Wow, Geek Squad prices are crazy

[bdoople]

Originally posted by: 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...

Geek Squad charges $59 to format and reinstall Windows.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: bdoople

Originally posted by: 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...

Geek Squad charges $59 to format and reinstall Windows.

It's been called an "OS service" and has been $79 for at least two months. Where are you, in May?

 

[lobadobadingdong]

Originally posted by: Alkesh
Shoot I'll do it all if u buy me lunch.


EDIT: If you're a hot female, you can pay me in other ways....


...with muffins.

lol

 

[bdoople]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: bdoople

Originally posted by: 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...

Geek Squad charges $59 to format and reinstall Windows.

It's been called an "OS service" and has been $79 for at least two months. Where are you, in May?

That's a Spyware/Antivirus cleaning. An OS Reinstall is called an OS Reinstall and is $59. My store just so happened to open in May.

Any more doubts, I'll fax you our SKU list.

 

[thescreensavers]

hey I was geting my laptop fixed scince i had best buy warentyy when we came back they said it was not charging and pluged it in for us and he pluged it in and it did not work i asked him if the surge protector switch is on he said it is i went home pluged it in and woo it worked. hahahaha

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: bdoople

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: bdoople

Originally posted by: 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...

Geek Squad charges $59 to format and reinstall Windows.

It's been called an "OS service" and has been $79 for at least two months. Where are you, in May?

That's a Spyware/Antivirus cleaning. An OS Reinstall is called an OS Reinstall and is $59. My store just so happened to open in May.

Any more doubts, I'll fax you our SKU list.

My store opened in May, too. It USED to be called an OS reinstall and was $59. Now they have one overall service, called an OS service, it can be either one of two things, either a) a system tune-up and virus and spyware removal, or b) an OS reinstall or recovery. It is $79 either way. If you don't believe me, get on toolkit and search past editions of the Retail Insider. They document when the switch was supposed to happen, early July I think it was. You're using old SKUs and you should probably notify someone they're no longer valid.

EDIT: I don't even know why I'm saying all this, I don't even work there anymore!

 

[jpeyton]

How much do you Geek Squad guys get paid?

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
How much do you Geek Squad guys get paid?

I was paid $10 an hour, and this is an area where McDonald's and grocery stores hire at $5.50. So for here that's pretty damn good.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
How much do you Geek Squad guys get paid?

I was paid $10 an hour, and this is an area where McDonald's and grocery stores hire at $5.50. So for here that's pretty damn good.

Minimum wage is $7.50 here.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
How much do you Geek Squad guys get paid?

I was paid $10 an hour, and this is an area where McDonald's and grocery stores hire at $5.50. So for here that's pretty damn good.

Minimum wage is $7.50 here.

Alright.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
How much do you Geek Squad guys get paid?

I was paid $10 an hour, and this is an area where McDonald's and grocery stores hire at $5.50. So for here that's pretty damn good.

Minimum wage is $7.50 here.

Alright.

Yeah, sucks to be you living in Other, Other.

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: jpeyton
How much do you Geek Squad guys get paid?

I was paid $10 an hour, and this is an area where McDonald's and grocery stores hire at $5.50. So for here that's pretty damn good.

Minimum wage is $7.50 here.

Alright.

Yeah, sucks to be you living in Other, Other.

Well stuff is cheaper here so it works out.

 

[Nick5324]

Originally posted by: SouthPaW1227
I hate Best Buy and all the affiliate companies that are tied to it. We should burn it down.

:thumbsup: I also hate WorstBuy, but I don't blame them for these prices. While i think the prices are insanely high, you charge the price that the market will bear. As crazy as it seems to me, i guess these are those prices.

 

[dxkj]

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?

You are full of BS... there is no way in hell you would drive X miles, go out to someones house, wait for them to figure out what 4GB of data they want, sit around, wait, etc etc for $10 + 1 per dvd...

 

[frankierx]

can you sign up geek squad as a hobby?

 

[frankierx]

who likes to join the squad?

 

[uethello]

Hey, I have my $11. Come on out. I want my stuff backed up. And I expect a discount if you don't show up on time.

 

[bdoople]

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: bdoople

Originally posted by: archcommus

Originally posted by: bdoople

Originally posted by: 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...

Geek Squad charges $59 to format and reinstall Windows.

It's been called an "OS service" and has been $79 for at least two months. Where are you, in May?

That's a Spyware/Antivirus cleaning. An OS Reinstall is called an OS Reinstall and is $59. My store just so happened to open in May.

Any more doubts, I'll fax you our SKU list.

