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Top 10 ways Best Buy/Geek Squad fix computers. Your dog can do better

desinc.net — Every day, people flock to Geek Squad in Best Buy looking for help with their computer problems. Here are the top 10 fixes that they are offered by their under payed, under trained staff.

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  • SicLikeEbola, on 10/12/2007, -4/+34Very true. They aren't trained much at all and don't all know their computer stuff. And if there's something they can't fix, it's because "you must have a virus." I know they're a bunch of clowns from first hand experience, I work at Best Buy...
    *hangs head in shame*

    P.S. - Thankfully I don't work in that department.

    P.P.S. - I hope none of my co-workers recognize my screen name and get me fired. lol
    • Yashar, on 10/12/2007, -8/+24I used to work at BB. That place sucked, im glad I dont work there anymore. They are theives. They claim it's not commision, yet they work you like it is.

      DOWN WITH BEST BUY!

      p.s. I feel sorry for you. Quit while you can.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -54/+26Wow! Just wow! This is an extremely inaccurate article.

      While I do agree most of the Best Buy in-store Agents aren't the best and most qualified, and it all varies by store/market/management, but in certain markets you'd be surprised at the level of service you get..

      If you live in an area that has a Geek Squad Store (Standalone Geek Squad precinct outside of a Best Buy retail store) you will be pleasantly surprised with their level of knowledge and service and they provide. It's not about making a quick buck, it's truely providing an end-to-end solution for the client. That is the true Geek Squad as it was intended.

      The majority of Double Agents (in-home technicians) are also well equipped to tackle pretty much any issue a home user may come across.

      Also, with Best Buy for Business, the Special Agents that perform service for small & medium business are at the very least MCP (79-282) certified, and MCSE is required for the Special Agents that manage complex implementations. Windows servers are just the tip of the iceburg.

      The Geek Squad is huge, and it seems like it's all too easy to make fun or talk bad about them, but they are doing something right, and no other company can touch them.

      That article is full of false statements and assumptions.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -67/+3Yea, Digg me down if you're a *****. Dumbasses.
    • gcnaddict, on 10/12/2007, -27/+10Intekra, well said. However, I do have one question for you:

      Which certification is 79-282? I know they need the small business specialist cert but I'm not sure if that;s the one.

      (I dugg you up by the way. Most of digg is biased against Geeksquad the same way they are against republicans [democrat here. I despise bush and wish hastert would suck a *****] but thats mainly because they feel sorry for the employees who are generally underpaid and the customers who are overcharged. Geeksquad wasn't always like that, but it is now)
    • SicLikeEbola, on 10/12/2007, -16/+7" by Yashar
      I used to work at BB. That place sucked, im glad I dont work there anymore. They are theives. They claim it's not commision, yet they work you like it is.

      DOWN WITH BEST BUY!

      p.s. I feel sorry for you. Quit while you can."

      You are so right! I outta get commission for all the crap they put me through. Meh, I'm waiting for my Blue Crew Bucks so I can get a free Wii next year. It's alright though, media is a fun department and I like it. Less sales based than the rest.

      As for knowledgable Geeks, we have a precinct in our retail store, so I guess I haven't gotten to meet the ones that know what they're talking about.
    • xJudahx, on 10/12/2007, -20/+4@intekra

      Spewing your hate isn't going to help your cause, it just makes you look like a redneck *****.

      And oh yeah, BB losers, get a real job.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -20/+10@gcnaddict

      Thanks for not joining the anti-gs bandwagon.

      Apologies for my typo, it's 70-282, and that is the Windows Small Business Server certification. SBS is feature rich and extremely powerful for small business' needs. Oh and affordable. I love it.

      There is also a fair share of Windows 2003 Server, the occasional linux or mac server, but it's a Microsoft world at the moment.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -24/+7@xJudahx

      Redneck. Haha. Cute.

      Real job you say? Thats funny. I won't be with GS/BB forever, but it sure is a REAL job, with REAL pay and REAL benefits. The experience will be excellent on a resume, and 6 figures are right around the corner.
    • xJudahx, on 10/12/2007, -10/+25Look good on a resume....LOL

      From best buy $10/hour or whatever the ***** pay is, to 6 figures...are you getting a PHD in computer science? Even is you did, your starting pay isn't going to be that much.

      When I see BB on a resume, I act like it's a fast food job or the like.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -26/+8@xJudahx

      "Look good on a resume....LOL"
      Trust me, it does. I've been offered positions with other companies where starting pay is 90 -120k/yr. For personal reasons (travel, etc.) I did not accept those, and besides, I enjoy my job.

      "From best buy $10/hour or whatever the ***** pay is, to 6 figures...are you getting a PHD in computer science? Even is you did, your starting pay isn't going to be that much."

      I think you are a bit confused. I'm not an in-store agent, and I make nothing even close to $10/hr. Triple that number and you're getting warm. No I'm not getting a PhD.

      "When I see BB on a resume, I act like it's a fast food job or the like."
      That's just your own ignorance if you prejudge without seeing what that person did for Best Buy. I can understand a cashier or other in-store position, but not everyone's job is on that level.

    • foxhoundadmin, on 10/12/2007, -8/+28"Wow! Just wow! This is an extremely inaccurate article.

      While I do agree most of the Best Buy in-store Agents aren't the best and most qualified, and it all varies by store/market/management, but in certain markets you'd be surprised at the level of service you get..

      If you live... blah blah blah..."

      hmmm... i smell a rat! bb employee, bb employee! alert, alert!
    • crexor, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11@Intekra

      I believe xJudah's comments are well said, and judging by the diction of your comments here and before, its obvious you're not getting a phd. if you make where three times 10 is just getting warm, so say, 50/hr, you would already be six figures before taxes. And in xjudas defense, theres not much at best buy , in store, which is what he was referring to, that would qualify anyone any more than working at a fast food restaraunt, which is exactly what he meant.
    • nx01, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25I worked at a Best Buy in the computer sales department for about 2 months, and it was all that I could stand. I remember one instance in particular where the sales reps in my dept. were high fiving each other for selling this lady on getting a battery backup for her laptop.

