This is not just sad, it’s downright scary.  

For the research, they modified a computer to simulate a common hardware failure. Then they called in the geeks. The result? Only three of the ten technicians who saw the machine managed to correctly diagnose the problem.

What can you do to keep yourself from being taken? Do your research. Ask for recommendations. Check credentials. Ask questions… and get a second opinion when necessary.

Not all home repair technicians are bad. Some of the smaller operations (or ONE man operations) are the best you’ll find in the business. However, just be careful. Know who you’re talking to and letting into your home… and giving access to your sensitive information on your pc.

Watch These Videos!

Manufacturers, Big Box Stores, and the Geeks!

The truth about Manufacturers, big retailers (such as Best Buy, CompUSA, or circuit City), and the geek computer repair places (Geeks On Call, Geek Squad)

Manufacturers like Dell, HP, Toshiba, and retailers like Comp USA, Best Buy or Circuit City are in the business of selling computers.  They would much rather sell you a new laptop computer than fix your broken laptop.  They are not set up to devote the time and expertise it takes to isolate problems with you laptop.  They do not have the ability to isolate problems down to the component level.  Call ‘Geeks On Call’ and ask them if they can fix a broken power connector on a laptop.  I called them myself, they told me to send it back to the manufacturer.

How to find the best computer company! 

Computer

SirKnight vbmenu_register(“postmenu_193431″, true);

Join Date: 03 November 2005 Location: Bowling Green, KY Posts: 1,025

Repair from Hell

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Okay so my laptop started acting up 2 weeks ago. It kept trying to switch to battery power when I had it plugged into the wall. I finally got tired of jiggling the cord and other stupid things you do when an electronic is acting up. So I took it back to Best Buy where I bought it. They told me they would have to send it away to Gateway, who made it. Fine, just do what you have to do. Flash forward to yesterday. My laptop still hasn’t been fixed and no one can tell me why. The rep I talked to on the phone, forwarded this to another rep who “escalated” the problem to Gateway. Now I’m waiting on a phone call that no one told me could be sometime in the next 24-48 hours. I have been waiting for 2 weeks now and you can’t find out the information in 6 hours???? WTF???? I mean come on I’ve been patient. I’ve been kind. I’m losing patience and if you don’t tell me what the Hell is going on soon I’m going to come in there and blow your face up with a bazooka. GAHHHHHHHHHow to locate a great computer technician!

What you should know before you call a geek in to fix your computer

Their dorky company names and their cute little cars give off an air of friendly, helpful competence. But do the people who make computer house calls actually know what they’re doing? As Erica Johnson’s hidden-camera investigation reveals, most of the time the answer is “no.”

With the help of experts from Humber College Institute, we modified a computer to simulate a common hardware failure. Then we called in the nerds. The result? Only three of the ten technicians who saw our machine managed to correctly diagnose the problem.

Watch These Videos!

According to research conducted by CBC News, only 3 out of 10 technicians who may come to your home actually know what they are doing. This is not just sad, it’s downright scary.

How to Find a Good Computer Repair Person in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia

What can you do to keep yourself from being taken? Do your research. Ask for recommendations. Check credentials. Ask questions… and get a second opinion when necessary.

Need Computer Help? Does Your Computer Do This??? We can help!

If I had taken the advice of the repair shop, the tab would have been up to between $1100 to $1200 to back up data, check for spyware, and install a hard disk. For $200 to $300 less than that, I just bought a whole new Core Duo laptop with 1 GB of RAM, separate graphics processor with 256 MB of RAM, and 15-inch screen.

So based on that, you tell me — who would you trust more, a used car dealer or a PC repair shop?

Honest, Reliable, Computer help!

An ex Best Buy Geek Squad service department member confesses to having gouged customers time and time again for trivial repairs.

Don’t Get Scammed On PC Repairs

The number one rule of responsible consumerism: know more about what you’re buying than the guy selling it to you. But it’s a counterintuitive one. After all, you buy based on someone’s pitch to you, that you need what he’s selling. You get something repaired with the understanding that you don’t have the knowledge to fix a problem yourself. But it’s the number one rule of consumerism for a reason: you just can’t trust the guy taking your money to be honest.

