Geek Squad







Seriously?

I know a few hapless lost suckers, er, souls who do.

I do know someone that paid them for laptop HD install.

What do you think the value is of having a person coming to your home and performing a service? Whether it be a computer tech, a plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc. Everyone has to make a living. Paying $130 for someone to come to your home is not so outrageous. I charge $85 to walk in the door for the first hour of service.

Installing memory is easy, right? Just pop open the case and insert the module. How about having to dismantle the setup becuase the wires aren't long anough to pull the case out, or having the computer buried under a mountain of paper, or having to remove the entire outer shell of the case, or removing components to get to the RAM slots, or having the system so full of dust it has to be cleaned, or having the RAM not be compatable with the motherboard, etc, etc., etc.? Many times it's not as easy as poping off a panel and inserting the module. I'll charge $85 to install RAM (it's a service call) and sometimes extra if I run into problems and it takes me a year and a day to install it

Some people will start to argue "why so high, blah blah blah". I tell them it can be done cheaper - just take your system to the store and have them install it there. That's when they realize the value of having someone come to their house.

The price of computer equipment is so low these days that it really makes little sense to hire labor to do something (expensive) when you can buy a whole new system from Dell (cheap).

I agree with everything you're saying, but my point is why would anyone pay this much for the Geek Squad when they can just call someone legit like you for less?

same reason people call roto-rooter instead of the local plumber?

Marketing and not knowing who else to call would be my guess.

And how much would you have to pay to get the data you need transfered, the printer you bought ages ago hooked up, and that software that is "used everyday and can't live without it" CD is lost. $85 /h times at LEAST two hours, rebuy software, download printer drivers over 56K, etc
Eh?
Lots of people seem to forget that part when such comments are made, just because you can do it on your own doesn't mean everyone else can.

You said it! Why does anyone call a service professional when they can go to the store, buy the materials and do it themselves? Because they don't know how or don't have the time.

Yesterday I was on a call where someone purchased a linksys router and was trying to enable the wireless features. 6 hours were spent on the phone between Linksys, the computer support line, and the broadband provider. I came in and had the wireless up and running within 20 minutes. Afterwards I updated the antivirus software and cleaned out 190 virus infected files along with adware & spyware. I also performed a disk cleanup and defrag. Total time spent on-site was close to 2 hours. I billed for 2 hours and the guy questioned me because he didn't think it was enough! Now that's the kind of client that I love.

He might have expected you to ask what site he visited to get all those issues.

Heh that's true, didn't think of that.

I was thinking more of the sort of scenario where you pay somebody 100 bucks to install more RAM, 100 bucks to install a bigger hard drive, 100 bucks to remove viruses and install adware, plus whatever the hardware and software actually costs. In that type of case, these days with the price of computers, it makes more sense to view computers as disposable, and buy a new computer with more RAM and a bigger HD already installed, and then pay someone 1-200 bucks to just transfer your old data or install drivers for your printer.

A few years back, Ford gave a free computer system to the line workers at the now closed Explorer assembly plant. My brother ask me to find free internet for a couple of white trash friends and a coke dealing FoMoCo machinist, all losers who use to make $60,000 or more a year. My attitude was f'em and the horses they rode in on. Just can't handle folks who want something for nothing. Beside, they usually eat sh!t to save a dollar.

Go to hell kas, that's exactly the kind of thing we wanted to read in this thread

Please do not turn this into a squabble thread and keep your personal views to yourself. There is no need to be critical to others.

I agree with that. Very often I run into a system where it would be more cost effective to replace rather than repair. I have one of these systems sitting on my floor right now - a computer purchased from a local shop about 4 years ago. Cheap components were used, one being the power supply. The power supply blew and took the motherboard with it. Now, do I repair the system for a few hundred or recommend a new tower? Easy choice - new tower.

I do need to mention that I sometimes run into these diehards who will pay to keep their old systems running. I got this guy with machines in his office going on 8 years old. In the last year I've replaced power supplies, CPU fans & hard drives and each time he calls I tell him to purchase new systems, but he doesn't want to hear it. On my invoices I always write "recommended replacement - repair done at customer request".

Alan probably also runs in a 'false' TCO on the software side. That is, in a few small office and home businesses there is a habit of buying one copy of an Office Suite and installing it on six machines. Alan comes across as a professional and I just can't see him looking the other way. Usually where there is eight year old computers, either they replaced an old one (lots of hands wringing) or a client/vendors wants to do a project on the current version of MS Word.

Even calling Roto-Rotor has become a game for homeowners in my area. Most houses were built with clay pipes that ran to the sewer line under the street. Over time, tree roots too often broken through the clay pipe and caused a blockage. Through a yearly fee on the property taxes, the local city now reimburse most of the costs for replacing the old sewage pipe with a plastic one. So first request often is can you put the camera down in the pipe and look for tree roots. For a couple hundreds spent, save over a thousand.

DS's client billing rate is $125 an hour...I think his F&F rate is $75...