      Other shady tactics include (but are not limited to):
      1. Pulling the price tags off of equipment that has little profit, or is a loss leader (sold at a loss). I got sick of people wanting to buy the $1800 Sony Vaio for "general PC usage", because it was the only one that had a price on it. The $500 HP would have been fine for that, but I got my ass chewed everytime I told customers that the $500 machine (Athlon64, 512 to 1 GB of RAM) would do just fine.
      2. Making people talk to a sales manager/supervisor for their warranty. Every machine that was sold had to have the warranty sales pitch. If you couldn't sell them, then you had to have them talk to the supervisor on duty. We were instructed to stall them while management became involved.
      3. The outright lies. We had a $599 Toshiba laptop on sale that had a 2 GHZ (if I remember right) Celeron, and 256 MB of RAM which was fully upgradeable. Our management team was trying to convince me that this machine was no good for consumers because it couldn't even do digital pictures (digital pictures was a major reason for people buying computers). Can't do digital pictures?! WTF! Thank god people didn't listen and/or care about that line of BS and bought the laptop anyway.

      I had it at that point, and never bothered showing back up for work. Unfortunately Best Buy has by far the biggest presence where I live. There is only 1 CompUSA, and maybe 5 or 6 Office Max's here. I'll hit all of them first before Best Buy.

      P.S. Want to make Best Buy's technical people freak? Tell them you use Linux. Their eyes roll back, smoke comes out of their ears. It's pretty funny actually when they realize that there is no way they could know more than you!
    • jcaino, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7I used to work at a Best Buy pre-Geek Squad as a PC Tech.

      No, I really cant comment on how it is now - but when I worked there (and sometimes worked at the 2 other nearby Best Buys for coverage reasons) most of the people behind the bench were fairly knowledgable and would not take advantage of customers. To me, I had to dig this down as inaccurate - however, this is not saying that this stuff doesn't go on. It does vary greatly according to management. Some stores are all about revenue, while others "get it" and realize that the revenue comes from having happy customers rather than gouging them.

      Like I said though, this really runs both sides of the fence. For ever horror story, I'm sure there is a good one. When I was a tech there, cleanings were performed instead of blowing the customer off to buy a new one - and often if cleaning and adjusting a device didn't work, we didn't charge them for the cleaning.

      As for diagnostic fees - well, back when we did it - we explained the problem as best we could before charging them diag fees, and if we had a good hunch it was dead, we told the customer so.

      But as they do, maybe times have changed, after all, Best Buy did buy the geek squad knowing they could make loot of their reputation. When I was a tech, we had to do good work to build a reputation...

      Eh...who I am I kidding...***** the corporate monster that is Best Buy...but there are some knowlegable people in the Geek Squad (There's one guy still at my old store that knows his *****, and one guy finally just got his degree and certs and got smart and got out) and I just feel the need to stick up for some of the people I know do know their stuff...
    • xxNIRVANAxx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"Spewing your hate isn't going to help your cause, it just makes you look like a redneck *****. ....And oh yeah, BB losers, get a real job."

      Ironic much?
    • brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3"Other shady tactics include (but are not limited to):
      1. Pulling the price tags off of equipment that has little profit, or is a loss leader (sold at a loss). I got sick of people wanting to buy the $1800 Sony Vaio for "general PC usage", because it was the only one that had a price on it. The $500 HP would have been fine for that, but I got my ass chewed everytime I told customers that the $500 machine (Athlon64, 512 to 1 GB of RAM) would do just fine."

      That's strange management would do that, since the profit margins on all the PCs sold at Best Buy are razor-thin (only about $9-10 profit, if it's not on sale). Usually accessories and service plans are the big thing they want you to sell, because they make more money off a USB cable than a computer.

      "3. The outright lies. "
      I heard some really great ones when I was working PC/HO. Some of the explanations I heard from my coworkers were the stuff of a Ted Stevens speech. My favorites were the service plan pitches. My boss would tell people with a straight face that their laptop battery WILL go dead within 8 months, their laptop WILL need service before the year is out, the bulb in that projector WILL go dead in 6 months and cost $50 to replace.

      The Best Buy business model is: price things at a loss to get people in the stores, then put your $8/hr employees in charge of recouping that cost in service plans or accessories. At BB, EVERYONE is a salesperson, whether it be the stock boy in the back, the cashier up front, or the "geek" behind the service counter. They are ALL expected to sell, sell, sell. I, as a customer, hate it when a cashier tries to sell me something. One of the most prime rules of sales is that the WORST place to sell anything is the checkout counter.

      The problem with Geek Squad is that the people that really know what they're doing often can get better paying jobs.
    • chmod, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"The Best Buy business model is: price things at a loss to get people in the stores"

      If that were true I would shop at best buy more. The problem is that it is not true for most items, especially the store brand stuff (markup is just stupid on that stuff).
    • sawyer3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@crexor

      well if you are going to be nit-picky against others here, learn math yourself douche... 3 times 10/hr is not "say 50/hr". never grasped the multiplication table did ya?
  • xJudahx, on 10/12/2007, -8/+22Come on, we all know this.

    The general public that uses this lame service are doubtfully on digg.
    • bleaknik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Exactly.

      Generally speaking, Digg is not the target market for the Geek Squad. I would never take my PC there... but that's because, along the way, I've offered the same types of services in one form or another. While, I never charged people $250 to tell 'em to buy a new PC... People were still willing to pay big bucks to get their Online Poker working again.

      You see, I'm a strict Darwinian. By that, I mean survival of the fittest. Some people have the know. And some people do not. Those who do not can do one of two things...
      1.) Pay someone else an exorbitant amount of money.
      2.) Live without a computer.
      To that note, the Geek Squad has done a wonderful job building a profitable business venture by capitalizing on people's stupidity.

      Remember: I never use Geek Squad, AOL, etc. But someone does.
  • exobyte, on 10/12/2007, -8/+17Awww... Look at the cute lesbians on the left of the screen. It's kinda cute.
  • EGOvoruhk, on 10/12/2007, -9/+6I hope you mean "over payed, under trained"
  • phlux, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12If they are under trained, how can they also be under-paid?

  • Frankie4Fingers, on 10/12/2007, -6/+7Lame, any geek knows they are bad...
    • Yashar, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15they give geeks a bad name.
    • ccanni1028, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I like having the GeekSquad around.

      I keep a copy of their price sheet in my briefcase when I go to fix someone's computer. They ask why I charge so much (usually $10 per hour unless they have AOL) and I show them what they could be paying instead.
    • trparky, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I work for the GeekSquad myself. I used to be like you, working for people on the side cleaning up machines, but then I got smart. I joined the GeekSquad. Why? Because doing it on the side was paying me jack *****.
    • pseudojd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+410 an hour?!?! you should be charging 8 or 9x that.
  • Llanowar, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11And in addition to that they probably steal anything usefull from your harddrive.
  • stonr, on 10/12/2007, -11/+3i saw this on a diabloII forum, i was going to post it but i dont have any friends to auto digg it so it would have been in vain.

    but anyways, GeekSquad is like piercing meat when you BBQ: don't do it.
  • Chilblain, on 10/12/2007, -7/+19We're not all bad. Geek Squad Agents. I feel bad that some agents give poor service. try to show up others by overcharging and taking easy ways out. There are lots of us who are dedicated to giving the best service we can. From my experience, this article is highly inaccurate in the majority of cases.
  • LavaHot, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19I agree, most of the people on digg could perform these tasks themselves, but GeekSquad isn't for them, they are for people who barely know what a computer is, let alone how to use it.

