[Eyce]

Good post.

I believe GS is pretty over priced, but you have a good point of why it is. I would go to a local place or even check the internet to do it myself now-a-days, before going to someone like them, but you gotta do what you gotta do if you can't do it yourself right?

[JohnWill]

roliax, very rational and well thought out post. Most of it rings true as well. I work as a consultant to aerospace companies, you don't want to know what I charge for services! OTOH, they pay the rate, because it would cost them as much or more to get a person up to speed on the issue and then accomplish the job. I'm sure it's the same for GS. Now, I'll freely admit, I've never even considered letting them touch any of my computers, but then I don't have to.

[Compiler]

roliax: I agree and understand what you're getting at. There is nothing wrong is making a profit - they are in business to do so. If there is nobody around to fix problems - then a lot of people would be in trouble.

I understand that with getting repairs for my car. A few months back, at a auto-shop I've been using for over 5 year, a repair job on my car was quoted at $250 (I had expected about $100 - considering on my OLD truck, I could have done it myself for $30-40 in parts) - but the repair guy said there were complications and I accepted that (It was making horrible noise) and ended up spending $600! A week later, I developed a powersteering leak from a hose behind the engine... I was thinking $10 hose and you know how front wheel drive cars can be a pain. I was quoted $150 for the part and $300 for 3.5hrs of labor! $450!?! I'm thinking "Time to sell my car!". I looked online - $55 part! WTF?! How does a $55 RETAIL part end up costing $150 (we know their costs is most likly $40) Through friends, a mechanic was referred to me - he'd put the part on for $100 flat. We ordered the part, but after he took it mostly off - we says the part is actually "good" (He couldn't see that it was good until it was out), got my $55 back for the part, bought a hose worth $8 and the car was fixed. I gave him the $55 because he spent HIS time removing it and putting it back on. Total WORK time on my car... 1.5hrs. Not in some garage, 1.5hrs vs 3.5-rip off hours!

That kind of stuff or stupidity is what will make any business look bad. A future repair job was quoted $550+ from my "old garage" - the new guy, $200. Hmmmm....

[Ranger802008]

Sounds like someone's bitter tbh...now I know we're not perfect at Geek Squad, and there are a few Agents out there who are not "techs"...but that doesn't mean we plain suck...9/10 of our customers that come through are satisfied...I seriously doubt you never get a customer coming back to you because there was something you over looked...Also...if their HDD isn't spinning up, you offer Data Recovery for that?

[valis]

Personally, I've never had a customer come back, but I don't run a business. I have had to fix about a dozen machines that the geek squad 'fixed', though.

The main problem I have is malware; each malware case is different, and requires different tools to remove the infection. That, and when my neighbor's pc came back, it had a music cd in the cd tray that someone was jamming to.

Other than that, nothing.

[Ranger802008]

That's probably...true....a lot of the times we miss small things because we're working with 10+ or 20+ computers at a time...my Geek Squad I work at is really good...but we're not perfect..I use to do private jobs as well...never had a redo

[Codak]

I'm a part-time geeksquad agent at BestBuy. I have to say that all around the nation you can find bad techs at geeksquad including every where else. Not every agent is bad but not every agent is good. I've worked for geeksquad part-time for about 2 years and found that our team has good techs but they often leave after getting a better education or job opportunities.

As much as I hate to admit that we do charge a ton of money for repairs, I have to admit that at times it's worth it for some customers. I have read that many people at the threads have had issues with fixing machines after geeksquad due to some screw ups. I have to say that I never have redo's on my watch, but then again I believe in doing things right the first time. On top of that if the customer has any issues that can report it to management within 30 days and we will redo the work for free.

You do get some agents that are wet behind the ears and this is the reason for the screwups part of the time. The fact still remains that geeksquad isn't IT, they are IT sales associates that handle both roles at all times. You wouldn't believe the countless times I've talked to customers that have friends work on their pc and they can't get them to fix it due to their busy schedule or they can find that friend to fix it for them. That's why geeksquad exists. We do the job and are fully accountable to the customers.

The thing that I can't seem to get through everyone's head is that everyone isn't a computer expert. If I had the money and I didn't know what I was doing I'd go for the closest well know solution. In this case it would be geeksquad or a local mom and pop computer store. The average person doesn't want the headache of fixing their computer because they don't know anything about it in the first place. (Most customers install two anti-virus's and wonder why the machine crawls)

I have a hard enough time explaining to parents that they have an infection because of Lime Wire. The average customer doesn't have the time nor do the have the patience that we have here at techguy.

