GEEK SQUAD EXPOSED!!!

[jrblkbelt]

Ok, so my friend accidentally broke his girlfriends screen on her laptop and took it to best buy right away. They told him right away, $500 to replace the screen and they are not sure if anything else is wrong with it. So my friend gets his laptop back and lo and behold, the stupid idiots left their ultimate boot disk in there. As everyone knows geek squad costs an arm and a leg to get to fix a computer, and all they use is this one CD. So I did a little bit more research, looked through the program, and at the top it had a url for the site. I thought, "Hey, maybe it will have something of a manual for me to use." I went to Ultimate Boot CD and guess what, the software is completely FREE!!!! The geek squad are just a bunch of guys with FREE software charging an enormus amount of money!!

I figured, if this is free software, many people are being ripped off and I want it to STOP! I wouldn't call GEEK SQUAD frauds, but I would call them immoral and money hungry. No way should they be getting away with this. Please post what you think or if I am repeating what someone else has said or if I am over reacting.

 

[jrblkbelt]

Does anyone find this to be as bad as I do?

 

[RichPLS]

The charge is for knowing what to do, not for the diagnostic software rental of fees.
If they can fix it, and tell you the fee upfront, what is the problem? Would they stay in business if they took their time to explain to you how to diagnose your PC instead of making money? Maybe I don;t understand the problem you are trying to illustrate...

 

[jrblkbelt]

I am trying to illistrate that Geek Squad uses free software to charge a ton of money to fix problems. The people that they service could just download this off the internet. I thought by making this more common knowledge, people might be able to benifit by downloading the program for free rather than hire the Geek Squad and pay a ton of money.

 

[RichPLS]

I downloaded it btw, thanks.

 

[dhlucke]

I don't see the problem and I'm not so sure I'd believe that one piece of software is all they use. Besides that, a lot of fixes require no software, just a good understanding of how windows works.

 

[Zeke13]

eyah, really. They charge for tehir services, not their software. and Im not even going to ask how he broke his Girlfriends Laptop monitor, although i have an idea (he punched it due to mass ownage on CS). Have fun

 

[TDRSnake]

Ive often wondered why Geek Squad charges as high a price as they do for their services and if they used special software to help solve the problems they fix. It looks like they probably use all the proggies I do to run diagnostics, trojan/virus/spyware sweeps, and simple day to day maintenance. Glad to know I have as many credentials to fix a PC as they do. LOL.

This thread confirms my suspicions. Not that I would ever use a 2nd party service to fix a problem on any of my PCs. Places like Geek Squad will always be in existence for the simple fact that most PC owners are afraid to try to fix their own computers much less open them up to save themselves some bucks.

Makes me think I might be in the wrong business.

 

[CHEEZball]

1. your a idiot

2. techs use MANY diff kinds of software ... you got 1 piece...ooh

3. bcause you found 1 cd with crap on it doesn't mean it's ALL they use...its just what they happened to have used last and forgot

4 your a idiot

 

[RichPLS]

A majic wand and the right combination of words work for me.

 

[pickxx]

I work for BB.....and yeah the geek squad doesn't know a lot about computers. In fact i would dare to say i know more then they do, and i work in HT. BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What you forget is that Jiffy Lube people dont know everything about cars, I could do it cheaper but i am too lazy. I could make a list a mile long of rediculous rip-offs.....Which the GeekSquad wouldn't make my list.....they tell you upfront a cost and stick to it. Roofing your own house is HELLA easy and you can do it yourself for about 1/3rd the cost of a professional instal. Is that a ripoff too? Mexican food costs about 38cents to make and they charge $15bucks for a dinner....is that a ripoff? If you dont like the prices DONT USE THEIR SERVICES!!!

I dont think certain Movies are worth $15, so guess what.....I DONT BUY THEM!


YOu say its all free software and its just spysweepers and stuff.....but guess what. I would be willing to bet 90% of most home users have NO protection at all. (and btw the free ones are the best IMHO)

 

[TDRSnake]

YOu say its all free software and its just spysweepers and stuff.....but guess what. I would be willing to bet 90% of most home users have NO protection at all. (and btw the free ones are the best IMHO)

I know this for a fact. Every time someone at work wants me to work on their computer, I ask them what kind of Anitspyware, antivirus, trojan protection, firewall they have and they say "What?". I chuckle to myself and think "Easy money." I dont rape them like Geek Squad does though.

