rjl2621's Thoughts

http://www.myfoxcleveland.com/myfox/pages/News/Det
ail?contentId=2916893&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode
=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1

Don't get me wrong, I like Best Buy and if I had the money, would probably buy one of a large percentage of items in the store. But I would never use or recommend the "Geek Squad" for any computer repairs. This story just adds yet another reason.

They are overpriced, and most of the technicians do not know what they are doing. This is by design so that they can eventually charge you more for larger repairs due to the technician screwing up in the first place. Don't get me wrong, there are some technicians they have who know their stuff -- but those are typically the 2nd level agents that get involved when the original ones can't figure out the problem.

How do I know this? Myself and friends of mine who do have the knowledge (and experience) have at different times applied for jobs working for them -- and been rejected for having too much knowledge. How does one have too much knowledge when it comes to fixing customers' computer problems?

Oh, you mean I can fix a problem in under an hour when you want to charge the customers for 2-3 hours of work? Oh... I get it now. Yeah, no wonder I tell everyone I know to avoid "Geek Squad" like the plague.

And don't think Circuit City's new "Firedog" service is any better. In fact, their prices are even more than Best Buy / Geek Squad. Such a surprise that Circuit City has closed a number of stores because of competition from Best Buy and other technology retailers.

Now please don't take my comments the wrong way, I am certainly not saying that they have a large number of technicians who would do what this one is accused of doing, but I do know they have a substantial number of technicians who don't know what they are doing with computers. (Sorry to anyone out there who happens to be a Best Buy / Geek Squad tech -- it's nothing personal, you may be one of the minority who actually know what they are doing!)

*Sidenote* - I would, however, recommend those out there without computer repair skills to consider the repair/replacement plans. Not the highest level, but at least the basic level. They can explain the details, but it can be quite handy to just drop your computer off to them and let them fix anything that goes wrong -- rather than having to call the PC manufacturer (Gateway, Dell, HP, etc) yourself. Be advised though -- they will not hesitate to wipe the PC and all your data to put the system back the way it was when you bought it.