Wow, Geek Squad prices are crazy

[afawzy316]

yea, when i saw those prices i was considering applying for a summer job there! But then i realized that the ppl actually fixing the computers probably dont get paid that much for doing those things. Its just like how these stores make money off of the stupid extended warranties and off of overpriced accessories...some ppl are willing to pay ALOT of money for convenience

 

[cbehnken]

You aren't considering when jobs go wrong. Not every computer upgrade goes flawlessly and they have to take that into consideration, especially if they warranty their work.

 

[Zolty]

if people will pay for it

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: archcommus
There is one thing I have to mention that people should make note of, not sure if this has already been said.

I'm absolutely amazed that the OP thinks the advanced security setup for $118 is a rip-off. That clearly shows the OP did no research whatsoever before posting this rant. The $118 fee for the advanced security setup INCLUDES THE SOFTWARE THAT THEY INSTALL, which is Norton AntiVirus 2005 and Webroot Spysweeper. Those two programs alone cost $49.99 and $29.99, for a total of around $80. So in essence, you are only paying Geek Squad $38 to do the services, which include:

- installing and updating both pieces of software
- installing ALL Windows Updates (which could take forever for dial-up customers if done themselves)
- doing registry tweaks
- optimizing performance by altering system properties settings (system restore usage, automatic updates, checking device manager for conflicts, altering visual settgins)
- completely wiping out msconfig of all startup crap they do not need
- uninstalling crap from Add/Remove Programs such as trial versions and other stuff they don't want (like stuff from AOL)

That, IMHO, is a BARGAIN for any normal computer user.

$38 is cheap. I'd charge $50-$75. Of course I use AVG and Spybot so my software costs are zero. Makes me wonder why I don't get more clients for the side work I do. Maybe I should advertise more.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0

Originally posted by: Finalnight
Geek Squad is way cheaper than the $80/hr my dealership charges...best part is that geek squad charges flat fees, not hourly...

$80/hr would be cheaper for a lot of these stuff.
Ram takes like 2minutes TOPS to install. At $80 an hour.. it wouldn't even cost $3 to install.

Not when there's a minimum 1 hour charge .

 

[shilala]

Originally posted by: KLin
People are retarded in regards to computers.

/thread

QFT.
...and an aside...
This line of thinking is exactly why aplefka is not nearly as wealthy as Best Buy.

I just charged $67.00 to de-hijack a totally borked computer. I also replaced a 70 mm fam and a 40 mm fan.
The value to the customer? $1200. His computer was absolutely useless and he'd have thrown it away were I not able to fix it. He now has a brand new machine and I'm going to stop by his house to coach him on adware/virus/spyware removal.
Had I charged it out to a real customer, the cost would have been $200-$300 for the time plus $35.00 for parts.
Time IS money, and my time is very valuable.

 

[Freejack2]

There is an old joke where they call in a retired engineer, he looks around at the machine, puts a piece of chalk on a spot and tells them to replace that part. They get a huge bill for like $1000 from him so they ask him why so much. He says the chalk was $1 but $999 was for knowing where to place the chalk mark.

It's all about knowledge. Anyone can serve food at McDonalds, so working there means one has to work their butt off for minimum wage. To be an engineer requires half a brain and 2 to 4 years of college education. So the engineer sits at a desk most of the time and gets paid at least 30grand a year.

People don't know how to fix their computers so they pay the geek squad a small fortune an hour to fix their computers.

 

[Finalnight]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0

Originally posted by: Finalnight
Geek Squad is way cheaper than the $80/hr my dealership charges...best part is that geek squad charges flat fees, not hourly...

$80/hr would be cheaper for a lot of these stuff.
Ram takes like 2minutes TOPS to install. At $80 an hour.. it wouldn't even cost $3 to install.

They also run diags to verify the memory is not defective...

Also, the bb employee who wrote that geek squad takes a long time to install av software, remember that geek squad has to remove all the manufacturer's garbage so they can do a clean install of the software. Have you ever seen what happens when a norton install goes really bad?
Also, I laugh when I see "Spy Subtract" and McAfee AV on a pc bundled there by the manufacturer...

