As Part 1 of this exercise was the first time I have actually aired my grievances with the Geek Squad (aside from my recounting the latest developments to my coworkers, family, & friends), I wanted to see how others were faring with their services.
From what I have found online through the resources provided for Week 2, it seems that the overall consensus is split. Some praise the Geek Squad while others share my disdain. Most of the resources discuss the Geek Squad in general while Yelp was the only site where I found specific mention of the Emeryville branch. I found How Sociable? to be the most helpful & informative in my search as it provides the statistics regarding any mentions (the good, the bad, & the ugly) of the Geek Squad as well as links to the specific sites.
On the Geek Squad homepage the company encourages customers to "follow us" via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Twelpforce. In checking out these various resources I noticed that any two-sided communication between the agents & the customers mostly takes place through the Facebook page and Twelpforce. However, Twelpforce appears to be a more general Best Buy service rather than that of the Geek Squad specifically. The Geek Squad does have a Twitter account but it appears to mainly consist of advertisements & brief tidbits of information that is deemed newsworthy. Geek Squad posts a mix of videos on the YouTube account. Some of the videos are meant to amuse viewers while others consist of an agent(s) giving do-it-yourself advice on issues customers might face. The latest video has an agent named William advising customers on how to react/respond to any Gawker passwords they might have that have been compromised by hackers.
When customers posted recent questions to the Facebook page more often than not an agent with the initials of AP would respond with a word of advice in a very timely manner. Many times the advice would mainly take the form of encouraging the customer to contact or visit their local Geek Squad location. When customers would express their dissatisfaction with the level of service they had received and/or are receiving AP's timely response would include an apology as well as an e-mail request for the customer's name, phone number, purchase plan, and a service order number. AP would also say that he/she would look into it ASAP. While the "conversations" I saw on Facebook are somewhat encouraging I was disappointed but, unfortunately, not all that surprised that the communications through the other social media tools seem to be far less reciprocal & rather superficial.
Showing posts with label Geek Squad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geek Squad. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Exercise #1, Part 1: Geek Squad
For our first exercise, I've selected Geek Squad particularly because they have been the bane of my existence for the last month or so. Part 1 will mainly be the back story while Part 2 will be the actual exercise.
My story begins on January 12 when I dropped my laptop off at the Emeryville Best Buy (where I purchased the product). A few days earlier my laptop had started crashing & it had actually reached the point where I was unable to even start it in safe mode. Normally, I'd have my computer expert brother take care of it but he was out of town so I figured I'd leave it in the capable hands of the Geek Squad instead. After the agent was also unable to start it in safe mode we decided that I would pay them $130 to try and save everything on my computer but get rid of the problem & if they were unable to do so as a last resort they would erase and re-install the operating system, etc. The agent told me that it would be 5-7 days until the repairs would be completed and my laptop would be in working condition, in some form or another.
When January 19 (a week later) rolled around & I had yet to hear from them I called to check on the status. I was told that it was taking longer than expected & that it would be a few more days. Upon hearing that I had been told that the repairs would take 5-7 days I was told by the second agent that it is usually 7+ days.
On January 23, when I had still yet to hear back from them I called again. I was told that the laptop was still pulling up a black screen rather than the desktop & that within the next few hours they'd make the decision as to whether or not they would need to erase and re-install everything rather than continue attempting to save everything. However, I seriously think that they did not really even look at it let alone tinker with it until that day. A few hours later, the agent I had spoken with called me back (the one & only time I received a call from them throughout this whole ordeal). He said that it was actually an issue with the motherboard & that, with my permission, they would send it to an off-site facility & that it would be 2-4 weeks before it would be ready for pick-up. As it had already been almost 2 weeks since I had dropped it off I was not very pleased with this news but also wanted them to do whatever they needed to do to get it back in working shape.
On February 4, I was checking the status of the service order online & noticed that my laptop had supposedly arrived back at the store on the 2nd & that it had been ready for pick-up since that date. However, I had never received any notification from the Geek Squad. I immediately called the store & was informed that there were still a few finishing touches that needed to be made & that it should be ready the following day, the 5th. He also told me several times that I would receive a call from an agent letting me know that it was ready. Well, the 5th came & went & I never heard from them. On the 6th, I called AGAIN & was told that the laptop was finally ready for pick-up.
