Gadgetopia

Ahh, The Geek Squad has been operating out of Minneapolis since 1994. Best Buy really had nothing to do with their current marketing

Wrong.

BBY acquired all rights to Geek Squad over a year ago and is most definitely responsible & driving their current marketing.

Guess you haven't been in an actual BBY store for awhile since Geek Squad is also the sole 'tech counter' representation in store as well...

No, I'm pretty sure BS isn't BSing.

http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2002/10/21/daily34.html

"The Geek Squad was founded in 1994. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis and has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. "

He is correct about them being founded out of Minneapolis but since being acquired by BBY they no longer run their own Marketing ads - they have the muscle of the World's largest electronic retailer doing that now.

called them just to find out what they were all about (i own a small pc repair shop) i gave symptoms of a failed hdd, they recommended spyware removal ...iwas surprised at how expensive it was, also their recommendation wouldnt help a failing hdd. their phone support couldnt tell me what would happen if spyware removal didnt solve my problem..."you'd have to bring it in then" its unfortunate that less savvy users are going to spend a lot aof cash with these guys and problems wont be resolved.

Hello all! Yes, Minneapolis start is true and yes Best Buy now owns Geek Squad, but what of this last entry? Agents are not capable or able? The fees are very reasonable based on they are a flat rate and there is a 30-day guarantee for the work done by Geek Squad agents. How about 24-hour in-home tech support? Yeah, you want an agent at 3am because your computer crashed in the middle of your on-line butt-kicking, you got it! Check it out, tech support has never been so easily accessible and fun. If you are looking for any more info just check out our web site: www.geeksquad.com

Actually ...

Their "Mission Controllers" are just there to help get a simple diagnosis out to a person - the real muscle behind the brand is the "Double Agents" that actually go on-site. These guys can find a "needle in a haystack" for problems.

I love how small mom and pop shops tweak out when a big company actually has something good and better then they do. World domination is in progress.

I actually called the Geek Squad out to my house last week after a friend "fixed" my poorly slow Toshiba laptop. The agent who showed up (precisely on time!) was incredibly knowlageble, had a great personality, and had me up and running in less than 15 minutes. To top it all off, he gave me a free Geek Squad t-shirt. I will definately be calling these guys the next time my computer decides to freak out on me!

I'm actually a member of the GeekSquad in Reston VA, about us telling you to just come in, that is because we don't like to diagnose over the phone, it can cause many problems, and when he said you had spyware or something probably its because most users think "oh my computer is slow, i think my hdd is dying" thats why he said "please just come in", the average user diagnosing there own computer = bad. lol

anyways, if anyone has any questions feal free to post them and i'll try to respond, good to see most people have had a good encounter with us, I have only had one complaint in my geeksquad history, which has been quite awhile, and the complaint was that we didn't remove a proxy that we used to connect to our lan instore, which of course, we are all still human, and that being the only complaint i've heard, i think we are doing alright, if anyone needs any help, feal free to call 1-800-Geek-Squad :)

take care, jeff

Geek Squad is 10% goodness, 90% bullcrap. The "double agents" that go to your home are extremely talented and are worth every penny, generally all 16000 of them (pennies) for an average house call. The in-store "counter intelligence agents" are the worthless part, and NOT by choice or by experience (as this is my job at Best Buy). Most are very knowledgable, but Best Buy's protocol on the fixing of computers is purely sales driven. In-store agents are there to do one of a few things; restore operating systems, install aftermarket hardware, remove malicious programs, install preventative maintenence programs, and if those 4 do not apply, ship it to the service center for repair. They are not "allowed" to use their usually university-learned talents. Best Buy's "standard operating platform" requires software problems be just fixed by restores, and hardware problems fixed by replacement of problematic hardware. The double agents get paid to use their knowledge to do all the fun stuff in-home. Best Buy owns the geek squad trademark, and each "agent" is just someone who's job title changed from "computer technician" to "geek squad agent" overnight once the uniforms were shipped to the store.

Greetings all, Pardon Justin up there, it sounds as if he's had one too many arguments with the some of the talent at best buy, as he sounds a little peev'd at the store, or it's policies.. Being a member of the "Geek Squad" since it's creation at my store about 10 months ago, and being a "computer tech" as he called it, for another 2 years prior at the store, I can first and formost tell you that the first line of defense is NOT "restore now, ask questions later.." Quite the opposite.. Our head agents in MN ship all stores special software programs that they actually have trademarked (check your facts justin) that we use on a daily basis to diag, and fix many OS issues. Being the head agent within our store, I can tell each and every one of you that we use our "university-learned" talents (how do you learn a talent?) on a daily basis. The SOP is there for CIA agents that may not have the 2-3 degrees in computer science/networking/MCSE etc, that some of the more fortunate do have. We train all agents to the same level. Yes, part of the model is business driven, or how would we have the labor dollars next month as to pay our techs?? (They by the way make more than any sales associate in the store) and no one within BestBuy is commision based, no matter what someone might say. We have the mindset of "fit the solution to what the customer needs/wants) If this isn't being done within your store Justin, I suggest you bring this to your Operations Manager, or GM. I'l tell it like it is, but I will not discount the nature of the GeekSquad just because it is included in a retail environment. I suggest you might want to check monster.com for current "computer tech" openings if you can't be a part of a growing tream. Good evening all.. Jake - North Central MD.

I agree with Agent Jake. People at times scoff at prices charged for repairs. I beg you to shop around and look at competitors, you will see prices are comparable. yes we charge money. It is a business. I work @ Best Buy. I have been with the company nearly three years. I have seen it a hundred times people like disgruntled Justin often get too involved with the "Tech" side and want nothing more than to repair computers. They complain at having to "sell" the service as well. they want to be the geek who fixed it, but doesn't want to do the leg work. It is a team effort. if he is unhappy again go to monster.com....It is an awesome concept. Why wouldn't a customer want end to end solutions? A person to help you pick out your new pc,,,repairs and service all the way to the end of your computers life. Beautiful!!

I have done plenty of research on the Geek Squad and I think those guys and gals are awesome. In fact, I have been trying to become an agent. I have plenty of experience and certifications, but I need a better way to get in than the online application Best Buy provides. If anyone has any ideas, please post it as I am very enthusiastic about the Geek Squad.

Before I got my current job as a web developer I was working at Best Buy to keep my sanity while looking for a regular job.

I was almost a Geek Squad person because I applied and I have a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, but because I could actually talk to people, they stuck me on the sales floor. The point of that little story is that I have no certs, but a Bachelors Degree in CS and I would have been, by far, the most educated Geek Squad member.

Also, to get a job at Best Buy, in any department, you have to call up and ask about your application or at least call them.

Hey Mike, Im sure you are quite knowledgeable, however having a BS in Computer Science doesnt mean you know jack about computers. Some of the most incompetant people I have met have a BS in CS. Certifications mean you actually have HANDS ON experience.. not reading out of a book

I've been a Geek-Suad DA for about 5 months now since my store just opened, and I love it. Yes our prices are a little high, but compared to some places that cost $200 an hour?! Thats insane. If I go out on a service call, and it requires virus removal or whatever, it's the same price whether it takes 1/2 hour or 4 hours. I also agree with D Funk about the degree issue. A couple of techs in my store have degrees and certifications, and they don't know shit. They know the basics, but they still can't wipe their ass without calling me about something. I don't have a degree or anything. I'm self taught since I was 11. The biggest complaint I get is when a customer brings in their computer because of virus or spyware problems, and we charge them even thought they have the PSP. We have to go through the whole speil about how it only covers hardware issues, blah blah blah. ...