    I do find some of the things misleading in the article though, they give you totals of what things might cost, and not an item by item pricing. They also do not divulge their sources for their statistics. Also, I do actually work at a Best Buy, and as far as I know, there is no diagnostic fee.
    • massproductions, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6There is a diagnostic fee, but it if there is a problem, the money you just paid for the diagnostic fee goes towards the cost of the repair.
    • Craig1394, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"GeekSquad isn't for them, they are for people who barely know what a computer is, let alone how to use it. "

      You mean the people who load EVERYTHING from Norton, or buy a computer with all of it pre-installed, and have it running all on auto and wonder why their 3.2GHZ PC has ground to a screeching halt? Or the people who have 4 firewalls installed and running at the same time?

      As for Best Buy, the one near me is pretty good, but I have no need for the Geek Squad there because I do all my own work, so I do not know how good or bad they are.
  • asdfer, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17True story from a neighbor of mine.

    They had virus/Trojans on their computer that prevented them from using web browsers. Obviously the computer was zombified at that point - they still could receive and send emails at a snail mail pace.

    She called Geek Squad for a price quote. Here's the kicker:

    it'd be $250 for a house call just to take a look at the computer and it would be 2 weeks from that day. She wanted it asap, and they slapped the "emergency house call" and raise the price to $500 for diagnostic.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -13/+9The $259 was not for a diagnostic, as that is the charge to repair her problem. During times of high demand, it may be a 2 week wait for in-home service. Unlikely, but not impossible. In any event, if you want priority over another patient paying client, you get to pay the 911 fees associated with that.
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -15/+12"They had virus/Trojans on their computer that prevented them from using web browsers. Obviously the computer was zombified at that point - they still could receive and send emails at a snail mail pace."

      The only thing obvious here is that you do not know what you are talking about. What about installing a new web browser like Opera of FireFox, cleaning the spyware, or using something other than a web browser so send and receive email? Just the fact that you equate a malfunctioning web browser with not being able to send email shows that you don't really have a grasp on the subject matter at hand.

      "[I]t'd be $250 for a house call just to take a look at the computer and it would be 2 weeks from that day. She wanted it [ASAP], and they slapped the "emergency house call" and raise the price to $500 for diagnostic."

      Best Buy is _packed_ with people wanting the Geek Squad to look at their computer. Taking an agent (or whatever they call their IT employees) out of rotation so that he/she can drive a users house is pretty hard to do even when scheduled well - doing so immediately is simply out of the question. Also, in regards to the price, have you even ordered a service to be performed in-home before? Even an A/C repair guy can run into the 100's just to come to your house and tell you what is wrong. It's supply and demand, simple as that.

      She demanded service quickly; they supplied it at whatever premium they felt justified in charging.
    • CharlesSaint007, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10@asdfer

      You should have told your neighbor to get off his/her ass and take the computer directly to get repaired. Serves them right for requesting in-home service when they clearly didn't need it.
    • asdfer, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12@JHawk24821

      Huh??

      That's my neighbor.
      After she called the Geek Squad she talked to me.
      All I had to do is mounting the drive onto another computer, and do virus and spyware scan.

      Got it done within 2 hours automatically.

      Then reinstall the hard drive - remove her old anti-virus, install anti-spyware apps, Firefox, etc.

      That was done without pain.

      Then again, the Geek Squad only quoted the pricve per her descriptions. Geek Squad WILL quote more as they found "more problems". They will try selling all the softwares that most people can get the free counterparts.

      Most people who called Geek Squad and actually hired them for such services didn't know that they could've gotten better services for less.

      @CharlesSaint007
      No she didn't have The Geek Squad come to her house nor did she take the computer to Best Buy.
    • anachronaut, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10@ JHawk:
      "The only thing obvious here is that you do not know what you are talking about."

      If you actually read and comprehended asdfer's statement (you know, the one you quoted), you'd realize something:
      1) In this case, you're obviously the one who doesn't know what he's talking about
      2) You need to take a remedial reading comprehension course

      So which is it? Or do both apply in your case?
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -11/+6@asdfer

      "All I had to do is mounting the drive onto another computer, and do virus and spyware scan. Got it done within 2 hours automatically. Then reinstall the hard drive - remove her old anti-virus, install anti-spyware apps, Firefox, etc."

      It's great that you helped your neighbor out by doing all of that for her, but what if she didn't know you? Best Buy is there for these people. Had I done that for your neighbor, I would have charged about $300 easy. If you did, good for you; if you didn’t then you lost money you could have made. Regardless of the charge, you have made a life-long commitment to help her out whenever something goes wrong - something that I have done enough times to know it isn't worth it regardless of the price. I send my best buds to the Geek Squad. If they can't afford it, I send them to Google or the library (if their computer can't surf the net). If I can learn it by reading and doing it myself, so can they.
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2@anachronaut

      It's called a play on words, or a pun. The user asdfer said "Obviously the computer was zombified at that point - they still could receive and send emails at a snail mail pace." The problem is that the only statement given in regards to the condidtion of the computer up until that point was, "They had virus/Trojans on their computer that prevented them from using web browsers."

      Obviously, asdfer doesn't know that email is not related to web browsers, and the speed at witch either function isn't always related to viruses/Trojans. Perhaps asdfer knew more about the situation than he/she offered in the comment, but as a reader I have no knowledge of that information and have to make an assumption of the info given. I felt that the comment was written in such a way as to make the neighbor appear to be a victim, which I disagree with, so I commented accordingly.

      It would appear that I am not the one in need of a reading comprehension course as it is you that made a bias an incorrect assumption based on the given data - my comment, you know, the one you quoted.
    • anachronaut, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13@ JHawk:

      1) Show me where asdfer equates sending email with a web browser. Hint, it's not in this statement:
      "They had virus/Trojans on their computer that prevented them from using web browsers. Obviously the computer was zombified at that point - they still could receive and send emails at a snail mail pace"

      Here's another hint: It's not anywhere in any of his/her statements. You're attacking a strawman that YOU created out of thin air.

