I’ve ordered from Geeks.com for years — usually with good results, but my last order from Geeks.com may be my last order from the company, period.
I ordered several items, including a cheapie Polaroid digital camera. I didn’t expect a lot from this item, it’s not a high-dollar camera — but I did expect that it would actually be in the box, which it wasn’t.
OK, no big deal — I’ve had to do a few returns/exchanges with Geeks.com and they’ve usually been OK to deal with. However, I called on Monday and was told “call back later, our systems are down.”
So, I called back later — and, guess what? Their systems were still down.
So I called back on Tuesday. Systems, still down.
Called back today, and (surprise!) systems, still down. This time, I pushed and was passed on to a customer service “manager” who told me that I needed to talk to inventory, and he transferred me — to another CSR who informed me (rudely) that (like I didn’t know this already) their systems were down and there was nothing that they can do, and also refused to transfer my call to a manager but said she’d take my number and ask them to call me back.
Not quite satisfied with that, I looked up the number for inventory and called that directly. The lady I spoke with was very helpful, but also told me that because the systems are down, there’s nothing they can do and they could just take my name and number and that’s it.
However, she also noted that they’ve been accepting orders that they can’t ship due to the system problems since Monday — and that the customers have already been charged for! There’s no notice whatsoever on the Geeks.com Web site, which means that people have been placing orders — including orders with expedited shipping — that aren’t being processed.
This totally erodes my faith in the company. I understand that companies can have system problems, but three freaking days?! That’s unacceptable. Allowing customers to place orders without any notice that they won’t be processed in a timely fashion is also unacceptable. (Geeks.com has been, as far as I can tell, pretty good in the past about notifying customers of delays in processing orders due to holidays or whatnot. I’ve seen several notices on the site over the years that warn customers that orders will be delayed due to holidays or whatever.)
I’ve spent more time than it’s worth chasing this order down already. I really don’t know that I will do business with Geeks.com again given the way that this has been handled, and the fact that I have a serious lack of faith in any ecommerce company that can’t get its order processing system restored in less than three days (and counting).
Thursday Update: Naturally, I didn’t get a call Wednesday afternoon or evening from anyone at Geeks.com. Called this afternoon (morning, their time) and (surprise!) the systems are still down. At this point, I have to wonder what the heck Geeks.com is using for its backend. Four days of downtime? That’s bleeping insane. At this point I can’t see ordering from the company again. Damn shame — I’ve bought a lot of stuff off of Geeks.com for reasonable prices, but I can’t see ordering from them again when I have no idea whether 1) I’ll actually get what I ordered, and 2) I’d be able to return an item without spending a week following up with the company in order to reach them when their systems are actually working.
I also consider it deceptive that the company has no notice on its Web site about the system outage, so people are happily placing orders through the Web site expecting that they’ll actually be processed in something like a reasonable time frame.
“I have to wonder what the heck Geeks.com is using for its backend”
Hamsters on a wheel?
Snakes on a treadmill?
Lolcats with lolaptops?
Geeks.com is simply the worst vendor on the Internet to deal with. Their customer service is just about non existent. You phone in to check on the status of an order and no one even has a clue as to what is going on.
We literally had to speak to at least 8 customer service people until we demanded to talk to the head of Customer service.
Save yourself a lot of grief and shop elswhere!!
Fred
Beware Geeks.com told me they credited my credit card after they shipped me the Wrong item!!!!
2months later and still no credit THEY ARE THEIVES
The wrong item they sent me was a cheap substitute
for the item I wanted,it was out of stock !!!VERY CREEPY! + then they kept the money!! I was stupid enough to send the wrong item back…they stiffed me for that shipping too!!
Mark
watch your credit card closely when you shop at geeks….when you cheek out you get a 10 dollar off next buy it really is a feed to sign for dumbazz.net with a 12 dollar charge to the card you registered at geeks..( who give them the right to give out my credit info )..And you never know it if you don’t read the fine print….they got me 3 times before I found out….I closed my geeks accounts and well never go back…
byrd
Forgive the length of this post, and for brining up an older subject. I just wanted to share my experience:
I wanted to get my Christmas shopping done a bit early, so I ordered a portable DVD Player from Geeks.com. I didn’t open it until after Christmas (that story doesn’t end there and I will go back to it).