Thanks, Mike for the info, but I agree with D Funk and Double_Agent. The ultimate would be to have the certs along with the degree. Talk about being ready for upper management.

i agree with Double_Agent : about all the sales bs my mgr. is all ways pushing me to sell and not fix pcs and cust. all ways are complaning about how there PSP dose not cover software(i.e. but the sales guy said that it would), but i mean come on its software when you put incompitant people behind pc bad thing are bound to happen and where not going to fix it fo free the only thing that is coverd is a free diag. and hardware if you have a PSP

When did I ever say anything about people with certs dont know anything?

I think you need to look at both sides guys....Someone that has all "certs" and no school may know what keys to press in which order, but they may very well not know why that works, just that is does work. That is not the always the case of course...but just think about that before you all go touting your self-learnin' and condem people that went to school for it.

"Certifications mean you actually have HANDS ON experience.. not reading out of a book"

Just becuase I have a shelf full of books doesn't mean me, or anyone else that went to college, didn't touch computers or have no "hands on experience". If that is the case, what exactly do you think people do in school? Books are great things, and to be honest you sound like a bit of a back-water hick what that statement, although I'm sure you are very knowlegable as well.

OH sheesh, this looks like a hornets nest. Here's the deal, I'm an MSCE/MSPS, A+, Network+ etc, etc, till you barf, with 20 years experience, I've got the certs AND the hands on experience. Big deal, it's what you can do not what hangs on your wall that matters.

I own a Consulting company that specializes in small and medium sized businesses. I don't even look at paper, certs, diplomas, etc. when I hire someone. It takes me about 20 minutes to figure out if they know what they're doing, are capable of learning what they don't know, and will do things the way I tell them to in order to provide my clients with the best possible service.

I have TONS of home users that are always bugging the crap out of me, so I was very happy to see the Geek Squad ads on TV. I thought "This is great, I can offload these freakin' home users to the Geek Squad!" Sorry home users, you're a pain in the butt and NOT what I do in my business but I get recommended and I don't like to leave people hang if I can help it. Home users don't want to pay our rates (but pay they do, and that should tell you how good we are), they don't understand things like business clients do, they don't follow recommendations like we tell them to, etc. Mostly a big headache and a MUCH smaller profit margin on time expended. I wish I'd never gotten started with them, enter the possibilty of recommending the Geek Squad, problem solved, Right? Well...

How the heck can I recommend anyone when I can't find out anything about them!?!?!?!? I can't find any rates posted anywhere and I've googled the daylights out of the topic. It's not there or if it is I can't find it. I called a local Best Buy that has a Geek Squad Precinct to see if they could mail/email me a schedule of rates. HAH! Might as well try to call POTUS, can't get anyone that knows anything, connections dropped, calls misdirected or timing out on the voicemail system, etc.

I only want to know two things, WHAT DOES THE GEEK SQUAD DO AND WHAT DOES IT COST? Sorry geeks but I doubt you do clustered servers, directory and domain services, email server installations & maint., hardware firewall installation and setup, blah blah, etc. and even if you do I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot recommending that to clients, that's what I do. You can have all of the business and inquiries that I get related to what you advertise on TV for home users though, and welcome to it. So answer my two questions.

It would really, really help if I could talk to a Geek Squadite and get this all figured out. It would be acceptable if we did the initial contact and configuration and then could shuffle these blasted home users off on the Geek Squad. It would be fine with me if the next time a home user called we could say "We don't do that but have thoroughly evaluated The Geek Squad and heartily recommend them".

The thing is, did you see the part above about "provide my clients with the best possible service"? If someone recommends us to a home user or anyone/anything else, WE'RE NOT GOING TO RECOMMEND ANYTHING THAT WE HAVEN'T LOOKED INTO THOROUGHLY!

Get me some data, I'll probably send you some business.

CloaknDagr - Here are the three pricing sheets that the Geek Squad Agents use. These can be found on GeekSquad.com...

---Telephone Support Prices--- http://www.geeksquad.com/assets/pdf/GSPhone_Prices.pdf

---In-Store Prices--- http://www.geeksquad.com/assets/pdf/GSStore_Prices.pdf

---In-Home Prices---

---Overall Capabilities--- http://www.geeksquad.com/assets/pdf/GSCapabilities.pdf

Geek squad rates are posted oon their website www.geeksquad.com. Not a big fan of the site (trying to be too cool and not very usable). The rates are high but I think some people will be willing to pay for relaible service so they can avoid the hassles of being on phone with their tech support vendor for hours.

CC

im a Geek Squad Agent. People buy it. It's a good thing in my mind, people who cant set something up because of not having artificial legs in one of my jobs. Also someone who has never used a PC before. It sells... Many other companies have tried to replicated the Geek Squad style.

All of you "Dumble_Assents" are so full of BS. The "geek-squad" is purely a marketing trend developed by yep you guess it dumb ass geeks. Yeah some of these guys may have computer science degrees but.......... Where did they get their education?? "O I got my education from a Second-hand or online (what a joke) university or I'm self taught just like cool zero of the movie hackers. Half of these guys probably only know 1.....no no wait maybe 2 computer languages and both are HL (for all you non-geeks and maybe for some of the geeks at the squad that means HIGH LEVEL such as C+) Ok then these guys want to go around saying "Got a virus we will terminate it bring it to us" yeah you sure will, not that hard to charge the customer 150 bucks for installing some software they could have done themselfs. The bottom line is without your software geeks, you are worthless. I get calls all the time from people that went to see the geeks. Frankly I am REALLY REALLY getting tired of having to uninstall that fucking pop up stopper program. . just think about your computer problems before taking it to geek -bs-dont know squad A simple search for your problem on google can save you hundreds of dollars. O and for all you "wanta be a computer man dream agents" the credentials are stated as BS COMP SC from MIT , Current occupation system security/computer forensics. I have all the right to FLAME. one more thing, businesses never ever ever take your computer to these guys for security reasons you will have problems and your setup will need pen testing if you decide to use these people. #blackware1337

All of the Agents had to take a real life problem test "not a test you can study for".. so they are all pritty damn good at what they do and before long world domination will be a reality!

Well, all I can say Mr. MIT is that I would hate to ever meet you, seems someone with your level of prestige would be a bit more professional. I do use my software alot, and I like it. Software can only be a tool in certain cases. In 90 percent of the cases I am involved in, my experience and certification knowledge comes in very handy, not software. Things like manual removals, security setups, server administration, hardware troubleshooting, domain engineering, etc.. No, I dont know three computer languages and I dont care too. I could have chosen to go that route but I dont like it much. I enjoy fixing things, not creating software. Thats what you are for. Double Agents are great guys and gals. My tech bench is a place for young techs to come and get some good experience while getting there hands into some good stuff. We are cheap actually, and I havent had any unsatisfied customers. ----Protecting innocent civilians from the raging epidemic of technological nightmares.---

I am a Geek Squad agent at my local Best Buy. Geek Squad's prices are the best you will find anywhere (there is no where else that I have seen that charges flat rates).

