Question: Is Geek Squad a Good Choice for Computer Repair?
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- Опубліковано 24 лют 2015
- Is geek squad a good choice for computer repair?
-William T.
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My main Best Buy has knowledgeable people that know about pcs. But, i went two towns over to another geek squad, and they were horrible. It depends on the store, or the agent
I think with any computer shop it is going to be hit and miss. Overall I would recommend finding yourself a really good local computer guy who does independent work.
I work for Corporate Best Buy - Geek Squad.
When clients call in to confirm their estimate cost on repair parts, when it looks ridiculous, I tell my clients the truth. I tell them, you would rather just buy a new computer or take it to another Tech company to repair and see if they can get more cheaper parts. Because the parts we get for repair are coming STRAIGHT from the manufactures. Unlike the other guys, they’re getting parts from 3rd party sources. Parts from manufactures plus cost of labor is what adds to such a high price. Honest. And i still work there.
I work for geek squad and I have to say a few things in response. In my experience over the past few years, it has been known that all stores are different. Not all geek squads have the same knowledge, and it is in no way the geek squad agents fault. It is all on the management to train them all properly. Lucky for me I have a great background in PC/Mac repair so I have zero complaints about the work that I or my co-workers do. Now if you go to any other best buy I can not speak for them, but odds are their management neglects their training. Geek Squad does carry a bad name due to this fact but I can suggest that you don't hate on every geek squad for the actions of one.
it's not the actions of one... and... the point of having a large brand name is so that customers know they are getting consistent service regardless of which location they go to.
I agree with you on that but, but I'm telling you that you can't say they are all a bunch of idiots out to take your money. Some of us are working because we like what we do, not just for a paycheck. Unfortunately all employee training is on the BEST BUY managers who care more about sales than tech support. I can only speak for my store and I know that when anyone comes to our geek squad they get treated right and they all leave happy. I'm also sure if you go into geek squad with a shitty attitude, and looking for issues, then you will get what you came for.
***** Qualifications for Consultation Agents, which are the guy up front, checking the computers in, is just and GED/HS Diploma and being 16 or older. The Advanced Repair Agents, or the guys who actually do the work on the computers are typically only hired to that position when they have computer repair experience, or are internal hires from the CA position after a year or so. So no, you don't have to be A+ or anything, but you also can't be a fucktard, the clients will run you out.
+Eli the Computer Guy Live - Exactly!
+SuperFly - One of the largest issues with Geek Squad is their pricing, they gouge the customer for diagnostic fees and then pile on repair costs, no GOOD repair guy charges a few hundred to diagnose a problem. ALL Best Buy's use the same pricing model, they are consistent in screwing customers before proving they are good or bad at their job. Best Buy is good for my business, but horrible for the industry as they give all of us a bad name and I have to earn trust even harder because of them, 2 local Best Buy's have closed down near my area, another good thing for my business because there will be less pissed off people calling me. Nothing against you Super Fly.
I work for Geek Squad and atleast at our place. we have a really knowledgeable staff of agents. one of the busiest Geek squads in our state
I've found them very helpful over the last two years.
I work at Geek Squad. When a hardware related issue shows up, ie a bad mobo, we do nothing in store, we actually send it out to our service center in kentucky! Those agents do the hardware repair and then ship it back to us or directly to the client. (Yes, we refer to "customers" as clients). The whole shipping and fixing process we quote at taking about a month. If the item is still under manufacturer's warranty, we can send it out for free, if it has an extended Geek Squad warranty, we do the same, but if there is no warranty, we charge ~200 + cost of parts to the client.
I honestly have only met very technically smart people at my Geek Squad, we make some mistakes, but we're only human am I right? The company is definitely not very consistent, but that's why my Best Buy is one of the best in the nation then I guess :P Lol
StrategyGameKing Yes! Same here! Something people have to understand is that one of the reasons we send out units with motherboards, jack issues etc is because the facilty they are going to are able to source parts easier. Having a single huge facility that has connections with companies that source PC parts is more efficient for the company than having hundreds of precincts having to source parts on their own. Our precinct rocks btw!
Very well said, sir. One thing I had heard about Geek Squad is that they do not necessarily repair the computers on site, rather, they box them up and ship them elsewhere to be fixed. I cannot speak to that for all Geek Squads nationwide, I just heard about the ones in my area doing that.
I only have one experience with geek squad and it was awful as well. I bought a laptop and about six weeks later I had the hard drive crash. I could not even access the partition for recovery. I took it to the store and they said it would be four to six weeks and all they kept doing was trying to up-sell me everything under the sun. It wound up being a manufacturer problem (Lenovo) they replaced the hard drive and sent it back to me. They had not configured it properly so it would only boot in safe mode. I still could not access the recovery partition. I spent probably 5 hours on the phone trying to get someone to help me to no avail. I eventually requested the boot disk be sent to me so i could just re-install myself and they wanted to charge me for them. After much frustration I convinced the manager to send me the disk for free. I re-installed and all was well. Except for the two months i did not have my computer.
+Michael Jett - Your experience is the average, not the exception. Sadly.
Michael Jett - all manufacturer problems yet Geek Squad is to blame. Order online next time and you won't have someone to put the blame on. Geek Squad did not manufacturer the faulty hard drive, so how are they responsible? It's easy to push the blame on there retailer. That is why there are protection plans...
Michael Jett I like how when you do things yourself, most of the time things are done right.