Originally posted by: krankyNow, what they ought to do is have each store's Geek Squad do some free work on PCs at various area non-profits who can't afford to pay a tech. The GS could pick one organization a month and spend an evening or Saturday taking care of the spyware, backups, networking, etc. There are a lot of places like that in desperate need of help and can't pay.

Geek Squad volunteers at Boys and Girls Club of america and also other orgs depending on the region.

This argumentative thread is amusing because I see it everywhere.
On car enthusiast forums I see people talking about how ridiculous it is to pay a mechanic to do something. On homebuilding/diy forums, ditto about carpenters, etc. And so on...

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Finalnight

Originally posted by: kranky
Now, what they ought to do is have each store's Geek Squad do some free work on PCs at various area non-profits who can't afford to pay a tech. The GS could pick one organization a month and spend an evening or Saturday taking care of the spyware, backups, networking, etc. There are a lot of places like that in desperate need of help and can't pay.

Geek Squad volunteers at Boys and Girls Club of america and also other orgs depending on the region.

I think that's great!

 

[Kaspian]

Normally, if I'm frieds with the person that needs an upgrade/puter fix, I wont charge. We just trade favors.

 

[CptFarlow]

I used to be a Geek Squad agent. I would agree that the prices are a bit steep on SOME thing, but for the most part, its not that bad of a deal. As said before, everything is a flat rate. It is a given that they are going to try and make as much profit as they can. But when they include software in their prices, that helps a lot.

Be sure to make sure you are looking at the in-store or in-home price, somebody pointed that out. The in-home prices are sometimes ludicrous. $159 to put in a wireless network for up to two computers, not including hardware. It does include encryption, which is the biggest selling point.

Overall, for somebody that doesn't know anything about their computer, or somebody with enough money to not care, it is a good service. Same thing with a car...it's a "let somebody who knows more about it deal with it" situation, if you will.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: bobbybe01

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure
cliffs?

Best Buy is a ripoff.

/thread

 

[Continuity28]

If the people using the computer don't want to learn themselves, why should a Geek Squad person drive all the way out to their house, spend minutes or hours (plus the time in transit) and expect to make little money?

It's simple really.. either learn to do it yourself, or pay up... It can't just be good for the person with the problem, it has to be enough money to be worthwhile for the worker too.

 

[EKKC]

same with cars. i'm good with computers, yet my car salesman probably thinks im an idiot when i go in for oil change and say yes to almost anything that they tell me is not working or will fail "soon"

 

[SonicIce]

i wonder how much of that money goes to the acual geeks...

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
i wonder how much of that money goes to the acual geeks...

Anywhere from $250 to $500 a day or more depending how how big of a store it is/how many geeks work/how long their shifts are, etc.

 

[chrisms]

I've got to get into this business

 

[tyler811]

Originally posted by: bobbybe01

Originally posted by: AccruedExpenditure
cliffs?

Best Buy is a ripoff.

/thread

:beer:

 

[Anubis]

my friend charges 60$ to format and reinstall windows

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Anubis
my friend charges 60$ to format and reinstall windows

Geek Squad charges $79!

 

[BigLouis]

Don't like the prices, don't use the service and stop bitching

 

[bdoople]

Originally posted by: aplefka
I was looking through the Best Buy ad today, and on the second page they list the prices for their Geek Squad tasks. Some of it is the biggest waste of money ever. How much would you charge for the tasks below (be sure to read their Best Buy description)?

$29 - Install More Memory - Speed up your PC and run more applications at the same time.
My complaint: RAM most likely not included for that price, so this is an additionl $30, which is half of another stick. A fair price to me would seem like $10 if they bought the RAM from BB, $15 for out-of-store purchases.

$59 - Diagnose Your System - Check for PC-crippling viruses and verify the hard drive and processor are in tip-top condition.
My complaint: Doesn't McAfee or Norton do the same thing for the same price, except that it can be used an unlimited amount of times and updated for a year? This seems like a $20-$25 job to me, at the most.

