# Circuit City unveils response to Best Buy's "Geek Squad" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 22, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697 "2006-09-22T12:47:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/1 "2006-09-22T12:47:17Z")
And it’s a lovely shade of chartreuse, and kind of lame…well a lot lame, but hey it’s a response… kinda. [Firedog!](http://www.firedog.com/) [They’re just so…so… ready!](http://www.firedog.com/fdpeople.html) ---
**Author:** ![934spe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/90db22/32.png) [@934spe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/934spe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/2 "2006-09-22T15:33:57Z")
They did get better cars though… ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/3 "2006-09-22T15:34:13Z")
They shoulda gone with a Hooter’s knockoff instead… ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/4 "2006-09-22T15:40:10Z")
> [@http://www.firedog.com](#): > > Real: Not a robot. Which is, of course, a major selling point in this age of robotic customer service technicians. At least he won’t be stealing your medicine for fuel. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/5 "2006-09-22T16:35:54Z")
…both of which seem to be a response to [Nerds On Site](http://www.nerdsonsite.ca), which has been around for more than a decade – at least in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/6 "2006-09-22T17:15:27Z")
I think Geek Squad predates Nerds on Site. Geek Squard started as a local Twin Cities service company in the mid 1990s. Best Buy bought them out about four years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/7 "2006-09-22T17:19:06Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I think Geek Squad predates Nerds on Site. Geek Squard started as a local Twin Cities service company in the mid 1990s. Best Buy bought them out about four years ago. Might be concurrent then; NoS started up in 1995. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/8 "2006-09-22T18:55:41Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > Might be concurrent then; NoS started up in 1995. Geek Squad, 1994. > **[Geek Squad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_Squad)** > > Geek Squad, Inc. is a subsidiary of American and Canadian multinational consumer electronics corporation Best Buy, headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. The subsidiary was originally an independent company founded by "Chief Inspector" Robert Stephens on June 16, 1994, and offers various computer-related services and accessories for residential and commercial clients. In 2002, they merged with Best Buy, retaining Stephens as the primary corporate leadership for the subsidiary. The Geek Squad p ---
**Author:** ![i\_am\_flash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/87869e/32.png) [@i\_am\_flash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_am_flash)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/9 "2006-09-22T19:09:08Z")
Since i work at Circuit City, i kind of feel i should at least support the company a little bit… I didn’t find out about it until it was pretty much ready to launch. I think the actual “official” support of firedog is supposed to be sometime in October. But they want us to push it really hard. Yeah, it did seem kind of lame to me, and i still think the name is dumb. But the service itself seems to be a bit more improved than Geek Squad, or what we had, IQ Crew (firedog is a better name than IQ Crew). Firedog is supposed to be some sort of full-range service system. It applies to computers, televisions, and most of the other electronic stuff in the store. So, not a bad idea but i still have no idea why they picked the retarded name. I have a little more knowledge of it than the average joe, so if anyone has any questions i can try and answer them. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/10 "2006-09-22T19:10:44Z")
That’s chartreuse? I always thought it was sort of a pinkish. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/11 "2006-09-22T19:45:09Z")
So Circuit City is trying to get a leg up on the competition …? ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/12 "2006-09-23T01:19:14Z")
It’s part of an overall series of moves by Phil Schoonover (President of CC) to remake Circuit in Best Buy’s image. Phil used to be EVP of “customer segments” at BBY, and has introduced a “customer centric” approach to marketing. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi\_m0FNP/is\_13\_44/ai\_n14796269](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FNP/is_13_44/ai_n14796269) Firedog is really derivative of Geek Squad – even the marketing materials look (to me) like pretty clear parallels of equivalent Geek Squad stuff. > [@934spe](#): > > They did get better cars though… No way. Beetles are way cooler than those fugly boxes. > [@Aanamika](#): > > That’s chartreuse? > I always thought it was sort of a pinkish. Nope – chartreuse is a mix of yellow and green, as I learned from Blue’s Clues a few years ago. This has come in handy in project status meetings. We often use green-yellow-red for status, and on several occasions when asked about a project’s status, I have responded “chartreuse,” if it was between green (everything’s okay) and yellow (Houston, we have a problem). ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/13 "2006-09-23T01:39:09Z")
For some reason, I imagine the Geek Squad Beetle and the Firedog Hummer meeting each other on the street, and some sort of computer-related gang war ensues. > [@Lord Il Palazzo](#): > > At least he won’t be stealing your medicine for fuel. Well, don’t they have insurance for that? [sub]Warning: Those who deny the existence of robots might be robots themselves[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/14 "2006-09-23T04:31:08Z")
I work at Circuit City too. Started a few weeks ago. I had a convo with one of my comp tech coworkers the other day, in response to the stupid name Firedog. I work in imaging and was bored. Me: “What the hell does Firedog mean? Like, Geek Squad makes sense, but Firedog? They just took 2 words and stuck them together!” Coworker: “Yeah, they could of named it…laser…pudding” Me: “Bwahaha.” But the Firedog guys get cool green shirts and we get ugly red ones. Boo on them. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/15 "2006-09-23T06:29:10Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > For some reason, I imagine the Geek Squad Beetle and the Firedog Hummer meeting each other on the street, and some sort of computer-related gang war ensues. Hummer? The Firedog vehicle is a Toyota Scion XB, a box on wheels that looks like it was designed by Ray Charles. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2006, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/16 "2006-09-23T10:23:14Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > Hummer? > > The Firedog vehicle is a Toyota Scion XB, a box on wheels that looks like it was designed by Ray Charles. I can assure you that Ray Charles wouldn’t have designed anything so ugly. The Scion Xb is one of those things that can only be created by someone _trying_ to fuck up. (The same with the Pontiac Aztek.) ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circuit-city-unveils-response-to-best-buys-geek-squad/373697/17 "2006-09-24T00:28:51Z")
The tiny picture on the site made me think it was a Hummer. I now see it is indeed the shoebox-shaped Scion XB, quite possibly the world’s ugliest car.