Can u help me i accidentally deleted some importaint files and it wont let me sign in something about a proofsvc
Where do you recommend to take a computer to get it fixed for good price (didn't watch whole vid)
I response to this video and Geek Squad, I too am a Geek Squad employee but for a precinct in the UK.
In terms of knowledge, you have to have prior knowledge in order to be asked to interview, then the interview stages screen out applicants who aren't applicable, then there is a one week boot camp which again having a place on that course does not
immediately mean you have the job.
As you can see it's not just turn up get the job.
In terms of how we are received here in the UK, all i can say is very positively, the only gripe I have with the company is that the criteria to be hired is so demanding that some stores are in need of a few more Geek Squad agents because they haven't hired non suitable Agents.
Please don't tar all of us with the same brush, I cannot speak for the US section of our company, however I know all my fellow Agents would back me in saying, we never turn a job down or give up and always provide a great service.
I wouldn't say stay away from them they are a big company so once in a while you run into some bad eggs as with anything company. Never had a problem. But I only like to deal with level 2 so not the first people you speak with its who they transfer you to, they know what they are doing.
The prices at Best buy is to high, $70 for a hard driver for my lab top $40 bucks to check it out. Then told me it will cost $129 to reboot it. I brought the hard driver and went home and did the work my self and just paid them $40 dollars to diagnose the problem.
Hello Eli, big fan of your videos!
I believe the client you are talking about in this video exaggerated things a bit. For instance, if her computer is covered under manufacturers warranty, geek squad will not charge to replace the motherboard. The only thing she will be charged for is $34.95 shipping fee.
It doesn't take a month and a half, it takes somewhere in between 2-4 weeks. Usually, the whole process is completed within 2 weeks. The reason it takes this long is because, geek squad doesn't fix major hardware problems, such as replacing motherboards in store. we have to send it to our service center, which is out of state(Kentucky).
Problems addressed in stores are software issues for example virus removal, corrupt os, software installation, diagnostics,etc & minor hardware upgrades such as, ram, hard drive installation and so on.
I don't understand how geek squad "locked her out of her profile". I don't even understand what that means! But I am going to assume that it means locked out of Windows. Not sure how, but let's paint a picture... New motherboard was installed by the service center. Which means the tech at the service center did a fresh OS install. Now why would the tech go out of his way to create a user profile for the client and put a password on it ? It just doesn't add up. To me it sounds like the person forgot her password and just wanted to blame someone.
Honestly, I don't buy the example that you gave in this video. Someone is bullshiting !
This review of geek squad felt very biased and none of it was through your own experience. If you guys have any questions about GS, I'll be happy to answer them and clear up the misunderstandings.
+SystemOverloadl to clear one thing up - if a unit is covered under MFW (Manufacturer Warranty) we will not charge a fee to have the unit shipped to our service center for the fulfillment. That cost only applies to COD repairs out of warranty.
if its under warranty everything is free at our store. shipping the repairs are free
I work in the retail tech field and I one can say a vast majority of customers will downright lie to your face on how their computer got that way. It made diagnosing the actual problem hard or near impossible with software related issues because they cannot tell the truth. Most of it is obvious when they say they turned on the computer one day and it was acting funny and they did not do anything different and you can clearly see Malware programs plastered all over the desktop. You are correct. When computers are shipped out for manufacturer's warranty, it takes a few weeks but its not the fault of Best Buy or from whoever did the shipping. It's the fault of the manufacturer usually because sometimes the computer is shipped overseas or left in the back room forgotten at the manufacture's place. Replacing a motherboard in total should not take more than 2 days to do.
What is the use of service fee for
The service center fee is a non-refundable charge to have the device shipped off to a Geek Squad service center for repair. When the device is received by our service centers and analyzed, the client is then called with a quote, but if they pre-approved a certain amount that they are willing to pay before they agreed to have the device shipped off, and the quote falls within that range, the service center will proceed with repair.
Lol funny you bring this up! I agree with you 100% on everything you said. The same has happened with a few of my clients also. There was also a point where i had people coming find me telling me that the locate geek squad told them to come to me. The problems they had the GS couldn't repair so they would tell them about loll...I found that to be really odd but i love to have a name where people know if i touch something its right. Whatever the case was at that location.....
Whelp, wish I saw this video 30 mins befor I set up an appointment to have my pc repaired
just dont show up
I worked there for a bit. I have made a video on this being bad as well. I also have worked for Flextronics doing warranty repair work for Apple and IBM. And some small shops. But yes many horror stories about working there.
I have had people I used to work with come to me since then. And have me do the work instead lol. Even as recent as a week ago. I did remote support for a person a few states over. Because she refused to have BestBuy work on her computer. Even though she worked there still lol. She refused to even buy a HDD from there. And ordered one from Amazon instead.
i like the fact that you sent someone into best buy for a warranty repair of a computer without knowing the process for warranty repairs. Its because of that reason, ANYTHING they did either in store or at the Kentucky repair location, was going to impact the clients experience due to bad expectations you set. For someone who is talking about caring so much about CLIENTS and building long lasting interactions that are just past a current sale, you really dont set people up to win. "Oh I CAN DO this, but go here and then call me back." Doesnt sound like a good strategy tbh.
I shouldn't tell people to use the warranty they paid for..?
