Over at Consumerist, the Geek Squad is being raked over the coals by customers who have experienced the company’s less-than-stellar service. Geek Squad started as a small Minneapolis-based company that provided tech support to average computer owners who needed help disinfecting their systems of spyware or troubleshooting a home network. Their services weren’t cheap, but the techs seemed competent. Then the company was sold to Best Buy, which quickly infused the Geek Squad with its own ethos of hucksterism and barely concealed contempt for the customer. Now GS’ service is both expensive and shoddy. I know a few people who have taken their computers to GS repeatedly but never have had their problems adequately addressed. When my last system crashed, a GS tech told me I needed a new video card, when in fact the motherboard was fried. And what exactly justifies charging someone over $100 to install a stick of RAM?
I always tell people needing tech support to avoid GS like the plague. You’re better off going to a locally-owned computer repair shop or hiring the kid from down the street. Of course, my services are available at shockingly reasonable rates. If I can figure out how to dual-boot Windows and Ubuntu, I can probably help you update your anti-virus definitions.
