Computers seems to be one area where they’ll really try to rip people off then it seems, probably because enough people know little enough about computers to have any clue what good pricing and service is. I can still recall looking for a half-gig stick of laptop RAM, and being offered one for $200 at a big box store. Uh, no–I already knew I could get it much cheaper elsewhere (My bank balance at the time was lower than that–I couldn’t have bought it if I wanted to). Fortunately, my father was able to get me in with his supplier and I wound up getting what I wanted for half that price.
We had the damnedest time finding a working RAM stick. Turned out only certain brands would work in my model of laptop. That’s one of several reasons I now run a desktop.
I’ve been assembling PCs for nearly 20 years so I tend to do my own work. Last time I bought a new case, I couldn’t get the box to turn on so I took it to a local Best Buy. Geek looked at it, found I had jumper in the wrong place, and fixed it. No charge; total time about 5 minutes plus about a half hour of waiting in line.
There are a lot of people painting with a broad brush here. I am sure there are some under-qualified people working for geek squad. I am also sure there are some talented people working there. What I know for a fact is that until Geek Squad existed, people who would be scared to open their PC to look inside would call ME and I would end up fixing it for free.
Actually this is not uncommon, I have done the same thing. Computer techs may know windows, file system navigation and hardware diagnostics, but how much does your average tech know about the networking needs of Mitchell 1 Automotive shop management software. The internal issues of some software can be quite complex and techs would not be expected, let alone encouraged to go forging in alone without support from software and or specialized hardware vendors. There is alot of very specialized software and hardware out there.
Any decent sized city will have dozens of good independent techs floating around who will do the job for half the price and take far better care of the customers needs.
Agreed, but one of the requirements for the software was to have a technician, especially if you have a network setup. He thought he could skimp on having a regular IT guy, so he paid the price in his attempt to be frugal.
Another vote for them not being worth the money. While waiting in line, I saw them offer unnecessary “solutions” to clueless customers who ended up buying them at the store (which, or course, has inflated prices). I took my girlfriend’s computer there for a diagnostic ($65) because it kept shutting off. They first claimed it was a software issue, and wanted to charge $200 to reinstall windows, plus the 60 something dollar hourly charge that accrued while they downloaded drivers. Not realizing that I know my ass form my elbow, and that I’d partitioned the hard drive, they kept trying to scare me into using them by saying I was gonna lose all my data if I did it myself. I took it back and reinstalled Windows. The problem persisted, as I initially thought it would, so I took it back for them to try to diagnose the problem again. After a longer than promised turnaround time, and hours on hold (during various conversations), they offered a bunch of possible (yet highly improbably) things it “could” be. Most of these solutions would cost more than the computer to fix. I argued and got my money back, but it was an awful experience overall. You are better off trying to diagnose the problem yourself.
Working in IT for over 10 years professionally, starting on a Help Desk (also a computer technician at the time), I can say that these techs are usually not very good or knowledgeable. If they were, they’d be working elsewhere. Geek Squad seems to be just an extension of BestBuy’s retail space and isn’t necessarily a computer repair shop. I’ve heard BestBuy technicians tell customers some outlandish things (like if you don’t Shut Down Windows properly you can permanently damage your hardware or “computer don’t have modems anymore, they have ethernet cards” or “if Windows cannot boot, you probably lost the whole hard drive and will need a replacement”), and sometimes I just want to smack these know-it-alls who steer people in the wrong direction to make a commission.
If you’re having computer problems and will actually be paying for the service, take it to your local Mom and Pop. They’ll usually fix you right.
I liken Geek Squad to your local home ISP installation service (who BTW isn’t allowed to even LOOK at my computers – give me a green light on the cable modem and get out of my house).
Probably so. However, most of the people who would ask me for help have heard of Best Buy and Geek Squad, but would have been hard pressed to find one of those dozens of good independent techs. Perhaps the problem is not with their existence, but with the lack of advertising or the fact that they are not located where these people look for computers. Of course, the fact that they are not advertising or co-locating themselves in large retail stores where computers are sold could account for why they only charge half the price, too. Right?
What is exactly a “hard shut down?” If you’re referring to pulling the plug out of the wall, don’t you realize that it’s not pulling that plug on a PC that causes the damage but when power is restored (to an unsuspecting power supply) that causes problems? And with today’s hardware, that’s extremely rare anyway. But that’s not really my point of contention, anyway – you can easily hold a power button in for 10 seconds and shut off most modern computers and not suffer any ill-effects. In fact, Windows will usually inform you on a subsequent boot that the PC wasn’t shut down properly and ask you to run a chkdsk. Since Windows 98, I’ve never once run a chkdsk and have Windows not boot.
