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Specialized ProfessionIamA (Geek Squad "Repair Agent") AMA! (self.IAmA)

geeksquaddude が 投稿

My short bio: Worked at Best Buy as a Geek Squad ARA, which stands for "Advanced Repair Agent" I am here to answer any and all questions about geek squad and best buy!

My Proof: http://i.imgur.com/Q5mQaCx.jpg

EDIT: Geeksquad does look very good on a resume, and in my opinion is a very good place to start! My comments and experience are from 1 precinct. What bugs me about Geeksquad is mainly how they treat their customers

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[–]Im__Bruce_Wayne__AMA 29ポイント30ポイント  (25子コメント)

What's the most bizarre request you got from someone?

[–]geeksquaddude[S] 70ポイント71ポイント  (24子コメント)

Oh this is easy! We have this very unique lady who would come in at least 6 times a month. Every time she came in she would ask us strange things one of them was to remove the "internet GPS locator" embedded on the motherboard. An another was to reformat her computers hard drive to protect against a man that was trying to "Hack Her"

[–]Trogdor34 26ポイント27ポイント  (13子コメント)

As a former geek squad CA, just out of curiosity.. which store did you work for? You can pm me the store number if you want...because the one with the lady having a guy "hack her" constantly sounds like someone from our precinct.

[–]DarbyMcgraw 64ポイント65ポイント  (0子コメント)

Nice try, Best Cops

[–]Dodahevolution 8ポイント9ポイント  (1子コメント)

Ex CA/ARA every precinct was like that

[–]TheDreamerofWorlds 3ポイント4ポイント  (1子コメント)

Wait... is this a common thing? We have an older gentleman that does the SAME THING at our store.

[–]geeksquaddude[S] 9ポイント10ポイント  (5子コメント)

I worked at a pretty big store in California

[–]Deadmeat553 34ポイント35ポイント  (1子コメント)

Was it in Burbank?

Are you a secret agent for the US government?

[–]arkangelz66 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

If you ever want to save the world again, you know where I am.

[–]PHILLYPHANv2 9ポイント10ポイント  (1子コメント)

Chuck?

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      [–]ta7001337 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

      Oh wow I actually had one of those too, saying that some dude was constantly hacking her and trying to ruin her business. She even went as far as buying a new computer once or twice. And each time she'd come back, and asking us to report anything suspicious and keeping evidence backed up on a DVD so she'd still have proof after we formatted the hard drive. I was working at a Canadian store in the East, so it can't be the same one. I guess there are similarly crazy people everywhere.

      [–]LordGrac 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

      To be fair, some mobos (though usually only on laptops) do have Lojack built in, and Lojack can be used to physically locate a device. Locack is intentionally very difficult to locate, or even identify, and remove.

      [–]Nzash 6ポイント7ポイント  (2子コメント)

      And then you go and take her money while not doing anything, but pretending to have fixed it I assume?

      [–]kinglooper 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

      Unplugged the Ethernet cable, you are hereby not being tracked with this computer

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        [–]theregisterednerd 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Sleeper CIA here, I've had very similar encounters at my precinct. Particularly two ladies quite clearly on meth. Those were always fun...

        [–]kerred 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

        Same deal. Man paranoid of downstairs neighbor constantly hacking. Couldn't help. My wife has the degree in psychology, not me :(

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          [–]Fractal_Death 114ポイント115ポイント  (66子コメント)

          I had a terrible experience with Best Buy about 5 years ago, and now think they are the epitome of scum. Would you agree with me?

          Oh, and paging /u/Fuck_Best_Buy.

          [–]Fuck_Best_Buy 270ポイント271ポイント  (39子コメント)

          Let's fuck shit up.

          [–]geeksquaddude[S] 63ポイント64ポイント  (37子コメント)

          Lets reveal the worst parts of best buy

          [–]XTheDevistatorX 14ポイント15ポイント  (36子コメント)

          I think you did by posting this. You sound like a terrible Agent and terrible employee. I always find it funny when people blame their jobs for their shitty work ethic and attitude. Most people don't realize, you may get you're "big-boy" job at some point. But you'll probably be a shitty employee No matter where you work. Jobs aren't shitty, people's attitudes are.

          [–]Some_Dude_ 70ポイント71ポイント  (25子コメント)

          *Your

          Poor work environments (poor any environments, really) will foster poor attitude. If you don't realize creating a poor environment is going to cause your employees to care less about their job, and will breed shitty work ethics and attitude, i hope you never have people that work under you.

          [–]geeksquaddude[S] 17ポイント18ポイント  (4子コメント)

          THIS!

          Our managers would have us stay after the store closes and he would tell us to clockout and help, because our department could not afford overtime

          [–]stafekrieger 12ポイント13ポイント  (0子コメント)

          That is when you tell him that is illegal, and then they fire you, and then you sue.

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              [–]T_T_O_P 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

              The work environment really can make a big difference.

              [–]geeksquaddude[S] 2ポイント3ポイント  (3子コメント)

              I have to disagree with you. When I was first hired as an ARA, I really enjoyed it. I found the work I did fun. But slowly the precinct I was working for became more and more greedy. My managers started pushing me to sell more tech support service. I find it disgusting that we charge someone so much money to back up data, and to restore a computer 120$? Really? Before we are allowed to repair which the cost of that is 100$ We must charge them for a diagnostic which is 70$ I like to think I had a great work ethic. Everytime a client needed help I would offer it to them, bosses were always behind my back telling me to "make her buy tech support" or "Tell him his motherboard is bad" I really want to expose how greedy and selfish Geek Squad is. They constantly rip off uninformed customers. I left voluntarily and during my last few weeks there, I started doing free data backups, and even showed customers how to restore the computers themselves. I don't believe anyone should be charged 200$ to have a computer fixed. Especially when all the tools we use can be downloaded on line for free

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                  [–]geeksquaddude[S] 16ポイント17ポイント  (25子コメント)

                  I completely agree with you

                  [–]UnsureSherlock 38ポイント39ポイント  (24子コメント)

                  Ok, actual ARA (See "Repair Agent" by OP) here.

                  First off, this dude is what other agents would generally refer to as "useless" and probably doesn't have any actual background repairing machines, or even any sort of drive to do so. These tend to be the worst agents; the ones that come in not even having enough knowledge to pass an A+ test.

                  There are a lot of these ARAs, and they're generally regarded as the jokes, but we have to fill hours and since there's always at least one very knowledgeable ARA on staff at each store (generally speaking) we usually have these guys run automated backups, automated virus scans and general cleanups. Geek Squad Agents have in their disposal tools prebuilt for them that they can run from a bootable USB/DVD. Because these tools oftentimes work, they get a little too big in the head and think they're great.