      Do you even know what a zombie [computer] is? Do you have even the slightest grasp of how spyware/trojans on a zombie could very easily disrupt or block all browser-based traffic but still allow email traffic on ports 25/110 to still make it through, albeit very slowly?

      Stop being a tool, open your eyes, and admit to yourself that you mistakenly jumped to the wrong conclusion. Or keep being an idiot, I'm done with you all the same...
  • jivemasta, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I bought a laptop and they had to check it out. And I was trying to make nerdy small talk with him. Here is a short transcript:

    Me: Do you have to be A+ certified to do your job?
    Him: What's that?
    Me: Oh, nothing.
    • KMartSheriff, on 10/12/2007, -9/+6While I agree with what you're saying, Im also wondering why you were buying a laptop at BestBuy. I'd assume a true geek would know better. It has got to be the worst place to buy something, as everything is way overcharged. I only buy from there because I work there (I get the discount...which is awesome by the way).
    • jivemasta, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Actually I couldn't find a better deal anywhere online. I got a amd x2 1gig of ram 120gb HD and ati video for $699. Everywhere I looked online had x2 systems starting at around $800 with less ram.
    • silvrrwulf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6To his credit, A+ is an antiquated and typically useless cert.

      Although I agree with you... he sould at least know what it is.
  • Taedirk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14I had something incredibly insightful to add right up until I noticed the girl-on-girl kissing to the side of the article.
  • SantaCruzBob, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1site is working fast here
    • xJudahx, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2wtf are you talking about? Maybe one day you will be able to formulate a sentence.
  • mateo60, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6In my experience, it was a notebook computer. With a desktop, I could do it myself, but the notebook was under warranty.

    I was amazed with the level of ignorance of the Geek Squad (because it wasn't just spyware or a virus, it was actually a broken componet of the machine). They did more damage than good to my notebook and eventually, after MANY visits and several weeks of them having my computer, I eventually made a scene in the store with the manager, and I got new notebook computer if I promised never to come back.

    I won't go into details of the idiotic diagnostic things they tried because it's too long, but the Geek Squad people I delt with (all of them) were utterly worthless.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4The problem with notebooks, is that hardware was not repaired in-house, or even by Geek Squad. It was sent off to a 3rd party. That 3rd party pretty much sucked, especially when BBY was phasing them out.
    • VSKBadCRC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yeah, laptops can be rough sometimes...

      Whenever you check your laptop into Best Buy the service program they use to check it in (It's called STAR), dictates which items can be serviced in-store and which ones must be sent out for service. Items that require being sent out are usually Media Center laptops, and laptops utilizing SATA laptop hard drives.

      The problem is that when they're shipped out they are shipped out to the manufacturer if it's still under their warranty, and out to one of Best Buy's service centers or Geeksquad City, depending on a number of factors.

      The other time we send stuff out to service is for replacement of parts we don't have available in-store (Mainboards, optical drives, etc).

      The problem though is that the store you take it to, has no impact on how services are performed, and therein lies the problem. There's a lack of consistency across the board when stuff is sent out. Manufacturer's randomly reload machines that are sent out, and sometimes our service centers just ***** stuff up and either don't repair it properly the first time, we do something stupid (Like leave the mouse data ribbon unplugged in the laptop).

      In either case it falls back onto the store, and the in-store Agents take the ***** for it, even though they had nothing to do with the actual repairs performed.
    • mateo60, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think the most frustrating part of my experience wasn't the incompetant people that the notebook was sent to (it wasn't the manufacturer, it was some bb service center, where they severely scratched my notebook up....but thats another story), the most annoying part was the Geek Squad people I was dealing with.

      I used to be a freelance computer tech. I would go to businesses and fix pc's and networks, just general stuff. It was obvioius what was wrong with the notebook. I couldn't get the Geek Squad people to recognize an A + B = C cause and effect with my machine. They treated me like I was their normal idiot who comes in with Viruses and Spyware.

      For example, the very first time I took it in I was having problems with my touchpad, the Geek Squad person says "It may be a virus or something", I informed him that the machine had been reformated about a week ago and that it did it before and after I reformated it. He still insisted that well it COULD be a virus. My jaw dropped.
  • Surefoot, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4*points at the Geek Squad banner above and laughs*
  • kjartan, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5More anti-Best Buy propaganda. We get it.... Best Buy's service sucks. Get on with your lives or do something about it.
  • TheElectricFox, on 10/12/2007, -8/+6funny seeing that geeksquad told Ted Stevens that his internets were slow because of the clogged tubes.....
  • NanoStuff, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Maybe I should feel terrible about the situation, yet I also feel that exploiting ignorance may be the evolutionary way of reducing it. If there's a demand for shoddy overpaid computer assistance, so be it.
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Excellent summary. If it hurts enough, people will stop doing it - even if the only hurt is on their wallet!
  • hooges, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9I can confirm this article is painfully inaccurate. It basically is saying that all the things that they COULD sell, they do.

    If someone has viruses/spyware, its 199. That includes hardware diags and a "tuneup" While that may be expensive for some, for people that don't know what they are doing and need their computer fixed and taken care of, its not a bad deal. Its all about value to a customer, and what may not be valuable to you, may be to someone else.
  • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -4/+21I have an opinion on this, as well as first hand experience. I run a small (30 clients or so) IT company, work 3rd shift at a large (1,000's of clients) server CoLo center, and my g/f is the senior Geek Squad employee at a Best Buy (ranks just below the manager of that department, a job she is training for). While I do not use the Geek Squad personally (I have no need to, I can do anything they can and more) I have a great deal of experience with the services they offer.

    The first mistake that most (not all) technically minded people make is in assuming that the population (read: everyone else) has a clue when it comes to computers and the accompanying technologies. This is just not the case. Our elderly grew up in a time when even television did not exist (the world's first public demonstration of a working television system that transmitted moving images with tone graduation (grayscale) on 26 January 1926), let alone computers. Our older adults are still holding onto (with a firm grip) the era of records, 8-tracks, and VCRs. Most middle age adults still think CDs are pretty neat, and can't program their VCR, although they do at least know how to use it. You really have to get in the 30 year old and younger group before you start seeing across the board understanding, at least a vague one, of the technologies of today. Of course the younger generation "gets it" and can handle downloading an MP3 or two, burning a CD, or chatting via IM - but that’s about it. If terms like TCP/IP, SSID, Solid State Disk Drive, SATA, Torrent, and DeCSS mean something to you, count yourself among the lucky few that are actually riding the technological wave - opposed to the others that are drowning in it.

