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Geek Squad is basically a warranty depot at this point. Very little work is done in store. CIA's spend more time organizing shipping orders and tinkering in STAR than they do working on computers. And the 'work' they do is essentially limited to *one* CD of approved programs.
I was actually talking to a friend about Geek Squad yesterday and how normal people see them as tech gods whereas the real geeks see them as idiot filth.
I usually fix family and friend's PCs, and they all think I'm good with computers because I have a degree in Computer Science. No, all that knowledge was from actually tinkering with PCs since middle school.
So yesterday, a friend referred their friend to have me fix her PC. She said her internet was very slow. I went to her house, and everything was downloading at 1kb/s. In 10 minutes I found out the problem was the network jack on her router. Then she asked me a bunch of computer questions, like should she upgrade, should she reformat her drive, etc. I answered all her questions as...dumbed down as I can without using tech jargon, and she still had trouble understanding it.
I suspect if she took her PC to Geek Squad, she may need to buy a new PC afterwards.
Anyways, so I asked for $20 for the fix [mainly for gas, because it was quite a drive], but she insisted on giving me $50. She said she had other tech people fix her PCs in the past and she paid them between $50-100. Didn't know you can make $100 off of like 10 minutes of work... unless the tech people just acted busy for a full hour and it really took 10 minutes to fix her PC problems...
@W10002: I found out most problems are fixed in 2 minutes. After that, I always just surf the internet for about an hour and charge a real low price. People always recommend me :)
@elryry: I don't know what Geek Squad you're thinking of, but the Geek Squad I know will charge you $30 to turn on parental controls and set up a PSN/Xbox Live account on your PS3/Xbox.
Edited by metal face eagle premium is not from So Cal at 11/28/09 12:53 PM
metal face eagle premium is not from So Cal was starred
metal face eagle premium is not from So Cal was unstarred
@dagamer34: More importantly they don't understand what the word 'reformat' means. If you try to explain what it takes to reinstall windows you can usually see their facial expression turn in fear of having to obtain a doctorate.
Have many of you had moments where you were so upset with a computer that you poured liquid on it and/or beat it into submission? I admit after an old computer sliced my arm for the third time that I got my retribution on it. Perhaps there is a job waiting for me at the Geek Squad after all.
@Eavangel: Yes, long slices were opened on my arm from the edge of the case three times. My whole arm was bandaged up, and I admit to complete stupidity on my part -- why I kept working on it after the second time is beyond me. Needless to say, the computer did not get a fourth chance. Stupid computer.
@DiscoD: Mabey from a time-money standpoint if your ghosting but alot of the time these shops just want to get as many computers through and don't care as much about the actual problem.... go go fixing my own comp :P
@hoocli: Man, I hear you. A long, long time ago, back when I didn't know what the heck drivers were, my internet driver (forgot the name) got deleted after a virus hit it. I took it to a shop and all they did was reformat it. Months later after I grew a white beard, that same problem happened to me (but this time because of a reformat) and I fixed the problem in roughly six minutes. Ai.
@FFxLORd: I assume he has an Nividia motherboard. If that's the case, then the network card drivers would certainly be by Nvidia, regardless of the OEM.
My, my, my, my
Ego hits me so hard,
Makes me say "Oh my Lord!"
Thank you for blessing me
With cash for fines and big hyped feats
It feels good when you got Menino
And a superdope homeboy from Cupertino
In cahoots this much
And this is a billboard, you can't iTouch
Every time I see it,
It's like a dollar sign
It's dope on the wall
And I'm happy to pay fines
Now why would I ever
Stop doing this?
With others makin' billboards
That just don't hit
I toured around the nation
From Sunnyvale to Back Bay
It's "Banner, go, banner! No Beantown banner!"
but the rabble can go and play.