                  But if you ask them to try and even partition and set up a disk using DISKPART, they're clueless. They're the same people that won't be able to understand why trying to install Windows 7 from a USB stick on a 3.0 port won't work unless you load the driver in as well (Win7 did not have standard drivers for 3.0. So the installer would load after POST into RAM, but then not be able to access the actual installer files on the USB stick) Please don't take this person as an end-all be-all for Geek Squad, they're the lowest common denominator and with his attitude, I would assume that he wouldn't be in a store doing too well in NPS (Net Promoter score. It's tied with our Turn Time for how we are scored). My store is in the top (at least last month). Turn time was consistently below 2 days, no matter the job, and 90% NPS (meaning 9/10 people were satisfied with the service)

                  EDIT: That's not how NPS is calculated. The store is currently 90%, I know that. But I'm totally off on how that number comes about. Scroll down in comments to see how it actually is.

                  If anyone is interested, I'd do an AMA as well from the perspective of one of the Geek Squad stores that actually try to help their customers, bend rules to make them happy, and perform up to snuff instead of being a bunch of pretenders. I'll answer any questions about procedures, policies, and anything else by how Geek Squad actually does it, and not how a lazy person who doesn't invest any effort into their job does it. Having knowledge is one thing, but actively giving a shit about what you do and putting your all into it is the difference between someone who thinks their company is shitty and writes AMAs bashing a company, and someone who tries to make things better by teaching others and having principles.

                  [–]Jeffde 7ポイント8ポイント  (1子コメント)

                  Lol 90% NPS does not equal 9/10 customers satisfied.

                  NPS is the ranking system based upon the question "how likely are you to recommend xxx to a friend or family member" and the score is calculated as follows: % of responses scored 9 and 10 - % of responses scored 6 or below.

                  Example: if 9 responses were a 10 and 1 was a 6, your NPS is 80. (90%-10%=80)

                  2nd example: if 8 are 10's and 1 is an 8 and 1 is a 6, your NPS is a 70 (80%-10%=70)

                  Source: NPS Wizard

                  [–]Snowy1234 6ポイント7ポイント  (3子コメント)

                  I have my own business fixing domestic PCs, much of which involves providing assistance after a Geek squad/PCWorld rebuild.

                  I actually advertise post-geek squad assistance.

                  For most customers it's a harrowing experience. Usually the machine is improperly updated, missing drivers, missing files, "sorry we lost your wedding pics", mis-configured antivirus, unnecessary hardware upgrades, unnecessary shelfware (usually graphics or backup software) unnecessary windows licence, unnecessary upgrade to windows 8 to "solve problems", etc etc.

                  Yesterday's was pretty good. Old lady who only does Internet gaming had her hard drive upgraded with a 2TB sata disk. Plus, there was nothing wrong with her existing drive. It just needed windows 7 reinstalling.

                  Customers need to use a family member, if that's an option. Otherwise use a local independant.

                  [–]Anonymonynonymous 1ポイント2ポイント  (1子コメント)

                  Oh thank you for that tip about 3.0, that explains a lot.

                  [–]geeksquaddude[S] 2ポイント3ポイント  (6子コメント)

                  We have 3 ARAs in the precinct, One of them only wanted to run AJU and restore computers all day. I loved the first few months of my job, and I do have plenty of experience repairing computers. I am now A+ certified and currently trying to obtain other CompTIA certs. I'm sure some precincts are better than the one I have worked for. But my point is how Geek Squad tries to make its money. Lying to customers to make a sale is how no business should run

                  [–]UnsureSherlock 4ポイント5ポイント  (5子コメント)

                  Well first thing's first: I applaud you for trying to go for your other CompTIA certs. They're not much, but can get you into the private sector where the better money is faster than almost anything else. N+ is next. If you really want to make dough (and are patient and willing to read a fuckload) get your Cisco certs. It's hell, but will raise your salary around 10-20k a year.

                  To the other parts: There are always going to be shitty ARAs at every store. Not to be rude, but your attitude doesn't seem to say that you want to improve their knowledge, or find more willing participants to improve the company. It sounds like you've accepted the state of things and just want to bash the company vs. improve it.

                  When I first started working at Geek Squad, there were 3 other ARAs (my store is very high traffic).

                  One girl who didn't know what she was doing, so just did open certified box work (and was completely unwilling to learn the repair side of things)

                  One guy that just restored everything, and if presented with having to do something as simple as a data transfer, would just copy the entire directory of C: to a new HDD and wonder why the thing would either A: not boot or B: wouldn't load a user profile. No matter how many times I informed him that transferring the entirety of the AppData directory was a bad idea, he did it anyways.

                  And one other girl that was willing to learn whatever I threw at her since I came from the private sector. (Transferred to Geek Squad for part time hours since I went back to Uni)

                  I was the new guy, but still came in with a decent amount of knowledge. Instead of accepting the state of the precinct and their fucked up ways of doing things, I took responsibility and talked about the fucked up things I had seen with my Manager. She agreed with me on a lot of things, and wanted me to keep an eye on how things looked while actively coaching. Within 2 months, the girl who didn't want to learn, and just did certified didn't get hours anymore (since technically an OA can do that work anyways, and she got paid as an ARA, wasting money and MY hours). The guy who fucked up every machine got caught stealing shit after things got tight for him. The manager noticed how inept he was after we went over the day to days. He knew he wouldn't be around much longer, stole over a grand in merch, and eventually got arrested.

                  The other girl learned a lot, got her cert, and has since moved on.

                  I'm not saying all this to seem like I'm this bigshot, because I'm not in any way. Half my friends went to private I.T. companies and know WAY more than I do. But now I had a hand in hiring ARAs that are willing to try to do their best, and it shows with our numbers. We don't charge customers for things they don't need, because we don't need to with the traffic we pull. If I'm away for 3 days, I'm not worried that I'll be coming back in to a complete clusterfuck.

                  As for the ripping people off thing: I'm on the fence about that. Is it a little pricey? Yes. But go to any EasyTech at a Staples, and see the difference in knowledge. For 200$ at GeekSquad, you get 3 computers covered for a year, and no matter how many times you bring them in, you'll only pay to replace hardware if necessary or Data backups (we hold customers accountable to backing up their data)

                  To me, that's actually pretty fair. 3 computers for one year, 200 dollars, and we'll keep cleaning up your viruses, reconfigure anything how you want it, and fix the constant windows 8.1 update bootlooping issues or whatever the fuck else you throw at us.

                  [–]geeksquaddude[S] 3ポイント4ポイント  (3子コメント)

                  Like I said maybe my precinct was just crap. I'm glad you find it enjoyable but I can't stand seeing myself charging people that amount of money to do something they could learn. I used to teach people on the counter how to repair it, if they couldn't afford tech support.