    That being said, most people, regardless of age, have a computer or at least have access to one. You can't help it really; it's almost a necessity in today's society. Through repetition, most users know how to do (as the article states) a few things on a PC but not much else. I know this for a fact because I deal with people all day that work with multi-million dollar projects that rely entirely on computers - yet they are completely at a loss when their computers come up with an error message. Being an IT person doesn't mean that you know everything there is to know about IT. I am sure that although I have at least a loose grasp on wireless, someone trained in the technology could run circles around me.

    That is where the Geek Squad comes in. When a user trains themselves to do exactly X on a computer (read email and chat with friends) and Y happens (a virus, spyware, another user installs something, new hardware, the list goes on), they have literally no idea what to do. Geek Squad is there to help these users out, for a price, letting them get back to doing X as quickly and painlessly as possible.

    Finally, have you ever been to a Best Buy and actually looked at the products they sell in the computer department? If you have, you have without a doubt noticed the huge packaging, plastered with buzzwords and techy jargon that is meant to make the buyer feel like they are getting something really "cutting edge" and "high tech" - when in fact most of the stuff they sell there is anything but. For example, you will find 56k modems, floppy discs, and PS/2 keyboards in mass quantities. Even their newest items on the shelf are "last weeks news" compared to what you can find after just a few minutes Googling or reading some of the many tech sites out there (Anandtech, Tom's Hardware, HardOCP, etc.).

    Bottom line, some of us do not need their services - but the greater percentage of the population does. Don't hate them because they are making some (serious) cash doing something that you could be doing right now. If you want to buck the system, offer classes to neighbors and friends on a technology that you know something about. Knowledge is one of those wonderful things that grow when you share it with others.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8Well written! ;-)
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4Thanks! :3
    • rofflcopterr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Totally agree. Diggers are techies. Old women are not. That's who Geek Squad is for. If you can fix a computer you scoff at GS pricing. You're pricing them off of your knowledge and budget. When someone knows a computer JUST well enough to check their AOL e-mail and use an instant messenger, $300 isn't THAT expensive to have someone 'just do it' for you. Yes, we know you can do it for "half that" and so can I, but why? To be the hero? That's another trouble with the 'ole "I've got a friend who can do the work for free" bit. Yes you can, but when is he going to do it? Those guys ARE prompt, and you've got to admit that. Your friend might be free but when is he available?
    • ApocalypseTrol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Thank you for saying what needed to be said.
    • VSKBadCRC, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2That was really well put, digg+.

      I remember back when I started working for Geeksquad, because I felt the same way going into the company.that a lot of people do here. Had I never worked for Geeksquad I would have continued to feel this way, but when we first started we had a major problem.

      The employees we hired, which have been some of the best people I have had the pleasure to work with in any job I've had to date, didn't like the prices Geeksquad charged. We all felt that they were too high, or not worth it. The reason was simple; we sold out of our own pockets.

      We assumed that because we could do this stuff ourselves, that surely everyone else could do it too. We struggled a lot to earn our way for a while, but quickly learned we had to re-evaluate the way we offered our products and services by, what else, offering them.

      Every day I get customers coming into our store thanking me. Whether it was the occassional freeby, or the full out Diag and repair, they went home knowing they were in good hands.
    • commiecat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I agree with you in principle - GS does provide a service that many people need and anybody that works in IT should know this by the knowledge of the average user.

      The service is required but it's the exploitation that many real geeks have an issue with. I think it's because many of us that have been using computers for a while started doing it as a hobby. When I go to BB I'm sometimes tempted (although I've never followed through) to ask a random person what their computer problem is and offer to check it out just because I know they're probably going to pay way too much money. I've also had two instances where an offsite employee left their company laptop in the hands of the GS who then managed to worsen the situation - both times by removing the computer from our domain to join "WORKGROUP" . Both machines had to be mailed back in order to be put back on the domain.

      It's also the fact that BB is a huge corporation. Most towns (that I've seen, anyways - southeastern USA) have a little computer shop or two which are probably run by really geeky people. It's the kind of shop started by a computer enthusiast to make a few bucks - the person behind the counter is usually a typical geek and there's bound to be computer parts all over the place. The kind of shops that will look at your computer/printer/whatever, tell you exactly what is wrong, and charge you a price that's fair to both the business and your bank account.

      It's probably not much different than the auto repair industry. The corporate chains are more likely to BS people to make extra money and the local shops tend to be run by guys that just enjoy working on cars.

      So it isn't the actual service that most of us have issues with - it's the fact that they exploit computer-illiterate people and give real PC repairmen a bad rep.
    • silvrrwulf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Well put. I'm a solo IT tech who did just that, and it's been quite lucrative. If you have the technical skills to do the job, others should consider this as a part time (or even full time) career. I charge $50/hr (less than a 3rd pf Best Buy) but make an excellent salary while being self-employed.

      The key, for those interested, is patience and attitude. Lots of people can fix computers, but you'd be surprised how many can't do it without blatantly insulting the client while they do it. If you can work with people, 75% of the job is done. I was paid yesterday to set up a yahoo! mail account for someone. Yes- the market does exist. Print fliers, post to Craigslist, pull some high quality freeware apps, and go help someone :).

  • jivemasta, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2On a somewhat related note. My mom has a bunch of friends that have computers that pretty much just need a clean install of windows, what would be a good rate for me to charge them? I was thinking $50 for an install and backup if they need it. Does that seem fair?
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -8/+3Want a great way to make some extra money without any extra work? Get all the details you need to know about the job (how many PCs, what OSs do they want installed, what programs, are you backing up data, etc.) and call Best Buy. Play the part of the customer, and ask what Best Buy will charge to do the job. If it makes it simpler, say something along the lines of, "I have a few PCs that need the OS reinstalled, what does that cost... and what if I need to install X, Y, and Z programs afterwards... OK, oh, what about backing up the data beforehand? Ouch, that much, really? Let me talk to my dad/wife/bank/loan shark and get back to you." Armed with this new data, cut the price by 20% and you have you answer. You will make _much_ more than $50 a head, I promise you that. If the clients scoff at your prices, do not get insulted of back down. Tell them that you understand, IT services are getting very expensive these days, and you just don't have the time to justify it at any other rate. As the final kicker, give them the number to the local Best Buy and suggest they give them a call - just try not to snicker when you do so.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1What's your time worth? Are you going to warranty the work?

      Don't shop out of your own pocket. If you know how to perform a premium service, charge what it's really worth. Don't short change yourself just because YOU personally think $75-$100/hr is too expensive.
  • Frawg, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Mechanics should charge $199 for an oil change because many people do not know how to do an oil change. It is a valuable service that can extend the life of a very expensive machine.