1. Does Bestbuy charge a lot? Yes! But in my opinion it is a fair approach to service. Where else will the customer get a FLAT rate price for trouble shooting their OS for a week straight. (trying to duplicate issues and fix them accordingly)

$199.99
OS reload - 30min - 1 hr depending on manufacturers restore disks.
-OS may not install all drivers (30min - 1 hr finding all drivers)
-Drivers may not work from the manf. site
-Oops (there is a huge scratch down the middle of the restore cd and a lolly pop prints all over disk 2)
-OS for some reason is corrupted due the condition of the disk
-customer wines and complains about why it taking so long. (Well the obvious-crappy restore disks)

-The their are the legalities of using Windows disks that aren't provided by the customer that causes the process to extend out another 3 days after they have order new disks from the manufactures. (copy write infringement- BestBuy policy unless we have manuf. disks onsite from HP,Gateway or Acer) (given to us by the manuf.)

-Before you know it, the pc has been in our possession for about two weeks. (1st come 1st serve)


My mom decided to go to a computer shop to have her laptop looked at and was charged about $334 for an OS reload at a local computer shop. I would have did it for free but I was deployed so that wasn't happening. She was charged an hourly rate and not a FLAT rate.

I can go on for days.


Now of course, I can do repairs on the side for a lower price but the customer will still have to track me down if they have an issue. This isn't the case for you typical computer shop or geeksquad. Most can befound at one location Monday-Sunday.

You have to look at this issue from all perspectives. If you can fix it then do it and stop complaining. Agents will tell the customers or should tell the customers what issues that have before they even leave their computer. They can fix it themselves, get someone else to fix it or they can leave it for geeksquad to fix. It is ultimately the responsibility of the customer to make the decision based up what they want done. No tech service is perfect and neither is geeksquad.

Do the service warranties at your own risk. I had a customer that bought the ADH plan and he ended up with a brand new laptop after his HumV crushed it while on a military exercise.(Process took about 2 weeks to honor due to it being shipped out to GeekSquad City per ADH plan policy) My laptop just crashed after my ADH service plan expired. I get a straight black screen and it would have been covered if I would have renewed my plan. But what the heck...I want to buy a better one anyway. Why purchase a $120 lcd and $295 motherboard? I might as well buy another one. Now I wish I would have renewed that service plan and I work for geeksquad.


Look at it from all perspectives people!!!!

If you get a Service plan...how about you read the terms prior to buy the plan. All you have to do is ask to see the policy paperwork and it will be provided per Best Buy policy. Normally it is stapled to your receipt after purchase.

[new tech guy]

The problem with your statement on warranties is that it is exactly how they get the money out of you. They manufacture the product to last perfectly (or as close to as they can get) during the warranty then of course after that the parts aged a bit. They are not running like new. If you dont buy a new service plan and the old expires they can now charge a ton of money for the manufacturer to fix it+they get money from you paying for the warranty. Also my other gripe with how you guys do an "OS" install is how you do it. You just dump the factory disc and run, you dont update, you dont take bloatware off the pc, nor do you give the user a security package which for a reinstall i think should be included. For that price, i would honestly get the computer smart kid on the block to load the disc for me if i didnt know how to do it. Not that i do not think the concept is great, just what you offer compared to the prices is not worth it IMHO.

[Ranger802008]

Well we do that...if the client pays for the OS Restore ($129.99) except no protection, we can't put illegal software on client's PCs, now if it's a restore on a computer under a PSP after a HDD replacement, we don't optimize the operating system (AKA taking off junk and etc)...if they pay for the software we can put it on...there's a difference between the neighborhood geek fixing you up then a Corporate ran Geek Squad...and I have to admit our optimizations pwn Also a lot of computer shops go straight to reformat if the computer is busted from viruses...we use that as last resort. it's also included in our $199 Advanced Diagnostic & Repair if you need an OS Restore...Geek Squad did not start off that great, but it def. has made some really good changes, you guys should think again about it

[valis]

$200 for a diagnostics?

dang, no wonder you guys are spreading like wildfire.

I'll be honest; I tell everyone I come into contact with to avoid the big places like Circuit City and Best Buy, in lieu of the smaller, mom and pop shops, for 2 basic reasons.

1. The pricing. The smaller shop will give you an honest opinion and have a wider variety of tools at their fingertips to use, simply because they don't answer to a corporate deity that says 'you may only use this tool', regardless of the fact that it's a round peg and a square hole.

2. Competence. There is a reason that the mom and pop shops exist in the same arena as the big boys like Geek Squad; that reason is that they are more knowledgeable across the board (no pun intended) about the workings of a system, both hardware and software.

You give me ANY computer, in whatever condition, and I will fix it up, replace the driver, what not, and not lose any data. To date, I've found exactly 1 virus that requires a wipe, and even then you don't lose the data. The only time you will lose data is during a catastrophic hard drive failure, and quite frankly, I will spend the time to get the data off using a variety of data recovery tools that GS cannot use, due to the commercial use issues.

Again, not knocking geek squad, but I've had enough run-in's with them to know not to take MY business there, and I generally tell all my clients at work to do the same; find a mom and pop shop in their area, and go there. Far better service, for the smaller shops need word of mouth to succeed, and far better and further ranging skill sets than you will find at a large corporate entity.

thanks,

v

[Ranger802008]

no, diagnostics are $69.99 unless you are under a warranty or service plan, then it's free...and idk about most other geek squads...but we finish up behind those private shops all the time...

[valis]

Originally Posted by Ranger802008

no, diagnostics are $69.99 unless you are under a warranty or service plan, then it's free...and idk about most other geek squads...but we finish up behind those private shops all the time...

and I finish up behind you guys all the time.

No big, you guys are obviously doing something right, as you are growing rapidly; what will hamstring you, though, is the inability to use tools designed for certain jobs but that have commercial restrictions.

But that's for another day.

laters.

[new tech guy]

Well i have to agree with Valis on his corporate entity statement. What im saying with the OS restore and loading security is that you should like offer one year protection of some type of commercial software you carry. You could just load spysweeper which has AV and anti spy. One time i worked on a client who had GS "optimize" their pc and well i found two av's because webroot has its own engine plus the owner had trend micro on it. I told them to return one and keep the other because trend micro would not update for some strange reason. The other pc which had been worked on had only the now expired 60 day trial of mcafee. I took that off and installed avg, the other i just told them tto have geeksquad come back and fix the av issues. I know you guys are tied by a corporate shadow, so maybe offer protection because most users there dont even fully understand what an antivirus is and will be back 2 weeks later to give you more money to fix the machine again. If you do that one simple step, your clients will be MUCH happier to have working antivirus.

[valis]

Originally Posted by new tech guy

One time i worked on a client who had GS "optimize" their pc and well i found two av's because webroot has its own engine plus the owner had trend micro on it.

precisely my point. The tools that are available to GS will eventually end up tying their hands, unless they can get some commercial use issues out of the way first.

2 a/v's will effectively render the machine vulnerable, as they will cancel each other out. Machine never should have left the shop like that.

[Codak]

I agree, the machine shouldn't have left the shop with 2 anti-virus software installed. This doesn't happen at my store at all; however, I see some machines that come in the store with it from the customers. I just charge them the 15-minutes of labor fee ($29) and fix the issue real quick. If this does happen all you have to do is bring it in and the managers and staff would redo it and put it as priority on the bench. Redo's don't happen often but like any other computer business it can happen from time to time.

A quick note!! We can only use tools that are on the MRI disks to remove hazardous software due to legal issues. Most of the tools have been licensed from the developers. It is a big corp. no no to use unlicensed software on a clients machine.

The only way we can offer a software warranty is if we install & setup the security software. But they must purchase the anti-virus anti-spyware protection plan. This cost is just $29 in addition to the cost of the software and the labor (they discount it once it rings up). That way if a customer has repeated infections they can bring it in and we will fix the issue for free. This includes reloading the operations system and/or cleaning the issue. This whole concept is made for people that don't want to deal with the headache or various issues that go along with your typical computer problems.

I think most people here can probably do all this themselves but you'd be surprise how many can't deal with it or just don't want to deal with it.

One last thing... They are suppose to run updates once they reload the OS. If they don't do it then they are idiots. It only takes about a good 30 minutes depending on the service pack.