And here’s a reminder why. We got a great email from an ex Best Buy Geek Squad service department member, who confesses to having gouged customers time and time again for trivial repairs. Why? Essentially, because if he didn’t, he faced immediate termination.

Our Ex-Geek-Squad mole is repentant. Best Buy? Not at all. The email, after the jump.

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In response to the video segment “Jiffy Lube Scam Revealed (Again)” I would like to point out that the Best Buy / Geek Squad service departments are guilty of the exact same offense.I was originally hired in October 2003 and later ended my employment in April 2006 working as a Geek Squad part-time employee than the Geek Squad Senior and later as just a full-time Geek Squad employee. During my employment practices of the Geek Squad grew far more deceptive even enough to the point where I was embarrassed to be an employee and didn’t want to put that employment on my resume.

As a Geek Squad employee you are expected to meet certain budgets regardless of hours worked and complete x number of units in a day or risk immediate termination. In order to meet the budgets I constantly found that my coworkers, my senior(s), my managers and I regret to admit myself were deceiving customers. Often times I would review tickets and find that units were being checked in that suffered only from minor Windows problems that might take less than 30 minutes to complete however on the ticket they were charged for an OS repair, malware removal and tune-up which at the time cost $118. The units often only had one tracking cookie or some temp files and there was no sign of a malware problem and no need for a tune-up.

I also found that many of my co-workers would intentionally remove the customer’s anti-virus or tell that customer that in order for us to guarantee the work completed our anti-virus had to be installed. In addition to trapping many people with the threats of stolen data and virus infections causing further damage we were instructed by our managers to specifically target older customers, first time computer owners and the lesser educated.

In addition to meeting budget goals we were expected to meet total turn times of less than 24 hours and often far more units were checked in than could be completed in 24 hours. As many computer technicians know completing a malware removal takes more than 24 hours just for scans. In order to meet turn times of less than 24 hours we were told to complete work quickly, not double check our work and not complete full scans. I would say that maybe 1 outta 10 computers were completed correctly and more than half the units came back with the exact same problems more than once.

Geek Squad is guilty of many of the same infractions that plagued Jiffy Lube. As a loyal Consumerist follower I feel that I need to repay many of the favors / warnings that Consumerist has helped me with. I would be happy to provide you with any more information you need

PC Repair Rip-Off!

Need to get your PC fixed? Steer clear of the top national chains–all four fumbled on our undercover tests, and many tried to peddle costly, unneeded parts or services.

Charles Piller
From an issue of PC World magazine

People have been grousing about how much it costs to fix their PCs since the first Altair rolled out of a storefront in Albuquerque, New Mexico, more than 20 years ago. Misleading estimates, rude and occasionally dishonest technicians, and big repair bills seem to be alarmingly typical these days. But are the horror stories just isolated cases?
To find out, PC World conducted a detailed investigation of service stores. Posing as unsophisticated customers, PC World reporters in six cities tested 20 branches of four giant computer chains. After reading this article, you’ll never view computer service the same way again. Best Buy, CompUSA, Computer City, and RadioShack all have bold slogans: “You Have Questions, We Have Answers,” trumpets RadioShack. “World Class Customer Service,” boasts Computer City. The others are similarly self-assured. Do they live up to their billing? The answer affects a lot of you: These four chains are the biggest companies that repair a wide range of major-brand PCs. Each of them has a strong national presence, repairs computers not purchased in its own stores, and advertises widely. In short, each represents a primary choice for most consumers. According to the trade magazine Computer Retail Week, these chains collectively account for more than one-third of the $29 billion earned last year by the top 100 computer retailers.
And the big four provided a far greater percentage of repair services because many of the top retailers are direct-mail companies (such as Micro Warehouse) or discount houses (such as Costco) that do not repair the machines they sell.
That turns out to be bad news for consumers. Take RadioShack. In our tests, it properly fixed only two PCs in five tries; one store took 25 days to complete work and even then didn’t detect the source of the problem. Because RadioShack offers no phone support–for free or fee–perhaps it should change its slogan to the more apt “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Unfortunately, RadioShack’s dismal performance was far from unique. Stores from every chain wanted to sell us a new hard drive or motherboard (or both) to fix a problem caused by a faulty $7 cable. The common urge to prescribe costly, unneeded parts suggests that naive consumers pay dearly at thousands of stores across the country every day. And few ever realize that they are wasting their money.
Service isn’t much good unless your computer gets fixed. But the fix itself is only part of good service. We evaluated five stores from each major chain based on a combination of the key factors in the consumer experience–accuracy, quality, cost, efficiency, and helpfulness.