    Call the Oil Squad NOW! It would be idiotic NOT to!
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4If there was only 1 oil change place in town, that would be the case. The problem with your comparison is that the Geek Squad has their market cornered - and oil change places are on every corner.
    • intekra, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5I'm willing to bet a fair share of people would pay the $199 for an oil change if that had no other option. Your numbers are a bit exaggerated, but I get your point.

      Say for example you have the following choice. Take the car to the dealership for the $199 oil change, or have the kid down the block who says he knows how to do it, change it for $99. Great savings right?

      The dealership backs up their oil change with a warranty, the other guy may or may not. The dealership has a large company behind it, whereas the other guy may just dissappear out of thin air.

      Just adding a little perspective.
    • Frawg, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0My point was that just because they could and the people had no other options, doesn't mean they should. To charge such an inflated amount just because one has "the market cornered" is the VERY DEFINITION of a monopoly.
      Additionally, the Geek squad may have picked up those skills because some helpful person decided to post technical tutorials online to boost computer literacy globally. They may have learned them from a friend who wanted to help them out. To go around and make such an obscene profit off of somebody who doesn't know any better, or is in a situation where they couldn't learn doesn't sit comfortably at all with me.

      Finally, I would much much rather pay the $99 for the kid. Even if he disappears, what is the likelyhood that the oil change would be faulty; it'd have to be at least %50 to warrant twice the cost at Big Boy Oil.
  • Sccatter, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I work @ BB and the GS agents in my store are EXTREMELY knowledgable and friendly (I can't speak on behalf of all agents). GS provides a service like any mechanic working on your car. People assume everyone has the knowledge to run what to them are simple fixes to simple problems. We try to get the job fixed as quick and as painless as possible.

    As for GS overcharging look at the competition and GS charges by the job, not by the hour. Yes, some agents come in and may not be as knowledgable as others, but BB offers good training and agents are quick to help out eachother and share thier knowledge.

    It pisses me off that people just look at the top dog and instantly begin bashing the company or the service. BB is a good company that truly cares about the customer and the quality service they provide. GS didn't become number one by ripping people off, they did it by providing a QUALITY service.
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4"It pisses me off that people just look at the top dog and instantly begin bashing the company or the service."

      Get used to it, the old saying "If you can't beat them, join them." has been replaced with "If you can't beat them, hate them." Most of the "Down with Geek Squad!" zealots on this page are only mouthing off because they are either: (a) ill-informed and can't solve the problem themselves, or (b) upset that someone else is making some (serious) bank doing so. There is also a third option: (c) people that just hate anything bigger, or perhaps better than them selves.
    • amoirae, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2They're not the top dog. Perhaps the top flea at best.

      Parasitic money sucking leeches.
  • battosai787, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2One thing I noticed on the article,

    "10. “How do I...?”
    The truth of the matter is that a majority of people only know how to perform 1 or 2 tasks on their computers."

    These are the people that need GS not the people that digg. If people dont want to learn more about computers then let them pay GS to fix.
  • gorndog, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3OnForce -- half the price and you pick the tech

    OnForce is kind of like a reverse-auction for Computer Tech Services. You open a work order, give details of what is needed and then specify how much you are willing to pay (hourly rate, or flat-rate for entire job).

    Then you are shown a list of technicians in the area. Listed for each tech is a profile that includes feedback ratings, certifications, etc, You pick which technician(s) you want to offer the work order to.

    The first tech to then accept the order gets the work. As a result, there isn't much haggling. A work order contract of $50 or less will generally be enough to get a qualified tech in your home or office for at least an hour.

    Onforce takes care of all the billing / payment. You add $11 per workorder and that goes to Onforce. Onforce also takes 10% of the contract amount by paying the tech the remaining 90%. So for a $50 work order contract, you pay $61, and the tech gets $45.

    That is not much money but there are thousands of good techs registered with the system who work for themselves and are willing to wh0r3 themselves out for just peanuts.

    This service is useful to residential/home users as well as for small, medium and large enterprises.

    www.onforce.com
    • JHawk24821, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Awesome, I am registering now, thanks!
    • noGoodNamesLeft, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Spam; exact same spiel was posted as a reply on the article's website itself.
    • gorndog, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Yes, because not every reader of the article will come from Digg. Although I do suppose I should have provided full disclosure:
      I am an Onforce Provider
    • coryp420, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2No, your an Onforce wh0r3...
    • gorndog, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0As an OnForce Provider, I can either accept or reject (or ignore) any work order -- so I pass on work orders that, in my opinion, don't pay enough.

      But I guess you are right, considering the following joke:

      Guy walks into a bar and sits down next to a very attractive lady. Says “If I gave 100,000 dollars would you have sex with me?” The lady looks at him and says “100,000! in cash?” She looks around to see if any one else is listening and then says “Uh, yeah, sure” He then say’s “OK how about 5 dollars?” She get a real disgusted look on her face and says “Just what kind of lady do you think I am?” He says “Well, that’s already been established- now we’re just negotiating price.”
  • Coffeedemon, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5Sounds like some blogger didn't get that job at Best Buy
  • Dundasbro, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@Inektra
    Originally I wasn't gonna digg you down, but hey what do you know i fit the description!
  • packosmokes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I was given a laptop at an old job. I wasn't sure it would work since the battery was dead and I couldn't power it up, plus I had no power supply. While at 'Best' Buy looking at power supplies I asked a Geek Squad crapstain if he could plug in into one of their power adapters to see if it would work. I wanted to see if the laptop was functional before I bought the power supply. Easy. All he'd have to do was plug it into the wall.

    He told me, in a very snide tone, that it would cost me $50 dollars just to do that, not including any additional charges for his 'expert' time.

    After telling the Geek Squad goon to go to hell, I then went across the street and got help from the people at Office Depot. The laptop was fine and they got my business (I bought a power supply and battery from them).

    A little customer service goes a long way.
  • mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3While I can appreciate that Geek Squad charges about the same as the competition, those prices are completely ridiculous in terms of what's offered and the training the techs have. I doubt the education of most of them is equivalent to even a four year degree, and those rates are almost what it costs to hire a doctor or lawyer for a couple of hours.

    You might be able to pull off those prices now, but the minute competition shows up, they're either going to get obliterated or have to cut their prices to 1/5th or less.
  • hiro, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5This is inaccurate. My dog has no trouble designing web sites and programming in C++, but he admits his limited knowledge of XP would hold him back when confronted with some of the Windows problems.