+Eli the Computer Guy Live not saying that at all. Im saying you shouldnt be sending people to other companies without fully educating them what the actual process is. How many computers do you think they are repairing on any given day/week/month? Im guessing here, but a computer client being told "I can fix it in home for this and this price for this long" sets expectations that the work can be completed that quickly vs the computer potentially needing to be sent out for complete repairs. It steers people to disappointment when someone, in this case not affiliated, doesn't let them know them know what truly happens.
I was in a bestbuy recently at the service desk picking up an online order. Right next to me was the geek squad counter and there was a 20ish year old guy basically feeding a couple who brought in their PC for something just lie after lie. I really think he was making things up as he went. I almost interjected and told the couple to run.
@The Dairy Blob So Geek Squad is out, where should I go for data recovery? I have a 3Tb Seagate external hard drive that won't start up. No clicking but the day I noticed it not working, it would buzz 3 times for 20-30 seconds, then silence. Now I just get silence.
Someone needs to compete with Geek squad
1:36 sounded like the typhoon h drone controller lmao
I worked for BBY before and after the acquisition of Geek Squad. Originally, the tech bench worked on everything best buy sold except for appliances. I remember using a 24V dc power supply to activate the motors on a VHS to remove a tape for the local police. We were given tests before we could begin work at the tech bench. Mainly questions about motherboard resources configurations. For example I remember my boss asking me what the default IRQ of a sound card was.
Then geek squad was aquired. I believe it was BBY's attempt to dumb down the tech bench so they could pay the employees less by moving sales staff into the position so they could sale more services. Us tech types were a bit too honest I guess.
I also know BBY was having a hard time defining what a computer repair was. The sought to unify all problems into the smallest amount of solutions. This meant things like virus removal slowly disappeared and was replaced by format and reinstall. A lot of us original tecs have moved on and have been replaced by sales staff that knows very little about computer repair.
What chair do you use, I like it.
i brought my pc to geek squad to fix and when i got it back it wasnt even fixed
My dad's computer had a failing ram module, by the time geed squad was done with him he had a new computer, I got my hands on the old one, removed the bad ram and it's fine to this day.
I was about to apply for Computer Technician (Counter Intelligence Agent 1) but now im rethinking it... Whats the job like? do they train you? any qualifications needed?
Tomtopah if you have A+ qualification you are considered *over qualified* (for geek squad) even though that’s the base IT Qualification
I had the same experience with Geek Squad here in Irvine Ca. the experience was horrible. I took my computer for repair since it was under warranty still by Sony but Sony had sold off their PC division and we're no longer servicing any PC's. anyways I took my PC, a laptop that was completely destroyed from a car accident expecting a replacemtnm . well all these people did was replace the screen . all the internal hardware stayed the same, which was damaged should I add. after I complained to the manager that all they did was replace the careen knowing that all the internal components were more than likely damage . he had no answer he kept saying there was nothing else he could do. he got my so pissed off that he didn't offer a solution. I just went ahead and bought a new laptop and was basically stuck with a paperweight laptop.
I have never taken my computers or anything to geek squad. Nor any IT repair place, I learned IT repair from my friends when we built my PC. I've started my own IT repair side work recently, and I make a few bucks here and there, but it's because my friends and family trust the fact I'm not bullshitting them.
Story time:
I was at a best buy, (purchasing a hard drive) for my PC. This lady wanted her computer upgraded, but geek squad couldnt do anything with it because it had a lot of viruses. It was seriously a RAM upgrade. She stated it was in the shop for a few days, I told her I could help, and I open her laptop, and it turns out that the tech that worked on it installed a fake program onto the machine. Noticing that the installation date was THE day she got it back, but earlier in the morning. What I found out is that geek squad will fuck you over if it isn't even your fault. This lady got a virus on her computer that was never there when she took it in. What that tells me is that geek squad installs viruses, and tells you that it's your fault. At least that's how my best buy does it.
I heard you mention Norton and a little thing Comcast really does not let known is that people who have comcast can get norton for free for up to 4 computers this is some thing most of there help does not know but you will need room on your hard drive because norton is heavy and will take up space
I'm about to start geek squad to gain more experience.. hopefully I at least learn something while getting paid. Better than strictly retail i suppose. I actually want to learn and help people with tech.
This guy is right, it's not the one-shot sale but the long term relationship. I have one client for 27 years. They get the best service, first time, every time. They are now under the second generation and our relationship is just as strong. Always strive to do the best. If you mess up, let them know and fix it on your dime, not theirs.
You're so honest. I agree Geek Squad are too expensive for their work quality. I could tell just by talking to this guy that he was incompetent.
I work at a geek squad, and I can say that we do a good job at my store. I have had bad experiences with other geek squads, and constantly get people in from other stores for help. Honestly, I would suggest geek squad to most people, but only if they have a small geek squad with CIA job titled agents like we do. At stores with very small geek squads, you get to see the person working on your computer. Otherwise, you will never talk to anyone who fixes computers. Our store is top 20 in the company, and we only have 6 agents. It really is the small stores that care and give the best service in my personal experience.
+Daniel Bergman As a computer technician myself, The service from geek squad is completely overpriced, and you know that if you work there. The only good thing about geek squad is mri.
I sent my laptop to geek squad to fix my screen flickering and then got it back after 2 months and then got the same problem again a week later.
hey im looking for a job in computers and im in school now for computers. so do you think geeksquad as a first time job?
+Hank Domning If you even want a real computer or networking job, keep that job off your resume. Most real shops will can your resume once they see that you've worked there. They will assume that you have no idea what your doing without your flipchart.
OK! thanks!
