Tipster Michael writes:
Apparently the local Best Buy has an unbeatable service option for you. Looks like they will come to your house and insert your game to your 360 for you. Wonder how much they would charge to turn it on and put the controller in my hand?
Fie on anyone who says these signs are misplaced. This is a revolutionary new service that will do for game installation what Game Genie did for gameplay. Just you wait and see…
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@Rask: Phew indeed. That’s an awfully large sticker considering the national average…
Well, it’s Sunday. I’ll leave the rest unsaid.
@mobbo: Your reference to stupid customers validates your entire comment.
/sarcasm
The reason a person goes to Geek Squad is because they don’t understand what went (or what they did) wrong.
If the posts and comments of this site were all to be qualified by your “one rotten apple doesn’t spoil the bunch” rule, there would be hardly nothing here at all. I think the readers are bright enough to recognize truly isolated incidents. And, frankly, the criticism of Geek Squad is corroborated by the many articles (lest us not forget the file stealing scandal, which was company-wide).
Clearly you are intelligent. And obviously Best Buy is not staffed by morons. But that’s just the point. The Geek Squad problems are newsworthy and troubling because the employees are intelligent — and, thus, should know better. Similarly, this post is funny because a presumably literate person placed these stickers on these game packages without recognizing the senselessness. It’s such a simple matter, that the error is hard to dismiss without a chuckle.
@nequam: “lest WE”
@mobbo: Uh mobbo what “professional” certifications would that be that you got through Geek Squad?
@mobbo: I think, individually, Geek Squad employees may not be total fucktards, but it’s not unreasonable to say that the company suffers from institutional stupidity that affects the entire business, down to the techs. It’s not easy to run a tech support division that isn’t a loss leader without ripping customers off, and Best Buy has tried to do it by cutting corners and emphasizing salespeople over engineers. That leads to lower morale, unqualified techs, diminished commitment to customer service, and ultimately, stupidity.
I think that this belongs to the “funny” category. This is not exactly bad.
@bohemian: Theft, larceny & fraud (certified by local constabulary and the NYC State Attorney General).
Even if it was supposed to go on a regular software package, how does “let us install it” enter into the picture? I mean, do they come over to your house, double click the “Install” icon, press “Accept” and walk away?
This is funny… the reason, while plausible, makes no difference! They may just as well put the same sticker on their CDs and DVDs! Imagine the reaction to that.
The fact is that it makes no sense to sell an installation for this product, and every time a low-level employee or customer notices it, and is then ignored by a manager when it is pointed out to be corrected, just reinforces all over again these sad stereotypes of Best Buy.
If they were all that… they’d see how silly it looked and fix the problem! It’s a no brainer.
I am actually the person who sent this picture in. I had no idea that so many people would take it as a serious complaint or story. I just found myself giggling when I thought “What would they do to install this a 360 game?” So I snapped a picture and sent it in.
I don’t care for any of the big-box electronics stores, but I still shop there occasionally. I always look at it from an individual service perspective. The only time that I am really going to walk out of one of those stores is when the service people actively tell me something I know is false.
I had a Circuit City person tell me that the difference between a DVD R- and DVD R+- is that the R+- handles stereo better. I have also had a Best Buy person tell me tell me that I needed to upgrade to Vista so that I could use a “Vista compatible” memory card. At the same time, I have had some people go above and beyond to help me find the product I needed, so I do know that your mileage may vary and I do my research ahead of time.
The level of white-knighting in the comments shows me that some people are a little too defensive. I wonder why…
Wait wait wait… why are you putting the disc in the cup holder?
@DoktorGoku: For whatever reason, there are readers on this site who think every post is Very, Very Serious and an indictment against corporate America, and don’t seem to understand that some posts are meant to be simply informative, and some are just meant to be downright goofy.
@ mobbo – Would you like a Percocet? I have an extra…
@scottyboy218: See I used to work at Best Buy. I used to put the games in those cases before they went out on the floor. You know what? if one had that sticker on it, I’d put it something relevent in it, not use it for games.
Silly post, but also lazy employees.
@Shadowfire: you would be amazed… I run our GS precinct and 80% of our customers don’t know how to do something as simple as putting in a disc and hitting install. We have people buying their first ever computers, people who say they don’t like “the Veesta”, people who DO think it’s a cup holder, and a guy who didn’t realize that a disc has to click into his laptop’s optical drive, so he tried to (in his words) customize it. Yes, he sanded the middle hole bigger with a sander.
You guys assume that everyone had a modicum of computer knowledge and it’s simply untrue.
We have lots and lots of satisfied customers. They go home and are happy and tell some friends. The few unhappy ones complain to everyone. It’s perfectly normal, but also perfectly absurd that your poor experience equals thousands of agents being “fucktards”. I would pit my agents against any tech with confidence.
And I couldn’t care less about our customers’ nasty taste in porn. If I want some, I can get my own.
@scottyboy218:
You don’t think we realize this?
The point is how incredibly stupid Best Buy is for making this mistake. How hard would it have been to order one of your minimum wage workers to peel the stickers off your old shells so the company doesn’t look like they have no idea how a video game console works?
@wellfleet: Is this guy serious? You think you have to install video games on consoles?… and you work at Best Buy? Gofigure.
@ComradePhate:
Haha, I sent in basically bought RAM in a case like this a month or two ago. PC RAM totally would in those cases, so it’s just obvious what happened. The Internet is just populated by very stupid people.
