BestBuy (Geek Squad)

richnewman

Just wondering if anyone has any comments about working for the Geek Squad. I got A+ certified a little while ago.. made a thread for that which somehow got deleted >.>... and anyway I'm going in for my second interview soon (for Geek Squad).

Things such as... is the experience gained there worth a damn? I just have a feeling putting Geek Squad on a resume won't be looked at as actual pc tech experience. Could be wrong though :P.

Benefits, pay/raises, advancement, gripes/complaints, daily routine, etc.

I'm especially curious about the in-home people, setting up networks and doing repairs. What do these people have for certs/experience?

I'm betting I can get N+ within a month, I might be able to do CCNA by the end of the year.. but I hope the college will pull a sweet scholarship for me so I can go to school. Do they work with you if you're going to school? There's something about tuition assistance on their website benefits page, but I think it's for full time people.

Feel free to comment on any part of this long ass post :P.

Webmaster

Here's an older topic about GeekSquad, use the Search option for a couple of others in case you haven't noticed those yet.
www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12096

KGhaleon

I filled out an application for them twice, and neither time did they contact me back.
I know someone who used to work there, and then he went on to work at lockheed.

KG

richnewman

KGhaleon wrote:

I filled out an application for them twice, and neither time did they contact me back.

When you fill out that 20 page (5'ish questions a page), multiple choice online test kind of deal.. you get a scored in what they seem to call yellow, yellow/green and green circles. Unless you score well enough for a green circle, nobody looks at your application. Maybe that's what happened to you?

ilcram19

i wounldnt work for the geek squat i heard about their bad habit of still people data...plus they charge too much for lil fixes, try to look for a real job with a company

michael_knight

I'm working as a vendor with a best buy near me as a part time job, and I must say, it's not bad. It's not the most technical job ever but it's better than sitting home. If you take the job then find something else you can always leave. Best Buy does force their sales people to sell Geek Squad services though.

richnewman

michael_knight wrote:

I'm working as a vendor with a best buy near me as a part time job, and I must say, it's not bad. It's not the most technical job ever but it's better than sitting home. If you take the job then find something else you can always leave. Best Buy does force their sales people to sell Geek Squad services though.

Working as a vendor? (What's that mean? :P )

What do they have you doing with your A+, N+, CCNA & MCP? Mind if I ask how much they pay you? =]

networker050184

I'd say go for any job you can get to bulid experience. Anything looks better than nothing on a resume. At least you will have a pay check while you look for something better.

mog27

I've been seeing all these funny stories lately about geeksquad employees. They like to copy and watch your pr0n and watch women in the shower.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/geek-squad-attempting-first-look-at-naked-female-gets-busted-251738.php

theseman

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/06/1916207


An article about Geeksquad and data privacy, fee's etc. A very good read. (Link at bottom of paragraph is also related)

JDMurray

All of these department store-based repair services require you to be a salesman as well as a technician. You are required to up-sell the store's products to every customers, and this includes all products, such as digital cameras, refrigerators, washer/dryers, coffee makers and DVD players. If both fixing computers and selling people stuff they may not really need is what you are good at then it might be an occupation to try.

dtlokee

JDMurray wrote:

All of these department store-based repair services require you to be a salesman as well as a technician. You are required to up-sell the store's products to every customers, and this includes all products, such as digital cameras, refrigerators, washer/dryers, coffee makers and DVD players. If both fixing computers and selling people stuff they may not really need is what you are good at then it might be an occupation to try.

Yeah I had a Geek Squad rep telling me to buy a PCI firewire card for my laptop when I went there to buy a HD Camcorder with an internal HD. He wouldn't back down that I needed the thing. Followed me around the store telling me how much bettwr it would be vs USB. I don't think the got my point about not having any available PCI slots in my laptop (since there are none ) but oh well.

mog27

dtlokee wrote:

JDMurray wrote:

All of these department store-based repair services require you to be a salesman as well as a technician. You are required to up-sell the store's products to every customers, and this includes all products, such as digital cameras, refrigerators, washer/dryers, coffee makers and DVD players. If both fixing computers and selling people stuff they may not really need is what you are good at then it might be an occupation to try.

Yeah I had a Geek Squad rep telling me to buy a PCI firewire card for my laptop when I went there to buy a HD Camcorder with an internal HD. He wouldn't back down that I needed the thing. Followed me around the store telling me how much bettwr it would be vs USB. I don't think the got my point about not having any available PCI slots in my laptop (since there are none ) but oh well.

You could have maybe shut him up by listing off your very impressive list of computer certifications compared to his measely A+ (even if he even had that).

ilcram19

but since they work at best buy u knw HUUUU!!!! look at me at work at best buy ill sell u a 40gb hard drive for 500dlls and i let the geek squat install it for 200 dlls while they still u naked pic and data...lol really though they r really expensive

blargoe

ilcram19 wrote:

i wounldnt work for the geek squat i heard blah blah blah blah try to look for a real job blah blah blah blah

Have you ever worked there? Do you know anyone who works there? If you read these forums, then you have read posts of people who work there and there are probably capable people working there reading your posts degrading them and the work they do.