They’ve fixed my mess ups a lot but maybe it’s just because my only problem was the screen.
Thanks
I think this applies to all warranty work.
Yes, I'm sure the MFG techs can do just as horrible of a job.
Good video. I've always wondered why people would go to best buy, staples, office max etc to get their computer fixed in the first place? Office max sells office stationary and the like, they are an 'office supply' store. Same as any other market. I wouldn't go to pet smart to have my laptop repaired either. I guess the office stores at least sell the equipment so maybe that's it. It's kinda pathetic though when you think about it. Since we 'sell' the equipment lets start 'servicing' it... Do we really know how?.... No, but it's another source of revenue lol. Can't blame them for trying I guess. But the shoppers?? I really don't get that part. I'm not calling people dumb or anything, buy why would you think of an office supply store when you need computer service? If I had a toothache I wouldn't go to Target to have dental work done, even if they offered it. It just wouldn't seem like a very bright thing to do.
I have been waiting a month for install
Why are you not comfortable with Norton? The majority of my clients are corporate accounts and I have them on Symentac End Point Protection. It is a cloud managed antivirus solution and it is a great product albeit an annual subscription applies. All of my clients but one has had positive results with this service, the one client let their subscription lapse for a month and it was a little bit of work to get the application to resync with the SEP server services. We got past it and everything is right again.
I am a GeekSquad agent, there are plenty of occasions where things do take time, and I'm not trying to debate, but be fair...GeekSquad can provide top level work at affordable prices...each store differs unfortunately though, not every store is bad, but that's the same with the little shops too! I know what repair shops are good and which aren't...it's the same just by store essentially. I know it shouldn't be like that but it is
+Vince Botts - Call GS, have them come to your house, as they step through the door you have already spent $140 or more, just to say hi, the odds of the person knowing what they're talking about, maybe 50% (I'm being generous). A good chunk of my business is cleaning up after BB screwed it up. I have had two in the last 2 weeks. The last laptop GS left their diagnostic DVD in the drive, the diagnostic DVD program refused to even load and this is what they used to determine a $450.00 laptop repair.
Little shops, where do you see little shops anymore? Best Buy and other big box stores put most out of business but I can tell you as one of a few little shops that squeeze out a living, my work never comes back but the customers do, little shops may make some mistakes but I would put our work up against all of BB any day of the week, plus we cost less.
Wonder if theres a group similar to Geek Squad but for Software. One that I can take my newly bought PC and they will install and configure Dual boot Linux (Mint or Zorin OS) with Windows 10, all the drivers specially the GPU fully configured, BIOS flashed updated and configured, both Windows and Linux fully optimized and configured for gaming and privacy. A service that does that for me, I'd pay thousands for. But I do mean super software detail down to system registry and disabling data collection services.
Because in the end, when I pay thousands for a gaming rig, I want it because I wanna blow steam off in games, not because I want to spend hours and hours reading what things gather data, what services to disable, how to flash a bios, how to properly configure nVidia driver for performance... no, just buy the system and play. Like a console, but less useless.
Wow. I never had a problem personally.
I would say yes cause i had a huge virus/problem my computer hard drive wasnt working and i got a virus and they fixed it like swatting a fly
Geek Squad Hire Technicians Without CompTIA A+ than How the Hell Those Technicians Know Work Ethics
hate to bump this, but i used to work at GS and Im a contractor at comcast now making $1000-$2000 a week on a regular basis - but everything you said is true to a "t". Even the agents that know whats going on just dont care enough to not just fix the issue but fix it properly. And they even just recently upped their prices and lowered the number of devices covered under their tech support plan. In their one defense though, we write their passwords when we have to change them on at least 10 different post it notes before the client leaves and even have them sign in to make sure it does work but for whatever reason they can never remember the change. Webroot is defn worth paying for though Ive never had a problem with that software since the year plus Ive had it....but last issue of note - the geriatrics have to stop opening their lifetime savings and 401k accounts to "microsoft" and everybody else they get calls from because they refuse to comprehend the fact that you are NOT supposed to open, click, give your SSN, etc to half of India thats calls and asks for it because they click on more ads than solitaire cards. I literally just had to leave because I could not take hearing about these couples losing $10,000+ 10-15x a day because they were never educated or bothered to even attempt to learn or ask in the first place. Oui even just the past five minutes typing this has brought that "incurable" headache back where the only relief would come from a brick wall.
CX service from George Washington explaining your X1 service is not much better but at least some of the customers care about the quality and we get to make more in a week installing and troubleshooting than a months worth of work at BestBuy.
Nah mean?
so this one time I had a bad experience with geeksquad so basically I wanted a repair done on my Toshiba the sides of it were coming off and your the fan and then so I took the Best Buy I thought everything was going to be good I waited about like 3 weeks then I got the laptop all I see on the sides of it was like hot glue and then like after like two weeks of having it it came undone and did the same thing and then a couple months later it just stopped working so yeah and now I have a computer getting sent to Best Buy I mean the geeksquad for a repair and they basically just told me that they're going to replace it and junk it out so hopefully everything goes well for me
I love how they sell totaltech as a cover all insurance. They wont fix anything, told me to buy a charger, battery and they would install it.
Another thing also is that they pay their employees little over minimum wage
edymasta I make $10.66 as an operations agent at Geek Squad, minimum wage where i'm at is 7.50. Still sucks though.
Magic Johnson ehh, its better than nothing though, what are your aspirations to be in the future?