I keep all these nifty little programs on a jumpdrive just for this purpose and, man, do they come in handy.

 

[pickxx]

Its amazing how you think those people arwe being raped, they are getting EXACTLY what they payed for.

yeah maybe they payed too much, but you know what....we all pay too much for something until we know.

GeekSquad isn't for tech people, like jiffy lube isn't for car enthusists.

 

[frogie]

Geek Squad is over priced. I think people need to be educated about other places to go for service. Has anyone seen the geeksquad usb cables? they are like 33 dollars for a six foot. walmart = 10 bux. and don't give me that gold plated cables are better conductors crap. by the time a nongold is ruined, usb cables will be obsolete. as far as their service, if your at a college, then more than likely you have a free or almost free place to get your computer fixed, and if you are not do other research. Wherever there is a best buy there is definately somthing cheaper.

 

[BBFBKev]

Ther's an expression in the industry that goes "You dont pay me for what I do you pay me for what I know". If you know how to do it you don't have to pay someone to do it. For the majority of other people they pay because they don't know.
If hammers were free and you didn't know how to use it, is a carpenter going to be exposed?.....

 

[infornography42]

Ok, perspective time.

Banfield (an overpriced vetrinary clinic associated with Petsmart) uses cheap low end equipment that you can probably get for a third the price of their service plan. Would I know what to do with it? Hell no. If I did some research online I could figure it out I'm sure, but it would take a long time, and I wouldn't have the experience they do.

Yes there are cheaper clinics out there, and a lot of them are less careful about keeping things clean and sanitary. FUD results in spending far more than is needed.

This is pretty much identical to using Geeksquad. You are seriously getting bent out of shape over nothing. This isn't some great new injustice. This isn't extortion. This is a service offering a convenience with a large brand backing it. Your average A+ technician probably knows more than them, but your average end user thinks they are wizards.

Sorry to steal your thunder so to speak but there are far greater injustices in the world.

 

[frogie]

did bestbuy pay you to say that? lol yes there are greater injustices, but there's a reason for this forum topic. Also, just because there is a cheaper place that might do a less of a job with something doesn't mean a lower price is always bad. Research is always required and pays off in the end.

so I guess what I am saying is, "step down son" kthx

 

[infornography42]

You are accusing me of being a corporate shill? Thats kind of funny.

Anyone on this website is not likely to go to a third party repair place anyway, much less one strapped onto a Best Buy.

I'd imagine 4/5ths or more of the posters here are overqualified for that job as it is.

Most repair shops I am aware of make several of the same mistakes every time, like leaving the CD drives in PIO mode for instance, or leaving the floppy cable on backwards, etc.

These are newbie mistakes and they all charge through the nose. Thing is, most people don't know or don't care to know any better and so they shell out the big bucks for shoddy work. Creating an alarming post on THG forumz of all places is not going to "wake up" anyone.

If someone who posted here considered using such a service, I'd wonder what they were doing here in the first place.

Now you tell me where I can go to get my car worked on for cheap competent service, I'll be all over that.

 

[frogie]

amazon.com

 

[-Mithridate-]

well if you (not personally you, someone) feel's a company is overcharging, simply dont use them. vote with your wallet i always say.

 

[Derek1387]

my friend is on Geek Squad... and i brought it up to him. They do use that CD, BUT that is not all they use. I mean, who wouldnt use that stuff? It is all the stuff you could need on a boot cd, and not many people no how to use it.

But, I agree.... if you dont agree with the price, go elsewhere.... or learn how to do it yourself.

 

[puternoob]

I was having (and still am) some issues with my computer. Couldn't get hold of the tech person I normally use who will come to my home (I'm disabled).

A friend told me that someone she knew had used geeksquad and they thought they did a good job. So I went to their website. Their charges are, IMHO, outrageous. They charge $129 to install a ram stick! That doesn't include actually bringing the right stick, you buy that. Even I can can do that!

Of course, there's alot I can't do, don't know how, don't understand alot of things. I do keep my a/v, firewall, spyware protection on, updated and run regularly. For GS to do basically what anyone should be doing costs over $200.

