10 Confessions Of A Circuit City FireDog Technician
A FireDog Technician writes in with the following confessions.
Who is the mysterious dog— and why, oh why, is he on fire?
10. The hiring process doesn't actually have any qualifications required beyond you saying you know what you're doing. Most techs that are hired know little more than the basics, and learn as they go. You can't really have an experienced tech work on your machine, because once you leave, it may sit there for a few days, and who knows who will work on it then. I was required to take my Microsoft Certified Professional exam, but when I failed the first time, that was okay too. I never went back to take it again, and no one said a word.
9. "FD COURTESYCHECK" isn't a real SKU, it means the customer was good looking, and the tech should check to see if they have any "personal" pictures worth keeping. One customer was a professional nude model, over 2,000 images got backed up on to the tech work machine.8.Nothing they will offer you for installation is worth it. The standard package includes Norton Internet Security, Webroot Spysweeper, and Microsoft Office Home and Student as well as the creation of recovery DVDs and an "optimization". Norton isn't as good as AVG Anti-Virus, available for free. Webroot isn't as good as Spybot Search and Destroy, which is also available for free. The recovery DVDs are made in a few clicks, and could be done by a three year old. Optimization consists of uninstalling some junk programs, and deleting icons off of your desktop. All of this takes about 45 minutes to an hour, and could be done just as easily by you, at home.
7.Protection plans don't always cover anything special. Batteries, for example, are covered by most manufacturers warranties, but are often used as part of the sales pitch when buying a laptop. "If your battery goes out, we cover that too - all you need to do is bring it in and we will replace it free of charge." Often times, this process can take a month and is generally faster to just order it through the manufacturer.
6.Your computer may well sit around for days without anyone looking at it. If we were low on computers to work on, we would often drag repairs out for days past when they should be done, just so we looked busy. If we weren't working on a machine, we would have to go help out on the sales floor. I've seen machines sit for as long as three weeks because of a lack of customers
5.Don't always expect a new part if you try to rush them on a repair. Sometimes, when we had a customer that kept bugging us because a part on his computer was taking forever to come in, we would just swap the part out with one off of a display computer to "expedite things". When the new part would come in, we would just return it as used.
4.Don't expect a call back. The techs don't care about your repair, and it's rare that they will call you for much of anything but to pick it up when it's done. If you want status updates or anything else, even if they tell you they will call, they more than likely won't. Call the store and ask for the tech on duty, you don't need to talk to the one that you turned it in to - they won't necessarily work on it anyway. Also, it's company policy to have a tech on duty, so if someone tells you that they aren't there, chances are they're lying.
3.99% of all software repairs can be completed in a day. There is next to no reason that your repair will take a week, and if you ask for it to get it rushed, they will charge you an extra $20 or more, and put it in line with everything else. Unless you demand same day service, you won't see any special treatment. Even then, it's unlikely to be done the same day.
2.The salesmen know absolutely jack about the computers they sell. Most of them are just high school or college kids that may or may not have any interest in computers at all. A few of they may not even own a machine. The sales training that Circuit City requires everyone to take is 100% about how to pitch things, and 0% how things work or what they do. Do all your homework before you make your purchase, and don't listen to anything they have to say. Many of them will say anything they have to to get you to buy whatever it is they want you to buy. One of the worst I ever heard is that if one woman didn't buy the protection plan the salesman was offering, she wouldn't be able to get any updates for her software. Another man didn't want to buy our anti- virus software, and the salesman told him that he would contract a virus as soon as he plugged it in to the internet if he didn't install one first.
1.Circuit City takes no responsibility for your data. If somehow a tech magically wipes your entire harddrive, the waiver that you sign when you check it in clears them of any wrongdoing. They could quite literally just reformat for the fun of it, give it back to you, and there is nothing you could do about it. Always back up your data before taking it in.
(Photo:wingless girl)
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Comments:
Wow ... definitely glad I would never buy a computer from them anyways.