I disagree with your advice, though Geek Squad certainly isn't the best IT job in the world or even the best entry level job in the world let's not lose sight of the fact that IT IS AN ENTRY LEVEL TECH JOB. For your first tech job, just the fact that it is a tech job is great, if it's the only game in town that will hire you then go ahead and get the work experience. You won't move on to a sys admin for your next job but you should be more marketable for a better support job after a little bit.

snadam

Best Buy PC techs/Geek Squad, at least in my store, were a joke. I worked at best buy before geek squad was around, but when they made the switch, there were all geek squad.They were usually arrogant jerks that tried to up-sell you on EVERYTHING. 85% of the customers for them were senior citizens that had no clue what BASIC PC parts were... I couldn't handle it.

And by the way, my opinion is totally biased because I vowed never to work retail ever again. If they offer you a job, or you're interested, pursue it; they make good money and it gets a notch or two under your belt (not to mention looks good on a resume). Looking back though, I wouldn't touch Geek Squad with a 10 foot pole.

KGhaleon

When you fill out that 20 page (5'ish questions a page), multiple choice online test kind of deal.. you get a scored in what they seem to call yellow, yellow/green and green circles. Unless you score well enough for a green circle, nobody looks at your application. Maybe that's what happened to you?

Actually they told me to fillout the online application, which I did. It was more like 20 pages, with 30 questions on each. Took forever to fill out.

I never saw anything more, I just figured they call you back if your info looks good. What you mentioned sounds pretty lame, since anyone could just pick the right answers.

KG

ilcram19

Have you ever worked there? Do you know anyone who works there? If you read these forums, then you have read posts of people who work there and there are probably capable people working there reading your posts degrading them and the work they do.

I disagree with your advice, though Geek Squad certainly isn't the best IT job in the world or even the best entry level job in the world let's not lose sight of the fact that IT IS AN ENTRY LEVEL TECH JOB. For your first tech job, just the fact that it is a tech job is great, if it's the only game in town that will hire you then go ahead and get the work experience. You won't move on to a sys admin for your next job but you should be more marketable for a better support job after a little bit

they degradete them selfs they r being unprossional, IT people (or technolgy) are here to help
people and make their life esier and not to trick them in to paying for stuff that they really didnt do...and ill tell you wut cuz of dat people come to us more often is not cuz we charge 80% less of wut geek squad would charge or because we will advice them how to protect their computer without installing a 200dll antivirus they come to us cuz we r profssionals and we love wut we do
must of us aren't IT for the money....

networker050184

Wow ilcram19 you make IT sound like the red cross! IT is still a business and businesses need profits to be successful. The people that DO the IT work do it because it is interesting and fun, but the man who pays your paycheck is probably only in it for the money.

richnewman

What about advancement? Seems like if you're the on-site network guy, that job would be easy. I haven't been able to find out what certs/experience those people have though.

Let's get some positives here >.>

Okay, it's not a pure PC repair job.. still pays better then other shitty jobs I've had. I don't care about some horny fat dude stealing pictures and videos. He worked for Geek Squad, but it really has nothing to do with Geek Squad.

The high prices.. If you're stupid enough to pay the high prices, you're either going to blow your money at BestBuy or some other place. There's a saying about a stupid person and his money.. can't think of it.

I can still sleep fine at night after selling someone upgrades or the service plan.

>I disagree with your advice, though Geek Squad certainly isn't the best IT job in the world or
>even the best entry level job in the world let's not lose sight of the fact that IT IS AN ENTRY
>LEVEL TECH JOB. For your first tech job, just the fact that it is a tech job is great, if it's the only
>game in town that will hire you then go ahead and get the work experience. You won't move on
>to a sys admin for your next job but you should be more marketable for a better support job
>after a little bit.

This is about what I was figuring.


>I've been seeing all these funny stories lately about Geek Squad employees. They like to copy
>and watch your pr0n and watch women in the shower.

Who wouldn't want to see some chick in the shower? But seriously, so some jackass was an idiot, it has nothing to do with Geek Squad. He was just some employee. Why the hell would she take a shower when he was there anyway? o_O I'd just assume she wants me to watch. :P


Really I just wanted to know how the experience will look on a resume, and where the experience will get me. Will the experience count as desktop support/PC repair kind of thing? What would you call that experience?


Anything else about Geek Squad? :

blargoe

I'm not sure "how much" it will get you in the long run. I am sure it is better than nothing, and it might be the only part time gig in town if you're trying to make grades in school at the same time. It is my opinion that the first few months to a year, for a lot of people, that the actual job probably doesn't matter as much (as long as there is technology involved), it is really a filler to get you from absolutely no experience to ready for entry level.

