Geeksquad Rant

[Arkaign]

Friends don't let friends use Geeksquad

The situation :

A friend's family has a daughter serving in the Marines in Afghanistan, she has a Sony Vaio that she left behind on her current deployment because it had some issues. Her parents took it to Geeksquad to get it fixed, and first got a quote (thank GOD), but were told that there weren't any techs at that location that could do the work, and that it would have to be sent off to a service depot and that it might take 3-4 weeks to get it back. Their son thankfully brought it to me instead.

What the notebook needed :

Replace dead DVDRW, replace keyboard, replace CPU fan, reload Windows, restore docs/music/apps, replace rear LCD cover (optional, but old one was missing the 'O' and had heavy scratching).

Geeksquad quote :

(1)- 'PC Repair', minimum $129.99
(2)- Data backup, $99.99
(3)- Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade $109.99
(4)- Hardware Installation x4 $199.96 (49.99 x4)
(5)- Software Installation x2 $59.98 (29.99 x2)
(6)- Computer Setup $149.99
(7)- 'Secure your PC' (Antivirus and updates) $69.99
(8)- Parts unknown, loose estimate $250.

!!!! Holy crap. That's somewhere north of $1k! They rightfully said that they only paid $699 for the thing in the first place (Stupidly overpriced Vaio), and that they would just throw it away and get a new one. That was before they were referred to me.

I helped them find all of the parts on Ebay for less than $60, a copy of Win7 Home Premium upgrade for $99, and did all of the labor (hardware install, OS load, all apps/drivers/MS Security essentials/updates/etc, got all of her data back) for $75, which I then waived as it's nice to do something for our service folks and veterans. It only took about 2 hours total, and most of that was just waiting for updates/software to install. Unit works better than new, doesn't have the default crapware loaded, and all the Sony hotkeys function perfectly now (they were oddly lagged with the old OEM Vista load).



Cliffs : Geeksquad is a ripoff to the point of obscenity. How do they get away with it?

 

[Shack70]

lol! I just laugh when people tell me they took anything to Geeksquad. You know Geeksquad will even do firmware updates on a PS3 and charge for it??

 

[drebo]

Cliffs : Geeksquad is a ripoff to the point of obscenity. How do they get away with it?

Because a lot of small businesses have been burned by the "little guy" who works out of his home, doesn't know what he's doing, and just generally fucks them over by never fixing anything, selling them illegitimate software, or even making things worse. The people who work for these small businesses then become mistrustful of all non-name-brand computer stores and only deal with big box stores.

The hardest accounts to win are the ones where people were dissatisfied with their previous "computer guy".

 

[techs]

I helped them find all of the parts on Ebay for less than $60, a copy of Win7 Home Premium upgrade for $99, and did all of the labor (hardware install, OS load, all apps/drivers/MS Security essentials/updates/etc, got all of her data back) for $75, which I then waived as it's nice to do something for our service folks and veterans. It only took about 2 hours total, and most of that was just waiting for updates/software to install. Unit works better than new, doesn't have the default crapware loaded, and all the Sony hotkeys function perfectly now (they were oddly lagged with the old OEM Vista load).



Cliffs : Geeksquad is a ripoff to the point of obscenity. How do they get away with it?

Yeah, I do armed forces work for 50 percent off labor and no markup on parts.
It is a nice thing to do.

 

[Arkaign]

Because a lot of small businesses have been burned by the "little guy" who works out of his home, doesn't know what he's doing, and just generally fucks them over by never fixing anything, selling them illegitimate software, or even making things worse. The people who work for these small businesses then become mistrustful of all non-name-brand computer stores and only deal with big box stores.

The hardest accounts to win are the ones where people were dissatisfied with their previous "computer guy".