No surprise on the nude pics - the same thing went rampant at an electronics store I once worked for. Except instead of a FD COURTESYCALL it was a Code69 (way subtle, guys).
Interesting to see what people are like who half ass their job. You are (were) a computer tech. Shouldn't you have the ability to fix the computer without whining about the stuff you do to jerk around? How is this Circuit City's fault that you were a terrible technician? Sure, anybody can install software. Anybody can change brake lines too, but I'd rather pay somebody who can do it quicker and better than I can. Some people just don't understand the services industry. Do we need it? NO. Do we want it. For the most part, yes.
TrueCrypt full partition encryption for all my left overs of ex's FTW
#1 is always a given with any repair bench. Every custie I had signed a waiver stating that their data was toast, but gave them an option that if they wanted their data backed up, sure! Just for a small fee that is.
The 3.99% completion is a bit on the lazy side. 90% of the systems that i've benched, were done within 2 hours. The other 5% were PITA's and were either so badly infected they needed to be slicked and redone (with the customer in the know that anything on it was toast) or in need of special order parts. The rebuilding took 3-4 hours, charging for the first 2 for labor then the installation fee. The rest was updates being pulled down (in which we really could not charge for since it is Microsoft's stuff).
I hate Macs from a service standpoint. You can't get parts in on a timely basis and oftentimes they were so hellfire expensive we usually had to decline the repair. One mainboard for a G5 pro tower = 500 bucks + 200 core fee PLUS they wanted the old board back, in advance! We wound up handing the poor custie off to a certified Apple repair center, two hours away!
Although I agree much of this sort of thing is seedy and questionable, few of these points are actually illegal. Its really about being an informed consumer. Personally, I expect this sort of thing because they're a business and thats about making money. Computers are no different than cars. Most people are smart enough not to buy the overpriced "clearcoat protection" add-on and other worthless extras when buying a car. Why should buying a computer be any different?
Sure, it stinks that any business would pull stuff like this, but anyone without enough sense to walk out the door and buy somewhere else at least shares 50% culpability in the rip-off.
Here it is, thanks Wiki.
A FireDog is:
The green, black, and white logo, a dog jumping through a hoop, is meant to evoke the idea of Circuit City "doing whatever it takes to get the job right," said Firedog spokesman Bill Cimino to the Dow Jones Newswire on August 25, 2006.[2] "We chose the name Firedog because it evokes the kind of qualities we intend our technicians and installers to provide: helpful, friendly, knowledgeable and reliable. When it comes to improving consumers' relationship with technology, we want Firedog to be your 'best friend,'" added Philip J. Schoonover, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Circuit City Stores, Inc.[3][4] Not to mention, in the Chinese Callender 2006, the year Firedog was created, is the year of the Fire Dog.[5]
Firedog now also includes the Car Audio services.
Thats one Dog worth Firing. No service for you Circuit City!
@swissdietcoke: Unless you're REALLY stupid, i'm sure you could do it "quicker" it it normally takes them a week.
clarification: That's the Circuit City Firedog service, not the gentleman who had the decency to once more show us how Circuit City sucks. It's an employee playground, not a real store.
@brent_w:
Oh, I forgot the other 5%.. Usually took less than 5 minutes and then another 15 explaining to the goofball to perform a proper procedure.
No charge, tips are nice though! Usually netted me a $20.
@cobaltthorium: Not just computer places. Everybody I've ever known who has worked at a photo developing lab has told me that whenever they got someone that dropped off a roll with nudie pics on it, they'd run off a few extra copies for their "archives".
I call bs. on it, it bases too much firedog and this guys own indivuality as a worker. I work at state farm, so its kind like I said " State Farm doesnt care about you, and I dont do my job. because i'm lazy" but.. i could also be wrong..
@Nighthawke: The 3.99% completion is a bit on the lazy side
That caught me the first time, too. It's tip #3, 99% completion...
