- Report: #202705
Complaint Review: Best Buy Geek Squad - Anchorage Alaska
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Best Buy Geek Squad
800 E. Dimond Blvd Anchorage, 99507 Alaska, U.S.A.
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Best Buy, Geek Squad Ripoff Incompetent outright theft Anchorage Alaska
I have had two potentially horrific experiences with our local Best But (Geek Squad) computer service. On two separate occasions I have had friends call me to see if I could fix their computers after they had been taken to best buy for repair. On both occasions the technician that handled the diagnostics and subsequent repair estimates either failed to, choose not to or didn't know how to actually diagnose the problem.
Problem one was a simple matter of password recovery on an XP home computer. My friend was asked to pay approx $400.00 to backup data, reformat the drive and reload all software. I was able to boot the computer in safe mode, access the system under the admin account and reset the password in less than five minutes. This would have been a $50.00 service call had I charged them the current rate from my company.
Problem two concerned two cd/dvd drives that Windows XP Pro would detect but not load all the drivers for. Best Buy stated the problem was a "security issue" and that the drives had been "compromised". They offered to backup, reformat and reload for a price of $350.00. The actual problem was caused by filter drivers that pertain to windows own cd burning software and the registry fix took 15 minutes on the internet to track down and all of 5 seconds to perform. Again only a $50.00 service fee.
The folks running the Geek Squad have no interest in how to diagnose and repair computers. All they seem to care about is making up a BS story the consumer will accept and then separating them from their money.
Scott
Anchorage, Alaska
U.S.A.
Problem one was a simple matter of password recovery on an XP home computer. My friend was asked to pay approx $400.00 to backup data, reformat the drive and reload all software. I was able to boot the computer in safe mode, access the system under the admin account and reset the password in less than five minutes. This would have been a $50.00 service call had I charged them the current rate from my company.
Problem two concerned two cd/dvd drives that Windows XP Pro would detect but not load all the drivers for. Best Buy stated the problem was a "security issue" and that the drives had been "compromised". They offered to backup, reformat and reload for a price of $350.00. The actual problem was caused by filter drivers that pertain to windows own cd burning software and the registry fix took 15 minutes on the internet to track down and all of 5 seconds to perform. Again only a $50.00 service fee.
The folks running the Geek Squad have no interest in how to diagnose and repair computers. All they seem to care about is making up a BS story the consumer will accept and then separating them from their money.
Scott
Anchorage, Alaska
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Tim
Federal Way,Washington,
U.S.A.
That doesn't surprise me
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Tue, July 25, 2006
The problem with Best Buy and the service department is unlike the competition they have chosen not to have service technicians that are A+ certified or Network + certified mandatory before hiring. In fact they probably use techs that have no electronics background as well. A + and Network + are certifications used for computer repair (A+) and Network setup and repair (Network +). The particular store I worked at didn't have that problem and had a good service reputation as a result of that. Not everyone on staff had it but about 1/3 of them did. I was a seasonal employee who was certified (A+). They knew it when they hired me but chose not to keep me around after the holidays. I even wore an A+ pin on my nametag as well. It is a good idea to ask before getting your computer serviced. (((ROR REDACTED NAME OF COMPETITOR))) doesn't hire techs unless they have passed A+ at the minimum. sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company your comments on this policy are welcome! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
Tim
Federal Way,Washington,
U.S.A.
That doesn't surprise me
#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Tue, July 25, 2006
The problem with Best Buy and the service department is unlike the competition they have chosen not to have service technicians that are A+ certified or Network + certified mandatory before hiring. In fact they probably use techs that have no electronics background as well. A + and Network + are certifications used for computer repair (A+) and Network setup and repair (Network +). The particular store I worked at didn't have that problem and had a good service reputation as a result of that. Not everyone on staff had it but about 1/3 of them did. I was a seasonal employee who was certified (A+). They knew it when they hired me but chose not to keep me around after the holidays. I even wore an A+ pin on my nametag as well. It is a good idea to ask before getting your computer serviced. (((ROR REDACTED NAME OF COMPETITOR))) doesn't hire techs unless they have passed A+ at the minimum. sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company your comments on this policy are welcome! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.