That's a fair point, I've seen my share of terrible shade-tree PC repair work over the years. There was a local company that sold one of my clients a bunch of white-box workstations and a white-box server a few years back, and the hardware was horrible and they overpriced severely. The 'server' was a P4 2.66ghz on an Abit BH6 with 512MB of DDR266, with two WD 80GB drives on the hotpoint raid controller. It was running a legal copy of Server 2003 Standard, but the unit was sold in 2005 for almost $3k. The workstations were P4 2.0ghz Willamette Socket 478 running on these really horrible VIA mainboards with 256MB PC133 Sdram and 40GB Samsung 5400RPM drives. Just sheer garbage, and the invoices were almost $1k for each of those. The experience was so bad that the director (this is for a nonprofit) insisted on going with Dell this time, even though I told her that we could get her generic units of better quality for less. As luck would have it, Dell ripped her off this time. Optiplex units with Vista basic (WTF?), 2GB single stick DDR2, Core 2 Duo E7500, 250GB Sata Drive, DVDRW, no monitor, $620/ea. Arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh. I had quoted her units with X4-630, Antec PSU/case, Gigabyte board, 1TB WD HD, etc, for a little bit less, including the warranty and monitors. She had to buy a bunch of Win7 Pro licences anyway.

So there's definitely something to be said about shady independents giving everyone a bad name. I'm still shocked that BB would honestly say to someone that the fairly simple job of repairing that Vaio was over $1k though. Insane.

Yeah, I do armed forces work for 50 percent off labor and no markup on parts.
It is a nice thing to do.

Definitely, thumbs-up

 

[SirStev0]

yagst

 

[JM Aggie08]

We chuckle at work every time we get a machine with the fucking geeksquad stickers on them.

(^University software/hardware repair center. I'm a beast)

 

[Arkaign]

We chuckle at work every time we get a machine with the fucking geeksquad stickers on them.

(^University software/hardware repair center. I'm a beast)

Nice.

You know it's kinda sad, probably a lot of the more experienced techs at GS used to work for better independent outfits, but with GS starting to corner the market, there's not a lot of other places to do general pc repair these days, so they end up working for peanuts while their corporate whore bosses make huge bank. The techs doing that work on the Sony $1k quote would have probably been making $10/hr lol.

 

[caspur]

So if Arkaign messes up their computer, who is responsible?

Not really defending Bestbuy, even though I work there, but the pricing for many repairs are fair compared to smaller shops, where you often hear stories about them "attempting" a repair, breaking things, and still charging the customer for a non-existent repair. Those are the customer that go to bestbuy.

Geeksqaud can make $15+/hr, depending on the city.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Nice.

You know it's kinda sad, probably a lot of the more experienced techs at GS used to work for better independent outfits, but with GS starting to corner the market, there's not a lot of other places to do general pc repair these days, so they end up working for peanuts while their corporate whore bosses make huge bank. The techs doing that work on the Sony $1k quote would have probably been making $10/hr lol.

The beauty (in all reality, the sad part) is that our software services, eg. malware, OS issues, yadda yadda yadda, are offered completely free to students and faculty, yet they insist on taking their spaceheating HP Pavilions to GS first.

You can't walk past a building on campus without seeing a flyer advertising our free services...yet the GS trend shows no sign of stopping.

 

[HeXen]

Friends don't let friends use Geeksquad

The situation :

A friend's family has a daughter serving in the Marines in Afghanistan, she has a Sony Vaio that she left behind on her current deployment because it had some issues. Her parents took it to Geeksquad to get it fixed, and first got a quote (thank GOD), but were told that there weren't any techs at that location that could do the work, and that it would have to be sent off to a service depot and that it might take 3-4 weeks to get it back. Their son thankfully brought it to me instead.

What the notebook needed :

Replace dead DVDRW, replace keyboard, replace CPU fan, reload Windows, restore docs/music/apps, replace rear LCD cover (optional, but old one was missing the 'O' and had heavy scratching).