For people seeking a degree but doesn't want to work a crappy retail job when they are done with their AAS or BS degree, something like Geek Squad might be a good way to get on with some experience to get you ahead of the rest when it comes time to graduate, keeping in mind that something better will come along, and you should jump on that train when it arrives.

emmajoyce

I just want to comment on the best buy deal. I worked there last year for 3 months during christmas. It actually would have been an ok job, working wise, if they wouldnt push the sales deal so much. I understand they are in business to sale. But they drive the employees crazy with the pushing of sales, especially the stupid contracts. Its a rip off and they know it. They more or less get large amounts of free money from these people on contracts. If they sell you a two year contract, they dont mention that the product already has a one year service plan. So in effect you only get one year for your money. Anyway the working conditions I thought were ok except for that. I actually enjoyed the job when the manager wasnt around.

springroll

Well one of the projects that we have on site are BestBuy GS. Let's just say they are pretty rude on the phone as they seem to yell a lot. I also notice a lot of them have little or no knowledge about computers at all. They would act tough and they know everything but they don't lol :P

But then they only get pay like 12.50/hr.

Sometimes I could her them struggling trying to give the customer answers to their questions and come and ask us(we aren't really comp tech nor we are hire to) but they know a few ppl in our project have computer exp. Their manager even try to transfer a few of us to QS(myself included) We all deny since 1.I don't have to talk to customer with my current positon 2.I don't have to up sell product 3. my job is easier and the pay is about the same 4.I got a good schedule.

Apply to QS if u want but be prepare to up-sell and have customer scream in ur ears

Lamini

1st time i applied to geek squad was in 2004, started at $17.50, turned down as a DoD company offered me $23/hr right after my geek squad interview (27yrs old). 3.5yrs later,i applied to geek squad for part time job. skipped interviews, went straight to last one. it was just a part time job, they start at $14/hr. at the end, they no longer wanted a part timer (they did), and wanted to bring me on as full time. i turned them down and said "not for $14/hr you nuts?" (manager was cool). I thought something was wrong, GM said "nah we start you at $19". i still said "no way, thats a $5/hr pay cut for me", "its just a starting rate...". im just an electronics technician with 8yrs military experience, with an A+ if that means anything.

so... what do i do? i go to staples. they need a technician, they're called EasyTechs. skipped all the interviews, got hired on the spot. anything wrong with this picture? i start orientation and asked the GM what the rate was, "$7.85/hr". I almost walked out the door. I should have. i worked 3 months there, getting paid $50 for a full 8hour day blows. i had not mopped a floor, swept floors, took out everyones trash in about 10 years, and i made $10/hr doing it 12years ago lol. no biggy (i guess). the customers, oh my goodness, the customers. the worst part of the job was them. people telling you to find stuff and put it in their cart! kids telling 30+year olds to do this! i wanted to punch so many peoples teeth. anyway, i did about 3 hours actual tech work there, the rest, and your main job there is a salesman, technician is secondary to it. thats why i quit.

Illusionking

I worked for best buy in about 1998-1999, this is pre-geek squad, but probably good information for anyone that is interested in working for Best Buy.

They sent a recruiter to my school while I was attending ITT Tech for my EET degree. It took about 3 interviews a drug test and alot of driving (it was a 45 mile drive to Best Buy at the time....basically they said I could get transferred to my area when there was an available position).

1) It's a sales job with some tech experience (expected all computer related tasks)
2) When overstaffed, you work the sales floor (not talked about before starting job)
3) Limited on ways to fix computers (if their solutions don't work, you cannot use your methodology, even if your way works)
4) If you can't get it fixed, you tell the customer that, they will need to reinstall their OS (if I remember correctly, this would cost about $60 to $80)
5) I wasn't really even allowed to make registry changes
6) Pay was about $13 an hour (remember this WAS almost 10 years ago)
7) Most hardware issues got shipped to their repair facility rather than done in-house.

Not the greatest, not the worse. It's very routine, if you are not a think for yourselfer then it would be perfect.

Some pros though
1) You always get your hands on the newest technology
2) Company functions
3) Customer Service experience (which has proved itself to be of use, especially with a more corporate helpdesk setting )
4) A pretty good employee discount

It made a good stepping stone, here I was still in college, not working for a fast food restaurant and learning new technology.

Oh yes, if you're there for a store opening, even if they make it sound like you're there for good, suddenly you realize, wow I just found out my last day of work is in two weeks and that it was only a seasonal job! SURPRISE

*sings* but I'm not bitterrrrrrrrrrr

Any other questions let me know....and also remember this was a while back, things may have changed. Though, a buddy of mine currently is employed with the geek squad and constantly complains to me about about management, having to work the sales floor.....oh and being jerked around on his schedule, oh and promotions to suck ups......bah it's your choice choose well.