Service Review: The Geek Squad

I needed a new wireless Internet system for my home, and I was uncertain about my ability to install it properly. I also knew, with a fair amount of certainty, that I’d need some help to set up the necessary encryption system that would protect my computer from the prying eyes of tech smarties lurking in my wireless range. After some discussion with my husband about who to contract to take care of the installation of my wireless Internet, we decided to give the Geek Squad a try. What follows is a review of the service they provided.

Service Rating: 4.5 (of possible 5)

Pricing
We contracted to have the Geek Squad provide our wireless installation service through Best Buy, where we purchased our system. We knew that our local high speed cable Internet provider would charge us $150.00 to come to our home and perform the necessary service. Best Buy offered us the Geek Squad service for $159.00. We quoted this price offered by our Internet service provider to Best Buy, and they matched the price.

Questioning whether Best Buy might pad the pricing for the services provided by the Geek Squad in order to cover their brokerage fee, I checked out the pricing for on-site service on the Geek Squad’s website. There I discovered that the Geek Squad sets flat rate pricing for a number of on-site home and business service, and the price quoted for an in-home wireless Internet installation was, in fact, $159.00. You can check out their website for flat rate pricing of the particular service you are looking to have provided.

Reliability
When we set up our appointment, we set it up for 12:45pm. Not between 9:00am and 3:00pm, but 12:45pm. And that was on a Saturday- the Geek Squad is not your telephone repairman or your cable guy. Furthermore, we were impressed to get that appointment, as we set it up at 5:30pm the evening before. At approximately 12:40pm I received a telephone call from a Geek Squad service representative letting me know that our personal geek was caught in traffic and would most likely arrive around 1:15pm, and certainly no later than 1:30pm. Michael, our geek, rang our doorbell at 1:20pm on the nose.

We wanted the Geek Squad to set up some particular things on our desktop computer and on the laptop that the wireless would be sending signal to, and we gave that list to the service rep at Best Buy who booked the appointment. A somewhat jaded homeowner, who has spent way too many hours waiting for service installers who came with wrong equipment and incomplete service orders, I hovered over our Geek Squad geek, ensuring that he had all the appropriate service information, and everything he needed to make our wireless dreams come true. He had everything in order, and our service was set up thoroughly in approximately 90 minutes, which is 30 minutes less than the two hours quoted by Best Buy.

Our system is somewhat complex, as we have some fairly intricate software loaded onto our desktop computer, which is the computer that was being set up to interface with our laptop. Our Geek Squad service man stayed with the job until it was complete. He never had to “call into the office” or “get another truck” for the “right tools.”

Product Knowledge
I grilled Michael, our Geek Squad geek, about all the hardware, software, and the less tangible components of our new wireless service. I asked him direct questions about what types of computers, and what kinds of users, could break into our service, and under what conditions. He demonstrated thorough knowledge of our current system, the new system we were installing, the types of systems that were out there that could possibly corrupt our system, and the conditions under which that might happen. He was forthright and non-defensive, and seemed to have an impressive knowledge base about products he was installing as well as the more antiquated hardware he was interfacing it with.

Authenticity
The technician sent to our home by the Geek Squad was an authentic geek. He spoke geek speak fluently, and did not look out of place in his black trousers, white work shirt and thin black tie.

The Big Picture
Our experience with the Geek Squad was a positive one. While I find their rates to be a bit high, they’re not significantly higher than the service provided by our local high speed Internet provider, and through their service brokerage at Best Buy, they did match the price we was offered. The service was thorough and performed by a capable professional, who was courteous and efficient. Our service continues to work properly. I would award the Geek Squad a rating of 4.5 out of 5.0 and highly recommend their service to others.