I'm getting a CS degree, don't really care what I do, prefer to code stuff though. I honestly can't see myself doing IT, plan on staying here 2-3 more years MAX. If I get a paid internship for $13 an hour or something I'm out. I feel really unversed in coding though, my first year at college felt very basic, just c and c++, but no real depth to the teachings, just making simple programs that do simple things. I want to find a good long ass guide that teaches me a coding language like c++ but very very deeply.
Magic Johnson From what I heard in the programming field is that bot camps and at home learning is more useful than college which is a shame because I think learning by your own is better and more efficient for your time although employers need degrees
+edymasta - If you start any job with no experience then the low wage is deserved, if you get a job at Geek Squad and have certs and experience BB should pay according to what your experience level is, but I never hear anybody brag about what they make there.
Is geek squad a good STARTING point for IT professionals ?
I would say it can be. Like with any career you have to start somewhere and that is usually at the bottom of the industry. After getting experience there and maybe getting a few certifications you can then look into hiring on with a consulting company.
Depends on the store. Completely.
As a current CA in a busy precinct I would love to have a direct, recorded conversation with you in regards to a service you've never used or investigated (outside of hear-say).
Offer is on the table.
it depends where the ship the computer do when they repair it so you never know what's going to happen to your computer when they repair it you never know if it's a bad geeksquad repair place or if it's a good one you never know so not all geeksquad places are bad it's some of them you got to watch out for0
Well I wished I knew this before. I was having problems with my laptop so I took it to them. They said that the hardrive was dead and I needed to get a new one. They couldn't transfer my shit from the old laptop to the new one. They told us to try this place where they charge $250 to start. I said that I'll just try it myself.
Got home. Logged in to the old laptop. I was able to transfer the most important files to a flashdrive. Something that they couldn't do, and I was able to do it for six bucks. (The price of the flashdrive. It was on a Black Friday sale.)
And then I realized that I'll need to know the link to a website I never remember the link to, so I go into the internet just to grab that link. Well, THE LAPTOP'S WORKING JUST FINE NOW!
I'm going to give it a few days before deciding to take this new one back or not. I'll probably take it to someone who can actually do their job and if they say that there's nothing wrong with the hardrive, I'm going to go back to Best Buy and get my money back!
The reason they cannot do it in-store is because if they promise they can get your data from a failing hard drive, and low and behold, there is tons of corrupt information, they could be held legally liable for YOUR loss of information. You're still taking that chance when you grabbed it yourself.
All they did was run diagnostic tests that told them the information they were looking for. A failing hard drive doesn't mean your computer is dead, but it does mean that any work that they do could be for naught when the drive completely fails.
Always backup your important data, anytime you make it.
Just got my computer back a week ago after waiting a month for my computer to be returned. Many screws missing and thee screen freezes constantly. Definitely don't use geek squad.
I'll stick to being a geek squad auto tech, I cant vouch for any claims done at geek squad as a whole. My Co workers seem to grasp what's necessary for in store fixes but hey I don't quite know since I tinker with all the car audio back in the auto Bay. Hope most people take the chance and experience geek squad as a whole before using a review or two to have an opinion on the matter.
LMFAO I I actually was the first purse a Geek Squad person at Best Buy at their main corporate store in Minnesota and started doing side Tech work from customers that came into the store before Geek Squad was even a thought in the store
Now back at that was back in 1999 2000 something
I never thought Geek Squad very highly rather I thought it was a bad idea back then
2002-2003 Best Buy got stupid no more people that knew what they were selling or talking about. In 1999-2000 Best Buy was actually recruiting employees from Circuit City because Circuit City Employees actually knew what they were doing and selling and had a passion for that area of sales i e televisions car audio computers appliances at the Circuit City I worked at each department knew their stuff inside and out and Best Buy came in and secretly offered better pay to all of us and we basically left the Circuit City in Brooklyn Park one by one and even in groups to go to Best Buy but again that was when Best Buy was truly coming up and was going to take over circuit City's knowledge base and customer base but they screwed up they're still around today but you go in and nobody knows anything
. In the past 5 years I've gone into Best Buy less and less and only going in out of necessity or when I was going to actually profit off of their stupidity and I don't mean scamming them or getting something I shouldn't but rather when I saw a major error that I could benefit from why not they're bad company
i got hacket in jan 2018 and they put a password on it but geeksquad cleaned it up and they put the firewall in it and things were going great and then i got a call from them and they told me that i owed them 63.00 or they are going to take the stuff off i didnt have the money so, they took it off so now i found a better one threw my computer place norton security
I have my own Tech support business called Tech Rohan.
This appears to be a bunch of BS to me. I worked Geek Squad for 5+ years. I am not saying they are the greatest by any means, but they are far superior to your local techie kid on Craigslist. The warranty in claim here, was a manufacturer warranty. They should feel grateful to have the company they purchased from be willing to ship to mfg and have repaired. Geek Squad and Best Buy have no liability here, yet they still provide options like shipping and receiving from mfg for these customers. Had they purchased a protection plan or tech support, the cost would have been completely covered. If this customer had purchased from you or direct from mfg, their only choice would be to box and ship machine themselves .
Yes we are there to sell. We are also there to back those sells up with exemplary customer service and repairs. This is a business. All businesses are here to make money, not friends. Have your friend build you a machine and than try to decide what to do when mobo goes out. Good luck...
I'm sure this experience differs from store to store so I'm not saying you are completely wrong. However, I had many customers come in after paying 200+ at a local tech support, still needing our services.
