Best Buy Porn Thief Inquisitions Revealed
After reading "How Geek Squad Investigated Its Own Porn Thieves," another fired Geek Squad tech has chimed in to tell us how the internal witch hunt for porn thieves proceeded.
I had worked for Geek Squad for over a year, and Best Buy a year and a half before that and was recently let go. Back when they started scanning computers, they said they found downloaded music and movies on our machine and we were to send them the hard drives. So we boxed them up and sent them out.A month or so later the interrogations happened. We all had our turn, and when it was mine, I walked into a room with the table pushed against the wall and two chairs in the middle of the room sitting two feet apart with nothing in between.
Our store's loss prevention manager and the district loss prevention manager was there, and I reached out to shake his hand. He shook mine, looked me in the eyes and said "I already know if you are going to tell me the truth or not," with an intimidating grip on my hand still. Then we sat down, our knees inches apart. He asked me how long I had worked there, and how many hours a week I worked, why I liked working there. He didn't really care why, he just wanted to tell me why he liked working for Best Buy. He told me, "Well, I used to be a cop, and when you're a cop everything you do is reactive, you can't really stop people from committing crimes. Here I normally get to come in and make sure processes are in place so we don't have problems. But here we have a problem, and now I have to be reactive and be a cop again."From there he asked me all sorts of questions about why there was music on our computer and where it came from, which was mostly us backing up customer's music because they paid us to, and my coworkers and i bringing in our iPods, which was ok with all the levels of management in the store. He even made a joke about how that wasn't "SOP" (the Best Buy bible), but he knew that our store LP manager was ok with it. It was ok because they trusted us. I was asked why we had Linux isos, which made me laugh. Also, during the interview anytime I was asked a question, I don't know wasn't an acceptable answer. At one point I stopped answering him because I was just sitting there saying I don't know. Then he had me write down everything I knew about in the precinct and sign it at the bottom. The district manager told me he would read it over afterwards to make sure it was "what they needed." I filled out the paper, signed it and gave it to him. Then they told me if I talked to anyone about what happened I would be fired.
Then the interesting began. My supervisor immediately started looking for another position at one of the 3 new stores opening in our area. He got one and put in his two week notice and stopped caring about his job. Everything started falling apart, then he left so we had no supervisor. So I put in my two week notice and found another job. The thing was our supervisor didn't know anything about fixing computers. All he card about was "selling our services" to people so he would meet his budgets and then tell us techs to fix whatever the customer wrote down which more than once included "retrieve deleted files" which yes we could have done if we were allowed to use the software, but we weren't. So he left and everything got better. And I talked to my general manager about staying, and he told me he saw how I had helped being a leader once our supervisor left and he was impressed and would like to see me move up in the company. A few days later we had a new supervisor who was a really nice guy and knew his stuff about computer fixing.
Now, I know you guys know about Jonny Utah (internally Geek Squad drops the 'h' so they don't get sued). Well I despise JonnyUtah. The entire time I worked there we were given goals of a certain number of computers which were to be fixed by JonnyUtah each week. The goal was seven. Most of the time we didn't hit our JonnyUtah goals because we were able to fix all the computers we brought in ourselves without needing help. I disliked it because:
1) I didn't get to work on the customer's computer
2) Someone in another country that does not have the same privacy laws as the United States was fixing our customer's computers.
3) Anytime we asked where the JonnyUtah guys were located we were told either it was "Top Secret" or "An undisclosed cave in a mountain on a remote island." Seriously.
4) We did a much better job than Jonny ever. We had so many people bring computers back that those guys "fixed" still having problems or hardware issues that you can't really fix over a remote connection.On October 18th, the day after my birthday I came into work early and the entire district staff (probably 6 or 7 people) were hanging out in our area where we fix computers talking to my friend who was one of the other full time techs. I went into the break room to eat my lunch and my buddy came in and told me the district guys were asking him if he would be offended if he had to go out on the floor and sell Geek Squad services instead of fixing computers, and having JonnyUtah fix more of the computers. I clocked in and five minutes later was told by my general manager that I was being let go for having music and movies and unapproved software on the computer.
So whatever I don't work there anymore, I'm not crying. But I wish people would realize that Geek Squad isn't worth what you pay. Best Buy's rules kept us from being great computer techs. They wouldn't let us use linux in the store to do data backups because that required an extra $1500 (not exaggerating) from the customer and we had to UPS the drive to California. We weren't allowed to do laptop repair in the store, even though I'm capable of handling a soldering iron to reattach people's DC power jacks. And they'll tell you this is because they are sending them to the "laptop techs" or whatever, but most of the time that stuff would come back broke anyways and customer's would yell at us. It was a horrible situation for everyone and I think shows that not everything can work on a large scale. For someone like me computer repair is easy. I could have done so much more than they expected of me and brought in so much more money for them and made customers a lot happier not having to wait two days for a guy to put his laptop on the UPS truck. But that's the thing. Geek Squad doesn't want me. They want someone who will take your money and have someone in another country actually do the work. To sell you a $59 diagnostic fee to call you the next day and say "yeah, your laptop is completely dead just like you told us, com buy a new one."