                  I am now no longer with the company and have an amazing IT job somewhere else

                  [–]UnsureSherlock 4ポイント5ポイント  (2子コメント)

                  And I'm truly glad for you.

                  But at the same time - I'm a guy that doesn't give a shit about cars. I don't want to learn, because it doesn't interest me and my time is taken up doing other things. I wouldn't want a mechanic to bring me in and show me how to repair my car because he thinks his company is too expensive/a ripoff. I'm an informed consumer, which is everyone's own personal responsibility to be. I don't need someone taking time out of my day to try and tell me how to do it because I don't have the money at the moment. If I need to do it, I'll find a way to pay for it.

                  Charging people to do for them what they could learn by themselves is the foundation of commerce. I could learn to farm, I could learn to fix cars, I could learn any trade skill I wanted. Doesn't mean I'm going to want/care to do it.

                  A lot of people that come into Geek Squad do not give a shit about how computers work, and would rather pay the money to get it fixed than learn about it. It's what keep I.T. in business.

                  EDIT: I have no idea why people keep downvoting you. I disagree with your way of doing business, but the reason you disagree with the company is your own morals, and you're aren't being deconstructive with your posts (which is the reason you should actually downvote people :) )

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                      [–]Multivak 37ポイント38ポイント  (44子コメント)

                      What qualifications do you need to be a Geek Squad ARA?

                      [–]geeksquaddude[S] 62ポイント63ポイント  (21子コメント)

                      High School Diploma. I don't consider it a "intense job"

                      [–]kerred 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

                      I knew little about computers. Was hired because I was nice. Manager helped me get A+ Certified. Became double agent for 8 years and 3,000 homes.

                      [–]Droconian 4ポイント5ポイント  (19子コメント)

                      Was the pay decent?

                      [–]xXblain_the_monoXx 11ポイント12ポイント  (10子コメント)

                      I can answer that! Minimum pay for an agent (in illinois at least) is $11.11. It goes up fairly nicely from there. I was an in home agent when I left and was making $17.15. Not bad for only being an agent for three years.

                      [–]Traunt 6ポイント7ポイント  (4子コメント)

                      In the Midwest if you're in your 20's without kids, that's actually decent money just to yourself.

                      [–]AgentScreech 5ポイント6ポイント  (2子コメント)

                      The starting pay depends on your area. Best Buy has pay grades assigned to every position and a national average range for each grade. A Geek Squad counter agent was grade 5. Then it factors to your location. Bend, OR was +10% of average. Lynnwood, Wa was +25% (the highest possible). So if the grade 5 position was $11/hr average, then the WA store would start at $13.75.

                      I started at $13.50 because I asked for $15 back in 2005. I got to $21 + bonuses (ended up ~$55k/yr) when I was a BBYM manager. So it wasn't terrible money, but it didn't make me rich.

                      [–]emlgsh 1ポイント2ポイント  (1子コメント)

                      Around here most of the GeekSquad staff are just minimum wage floor staff who've been instructed to wear a different shirt for a few shifts and follow a very specific set of scripts.

                      [–]summer-snow 7ポイント8ポイント  (1子コメント)

                      No.

                      [–]oldgeezerguy 49ポイント50ポイント  (0子コメント)

                      It was ascent though

                      [–]Raezak_Am 1ポイント2ポイント  (1子コメント)

                      Long and slow

                      [–]maderyn 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

                      The pay for an ARA is decent. It depends on your area but the pay range is higher than a salesperson and most lead positions.

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                        [–]AgentScreech 4ポイント5ポイント  (8子コメント)

                        <---former Geek Squad Supervisor (2006-2010). You used to have to pass a pseudo-A+ exam to be an agent in the stores. A harder one for the in home guy.

                        [–]Klldarkness 8ポイント9ポイント  (10子コメント)

                        And don't bother applying with any real qualifications, either. Cute blond with no experience, but big tits was hired right next to me, with my college degree, and years worth of experience.

                        Very little work is actually done in store. They send most off to their warehouse. The in store people are mostly the face of geeksquad

                        [–]XTheDevistatorX 4ポイント5ポイント  (8子コメント)

                        Not true. Hardware related fixes are done off-site because it is ridiculous to think stores can stock available parts for all models. Software fixes are all handeled in store unless it is extreme situations. And what would appearances matter for an ARA anyway? They are not counter agents? That makes no sense.

                        [–]Klldarkness 3ポイント4ポイント  (3子コメント)

                        The shop I used to work at in Chattanooga had a turn around time of 4 days, simply by ordering the needed parts. Shipping a pc or laptop to texas, with a 4 week turn around, is ridiculous.

                        [–]XTheDevistatorX 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

                        I don't know if there was an issue with your service center or not, but the average turn time for our SVC is 7-15 business days. And for liabilty purposes (especially for costs and shipping) sending to the SVC for repairs ensures certain standards are met. As well as avg stores don't have the staffing to support taking in software based issues daily and having to do physical repairs on no set schedule. It's a better business practice for a company that does the volume that Geek Squad does on a daily basis.

                        [–]haintblueguy 1ポイント2ポイント  (1子コメント)

                        I took my laptop to a Best Buy in Chattanooga because the power port wasn't connecting properly. Three weeks later, I went to pick it up and take it somewhere else. They had dropped it and shattered the screen and totally fucked it up. No more Best Buy for me.

                        [–]apt2014 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                        It does if you're the hiring manager and you like looking at big tits.

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                            [–]XTheDevistatorX 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

                            You technically don't need to have anything more than a high school diploma or equivalent. Best Buy can train you on any scope of work you will be performing. What you need to bring to any interview is great communication skills and customer service. That can't be taught. Best Buy, and specifically Geek Squad have a ton of training for any new employees about technology and processes. But people get turned away from jobs because they can't properly articulate, show enthusiasm and the ability to talk to people and provide customer service. Any experience that you do bring though (certifications, Degrees, work experience) definitely shoots you to the top of the list... AS LONG as you can do the first part.

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                              [–]Childe_Roland_ 49ポイント50ポイント  (6子コメント)

                              have you tried turning it off and on again?

                              [–]EZPlayer123 3ポイント4ポイント  (2子コメント)

                              Did you see the ludicrous display last night?

                              [–]GET2DAACHOPPAAAA 1ポイント2ポイント  (1子コメント)

                              What was Wenger thinking sending Walcott on that early?

                              [–]johnturkey 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                              is it plugged in?

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                                [–]OverweightPlatypus 43ポイント44ポイント  (4子コメント)

                                Do you use Google Ultron?