Service Test: Defining Our Approach
PC World doesn’t often go undercover. But that was the only way to find out how consumers were really being treated by the big chains’ repair services. Here’s how we did it: First we purchased 20 identically configured, refurbished Compaq Presario 4122 PCs–using one for each of five stores at each of the four chains. (Compaq was not consulted on our test planning or in the development of this article; this make and model was chosen merely because of its near-universal acceptance by repair shops nationwide.)
Before setting up our test problems, we verified that each system was in perfect working order. We reformatted each hard drive, then reinstalled Windows 95, along with several applications and dummy files.
How We Tested
Posing as typical consumers, we presented the following tests to the stores:
Problem 1. To test phone support, we sabotaged each PC’s display by renaming the video driver. A good tech should be able to diagnose the problem over the phone and guide a user to a solution: reinstalling the driver.
Problem 2. On 15 of the 20 systems, we damaged the IDE hard drive cable by cutting several of its internal wires. The damage was not visible, but the system wouldn’t boot. Correct solution: Replace the IDE cable. On the remaining 5 systems we disabled the CD-ROM audio by cutting the sound cable. Correct solution: Replace the cut cable.
Problem 3. We moved one SIMM in each machine to an incorrect slot, reducing usable system memory from 16MB to 8MB. We didn’t tell the technicians that the memory seemed faulty. The PCs ran so slowly, and the wrong order of the SIMMs was so easy to see, we believe a trained person should readily spot this problem.
How We Graded
We evaluated stores by measuring key factors in the consumer experience, assigning points according to relative importance. The best possible score was 100 points.
Accuracy (20 points maximum in store, 55 phone). Did the store diagnose the problem correctly and without confusion? If so, it scored big; in the few cases where a store got close enough to identifying a problem without clearly defining it, we gave partial credit.

Quality (30 points, in store only). Did the store fix the problem? This is the acid test of repair experiences, of course. Without a fix, no store was graded above F. We penalized stores that tried to sell unneeded parts or services.

Cost (20 points). Was the final bill fair and consistent with estimates? If so, we gave high marks; overcharges were penalized.

Efficiency (15 points). Did the store meet its own completion estimates? If so, we graded it high, even if the PC spent a long time in the shop. But if a store wasted our time with sluggish repairs, communication breakdowns, or long waits on hold, it lost points.

Helpfulness (10 points). Were employees instructive and courteous? If so, we gave them their due. Stores with terse, uncommunicative, impatient, or rude techs were marked down.

Misplaced SIMM (5 points, in store only). Did the store spot the problem and fix it?

We gave each store an overall grade based on these criteria, then averaged grades for the five stores within each chain to get a single letter grade as follows:
A = 90 to 100 points
B = 80 to 89 points
C = 70 to 79 points
D = 60 to 69 points
F = less than 60 points

Rampant Incompetence: Every Chain Falls Flat (chart)

Service Problems: Faulty cable and misplaced SIMM (chart)

Phone Support: Corrupted video driver

Easy Problems? Not for These Stores
We created three equipment problems (for details, see Service Test: Defining Our Approach. The first, to test phone tech support, was a corrupted video driver that degraded on-screen color. The next problem required reporters to bring PCs into the shop. Each identically configured PC had either a bad hard drive cable or a bad CD-ROM cable–easy problems to diagnose and cheap to fix. Our third problem was a misplaced SIMM, which slowed the system to a crawl.
Our findings suggest that a service visit to any of the giant chains is not for the faint of heart (for an overview, see Rampant Incompetence: Every Chain Falls Flat; for details, see Service Problemsand Phone Support Problem):

Of 55 problems tested across 20 stores, a total of 30 were misdiagnosed, ignored, or went otherwise unfixed. Best Buy and Computer City each missed on 9 of 15 tries. Given 10 problems to solve, RadioShack missed 6. CompUSA missed on 6 of 15 problems.