Permanent damage (which is what I said) indicates a hardware failure, and it being caused by Windows not being shut down “properly” is laughable.
Modems and ethernet cards have little to do with one another. A modem is not an ethernet card replacement in any sense. I use a modem every day and it has nothing to do with my Internet connection.
Windows not booting: It COULD be a physical hard drive problem, but in my vast experience, it is more than likely something corrupt with the Master Boot Record or a missing Windows system file (needed to boot). Even if I can’t get Windows to boot, I can usually get anything I need off a hard drive – provided it’s not the unlikely event of a physical failure (and even then, I’ve been able to temporarily repair a hard drive long enough to retrieve data).
Failing to shut down Windows properly can result in problems booting it later. The only permanent damage possibility I am aware of is with the hard drive; cutting the power could result in the read/write head running into the drive media in older drives. I think this is no longer an issue. It’s not particularly accurate, but it’s not bad advice. If it’s being offered to the customer as part of an attempt to convince him or her to buy new stuff, then it’s unethical.
But an ethernet card is a replacement for a modem when you are talking to Joe & Jane Everyman who are trying to buy a computer so they can get Internet (I get email with that, right?). It’s the thing that lets your individual computer connect up to other computers, either via a tiny cable that plugs into your phone line or via a slightly thicker cable that plugs into the cable or DSL modem.
In my experience (customizing and maintaining my own PCs since the days of the 486DX processor, building them from scratch since the Pentium III era), Windows not booting, if it’s a persistent problem, is some kind of hard drive issue more than half the time. Sometimes it’s minor corruption that can be fixed with chkdsk and a reinstall of Windows, sometimes I’m buying a new drive (or telling my friend John to buy one).
I get that you’re savvier than the Geek Squad techs, but I think you’re just a bit more outraged than the circumstances actually warrant. Maybe I’m reading too much into your post, though. Only you know for sure.
I don’t disagree, but, speaking as someone who works in technical support, a lot of people are wasting money on techs and consultants who don’t know shit. There are three major hated classes in my office - DJs (extremely stupid), lawyers (stupid and threatening) and consultants (stupid, threatening, and they won’t fucking listen).
Every time I talk with one of these people, I get the “I’m a professional, I know what the problem is” talk. Every single time, they have been wrong. Usually, they believe we have a major fault in our software and it ends up being a really stupid thing they did wrong, but they refuse to check anything for 45 minutes because they think they are so much smarter than I am. I had one idiot who basically was trying to interrogate me to confess that our product was crap and doesn’t do anything. At the end, after a combined total of hours of calls and emails back and forth, the very first thing I had asked him to check was the problem - he had lied to me that he had checked it.
Anyway, back to Geek Squad. I wouldn’t use them - you have just as good of a likelihood in finding a quality tech on your own (try Craigslist) and you won’t pay their rates. Looking at their website, they charge $129 to install software. Jesus!
Well when it comes to things like proprietary apps and such, I defer to the software guys at the vendor. IME they have liked working with me because thay can say a drive needs to be mapped and I do it without requiring directions. Or they can fax/email me a written set of instructions and know that I will be able to handle things like registry edits, network shares, port captures, etc. If I am on the phone to a software vendor, its because I don’t know and I do not want to lose customer data because I backed up the wrong folder or something.
Well considering Best buy could stop running the geek squad tomorrow and keep right on going without a hitch, I don’t consider the colocation a cost issue. If BB could make more money selling pink cyberwidgets in the same space GS would be out on their ass in less than a clock cycle. At the kind of volume they deal in for occupancy they actually pay less per square foot than many smaller shops. A fairly well known chain called Computer Troubleshooters set up shop here…about 1/2 mile from BB and right on a good high traffic corner with some decent street exposure. They folded in about a year, I heard he was paying $3500/mo for about 1200 sq ft.
My storefront I am about to open, very nice neighborhood, major street facing, $765/mo for 600 sq ft utilities included. Our whole operating budget will be less than he paid for rent.
I advertise on craigslist too but I also know that a more wreched hive of scum and villany does not exist than the craigslist tech community. I have cleaned up after dozens of them. Funny thing is, one of the most expensive services in this town ($110/hr) does not even have an office here but relays jobs to craigslist techs at $25-$35/hr. Basically all they have is an 800 number to thir office in arizona. I know this because they called me and asked if I would like to do work for them at $35/hr, I politely declined and told them at their bill rate they can afford my full rate and that I would give them a discount of they gave me over 10 hours a month in billable hours. They declined.
