A Question Of Responsibility
February 13, 2008
Here is a very instructive story concerning a Best Buy customer that was posted on MSNBC.
The woman filing the $54 million suit against Best Buy seems to have a legitimate argument against the chain. I agree with the customer that Best Buy should have treated her better. Being given the runaround is a terrible way to do business, and she certainly should be compensated, and for more then the original $2,100 settlement offer the customer requested.
With that said, Seagate, Western Digital and Toshiba should make this case their poster child for selling their external storage products.
This is because while making her case against Best Buy, what she really did was prove her own culpability. By saying she lost all her personal and financial data on the laptop when Best Buy misplaced it, thus leaving herself open to identity theft, she proved her own irresponsibility.
While I hate to blame the victim, her actions that led to this loss make this case almost as frivolous as the one concerning the person who won millions from McDonalds for serving her hot coffee and then blaming the restaurant when she spilled it on her own lap.
In the Best Buy case the woman said she traveled the world with all her personal info stored on the laptop. I suppose she did so simply because she could. Prior to the digitization of personal data, it was physically impossible to wander about the world with your tax returns, banking records and thousands of photos and CDs on your person. But just because you can does not mean you should.
What makes this woman, again to me, even more responsible for creating this situation is how simple it is to back up your data so it can be kept in a safe location. You lock your front door when you leave your house, you lock you car at the mall and you leave your important data at home. Today, anyone capable of operating a laptop should understand the danger of storing vital records on a device that leaves their home, as well, as the value of having an external hard drive or burning the data to CD or DVD.
I do hope this customer gets some compensation for her lost property and that the case leads to better customer service at Best Buy, but it should also be a warning to the general public to be aware of where they store their data.
Posted by Doug Olenick on February 13, 2008 |
Comments (27)
August 9, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityGary commented:
August 9, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityGary commented:
BB screwed up, first in giving the customer "the runaround" and
second (but more fundamentally) in selling a computer service
contract that didn't clearly and specifically exclude
responsibility for the customer's data. Many computer manufacturer
warranties promise only to restore a covered system to its original
as-sold condition; the first thing they usually do is wipe the hard
disk and reinstall the operating system, etc. BB should have
learned this lesson long ago -- I recall a case from back in the
early VCR days when a customer's player "ate" her wedding tape and
she tried to get the manufacturer to restage the wedding.
Coincidentally, that customer shared the same hair color with the
BB customer in the current (MSNBC) story.
August 9, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityGary commented:
BB screwed up, first in giving the customer "the runaround" and
second (but more fundamentally) in selling a computer service
contract that didn't clearly and specifically exclude
responsibility for the customer's data. Many computer manufacturer
warranties promise only to restore a covered system to its original
as-sold condition; the first thing they usually do is wipe the hard
disk and reinstall the operating system, etc. BB should have
learned this lesson long ago -- I recall a case from back in the
early VCR days when a customer's player "ate" her wedding tape and
she tried to get the manufacturer to restage the wedding.
Coincidentally, that customer shared the same hair color with the
BB customer in the current (MSNBC) story.
February 15, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilityno spin commented:
February 15, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilityno spin commented:
Why does everyone assume. I do know for a fact that BBY does offer
back up on all service computers. I also know that when a computer
goes to service under a manufacture warranty there is not a time
limit on turn around. I am not going to say who is right or wrong
because I don’t know the details of this situation, however
this is absolutely a frivolous lawsuit and should never have made
it past a small claims court case IMHO...
February 15, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilityno spin commented:
Why does everyone assume. I do know for a fact that BBY does offer
back up on all service computers. I also know that when a computer
goes to service under a manufacture warranty there is not a time
limit on turn around. I am not going to say who is right or wrong
because I don’t know the details of this situation, however
this is absolutely a frivolous lawsuit and should never have made
it past a small claims court case IMHO...
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilitytobiasjosias commented:
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilitytobiasjosias commented:
Best Buy promotes their great service. This is what you get when
you have a geek work on your computer instead of a professional. A
professional would have offered a back up of her data before
service work would have been performed on her computer.
Incompetence again from a geek repair person and not a lie as the
customer implies. Best Buy management is arrogant. The manager can
show her hundreds of satisfied customers? B.S. Does Best Buy have a
tracking system on satisfied customers? I do not think so. Best Buy
tracks sales not satisfied customers. Best Buy would like you to
believe they deliver service. What kind of place loses your stuff
and will not call you back. Arrogant. In the 21st century consumers
want service but they rather pay a discounted price to get screwed
around by a geek. Next time try a fire dog….What ever that
is? She deserves her money back and that is all. Chalk it up to a
good lesson learned..a geek or a young part timer is not who you
want to do business with in the future.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilitytobiasjosias commented:
Best Buy promotes their great service. This is what you get when
you have a geek work on your computer instead of a professional. A
professional would have offered a back up of her data before
service work would have been performed on her computer.
