Five ways Best Buy drives the costs out of the system, sullying Geek Squad CEO Robert Stephen’s vision of superlative computer repair, as told by a former Geek Squad Senior Agent.
- Until recently, I was a Geek Squad Agent. When I saw the “Geek Squad City Tell All” story, I had to write in and give another Agent’s point of view.
I was the Geek Squad Senior at a Best Buy location in Arizona. I worked with the Geek Squad for almost two years before I left to find a less-stressful job. Needless to say, I know the Geek Squad pretty well. Here’s what things look like on the inside…
1. We receive little or no training. Very few Geek Squad Agents have extensive computer knowledge before they are hired. Many Agents are hired simply because the hiring manager liked their personality. What little training we have we get from watching our fellow Agents work or from studying on our own. Geek Squad provides some great training material, but Best Buy makes sure the Agents never have time to read it. That ties in with my next point…
(Photo: irina slutsky)
2. Wonder why our turn-around time is so long?
It’s because we’re either short-handed or Best Buy won’t give us the labor hours we need to repair computers. Best Buy puts a greater emphasis on selling the services than actually performing the services. While Geek Squad gives some very specific guidelines for running the Precinct (at least one Agent working on computers at all times, Agents are not to work on the sales floor, etc.), it never fails that a Best Buy manager will ask the Agents to act as cashiers for the computer department or try to sell internet services in the networking aisle. So when a Geek Squad Agent tells you it will be two weeks before you see your computer again, please know they feel just as crappy about it as you do.
3. We hate our high prices, too.
It was difficult for me to sell a computer diagnostic when the price was still $59, but when the prices jumped (and our precinct received no warning), I almost cried. I knew there was no way I could sell the same service for even more. We hated our prices before, and we know our prices now are even harder to stomach.
4. Best Buy abuses us.
Since I was the Geek Squad Senior, I got to deal with all the angry customers. Some of my worst memories come from being screamed at by 60-year-old men because they don’t want to pay for a virus removal, or their laptop is taking too long at the service center. There were many times when I felt like I couldn’t handle another confrontation with a customer, and when I tried to hand the customer off to my manager, I was denied and pushed right back out there to deal with the situation. Being a very amiable and friendly young female, these were always extremely difficult situations to deal with. When a customer is literally screaming at someone, a manager needs to handle the situation, not an underling who makes 1/3 of their salary…if that.
5. Every store meeting, it’s crammed down our throats to upsell, upsell, upsell.
“Offer a cleaning”, “Attach anti-virus install”, and “Everyone needs a data backup!” are just some of the crap they tell us. While we realize that the majority of the people who use a computer are capable of pressing “Next” on the Norton Anti-Virus install window, we are constantly pressed to “persuade” the customers to purchase these services. Yes, data backups, cleanings, and software installs ARE things the average consumer can do, so if you are offered these services, always remember you CAN say “no”.
I hope this has given you some insight into the job of a Geek Squad Agent. The Geek Squad is a great company, they just chose a poor partner to team up with (Best Buy). If they’d lower their prices and focus more on customer service than selling services, they could truly become a great company.
— BEN POPKEN
PREVIOUSLY:
LEAKED: 5 More Geek Squad Manuals
Geek Squad Insider Speaks Out
Geek Squad City Insider Rebutts Founder’s Retort
Geek Squad City Tell-All VS Founder Of Geek Squad
Welcome to Best Buy! How Can We Steal Your Computer Today?
Geek Squad Gouges
Best Buy Sold ‘Destroyed’ Hard Drive at Flea Market
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oh and I’m the only person who can work on macs hahaha
@grkgus:
the average pay is about $11.00 and fulltime employees get 35-40 hours partime get whatever there availability allows 20-30 hours
It’s funny how little things have changed since my time at Best Buy. I worked for them for 5 years from when they first opened in Pittsburgh in 1997.
Even though that was pre-Geek Squad, we still suffered from the same issues that the original poster mentions here. It almost felt like a sales job with a little tech work on the side. I was written up a number of times for not pushing MSN on a customer or suggesting a cleaning despite the fact that I thought the customer’s machine was bad.
They couldn’t pay me enough to go back and since it seems $12/hour is the going rate, they certainly couldn’t afford me!
I did have a very long response typed up for this article, I to work at geek squad, however I’m just going to make it short. I agree completely with what is said in this article.
1. We don’t receive training to repair anything, nor are we required to know how to repair anything. We do take certification tests from time to time however they deal only with policies not repair knowledge.
2. Our turn time sucks since we are required to do the job of every single worker at best buy including manager responsibilities. Selling, calling, helping, repairing, closing, opening, teaching, etc.
3. Our prices…they suck heres examples of current prices; Hardware install $50, Software install $30, viral removal $200, diag $70, Ram install $40
4. Best buy abuses us, we do the managers jobs of dealing with all customers, we do the sales peoples jobs by going out and selling, we do so much work that we are the only department that comes in at 6 am when the store doesn’t open until 9-10am, we then stay until after close when other departments go home.
5. Up selling, this ties in with number 2 we have to do the jobs of the sales people to attach accessories to products since more often than not the sales people don’t know what the products do or what should go with them to make them work.
Essentialy geek squad is a part of best buy, the goal of Geek Squad is to make the customer happy and have working electronics. Best Buy’s goal like any other company is to make money. If that means a geek squad agent has a randomized work schedule being paid crap then so be it. I’m a full time Geek Squad CIA (computer tech) I started at the pay of $10 an hr, I have 3 years of Biotechnology major chemistry minor, 1 year of Computer Science major and 1 year of biology minor under my belt when I started. I have since become A+ certified and delt with situations that would make someone go insane. I’ve been working for Geek Squad for going on a year, my pay is now $10.40 an hr, on average I get 32-35 hrs a week. Schedules are made one day in advance of the next week, time off must be requested 3-4 weeks in advance. I have 5 bosses all of whom have their own idea of what each of us should be doing.
In a 9 hr work day I spend possibly 2 hrs fixing computers the rest is helping sell, answer phones, paperwork and helping customer service department.
I once asked what is it that the customer service department does that Geek Squad doesn’t do, I was answered from my supervisor that they do nothing Geek Squad can’t do they are there to support us just like the other departments of best buy. So the question becomes who is really the people who make Best Buy work?
I am not surprised at this from Best Buy. It was in Arizona that I learned that Best Buy has no concept of what “customer service” means. Personally, I will never purchase anything from Best Buy again. They are the Nazis of the retail business.