Getting locked out of an account is BS. I'm sorry Microsoft decided to have Wondows 8^ accounts tied to a Microsoft account, and you can't remember your damn password. That is 100% your fault, no one else's.
This video is completely bias based off someone that makes money by telling people "pay more here , because I will do better than Geek Squad"
Right there with you. The ability for Best Buy/Geek Squad to send out your computer under the Manufacturers warranty, for free, is a benefit to shopping at Best Buy. No other Retailer does that for people. Otherwise, you get to talk to the manufacturer on your own and take care of shipping yourself.
No, you will never get the same experience at every store. Not every knows, or CAN know, the exact same information and think the same way as everyone else in the tech industry.
We're also given a limited time to diagnose an issue and try to find a way to fix these things. Some things are easy to find and fix on the spot. Others can take awhile to fix and you may have to pay for the repair.
Also Norton has no use. Period. Use Defender.
EntKing89 - GeekSquad works for the FBI
EntKing89 not quite. Two employees who worked for Geek Squad, also gave information to the FBI for compensation. Isolated incident that could happen in any profession.
Close though.
I have geeksquad on now
These days, for most people who do not game and have a home computer, always weight the cost of a new $400 computer against the estimate cost of repair.
Geek Squad and the like do not do anything for less than $100 and usually go from there.
I like this.
I'm a pretty computer savvy guy and I want to apply and work in best buy, hopefully the. geek squad, will I lose brain cells working for them?
Depends on the store, make sure you work with knowledgeable people
Just wear your tin foil hat everyday and you'll be fine
i bought computer and i accidentally spilled water on it and got 2 year geek sqaud protection plan (because protection plans are usally good) so i brought it to them/called/something this happened last month they said 'looks like it has water damage' (YEAH NO SHIT) and they brought it back to me within 10 mins i went home with it and i discovered it wasnt turning on so i went back and they looked at it again and it and gave it back to me they said 'this is out of our league' so i brought it to a 3rd party repair they said 'whats your protection plan?' i said 'geek squad' they replied saying 'g-geek squad??' i said 'yes and i spilled water on this' they responed 'water? hmm well its an easy fi-' seconds later i said 'is something wrong?' they replied 'WHAT DID THEY DO???? key components are corrupted, looks like they dried the water! its going to be a couple days of work, is that ok for you?' i said 'thats fine!' couple DAYS of work to get replacement parts, install them, overall the cost was around $250 and its fantastic! TL;DR: DONT BUY GEEK SQUAD way to over priced! (btw i spent about $400 on a 2 year protection)
I had a good experience with Geek Squad. They fixed my broken laptop very well.
Does anyone know if Geek Squad is a good place to work?
+Arenzoj Not sure why Klipschhead281 is being harsh towards it. But I am currently an agent and have been with my best buy store in a total of 6 years now and part of geek squad for 2 of those years (took cashier job to get foot in the door and then moved my way to where i wanted). First let me start this with Geek Squad is a great place to work in terms of their culture they have at the store. It can really get you into starting a job in IT. However I do have to say it all completely depends on your store and what I mean by this is your management and your co workers. Obviously if you work with management that puts sales ahead of everything, then you will get frustrated and if you have co workers who barely know what they are doing and just skating by with doing the bare minimum, then it will be a bad experience. Do not let that stop you from applying though.
Apply, and if you get in, do your absolute best, try to not let the retail side of things get you down and always aspire to do better as you progress in the job. Heck, even if you go in and have a great attitude and do an awesome job, that will only rub off on others and help them do better. I have witnessed it myself in the 6 years I have worked at best buy and I lucked out to be in an awesome store.
Managers do push sales a lot but will not bother me and stop me from doing my job and duties just to make a sale. I will help when needed obviously for whatever they need but usually they just need me for some fast info and questions a client might have during a sale. Our precinct is a close group of agents, its pretty much like a family lol. we get along and do great work but obviously theres the occasional gripe and argument, but we get over it and never let it effect our job or the client experience. Sorry for the super long post, but I hope this info was helpful to you!
coldman : I was pretty clear why I'm harsh towards GS. There are of course some good people in GS, but they are the exception not the rule.
ya i replied to this comment first before reading the other comment you left that i replied to.
They are sooo expensive to just fix a simple task.
BRUH MY LAPTOP IS NOT WORKING AGAIN I TOOK IT TO GEEK SQUAD 5 DAMN TIMES THE 1ST. WAS A BROKEN SCREEN. 2,3,4,5 IS HARD DRIVE THEY KEEP GIVING ME BAD HARD DRIVES LIKE WTF
Eli the good guy.
My gaming laptop's keyboard is failing because water spilled in it, :/ but it still works tho
I can't think of one instance to use Norton, just no...
Just stay away from Apple, HP, and Acer - dont buy anything that still has an "HDD" in it, practice good backup habits (to flash drives that dont deteriorate, maybe a WD My Cloud also even though that makes a little too much common sense for one post), and don't worry about upgrading anything past 8GB of RAM thinkin you'd be able to see a difference even thought the rest of the general world can't; keep Kaspersky/Webroot/Trend updated and I'd be willing to bet your issues with products from BestBuy, PC's especially; just seem to all diminish.
...Then build your own damn PC next time you are in the market - like half of the so called other Techs that worked at GS that were part of this post and should already know how to do that as well also. Yes?