Incompetence again from a geek repair person and not a lie as the
customer implies. Best Buy management is arrogant. The manager can
show her hundreds of satisfied customers? B.S. Does Best Buy have a
tracking system on satisfied customers? I do not think so. Best Buy
tracks sales not satisfied customers. Best Buy would like you to
believe they deliver service. What kind of place loses your stuff
and will not call you back. Arrogant. In the 21st century consumers
want service but they rather pay a discounted price to get screwed
around by a geek. Next time try a fire dog….What ever that
is? She deserves her money back and that is all. Chalk it up to a
good lesson learned..a geek or a young part timer is not who you
want to do business with in the future.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityColleen Bohen commented:
It may be a "frivolous lawsuit" considering how much she's asking
for, but isn't the real shame that she has to go to such extremes
just to get Best Buy to pay attention to her in the first place?
They lost her property and gave her the runaround for months rather
than nipping it in the bud, apologizing for their mistake,
immediately offering her the full replacement costs for her
computer and offering to pay any potential identity theft-related
costs down the line if such an incident should occur due to their
negligence. I'm sure this suit would have never come to pass if the
retailer had managed to address her concerns off the bat, admitted
to their mistakes as soon as possible and had made an effort to
make it up to her in a resonable way. This lawsuit isn't even about
a computer anymore, it's about a frustrated consumer who was
treated poorly and who has been forced to take extreme measures in
order to get even a fraction of the retribution she feels she
deserves. This case should serve as a reminder to retailers across
our industry to live up to the ever popular "service" promises that
they so often bandy about.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityColleen Bohen commented:
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityRead the whole story commented:
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityRead the whole story commented:
1. She is not using a lawyer, she filed the suit herself 2. The
$54M is not real in that she picked the amount as the lawsuit where
a drycleaners was sued for $54M for losing a pair of pants. That
suit was dismissed. 3. She is drawing attention to a situation that
so many people would just let disappear. Should she have backed up
her data, of course, but does that make BB any less culpable for
their actions? Absolutely not.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityRead the whole story commented:
1. She is not using a lawyer, she filed the suit herself 2. The
$54M is not real in that she picked the amount as the lawsuit where
a drycleaners was sued for $54M for losing a pair of pants. That
suit was dismissed. 3. She is drawing attention to a situation that
so many people would just let disappear. Should she have backed up
her data, of course, but does that make BB any less culpable for
their actions? Absolutely not.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityColleen Bohen commented:
It may be a "frivolous lawsuit" considering how much she's asking
for, but isn't the real shame that she has to go to such extremes
just to get Best Buy to pay attention to her in the first place?
They lost her property and gave her the runaround for months rather
than nipping it in the bud, apologizing for their mistake,
immediately offering her the full replacement costs for her
computer and offering to pay any potential identity theft-related
costs down the line if such an incident should occur due to their
negligence. I'm sure this suit would have never come to pass if the
retailer had managed to address her concerns off the bat, admitted
to their mistakes as soon as possible and had made an effort to
make it up to her in a resonable way. This lawsuit isn't even about
a computer anymore, it's about a frustrated consumer who was
treated poorly and who has been forced to take extreme measures in
order to get even a fraction of the retribution she feels she
deserves. This case should serve as a reminder to retailers across
our industry to live up to the ever popular "service" promises that
they so often bandy about.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilitydisgusted with people like this commented:
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilitydisgusted with people like this commented:
another frivolous lawsuit like the one filed against the dry
cleaner...if these people had to pay for the court time that they
wasted, you would see how fast they would file. they really need to
get a life...
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilitydisgusted with people like this commented:
another frivolous lawsuit like the one filed against the dry
cleaner...if these people had to pay for the court time that they
wasted, you would see how fast they would file. they really need to
get a life...
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityHold the Lawyers Accountable commented:
It would be nice if someone could find a way to hold lawyers
accountable for wasting the taxpayers money in the overburdened
court system with frivolous lawsuits. Perhaps they should get fined
and charged all court fees for any suit lost or deemed excessive.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityHold the Lawyers Accountable commented:
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityHold the Lawyers Accountable commented:
It would be nice if someone could find a way to hold lawyers
accountable for wasting the taxpayers money in the overburdened
court system with frivolous lawsuits. Perhaps they should get fined
and charged all court fees for any suit lost or deemed excessive.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilityu gotta b kidding commented:
and I'm sure her net worth is $54 million, too.. what a crock..
let's just sue the big bad business to put some coin in my pocket
-- ever heard of "backing up your data" - either by hard drive or
even online... I agree a compensation for her laptop and te time
invested is due, but not freaking $54 million --
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilityu gotta b kidding commented:
and I'm sure her net worth is $54 million, too.. what a crock..
let's just sue the big bad business to put some coin in my pocket
-- ever heard of "backing up your data" - either by hard drive or
even online... I agree a compensation for her laptop and te time
invested is due, but not freaking $54 million --
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of Responsibilityu gotta b kidding commented:
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityBill Bernhard commented:
OH WOW!!!!!!!! Your kidding right? You mean if I lose my wallet
while trying on paints in a clothing store and some how someone get
one of my credit cards and charges money on it. I can sue the store
because they forgot to tell me to keep my personal belongings with
me? Cool. Where do I sign.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityBill Bernhard commented:
OH WOW!!!!!!!! Your kidding right? You mean if I lose my wallet
while trying on paints in a clothing store and some how someone get
one of my credit cards and charges money on it. I can sue the store
because they forgot to tell me to keep my personal belongings with
me? Cool. Where do I sign.
February 14, 2008
In response to:
A Question Of ResponsibilityBill Bernhard commented:
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