Only two stores fixed all three problems: the CompUSA superstores in Santa Clara, California, and Woburn, Massachusetts. And even they were not perfect. The Woburn store lost points for inefficiency and lack of helpfulness, and the Santa Clara outlet fell short for suggesting a time-wasting fix for the phone problem.

Seven of 15 stores did not meet a minimum level of acceptable service for the phone test (RadioShack doesn’t offer phone tech support). Only 3 of 5 Best Buy and 3 of 5 CompUSA stores passed–and one pass in each case was marginal. Only 2 of 5 Computer City stores passed.

Ten of 20 stores did not meet a minimum level of acceptable service for the bad cable; no chain solved the problem in more than three of five tries.

Thirteen of 20 stores failed to detect the misplaced SIMM; only CompUSA solved the problem three times; Computer City and Best Buy failed in four of five tries.

Nine of 20 stores–3 RadioShack outlets and 2 stores from each of the other chains–either replaced or tried to replace parts that were in perfect working order.

On cost, Best Buy was best, with charges as low as $20; CompUSA stayed under $100 but charged a minimum of $90. RadioShack and Computer City wanted to bill up to $720 and $605, respectively, for parts and labor we didn’t need.

Precious Few Highlights
Not all the news was bad. At least one store in every chain performed reasonably well, and in a few cases we had dream experiences–effective repairs punctuated by courtesy, efficiency, and low cost on in-store service. (Even top performers didn’t match that record for phone support, however.) CompUSA boasted one standout with its Santa Clara superstore. “They fixed the faulty hard drive cable faster than they said they would,” our reporter commented. “Didn’t even charge for the cable, and got the SIMM problem right.”
In Westminster, Colorado, Best Buy offered superb service for a disabled CD-ROM audio cable. “When I brought it in (with a crying baby, for realism),” our reporter says, “a tech checked all the settings to make sure it wasn’t just a software problem. They charged the minimum diagnostic service fee–$19.99–and threw the cable in for free.”
In phone support tests, Best Buy and Computer City were uneven when it came to helpfulness, but all except one CompUSA store treated our reporters with complete courtesy and patience. And several stores from these three chains were easily accessible by telephone. What did the best stores do right? First, they listened carefully. Then they seemed to take a methodical approach and didn’t jump to conclusions, ruling out obvious possibilities first, and then moving efficiently to the next steps.

Phone Support: A Cautionary Tale
Unfortunately for consumers, in the real world the right answer counts more than accessibility and kindness–and for phone support, right answers were hardly the norm. Only three stores–Comp-USA’s Woburn outlet, and the Best Buy stores in Westminster, Colorado, and West Covina, California–gave us outstanding service, pinpointing the problem with our driver and promptly explaining how to reinstall it. More routinely, we encountered techs who either came up with a time-consuming fix (reinstalling all software from the Compaq QuickRestore CD, which overwrites all data on the hard drive) or were simply stumped.
CompUSA’s $24.97 phone support charge may not seem onerous, except when you consider that only three of the chain’s five stores solved our problem–and two of those used the marginally acceptable QuickRestore fix. The two other chains, on the whole, were generous with their time. While Best Buy does not officially offer or charge for phone service, its techs still provided phone support when asked. But their advice failed in three of five cases. Computer City advertises a standard charge of $2.49 per minute for phone support, but four of five stores didn’t charge us. Unfortunately, a sweet deal turned sour in three cases, when suggestions from the chain’s techs didn’t help at all. The Denver outlet made matters worse, advising our reporter to delete an undamaged video driver. RadioShack’s lack of phone support means that the chain offers no way for consumers to screen a problem: A simple software glitch could send your computer to the shop for a lengthy and costly stay.