I thought about certifications but realized you don't really learn about CURRENT real world problems, everything moves too fast. There is no where that teaches what we Agents do on a daily basis. Sure some of our customers could download some of the tools we use and maybe figure out how to use them, but what happens when you get winsock errors after infection by spyware or a virus and you manage to remove them and all of sudden to can't get online to figure out how to fix the connection problem (happens about 8 out of 10 times in my experience).

I'm in charge of in-home sales at my Precinct and I love it and people love the in-home service. Many customers I have sold an in-home wireless setup to have spent about 10 hours or so trying to get everything to work without mentioning any kind of security. The Geek Squad provides the best service I have seen before I started working for them and ever since. I am all for independent "mom and pops" shops, but I don't know how much longer they are going to last if they don't start charging flat rates and 24/7 support. There is no where that offers even half of Geek Squad does everyday.

As far as agent justin's comments go, I doubt he will be an agent much longer if he thinks that to fix a virus you have to do a system restore. I make fun of Agents who have to resort and a restore. At our precinct we have to restore maybe 1 in 30 computers that come in and half of those are because of failing harddrives. The only places that I know of that recommend or preform a restore for viri or spyware are manufactures and Curcuit City.

As for blackware1337 I can't count the number machine we work on that were "fixed" by "My IT guy at work" or by "My friend who has a computer science degree." Like I've said nobody teaches this stuff, yet.

Geek Squad is currently working with Microsoft on a Personal Computer Certification test are actually be reviewed for use.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY ON YOUR OWN TERMS

Do your arms hurt from towing the company line so hard?

As far as I'm concerned, certs are great and so is just having a Comp Science degree. Hell, I have a friend with neither, but he can work the shit out of a PC. He happens to be self taught without one book. He does a lot of online research. In fact hours and hours of research and thats the price he pays. As for Mr. MIT, get off your high horse. Either way the IT industry is very demanding of one to know everything. It seems that most companies want both certs and degrees. Lets not forget about the experience too. I think all these MBA big wigs in upper management are so intimidated about technology that they want to make sure a well knowledgeable techie is hired. Well for you big wigs, who knows everything anyways? I guess you could say I have issues. I have several certs and I am a junior at a university studying for a BSIT. I have been studying IT on my own for four years and I have actually officially worked in the industry with a company for 1 and a half years. I still can't find a decent IT job. What the fuck do I have to do? Again, I guess you can say I have issues.

D Funk should be careful before he (or she) spouts off about certs.

"Certifications mean you actually have HANDS ON experience.. not reading out of a book"

I hate to burst your bubble, bud, but I have known many a folk who could memorize a book and go take a test and get 'certified' and they still don't have a clue about computers and still don't have hands on experience....

Just my two cents...

Hey blackware1337 I see all that great experience of "teaching yourself" you say you have and you still haven't figured out how to use a spell check... hummm... And about that movie Hackers, I haven't seen that movie in forever... and at least I still know that it's zero cool, not cool zero... yikes... Try one of your famous 'google' searches... It just might work...

Man are these guys drinking the Kool-Aid or what?

Geek Squad has a lot of potential to educate my customers about Home On Site service. Then when they drop the ball, like all large chains do. The "Mom and Pops" will be there to catch them. In the mean time business is good and will only get better. Sears fixes cars too but they haven't run all the garages out of business have they? I charge $90 an hour and its still less than Geek Squad when you look at their flat rate pricing and how they add up those operations. Flat rate is rarely the cheapest. The good news is, they will make our rates much more paletable, and might even make it so we can charge more.

We are already getting calls from customers frustrated with Geek Squad and want an adult to help them, not some kid just learning how to drive and who wants to tell them how cool X Box is. Customers want to feel comnfortable with who they let into their houses. How many of these Agents know how to handle an upset customer? Or can deal with someone who lost their data and needs a little sympathy before sitting down to figure out a plan to recover that data? Not the hit and run super agents thats for sure.

Geek Squad started off with the right idea, pre Best Buy...but like most chains it will be all about profits, selling products and numbers soon enough...and then the Kool Aid drinking experts will be gone (cause it won't be much fun then will it?) and only the kids from McDonalds will be left.

Geek Squad creates a larger market and then fills a need and only expands the market place for all the real techs to make more. Let them have the low hanging fruit.

I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that tie and I wouln't hire an ex-agent.

"Certifications mean you actually have HANDS ON experience.. not reading out of a book" ~ D Funk

Please. I've met and interviewed more "Certified" techs that don't know jack about computers. All certification means is that you were able to pass a test. It has NOTHING to do with hands-on experience. I'm not saying that certifications are meaningless, just that having them does not mean that someone knows what they're doing. (Take it from someone who has been involved in creating Professional Certification tests for the industry).

I've been in the business for over 20 years and now own an on-site computer service business. The Geek Squad - prior to Best Buy's aquisition, was a very capable and trustworthy company. However, I believe that since Best Buy aquired them, the overall quality of their "Agents" has greatly diminished. Over the years, I have met a number of Geek Squad Agents (in fact I know a couple agents personally) and I believe that overall, they're mostly inexperienced and some of them have little or no business working on people's computers. But, I also know for fact that they have some Agents who are very knowledgable and good at what they do. My experience tends to make me believe however, they are mostly in the minority as indicated by the amout of business I have been receiving from ex-Geek Squad customers do to failed repairs and/or recommendations.

Now, before any of the GS Agents reading this thread start flaming me... understand this - I don't know any of you - or your capabilities - so please, I am not impuning you or your abilites - these are simply my observations/opinions. I'm sure several of you are quite capable techs.

As far as Best Buy's aquisistion of the Geek Sqad - I believe it has become another channel for Best Buy to push product. Personally, I think this was a very smart business move on Best Buy's part. and has been very successful for them and I'm sure it will continue to work well for them.

Regards,

Tech Guy

I have been in the industry for a long time and ended up having to change careers because the money wasent there. Im curious how much money do these agents make? Can you afford to pay a mortgage in so california?

haha... funny to read about all of you "consultants" and "mom-and-pop" store owners who claim that they get work when geek squad agents dont fix their problems....

hmm... geek squad does guarantee their own work, but apparently people somehow would rather pay outrageous money to some big-headed computer store owner rather than getting it fixed for free.... right. lol. I feel pity for you fools

i gotta say that I can run circles around all but two of our geeks. the reason im not in the geeks squad is because of the fact that I actualy have a personality that wouldnt drive a customer out of the store as soon as I greeted them. I even went as far as thier little "test" before they decided to put me in sales. It was a freaking joke.

As "ryedog" stated like 3 weeks ago, and no one responded to, I am thinking of becoming a GS agent and am curious of how much they get paid. I've heard different amounts ranging from under 10/hr to close to 20/hr. I know it depends on the area you're in, but could someone let me know?

You wouldn't be working for Geek Squad if you have a degree from a 4 year university. Not to mention the shit I hear from actual geek squad members. Geek squad agents (D.A.) with in-depth knowledge in computer technology - next to none. How does geek sqaud gets business - creditability of Best Buy behind it. Reality - BB nor Geek Squad covers jack when they screw up your computer. They'll just tell you that your computer needs an upgrade, or replacement because it's old.

As far as getting business from ex Geek Squad customers I personally have had 4 customer's this week that have gone to independent computer stores and were unhappy about the service (and it's only Tuesday).

