- November 17, 2009 2:52 pm
Even though we in the tech circle pan Geek Squad fairly frequently, they do produce some useful entertainment from time to time. Mind you, this “entertainment” often comes at the expense of some poor saps sanity. But I digress. Today’s Geek Squad face palm of the day comes from Consumerist reader “Taylor”. After a two week wait with no end in sight, Taylor ventured to Geek Squad’s website and entered his service number. Little did he know a magical event was about to unfold before his eyes…
- September 21, 2009 7:25 am
In the age of technology quickly creeping into every aspect of our lives, we sit at a unique dividing line where the older generation is coming to a point where they have to quickly learn technology (as opposed to people born within the last 15-20 years which have more or less “grown up” with modern technology). Because of this learning and generation gap, there are groups of people who “get it” and those who don’t. Technology help groups such as Geek Squad are there for the those who don’t quite get technology and have no interest in learning. A sad thing to say the least. Looking to make a quick buck, these individuals are often taken advantage of as the Technology Specialist starts rattling off terms and phrases that might as well be in Latin to the unsuspecting person needing said service. However there has to come a point where we just have to say “STOP”. Stop with the customer raping. Stop with the taking advantage of unsuspecting people.
The latest case in point: Geek Squad’s new $130 PS3 home setup service. For the bargain price of $130, Geek Squad will come out to your house and spend 5 minutes doing what would take even the more technologically retarded 15-20, except for considerable more $$$. Let it be known there isn’t any fancy services that come with the high price tag. Instead such mundane tasks as hooking the PS3 up to your TV, setting up parental controls, installing firmware, and online account setup are the brain busters that warrant the theft of your money. Chances are if you’ve graduated to either gaming or movie watching on the PS3, you at least have some idea of what you’re doing in the digital age or know someone who does. To spend $130 for such simple and uninvolved services is a travesty of epic proportions. Please save the old guy next to you at Best Buy trying to be lured in to this seemingly “good deal” and tell him to go elsewhere. It’s the least you could do.
Gizmodo > Kotaku
- September 18, 2009 12:25 pm
Following up from our earlier post, if you thought the $1/CD for Geek Squad’s new archiving/ripping service was bad, Moon Dog Digital one ups…or more literally seven ups Geek Squad. Don’t exactly understand what I mean? It’s pretty simple. MDD goes above and beyond and charges $7/CD — 700% more than Geek Squad. See for yourself at this estimate page. Did you just purchase a new CD and would like to take part in MDD’s services? Unfortunately they only do batches of 100, which rounds out to roughly $724. Finally, doing the 3rd grade math will bring us right back to where we started: $7/CD. Ouch. It’s sad when someone makes Geek Squad look like a bargain.
~Thanks @EWilson123
Image Source
- September 18, 2009 7:14 am
Time to c-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-e. Those of you who love gadgetry and electronics but are having a small problem figuring out how to rip all of those CD’s you have now have a new friend in the Geek Squad. Ok, in reality, if you can’t rip a CD, you probably are damn near close to being illiterate too. The only people I can think of that are unable to do such a basic task as ripping CD’s and transferring to a mobile device are those that are either of senior citizen status, or those of who live under a rock. Am I surprised that Geek Squad is now offering such a service? Yes! But not in the way you’re probably thinking. I’m surprised it took them this long to charge for such a service. Anyone else surprised, confused, willing to waste an entire dollar of your hard earned cash to try it out?
Source: Consumerist
Growing up a gadget nerd I would always get excited when going into the local Best Buy as it was the only place around my house that I could go and get hands on time with all of the latest electronics and gadgets. It was a place I could esacpe and easily spend several hours in. My easily entertained self was in a digital heaven. At that time, I always dreamed of working at Best Buy or some other electronics store as to feed my need for these greater than analog devices. Times change, people mature and become wiser. As you get older and have actual questions that you want to ask the various blue shirted employees walking around, you come to value knowledge and the expertise of workers within their respective fields. Long ago even at a young age I realized I knew more about the products in store than most of the Best Buy employees.
Best Buy is one of my favorite stores *naturally*. A gadget freak can spend hours in there even if it’s day after day, the electronics just never get old. However, Best Buy’s ugly child, the “Geek Squad” is about as useful as a car on cinder blocks. I would never pay for any Geek Squad service. Not to mention they have a track record that isn’t exactly very reassuring. And don’t think I’m picking on Best Buy and Geek Squad. I would never pay for any electronic service like it. All of the different services rip you off . Case in point, the whole fiasco with their “TV calibration service”. For those who don’t know about this particular incident it involved two TV’s supposedly identical except for one had Geek Squad’s TV calibration service and the other didn’t. Well, it turned out that the TV being displayed as having the calibration service was actually hooked up via HDMI, HD channel, the whole nine yards. The “un-calibrated” TV was the kicker. It actually was using component cables, standard channel, and stretched beyond belief to make the picture look like absolute junk.
Fast forward a few months and the newest story comes upon us. This latest story depicts “Dave” and his quest to get a fully functioning iPod repaired under a service plan that he had purchased from the Geek Squad at Best Buy. Jump on through to read the whole ordeal and decide for yourself whether Geek Squad is really all they say they are.
