince their employees that they are the best store evar!!1!1, because they certainly aren't (no offence to you Cubit) and he seemed to think so.

[John Many Jars]

So, Cubit, you work for Best Buy in Indiana.

Have you ever met a Best Buy employee named Brian Koontz?