So Mr. $90 an hour you're telling me that you can setup a whole house wireless network, secure it, share all needed files and printers, customize the computer for the customer, and walk them through how to add new coputers and access all those shared files in under 2 hours. If it's a really small house sure it might be possible unless of course you have wireless networks all over the place that you're getting interference from. Customer satisfaction for in-home service from Double Agents is 99%. Which means that other 1% is going to go somewhere else and that 1% is going add up to thousands of people every week.

I tell a customer to start looking at new computers if the cost of the repair is going to be over $300, considering they can get a new machine for under $500 now. Best Buy would make a lot more money if I just charged them for all the labor I could to fix their old computer. Best Buy makes maybe $100 off a new computer and that's a high end machine. Best Buy acutally loses money on many of the lower end machines.

Certs are great, I'm starting classes for my MCSD, but show me the cert that tells you how to remove spyware or discuss upgrade options with a customer. Geek Squad is working with Microsoft right now to make such a certification. Some higher up Geek Squad agents are testing the test right now and if it is any good we should see the cert sometime in the next year or so. As far as getting a job as an Agent as opposed to sales that is mostly luck, just depends on what the store needs at that time. My store has one agent that shouldn't really be there (it happens), but other than that everyone there is a good tech. There are another couple that shouldn't have been let out of their cages, but again other than that everyone knows how to deal with customers. It is only a matter of time before those people are gone, it's just hard to fire someone for not being good at their job anymore.

Oh yeah and flat rates are almost always cheaper than hourly charges especially for something like a good spyware or virus removal, just ask the customers that have the really nasty stuff and it takes about 4 hours or so to clean their machine.

" How does geek sqaud gets business - creditability of Best Buy behind it."

Umm, no. GS was wildly successful in several markets since its founding in 1994 before being acquired by Best Buy, I believe in 2002.

As per blackware1337's comment much earlier...

Exactly why would I need to be able to program in assembly to fix a spyware problem? Or to get a wireless network set up? Or set up a MS Windows Domain? Yeah, we do use software to fix many problems, and no I didn't write any of it, in fact all I've written to assist in my job are some scripts to make the process a little easier. Programming can be useful knowledge, but why redesign the wheel?

We may not have the ability to write an OS, but what good is that to me? I've had a programmer come in with a computer so infected with spyware, he wasn't sure what to do... he had tried everything and couldn't access the internet - but couldn't afford to restore his computer. I was able to take care of it in a few minutes.

My brother can program an operating system - but still calls me for advice on his wireless network. We all have our specialties. There's no need to get angry. Heck, it would have been cool to go to MIT (and yes, I could have), but I'm really happy just helping people.

-Maybe it's just me...

@ Brandon -- Mr. MIT

It's very obvious from what you write that you have never done any Technical Support before. May I quote you? Thanks:

"Ok then these guys want to go around saying "Got a virus we will terminate it bring it to us" yeah you sure will, not that hard to charge the customer 150 bucks for installing some software they could have done themselves." "

My favorite part is "installing some software they could have done themselves."

HA HA HA HA!!!! Isn't that the point? These people are not capable of installing and/or using virus removal software themselves. That's why they hire someone to do it.

That's like saying, "Why go to the Honda dealership and pay $20,000.00 for a car when you can just build one yourself a lot cheaper?" I'm sure you could, but some people don't have the time or knowledge it would take to do that so they have some one else build it for them.

Had you ever done any technical support before, you would know that a majority of home users and new users (Geek Squads main focus really) know very little about computers. If you ask one of these people to go to "www.microsoft.com" where do you think they type that in? Well if their home page is Yahoo or Google they'll type it in to the search bar, not in the "Address" bar. A LOT of customer have no idea what the "Address" bar even is (lets not even get into URL). ALL their surfing is done through Yahoo or Google's search bars.

Think before you post next time. Thanks.

Everyone has their own opinions, but when it comes down it it. We are not out to rape the general public as many of you belive. Majoirty of the people now call the geek squad for spyware removal. Most users experienced or not usualy click yes on the box that pops up to install 1080 Solutions or CWS not knowing what they are doing. Personal i've seen some pretty f'ed up computers from spyware in my precinct, and telling people to download Hijack This! to get rid of a browser hijacker is like talking english to a russian. Even if they do know how to go that far, I garuntee you any average user does not know the difference between R0, O16 or O23 and will select everything and delete all objects thinking they are bad for their system. Also contrary to popular belief using firefox is not the answer to all spyware problems. Give it some time spyware coders are going to learn firefox's shell soon enough to infect it. So people don't go posting your anti-geek squad commentary when you actully have no idea where we are coming from and what really goes on in the real world, not your hacked norton and ad-ware world.

People ... chill out! Just drink a beer and be happy!

What is Geek Squad?

• Buncha *!@#$ HS Dropouts

What do they do?

• Fix your average Grandma's Computer problems. (Loging In) Cause anyone who is capable of using google.com don't need to call those retards.

For once you buncha twats, RTFM or use Google before you waste your money on those fools.

As this Jeff guy says "proxy link instore" Why for gods sake would you Proxy in, in that matter? Security? Or stupidity? It should say "Lamers Squad" not a "Geek Squad".

To MIT Guy. Right on dude... But it's C++ !C+.

To the guy who says his Programmer brother can program an OS and comes to you for help. Have some pitty, your brother programs in VBS and he cannot program an OS.

For those who blab around with Certificates, these are good for those who don't have BS.

To those all IT's Wannabies who are those Geek Squad kiddies. You've been taught which programs to use and for what purpose, some install them all, hoping the problem will get fixed, though you don't have a freakin' clue about Software and Hardware, yet you do a good job helping those more incompetent from you.

As for this guy who said that Software is nothing, it's removing Manuals bla bla bla.. whatever this dude is thinking, everything in Digital World is driven by the software, even every piece of hardware is driven by the software.

And security? Umm, I would never trust Geek Squad on securing my Wireless Link, or my home network. Security is the never ending story, and they probably install ZoneAlarm (Barf!), security is as strong as the programmers who write the software.

Now stop this nonsense, Geek Squad are people who know little, but know enough to fix your average persons PC from Malware, Spyware, KeyLoggers, RATs etc, by using propriatery software. Someone was saying something about learning those so called hard to use Point-And-Click Programs, wait til you read "named" manual, and understand it.

Winsock error, prolly a bad rip from BSD's TCP/IP Stack, what else could it be. :P

EOF

Wow how worthless have we become. In some peoples quest to have the "cool trendy" job we are becoming cheap and easy. If you have any craft at all it takes a lot of time and education. Ten years for me and I'm still learning, the thought of working crazier hours than I do now scares me. I bill a bunch of hours, work alot of late nights, but 24-7 scares me. Especially as much work as it takes to keep up with it all.

Just another MCP, MCDST, MCSE, CCA, Network +, A+, and Published Technical Author.

I worked as a Counter Inteligence Agaent for Geek Squad, the software we used was shareware, freeware. We didn't have a license for anything. Poor freeware peeps like Spybot don't see a dime of that 59 dollar diag or the 30 dollar removal flat rate. Geek squad is a joke, just another BBy salesman in a diffent uniform. They send out all "major" repairs like motherboard replacments. I couldn't handle the fasade (sp?). I quit.