I hope people start realizing that Geek Squad is nothing more than marketing. You see the tie and the white shirt and you assume that the agent knows what they're talking about. The truth is most of them don't. There are no tests. There is very little training and that is mostly on how to sell things. In fact my old supervisor had a motto I heard him use way too often: Perception is reality.
I've enjoyed reading your site since before any of this ever happened, and although in some round about way I ended up getting fire because of an article that was posted on your site, I'll forever support you guys because it's sites like this that can make a difference (and you guys have) in how companies do their business and treat their customers.
Cheers,
Agent Zero
PREVIOUSLY: Leaks: How Geek Squad Investigated Its Own Porn Thieves
Best Buy's Geek Squad Scours Stores In Person For Stolen Porn N' Stuff
VIDEO: Consumerist Catches Geek Squad Stealing Porn From Customer's Computer
(Photo: Victor Chiu)
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Comments:
Wow, I guess being a computer tech somewhere like that really sucks. Small shops tend to do a much better job anyway.
I stopped halfway through. Proofreading goes a long way and "Agent Zero" doesn't seem to know how to do that.
"I hope people start realizing that Geek Squad is nothing more than marketing."
You don't say? I thought people liked being hard-sold an extended warranty on a $30 cordless phone by some kid that's working at Best Buy becuase he dropped out of college.
It took best buy 3 months to figure out that my laptop needed a new video card. The funny thing is that the first day I took it there I said "I keep getting an error that says something is wrong with my video card and then the machine shuts down". They insisted that the problem was dust and me. I stopped going to BestBuy in March of 2006. In the 90s, it was my favorite store.
I miss my Best Buy discount.
@mopar_man: Jesus, way to be sanctimonious.
Anytime you have a huge corporation with "scripts", crap like his s going to happen. The lowest common denominator comes in. And since it would cost way too much to train everyone to the level that the most knowledgeable people are at, they decide to lower standards and not let people who know what they're doing actually do it.
Agent zero, it has been brought to our attention that your letter violates Best Buy's double speak policy. This case has been forwarded to the thought police, please wait at your terminal for one of our Orwellian supervisors. We have scheduled your pick up for some time between 8am and noon. Thank you for your patience and remember for great deals on electronics always shop Best Buy!
//end snarky sarcasm.
Holy cow... Not sure if that's what they're teaching managers now, but I had an Ops Manager at store 7 who would constantly parrot "Perception is reality."
Um, what if the perception is that you're a jerk?
I haven't shopped at Best Buy in eons. I saw the Sony HDTV that I wanted at Best Buy for $2000 and I researched it online and bought it for $1450, delivery included. Why would I go there to pay more and get bad service?
I have to agree with mopar_man; I found this story to be unfocused, tedious to read, and not very enlightening. It honestly sounds like a rant that was copy-and-pasted off some 16-year old's MySpace page.
@mopar_man: i stopped reading your comment after the first sentence because by that point i knew you were a jerk.
his grammar isn't that bad and he doesn't make a living writing. the message was clear so cut him some slack.
@ShortBus: how old do you think he is? that's probably not that far off.
what's up with all the grammar nazi, morons at this site? screw it, i'm going back where i came from.
The letter read fine to me. Its a detailed account of his experience at Best Buy. Do you guys all have ADHD or something? Srsly, if you don't want to read the story, then don't bore us with your offtopic moaning and groaning.
With that said: sux for the guy and it reflects very well on the typical politics that go on inside of corporations.. lots of pettiness and people who do not have leadership character.
Agent Zero, you are awesome. More inside information is always a good thing.
You're way to smart to be working at bestbuy, I once applied at Geek Squad and the guy at the interview felt so seedy I never went back for the second interview.
I haven't been to a Best Buy in about 4 years. I can buy anything i need cheaper either elsewhere or online. I bought my plasma tv online for $600 cheaper including free shipping and zero sales tax.
@Paradise: OMGOMGOMG capitalize the begining of your sentences, otherwise I can not understand what you are saying. Litterallly my eye exploded from my head because of your bad grandma litteralllliy, no joke that happened.
@mopar_man: another consumerist grammar nazi.
Who cares if his grammar is a little off. his message is clear. That's what weshould care about
We're not dealing with a professional writer here. Could it have been a bit easier to read? Yes. Was it unreadable? No. It conveyed the message properly. But I suppose complaining about writing style is the thing to do, because I see it referenced almost every time a letter is posted.
