Best Buy's PSP and Selling Your Soul

For those of you that have been following my technology woes, I own an HP laptop, which I bought at Best Buy about a year and a half ago.

I bought the PSP (Performance Service Plan), and was glad to have the protection the first time I had to take said laptop in for repairs. (The power cable wasn't connecting to the battery, so the computer couldn't keep the charge.) Ten days later, works fine. Still feeling okay about the PSP the second time I had to take the computer in for the same problem, some nine months later. Another ten days without, but this time its okay, because I'm heading on vacation. The third time, though, I'm not so thrilled to be bringing in the computer for the SAME problem, some six months later.

Don't worry, I was told, on your fourth service call, you get a brand new computer for free. Well gosh, now I'm praying for my computer to break down.

But I digress.

This third time, they keep the computer five weeks for repairs, with no word of why or even when I'll get it back. I bring in my receipt, and say, "Look this is the day I've been promised my computer. Where is it?" Answer: "That's just a suggested date." I take another look at the form, which does NOT say "Suggested Date" but am told that it was meant to say suggested.

Okay, so finally, five weeks, I get the computer back. Oh, happy day. I turn it on, thrilled. Now I'm checking emails, I'm gonna go back to being Internet queen. But oopsie, the whole thing turns off and no amount of praying, clicking or cursing gets it working again. As I'm shaking the thing, and trying to find a magical way to bring it back to life, I notice the service guys removed my battery and never put it back in before shipping the unit back to me.

Now I know I've got to buy a back up, because I can't go another three weeks without being able to do any work. So being mentally challenged, I return to the scene of the crime, and buy another laptop at Best Buy. Get that baby home, and no kidding, I mean, really no kidding the new lap top doesn't turn on.

So, come Monday morning I'm hauling two computers to Best Buy for repairs. How retarded is that? I did get the new one back in about an hour, thankfully, or I wouldn't be able to rant to you all right now.

The other one they keep for a week, and after not hearing from them, I call them to enquire (not so politely) of the status. The hard drive is dead they tell me. And by the way, data back up is not included in the service plan. "But since I didn't originally bring in the computer for a data problem, but a hardware problem, and since my battery was dead, and I couldn't charge the computer due to said hardware problem, there was no way for me to back up my data." Not their problem.

So the data backup process takes a good week. Won't bore you with those details but I did have to go in person to Best Buy eight times in two days.

Now, though, it's the fourth time, technically that I've brought in the computer, so I'm expecting a shiny new one. Not so, apparently it's only after the fourth time the samething has to be replaced NOT the fourth time you bring it in for service.

So I get the computer back, just yesterday. I'm sort of thrilled, but sort of skeptical. Check out the computer at Best Buy, and oh dear, STILL the service guys forgot to replace the battery. Incredible. But okay, at least I have it back. So I'm testing the thing out, because why leave the store if there's going to be a problem. And the double click on the keypad isn't working. I'm not jesting here, this is all true stuff.

So exactly 23 minutes after I turn on my new hard drive, the laptop is back in its box, being shipped back to the service center. Hard to believe, but here it is two months! later and I'm still waiting for Best Buy to figure out how to repair a computer. I'm beyond irritation now and in a zen, oh well, someday it will make a good story kind of place.

So, some of the data I have, some has been losst forever. The backup is working fine, the original laptop believes I've abandoned it completely.

I'll keep you updated on the next step.

Monica