To DumbGeek, not all software used is freeware and shareware some has been developed by Geek Squad itself. As far as replacing a mothboard goes that really isn't a major repair it just takes time that we don't have right now and some stores are starting to do more hardware repairs on-site to see if it will work out. Oh yeah, what exactly is a fasade? I would quit working on computers too if I couldn't at least use even google as a spell checker. Poor freeware peeps like Spybot don't see a dime for anything they do, but they love us using their software, more people know about it that way. If a customer wants to know we tell them what software we use, we used to leave it on their machines until the whole license agreement and being sued thing came up.

All those certs are great, but is your job fun and can you deal with the average computer user from day to day? You must be so proud to be a Published Technical Author along with how many other million people?

Hey sentoid obviously you've never talked to any Geek Squad agent about wireless network security. The most common ways a Double Agent secures a wirelless connection is through MAC filtering, disabling broadcasting of the SSID, setuping an IP range and enabling WEP. Only way to really make it more secure would be to turn off DHCP and use WPA. Turning off DHCP would make it even harder for a home user to add a computer, and WPA is great for businesses that can afford the signal loss that it creates. As far as in-store CIAs go alot of them would love to be higher up IT guys and Geek Squad is starting to train them to be. Geek Squad also has what are called Special Agents that specialize in corporate level networking and can pretty much replace any IT department for less cost to the client. There must be some reason that Linksys has put Geek Squad on their support page.

Hey typhoid, I'm so proud you can login to grandma's computer. Most people are there because they can't use google to figure out their problem. I don't how many computers I've seen that "The IT guy at work fixed it". A true IT guy shouldn't have the time to do all the reasearch required to stay on top of all the new spyware and viri being released and how to get rid of them manually if neccesary.

so how much are geek squad agents paid?

Geek Squad Agent payscales will range....

Typical CIA(in-store agents) -- $10 - $15/hr CIA Sr.(in-charge of store) -- $12 - $18/hr

DA (in-home) -- $14 - $22/hr

Then we also have Special Agents, who are mostly our CCNA/MCP guys, because they will provide support for moderate to larger sized business, and any server-client networks........the sky is really the limit here depending on your area......

As someone who's only worked for GS for a few months, I've seen some interesting things while there. Coming from a background in corporate IT (career changer...I'm a flight instructor now) I would like to think I've seen quite a fair amount of the fence, from both sides. My observations:

Geek Squad and BBY were the perfect match for each other, and you will see others begin to emulate the model. As for the quality of service...well, McDonalds is a ridiculously successful fast food leviathan, but what "quality" item ever walked out of their doors?

My point: how does a retail environment lure the IT skills it needs with what they can offer as financial compensation? They can't. They're over the barrel with a "take the best we can get and work with it" model.

Some of the agents are phenomenal, some really suck. I've seen an agent work with an irate customer on an outdated computer, and by the end the customer had their computer fixed, buying a new desktop and ordering in-home wireless networking and they were EXCITED TO BE DOING IT. (good)

I've seen an agents sell a customer 2 gigs of RAM to be installed on a PII 350 win98se and STILL managed to leave the computer in the back room for 5 days. (bad)

When I first started, I felt TERRIBLE charging a customer $39.99 to INSTALL RAM. I voiced this to another agent and they responded "When was the last time your mechanic felt bad about the cost of vehicle maintenance and "cut you a break?"

It's like this: if I want a doctor's services, I pay for them. If I want to hire an attorney, I have to pay his fee. I do this because he's doing things for me which I cannot do for myself. What makes computer maintenance and Geek Squad any different? A customer could either do like I did: start young, learn networking by throwing LAN parties and reading, learn PC maintenance through intense gaming and constantly upgrading hardware, subscribe to MaxPC, etc and acquire the skills to just fix this stuff themselves, or they could go on with their pathetic, mundane life exploring the visceral underbelly of the internet...the porn, the online casinos, the "click here to win an iPod" banner ads...

Google "opportunity cost"

I have come to realize this, and I will state it for you here: "There is an onus of responsibility that comes with using the internet. Your computer is not a microwave oven, and its not a television set. It is intelligent hardware that has been programmed to perform many tasks. To believe that no threat exists would be both immature and irresponsible, and it is up to the owner to realize it's potential. For those who choose not to turn when they encounter the learning curve, much like a real automobile accident, prepare to pay the price."

I think the fundamental complaint with Geek Squad amongst all of you people, both agent and non-agent alike, is the same as it is for me...

"Why didn't "I" think of that!?!?"

You really dont know how it is unless come in to store and ask a question. The only reason that people like "GeekSquad" is that because we are honest about our diags. We dont bull shit our ways into our customers. We offer them a very good and steady resolutions. We dont give tech support over the phone not because we are greedy because we want our customers to feel the full customer service and enjoy the one and one training style interaction. We work hard and we take pride into every computer that we bring in, it almost feels like that every computer is our personal computer and it needs to be fixed. CIA Agen Store Jackson, MI

i work as an in-store geek squad agent. i've worked there about 3 months now, and am currenlty looking for a salary type IT job. I don't suspect to work there too much longer, but not at all because its a bad place to work. most of our agents know their stuff really good. we have one guy that doesn't really know what hes doing, so we just make him do simple stuff and boxing stuff up and things like that.

i have a CS degree from a top 10 ranked school for CS and am certifed in A+, Network+, Server+ (which by the way are really easy to get) i've been screwing around on computers for about 10 years now. at home i run a small network of linux and win2k3 servers that do various things. i spend my spare time writing programs and scripts for my website (which is housed in my room). i have experience with c/c++, java, perl, asm, sql, etc etc etc... but you know what? none of this really matters to a GS agent. when i got the job i thought i'd be way more capable than anyone else that worked there because of my extenstive "IT" background. but really, none of that matters. no one else at my store has a CS degree, but they taught me a lot in how to fix computers, remove viruses/spyware, and all that. i pretty much had no experience with viruses and spyware when i started... because i've never had a virus. smart comptuer people don't get viruses because they know what to avoid. sure when the extremely rare customer comes in with a linux question, i'm the guy everyone turns to... but i'm much less valuable to the team than the guys that have been working there for a couple years.

and no we don't rip people off. yes, we do try and sell products and services, but we never lie to a customer or reccomend something they don't need.

so for all of you that think the geek squad sucks or are dumbasses because they don't have certifcations and degrees you're wrong. we don't need those skills to fix a computer.

I just had an amazing thought.... Maybe some GS Agents can hack it, and maybe some can't. It's always easy to forget that not everything is black and white...except our uniforms.

My advice to the average computer user with a computer problem. Look around first, I am sure you will find a local PC repair company.

I am a computer sales associate in a Best buy store outside of Cincinnati. Here is my two cents about the Geek Squad (or at least my precinct): 9 out of every 10 GS customers have a positive experience, and I see them back in the store for more GS services. About half of the customers whose buddy/relative/co-worker works in IT are back in the store in a couple of days to return whatever networking equipment they purchased because their buddy/relative/co-worker couldn't get it set up. Anyone who complains about our pricing should shop around, and after you realize that GS is among the lowest, with guaranteed work and 24/7/365 technical support, you'll be back. And I'll be waiting for you.

QUOTE: "So Mr. $90 an hour you're telling me that you can setup a whole house wireless network, secure it, share all needed files and printers, customize the computer for the customer, and walk them through how to add new coputers and access all those shared files in under 2 hours. If it's a really small house sure it might be possible unless of course you have wireless networks all over the place that you're getting interference from."