Geeksquad quote :

(1)- 'PC Repair', minimum $129.99
(2)- Data backup, $99.99
(3)- Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade $109.99
(4)- Hardware Installation x4 $199.96 (49.99 x4)
(5)- Software Installation x2 $59.98 (29.99 x2)
(6)- Computer Setup $149.99
(7)- 'Secure your PC' (Antivirus and updates) $69.99
(8)- Parts unknown, loose estimate $250.

!!!! Holy crap. That's somewhere north of $1k! They rightfully said that they only paid $699 for the thing in the first place (Stupidly overpriced Vaio), and that they would just throw it away and get a new one. That was before they were referred to me.

I helped them find all of the parts on Ebay for less than $60, a copy of Win7 Home Premium upgrade for $99, and did all of the labor (hardware install, OS load, all apps/drivers/MS Security essentials/updates/etc, got all of her data back) for $75, which I then waived as it's nice to do something for our service folks and veterans. It only took about 2 hours total, and most of that was just waiting for updates/software to install. Unit works better than new, doesn't have the default crapware loaded, and all the Sony hotkeys function perfectly now (they were oddly lagged with the old OEM Vista load).



Cliffs : Geeksquad is a ripoff to the point of obscenity. How do they get away with it?

lol. what a geeky thing to say. the exact same way that people take their cars to the mechanics and pay way too much for service and parts.
The problem here is that geeks in any particular field don't understand why others who know little to nothing and are lazy will pay others to do what seems easy to us.

How many here can repair their LCD Tv if it breaks, what about your refrigerator, your car, your roof? Seems obvious to me if you don't have much experience in repairing something or no time to do it/learn it...then your going to pay more money.

I went to an auto mechanic school, some would laugh at people who would pay $200 for brakes knowing we could do it for $60 and make a profit...same with transmissions, i remember i could buy a high performance rebuild kit for $140 and about 4 hours of my time. Anyway, most people know nothing about computers and all of us get ripped on repairs for something now and then. All you can do is shop around for best price or learn it yourself.

 

[Arkaign]

So if Arkaign messes up their computer, who is responsible?

Not really defending Bestbuy, even though I work there, but the pricing for many repairs are fair compared to smaller shops, where you often hear stories about them "attempting" a repair, breaking things, and still charging the customer for a non-existent repair. Those are the customer that go to bestbuy.

Geeksqaud can make $15+/hr, depending on the city.

Yeah I won't deny that there are a lot of independents that give the whole thing a bad name. I've been in business for many many years (since the mid 90s), and actually work with a company that shares support/warranty information. We have a cloud host set up for customer notes/backups/etc, and all work is noted in there so that anyone dealing with a client can see the full history immediately. It's extremely rare to have to re-do any work, although inevitably you sometimes get the client that does some repetitively dumb things, or the computer that is possessed

 

[Arkaign]

The beauty (in all reality, the sad part) is that our software services, eg. malware, OS issues, yadda yadda yadda, are offered completely free to students and faculty, yet they insist on taking their spaceheating HP Pavilions to GS first.

You can't walk past a building on campus without seeing a flyer advertising our free services...yet the GS trend shows no sign of stopping.

Yikes. That's pretty wild. Maybe they hear 'free' and think that they're getting what they pay for?

 

[lxskllr]

How many here can repair their LCD Tv if it breaks, what about your refrigerator, your car, your roof? Seems obvious to me if you don't have much experience in repairing something or no time to do it/learn it...then your going to pay more money.

A lot of that can't be compared to computer work though. To fix a computer you need a kitchen table, and some dollar store tools. It isn't physically taxing, and you don't get dirty. I know how to do a lot of car work, but still take it to the shop many times, because I don't like getting greasy. There isn't much excuse for not doing computer work, unless you're loaded and just don't care about the money.

 

[rudeguy]

A lot of that can't be compared to computer work though. To fix a computer you need a kitchen table, and some dollar store tools. It isn't physically taxing, and you don't get dirty. I know how to do a lot of car work, but still take it to the shop many times, because I don't like getting greasy. There isn't much excuse for not doing computer work, unless you're loaded and just don't care about the money.

and the shop doesn't charge you for unneeded repairs and then return your car in worse shape than when you dropped it off.