    When you have pads on your feet a one button mouse is easier
  • VSKBadCRC, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3My biggest gripe with this article is that every Agent handles things different, and every situation can be unique with any system that comes in, I'll throw out a few examples:

    "10. “How do I...?”"

    I'm not phone tech support, if you need help doing simple tasks then call our 1-800 number, it costs less than having an in-home agent come out. However, if someone has their system in the store and we're chatting while I finish it up, then I don't mind covering the basics of CD burning or other menial tasks. I'll even show them on a floor model if they don't have theirs in-store.


    "9. “I can't check my email.” "

    This could be caused by a number of things: improperly configured Norton Internet Security, misconfigured pop3/smtp server, or maybe their Microsoft Office Trial just expired. These things happen all the time, If someone has any of these problems I spend the first 5-10 minutes of them being in-store with their machine to evaluate their system, trying it in safe mode, checking their E-mail settings, and checking to see if their Office trial (if they used it) has expired.

    "8. “Only the LEDs come on.” " + 7. “It doesn't turn on at all.” "

    These two might as well just be one thing. Now when it comes down to this in my store, I always recommend a system diagnostic, but don't require it. A diag is a smart thing to have done when a PSU goes out because they don't just die, some can reak serious havoc on the mainboard, and can either cripple the memory or drives on the system. But if the customer wanst me to drop a PSU in their system, verify that it powers up, then that's all good: usual cost for this - $60 for the PSU and $39 to install it. Or they can pick up the PSU and do it themselves.


    "6. “My camera/printer/scanner isn't working with my computer.” "

    This one could vary. I get the info from the customer and make a best judgement out of each case, mostly though it comes down to where I give them the basics on what would probably need to be done (Driver reloads, re-installing the hardware, removing the old version first of course, then updating the drivers/software from the manufacturer), and if that's all over their head I recommend bringing it in-store. I don't push in-home too much, unless they ask for it specifically, and trust me when I say that some do.


    "5. “My program X isn't working right.” "

    This one's another grey one. Based off the program in question (With the exception of Norton, wouldn't reccomend or sell that crap to anyone to save my life), I'd usually recommend trying to reload the program themselves, if this is something they're comfortable doing. This would save them the $29 software install from me, if this failed then I'd have them move into a diagnostic, this would allow me to check out the entire system. Usually when a program isn't working right, it's usually because another program is conflicting with it (or virus/spyware), so I figure out what's causing it, disable/remove the conflicting program if necessary, inform the customer, educate them on the problem, then tell them to have a nice day. If it's something more serious than a simple fix at that point, then I may require the obligatory OS service charge.


    "4. “It crashed and I'm going to get a new one, but I need my data off of it.” "

    I recommend having us do the data backup, as we're equipped to handle it, and can re-arrange the data so that the client can easily access their important files. If they'd rather not spend the $99, I recommend at least getting an external USB hard drive enclosure kit and put their drive into it, usually runs them about $45-$50 in that case.

    Also, this quote from this section: "The problem is most people also never back up their data. The cost of labor at GS for a data backup, regardless of whether or not it is successful". That comment about if the backup fails that they don't refund your money is a borderline lie. If the backup cannot be performed (say we charge for it, but the drive wasn't accessible), then yes, we return your money.

    If we perform a data backup and I can't reover any of the data you asked for, for whatever reason, I always inform the customer and ask for confirmation to continue. If they choose to go ahead with the partial backup, then yes, they pay the same rate, if they choose to cancel, I stop, do no backup, and refund their money.


    "3. “My camera/printer/mp3 player stopped working.” "
    "the GS employee will ALWAYS tell the customer to go purchase another one"

    Oh my god, go die. I never tell a customer to buy anything, I recommend, I never tell them to go buy. Mostly because I have a hard time asking them to pay $125+ to repair their $60 printer, or charging them $199 to perform a virus/spyware removal on a Windows Millenium Edition PC when they could litterally walk around the corner and pick up a CeleronD eMachines for not much more than that. And yes, some customers want their stuff fixed, but I want them to weigh their decisions on sound advice and making sure they're aware of the facts on the repairs.


    "2. “The Internet doesn't work!” "

    Again, I make sure every customer knows their options, from reloading to cleaning the OS of whatever's causing their woes. I make them aware of the costs involved ($199 covers diag + OS service + tune up), if $199 is more than they want to / can spend, then I recommend that they back up their data (themselves if necessary), and reload it.

    The data backup isn't something I'd outright sell to most customers simply because I don't know what the status of their machine is, I'd only recommend a reload if they either asked for it up front, or if I did the diag and it showed their hard drive was failing.
  • Splitt3rxx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2damn, I need to start repairing computers, I could fix 95% of those problems and the price they charge is just ***** insane.
  • dchaosdx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+21.) if you are stupid enough to pay too much for anything, you deserve to have your wallet emptied. smart people shop around and educate themselves on fair pricing and good service before they throw their money away.

    2.) i guarentee you the only reason this article was written is because the author was too stupid to shop around for prices, too dumb to use google to find a solution to his problem, and he got his ass handed to him through his wallet from the geek squad and now he's throwing a hissy fit.
  • VTmruhlin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't think you can equate "It doesnt turn on at all" with "the mobo is dead." I literally had a guy tell me "nothing works" one time because...guess what...nothing was plugged in.

    If you're that dumb, you'd bet I'm charging you an arm and a leg.
    • Brakamow, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2@VTmruhlin "I don't think you can equate "It doesnt turn on at all" with "the mobo is dead.""

      Apparently you've never run into leaky capacitors. If a cap on the board looks bulged or not flat or (dead giveaway) very buldged and oozing on the top, it's time for a new board. You mainly notice this without opening the case if it doesn't turn on OR it restarts erratically. Slow performance could also be a side effect. In addition to the normal errors, failures, and things exploding, of course.
  • Byronious, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I'm sorry, but I found only part of this article to be worth anything. The cost to have GS take a look at your computer and their repair costs for different items are quite high. However, the service they are providing is one that many people need. Like some of the comments from users at the bottom of the article pointed out, most of the people that bring their computers in don't know much beyond turning it on and doing a few simple tasks such as checking e-mail and browsing the web.

    I do PC repair work and the majority of the work that comes in involves malware removal. People don't realize the consequences of the things they do, and when they bring their PC in we explain to them what is causing the issue and how they can solve and prevent it. Of course we're going to try and sell them software and installs, they need it to help keep their system clean of these infections. They also don't want to mess with the software themselves beyond knowing how to run a scan or have a scan scheduled every day.