                                [–]Snuffy1717 15ポイント16ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                Just remember to update Adobe Reader first...

                                [–]BWC_semaJ 5ポイント6ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                (People who don't get the reference...) Part 1: http://imgur.com/a/iJD8f Part 2: http://imgur.com/a/AOz0d

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                                  [–]bobdilbertson 26ポイント27ポイント  (9子コメント)

                                  How any problems have been a "is it plugged in " problem?

                                  [–]geeksquaddude[S] 33ポイント34ポイント  (7子コメント)

                                  One person kept wanting to return speakers, because they were to dumb to figure out how to use them

                                  [–]bobdilbertson 24ポイント25ポイント  (6子コメント)

                                  I used to work in a corporate IT position... one guy kept taking his keyboard and leaning back in his chair kept unplugging it. Submitted a ticket each time for it...

                                  [–]MeIsMyName 5ポイント6ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                  Something makes me think he was using it as an excuse for a short break.

                                  [–]CptSpaceToaster 7ポイント8ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                  Wait.... how did they type-out a ticket... if the keyboard wasn't plugged in?!?

                                  [–]rbGriphon 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                  Large corps usually have a help desk number to call.

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                                    [–]theregisterednerd 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                    These problems generally end up with the phrase "but they said it was wireless"

                                    [–]doctechnical 11ポイント12ポイント  (4子コメント)

                                    What was the interview like? How interested were they in technical skills and what sort?

                                    [–]geeksquaddude[S] 14ポイント15ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                    The interview was very simple, I explained how I know how to remove viruses and explained that I know what something looks like out of the ordinary

                                    [–]johnturkey 13ポイント14ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                    something looks like out of the ordinary

                                    Why is there a big rubber penis inside the computer case...

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                                      [–]Geloni 10ポイント11ポイント  (10子コメント)

                                      What's the worst thing you have found on a person's computer?

                                      [–]geeksquaddude[S] 25ポイント26ポイント  (7子コメント)

                                      The obvious answer would be Pornography, specifically Simpsons Pornography

                                      [–]patbarb69 16ポイント17ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                      Oh, that's a relief. You're clearly not the one who fixed my computer.

                                      [–]theregisterednerd 2ポイント3ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                      I see your Simpsons porn, and raise you porn of the client. And it was in their My Pictures folder. I'm sure you can do the math of what their screen saver was. The worst part is having to look them in the eye at checkout.

                                      [–]M374llic4 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                      I was in the first wave of hires for Geek Squad City in Kentucky working on the sony laptop repair line. We had laptops come in with gay porn as the desktop background, a laptop that was filled with roaches, one was broken in to pieces and covered in blood (they had to put on hazmat gear and put it in a biohazard bag). One had a fucking bees nest in it. Are you fucking kidding me? Did the stores not check ANYTHING before sending them to us?

                                      [–]breeeeeeeto 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                      Animal/Midget Sex Volume 7 was one that we found. And one based on Octomom.

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                                        [–]charmedaa86 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                        I was an ARA for a year. one time we found a tooth inside a computer case, a real human tooth. How the hell does that happen?

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                                          [–]zmemetime 7ポイント8ポイント  (25子コメント)

                                          Why does the geek squad "suck"?

                                          [–]GeekSquadDood 7ポイント8ポイント  (16子コメント)

                                          http://i.imgur.com/sctLO2g.jpg - former in-store geek squad agent for about 2 years. During the time I was working there they partnered with microsoft and we were I think required? to get some stupid microsoft certification so that's what the pin on the left is.

                                          Here's some of my stories, and some advice for anyone trying to get into IT.

                                          My store was actually pretty good about most things, our original DCI (manager) was really chill, and the whole "searching through peoples photos" scandal stuff would've gotten you fired immediately so that never happened at our store. We did one time find CP (child porn) on a customer computer in his data he requested be backed up (he wrote the directories down and as we browsed to them we saw the obvious file names, reported to police, they arrested him I'm pretty sure I didn't work the day it happened, i don't know what happened further)

                                          I've seen a GM rant to us then immediately shake a cart of pre-setup laptops and knock about half of them onto the floor, partially because of how someone stacked them, partially because he was an idiot.

                                          Majority of the stuff we did was hardware installs, OS installations, and virus/malware removal. Pretty basic stuff. Put disk in drive, run it the exact same way every time, manually check for any leftover traces and remove them through geek squad's tool in pre-execution mode.

                                          For anyone looking into geek squad as a job, the two years I worked there I hardly LEARNED anything about IT. Very minor fixes and stuff that the average IT person already knows how to deal with. This job put me off looking for another IT job for a few years because it was so depressingly boring and ruined what my idea of IT was.

                                          Years later I'm back in IT as a network admin, and this is what I dreamed an IT job would be like, I absolutely love it.

                                          At geek squad, you will not be a tech, you will be a salesman. Sell services. Sell software. Sell pre-setup laptops. Go to the computer sales floor and help them sell computers, so you can sell geek squad services with them. It can be fun at times, but not for the majority of it. It's boring low-thought work that as OP said, requires a high school diploma at minimum.

                                          If you REALLY want to get into IT. Start looking into getting certifications straight out of, or while you're still in high school. It'll open mannnny more doors than geek squad for you. Experience is still necessary, but literally 2 years of geek squad and some free-lance in-home IT work is all I've done, along with some web development and I'm a network admin for a 24/7 facility now and I only answer to my boss (IT manager) and of course the GM of the place.

                                          Certifications are absolutely key in getting your foot in the door in an IT market. I can't stress that enough. Just make sure you're the right fit for the job, once you know your skillset, find a job that NEEDS those skills, and they'll want you over someone with 5-10 years general IT experience I'd bet.

                                          forgot a legit question for OP.

                                          Does that badge make you feel good? I always wanted one when I worked there.

                                          [–]BestTwistedFate 20ポイント21ポイント  (17子コメント)

                                          If I'm a broke high school student looking for a job and I'm looking to go into IT/Computer sciences, would you recommend this as a job? Assume I have no soul and hate the average person.

                                          [–]breeeeeeeto 22ポイント23ポイント  (4子コメント)

                                          Not trying to hijack his thread, but I worked there for two years in high school. It was a lot more software issues than actual hands-on repairs, as most physical repairs (beyond like HDD replacement) were sent away. If you hate the average person, then no. In my time as a CIA (before we all got renamed to ARAs), I was pulled to work sales in nearly every department besides car audio. You still have to talk on the phone/interact with stupid customers, though ARAs do so less than the other agents.

                                          edit: This job though is bitching on a resume when it comes to future retail/customer service jobs. Not so much future tech jobs.