Installing a Linksys router, setting up configuration (including port forwarding for applications), setting up a workgroup to share files/printers, "customize the computer" ? , and explaining the basics should take about 45 minutes tops.

In two hours, I can setup an Active Directory tree.

Please - don't boast of your skills. You're a student, you should be attempting to learn, not criticizing those who have. Also, I agree that certs mean nothing. I've met some very clueless people with both MCSE and CCNA certs. While I'm sure they are alot more knowledgable than you, they still don't understand alot. Specifically alot seem to have a problem comprehending BGP4, but hey.

If you really want to learn - just check out Amazon.com. There are some amazing books on every subject imaginable. From "Real World Linux Security" to "Professional Assembly Language" to "Windows 2000 Scripting guide".

Please.. make an effort. Fixing your mom's corrupted Winsock stacks is comparable to programming a VCR in the '80s. Impressive to mom - but in the real world it just doesn't cut it.

My parents computer suddenly ran into some major performance issues last week. I looked at it and found that the hard drive was dying a slow death. Since they bought the PC at BestBuy and was still under warranty(sp) I told them to pack it up and take it in the BestBuy/Geek Squad.

BB/GS confirmed that the HDD was dying and that it was under warranty. Cool! Free repair. Before they started my mother asked if her genealogy could be restored and was told that the drive had to be sent back to mfgr for the repair for covered under the warranty. That's understandable so mom asked if she could get the old drive back and pay for a new drive. The answer was no. She was told (you'll love this one) "that the process of removing the HDD would destroy it and no data could be recovered". What?! So I called and talked to the tech and called him on the lie.

Now, in the past 22yrs I've done hardware and software support, software QA and development. This idiot waffled for 5 mins before confessing that "this is not the way we work". I let him know in no uncertain terms that I was disapointed in his service "skills". Now, if I was told that from the get go, I'd have a lot more respect for the schmuck. Lying to a customer is not acceptable. So, f* the warranty, I'm buying the new drive and installing it. By the way I was able to recover that data.

As an aside to the certification, education, experience question ...

I have a BS in electrical engineering, 22 yrs experience and no certifications. Personally, I never saw much use for them. No one I've worked for ever asked if I was certified (certifiable, yes :P ).

My 2 cents.

That agent should fired for what he told your mother. We do work like that, but a data recovery is $89. The only warranty I have ever heard of that covers data the Platinum Service Plan that Best Buy has, if we can't recover it in-store or the service center the drive will get sent to Ontrack. We have done some crazy recoveries, linux can do great stuff with dead drives. Of course a smart customer never needs a data recovery because the have their information backed up, especially with the price have external one touch/automatic back up harddrives.

How do i get the protective software for pen drives?

What is the starting pay for a geek squad? I've been asked to apply for the position but didn't ask the pay rate. even if it's different nation wide, I'd still like know the base starting salary, thakns.

You people seem to be an angry lot. Relax life is too short for all this drama. I am an agent that started fresh out of college. From first hand experience I can tell you that number one it is a good starting point in one's career and number two if you like dealing with both computers and people it is a very good intro. level job. As far as prices and knowledge are concerned prices are steep everywhere its called business
and knowledge varies across every horizon. Well just had to add my thoughts after reading all of this.

I'd like to know the starting rate as well.

Firstly, Ryan....don't dog anyone's computer 'skills'. your whole post was you boasting what you know. Assembly line language? Scripting? Linux? We are talking home users with home systems in most cases. You are an idiot. What kind of PC technician needs all of that crap? For the last 6 years, I've been a network administrator in the Air Force, which can equate to a large scale enterprise network. I have worked everything from simple end user PC problems, to minor network server/application problems, to complex network problems. I have been through 2 Active Directory migrations. I'm glad you can set up a directory tree in an hour, but that is kind of elementary in itself when we are talking about the level of knowledge you are talking about. With all of my experience, I still learn new things each day. Scripting is something I'm learning now. Just because I can't spout off information from a book concerning any given problem by no means makes me a crappy administrator. So again, before you start rattling off about how you are so much better than a 'student', try to make sure it applies to the current conversation. Oh, I just got out of the Air Force and am working part time at the Geek Squad for some extra cash while I get through college. Don't look down on someone for what they do before you know about the individual.

CodeWarrior....the guy you were dealing with was a moron. Unfortunately some do slip through the cracks when it comes to hiring. They don't last long though. He was right about your mother not being able to get her old HDD back, we have to replace and send the original off to get credit for the one we grabbed off of the shelf. Of course, the data backup/recovery, as you found out, was a simple process that should have been offered.

Could anyone tell me how to make a monitor light up? OK, first I turn on th computer and then the monitor. Then I look at the light to see if the monitor will light up, but it never does!

I am a Geek Squad agent and I like to think of myself as very skilled. However I am very disappointed in the unprofessionalism of the job at times. As one user said above it is strictly sales driven. The store is more worried about numbers, there is no reason we should be requiring customers to pay an additional $59 to run windoctor with a spyware removal, because in reality 95% of the time win doctor does not fix much. The other real kicker is with the diagnostic, and such since we are not hourly labor we do the diagnostic run all the scans and stuff and then close it all out and have the work approved then run the scans again to remove the stuff, it would be more efficient to just scan and remove imho. I also am quite disturbed with how members of the precinct and management get enjoyment out of browsing customer backups looking for "interesting content"

Geek Squad. Wow, how incredibly lame. A crappy corporation takes the noble word of geek and represents itself as money-stealing rogues. Isn't that wonderful? I was looking at their website. Wow, their prices are incredibly lame. I do PC repair on the side as a business. I charge under a hundred dollars for the most part for a FULL PC recovery, and not by hour or any of that, unless it takes more than a day, then I might make the price a few dollars more. lol. I wouldn't trust these idiots with ANY computer, not even a Macintosh. If I wanted an idiot from ITT Tech or Devry, I'd call AOL for tech support. What am I saying, they're probably only A+ certified (undereducated). Hey, Geek Squad, you guys are thieves. How much would you charge to transfer data from a corrupt hard drive? $500.00 to run a Windows Scandisk? haha. Lamers. Then what, will you charge the customer for a new hard drive, which is probably a crippled Maxtor drive and charge an extra $200 setup? LOL. Good job. I just copied data from one drive to the other, today. I hooked in the IDE cables (wow, that's hard, we're at level 1), then I booted the computer, went into windows, went into My Computer, and copy+pasted the data to the new drive. ROFL! okay, I'm done. You guys are a joke and a half. Nobody use GeekSquad. Assholes.

hypnetric... You are an idiot. There's not evne Scandisk in XP. and honestly there's a little more to copy and pasting a driveif you want to get the boot sector and stuff. You probably couldn't pass the A+ certification if you tried, and trust me they arn't all just A+. I'm a CS major and a major university and I am Cisco, Novel, and Microsoft certified. So honestly, screw off. I will agree the Geek Squad is a sham, but far from the reasons you are saying.

Uhm, NO. There is a Scandisk on XP, it's known as Checkdisk (same difference). My Computer->Drive->Right Click->Properties. Congratulations. I also had XP installed on the other drive before copying the data. All I did after installing it was overwrite the sysroot\WINDOWS\ directory and added the HDD directory tree. And congratulations, you're Microsoft certified. lol. I can use Microsoft Office, too, and load PowerPoint presentations. An idiot? No. I'm not the one who's officially certified to use Winholes XP.