You can't iTouch this
You can't iTouch this
You can't iTouch this
Yeah, Y' can't iTouch this
I told you, can't iTouch this #gizmodoremainders
@Zac Terrones: Really? It's elitist and humorless attitudes like that that keep me from going inside an Apple store. Touche, zing, booyah. ;) #gizmodoremainders
The ad copy sounds like it was written by Smoove B. "We will use only the finest error correcting software. Also, there will be chocolate-covered strawberries.
Okay, I'm going to have to disagree with this article. All of us come here because we know our shit regarding technology, and to us this is ridiculously easy and second nature. But we are not in the majority - or at least there is a huge group who is very much unlike us.
So many people are completely uninterested in learning how to do this, afraid they will do it incorrectly, or simply don't want to spend their time doing this themselves.
My future mother-in-law uses technology all the time, but she is a serious techophobe. She really has no idea what she is doing. She gave me her camera so I could take the pictures off and email them to her. With people like this, they just don't want to put the effort into learning how to do this.
Yeah you go try telling an older person with no tech experience how to rip their own music. You'll start by telling them to download itunes or some ripping program, and once you realize that you lose them at that step, you will see that telling them about ID3 tags and different formats is way above their league.
To us, this appears like Geek Squad is taking advantage of people. In reality, this shit takes time and requires a level of understanding that a lot of people don't have. So, it makes sense to offer a service for those willing to pay for it.
@MrBlahBlah: I see your point, but if they can't figure out how to download or install itunes they probably have little use for ripped audio files, especially in DVD format. Hand this same person a DVD full of AAC files and they'll have no way to play them or load them on any portable device.
I could see this service making sense if they are purchasing an iPod at the time and having their library loaded on, but that would be a rather silly hing to do, what happens if you buy a new CD?
It's easy enough to walk someone through an iTunes install, go to apple../itunes, click download, wait, double click, done. To rip cd, insert cd, click import at bottom. Wouldn't it be better to just show them how to do this in the store? Apple does this for free. That's why this service reeks of a bad deal.
@Hooray4Zoidberg: "Wouldn't it be better to just show them how to do this in the store? Apple does this for free. That's why this service reeks of a bad deal"
The thing is, some people just don't care. They don't want to bother. Maybe the want their library loaded up for them and after that they'll hassle their son in law to help them.
Just cause they don't have any tech knowledge doens't mean they don't want an mp3 player.
Also, if they are willing to pay for the service, who cares? They are big people. They know they can figure it out if they want.
@MrBlahBlah: You're actually right but one thing that is pointed out in the article is that the people who are TOO LAZY will be the ones to do this. And/or the people who are totally against upgrading their computer and they cant do it on their home computer because it'll freeze, lag, crash or all of the above.
The internet's here for a reason. And google is here for a reason too.
I learned how to translate base-16 to binary code all through google x_x and i did that for my computer science class. Now i know some people might not be able to do that even though it really isnt that hard once you understand the whole concept
there are just people who are oblivious to doing things themselves. My father thinks everytime his computer slows down its because his computer has a virus. We can't forget that people like that still exist and will forever exist as long as there is technology. Maybe not the same way but people who just are incapable of doing things on their own and dont actually try to find a solution on their own.
@MrBlahBlah: True that. I've shown my wife like 15 times how to rip a CD, and she still complains that not all of her music is on the computer. It actually is, she just can't find all of it because she doesn't think to look in "Various Artist" folders and the like.
I worked as a Geek Squad agent and succeeded in ripping off the masses. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what I did and ask for forgiveness. I agree with the tone of this article. Sure, Geek Squad performs a service, that's not the problem. The problem is in the way Geek Squad does it. I think it's very dishonest and we prey on the weak. The services are definitely over priced, and the goal is to justify and scare by using big tech words.
11/29/09
11/28/09
Reminds me of...
11/28/09
11/28/09
So yesterday, a friend referred their friend to have me fix her PC. She said her internet was very slow. I went to her house, and everything was downloading at 1kb/s. In 10 minutes I found out the problem was the network jack on her router. Then she asked me a bunch of computer questions, like should she upgrade, should she reformat her drive, etc. I answered all her questions as...dumbed down as I can without using tech jargon, and she still had trouble understanding it.