$89 - Back Up Your Data - Save up to 4GB of your important information to DVD.
My complaint: For $89 you could get 200 blank DVDs. That's 800GB. Yes, it does cost money for the burning software and burner itself, but $89 for one DVD of data? That's ridiculous. That's high for even 10 DVDs of data. I'd do the same for $10 plus $1 for each DVD.

$118 - Advanced Security Setup - Installation of anti-spyware and antivirus software (includes Precinct versions of software). Plus customize your PC to meet performance and security needs.
My complaint: Again, McAfee or Norton anyone? $118 is probably at least a 2-year subscription, maybe even 3, to either of those services. I don't understand what they can "customize" to up performance for $118. Another $20 job, maybe a little more if they explained the customization process.

$159 - Install A Wireless Home Network - Get standard setup and encryption of 2 PCs on your network to help keep it secure.
My complaint: Now this one is a bit more reasonable. Most people don't know much about securing their networks or even how to set them up. However, after spending $50 or so on a nice router, that's a bit more than I would want to pay. I'd feel that $70 plus $5 per PC hooked up would be a fair amount.

$229 - Transfer Data From PC To PC - New PC? No problem. Keep all your old files, favorite digital photos, and important papers.
My complaint: How hard is it to hook up the new hard drive in the same system and copy some files over to it? This is the most overpriced task, though the $89 DVD comes in a close second. For $229 you could choose to either upgrade your processor, get another 1-2 gigs of RAM, add more storage space, or get another optical drive, or a mix and match. After shelling out $600-700 for a new computer, are people going to want to pay another $229 to recover their old stuff? Hell no. I'd say this is a $125 job at the most.

So there's my little rant. Sorry it's kinda long. But seriously, based upon those descriptions, Geek Squad is the biggest fvcking ripoff ever. How much would you guys charge for one or all of the above tasks? Am I just being too nice and unrealistic?

Im skipping right to the end of the thread here and answering as an Agent in the Geek Squad.

1) Most people don't know how to install or handle memory. If you're an 80 year old woman with no PC experience but you want a nice laptop with enough memory to handle what you need, you don't care about another $29.

2) Diagnostic isn't just a piece of software, we do a lot more than a Norton or McAfee POS software can do.

3) Data backup is priceless to someone with a "dead" PC who has never backed up their data and we can recover it.

4) Norton (or PC Cillin) and SpySweeper software is included into the Advanced Security Setup, which is $80 worth of software. So then $30 for us to get to the desktop, install and update those programs, do all the windows critical updates, and do AgentTweaks, which noone else even can offer as a retailer (~150 registry entries and Windows tweaks). Again, if you miss the value in this, see #1.

5) 90% of the general public cannot setup a wireless network. Plain and simple. It is the most returned item at our store, because Joe Schmoe thinks he is a computer wiz because he can turn it on and knows what some components look like, but he gets lost when it comes to WEP keys and things of that sort.

6) Data transfers are $59, so I don't know what that is short of it being an In-Home task, which of course will cost more money.

So, I hope you feel better after your rant, but you are not the general public. 95% of the world is dumber than you, and knows little to nothing about computers, which is where we come in and do it for you. Basically, we do things for cheaper than a lot of other retailers (eg, Microcenter at $75/hour for an OS reinstall that takes them a day, we do it for $59). Just thought I'd try and justify my job a bit, and hopefully enlighten you who doesn't seem to be able to think about anything but you and your world.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: bdoople

Originally posted by: aplefka
I was looking through the Best Buy ad today, and on the second page they list the prices for their Geek Squad tasks. Some of it is the biggest waste of money ever. How much would you charge for the tasks below (be sure to read their Best Buy description)?

$29 - Install More Memory - Speed up your PC and run more applications at the same time.
My complaint: RAM most likely not included for that price, so this is an additionl $30, which is half of another stick. A fair price to me would seem like $10 if they bought the RAM from BB, $15 for out-of-store purchases.

