A Denver TV crew unseated a RAM chip and then took it to seven different repair centers for a diagnosis. The resulting displays of incompetence were pretty evenly distributed, with two Best Buy Geek Squads, one Circuit City Firedog, and one locally owned repair center (CTI) all failing miserably (“It’s the motherboard!” they each said). Of the three locations that correctly diagnosed and fixed the problem, Action Computers charged $50, Geek Squad charged $30, and the Firedog tech who hands-down won the challenge “reinstalled the memory cards in less than two minutes, free of charge.”

So what does this prove? That you should learn to troubleshoot your own damn computer! Or more realistically, that you should troubleshoot the computer technician before taking him at his word:

Powis said customers need to ask questions when bringing a computer to any repair shop, including if the employees are qualified and what if any certifications and formal training they have.
 
He also said knowledgeable technicians would, in most cases, ask to keep the computer to perform diagnostic testing.

“Computer Shops Fail Undercover Test” [Denver’s Channel 7 News] (Thanks to Jim!)
(Photo: redjar)

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