I suspect if she took her PC to Geek Squad, she may need to buy a new PC afterwards.
Anyways, so I asked for $20 for the fix [mainly for gas, because it was quite a drive], but she insisted on giving me $50. She said she had other tech people fix her PCs in the past and she paid them between $50-100. Didn't know you can make $100 off of like 10 minutes of work... unless the tech people just acted busy for a full hour and it really took 10 minutes to fix her PC problems...
11/28/09
11/28/09
@elryry: I don't know what Geek Squad you're thinking of, but the Geek Squad I know will charge you $30 to turn on parental controls and set up a PSN/Xbox Live account on your PS3/Xbox.
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
[consumerist.com]
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
I always get a few cuts... but slice? Must have been intense!
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/29/09
Every several years I get a severe papercut from a case, but I can't remember the last time it happened.
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
10/23/09
10/23/09
Ego hits me so hard,
Makes me say "Oh my Lord!"
Thank you for blessing me
With cash for fines and big hyped feats
It feels good when you got Menino
And a superdope homeboy from Cupertino
In cahoots this much
And this is a billboard, you can't iTouch
Every time I see it,
It's like a dollar sign
It's dope on the wall
And I'm happy to pay fines
Now why would I ever
Stop doing this?
With others makin' billboards
That just don't hit
I toured around the nation
From Sunnyvale to Back Bay
It's "Banner, go, banner! No Beantown banner!"
but the rabble can go and play.
You can't iTouch this
You can't iTouch this
You can't iTouch this
Yeah, Y' can't iTouch this
I told you, can't iTouch this #gizmodoremainders
10/25/09
10/26/09
09/18/09
Damn, your CDs are going to get ripped. Yeah."
09/18/09
So many people are completely uninterested in learning how to do this, afraid they will do it incorrectly, or simply don't want to spend their time doing this themselves.
My future mother-in-law uses technology all the time, but she is a serious techophobe. She really has no idea what she is doing. She gave me her camera so I could take the pictures off and email them to her. With people like this, they just don't want to put the effort into learning how to do this.
Yeah you go try telling an older person with no tech experience how to rip their own music. You'll start by telling them to download itunes or some ripping program, and once you realize that you lose them at that step, you will see that telling them about ID3 tags and different formats is way above their league.
To us, this appears like Geek Squad is taking advantage of people. In reality, this shit takes time and requires a level of understanding that a lot of people don't have. So, it makes sense to offer a service for those willing to pay for it.
09/18/09
I could see this service making sense if they are purchasing an iPod at the time and having their library loaded on, but that would be a rather silly hing to do, what happens if you buy a new CD?
It's easy enough to walk someone through an iTunes install, go to apple../itunes, click download, wait, double click, done. To rip cd, insert cd, click import at bottom. Wouldn't it be better to just show them how to do this in the store? Apple does this for free. That's why this service reeks of a bad deal.
09/18/09
The thing is, some people just don't care. They don't want to bother. Maybe the want their library loaded up for them and after that they'll hassle their son in law to help them.
Just cause they don't have any tech knowledge doens't mean they don't want an mp3 player.
Also, if they are willing to pay for the service, who cares? They are big people. They know they can figure it out if they want.
09/18/09
The internet's here for a reason. And google is here for a reason too.
I learned how to translate base-16 to binary code all through google x_x and i did that for my computer science class. Now i know some people might not be able to do that even though it really isnt that hard once you understand the whole concept
there are just people who are oblivious to doing things themselves. My father thinks everytime his computer slows down its because his computer has a virus. We can't forget that people like that still exist and will forever exist as long as there is technology. Maybe not the same way but people who just are incapable of doing things on their own and dont actually try to find a solution on their own.
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09