$59 - Diagnose Your System - Check for PC-crippling viruses and verify the hard drive and processor are in tip-top condition.
My complaint: Doesn't McAfee or Norton do the same thing for the same price, except that it can be used an unlimited amount of times and updated for a year? This seems like a $20-$25 job to me, at the most.

$89 - Back Up Your Data - Save up to 4GB of your important information to DVD.
My complaint: For $89 you could get 200 blank DVDs. That's 800GB. Yes, it does cost money for the burning software and burner itself, but $89 for one DVD of data? That's ridiculous. That's high for even 10 DVDs of data. I'd do the same for $10 plus $1 for each DVD.

$118 - Advanced Security Setup - Installation of anti-spyware and antivirus software (includes Precinct versions of software). Plus customize your PC to meet performance and security needs.
My complaint: Again, McAfee or Norton anyone? $118 is probably at least a 2-year subscription, maybe even 3, to either of those services. I don't understand what they can "customize" to up performance for $118. Another $20 job, maybe a little more if they explained the customization process.

$159 - Install A Wireless Home Network - Get standard setup and encryption of 2 PCs on your network to help keep it secure.
My complaint: Now this one is a bit more reasonable. Most people don't know much about securing their networks or even how to set them up. However, after spending $50 or so on a nice router, that's a bit more than I would want to pay. I'd feel that $70 plus $5 per PC hooked up would be a fair amount.

$229 - Transfer Data From PC To PC - New PC? No problem. Keep all your old files, favorite digital photos, and important papers.
My complaint: How hard is it to hook up the new hard drive in the same system and copy some files over to it? This is the most overpriced task, though the $89 DVD comes in a close second. For $229 you could choose to either upgrade your processor, get another 1-2 gigs of RAM, add more storage space, or get another optical drive, or a mix and match. After shelling out $600-700 for a new computer, are people going to want to pay another $229 to recover their old stuff? Hell no. I'd say this is a $125 job at the most.

So there's my little rant. Sorry it's kinda long. But seriously, based upon those descriptions, Geek Squad is the biggest fvcking ripoff ever. How much would you guys charge for one or all of the above tasks? Am I just being too nice and unrealistic?

Im skipping right to the end of the thread here and answering as an Agent in the Geek Squad.

1) Most people don't know how to install or handle memory. If you're an 80 year old woman with no PC experience but you want a nice laptop with enough memory to handle what you need, you don't care about another $29.

2) Diagnostic isn't just a piece of software, we do a lot more than a Norton or McAfee POS software can do.

3) Data backup is priceless to someone with a "dead" PC who has never backed up their data and we can recover it.

4) Norton (or PC Cillin) and SpySweeper software is included into the Advanced Security Setup, which is $80 worth of software. So then $30 for us to get to the desktop, install and update those programs, do all the windows critical updates, and do AgentTweaks, which noone else even can offer as a retailer (~150 registry entries and Windows tweaks). Again, if you miss the value in this, see #1.

5) 90% of the general public cannot setup a wireless network. Plain and simple. It is the most returned item at our store, because Joe Schmoe thinks he is a computer wiz because he can turn it on and knows what some components look like, but he gets lost when it comes to WEP keys and things of that sort.

6) Data transfers are $59, so I don't know what that is short of it being an In-Home task, which of course will cost more money.

So, I hope you feel better after your rant, but you are not the general public. 95% of the world is dumber than you, and knows little to nothing about computers, which is where we come in and do it for you. Basically, we do things for cheaper than a lot of other retailers (eg, Microcenter at $75/hour for an OS reinstall that takes them a day, we do it for $59). Just thought I'd try and justify my job a bit, and hopefully enlighten you who doesn't seem to be able to think about anything but you and your world.

Already covered most of that bud (however today was my last day as a geek ).

 

[Tom]

I charge $50 to come over to your house and watch tv so these prices seem reasonable.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: Anubis
my friend charges 60$ to format and reinstall windows

Geek Squad charges $79!

I used to charge $100+ for onsite. I need to get back to consulting...