Geek Squad Rip Off
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A co-worker yesterday said she wanted to ask me some question about purchasing a laptop computer from Best Buy. She asked me if she should purchase the $129 “extra” service. When I asked her what the sales person told her it was she said that it was so the Geek Squad could remove programs that are pre-loaded in Vista and isn’t needed. She was also told this would allow her to receive a recovery disk.
Is it me, or is Geek Squad simply a rip off company that preys on people that don’t understand technology? Removing programs that aren’t needed? Isn’t that what the uninstall program is for? Don’t all computers come with either a recovery disk or the ability to burn one from the “D” drive?
I went to Circuit City not long ago and Geek Squad was there. They were trying to convince this 60 + year old man that he needed to pay $100 so they could defrag his laptop. I got angry, went to the gentleman, and started the defrag process for him, at no charge. Once he saw what it was, and how easy it was to initiate, he realized what a rip off $100 was. I got some serious stink eyes from the Geek Squad staff but who cares?
I suggested to my friend that the only “extra” she should purchase is an extended warranty from the laptop manufacturer and stay as far away from Geek Squad as humanly possible. They charge too much to do the simplest tasks, charge to install free programs, try to convince you to purchase programs that are not needed and are memory hogs.
If she needs help with removing programs she doesn’t want she can come to me or a hundred other “geeks” that will charge nothing.
5 Comments
John
April 24th, 2008
at 11:36am
TeddyGCM,
Interesting post. I’m working on an article that might interest you. I tried to find an address for you but couldn’t. Can you e-mail me at johnwolfson at hotmail dot com?
David Bailey
July 11th, 2008
at 4:21am
Sorry to be a pain, but if you went to Circuit City and Geek Squad were there, something is seriously wrong.. Geek Squad are Best Buy, Firedog would be the ones at Circuit City.
Matt
July 23rd, 2008
at 1:17pm
The $129.99 service is for Antivirus/Spyware installation (Trend Micro and Webroot, if you’re curious) as well as an optimization on the computer. The restore disc is extra, and unless you have a Dell or Toshiba, they don’t come with the discs.
I agree that $100 just to defrag a computer is a bit excessive. I think they were trying to get him for the checkup service. Of course different stores have different ethics in place as well, at our store we might not even charge someone to explain how to defrag a drive and how often it needs to be done.
leslie
August 3rd, 2008
at 4:49pm
I can confirm Matt’s post as to what the $129.99 is for having recently purchased a laptop from Best Buy, and I doubt the $100 was just for defrag. Whether the cost is excessive or not, I will not debate.
However I have been an amatur geek for a decade, and a pro for the last 12 years, I no longer unconditionally offer my knowledge to friends. I spend years freely sharing my knowledge hoping to demystify computers, foolishly thinking my friends were interested in learning to help themselves. But after repeated late night, weekend, etc. “emergency” calls, always to re-explain or better yet, come over and do, those things I had explained numerous times before, I realized I was doing both myself and my friends disservice.
My current conditions include no calls after 8pm, no weekends, and a user must sit through a general troubleshooting class that I will give. Next call is at a cost and that cost is based on the local market, therefore I am probably not significantly cheaper than Geek Squad. You would be amazed how many of my friends went from a PEBKAC to a geek once a cost was put on their repeatedly asking the same question.
Do I feel bad about this? Not any more. We pay for professional service and advice every day, not because whatever isn’t easy and so unknown, but for the convenience of not wasting our time learning something of which we may have no interest. I see computer and IT in the same vein. Some love it and will become “experts” on there own, others could care less and more power to them. But with that choice should be the willingness to pay for the knowledge and expertise of others
geek
October 25th, 2008
at 7:59pm
geeksquad is a total ripoff and should be avoided at all cost. DEATH to them taking advantage of all the uninformed masses!!!!!!!!!