My store opened in May, too. It USED to be called an OS reinstall and was $59. Now they have one overall service, called an OS service, it can be either one of two things, either a) a system tune-up and virus and spyware removal, or b) an OS reinstall or recovery. It is $79 either way. If you don't believe me, get on toolkit and search past editions of the Retail Insider. They document when the switch was supposed to happen, early July I think it was. You're using old SKUs and you should probably notify someone they're no longer valid.

EDIT: I don't even know why I'm saying all this, I don't even work there anymore!

These are the new SKU sheets that we used handed to me by the District (52) Services Manager. I don't even care if you're right either way, because I will continue to argue with you.

 

[engineereeyore]

I found a coupon for Best Buy the other day for $90 off any memory and install. So I though, hey, I'll go grab a stick of 512MB for my laptop. Might cost $10-$20 extra after install, but that's ok. For a 512MB stick of ram for a desktop, DDR400 Kingston brand, they wanted $200. No kidding they're freaking out of their mind! I just bought 1 GB of OCZ EL Platinum dual channel DDR400 for $140. Who in the world buys this crap?

As for the geek squad prices, I have a side business and do format/reload for $30. You save their drivers, format, reload, and then reinstall drivers. If it takes more than an hour, you're doing something wrong. And if the computer won't boot to give you the drivers, tell it to "say hello to your little friend" called Mini-PE. The greatest tool any technician will ever have.

Tell me though, those of you who work for the geek squad, the guy that was going to install memory into my laptop before I realized I'd have to start selling drugs to pay for it, said that my laptop couldn't have DDR 400 ram in it. Only high performance Alienware type laptops had that. Please tell me that this is not the average amount of computer knowledge that geek squad technician have? I'm not trying to diss you guys, I'm just wondering. You guys don't control the prices you charge, you just do your job. I'm just wondering how knowledgable the technician are on average.

 

[engineereeyore]

Originally posted by: engineereeyore
I found a coupon for Best Buy the other day for $90 off any memory and install. So I though, hey, I'll go grab a stick of 512MB for my laptop. Might cost $10-$20 extra after install, but that's ok. For a 512MB stick of ram for a desktop, DDR400 Kingston brand, they wanted $200. No kidding they're freaking out of their mind! I just bought 1 GB of OCZ EL Platinum dual channel DDR400 for $140. Who in the world buys this crap? I didn't even bother asking how much 512MB was for my laptop if that was the cost for desktop ram.

As for the geek squad prices, I have a side business and do format/reload for $30. You save their drivers, format, reload, and then reinstall drivers. If it takes more than an hour, you're doing something wrong. And if the computer won't boot to give you the drivers, tell it to "say hello to your little friend" called Mini-PE. The greatest tool any technician will ever have.

Tell me though, those of you who work for the geek squad, the guy that was going to install memory into my laptop before I realized I'd have to start selling drugs to pay for it, said that my laptop couldn't have DDR 400 ram in it. Only high performance Alienware type laptops had that. Please tell me that this is not the average amount of computer knowledge that geek squad technician have? I'm not trying to diss you guys, I'm just wondering. You guys don't control the prices you charge, you just do your job. I'm just wondering how knowledgable the technician are on average.

 

[Finalnight]

lots of newbs double posting on this thread, oh well. Anyway, for your question, almost all laptops bb sells use ddr 333 sodimm ram, you could theoretically find a ddr 400 sodimm that downclocks to 333, but bb doesn't carry that, they only carry 333/266 sodimm. As far as how knowledgable the techs are on average, couldn't really say, i think it varies depending on how long a store has a had a geek squad in it.

 

[imported_goku]

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.

ROFL! You think they would actually do the bolded!? Give me a break, they would NEVER do that because 1. It's not technically standard 2. They're half wit morons who get paid minimum wage 3. BB/GS couldn't give a rats ass about making one's system faster, they simply do the bare miniumum which is install software and "presto, your done". If they actually DID do that, I guess it would kinda be a bargain but I severely DOUBT they do it.

 

[flexy]

Originally posted by: aplefka
$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.

this SOUNDS like a lot...and it IS a lot in case someone already has a dvd-burner and soft..and knows how to use it...why would i want to pay $89 to burn ONE dvd ?

What' s the big deal ?

But then YOUR offer....assuming i want to backup my 160gb on DVDs....which would be 40 DVDs

SO...you would want to burn FOURTY DVDs for someojne for $50 ?
How long does it take to burn a dvd...how long does it take to burn 40 ?????? Sorry...i cans see that being a whole day's work....and $50 *incl* the media...you really wanna do that ?


Edit: or 10+1 per DVD ?????? This would be 440 dollars ????

 

[John]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
$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.

Maybe you should start using more than AVG and Spybot to clean computers. I guarantee you that those programs are not recognizing a fraction of the crap that is probably resident on your clients systems.

Here's a tip for you, read my Spyware & Virus Removal Guide

 

[l Xes l]

welcome to WorstBuy