I actually read something similar about a year ago by a former Geek Squad member from Best Buy - I think it was on Salon.com. That article was more interesting BUT it was far longer and had the same sort of confessions. SO, honestly, this was better.
It's kinda sad to know that as a consumer you can't trust any of these companies...
It is stuff like this that really makes me consider raising my rates as a computer technician. I charge $70 an hour, but don't bill as accurately... (IE, often I'm charging 2 hours labor for 4 hours actual time). My thinking has been, up until this point, that my average client has a price point in their head that, once reached, will cause them to bring their business to one of these chains.
I'm thinking that I don't really have to worry about that as much as I thought I did, given the increasing frequency of these tell-alls.
I went to apply for a job with these guys once and their web form demanded my SSN. Circuit City has NO NEED TO KNOW THAT unless I am hired in which case they need it for tax purposes.
I closed the form without finishing it, since they also conveniently said that incomplete applications would be ignored.
Why is CC so intent on gathering information that it doesn't need ... unless it wants to commit identity theft?
where the hell did they get that name from?
"Firedog."
Not good.
More people need to start doing things like this.
There must be money to be made in suing Geek Squad/Firedog for violating your copyrights. Maybe you could put some personal information in with a folder of porn and then sue them for identity theft when they copied it.
There just has to be a way to scare them out of doing shit like this in the future. Unfortunately, the kind of people who would give their computers to them in the first place aren't competent enough to do it.
The reason that Firedog and GeekSquad exist is because when it comes to computers most people have no clue what to do other than turn the thing on. They'll say "I have cable so it should start faster" or they think the monitor is the computer. Until people realize that a computer is a fairly complex tool and LEARN how to fix things themselves these places will continue to exist and make money.
Another thing: just because I know/fix computers for my day job does not mean I will help/fix yours for free. My rate is $40/hr in cash. Some jobs like a Windows install I have flat rates for and if it's something super simple (add RAM) I'll charge less. I do have a life outside of computers.
@Starfury: [www.thinkgeek.com]
My employer (i work at a help desk) didn't enjoy me wearing it to work :P
I agree, though. People assume that all you do/like/think about is computers. Mechanics like more than just cars, doctors like more than just medicine. Why is it different? Because no one has any respect for technicians. People think that because their 12 year old nephew "knows computers" it's a job anybody can do. It's not (as this article proves).
Did you just repost the bestbuy confessions, and slap circus city's name on it?
Here is my plan. I am going to target the mother of a firedog employee. Wine her. dine her. 69 her and take pictures. then i am going to have my girl, who is pretty damn hot, take the laptop in for service. At which point she'll most likely get a FD Courtesycall code.
BOOM. Some geek's mom naked for all his coworkers to see!.
For fun, i might have tons of shots of his house, his car, place he eats and hangs out in. LOL.
I don't work for Firedog, but the following are BS:
8) People don't want to go download crap off the internet nor do they know how to uninstall a program. THEY JUST WANT IT TO WORK! They don't care how much it costs. They want it to run out of the box. These star-up services might seem dumb to you, but to the customer are worth its weight in gold!
7) Manufacturer does NOT cover batteries. At least I know HP, Compaq, Gateway, eMachines, Toshiba, Sony, Dell, and Acer don't. It's a consumable product.
6) HAHA, pathetic, take your computer to Geek Squad.
This is all pretty much true. I worked at a Circuit City right before Fire Dog came out and we were just starting to do repair. The guy who was originally running the repair actually knew what he was doing. He was quickly replaced by the managers favorite who knew nothing about repair but was a better "sales person."
I used to work for Circuit City as a Firedog tech, and this is exactly what was happening at our store as well. It seems to be "company policy" to have a really crappy tech department. All of the stores in our district suffered from the same issues. We even had techs charging to install AVG and Spybot (both free as mentioned above)! There were several meetings where our techs would be chewed out for not selling more services, but when we would, we weren't allowed to do the work, causing the computers to sit for weeks on end. I was the only tech certified to work on the computers, yet I worked the fewest hours, and spent my time consoling upset customers. I'm glad I got out of there when I did, and it's terrible to hear that those shady business practices are still happening!