Yesterday, the 7th, I got a ride from a friend & went to pick it up. The agent brought out the laptop & had me sign some final paperwork. As I was doing this he casually mentioned that the operating system was corrupted & that I would need to re-install it. I, unfortunately, no longer have the disc that would allow me to do this so I asked if it could be done in the store. Mind you, I was pretty much stupefied that they would be giving the laptop back to me though there was still a pretty big issue with it. The agent told me that for the price of $130 they could do it for me but that it would take 5 or so more days. I explained that I had already paid $130 when I dropped it off & that there was no way that I would be doing it again. He checked their records & saw that this was so & said he'd also see if they could perhaps rush things along since I had been without the computer for so long. After talking to his cronies in the back I was told that I did not have to pay any additional costs (as I had already paid them) & that it would be done in 4 hours. He then told me that he would personally call me to let me know when it was ready. Well, this morning when I had not heard anything from him or any other agent I yet again called for an update. Today's agent told me that it is indeed ready for pick-up. I will be going tomorrow with my friend to attempt to pick it up again & will be turning it on in the presence of the Geek Squad agent to make sure that this is the end of this saga.
My story begins on January 12 when I dropped my laptop off at the Emeryville Best Buy (where I purchased the product). A few days earlier my laptop had started crashing & it had actually reached the point where I was unable to even start it in safe mode. Normally, I'd have my computer expert brother take care of it but he was out of town so I figured I'd leave it in the capable hands of the Geek Squad instead. After the agent was also unable to start it in safe mode we decided that I would pay them $130 to try and save everything on my computer but get rid of the problem & if they were unable to do so as a last resort they would erase and re-install the operating system, etc. The agent told me that it would be 5-7 days until the repairs would be completed and my laptop would be in working condition, in some form or another.
When January 19 (a week later) rolled around & I had yet to hear from them I called to check on the status. I was told that it was taking longer than expected & that it would be a few more days. Upon hearing that I had been told that the repairs would take 5-7 days I was told by the second agent that it is usually 7+ days.
On January 23, when I had still yet to hear back from them I called again. I was told that the laptop was still pulling up a black screen rather than the desktop & that within the next few hours they'd make the decision as to whether or not they would need to erase and re-install everything rather than continue attempting to save everything. However, I seriously think that they did not really even look at it let alone tinker with it until that day. A few hours later, the agent I had spoken with called me back (the one & only time I received a call from them throughout this whole ordeal). He said that it was actually an issue with the motherboard & that, with my permission, they would send it to an off-site facility & that it would be 2-4 weeks before it would be ready for pick-up. As it had already been almost 2 weeks since I had dropped it off I was not very pleased with this news but also wanted them to do whatever they needed to do to get it back in working shape.
On February 4, I was checking the status of the service order online & noticed that my laptop had supposedly arrived back at the store on the 2nd & that it had been ready for pick-up since that date. However, I had never received any notification from the Geek Squad. I immediately called the store & was informed that there were still a few finishing touches that needed to be made & that it should be ready the following day, the 5th. He also told me several times that I would receive a call from an agent letting me know that it was ready. Well, the 5th came & went & I never heard from them. On the 6th, I called AGAIN & was told that the laptop was finally ready for pick-up.
Yesterday, the 7th, I got a ride from a friend & went to pick it up. The agent brought out the laptop & had me sign some final paperwork. As I was doing this he casually mentioned that the operating system was corrupted & that I would need to re-install it. I, unfortunately, no longer have the disc that would allow me to do this so I asked if it could be done in the store. Mind you, I was pretty much stupefied that they would be giving the laptop back to me though there was still a pretty big issue with it. The agent told me that for the price of $130 they could do it for me but that it would take 5 or so more days. I explained that I had already paid $130 when I dropped it off & that there was no way that I would be doing it again. He checked their records & saw that this was so & said he'd also see if they could perhaps rush things along since I had been without the computer for so long. After talking to his cronies in the back I was told that I did not have to pay any additional costs (as I had already paid them) & that it would be done in 4 hours. He then told me that he would personally call me to let me know when it was ready. Well, this morning when I had not heard anything from him or any other agent I yet again called for an update. Today's agent told me that it is indeed ready for pick-up. I will be going tomorrow with my friend to attempt to pick it up again & will be turning it on in the presence of the Geek Squad agent to make sure that this is the end of this saga.
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