Actually checkdisk isn't the same because it doesn't do a surface scan. Plus I'm a certified system engineer not what ever the shit you are.

Tim your a F!@#$#ng Idiot. I hope your not a Geek Squad® agent cause damn! CHKDSK /R does a surface scan In the Windows XP Recovery Console.

Tim you say your attending a University and you MCSE. What are they just handing these things out to people that know how to use a system recovery disk.

CHKDSK /R <-- surface scans in Windows XP recovery console CHKDSK /F <-- No surface scan

I tend to disagree with both of you, or all three of you for that matter. I am not msce certified, or don't work for the geek squad and such, but then I think of a real surface scan I think of persay a utility like DFT. In my experience running a PC service business utilities like that have been quite reliable compared to the XP chkdsk /r. It is definately more thorough in its testing.

I used to work at a Geek Squad Counter at a BBY store.... until I got fucked over. I can clear up any questions any of you may have...

We dont need your pathetic input eric you loser. F off! As far as tony goes DFT is great and all but that was not the question. I am most certainly aware that there is other programs that perform surface scans. Were also aware that you can use more than one kind of lubricant to message your sisters ahole with. The point made by chris is that XP IS CAPABLE of doing it whether it does it right or not.

Very few of you know anything at all. Certs mean nothing and MIT is shit. If a user can't even use scandisk or sysconfig or the cmd prompt...maybe they shouldn't be a user at all! Geek Squad is purely marketing, so that BBY can increase market share and continue to fuck the American public like all other companies.

I'm just about to get a job with the geek squad (funny story too, old boss from fry's electronics which, by the way, is an absolute hell hole).... I was imagining they were all nuke and pave types but now it looks like there may be some talented types in the geek squad... what a relief... ohh and I agree on the DFT and such.. I just don't trust windows utilities up against the hardware manufactuer's software, especially when they use it to determine RMA statuses. Anywho too bad the geek squad has such a dumb name and worthless vehicles... they should have a more professional name and drive something decent, honda civics, totyota corrolas, chevy cobalts... anything, just not those damn bugs!

hmm...hypnetric sound like you got a drive that had no partition table issues (I assume you know what that means), and no physical surface problems. Let's see you recover data from a drive that you have put in the freezer to cool it down so that it won't seize then use linux to recover the data because windows can't read the drive at all. As far as a diag goes they are not used all the much in the cause of pure software problems, though they probably should be.

Mr. Tim. Have never used to Windoctor before to run a diag. If you really knew how to remove spyware then you would know that a real removal takes a lot more then running the scans that are used during a diag.

Having Geek Squad services performed is like changing the oil in your car a lot of times. Anyone can figure out how to do it, but who want's to spend the time and mess doing. The biggest exception is that most average user's are just plain scared about computers and definitly don't want to spend the many hours it takes to learn how to truly clean a comptuer of all spyware and viri.

The marketing to for Geek Squad is a HUGE success. There must be a reason it was up to about 80% market share or so in Minneapolis before becoming a part of Best Buy. Customers love the Geek Squad marketing and the cars. Hey AcidicDreams take a look at the cars you listed and compare their least price to the of the VW bugs, then factor all the other costs of having a car, the bug is a lot a cheaper and people notice it much easier than any of those cars. Add in the fact the chassis comes from a higher end volvo and it is not a bad a little car especially for marketing.

Dear Ericisanidiot, sound like you need to cheer up probably get a job and move out of your parents house. DFT is by far the best HD testing utility on the market, and oh yeah it is free. Have compared its results with those of any Windows utitility and many 3rd party programs. It is the most accurate and has the best repair rate for corrupt sectors that I have found.

My hard drive isn't damaged. Luckily, I'm smart enough to use Seagate HDDs. But yeah... today when I was going back home, I saw a Geek Squad agent in his little bug, and flipped him off in traffic, calling him an asshole. That's all that matters.

Hey AcidicDreams why dont you go sell a PSP or ring out a customer. Thanks for the redundant info you just gave us, thanks to you were all now dumber. Get a Job? Ha ;} Cmon. Your the type that farts and asks, WHO FARTED? Oh and using Linux is not an option for everyone we do have some timy's among us. The ideal tool is Bart PE with Easy recovery pro. Lastly if you smart enough every peice of software is free! Frekin Idiot Gooah!

I've been a tech at store #226 in Lubbock, Texas.

Best Buy's biggest problem is that the individual stores are not factory authorized service centers.

I have also been a on-site tech for CompUSA

CompUSA is a factory authorized service center, they can take your receipt from a computer that you bought at Best Buy and bill the manufacturer for the repair. This counts towards your "No Lemon" policy on Best Buy's PSP because your computer was fixed at a factory authorized service center.

Best Buy is a much better retailer than CompUSA, but they have crippled their tech departments by not letting them perform warranty replacements. I can't count the number of computers we shipped to our Dallas service center for PSP part replacements.

The techs in Geek Squad are hit and miss. Some know their shit, others are just computer department prods who got promoted. But you find the same thing anywhere else.

Now that I have my CS degree I work as a Programmer for The University of Texas. All of you that have degrees and work for Geek Squad disgust me. Geek Squad is good training while your in college, but if you have a degree and skills you should be able to get a real job.

Can we have a group hug?

I've been a tech for 14 years in Canada. I took the stupid online qualification test today.... (i had to resort to applying for geek squad because of the lack of small shop computer stores up here anymore) and for some reason, the test said i got questions wrong when they weren't wrong. I get the feeling that the questions they use are from books (just to follow the book/hands on theme) heh and don't really go with any new tricks that us nerds learn from google. Either way i'm kinda glad i didn't pass it after reading this board, and the fact that there was NO mention anywhere about MACS.. until i took this test.. never worked on a mac in my life.. never plan to. I figure i can get a good tech support job somewhere for $13+/hour..

HAHAHHAH did i hear that right.... right click copy, right click paste... man... has anyone ever heard of xcopy c:*.* d:\ /h/i/c/k/e/r/y

best command i've ever learned :) i wish you could run Firefox in DOS hahaha... oh wait.. that's what *nix is for ;)

Just a few questions? Why are some of you against the Gimick that the Geek Squad uses? It is a basic marketing tactic to use things that stand out more than others. People remember them. Why do you think Geeks on Call try to mimic the Geek Squad. They use PT Cruisers, have taped glasses, and copy all of the commercials the Geek Squad has, and they charge nearly double for services. Also, all of you that claim to have a degree, why are you here? Why would you need the Geek Squad, if you have a degree? Geek Squad never meant for the in store troubleshooters to be techs. The are troubleshooters. There is a difference. That is why they are not factory authorized service centers, heck most of them do not carry an A+. I know the department Seniors are A+, and the DAs are as well, it is mandatory by the store. That is why the company calls them "Technicians" it doesn't matter if they have any other certs or not, as long as they have the A+, they can't have a lawsuit against them for false advertisement. KrS, if your looking for a tech job that starts at $13 an hour, good luck finding one, technicians are a dime a dozen, if you want $13 an hour, and the next person in line wants $12, who are you most likely to choose? Further more, you should come to Southern California, I started at 12, then they increased my pay a $ an hour because i carry my certs. As far as saleing product, How many of you that work for other companies that do not sale products usually get the same customer back within a month? Do you think that maybe the customer went back to the same porn site, or the same freeware site, after you did the work? Best Buy is a RETAIL STORE they carry the software to try to prevent reinfections, etc. If any of you have a problem with the gimik, you really need to keep quiet. The gimik is taking off, they took a multi million Company and turned it into a Billion $ profit. Since I haven't seen much of you comment about that, figured I would throw it out on the table.