@ Jomil91 I agree, it just takes one lazy/stupid person to ruin it for the company they work for. I don't work for Firedog, but their competitor. #10 I happened to work in tech support before and was good at, and enjoyed, my job. When I was interviewed, every question was was about my technical abilities. #9 Our backup computer is scanned randomly throughout the week. If we backup files that weren't requested, our initials are on there and we get written up. #8 The computers we do recovery DVDs for are usually for people that don't have time or don't want to bother. #6 My boss has OCD and won't let computers just sit there. #5 If we have to use a display, their getting the whole thing exchanged. #4 Every time someone starts a shift, they do call backs. May take longer, but it gets done. #3 depends on how many computers came in before yours and the severity of the problem. #2 Our sales people are former techs, we got lucky with that. #1 I've only seen data loss once, its not that hard to be careful when you work.
Sorry for the long comment, but his "confessions" should not encompass everyone.
i should take various pictures of my hairy azz. put them as my wall paper, and in a file i will name xxx. and 2 girls and 1 cup will be my screensaver.......that will teach them.
@wimpkins: Usually white with black spots.
Glad I "roll my own" so to speak. I've been building and configuring for the last 13 years. It's not that hard. Much easier then fixing cars. Also, it's built my way, running what I want.
My last beastie ran great for five years before the power supply finally died. I do have a new build (It's fast....really fast) but the old one is waiting in the wings, already rebuilt.
Love that free stuff. AVG and Spybot do rock. So does Spyware Blaster and Lavasoft's Adaware. Online Armor is my firewall.
@Starfury: nail, meet head. do you know how many people i've spoken to since the beginning of the year that THREW OUT THEIR COMPUTER & BOUGHT A NEW ONE b/c their old one was functioning improperly? 9, to be exact.
& when i say old, all of those machines had vista save one. what is vista, a year old now? 8 less-than-a-year-old computers deep-sixed b/c the operators are generally clueless about them.
good news is that i helped 5 of them "dispose" of their old computer. =)
@AgentTed:
Haha,
Geeksquad is just as stupid.
Just a bunch of dumb kids that don't know shit about computers.
The only difference is they have a dorky car to drive around in.
Very simple, never trust one of those rip-off big box stores with your computers.
Try Geeks On Call/1800905Geek. We've used them for years. They come to you and fix the problems, and they use ONLY experienced certified technicians. They don't sell TVs, Dishwashers, or Vacuum cleaners. They only fix computer problems.
They can't always get to you the same day, but they certainly try.
And as bad as Firedog is, Geek Squad is 100 times worse. :( (Geek Squad isn't Geeks On Call BTW).
@snoop-blog: i had a friend in college that used to sneak into our rooms & put gay porn on our desktop. fun times!
@Starfury:
$40/hr? You undercut me by half. guess where you're located matters, as well as experience.
I'm part of an IT department and I also do this stuff on the side. I'm getting more and more business from word of mouth, mainly because of the absurd rates that these places charge for substandard work.
Everyone talks about AVG, I personally like Avast! antivirus. It's free, it updates constantly, is a small drain on system resources, and it works well. Did I mention it's free? Blows my mind that people pay for antivirus software that slows their systems down to a crawl and demands permission for you to do the simplest thing.
@courtarro: Nope. Other places (legit ones) just ask "are you legally authorized" and do the check later on in the process.
I work at circuit city.
Fire = Fast and hard working.
Dog = is sort of like a metaphor for loyal, or loyalty.
And this employee can always quit if he's fed up.
$15.75/HR is a pretty good pay to install an os on a computer for 3hrs.