I don't think Geek Squad repair PC towers anymore, I think they only do laptops now, every time I go there I only see laptops on their racks.
I recently bought a $1300 PC + Monitor that is not working (computer is not working for the monitor) for my mother and she supposedly called Geek Squad to come on site and fix the computer and I can't stop her. Should I be scared that they're going break the computer? I don't want my $1300 going down the drain because they can't fix it when they come next week :/
+Hammer (Nightcaper) If it is that new (sounds like an Apple honeslty) but regardless, take it to the store, immediatelty escalate to the DCI (in charge of the Geeks) and just swap for a new unit...Obviously I havent seen it, but $1000+ computers dont come out of boxes not working for no apparent reason....
Man there is so much I would love to spill but hell I had to make this dummy account so the people who spy on all our social media would get wise. Yes someone at BBY gets paid a very nice 50k-60k+ a year to do this. Lets just say when it comes down to it with what is dumped on an agent's plate is totally unfair. Not only from what they expect of you but the time frame they allot you to do xyz, quality of work yeah none, unless you hit some lucky jackpot and get someone who either really knows how to google or may know something. Lets just say man it's gone downhill from what it used to be.
My one key is in the process of being fixed wish me good luck
its also shitppiung
👍🏾👍🏾
I agree with the comment Geek Squad Caution. BUyer think twice and get a second opinion from another technical support company Please.
The repair that was covered under manufacturers warranty, had nothing to do with Geek Squad. They just send it to the manufacturer and they fix it. Turn time and work done is all on the manufacturers side not Geek Squad.
Geek Squad CIA's in the distribution center do the Factory Warranty work and the Manufacturer pays geek squad for it. I know I worked for Geek Squad City. And yes it's a rip off compared to independent repair techs. All geek squad cares about is numbers. Most agents repair on avg. at least 10 Pcs daily. 8 is the minimum. Also all the parts either under warranty or not are recertified parts, not new like they lead customers to believe.
I really HATE the Qeek Squad online tech support for computers
hope you realize geeksquad instore cannot repair motherboards in store do to CORPORATE restrictions soo ya we cant due to our bosses repair them instore.. motherboard replacement runs 3-500 depending and thats if it outside of year mfg
I'm sure they're happy with less customer who would complain about everything anyway
They don't really repair any hardware, just replace.
Unfortunately, Best Buy is great for my business but people are so pissed when they call me they are mad in general and have put up with so much bullshit it makes it hard to talk them down. After a long talk on the phone letting them vent I explain exactly what I can do, how long it will take and how much it will cost. My latest was for a Doctor who spent $250.00 for Best Buy to "DIAGNOSE" that his laptop hard drive was dead. I was able to purchase a brand new drive, image the machine and have it back to him like new for less than $200.00. His final cost to repair a simple problem was $450.00, the laptop was a nice machine but it's not worth it to put any further money into it. He's happy but dealing with ex-Best Buy customers, I feel sorry for them because they simply didn't know any better.
+KlipschHead281 not sure where $250 would come from to get a diagnostic done for a unit at geek squad. Geek squad recently changed their pricing and support plans on the 13th of this month. Its now $150 for a time fee of diagnostic and repair of the unit (so if the hdd died, the only extra cost would be the cost of the hdd and recovery media if they would need to order it), But the client can also pay $200 for the 24/ 7 support plan which is a year of service so they can bring in the computer as many times as they like during the year of service and pretty much any service we offer is covered.
the only thing that plan does not cover is hardware and data back up (data back up $100 on its own, or you get a discount if you are a member of the 24/7 support plan which brings it down to $85). Maybe thats where the $250 came from, where he bought a data back up and the one time service fee which would be $250. So yes for just a diagnostic it is $150, but that also include the repair of the computer granted he bought the hdd and had recovery media or ordered it from the manufacturer. (we can't keep just plain windows install discs at the store, its a policy and copyright issue for best buy in general) I can also relate to an angry client from getting bad services. We have had plenty ourselves when they come from staples (in this area any way) but thats not to say all staples does a bad job of repairing computers or do bad jobs on their services. so ultimately it sounds like your clients repair would have been maybe $350 total had he stayed with best buy to repair it. $150 for the one time repair, $100 for the data back up, $50 for the hdd and maybe $30-50 for recovery media from the manufacturer.
Just one last thing to note as well, sometimes we can save clients a money by cloning over their old hard drive to use the recovery partition and using that to restore the operating system on the new hdd. Obviously its a hit or miss scenario, just depends on how damaged the hdd is. Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to give a little incite from behind the counter.
coldman : Dude, seriously, essays for a response are overkill. You are over explaining something that means nothing to me, BB sucks, their reputation is well deserved.
+KlipschHead28, you're certainly entitled to your opinion and ya my responses can be lengthy but I rather be more informative than give info assuming whoever i reply to knows more than they actually do. Like i said before, its just information from the other side of the counter, but i respect your opinion either way
coldman : You said you didn't understand why I was harsh, I was clear on why. Having to clean up after the local BB's for a while now, nothing you say will convince me of anything except they have maybe one good employee.
like i said, I did not read your one comment before replying to the other. I understand after reading your original post. Just the way youtube has the comments listed by default, i happened to the see the one first but still gave a reply to yours after i saw it. Not really trying to turn your opinion completely around, just give the other point of view on the subject is all. If your opinion changed at all, cool, if not then fine.
this question HAD to be a troll... right?
who, that knows enough to listen to elithecomputerguy, would even ask this?