I really enjoy the comments most individuals post on GIZMODO but I feel that today is a sad day in GIZMODO history. Today the people of GIZMODO are "flaming" a man who is pointing out the flaws in Best Buy. Agent Zero came here for help and support yet we chose to humiliate him/her on this site. We all know how hard it is to gain respect in the tech field with out being labeled a "geek" or "nerd." One of are own needs some support and I will be the first to say "THANK YOU AGENT ZERO."
Ooooh! An angry tell-all letter from a disgruntled employee!
The best kind of tell-all letter!
I LOVE it when I'm at BB or CC and hear to their geek squad/firedog associates lie from every angle possible to strike fear into the customer that if they don't buy the extended warranty/service, their stuff WILL break. it's news to me that at least one of them survived the shock therapy of retail at such stores. the majority get sucked in and sell products rather than selling solutions and honesty
@privatejoker75: You were charged 0 sales tax, that doesn't mean you don't owe it depending on the place you live. Not like it will become an issue unless you are a company buying a lot of things online but I am still gonna toss it out there.
Thanks for the reminder about how surreal the corporate world can be.
I just helped a coworker of mine buy an HP laptop from Best Buy. I told him to look for a machine with 2gb of ram... now he tells people he has a "2.0 laptop." Pretty funny.
Anyhow, it came loaded with TONS of crap "trial" software, more than I expected. Napster, Raphsody, AOL, Norton, and so on and so forth. Then Geek Squad will then remove all of this trial software for something like $100.
Real consumer-centric. They profit by creating a problem, then profit by offering a solution.
Does anyone else picture Agent Zero as Neo sitting across from Agent Smith?
All it takes is a five minute google search to verify if the cost is worth it. Many people take five minutes to read reviews for a $20 item but can't be bothered for a $150 in services on their computer? Doesn't make sense to me.
If people can't be bothered to take those five minutes to learn if Geek Squad is worth working for or doing business with, they almost deserve to get screwed by them. Its pretty much a given that its now a sales arm of Best Buy that doesn't absolutely nothing for you except empty your wallet.
I feel bad for the OP, but I also have a feeling that there's more to the story than meets the eye--oh wait, that's just my eye twitching from being forced to read the poor grammar.
(yes, that was a joke!)
I am surprised with all of these reports on Geek Squad no reports have been made on Data Doctors, a company I feel is ripping people off like crazy.
I had no idea Gilbert Arenas was a Geek Squadder.
I walked out of a best buy about 6 years ago because the sales guy called me an idiot for not getting an extended warranty. I was buying a cheap computer for the company I worked for (small company, needed something that day as a stopgap for a dead PC). I pointed out it's more idiotic to call a customer an idiot. The warranty focus is so smarmy but I guess if you are smart enough to be allergic to sleaze you weren't getting one in the first place.
I worked as an agent part time for 6 months, okay I won't lie I wanted a new LCD TV, and a friend wanted home theater, and I also wanted an Xbox 360. That being said, this was just a side job to get some sweet discounts over the holiday season while I worked my real job. It didn't take much to get the job, a hello and a handshake was about it with a very rudimentary questionaire. What is a Hard Drive... If you put a magnet near a monitor what will happen.. DUH?!!
Anyways, there was porn and music on that computer that could be watched and heard for weeks, but I see that as a minor problem compared to the glaringly obvious fact that half the people there didn't know what the hell they were doing. Sure there were a few key/knowledgeable people who performed the lion's share of the work. I left after some well placed purchases as I didn't need to work there nor did I want to deal with the joke of a work ethic.
Unfortunately one of my close friend's still work there and sadly it follows much of the same story as the two geek squad informants. Let it be a warning, that the service was poor a couple years ago when they did have the tools, but now that it is being outsourced... think twice of the service you get. I will never take my computer to be worked on there, but I will go pick up some new DVD's on tuesday.
Okay... so back in the '90's when I went to BB, no one would wait on me, cuz I don't got the male parts and so I'm obviously not going to make a buying decision.
This century, the blue shirts all hover around you like they're girls at the chicken ranch trying to get your bizness. Last time I was there, I couldn't decide who to choose, so I left and went to CC where there was only one customer service rep.
Odd how more sales pressure doesn't mean more sales, isn't it?