 Don't get me wrong I am not bashing the Geeks Squad, or anyone else I am just trying to apply some knowledge to the bag of snakes.

Well my last job i had a was at $13/hour after 3 years when i left.. (opened my own store) and I started at $9.. i would take $10 to start right now... but there's just no jobs here, that was my point.

I'm applying to get a job at GS in a BBY store opening up here soon. I had half a year of CCNA cert done, when the program closed, and I am now in college for a CS degree. Work at GS is just because I love computers. I know them, built my first PC when I was 12 and been learning ever since. My friends mom wanted to pay me to remove spyware, and the best way I could think of was to just install MAS and SB and run some other programs to get rid of 95% of the probelm Anyone bashing GS needs to first off, get a life. If you don't like it, Don't pay it. If you think you can do better, go ahead and try. Me personally would NEVER go to a Tech but that's because I know what I'm doing. Also, like a previous comment said about going to a mechanic to fix a car, if its an easy fix, like something dealing with the muffler on my car, which idid a mock job of, its not a big deal, but If I got serious problem with my car, I wouldn't know where to start, but I've logged in my hours on a computer and I know what I'm doing. So, when your 50 year old mother brings in her computer, its because she needs help. Deal with it.

Just a couple corrections to some misconceptions. All Best Buy stores are factory authorized repair centers, otherwise every time we opened a computer it would voide the warranty. We can repair machines under MFG warranty. We do send of the more complicaed repairs simply because we do not have the facilities to do them, most of the time we do have the skill avalible. Most motherboard replacment's we do send off, simply because it takes about the same amount of time if we were to order the board from the MFG and replace it ourselves. Everyone behind that GS counter is a technician, you don't have to have any certs to be a tech. For the most part Best Buy only hires people that know what they are doing, though like anywhere else you do have the bad apples. Car analogies are great to help explain charges to customers and even what is going on, we even offer in home training for a lot of the problems we fix, sure a customer has to pay for it. Most techs have either paid for training or put in the hours (which is the same thing) to learn how to do it, I have told the same thing to customers when they ask why we charge so much for what we do. If a customer wants to go home and the god knows how many hours I've spent on the computer to learn how to clean ALL spyware possible from a machine then they can go and do that, but most customers' time is worth more than what they pays, just like any other service that you pay for.

OK. I know what I'm doing, and I'm applying to BB soon. The real reason i came here though... is how much do they make? Right now i'm a manager for a fast food restraunt, and I'm 19... but I really hate that job nowadays.. So.... I am really interested in what the starting salary is for a GS tech? It's got to be close enough to what I'm making now, and I'm assuming its up around $11 or $12 an hour or so, but I could be way off.. Any help?

I wish I was more impressed with Geek Squad. Brought in a notebook computer that stalls on the start up and the DVD player does not work. When the compter does come up (sometimes) it periodically reboots - not stable. We had done a reinstall at home and still had the same problem so we took the notebook in to Geek Squad. We told them that we did a clean reinstall, but they were insistent that it was a software problem that would be fixed by their reinstall. After a week and 147 dollars it was pronounced fixed. It still had the original problems. My son who has a bad stutter took the notebook back the next day. The GS rep said the DVD software the notebook had was not considered very good (maybe true, but the DVD does not work, it should have been fixed) and that he did not know what was wrong with the notebook and too bad for us. I feel he took advantage of my son because of his stutter he was not capable of arguing that this is unacceptable. Tomorrow I go back with the computer.

For those of you who can't read,

Geek Squad Agent payscales will range....

Typical CIA(in-store agents) -- $10 - $15/hr

CIA Sr.(in-charge of store) -- $12 - $18/hr

DA (in-home) -- $14 - $22/hr

Then we also have Special Agents, who are mostly our CCNA/MCP guys, because they will provide support for moderate to larger sized business, and any server-client networks........the sky is really the limit here depending on your area......

From what I've read, Geek Squad is a pretty good thing for the community. I've seen many flames, and some praise for the Geek Squad. The flames, most if not all, have no facts, just egos to be satisfied. The praise mostly has the facts, so I tend to sway toward the better view of Geek Squad. I know someone who works for Geek Squad - he has a Computer Science degree and has been in the workforce for about 2 years. I know he know's his stuff, which is even more of a testament to their knowledge base. Having just received my CS degree, I kind of wish I had gotten a job their so I would know better if recommending them is the best choice (obviously it's a good choice), but alas I have found work at a fairly large insurance company as an IS tech. So to those script kiddies and cert toting flamers, do your homework before you start pecking the keyboard. To those Geek Squad members who took the time to divulge the info, thank you very much and happy trails on your quest to geekdom.

Any of these Geek Squad peeps hot chicks? How much for a home visit and a little file swapping betwen the sheets eh?

I LOVE my Geeks in my store.. I am a computer sales associate.. and I would DIE without my guys. They try to help and do as much as they can. While I myself am currently enrolled in a "computer netoworking" program We study A+ Server+ Network+ CCNA (I am a highschool student) I myself am A+ certified and while that doesn't mean much to those who can put more letters after their name as i say. It means alot to me until I get the other certs. I would HATE to be a geek squad agent. People are RUDE and most don't have any idea what they are talking about when they think they do. It is a hard job to change people's minds all day. Ya know? So I just stick to the sales floor matching people with what they need or what they want. BBY is NOT about hooking you up with the most expensive system in the store that isn't what we are trained to do. That's not what we do. We have the customers best intrest at hand. Hell I don't make money off of what I sell you so my mindset it just to get people set up with what they need. other than that, those that crack on the geek squad are just jealous that bby came up with the great idea first. And obvisouly they are doing quite well with it too. So get over it. If people want to pay the money to have a good friendly tech come to their house to help them then they will do it. A HUGE difference between geek squad and "techs" are they we are people people.. we like to talk laugh and have a good time...

so put that in your pipe and smoke it..

correction for Agent Taylor

If Best Buy stores were factory authorized repair centers they would be able to complete PSP part replacements instore instead of shipping the computer off to a service center.

In store tech = upgrade specialist.

We do complete PSP repairs in-store, such has HD replacement on both desktops and laptops. We can replace pretty much anything in a desktop except the processor and mobo and we could do that as well but we would have to order the parts and it is just faster to send to unit off for service.

I LOVE THE GEEK SQUAD!!!!

They generate about 80% of my local area data recoveries and through their incompetence, have handed me many new loyal customers. In fact the local BB has hired a tech we fired after 3 weeks. He couldn't format drives, install an OS or repair printers (what we hired him for originally). After he screwed a MLB directly to the case (no standoffs) and fried everything inside we let him go. He is now a double agent. And making a whopping $7.25/hr!

It's good you can make up stories Robo. This employee you mention would not be hired as a Double Agent, and even if he were he would be making a bit more than $7.25/hr, Double Agent's make anywhere from $15-$20 an hour. Even as an in-store tech that starting pay is now $10.30/hr, depending on that part of the country you are located.

wow i found this page while searching for a geek squad technicians salary...i just applied online (in true geek style) for a job with these guys...looks like im in for some fun!