                                          [–]PastafarianT 3ポイント4ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                          Pretty much what this guy said. Do your best to look for internships, aim for internships with a high % of intern to hire opportunities. Geeksquad is 99.9% SALES. You Sell the "Advanced Diag and Repair", "Diags", and "Optimization" shit. All it is, is pre-made software made by folks in india. Then you're given the disc to run, and you learn nothing. Get some easy low level certifications. CompTIA ones, like A+, Net+, Sec+, and so on. ITIL is also in demand, but it's a bit more advance. I went from GS agent, to a Mid level sys admin in about 5 years. At Geeksquad i was there for 3 years, and went nowhere. Good luck.

                                          [–]joeyicecream 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                          It is better than you think for real technical jobs. It shows the ability to get better at what you do and the amount of time you will spend working with non technical people as a sys admin is unbelievable.

                                          [–]camerongale 6ポイント7ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                          My boyfriend is an ARA, recently got it after being a CA (the customer service part of things) for over a year. He's mostly left alone to do his thing, listens to music, sometimes has to call people to tell them their repair is finished or cover a lunch break in the front. He loves that it's no longer actually his job to deal with customers all the time.

                                          [–]packetheavy 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                          No, go find an IT company to intern for, you'll get more realistic experience and the opportunity to get valuable contacts that work in the field.

                                          [–]mxwjg 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                          Currently working on Sales at Best Buy, and I enjoy it quite a lot. $10.50/ hr is what I was hired on.

                                          [–]J0RDM0N 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                          Well both best buy and geek squad are pretty good options if you are looking for a job. Just prepare to not have your weekends but working at best buy is a great experience.

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                                            [–]BlazeBro420 12ポイント13ポイント  (18子コメント)

                                            How Do I Use A Toilet Without Getting Fully Nude?

                                            [–]Mrfrunzi 15ポイント16ポイント  (31子コメント)

                                            How often do just run Search and Destroy to fix the problem?

                                            [–]geeksquaddude[S] 5ポイント6ポイント  (29子コメント)

                                            Every time, the amount of free-ware we use is really sad TBH, I don't think Best Buy is Licensed to use any of it

                                            [–]Zogster77 38ポイント39ポイント  (21子コメント)

                                            Your precinct was different from ours then. Everything on the MRI disk is licensed for Best Buy. Heck the loading screen for PC Check has the license information right there. Sure you could get some freeware to do similar stuff, but FACE and the other parts of it really helped when you were trying to diag and repair 20+ computers at once.

                                            [–]XTheDevistatorX 29ポイント30ポイント  (4子コメント)

                                            This. Sounds like OP and his precinct were just not trained well and had no real leadership (based on the rest of this thread).

                                            [–]Bobbers927 9ポイント10ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                            I agree. It's funny how precincts can be ran so differently. I fired a kid for using something he wasn't supposed to be. Some people follow the rules and some don't I guess.

                                            [–]mxwjg 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                            Agreed, our precinct seems a lot more controlled than this.

                                            [–]Zogster77 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                            Agreed. I was lucky and had full support of our management team and when I went to in home we had a really good district team that put us first and not the bottom line. Of course we were there to make money, any business is. We focused on the people though, both customer and employee and that made a huge difference.

                                            [–]AgentScreech 2ポイント3ポイント  (5子コメント)

                                            I was an agent right when Geek Squad was integrated with Best Buy in 2005. It was silly how much freeware we used to remove viruses.

                                            When FACE (Facilitate Accuracy, Consistency, and Efficiency) was rolled out, I was really impressed with the software. We called it Forget About Computer Expertise because it was designed for a monkey to pop in a cd, boot up and hit a few buttons and walk away.

                                            [–]kerred 1ポイント2ポイント  (6子コメント)

                                            That started around 2006-07 I believe.

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                                              [–]tuxedo_jack 9ポイント10ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                              Gonna stop you RIGHT there.

                                              Licensing for the tools on MRI is (was, when I was there - I was fired in 2009 for a HUGE amount of bullshit reasons that would have amounted to a lawsuit if I made them public) REALLY strict, even more so after I reported them to OldTimer and a few others back in 2005 - 2006 for using their tools for commercial gain against the EULA.

                                              My proof is badge 3812, old-guard Houston and Austin area DA, D8 / D74 and store 291, and now I'm a senior sysadmin at an Austin MSP.

                                              http://imgur.com/evhdqEB

                                              And yes, I've posted stories in /r/talesfromtechsupport about my time there.

                                              [–]OnARedditDiet 2ポイント3ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                              If you're still in a related field I recommend http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Europe/2014/CDP-B373

                                              Honestly, nothing beats these free tools to get rid of malware. Except for Powessere...no way to figure out if that's running.

                                              To be honest nuke and pave is the best solution, but if you want people to think you're merlin, watch that video.

                                              P.S. Spybot sucks now. It's sad how it's fallen :(.

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                                                  [–]MaltedCumBalls 50ポイント51ポイント  (19子コメント)

                                                  First off, I'm just going to say it. You're the reason (and the people like you) that best buy is going to shit. I am an advanced repair agent in one of the top 25 stores in the company. We've held that ranking for the past two years. Many of your replies in this thread make me absolutely cringe. Let's address a few.

                                                  1) qualifications: you should in no way be able to hold the repair tech role in a reputable store with only a high school diploma and absolutely no experiencer or schooling outside. Whoever hired you clearly has no business ethic about promoting a brand.

                                                  2) The tools you use that you "don't think bestbuy is licensed to use." Have you read SOP or know any of the four part pledge? You used approved tools only. Hence, your search and destroy you're using is against your contract with Best Buy. We have our own branded and created tools.

                                                  Now, I know reddit HATES Best Buy and anything Geek Squad related, but it's because of employees like this with their nonchalant attitude. I bet you're one of the agents that sees a computer black screening and tell customers it's their motherboard and sends them to buy a new one.

                                                  [–]PastafarianT 8ポイント9ポイント  (8子コメント)

                                                  Maybe Best Buy has cleaned up their act, but it wasn't at all uncommon to break SOP to resolve a computer problem. At least not back when I was a "CIA". Not sure what they call them now. It was basically "Follow SOP" if the big wigs were around, and "Do whatever it takes to make money" when they were not around. I do agree there are shitty employees. However, I think you're very naive to not think that the way the company is run... doesn't contribute to negative attitudes. Top 25 stores? Top 25 at being a big box retail store? You're literally the ONLY big box store left. Hopefully you're making steps to get out, and move on. Best Buy will most likely be gone in 5-10 years, or at least be a vastly smaller version of itself. Let's be real here. Best Buy is all about their "Core Values", and "CARE+" when you're hitting your #s. If you're not hitting sales #s, that shit goes out the window.

