Circuit City Xbox 360 Scam

[Sinue_v2]

http://www.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2006/09/img033.jpg

Maybe this should be in rants. I don't know which is more appauling - that Circuit City has the balls to do this, or the fact that it's actually WORKING for them.

I'm not sure if this is a nation-wide deal or if it's just that local store, but to offer installation of backwards compatability on a machine which offers it for free online, from their free online package, is just downright dirty.

By the way: Best Buy's "Geek Squad" is a scam.


As a Geek Squad employee you are expected to meet certain budgets regardless of hours worked and complete x number of units in a day or risk immediate termination. In order to meet the budgets I constantly found that my coworkers, my senior(s), my managers and I regret to admit myself were deceiving customers. Often times I would review tickets and find that units were being checked in that suffered only from minor Windows problems that might take less than 30 minutes to complete however on the ticket they were charged for an OS repair, malware removal and tune-up which at the time cost $118. The units often only had one tracking cookie or some temp files and there was no sign of a malware problem and no need for a tune-up.

Full Story (http://consumerist.com/consumer/best-buy/geek-squad-gouges-197249.php)

As an aspiring geek myself, I find this kind of gouging to be sickening. It's like being a doctor and hearing about how the hospital down the road is making up illnesses to treat healthy people for.

Douchebaggery!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sinue_v2 on 2006-09-02 10:17 ]</font>

[ABDUR101]

Funny thing is, if someone were to do this from 'out of their home'-type business, they'd have the BBB banging on their door.

[VioletSkye]

I have a close friend that worked at a Best Buy in their Geek Squad Precinct for almost 5 months and I've lost track of the number of horror stories he has told me about their performance. Granted, most everything he has told me applies to that particular Best Buy (which I will keep confidential) but I suspect similar instances occur at many Precincts. He was never required to finish X amount of units per day, but his Precinct was very budget driven. BTW I should mention that he is also A+ certified and has his MCSE also and worked there part time for the discount (which is pretty killer on some things.) However, unlike my friend, the HUGE majority of his co-workers were not certified in any way and most were actually pretty clueless when it comes to computers. All they really knew how to do was insert their MRI disk (which is the standard Geek Squad diagnostic CD which has alot of other tools/utilities on it for cleaning viruses/spyware/various Windows fixes etc.)

A standard encounter with Geek Squad is as follows:
1. Customer comes to the counter and explains issue.
2. Counter Agent fills out a form with the basic customer info and pc issue/s.
3. Customer is charged $70 to run diagnostics on their system (regardless of what the problem is and that does NOT count towards the price of fixing their machine.) I should point out that almost all of the diagnostic tools they use are free to anyone with an internet connection. The two main hardware programs used were Memtest and Drive Fitness Test and the main software programs were AdAware and Pest patrol (and maybe Ewido) all of which are either free or have free trial versions which is what Best Buy uses. Supposedly there is a newer MRI disk with a more comprehensive set of diagnostic tools but it basically does the same thing. Now, I can see charging them for a diagnostic test because it can help find any hardware issues they may have and I also charge customers for running a diagnostic when necessary, but $70 is a bit steep for what they are getting and often times is not really even necessary.
4. Depending on the Precinct, the customers pc may spend anywhere from 24 hours to several days at Best Buy (depending on how many other machines they have to do, how competent their Geek Squad Agents are, and how difficult it is to diagnose the issue and fix it.)
5. Geek Squad Agent runs diagnostics and then calls customer with results. My friend said they really play up the spyware results and make it sound like the customer's pc is literally on it's death bed because it has a few tracking cookies. They will also do their best to figure out (read guess) what the main issue is with the pc and what they recommend as a fix. They will always recommend 3 things as standard protocol: PC-Cillin Anti virus, Webroot Spysweeper and their "Tuneup" which just makes a bunch of registry edits to help speed up the pc (which isn't a bad thing but for $30, it's a little over-priced.)

The main issue I have with Best Buy (and the reason I've taken quite a bit of business from them) is that the customer is paying a premium price for a service run by mostly unqualified/uncertified/clueless Geek Squad Agents. I can't even begin to tell you how many pcs I've had to re-fix for customers after taking their machines to BestBuy. They also don't do a very good job of correctly diagnosing issues. They usually just recommend either an OS repair or an OS Installation. Now the OS service isn't a bad thing and when performed correctly can make a huge difference in the performance of the pc, but my friend has told me many, many times that he has rechecked machines scheduled for an OS repair for some issue that was easily fixable. In fact the latest story I remember him telling me was that the customer was having trouble booting into Windows. He simply ran a basic repair on the MBR (master boot record) and it was fixed in about 5 minutes total. Because they really don't have a pricing scheme for misc. stuff like that, he was told to tell the customer that they would be running an OS Repair (to the tune of $75) and that it would be ready within a few days. Another issue he fixed within 30 seconds was when a customer came in and Filter Keys had inadvertently been turned on causing the keyboard to not be repsonsive to quick, successive key strokes. Now Filter Keys is an Accessibility option within Windows to help those with disabilities, and can be turned on and off easily. Three Geek Squad Agents recommended trying a new keyboard (which of course acted the same way) and a fourth recommended an OS service because he thought it was probably a virus or spyware. My friend simply clicked START>CONTROL PANEL>ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS and turned Filter Keys off. They still charged the customer for an OS service http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif

I've seen Geek Squad Agents spraying out pcs with compressed air while the pc was still running, remove components while a pc was still running, incorrectly install dual channel RAM, etc., etc., etc.