NOTE: CompUSA "techpros" are exactly the same as this, except as far as i know there is no remote-diag/fixing service implemented (unless they did that in the last 3 months since i stopped working there). I was a "Service Writer" which is basically the guy at the tech counter that sold you the stuff you didnt need and checked in and out computers. The real techs in the back were underpaid and highly stressed to do as much as they could (i think goals were sometimes like 10+ computers completed every day per tech). The techs were without a doubt the only cool guys that worked in the entire store, and they knew 100 times more than the "Sales" guys. the sales guys didnt know anything about what they were selling and we constantly had to send stuff that they brought to the tech counter back out to them because they sold the wrong whatever to the customer. The only reason i wasnt also a tech was because i didnt have an A+ certification (like that really means anything anyways) and they only reason i didnt have that was because it cost $400 and CompUSA wouldnt pay for me to get it. When i was hired for the job, they NEVER said anything about it being a sales position. I wanted to work there to put my tech knowledge and experience to use, but whenever i did that i was yelled at for not selling enough stuff or not being where i was supposed to. basically they wanted me to sell stuff at the counter, and if there werent custoemrs i was still supposed to stand there doing nothing, instead of helping the techs in the back, who desperately needed the help and were incredibly gracious when i snuck back and helped anyways. A good percentage of the techs productivity on the days i worked was because i was helping them instead of standing around like a dumbass.
So customers, be aware that these tech places are not all they say they are, simply because they are a corporation who doesnt care about the customers, they only care about themselves and profitability. i would trust the actual full-time techs, but nobody else. the supervisors know NOTHING. they know less than the sales guys, even the sales manager knows less than the sales "associates". and above all, the store managers dont have a single quality thought outside of making sure everyone knows that month's sales tactics
If you know a college kid that does tech work, and you have moderate trust in him/her, then go to them with your questions because they will help you so much better (and for cheaper too)
"I stopped halfway through."
What did you stop? Oh, you meant reading, I think.
I can't be sure because you didn't write in a complete sentence.
Complete sentences are your friend.
If you are going to correct someone for their grammar it's best not to be a hypocrite.
And yes I will admit that my grammar in this post isn't perfect, but that is beside the point. At least my message is understandable.
I got kicked out of a Best Buy a few months ago because a Geek Squad guy was selling a young couple a laptop and telling them how they couldnt leave without paying Geek Squad to let them install AV software and everything and making sure everything worked.
I told them he was full of shit and that GS didnt need to touch the laptop. I told them AV software takes 5 clicks to install at home and couldnt be easier and that some AV programs are free and work fine.
Well that pissed him off, he yelled at me, i told him he shouldnt lie to customers to meet his quota and he called security who told me to leave or they would call the police.
So...I put down the 4 HD-DVD movies ($100+) and 3 Xbox 360 ($180) games in my hand and left. I also didnt buy the laptop i had gone there for in the 1st place ($800).
I will never buy anything at Best Buy again. I knew Geek Squad was a joke, but crappy corporate cultures really piss me off, so this is the last straw.
Being in business for myself I must ask myself how the other side would answer to this employee ranting.
My dad NEVER shops at compusa because he had one bad experience. Back in the 80s he brought a computer in for service or he was buying a computer(idk which one) land the people there were telling him basically if they spent more than 20 minutes on a given customer and didn't get a sale, it was a waste of time and money. So we go to either staples, best buy, or cc
I used to work for Best Buy too. They told us at the El Cajon store in San Diego to lie to the customers to sell Service Plans. They would have the cashiers tell customers they returned 3 products that morning to get someone to purchase the service plan. The PS3 for gods sake. BB was also the only and first time I was ever written up...for working on my break. Thats right. They wanted me to tell a hardworking soldier with a family that they were going to keep his car overnight because they couldnt finish it in time i.e. 9pm. Damn his ride to work the next morning. Truth be told, it was because the manager and the other employee in car audio didn't know how to do alarms and their lil part time military employee was the only one who did. The only good thing I got out of BB was settlement checks from them being sued about their time management practices and my pay.
Anything from the Geek Squad Employees, I wouldn't be surprised to hear,in the least bit.
I just wish I could get interviewed, I would own that LP hack.
I do wish they still taught basic English writing skills in high schools. *sigh*
Was this letter anything most of us didn't already know about Best Buy specifically and retail in general? How does that old (and currently unprintable) 2000 AD/Judge Dredd comic go? "Everything is disposable, including the staff."
i got fired from sears a while back after some investigations, they asked me all sorts of questions and at the end they told me i couldnt say anything....pfft, they should have said that at the beginning, i told everyone on my way out.
dear agent zero:
the beauty of "at will" employment is that your boss can't make you sign anything. ever. sure, they may "let you go" if you don't, but if they're questioning you in a makeshift interrogation room, that's probably coming anyway.
good luck. find a job doing computer repair for a competitor. then go give some of your old friends your business card to hand out. you'll have more fun & feel better about your job in the process.
if you don't have a local repair shop near you, maybe it's time you started thinking about providing one.
Quit complaining about the grammar. Way to be petty.
@discounteggroll: Thanks for the tip! I'm gonna copy the Decrapifier to my tech tools folder on my USB. Very useful.
@dshjyd: There's a lot of self-righteous people on this board, but sadly, you just have to endure them, because nothing anyone says discourages them in the least.
"I am an F-B-I Agent!"