                                                  [–]MouthSouth 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                  I'd say it is so widespread that "Geek Squad is an atrocity from the ground up" is an accurate assessment. Have you tried finding work somewhere that isn't the laughing stock of the industry?

                                                  http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/geek%20squad

                                                  [–]Kanthiz_ 4ポイント5ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                  /u/MaltedCumBalls gettin' turnt up.

                                                  [–]MaltedCumBalls 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                  It's the button up and clip on. Deprives me of oxygen and gets me fiesty.

                                                  [–]cpburke91 2ポイント3ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                  I'm surprised that this ama hasn't been removed yet. The proof is iffy and OP's responses are not specific. Account is a day old too..

                                                  [–]MaltedCumBalls 2ポイント3ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                                  Agreed. No actual badge number or full frontal picture. Hell, agents lose their ties out of their pockets all the time. Could be anyone who found a tie with a geek squad pin.

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                                                    [–]Nomsfud 7ポイント8ポイント  (14子コメント)

                                                    Why don't you guys train your computer sales associates to know anything about computers, let alone what they can do? I once had a guy basically push a Dell with a 4K display on me because the display was in 4K. I looked at him, and kept repeating that I didn't need a 4K display, it just isn't something I feel is popular enough to require a computer that can go into it. He just kept telling me it was good because it had a 4K screen.

                                                    Does Best Buy really care as little as to just sell shit without telling their customers what they're buying?

                                                    [–]geeksquaddude[S] 5ポイント6ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                    The sales associates are trained to sell. When they sell well they get praised and become favorites by their managers

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                                                      [–]Nopleone 7ポイント8ポイント  (13子コメント)

                                                      Former Easy Tech here. How much micro managing do your bosses do?

                                                      [–]geeksquaddude[S] 6ポイント7ポイント  (12子コメント)

                                                      My boss didn't give care about my department, all he did was focus on sales and texted on his iphone

                                                      [–]Nopleone 9ポイント10ポイント  (11子コメント)

                                                      Gotchya. When I was in the trenches, the sales manager was my direct boss for some reason. Had 3 meetings a day to discuss how to push useless crap on people. On the plus side, I took most of the regulars buisness when I went out on my own.

                                                      [–]PastafarianT 3ポイント4ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                      A clip on tie, with a geek squad pin is not proof. You can get that pretty easily. I just want to clear that up. Anyone can do that, you can buy that shit on ebay.

                                                      • Source - An actual former GS Agent. My past AMA for "I was a GS agent, AMA" had my paystub as proof, with Personal Identifiable Information redacted.
                                                      • My AMA

                                                      [–]lucenti1990 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                      You should do another one in thread or new

                                                      [–]AutoModerator[M] 15ポイント16ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                      Users, please be wary of proof. You are welcome to ask for more proof if you find it insufficient.

                                                      OP, if you need any help, please message the mods here.

                                                      Thank you!

                                                      I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

                                                      [–]PastafarianT 4ポイント5ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                      A tie with a "geek squad" pin on it, is pretty weak proof. Not saying this person is lying, but ya... could easily be a former "PC Sales rep" for best buy, and not an actual GS agent.

                                                      [–]dasruckus 7ポイント8ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                                      Is Chuck one of your favourite TV Shows and if not then why?

                                                      [–]AgentScreech 1ポイント2ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                      I was the Geek Squad Supervisor going for the Assistant Manager spot when season 1 aired. It was oddly similar to my life at the time...minus the hot chick and spy email that downloads things to my brain.

                                                      [–]juiceboxOG 7ポイント8ポイント  (21子コメント)

                                                      hey I have a question.

                                                      I am an IT student and in December 2013 bought an iPhone 5S with the Geek Squad Protection.

                                                      I just broke my front screen, and I contacted Geek Squad only to be told that there is a $150 fee to change the screen. Apple does it for the same price. And me, being an IT student, could fix it myself for $60 and an hour of my time.

                                                      My question: what the fuck was I paying for this whole time? This seems like a completely garbage business model.

                                                      [–]xXblain_the_monoXx 8ポイント9ポイント  (4子コメント)

                                                      Former agent chiming in. I was present for the old protection plan and the new plan. The old plan used to fix/replace the phones free of charge for the life of the plan, this was a fantastic plan and being around 11.99 a month was a great deal. The phone was replaced/repaired as long as it was a hardware issue/damage. The newer plan was introduced sometime around September 2013 and dropped the price slightly but also introduced a fee for accidental damage. Without the plan if anything is wrong, accidental or not you can't get a replacement at bby. With the new plan you get a replacement for any hardware issues with the phone and the option for repair with a fee if there is physical damage to it. The new plan sucks but you were very likely told about the fee as well as signed a very obvious document detailing the fee. Now that's not necessarily a in defense of bby, they are scummy, but I've seen the document that everyone signs for the plan, it's in pretty bold print.

                                                      [–]oloruin 2ポイント3ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                      I am a current ARA. Current phone protection plans replace the phone. Phone screen replacement was phased out due to behind-the-scenes negotiations. You are paying not to fix your screen, but to replace your phone. There is a deductible. You have two choices: Fast and Slow.

                                                      Fast: You are shipped a replacement phone, you return your current phone in the box. A small hold is placed on a CC until the process is completed.

                                                      Slow: You are shipped a box, you are then shipped your replacement phone when the repair center receives your current phone.

                                                      If you get the cheap screen, it will take you longer than an hour. Transplanting the camera is tedious, delicate work. I've done several on the side. (Although we never rolled out the 5/c/s screen replacements, we had the parts and management asked me to do several replacements for VIP customers / associates). I could replace a 5/c/s screen in about 10 minutes without transplanting the camera hardware.

                                                      [–]Grimblade20 3ポイント4ポイント  (4子コメント)

                                                      I work for geek squad currently, as they are now beginning to require service fees on all cell phones sent in for replacements. The way I explain it to people is that, like many other insurance programs you can purchase (think homeowner's, vehicle insurance), this one has a deductible, to the tune of $150. If you break your vehicle windshield, assuming you have only basic coverage, you probably won't end up filing an insurance claim to have it replaced, because it will probably cost you more in the end. Likewise, if you crack your phone screen, filing for an insurance claim may not be the most cost-effective option. On the other hand, if you were to break your screen AND bend/gash your bezel/frame, repair costs could easily exceed $200, even performing your own labor. TL;DR: phone insurance insurance isn't for minor cracks and breaks, it's for hefty body damage and replacements.

                                                      [–]akathedirector 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                      The service fee is also cheaper than a lot of others'. I have had clients tell me they were charged more money with carriers/manufacturers.

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                                                        [–]J0RDM0N 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                        Well the thing is the 150$ is a blanket deductible no matter what the issue is. The outer screen is something that can be easily replaced so itay not be cost effective to send it in to be replaced. Now if it was the inner screen or the led screen it will cost more to fix so it makes more sense.