    As for the hardware failure, of course you're going to have to charge a diagnostic fee. Time is money, do you want to run hardware diagnostics on every PC that is having a hardware issue free of charge? It would be wonderful, but is just not going to happen. As the article said, when you have a power surge and things stop working, you don't want to guess what is causing the problem. The GS fee is a bit high, but it's worth it to know exactly what is causing your computers problem.

    I guess in the end if the service is requiring a bunch of redo service, there is an issue there. As for the regular costs of repairing things, that's what is going to happen if something is broken and you want it fixed. You should however educate your customers on what you are doing to help solve their issue and what they can do in the future to help prevent said problem from happening again though. We do this where I work and the customers love to learn how to handle things on their own so they don't run into the same issue again.
  • chookalana, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Go to the Genius Bar for any of these problems. Price: $0
  • chickenman316, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2It sounds like the person that wrote the article is complaining more about the prices of the services, like he expects them to do it for free. Isn't the overall point of a business to make money? Sure if you know how to do it yourself, Geek Squad sounds like a stupid idea, but to the millions of people that don't have a clue about their computer they can be pretty darn helpful.
  • c0ld, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I can do better, for a cheaper price.
  • smokester, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Oh come off it, half of these are perfectly reasonable, we're talking about joe public here, not the tech minded

    For example:
    "Every once in a while a power surge, or just plain cheap parts, will cause a computer's power supply to fail. BB will recommend: 1) Full hardware diagnostics 2) New power supply 3) Installation of said power supply. Overall cost: $168-$198 (depending on cost the cost of the power supply"

    so they test the hardware to make sure nothing else is damaged, get you a new psu, and put it in for you... that sounds perfectly reasonable to me

    to use cars as an analogy: my car breaks down, I don't know why, I take it to a garage, they find out what the problem is (hardware diagnostic), charge me for the new part (new power supply), then charge me for putting the new part in (psu installation)

    Yes, the average digg user could fix most of these problems themselves, the average computer user however, can't
  • mikejonas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2As the I.T. guy at work who keeps getting pestered by people I don't like asking if I can make a house call or do something "on the side," Geek Squad is a great way to get them out of my hair.
  • dist0rti0n, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2The prices might be high, but people will pay them for the same reason they pay a mechanic or a plumber or an electrician. Obviously, there's money to be made, I'd get out there and compete if you think you can do better :)
  • MacsBaine, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Geek Squad isn't all that bad.

    I help my parents with their computers. Most of the time I can either talk them through the problem or they can wait until I can drive out to fix it.

    Sometimes they either can't wait or they are at their other home that is no where close to me. In those cases sometimes they have to call Geek Squad. There have admittedly been some GS employees that came in and didn't know jack squat. But as soon as we found those that do (they are there) we made sure to get their name and cell phone number. Now we can call them when ever we need to go that route.
  • cvecve, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Your dog can do better."

    Maybe not with computer repair - but he does have a better blog.
  • RobDeBob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2To test their technical expertise, I've actually called them over after doing something a typical idiot would do, like corrupting my firmware after the hardware in question asks to "upgrade" and the client gets impatient and aborts the download halfway through. Another time I simply disconnected some pins on my motherboard. Then I'll watch them squirm in my room, muttering to themselves about "viruses" or "spyware" or something completely unrelated.

    In my overall "experiments" with the Geek Squad, they cannot diagnose a problem AT ALL, much less fix it. They'll always assume problems with software rather than hardware and run virus scans that conveniently take ludicrous amounts of time to complete. I'll then come in halfway through and hint at the problem or make suggestions, and being the arrogant imbeciles that figure "this is my job; there's no WAY he could fix this, we're the experts, and he called us over, right?," they'll cut me off and immediately start pointing at the suggestions listed in the article.

    I then ignore their banter, sit down, and run some proper diagnoses, "determine" the problem, then proceed to fix it, right before their eyes. Takes 15 minutes max. I then stare at them. "Hey, problem solved! That wasn't too difficult, was it?" They avert their eyes sheepishly and either quickly ask for their pay with the "we loosened it up for you" philosophy, or admit their defeat and leave with their tails between their legs.

    Only once in my experiences have I ever had a competent Geek Squad, and strangely enough an old middle school friend was in charge of it. I had to pull him aside and explain the situation before he mortified me.

    Geek Squad: Incompetent tech support for incompetent users.
    • Urusai, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What do you expect? They work for Best Buy. They don't make much money. If they had a clue, they'd be charging $50+/hr and pocketing the entire amount. Best Buy has already plotted their wage/competence curve for maximum profit, rest assured, and like so many businesses has discovered they can make more money with shoddy service, at least in the short-medium term, and why make long term plans when all of executive American plans on cashing out of the economy (and possibly the country) when it finally collapses.
  • brstilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This reminds me of my trade.

    I work in Automation as a technician. I have designed and implemented control systems for a variety of machines. If we were to outsource this to a contractor, they would want upwards of $20,000+ for just a simple, small control panel, a panel we could build for $7,000-$8,000.

    It makes me want to quit and go into business for myself. People are willing to pay out the nose for things that to technically-oriented people don't seem that difficult. It reminds me of a story I once read.

    A manufacturing plant was having a problem with a machine, and an adjustment needed to be made. None of the plant engineers could figure it out, as they've never worked on the machine before. So, they ended up calling the lead engineer who had recently retired.

    The old lead engineer came to the plant, took a piece of chalk, and used it to mark the valve that needed to be opened. He then sent the company his invoice for $5,000.10:

    Chalk ------------ $0.10
    Knowing where to use it ------------- $5,000

    The company paid him immediately.

    Moral of the story: having knowledge that others don't is valuable. If someone has to pay $200 to make the difference between their computer working or not working, they'll likely be happy to pay the $200.
  • RobDeBob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And unfortunately, most users do not have the slightest hint of knowledge and are thus extorted money by the Geek Squad and their whole "authority on technology 'cause we've got this sweet car and geek in our name" veneer.
  • blankman, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I don't understand why even if someone has only the most basic of computer knowledge (open word, search the internet, etc), would go and pay that kind of money to a service like GeekSquad, instead of taking 15 minutes out of their day to open Google and search for a solution to their problem.
  • bismazaman, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1OMG!!they are so not good. I bought a laptop and like about after 20 days it got a virus and it wasn't even my fault and I went up to them they were sorry you'll have o $200 to get it fixed and my laptop's cost was $600. I am still pretty mad at Best Buy. My brother-in-law actually fixed it for me and now it works just absolutely fine. The best thing to do it just don't but anything at Best Buy. They are sitting their to rob people.
  • keitho, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i would be glad to do all those same services for those prices just to the people I know. i'd pull 6 figures a year with that!
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