I understand any company has to make a profit, pay their employees, etc. But there's competitive pricing and then there's price gouging.

 

[sincraft]

ok I'm gonna be a bit harsh on you here so if you don't want to hear it, then back away now:

Ok you've been warned.

Ok what are you about 16, 17 or 18 years old? Still living with mommy and daddy and holding down a 15 hour a week job to buy your p0t and kewl gamin' gear?

Well - if you aren't I'd be surprised if you are far from that.

First off, if you think you can do better than geek squads prices, then I suggest you venture into a small business loan and sink the money into starting your own company. There are a MILLION people, just like you, that believe that computer companies charge too much for what they do, and they start their own kewl d00dz computer store, only to watch it fail within a year (while sucking their familes of money).

Let's also take a look at your local plumber, who learned his trade half baked, on the job, right out of high school (if that).
They charge , in my area, $75 just to fart inside your door..without doing a darn thing. Then, the usually fubar something nicely, and by the time they walk out, you are holding your a$$ wondering why you are now $150 short in the wallet to fix a leak.
To install a sink, garbage disposal, and faucet, they usually charge $300. That said, do you think this guy has spent COUNTLESS hours reading and tinkering on his dime , relearning his job every year like the computer industry?

Ok now lets look at an electrician. A bit more skilled actually. Sometimes, highly skilled. The 'basic idiot' local yocal electrician charges about $90 bucks to run one wire. He will charge you for any boxes that he has to put in, such as a .60 cent box from home depot, he will mark that up usually aout 600% ...'for his trouble'. If you want something moved, or forbid, a new line run in your house...you can be looking at anywhere between $150 - $500, sometimes MUCH higher depending on the issues involved. Not to mention, he DOESN'T REPAIR the work need to get the wire to the point you wanted it, such as demoing a wall. YOU have to pay someone to come in and do that. OH BUT, he has a card of a 'buddy' of his that he knows that will do it.....'cheap'.

Ok I know this because , I have the unfortunate responsibility of hiring these kinda guys when I am in a pinch for laborers that my company may have normally, but either they are over booked or sick, or on one of their 20 vacations they take each year.

OK now don't get me wrong, these guys aren't rich. Most that I know, blow their money in wild and stupid ways. But, they , after taxes and paying their own insurance - gross about $50-$80k / year if they are good and work fast (usually sloppy too).

Now, you are bashing the geek squad. LIke I said, go do it yourself. There are a TON of kiddies out there that put a video card in once and now think they are computer experts. Induldge your senses and enter the marketplace for real for real. Then , let's see what you say in 10 years. I beg you to save this thread, and reread it after 10 years. I think you will slap yourself for being such an idiot.

BTW- the ultimate boot cd, is probably a techy, that is making garbage money, using his 'time tested tools' to work on systems faster, better, and quicker. Each tech is different. Trust me, I highly doubt Geek Squad sanctions this. Each store, each tech and each area is all going to be different...you are slandering a name: geek squad. And assuming that EVERY tech and EVERY store is a robotic machine that works exactly the same.

Before you open your mouth again, please shut it and think...noob.

S

 

[FadeToBright]

I work at Best Buy, in the computer department. Granted, some of the guys up at the Geek Squad know less then I do, there's a lot of men and women who know a lot @ my store.

It's just one disc, trust me, most of the men & women barely use it, and usually it's just for a diagnostic.

 

[dvdpiddy]

Uhh Troll! Dude listen geek squad is bad very bad when i did'nt know sh*t about computer'si calle dthem and asked how much to reinstall windows they said 220$ 8O i asked why so much they said it's not just reinstalling windows it's also formatting and partitioning the drive i asked so if i just want windows installed how much will it cost me she repleid we have to do both so i asked how much to partition the drive she says we dont do that then i asked how about if the drive is already pre partitioned she said it cant be i asked why she got real mad(i could hear it in the tone of her voice) so i told her that it is too much and that the guy at the local computer shop charges 20 for install she said then he is not doing it right i asked are there wrong ways to install windows she said no but when you partition it i also told her that what you charge is outragous and that for 20$ i dont care if he partitions it wrong i just want windows to work and pretended to hang up then i heard her say what an ass he was i said excuse me she was like :!: and hung up.