                                                        The same charge happens if the frame of the phone is bent, the ports get damaged, any of the hardware inside fail or the antenna is destroyed. So the 150$ is simply a blanket charge for anything.

                                                        コメントをもっと表示する (8 返事)

                                                          [–]atirblow 2ポイント3ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                          Why do you work for Best Buy?

                                                          [–]_CHM_ 2ポイント3ポイント  (5子コメント)

                                                          Do you find your job interesting?

                                                          [–]Penroze 2ポイント3ポイント  (7子コメント)

                                                          What's the most difficult repair you've had to do? (And what exactly makes you "advanced").

                                                          [–]IH8creepers00000 2ポイント3ポイント  (17子コメント)

                                                          How common is it for geek squad employees to search through personal documents for compromising photos or really anything? How often does this stuff get copied onto a thumb drive for personal use?

                                                          I wouldn't never trust a place like best buy with my computer if I couldn't do it myself.

                                                          [–]brgiant 10ポイント11ポイント  (12子コメント)

                                                          Not OP but I worked for geek squad as well. No personal electronics are allowed in our work area. No thumb drives, phones, etc. Best Buy keeps the thumb drives used by the agents in the security room, they are checked out and turned in everyday. Any backups made are cleared out after a week.

                                                          In short, they take customer data seriously.

                                                          [–]IH8creepers00000 4ポイント5ポイント  (6子コメント)

                                                          Ok a bit surprised, and thanks for sharing, but I've read so many accounts of geek squad employees and people in the same line of work boasting about how you can be "damn sure I'm going to look through your pictures if your an attractive female or especially if you ask me not to" that I still would never go to best buy or some other sketchy place. Even if they don't steal the pics.

                                                          [–]theregisterednerd 8ポイント9ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                          Also a sleeper agent here. This, as with any job, depends on the ethics of the employee. While most agents pride themselves on being above such things, it's impossible to monitor all the activity on client machines, short of installing spy software on them, which would be even more frowned upon.

                                                          [–]ta7001337 2ポイント3ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                                          It's not like they have the computers running in a back room where an agent can be alone with it. They are all sitting on the precinct tech bench in full view of the clients and other employees, in addition to security cameras. It would be very hard to just browse a client's pictures without being noticed and subsequently fired. Anyways, like they say, with great powers comes great responsability. Clients are in a very vulnerable position when they bring in their defective devices, they entrust them to the Geek Squad, and continued operations requires that this trust be respected and maintained. I think most people I worked with understood that. It is their mission to save the world from their technological problems, not to take advantage of their lack of technical skills for personal benefit.

                                                          [–]AgentScreech 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                          I actually got my supervisor spot because of that very thing back in 2006. Data privacy wasn't as strict as it is now. The supervisor at the time was caught by a female returns employee going through a computer and had opened up some porn on the computer. This lead to an investigation where he had transferred some files of a customer to a personal flash drive.

                                                          There were several other stories from other stores around the country that got to the media and that's when they started implementing all the super strict data protection policies.

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                                                            [–]Databesta 0ポイント1ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                            So you go cellphoneless all day?

                                                            [–]concoctedsim 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                            The precinct I worked in, you had to have managers approval.

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                                                                [–]J0RDM0N 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                Data privacy is taken extereme seriously at best buy. I don't understand why anyone would want to copy over anything of a client's because they best thing it could be is porn which can be found online for free. They don't allow people to use any flash drives or externals in the back and are really touchy about even using cell phones back there. I can't take a picture back there at all no matter if it is of a laptop, of something I wrote down or anything.

                                                                [–]geeksquaddude[S] 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                I have never seen stuff get copied, but I have seen agents browse through peoples computers for "fun"

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                                                                  [–]flarphunter23 2ポイント3ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                                                  Have you ever been in a porno film like scenario? You know, bored housewife alone while the husband is at work all day "breaks her computer" type deal

                                                                  [–]concoctedsim 2ポイント3ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                                  He was a precinct agent. You'd have to ask a double agent or whatever they're called now.

                                                                  [–]K33P53CR3T 2ポイント3ポイント  (4子コメント)

                                                                  Ever had to repair a Linux machine?

                                                                  [–]AgentScreech 7ポイント8ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                                                  Anyone that knows how to get a linux box up and running wouldn't have to bring it to Geek Squad.

                                                                  The only time I worked on one in the 2.5 years I was in that department was when my step-brother bought a $100 laptop that had Red Hat installed and couldn't figure out how to work it.

                                                                  [–]K33P53CR3T 3ポイント4ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                                  I always thought it would be funny to bring in one of my laptops with an obscure Unix issue and see what they try to tell me. HAHA.

                                                                  [–]AgentScreech 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                  I'm sure it would make a good youtube "prank" vid.

                                                                  [–]PastafarianT 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                  Company line when I was in years ago, "we don't work on linux". I played with ubuntu, and knew basic fixes. I was not allowed to attempt fixes though, due to "liability".

                                                                  [–]AstralD 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                  Where do they get you guys? Off the streets? I was told a freshly formatted pc with a broken DVD drive had a virus infection causing the DVD drive not to work. Funny thing, they used their little virus scanner DVD to attempt to scan the pc, but they left the DVD inside when I took it home. The DVD didn't work since the drive was broken. There is literally no way they could have run the DVD. Yet despite that they demanded another 200 dollars to attempt a fix, even though we dropped 450 on a warranty.

                                                                  The tech of course was wrong, but it's an all-in-one pc so replacing the drive is a pain in the ass. I got an external drive which worked instantly - despite relying on the same drivers geek squad claimed were virus infected.

                                                                  So my question is why? Why lie and treat people like shit? I make commission at my job, and I don't do that. Does your manager beat you if you have to handle a return or replacement?

                                                                  [–]akathedirector 11ポイント12ポイント  (11子コメント)

                                                                  This is kind of sad. I don't know what happened at your store in Cali, or what lead you to quit/be fired/or whatever happened, but there are still thousands of current Geek Squad agents and Sleeper Agents who believe in the culture and what we do. I have been with the company for 5 years and I have never met an agent who did not truly like helping people. I know there have been cases where agents abused their position or acted against the values of the company, but these are isolated cases. At Geek Squad, there are agents who totally care about the clients we see and do amazing work everyday. I'm proud to have my shield and to be a Geek Squad agent. Did you ever care about being a part of Geek Squad? Did your precinct lose their way with culture?

                                                                  [–]MaltedCumBalls 5ポイント6ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                  It hurts so bad to read his replies as an agent. Have some pride.