Yyyyyyep, that's about right on all counts. I used to work there in the TV section. Luckily I actually know a disgusting amount of TVs and told customers to buy their cables online, etc. and surprisingly a lot of people in my store on the tech side actually knew a ton about computers as well. My friend was a tech and he lived and breathed computers and was an honest guy who never screwed the customer. Then he got laid off in that whole thing that went down last year, and the new people are awful. I quit and hate going back their now. It's all about selling you things you don't need. I remember I was always the one who had to fix the Firedog's mistakes because I knew more than they did -- having to go out of the store constantly to basically redo surround sound setups and calibrations. Do NOT get Firedog. Very, very few of them know what they're doing, and it's not worth the risk to get lucky with a reliable "expert."
Got thrown off by the 3.9% thing too. I *almost* wrote a rant until some others corrected the poster. :)
Nothing else is a surprise though. Except they may have left out the fact that the squeaky wheel does not get the grease - quite the contrary. Unless you actually complain to an upper level manager and they actually decide to come down on the employee a bit, the more you complain, the more likely your computer will be set aside forever or shoddily 'repaired'. Don't buy any extended plans from Best Buy or Circuit City. Better yet, just buy your computer DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER. If you need support, find a family member, friend, or marry a techie :). Buy the best extended warranty you can afford. Most manufacturers will send out a box, repair the computer and ship it back to you. When you deal with electronics shops, they are more likely to f things up and let your computer rot. They are the lowest rung of tech support you can find, bar none.
So, Circuit City hired former Geek Squad employees!
Computers are NOT appliances.
You should be certified to purchase one, let alone own one.
Or, hire me. I work onsite, no loss to data, and you are up in 99% of the time (sorry, physical hazards and failure to backup data not included). best of all, my clients feed me (lunch or dinner).
Snarf!
I worked as a PC/APPLE tech for CompUSA for almost 2 years many years ago. Nothing in this story shocked me.
Tech's would regularly inspect customer's computers for porn and programs. I saw a few employees copy customer's software that they had brought in because they wanted a free copy of it.
Machines would sit in the tech self for days because no one wanted to work on them, or they where "waiting" for a part.
One time they found a machine that was used to host a porn site in Poland, so after work, they got all the techs and managers in there, and watch a few of the movies he had on his machine. Funny thing was the videos where of the customers wife and grown daughter, both of whom where good looking.
Good looking customers would always get special treatment. It didn't matter if they were working on a rush job or not, if someone good looking came in, several of the techs would drop what they where doing and help her.
Something that always pissed me off was the rush service, 90% it was a waste of money to have a customer pay this when their computer would sit on the self anyway until a tech felt like working on it. It didn't matter if it was a rush job or not. If you pay for a rush job, go back and make sure they are working on your machine. I never had a problem with having customers coming back with me and watch me work on their machine.
I can honestly say I never once saw a tech try and push something on a customer they didn't really need. If they needed a part or service, it was because they really needed it. CompUSA always wanted us to push their protection plan and upgrade service, but few of us ever did.
And this is why I fix my own PCs.
@Starfury, discounteggroll: i used to charge by the hour, but now i just charge use the firedog & geek squad websites to price & undercut them by 30%. i make more money, the customer spends less...everyone's happy.
charging to install AVG = violation of GRISOFT's EULA (same with Alwil Avast! free)
stands to logic that big retailers would use an off-the-shelf product for installs on customers' machines. even if it's big, fat, bloated NAV.
@swissdietcoke:
How is this Circuit City's fault that you were a terrible technician?
well it's their fault for making him do non-technician work when he's got nothing to do. Understand that there are times where you won't be able to even take a proper potty break because of too many clients wanting their sh!t fixed NOW. Does the technician get compensated for unpaid overtime? Nope. But they ARE suddenly expected to love their jobs afterwards?
If CC treated its employees like human beings with actual contracts for human beings, then their employees wouldn't slack off on the side...
I was hoping to find out what a "FireDog" is, oh well.
Nice post though.