I wish I saw this before I sent in my xbox series X for a simple HDMI port fix. the whole experience has been terrible -> worse customer service ive ever seen. complete disaster of how they run things. I like the ppl at the desk but its the folks that run the order of things I cannot stand. their backend system sucks a ton.
Geek Squad are high school students that have no clue about computers. They are trained for a couple hours and become a tech guru! LOL...uhhhh, ok...sure. Please people, you can do it yourself.
I work for Geek Squad. I'm 30 years old and I am certified through Ashworth University as a PC software and hardware technician. Half of my coworkers are older than I am. We don't have anyone from high school on my team.
There is no school called Ashton University. You went to Ashton vocational college which is an online school...that's like a glorified high school with ash trays..hence the name Ash-ton. That explains why you're working for Geek Squad at an hourly rate and not a real institute for a yearly salary.
@@GamingPalooza get rekt
Yeah, GeekSquad is garbage. They hire salesmen, not technicians. And if they by chance they do hire an actual technician with some knowledge, the pay is so horrid that it rips whatever love you have for geeky things right out of your ass. To the point to where you don't even care about your job, and end up locking the client out of their own profile.
Tom Miller My point exactly. But if you buy a 2 year geek squad protection now, you'll save 20%!!!
GeekmaticTV They pay is actually pretty decent for a guy in college, especially compared to what other part-time college jobs pay. I make $13/hr as a Repair Agent with Geek Squad. I will not lie to you, I have worked with some complete fucktards, who did fuck shit up. however, we would usually be able to double check his shit before a client picked it up.
Brian Walker Wow - maybe times have changed, but back when I was there - technicians were making no more than a dollar than people selling on the floor. I want to say it was barely $10 hour. This was about 4 or 5 years ago.
Couldn't agree more... I can't believe people still have complaints about the repair service company up to this day
+GeekmaticTV - Times haven't changed, they still suck, there may be a chance somebody who knows what they're doing will check somebody else's work, so Geek Squad Russian Roulette. ;)
Eli I love your videos but how can you give an honest opinion on the subject if you are talking from a biased standpoint? Have you ever personally used Geek Squad services for a repair? I do agree that that job offer situation you mentioned seemed incredibly sketchy but I don't think it's fair to generalize that experience with Geek Squad as a whole especially considering there are multitudes of different types of Agents. I can agree that experiences can be varied with Geek Squad and some of the prices can be expensive but I honestly feel that they provide good services to the average joe. I also know there are Agents that truly care about their clients and work despite sometimes the lack of technical experience. I challenge you to properly investigate your claims that Geek Squad is not a good services and make another video about it. Do some detailed research on pricing and actual coverage and I think you'll see things are always outrageously priced.
I cant agree more I have been repairing pc's for 30+years and have also heard horror stores and can confirm this as TRUE
DORK (geek) SQUAD SUCKS!!
they refused to fix my phone because I had system through Metro PCS yeah, the ones with the HIMDHABS...
PURE RUBBISH in my experience - A TOTAL CLOWN SHOW wish I'd filmed our scenario it was like a episode of the three stooges
He whole "sell the shit out of this service/support and we'll deal with it later" is pretty common it seems.
I had a job (briefly) at one of the worlds leading computer companies, based out of Round Rock Texas. I was providing tier one support for AppAssure, which is the backup/recovery software that this un-named company sells with it's servers. They are also selling support contracts with this software. But the problems I faced were a) I got no technical training and b) the acquisition of the software from the company that created it had not been finalized and the little company in Virginia still had the last word on staffing apparently.
So you have a billion-dollar a year global company selling servers all over the world which included this backup/recovery software and service contracts. As you can imagine the customer base for the software was growing exponentially by the day. So we had a staff of probably a dozen people supporting thousands of customers. My last week there, all I did was apologize to people and give them my speech about how " We are in a transitional period and are experiencing a short backlog in support tickets and thank you for your patience, blah-blah-blah".
I basically got myself fired by calling in sick enough times to exceed the limits of the attendance policy and went and drove a truck for a while. I literally preferred truck-driving to working for a company that rhymes with Hell.
I went there once a long time ago, I don't remember what happened, but I remember thinking, "I ain't coming back here!" ...bunch of young kids behind the counter.
well said about squad
i have both geek squad 24/7 support and protection plan on my ibuypower desktop, then the fan on graphic card make very loud noise, so i sent it to best buy. however, they could't fix anything and ask me to call the ibuypower. i am so regret to get those two services. they are complete useless. what they can only do is help you install something which you can complete do it by your own. what i mean here is as long as you have a little knowledge about computer, you can solve all questions best buy can help. thus, best buy only helps those people who just know how to use browser. anyway, best buy geek squad is complete useless. really
I HAVE WORST EXPERIENCE WITH BEST BUY GEEK SQUAD PROTECTION PLAN 175$$$$ (((((
NO GOOOD(((( LOST 175$$(((
Short answer: no.
Ok.. My geek squad experience being a tech support member for the past 3 years. Long story short is, I will never buy anything from best buy ever again. I sent my computer in because it completely stopped running. I would be surfing the Internet and then my screen would go completely white. I would then have to force a shutdown and after that there were red vertical lines on the boot screen.and would then go white again. It took geek squad 2 months to figure out that it was a faulty gpu. But not before they tried to pull my hard drive, my mother board, and my SSD.
Geek squad is terrible. And I would have left them a long time ago if I had another choice.