Geek Squad

08/05/10

Geek Squad Alternative

by zeusgod at Citysearch

At one point or another we all need computer repair help and I am no different. I found myself in need at the worst possible moment. In the middle night, when everything is closed and the night before a report is due. I called Geek Squad online support for help and was charged for the $199 virus removal service. They connected to my pc and attempted to remove the problem. After a couple of hours and a whole lot of coffee and nail biting they call me back and say there is nothing they can do. This time, the guy I spoke to had a heavy accent and seemed to be calling from overseas. And long with this and the fact they said the virus is too embedded to be removed without causing further damage and system instability. I get off the disappointing phone call and am still sweating because this report is 35% of my overall grade in this course and I absolutely had to have this done in the morning. I run a quick Google search for a solution when I find SecureRemoteSupport[dot]com who provides online services and have a “No Fix No Pay” guarantee. Wow that would be nice if Geek Squad offered the same promise. Within an hour they had diagnosed the virus and had removed it completely for $105. And best of all, I didn’t lose any of my work and my operating system was completely repaired. Apparently the Geek Squad isn’t as good at their job as secureremotesupport[dot]com is. I really appreciate their diligence on fixing my issue and suggest others think twice before contacting Geek Squad to fix their computer.

08/05/10

Geek Squad Alternative

by sarahhh52 at Citysearch

At one point or another we all need computer repair help and I am no different. I found myself in need at the worst possible moment. In the middle night, when everything is closed and the night before a report is due. I called Geek Squad online support for help and was charged for the $199 virus removal service. They connected to my pc and attempted to remove the problem. After a couple of hours and a whole lot of coffee and nail biting they call me back and say there is nothing they can do. This time, the guy I spoke to had a heavy accent and seemed to be calling from overseas. And long with this and the fact they said the virus is too embedded to be removed without causing further damage and system instability. I get off the disappointing phone call and am still sweating because this report is 35% of my overall grade in this course and I absolutely had to have this done in the morning. I run a quick Google search for a solution when I find SecureRemoteSupport[dot]com who provides online services and have a “No Fix No Pay” guarantee. Wow that would be nice if Geek Squad offered the same promise. Within an hour they had diagnosed the virus and had removed it completely for $105. And best of all, I didn’t lose any of my work and my operating system was completely repaired. Apparently the Geek Squad isn’t as good at their job as secureremotesupport[dot]com is. I really appreciate their diligence on fixing my issue and suggest others think twice before contacting Geek Squad to fix their computer.

03/29/10

Not going back, Big disappointment.

by ReneeTomink at Citysearch

I took my computer to Geek Squad to have it upgraded. I was intending on giving it to my daughter for her school work and wanted it to be able to be used for that purpose. I needed a larger hard drive, more ram and a new video or graphics card. I told the young man when I brought it to them exactly what I needed. He asked if I had considered purchasing a new computer and started that dreaded sale pitch. I couldn’t even get a word in until his 5 minute presentation ended. I again told him what I wanted and nothing more when he told me that he was going to get me someone who could help me with that and he walked away in search of this person. I stood there for another 10-15 minutes waiting for his replacement to return. He never showed. I had to flag someone down and start the description process all over again with a new person. This took another 10 minutes of talking and 10 minutes of paperwork and finally I was able to leave the store. I called them a few days later, as instructed, to confirm that it was done before heading over. They informed me that it hadn’t been started yet because of the hard drive being out of stock. I then explained that when I dropped it off the hard drive I purchased from them was taken off the shelf while I was there. He said, “..uh, oh okay”, and put me on hold. I waited until another person got on the phone and explained there was a mix up and they’d get started on my computer right away and it could be picked up tomorrow. We agreed that I would call tomorrow before coming in and picking up the finished machine. I said okay and called back the next day. Again I was told it was not ready. I finally gave up and decided to pick it up and take it elsewhere. I called a couple of places, wasn’t happy with their prices (as high as Geek Squad and with no warranty). I was able to find a company called Secure Remote Support (secureremotesupport-dot-com). I found them to be pleasant, informative and very cost effective considering what I had just paid for basically nothing. I logged into their remote service with the instructions of the tech over the phone (3 minutes at the most!) Everything was as I ordered. There were no up sales, no hidden fees and no excuses thankfully (don’t know how much more I could handle of that.). It was a night and day difference between the two services. So thank you Secure Remote Support for showing me the light. Geek Squad, Get your stuff together, then offer customers your service….

03/22/10

Never again

by midgetina at Citysearch

They have had our 3 month-old HP desktop for over a month and no amount of pressure, pleading, or reason will get them to either admit they can't fix it or just return the darn thing so we can return it to HP. Promises to expedite the service the second time it went in (after they returned it the first time without fixing it), went unfulfilled. The problem is the heatsink fan started getting stuck on "high" and sounds like a blow dryer --- they have replaced the mother board twice and the processor once. This is not brain surgery. It's status has been "repair completed --being shipped back to Northgate" for the past week.. (they promised to overnite ship it, which, of course, they didn't) The so-called Geek Squad (and Best Buy) managers or supervisors are absolutely worthless. They make big promises and then dodge your phone calls for a week. My husband finally started going down to the Northgate store in person (4 times so far) and that helped only marginally. Since they are an HP-approved repair facility, we aren't thinking too highly of HP right now, either. What a pain!

• Pros: none
• Cons: poor technical skill and lousy customer service

03/15/10

Another geek Squad Victim

by Sam Brokaw at Citysearch

I am not what you consider a "computer savy" person. I can turn it on, send and receive email, and purchase to school books. About a month ago I received a call from my bank asking about some questionable purchases. I stated, "No those were not infact NOT my purchases" and was promptly sent a new card. Concerned I traced back my spending and suspected an online purchase was the source. My roommate then suggested that my pc might be infected. UGH!

With limited experience I was weary of some of the advertised computer repair services. So I called the biggest name I could find, the Geek Squad and made my appointment. The technician came to my home a couple of days later and proceeded to work on the infection. $250 dollars later, the technician finished his service thanked me for my business and left. 2 days later I get another call from my bank asking about another $900 charge for on my new card. Again I said, "No". By this time I frustrated and concerned about my rent check bouncing. I called GS to alert them to the recurring issue that their technician failed to correct. Upon calling I was rudely told I must have done something to reinfect my machine. I am 100% that it is still the same intrusion as I only use this for school. The representative was also unwilling to even consider that they didn't fix it properly and I was promptly told they could not help me any further. So I was left with a computer that is sharing my personal financial information with the world.

I started searching the web for an alternative when I found, Secure Remote Support, which offered to fix my issues for less than half the cost of the Geek Squad. Wow! I wish I would have known that before I just gave away $250. And being a college student and being on a budget, I opted for the $79.99 virus removal service. After remotely connecting to my netbook (I didn't even know that was possible), Joe hopped in the driver seat and in 2 hours my computer was operating flawlessly again. The malicious program was identified and removed and I was given the "No Fix No Pay" Guarantee. A couple of weeks have passed and I am happy to say that I have had no more strange charges to my card and the issue my PC had are no longer mine. :) Thank you secure remote support.