In the Shop: Litany of Errors
If you use a trusted mechanic for your car, a breakdown may still be expensive and frustrating, but at least you can be confident you’re getting a fair deal. If you take your computer to one of these four chain’s stores, you’ll often find techs who seem to have no idea what they are doing–and they do it very slowly.
Overall, RadioShack was the least effective chain–generally inefficient and unhelpful, it failed to fix our cable problem three times out of five. Not a single RadioShack store fixed both the cable and the SIMM problems. Two RadioShack stores eked out C ratings–the others flunked. Computer City scored only a bit better: Three stores passed marginally; only one of those fixed both the bad cable and the misplaced SIMM.
CompUSA and Best Buy bettered this record slightly: Nearly all their stores got strong marks for helpfulness, and two stores from each chain performed well on many aspects of the consumer experience. But the rest performed terribly: Only two CompUSA stores fixed both problems; none of the Best Buy shops did so.

* Link to actual article online if it is still available.

The Consumerist’s 3-month sting operation snared a Geek Squad technician stealing porn from our hard drive, and we’ve got the work-safe video and logfiles to prove it.UPDATE: Why We’re Not Telling Geek Squad CEO Which Agent Stole The Porn

To investigate claims by current and former Geek Squad techies (see “The 10 Page Geek Squad Confession – “Stealing Customers’ Nudie Pics Was An Easter Egg Hunt“), we loaded a computer with porn and rigged it to make a video of itself. We captured every cursor movement, every program opened, every file accessed. Everything that the user saw and did, we recorded.

We took it to less than a dozen Best Buy Geek Squads and asked them to perform simple tasks, like installing iTunes. Most places were fine, sometimes doing the job right on the counter, sometimes even for free.

Then we caught one well-seasoned Geek Squad Agent copying personal and pornographic images and video from our computer to his company-issued thumb drive (see video above, or the logfiles).

If our techie readers were right about the Geek Squad doing this, then perhaps they’re right in saying it happens at other computer repair places as well.

And by the time your computer breaks, it’s too late to hide anything you wouldn’t want someone to find, and steal for their own purposes. It might not just be the photos and videos you got online, but also the ones you made with your partner for intimate purposes. Or it could be passwords, credit card information, bank accounts. The only thing stopping a potential peeping tom is the bounds of their curiosity, and how much and how secure is the information you keep on your computer.

We advise encrypting sensitive files in advance with a program like TrueCrypt (WIN) or making an encrypted disk image (MAC, be sure to skip step 6). Or, keep it all on an external hard drive and/or zip all the files and password protect them.

Who knew that when you hand over your computer to a repair technician, you could be giving a stranger a veritable Pandora’s box?

NEXT: How To Make Your Computer Catch People Stealing Your Porns

PREVIOUSLY:
Geek Squad Confession: “Stealing Customers’ Nudie Pics Was An Easter Egg Hunt”
We’re Always Looking For Porn On Customer’s Computers, Techies Confirm

Sting Op Of 10 Different Computer Repair Companies Finds 70% Don’t Know What They’re Doing

CBC Marketplace did a kickass hidden camera investigation into computer repair companies and fourepair companies and found only 30% were able to correctly diagnose their problem.

One guy tells them they need to send their computer to a special dust-free room to retrieve the data, which would cost about $2,000. He even copies pictures from the customer’s hard drive to his computer, promising he’ll delete them later. Geek Squad makes an appearance and they don’t do a very good job either, although the Geek’s hair is admirably coiffed.

And if you like their video, you should check out ours from when we actually caught a Geek Squad tech on-camera stealing porn from our computer.

Watch-Out

Incompetent Computer Technicians are Everywhere!

I’m not even going to try to put this politely: The vast majority of computer technicians are either incompetent or crooked!

Good computer repair in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia….

It outrages me, and is an embarrassment to my industry, that something over 75% of all computer repair shops and technicians are worse than useless, and make the sleazy

auto repair shops look like the pinnacle of virtue and competence.

What you should know before you call a geek in to fix your computer

Their dorky company names and their cute little cars give off an air of friendly, helpful competence. But do the people who make computer house calls actually know what they’re doing? As Erica Johnson’s hidden-camera investigation reveals, most of the time the answer is “no.”

With the help of experts from Humber College Institute, we modified a computer to simulate a common hardware failure. Then we called in the nerds. The result? Only three of the ten technicians who saw our machine managed to correctly diagnose the problem.