I thought there shipping was quick and their prices were right, so I tried to order a camera from Geeks, the day after thanksgiving. The website was not working correctly, and it would not take any form of payment that I gave it. So I called….and the nightmare began.
After 10 minutes on hold (Geeks.com does NOT have a toll free line), a guy picked up, I explained that I was having trouble ordering, and he said he would transfer me to a sales rep. 5 minutes of holding, a lady picked up, I explain to her my issue, she then says she would transfer me to a sales rep (sigh). Another hold for 5 minutes and Guy #1, who answered the first time then picks up (I thought I was on a prank call or something), I explain my frustration and he says “ok, she just got off the phone I will transfer you.†He put me on hold for 10 more minutes. Needless to say, I hung up and bought the same camera from Newegg (they had no problems).
Chapter 2:
I received a blue ray player for Christmas (bought from Best Buy). They don’t include a HDMI cable. So I had to buy it. The chain stores were asking 80 dollars for a cable, so I surfed the net and found a 15ft HDMI for 4.99 at Geeks.com…wow can’t beat that, so I said, â€what the hell, lets give them another shot.†Queue nightmare #2:
2-3 days later I receive a package from Geeks (quick shipping, nice). I open it up, and it is a 1.5 meter (4.92 ft) hdmi cable. I emailed geeks; no reply. So I called them.
20 minutes on hold, someone finally picks up and asks me to wait a little longer. I do. Finally someone picks up, I describe to her the problem, and she sends me out another hdmi cable.
2-3 days later another package arrives. Is it the requested HDMI cable? No. This time geeks decided to send me a VGA cable! To top things off, my portable dvd player (mentioned at the first of this story) has now stopped working (I now have a too short HDMI cable, a VGA cable, and a broken portable dvd player).
I called geeks. 20-30 minutes of hold time and finally someone picks up. I explain the issue and ask them to correct it. He sends me out another cable (cross fingers), and gives me a RMA number for my broken portable dvd player.
2-3 days later: I FINALLY GET THE CORRECT CABLE!
Chapter 3:
I waited a week or so before I sent the broken dvd player back. I forgot to send the cheap remote with it. I monitored the RMA process on their website, and they did post that I forgot to send the remote. So I called geeks.com again…..oh joy…more hold time.
I waited 20 minutes, someone finally picked up. I told him that I could send the remote if needed, if not, could they let me know when I would be getting my new DVD player. He said he would need to check and put me on hold. 20 Minutes later…some other guys picks up and knows nothing about what I am calling about..I had to start over and tell him my situation. He said don’t worry about the remote (that is nice of them), and that my Polaroid DVD player is out of stock so I have to pick out another one, and call back. Great, I get to call Geeks.com again.
I chose a generic (that is all they had) DVD player to replace the Polaroid, and called geeks. I waited on hold for 30 minutes, and a guy picked up and said they were very busy, could they get my phone number and call me back later. I said sure, gave them my number and awaited the call.
Do you think they called me back? NO! I called them, waited 10 minutes on hold, a lady answered, I gave her my RMA number, told her the part number for the replacement dvd player I wanted, and sure enough, they were out of stock of the replacement (website said they had it). I then had to choose another sub-par brand…she checked…they actually had it, and sent it out to me. 2-3 days later, I receive the player…and it is working (knock on wood).
Good things about Geeks:
- Great Shipping speed (but since they send the wrong things, that is a moot point).
- Prices are very good.
Bad things about Geeks:
Very disorganized in shipping and support.
THE WORST PHONE SUPPORT IN AMERICA AND INDIA!
Mechanical and moving electronics seem to break or malfunction (this comes from not just me, but others).
They never answer their E-mail….never.
Did I mention their non-toll-free phone support with average wait time of 20 min or more?
They have lost my business, and many other of my friends, family, and associates.