The OP described some very basic repairs and GS quoted the customer 150% of the price of the unit. That would be like taking your Impala into the shop because it was slipping and the shop quoting you $35,000 for the repairs. Then when they give you your car back, it would be painted with Best Buy colors and have a GPS tracking device installed.

 

[insect9]

A small computer repair store told my GF's mom that her laptop was completely borked and that she needed to buy a new one. Of course, hey had plenty of them for her to choose from. She brought her laptop to me instead. Problem? A Windows automatic update screwed something up with her company's proprietary software and rendered it unable to boot. I ran a system restore, and it works fine.

I haven't encountered a computer repair operation that WASN'T out to rip people off yet. Might just be where I live though.

 

[Kirby]

My dad has used GS a few times. He works a lot out of state, and if I can't solve the problem over the phone, he just goes to GS. Not much of a choice when you need something to work. It's always horribly overpriced labor + hard/software wise, but to him it's obviously worth it.

 

[lxskllr]

and the shop doesn't charge you for unneeded repairs and then return your car in worse shape than when you dropped it off.

The OP described some very basic repairs and GS quoted the customer 150% of the price of the unit. That would be like taking your Impala into the shop because it was slipping and the shop quoting you $35,000 for the repairs. Then when they give you your car back, it would be painted with Best Buy colors and have a GPS tracking device installed.

None of those fees are entirely unreasonable by themselves, especially if you figure in overhead, and warranty, but they shouldn't have been stacked the way they were. If I were doing the work for someone I didn't know, I'd have charged a flat rate, or just recommend a new machine depending on the broken comps specs. It would of course be up to the client, but personally, when repairs get within a couple hundred of a brand new machine, I bail on the project, and keep the old one for parts.

 

[techs]

The number one Yahoo Answer to the question: Is the Geek Squad any good?

for the love of humanity stay away from Geek Squad they will mess the entire thing up and make copy's of your pic's music all your files and rip you off

 

[Arkaign]

A small computer repair store told my GF's mom that her laptop was completely borked and that she needed to buy a new one. Of course, hey had plenty of them for her to choose from. She brought her laptop to me instead. Problem? A Windows automatic update screwed something up with her company's proprietary software and rendered it unable to boot. I ran a system restore, and it works fine.

I haven't encountered a computer repair operation that WASN'T out to rip people off yet. Might just be where I live though.

That's pretty darned shady. There are a lot of decent outfits here in DFW, along with a fair amount of crappy ones like what you're describing.

The number one Yahoo Answer to the question: Is the Geek Squad any good?

for the love of humanity stay away from Geek Squad they will mess the entire thing up and make copy's of your pic's music all your files and rip you off

lmao.

 

[rudeguy]

A small computer repair store told my GF's mom that her laptop was completely borked and that she needed to buy a new one. Of course, hey had plenty of them for her to choose from. She brought her laptop to me instead. Problem? A Windows automatic update screwed something up with her company's proprietary software and rendered it unable to boot. I ran a system restore, and it works fine.

I haven't encountered a computer repair operation that WASN'T out to rip people off yet. Might just be where I live though.

how do you do a system restore if it won't boot?

 

[techs]

how do you do a system restore if it won't boot?

Call the Geek Squad. For only 149.00 dollars they'll tell you to put in your restore disks.

"Not responsible for loss of data"

 

[insect9]

how do you do a system restore if it won't boot?

F8 after post -> Safe Mode -> System Restore.

 

[shortylickens]

Any time someone tells me they wanna go to Geeksquad I offer to do the exact same work for half their quoted price. And I'll have it back sooner.

Amazingly, not one person has taken me up on the offer. I guess folks just love pissing their money away.

 

[rudeguy]

F8 after post -> Safe Mode -> System Restore.

oic

So it booted into safe mode, just not regular.

I was confused.