Hilarious.
I agree with you wellfleet. I used to be a CIA Senior until I was promoted to supervisor in another department.
Most people think that just because they can do some of the services that we offer, everyone can.
In this case, of course Geek Squad doesn’t offer a service to install games. We reuse those cases for multiple items including RAM, which was probably what that was used for.
newsflash – there actually are mothers and fathers out there who feel more comfortable paying to have someone come out and plug the system in for them.
@shawnj: But these are individual games.
Place disk on retractable cup holder. That sort of thing.
They slap those stickers on to software and hardware – so it’s not like they thought about it (I’m assuming of course).
Some of you are taking this way too seriously. Look at the tags: it’s listed under “silly”. It’s a humorous article, not an “OMFG they’re actually trying to push this service” article.
Can we get some of those on batteries while we’re at it?
from a geek squad employee (me):
Best buy stores receive resupply for things like those stickers about once every 8-12 weeks. max. kinda hard to tear them off those cases as well. It’s not so much a laziness thing, they’re almost asking us not to take them off. management cares about sales, we really don’t, but w/e.
As for putting those games in those cases and people who don’t like it: tough. seriously, every single best buy regardless of neighborhood has at least 2-3 thousand dollars of shrink (see: theft) per day/week. Even these games when they ARE in the cases… We’ve caught people with duct tape lined large purses smuggling out the sensor-boxed games ten or so at a time. It’s a shame, but being a big retailer means you’re a target of theft, and you kind of have to have them in those cases.
I would rather buy an unopened game that’s in a plastic anti-theft case than an opened dvd sleeve that someone has taken the game disk out and done who knows what with it and/or any registration info it comes with (see:EB Games).
One of the things that’s quite funny is that, at least at the BBY I worked at, anybody who purchased, say, counterstrike, they would want us to upsell to a wireless networking setup. Makes sense with call of duty, they’d probably try to upsell a $300 wireless ‘super gaming’ install for the xbox
@scottyboy218:
This is the company that lists its prices as: $159 dollars to “install” an MP3 player (or to move a working printer across the room — I called just to be sure) and $150 to program a TV remote control. While I get that these are reused cases and the post is meant to be silly, but BestBuy wouldn’t say no if you asked for the service because they’re happy to take real money from people who need a little free advice.
The REALLY sad thing: There are morons who would actually PAY FOR THIS! The same idiots who use the Geek Squad and think they are getting a professional. Fireslog will install your GPS too! hahahahahaha Morons abound!
for all you people that are making fun of this post: keep in mind that they have people who professionally install stuff in homes get the installation of their tv or computer or appliance just because they don’t want to mess with it. either that or the don’t want to go home and “work” – also sometimes you get someone’s little old gray-haired grandmother that just wants to get on her email and ebay. it’s a matter of having the service available to those that need/want it. or just plain too lazy to do otherwise.
The whole “warranty” thing: yeah to those that worship their equipment it may not be a great deal for them. but when something DOES break(i.e. you drop your laptop) you’d be glad you had the “Performance Service Plan”
*ElectroMouse holds up a sign:*
“They are nuts! They have fabricated this… FICTION to keep themselves afloat! They know NOTHING!”
To paraphrase the insane Jim Cramer of Mad Money fame…
If you pay for installation, are they going to try to upsell you on the extended warranty? ‘Cause, like, I can see all kinds of mischief possibilities arising from *that.*
“I keep installing my discs upside-down, I wish there was someone I could hire to help me…”
Rachacha: How about installing a pizza and a 6-pack? I’d pay for that, but I’d want the extended warranty.
When I just graduated college (Virginia Tech) and was looking for a Job, 4 best buys turned me down. I COULDA BEEN A GAME INSTALLER!
@pinkpuppet: I agree with the overpricing. I started my own PC repair business on the SHEER FACT that Geek Squad is way overpriced for the average consumer. My prices are basically half of GS and I get a ton of business because of it.
Throw in a well-made martini and I’ll consider it.
What the hell is an XBox? Surely you mean an Xbox?
I was an employee of the illustrious best buy for years. yes, the “let us install it” stickers are for Computer RAM, something that many people do need help with. Not everyone is capable or comfortable with opening up their computer. So yeah, no big deal. Just funny.
I work at Best Buy.
We offer that for installing your Systems, as well as updating and patching your games you buy.
It’s mainly used for when someone buys a system and a game.
But if someone really wants us to just come and update their games they buy.
We’ll do it.
Don’t bash it my friend, plenty of people do it.
reused security boxes – yes, probable
Spoof photo – maybe
photoshopped – I will kill anyone who says ‘photoshopped’
BUT I bet there are people out there who will have trouble putting a disc into a game machine or anything else that has a CD tray slottable or not. It is the same with mobile phones, ask your parents or older colleagues what functions they use on them and it will be phone calls and SMS….. not a jot more even though it probably costs as much as a low end laptop. Same with CDs, lots of ‘young’ people assume that it is obvious what to do with the disc but it often isn’t for older people who didn’t grow up with all this tech. I’d love to see what the average 18 year old would do if I asked him to record a vinyl record onto cassette, using a home stereo circa 1982, for me…. probably F**k it up big time
I don’t think Consumerist is avidly touting the validity of the offer. It’s just a funny picture.