A famous actor bought a TV at Best Buy. Now he's mad he didn't go to Costco
Not the best?
What would you do if you were famous and loved?
Would you use your power for good? Or would it all go to your head? Or, perhaps, a little of both?
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I only ask because of a fascinating diatribe just offered by very famous actor Diego Tinoco.
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I say he's very famous, even though I've never heard of him. He's appeared on Teen Wolf, On My Block and many other TV shows I've never watched. He also has 4.7 million followers on TikTok. That's famous enough, isn't it?
On TikTok, he decided use his outsize influence to spend 3 minutes and 18 seconds raging against LG and Best Buy. But more against Best Buy.
He began: "Do not ever in your life buy anything from LG, Best Buy, and more than anything, don't ever buy that stupid little Geek Squad warranty that they offer you."
This he followed with: "Not only do they have absolute terrible customer service, but their agents are literal trash at their jobs."
Also: I went to Best Buy 4 weeks ago. They still won't let me go
Getting punchy?
What could have possibly tormented him so? Well, he claims that he spent $3,000 on an LG TV from Best Buy. He says his TV had some "minor damage, horizontal lines across the screen, and it was glitching out."
Is that minor damage or a considerable annoyance? You must decide. Tinoco, however, insists the Geek Squad "agent" told him this was fixable, but accused him of having damaged it. That damage couldn't be fixed under the policy, Tinoco says he was told.
This tale became quite strained. Tinoco says the Geek Squad agent accused him of "punching and mishandling my television."
Perhaps many have wanted to punch their televisions -- or even throw things at them when their team is losing -- but how many really go through with it?
Next, says Tinoco, the agent left and another agent arrived. "It was hard to mislike the guy," says Tinoco.
Until, that is, "The man literally grabs my television on the bottom left corner of the screen, squeezes it as hard as he possibly can, and my TV blacks out completely. Glitches, broken, done."
Was it still hard to mislike him? I don't know. I do know that Tinoco claims this agent told him the TV would turn on in 10 minutes. It didn't, he claims.
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Tinoco says he was forced to call LG, Best Buy, and the Geek Squad. "And they all tell me the same damn thing: There's nothing we can do for you."
Now, says Tinoco, he'll go to Costco or Sam's Club and "buy anything other than an LG TV."
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Best not to react?
Tinoco says he's been buying from Best Buy for 10 years and has always bought the Geek Squad warranty. He's never needed to use it until now. So, he thought he'd spend these minutes advising his millions not to buy LG TVs or shop at Best Buy.
This may be a story that's familiar to some. It may well be that, somewhere along the way, you feel as if you've been shortchanged by one of these brands.
But here's the part I found most fascinating. I contacted Best Buy and LG and didn't receive a response. I looked through the TikTok comments and couldn't find anything. It seems that both companies have chosen not to react at all to these allegations and provocations.
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Which is odd. Most companies would likely try to smooth things over -- hey, it's a famous person -- and even turn it in their own direction. They might apologize for, at the very least, a misunderstanding that may have led to a misliking.
In this case, though -- at least as far as I can see -- nothing. The video now has more than 2 million views. It's had more than 12,500 comments, most thanking Tinoco and saying they've had similar experiences. (Disclosure: I've had plenty of encounters with Best Buy -- I also have an LG TV -- and I have always encountered quite good service).
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You might conclude, then, that both LG and Best Buy feel there's more to this story and they're just going to try and let it slowly disappear.
It's an interesting approach.