No offence but he has F&F rate?
Maybe you can start billing him at $100/h "being a mom fee"
I was raised that friends and families are priceless, I offer my skills for free for all close friends and family even though I charge $80/h for businesses.
Now if it's for F&F's business, I might consider charging but for personal support on personal stuff I'd never charge F&F, and I don't have to, they pay me a lot more than $80/h with their love and support.

He had to start charging F&F to get some piece and quiet...We trade off/he takes care of my computer and I get to babysit DGS ...his only sibling who cares about computers has a wife who works for a computer repairman...so no problem within family...it's the "friends," and more often the "friends of friends" (most all his true friends are very computer savvy) that drive him up the wall...

Ughh, friends of freind is the worst!!
Last week I get a call from friend of friend, her Sony laptop died.
I take classes 3 times a week after work so I tell her Tuesday night is the only day she can come.
Then she tells me she doesn't have car so her friend will have to drive her but her friend has class that night.
Helllo! Not MY problem. So, we make appointment on 7 pm on Tuesday anyway, cause I noticed she could take the metro here.
I'm stuck at site at 7 pm but try to get out as soon as possible to make it back not so late.
Past 7 but no calls from her yet. Then at 7:40, yes, 40 minutes LATE she calls me and asks if she can come over.
You would think she is at the metro station? Nope, at her home, she wants to leave now, and get here at 8:30.
Geez some people...I tell her no way, I have appointment at 8:30. Then she has the nerve to ask me how about Friday night!
I tell her I have to see and to call me back, but not call back as of yet.
I'm not picking up my phone if she does cal me though, screw that!

For me F&F is a judgement call. Most of the time I don't charge, unless it starts taking a large amount of time.

I have friends of my parents close by and I've known them since I was a child. When they call on me I don't charge them, but they insist on paying me. Last time it was a nominal charge of $50. A few weeks later I get a call from a friend of theirs (inkjet printer problem). I tell him it would be more cost effective to buy a new printer than to have me come over and try to fix it. He tells me he's gladly pay the $50 to have me come over I then had to explain the the $50 was the family & friend's rate and it's not extended to friends of friends. Moral of the story - if I'm going to charge F&F it's the full fee - no discounts.

anyone know how much compusa charges for inhome? I thought they were higher than bb.

Here ya go: http://www.compusa.com/tech_services/techk...gist_mobile.asp

Alan, thanks for explaining all that- I also had a big misconception on how valuable those services really are. I see now that it may seem expensive, but in perspective they are pretty reasonable.

I've been doing it for free to my friends and their friends. And I have to visit them.

Thanks for the understanding. I'm charging now, or refer them to Geek.

in my world, we call these favors. to us computer nerds, it's a simple task. to them, it's the hardest thing in the world. but by providing this favor, you can ask for a favor from them later on, something that is usually simpler for them, but hard for you.

//krunk (^_^x)

comparative advantage barter

The only problem I have with the prices is that some of the guys have no idea what they are doing. But from what I understand taht is changing and GS is more selective.

For example a kid I know could not get on the internet. He said he got an IP listed from ipconfig (not the default windows one) but he couldn't not access the network. He spent 2 hours with GS trying to get it fixed and couldn't. First thing I looked for was a proxy being set. It was and it was an invalid one.

Here's PCMag's review of Geek Squad:

Link

And their top pick, YourTechOnline:

Link


They didn't seem to happy with Geek Squad. Apparently, once you get past their marketing and humor, the service isn't that great. The thing about YTO that sounds really good is the remote access. As long as you don't mind giving someone control of your system, this is great for Grandma types who find it difficult to navigate their system based purely on instructions. Of course, these are just for non-install issues.

Still $40 for 30 minutes or $70 for 60 minutes. Alan what do you charge on an hourly rate for software/malware type issues?

Typically $85/hr. and sometimes a flat rate - it all depends.

Interesting review of those support services. Hey, ever walk into BB and see the people working for the Geek Squad behind the counter? Some don't look too swift and I think anyone with a bit of experience wouldn't be working for them to begin with.

As for these call services, I think they all wind up in a call center. One of them is near me and I was offered a job there a few years ago. $9-$12/hr., 12 hour shifts, 4 days on, 3 days off. They handle tech support calls for a number of firms. I got the impression that they'll hire almost anyone with some basic PC knowledge and the ability to read off a screen.

I recently had a conversation with a company wanting me to resell some of their equipment. It sounded interesting until our discussion about support & service. Basically this company would sell me the equipment at a specific price and I could resell & install for whatever price I wanted, but they also wanted me to sell the client a support contract which they would handle. I asked him where he was getting the labor and he said that he was hiring college kids in the area - computer majors - that he'd send out for support calls. I'd imagine this is similar to what GS does, but I can't be certain about that. I turned him down BTW.

I noticed that immediately as well. It was scary!

Around my area, the poster child is Convergys for the "screwy" call center. Usually, I can look through the help wanted section and there a good chance the company is hiring. This isn't a major hub for this type of work; except for the Master Card call center. I can't decide if the constant turnover(s) are due to workers being pushed hard or the pay stagnates (do pay bonuses) far below the so-called averaged hourly rate.