                                                                  [–]blacktoothgrin86 5ポイント6ポイント  (4子コメント)

                                                                  Double Agent approaching 10 years here...this thread is painful to read. Glad I'm not alone.

                                                                  [–]PastafarianT 3ポイント4ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                                  May I ask why you stay? DA's were usually pretty damn knowledgeable. I always felt they could make way more, working in an enterprise environment/corporate setting. I left after 2-3 years, and ended up making 30-40% more than the DA's we had... and that was within 1 1/2 years of leaving for a job in the enterprise IT world. Couldn't ever go back to retail/personal computer IT work.

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                                                                    [–]Lee_Ars 5ポイント6ポイント  (7子コメント)

                                                                    Did you have to meet sales or service metrics, and were those metrics tied to your actual job, or did they interfere with it?

                                                                    I worked at Best Buy store 242 in Houston for three dark months waaaaaay the hell back in 1999, in the PC/Home Office section, and we were trained to sell PSPs/PRPs (that's Product Service Plans, not Sony PSPs, obviously) at any cost—and if that meant lying or "inboarding" (lowering a PC's price by the cost of the warranty in order to sell the warranty), then great.

                                                                    I bring it up because considering BBY's short-sighted focus on extracting revenue at every single step of the customer experience, it'd be great to know first-hand exactly how you were benchmarked as an ARA—because war never changes. Did you have to sell PSP/PRPs for components when you interacted with customers, or did they just force you to push as many GS services as possible? Like, load up the person whose hard drive had obviously failed with a deluxe malware scan first, even though the computer couldn't boot?

                                                                    [–]geeksquaddude[S] 0ポイント1ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                                    In the beginning they kept me in the back repairing computers. Slowly they started pushing me to sell our Tech Support service. Time and time again if there were too many viruses on a clients computer, they would have us inform the customer, their computer needs to be restored. As we said that we were to push for the customer to accept our expensive data back up service

                                                                    [–]trudesign 7ポイント8ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                                    This. When I left the company (was a CIA 'Desk agent' for 3 years or so), they had just started the automated service where we hooked up 10 computers in the back and techs in colorado fixed them for us...95% of the time though we were told to make them back up and restore.

                                                                    I once had a guy bring in a Ferrari branded ASUS laptop and have us backup 100gb of gay porn. That was...interesting.

                                                                    [–]WildCheese 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                    Very important data!

                                                                    [–]Boostos 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                    Hate to say it but you worked at a trash precinct. Ours we only restored if we absolutely HAD to. We have had it for 5 days and we were at our wits end with it. Most of the time we would would comp the data backup as well since we have had it so long.

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                                                                      [–]Typo-Kign 8ポイント9ポイント  (15子コメント)

                                                                      I'm calling bull on this one. Got any more proof OP?

                                                                      [–]geeksquaddude[S] 5ポイント6ポイント  (14子コメント)

                                                                      Sure here ya go http://i.imgur.com/72SvbD8.jpg

                                                                      [–]demandred_zero 14ポイント15ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                                      Is that you Johnny Utah?

                                                                      [–]_CHM_ 6ポイント7ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                                      Dick pic

                                                                      [–]Boredguy32 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                      Open and shut case, Johnson

                                                                      [–]trudesign 6ポイント7ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                                      I won't believe you until you show me the geek squad logo in the heel of your shoe.

                                                                      [–]Boostos 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                      Badge #?

                                                                      [–]ragogumi 1ポイント2ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                                      Since when do they Give ARA's a badge?

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                                                                        [–]got_lost_again 1ポイント2ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                                        Do you have any experience with installing home surveillance systems? If so, would you recommend any of them?

                                                                        [–]trudesign 3ポイント4ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                        His position I don't think does any house calls at all. The installers are a different group of 'Geek Squad' agents that came out of absorbing 'Magnolia Home Theater'

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                                                                          [–]tj-horner 1ポイント2ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                                                          What was the slowest computer you've ever seen? Was there any computer you couldn't fix? (clean reinstall doesn't count as "fix")

                                                                          EDIT: Grammar!

                                                                          [–]johannsoneak 1ポイント2ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                                          do you make above minimum wage?

                                                                          [–]_CHM_ 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                          How are you liking Reddit?

                                                                          [–]breeeeeeeto 0ポイント1ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                                          What made you finally leave? (This originally said "BADGE CHECK" which is actually more of a command than a question, but hello fellow former-agent!)

                                                                          [–]PastafarianT 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                          I can answer for myself, as a former agent. Better fucking PAY. Was in for 2 or 3 years, floated my resume, and got hired as a temp to hire. Haven't been in retail since. Once you get your foot in the door of enterprise help-desk/support, you can move up as far as you educate yourself to go. A+, Net+, Sec+, CCNA, ITIL, MCP, Server 2012, Redhat Linux, VMWare, Cisco VOIP certs, Mac certs, and so on. Keep a good work ethic, make your clients love you, and keep educating yourself. You'll find yourself going from tier 1 helpdesk, to systems admin/network admin/cyber security admin.

                                                                          [–]Grphx 0ポイント1ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                                          What's the difference in an ARA and whatever it's called that is not so advanced. What kind of requirements are needed to become an ARA as appose to the lower level tech?

                                                                          [–]Oxyjon 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                          There's no such thing as just an "RA." In my precinct (and I thought all atm) there are 3 roles, Consultation, Operations, and Advanced Repair. Typically the job requirement for ARA is being a better CA or OA than the other agents in the precinct whenever one of the current ARAs leave.

                                                                          [–]CyberMousey 0ポイント1ポイント  (1子コメント)

                                                                          Is there a tiered system for GS techs? or is it that everyone there is just a PC tech? Like internally do you have a person that just checks the PC and if he can't fix it, it goes to a tech that knows more? Are certain people assigned certain tech position? or is it a free for all?

                                                                          [–]XTheDevistatorX 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

                                                                          The CA's (consultation agents) are responsible for quick fixes and intial diagnostics. They are the ones who will usually be able to determine the estimated scope of work and what kind of time and money the client should be expecting. The ARA's (advanced repair agents) are scheduled soley to work on checked in units. They will provide updates to clients and either finish the work or escalate the issues to an outside team (VIA geek squad remote services or the Service Centers). OA's (Operations Agents) are responsible for paperwork, client contact, shipping/receiving and escalations. All agents will assist in repairs in the event it is a scope of work that they are comfortable completing or the ARA needs assistance.

                                                                          [–]Noctiluscious 0ポイント1ポイント  (3子コメント)

                                                                          I forgot my password. What do I do?

                                                                          [–]concoctedsim 3ポイント4ポイント  (2子コメント)

                                                                          If you're not trolling, have someone make you an NT Offline Password Reset disc/Bootable USB drive.

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