Jan 18 2010
Really Geek Squad? Only 129.99? Awesome!
Is Geek Squad really this hard up for cash or are they really this greedy? I honestly can’t decide which one Geek Squad is guilty of. Has anyone here ever used Geek Squad? Like ever? Have you ever met someone who is in the Geek Squad?
I’m pretty sure they’re just annoying people with glasses in commercials. I have never physically seen one in a Best Buy (which is where I thought they resided, apparently I was wrong). But I’m glad to know that for just $129.99 you can invite one of these strangers into your home to set up your PS3 console.
Jesus Christ what kind of morons are out there? I assume so many morons that the folks at Geek Squad think they’ll shell out this cash due to their idiocy.
Good luck with this offer guys.
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I’ve been wondering about the geek squad too! I never see them at Best Buy only leading me t believe that they never even existed!
I choose to believe they live in Geek pods in the back of the store. You know, kind of like the pods in Spinal Tap?
I’ll do it for $5, and I don’t even wear glasses.
Um, you’ve got to be a serious moron if you can’t figure out how to plug in your own gaming system… I’d understand if you need it wired through your wall but do these guys even know how to do that?
Thank God I wasn’t alone on all this.
this isnt news, this pic has been circulating the net for quite some time. if you think this is ridiculous, you should go find out how much it costs to hang a 52″ lcd on the wall. bear in mind they dont care if you have already done the wall drop and all that jazz. its the same price. if i remember correctly it was about 400 bucks. to pick up the tv and hang it on the wall. and no that doesnt include lube.
The one that was circulating around the net before was from a different place and it was only $99 I think. This is the iMac of console setups. “THANK GOD IT’S ALL IN ONE BOX, THE EXTRA $3000 WAS WORTH IT SO I DON’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL THOSE ANNOYING CABLES AND EASILY UPGRADABLE PARTS”
I work at a target and we just recently started offering in home installations like this. Its a 100 bucks for the video game set up . Unless someone specifically asks for it I could never in good conscience sell someone a 100 buck set up fee for a 200 dollar wii. What a Joke!
I used to work at Geek Squad. I helped to grand open a store. When I started I was totally into it, I thought it was going to be great. Working on computers was something I always did well at, building, fixing, upgrading, etc.
I can tell you first hand that you are not nearly getting your moneys worth. I’d say that of the five agents (as they are referred to as per the company’s rules) who also started there when the store opened, maybe two knew what they were doing. Maybe. Two of them admittedly knew very little about computers.
Best Buy prides themself on the fact that their sales people are not commissioned…because this means they aren’t putting their own fiduciary concerns first. Instead, the company awards employees hours based on their sales. Perhaps not a terrible practice, but they apply this policy to the Geek Squad too. So, if you want to make enough money to survive as a Geek Squad agent, you must sell sell sell your services. In many cases, services a client legitimately do not even need.
Come in with a virus and this is what you can expect. $199.00 for a diagnostic and removal of the virus. In addition, they will hit you up for another $100 to install antivirus software (you can buy the same software in the store for $30-50 and install it yourself.) If you want a full internet and av suite then the price goes up from $100. In addition to that, they will stress the need for you to back up your important documents and files…a great idea…except they charge you $100 for this service UP TO 2 blank DVDs…beyond that the price goes up again.
So that is $400-500 for the basic services. A new mid-range computer costs strikingly close to that amount.
Most people recognize Geek Squad for their symbolic black and orange VW Beetle. These guys are the in-home agents. The run the full gamut of Geek Squad services. But there are two differences. First, the price, every in-home service costs and extra $100. Second, the quality of the diagnostics are much diminished due to time constraints.
Anyway, that’s my in-depth rant. The long and short of it is that the Geek Squad is an extension of Best Buy, and Best Buy is one of the most greedy corporations I have ever seen firsthand.
Wow, this is probably the biggest ripoff I’ve ever seen.
I live in Australia and sometimes you hear about these free in-home installations for high def TVs and such but I’ve never seen someone ask for money or come over to install a console. I’m not sure why a person who can’t plug in 2 cables is even buying a ps3, with its hdmi and linux capabilities.
Then again I can sort of see the need for it. I was on a forum the other day and some guy had trouble deleting a message from his inbox on his ps3. But paying money for this is a bit much and after reading Baj’s comment, I feel sorry for all the technically challenged people that come to you in their time of need.
I have used Geek Squad in the past (probably about 4 years ago). It cost me $200 for them to tell me i have a virus and make 2 backup CD’s for me (on which they didn’t even put everything I told them to). They then informed me that I needed a new hard drive and they could install it for even more money! Geek Squad is a HUGE rip off! I have talked to others who have brought their computers in for other things and they tell everyone that they need a new hard drive and charge them an insane amount of money for even looking at the computer.
I would reccomend that you find some little shop to fix your computer- they are cheaper and usually a lot better at it.
This is not really a fair fight you guys, the people who actually use Geek Squad services couldn’t possibly figure out how to comment on this forum.
Seriously though, I’ve referred some people to Geek Squad after getting to the point where I am overwhelmed with the amount of “pro bono” computer installation and troubleshooting I’ve done for family and friends.
And honestly… people aren’t that surprised or pissed off about the cost. To some people the whole world of computers and consumer electronics is a brick wall. They aren’t going to take the time to try to figure it out, even if you hand them step by step instructions, so their only recourse is to call a friend or pay someone for it. If they wear out their freebie family tech support, they basically have no choice but to shell out a few hundred bucks.
I think to them it’s like calling a plumber when the toilet is leaking. You can go to Home Depot and spend two bucks on a new wax ring and install it yourself, or you can spend $200 for a plumber to come out and do it.
I was getting a new hard drive for my laptop awhile back and was looking at best buy/ future shop ect… I went to best buy and found the hard drive I needed. They would not sell it to me though without out installing it. I had already looked at installing it myself as i have done it on PCs and I opened my laptop up to make sure. Geek Squad said that I would be unable to install it myself and that I wouldn’t be able to get to it without a special tool. I would really like to know when a screwdriver became “special.” They also said that they had to install the OS, anti-virus, back up my old hard drive, ect, so what was a $100 hard drive would end up costing me more than the laptop. The guy also implied that I would not be able to do it myself because I am a girl. I waled right out and went and got it somewhere else where the guy sold it to me and off I went!
And I got it working- take that Geek Squad!
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[...] Unreality – Geek Squad will Set Up Your Play Station 3 | [...]
[...] Unreality – Geek Squad will Set Up Your Play Station 3 | [...]
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I used to work at Best Buy. Sometimes the agents are retarded, sometimes they’re okay. The only way they really make money is off of people who are “too busy” or don’t want to waste time setting things up. Everything is pretty overpriced but the job they do works (usually) and the customer doesn’t have to waste their own precious time setting something up. You’d be surprised how many upper middle class older dudes pay for geek squad services.