Now, I'm not saying that a pc service like Geek Squad isn't a good idea. The masses need a place to take their machines when they have problems and good independent pc specialists aren't always easy to find. What I would like to see BestBuy do is increase the rate of pay and actually get people who are qualified/certified or setup some type of training where their employees could become certified. When you pay upwards of $200-$300 for service work, you want that work to be done by someone who knows what they are doing. I mean honestly, you wouldn't take your car in to be worked on by a bunch of clueless teenage kids with no proper training/certs (and btw I'm not saying all teenage kids are clueless, but I would hope you get the gist of what I'm saying lol.)

I guess I shouldn't complain though, alot of my customers are people who are/were fed with the high price and incompetant service provided by Geek Squad Agents http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

And lastly, I agree 100% that the Circuit City ad is a huge scam.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VioletSkye on 2006-09-02 12:24 ]</font>

[Sinue_v2]

When you pay upwards of $200-$300 for service work, you want that work to be done by someone who knows what they are doing.

You know, that is exactly why I never charge anyone for working on their PC's. Granted, I usually get the job done, but I can't guantee that I'll get it done quickly - and it may be kind of a slap-shot job since sometimes I have to look up information on the net. I'm self-taught, and honestly a lot of my experience comes from trying to get old games to run - so my experience is somewhat lopsided. (I know Memmaker like the back of my hand, but only reletively recently learned how to change file attributes in DOS in order to remove viruses disquised as hidden system files)

I just never felt right asking for anything more than maybe a pack of cigarettes and a 6-pack of beer for a completed job.

Guess maybe that's why I'm broke now huh?

[BogusKun]

On 2006-09-02 10:17, Sinue_v2 wrote:
http://www.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2006/09/img033.jpg

Maybe this should be in rants. I don't know which is more appauling - that Circuit City has the balls to do this, or the fact that it's actually WORKING for them.

I'm not sure if this is a nation-wide deal or if it's just that local store, but to offer installation of backwards compatability on a machine which offers it for free online, from their free online package, is just downright dirty.

By the way: Best Buy's "Geek Squad" is a scam.


As a Geek Squad employee you are expected to meet certain budgets regardless of hours worked and complete x number of units in a day or risk immediate termination. In order to meet the budgets I constantly found that my coworkers, my senior(s), my managers and I regret to admit myself were deceiving customers. Often times I would review tickets and find that units were being checked in that suffered only from minor Windows problems that might take less than 30 minutes to complete however on the ticket they were charged for an OS repair, malware removal and tune-up which at the time cost $118. The units often only had one tracking cookie or some temp files and there was no sign of a malware problem and no need for a tune-up.

Full Story (http://consumerist.com/consumer/best-buy/geek-squad-gouges-197249.php)

As an aspiring geek myself, I find this kind of gouging to be sickening. It's like being a doctor and hearing about how the hospital down the road is making up illnesses to treat healthy people for.

Douchebaggery!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sinue_v2 on 2006-09-02 10:17 ]</font>


Geek Squad members in Best Buy are certified to work on such equipment if they qualify passing certain in-store tests, worked in computers for a certain amount of time, know the managers well, or have some sort of outside certification (degree, etc.)

My friend worked in GS, and I used to hang around back there. I was trying to get in but I was told it's nothing special. Maybe on the outside. I worked for Best Buy for 3 years. Only to find out, Geek Squad is the "Marine Corps Field Food Service" of Best Buy... nothing to it.

You pay anywhere from 30-100-200 dollars for what you can do free at home or a low price (50 Dollars) doing it yourself. My friend fixed computers in the most worst conditions... FREE.

Do the math. (Coming from an ex-worker of Best Buy)

By the way I quit last Christmas. Why? It's that disgusting feeling you get about the power hungry small-time managers and supervisors. I felt like I was being cheated, as well as others (customers, and employees). Merchandise is expensive for no reason. I still get discounts from Best Buy (DONT ASK).

Once I finish my military service next year... I'm done picking up heavy boxes and sweeping. Sorry.

That's not how I work.

[KodiaX987]

On 2006-09-03 15:24, BogusKun wrote:

Geek Squad members in Best Buy are certified to work on such equipment if they qualify passing certain in-store tests, worked in computers for a certain amount of time, know the managers well, or have some sort of outside certification (degree, etc.)


Fixed.

[BogusKun]

On 2006-09-03 16:55, KodiaX987 wrote:


On 2006-09-03 15:24, BogusKun wrote:

Geek Squad members in Best Buy are certified to work on such equipment if they qualify passing certain in-store tests, worked in computers for a certain amount of time, know the managers well, or have some sort of outside certification (degree, etc.)


Fixed.



I left a print out of this forum post in front of a Best Buy in Honolulu yesterday http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif Wonders.... http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif