Avoid Geek Squad

[lazserus]

Information technology, known simply as I.T., is everywhere. It is part of nearly every form of technology we use today in the home, ranging from personal computers to television. It is globally ubiquitous. And because this field of technology is ubiquitous many retailers who sell technology have opened support departments in order to take advantage of this boom so that a profit can be returned.

This leads us to Geek Squad.

BACKGROUND
Geek Squad is now owned by Best Buy, but originally it began with a single college student in the Midwest (United States). This feller, in order to make money to pay his tuition, used his knowledge of computers in a unique way. He purchased a van and painted it (including a phone number), and drove around his small town hoping people would call or flag him down. Apparently it worked, because he quickly gained client after client, and made so much money so quickly that he hired a few pals to help out. Geek Squad was originally a handful of college buddies with know-how using guerrilla advertising to get buy. They made enough money to launch a store in the same town, and merely a few years later the company was sold to Best Buy for MILLIONS!

Back then Geek Squad knew their shit.

MY EXPERIENCE
I worked many years as a contractor in the I.T. field, and eventually my contracts became sparse and I only worked a few months out of the year. Eventually, needing a paycheck, I applied for Best Buy's tech department. I was hired and found out they had just purchased Geek Squad, but had not rolled out the new ideas. I went to training and blah blah.

When I first worked for Geek Squad (one of the first stores in Texas), because the concept was new, each tech (Agent) was allowed a significant amount of latitude in performing tasks. The company recognized that it hired people with particular skills related to computer hardware and software, thus each store's Geek Squad department performed differently than another's. Each store was unique because each store employed different people with unique backgrounds in I.T.

Then the Best Buy corporation screwed everything up.

Geek Squad turned into a sales department as opposed to a tech department. I eventually left Geek Squad because I was constantly arguing with my management regarding sales. "You're not selling," they would tell me. I would respond simply, "The customer didn't need anything." Best Buy turned Geek Squad into a robotic sales department concentrating on computer technology, yet most employees these days know less than dick.

TODAY
I still purchase technology from Best Buy, and I always purchase service plans. You would be a fool not to these days, no matter which retailer you make your purchase from. Technology today is...amazing and advanced...but in order to mass produce this amazing and advanced technology, most companies cut a LOT of corners. More than 90% of laptop batteries need be replaced within 6-8 months; laptop fans are fragile and fall apart easily, especially if you have a heating issue; in desktop computers most components are embedded into the motherboard, meaning if your soundcard defects the entire board needs to be replaced...service plans cover those costs.

On the other side of this coin, Geek Squad "agents" are on average no more knowledgeable than you these days. They attempt to sell products you don't need, record problems with your computer before shipping it off (if you have a service plan), and when software issues are at the forefront, they run a CD (called an MRI disk) that does all the work for them. And sadly, the tools used in that proprietary MRI disk are not worth shite, most of them cheap freeware tools you can download yourself.

Today's Geek Squad employees are morons. More than one occasion over the years I brought in a laptop with distinct heating issues, and when I described these issues to the feller behind the counter, his eyes glazed over...he had NO idea what I was talking about. Recent rumors include that Best Buy will not hire you if you have too much experience. They hire toads.

If you have a service plan with Best Buy, take your computer in and have it serviced if needed. But if your computer is on the fritz, whether it be a result of hardware or software, don't take it to Geek Squad. The prices are OUTRAGEOUS and the people behind the counter don't know a damned thing.

If you can, avoid Geek Squad as if they transmitted the plague.

[ruiner4u]

And sadly, the tools used in that proprietary MRI disk are not worth shite, most of them cheap freeware tools you can download yourself.

Thanks for the Geek Squad info... I love your computer info posts... I had a thought though referring to the above quote.. When time allows, could you make a little link list of a few of the freeware utilities that you think everyone who does not know that much about computers should have so they don't end up buying something they don't need...

[Aelius Rex]

Another great thing destroyed by greedy corporate businesses.

[Cherisa]

If you can, avoid Geek Squad as if they transmitted the plague.

or buy a mac

[DontBeAfraid]

Most hardware manufacturers will rma a computer component for the cost of shipping for a few years after purchase and some for the life. Many ram companies will rma for life and I know evga does mobo's for 2 to 3 years depending on the model. So while getting a service plan from bestbuy is never a bad idea, often times the same coverage is simply part of the manufacturers guarantee. And I can honestly state that I have not gotten any computer hardware from anywhere other than newegg in the last 8 ish years.

[lazserus]

When time allows, could you make a little link list of a few of the freeware utilities that you think everyone who does not know that much about computers should have so they don't end up buying something they don't need...

I could come up with a short list fairly easily. There really isn't the need for a lot of utilities. All Geeks Squad does is remove cache, scan for spyware/adware and scan for viruses. They used to claim to do optimization, but really with today's computers there's no need to tweak that much outside preferences. Maybe if you have an older computer struggling to run the newest applications or operating systems.

When Windows XP was released manufacturers normally only put the bare minimum to run the operating system into their machines. For example, WinXP requires a minimum of 128mb of RAM to operate, but in truth the system barely works with only that much. Users running XP should always have a minimum of 256mb of RAM, but today that's considered archaic. I've not seen a computer on the market these days that operates on less than 1gb of RAM, most machines ranging between 2-4gb.

[Aelius Rex]

lol and here I'm thinking my machine runs just fine with 1.5GB ram. Never had a problem with slowdown at all.

[Anarch]

geek squad sucks, That is all.

[lazserus]

lol and here I'm thinking my machine runs just fine with 1.5GB ram. Never had a problem with slowdown at all.

Over the years Microsoft has made great strides to ensure hardware works with their software. The system requirements for Win7 includes 1gb of RAM, but, unlike XP, Win7's architecture ensures that the minimum requirements (particularly RAM) enables the user to utilize all features of the operating system. It's still better to have more RAM than your O.S. requires, mainly because the bare requirements disregard the user operating memory-intensive applications (such as Photoshop). However, Win7 is much better equipped to perform in this manner than say Windows XP.

I could write pages on the ins and outs of Windows operating systems from Win95 to today, but it's irrelevant ranting. And I'm sure few would find the information interesting, most finding it rather boring.

Anyway, there's a reason your machine runs fine.

geek squad sucks, That is all.

True that. It used to not suck, though. Alas, today Geek Squad is bogus.

[Reef Badlaw]

Amateur 'hobbyists' like me will take sick puters, whose warranties, etc. have expired, to local stripmall-type places generally. The logic is that you get the computer back faster. And when you call them about the repair-status, results are more 'immediate'.