I worked in the geek squad in Oklahoma for 2 years, and I can tell you that the level of skill among the techs varied greatly. I just depended on who was assigned to work your case. A good tech would've spotted that. The problem is that the GS managers are hevily pressured to "Up sell" services, and they force techs to push the blanket $200 & $300 service packs to increase revenue numbers. Each tech was tracked for how many he/she sold in a week/month.
Exactly, I can guarantee you that they knew the hard drive was unplugged. They could haven mentioned and fixed that while still trying to "up sell". "Hey, this was unplugged, but it might be a good idea to still check out the PC anyway with a diagnostic".
Anyway, it is absolutely the managers hounding the employees about sales and numbers that drive this kind of behavior. If my managers knew half of what I did for free to help customers at Staples, I would be fired.
This is one of the most annoying things I've ever watched. You can't blame the Geek Squad for preying on someone stupid enough to carry around a punch card reader in the 21st century.
@briggsjos It sounds worst then a newb, after all first thing I do is pull the side cover and look to make sure it is all plugged together correctly. A connection that is off be spotted in 2 minutes...most time being removing the side cover depending on your PC...mine takes 10 seconds to remove. Then again I do all my own work, same for auto, motorcycle and home repairs....it's best to LEARN in life then to rely on OTHER people.
@eerisome No kidding. Sheesh. Hard drives generally don't even cost half that much, esp not the ones that go in towers. And the only real "expensive" problem an HDD could have is if it flubs and you lost all ur data...
Geek squad tried ripping my friend off a couple years back. He somehow lost his sound card driver but geek squad told them it would be over 300 dollars, they claimed his motherboard had died. I fixed the problem within 10 minutes, To this day i tell everybody i know to never go to geeksquad and that i will look at their machine free of charge
I would like to try something like this with geek squad and then when they say they can't figure out the problem, I show them the problem, tell their manager so they get fired because PC repair technicians should be smart!
Lesson of the day...support your local businesses!!! They do it right because 1)A huge part of a small business is referrals, so doing things right will keep customers and their friends/family coming back. 2) Big box stores are the opposite, they don't give a damn about referrals seeing how their big ad's will get you. Support your local business as they most likely will have your best interests in mind.
The Geek Squad is awful! I live in Tucson, AZ, and a couple years ago I went to a nearby Best Buy to get my computer fixed. They said that it would be ready the next day. It took them two weeks! Because they kept on findning "problems." Not only did they charge me hundreds of dollars, but my computer STILL wasn't fixed. It's a scam.
I'm going to drive to Tony Gambino's place next time my PC goes down. An HONEST PC repair guy? Extremely rare. Tony - you deserve a Tony award for honesty.
If Geek Squad would lower their prices and hire people who know how to actually know what they are doing then everybody would be happy. Instead they hire a bunch of lazy fat bastards who only spend 10 mins looking at the computer and give up, not even digging deep and spend at least an hour or 2 to find the actual problem and come up with a solution. I'm 16 and I could've spotted that problem in about 5 secs. Geek Squad is not scamming people, the employees just don't know shit.
@Blu3Izzy The only problem with that is when they said there was a virus as well. To KNOW there was a virus on the computer, they clearly would have had to plug the hard drive in (the one they said was broken) and at that point they would have known it wasn't the drive. That being said, it's now clear that it was a scam to get them to buy a new computer.
2 tout of 2 times asking A ? one they did not know the difrence in A IDE and A SATA hard drive , I was looking for A 500 gig ide they did not know what an ide was. Two they wanted to charge me 250 bucks in sandeage to install A video card for me, I did not want void the warenty by doing it my self, that is how they rip off custors by selling the plan that if something goes wrong they will replace it when they buy a new computer
Makes me proud to see how honest and customer oriented most small businesses are; this really does embody the work ethic and professional responsibility that a lot of small businesses hold themselves to. P.S. I'm not a computer tech by trade, but am the family's "goto geek", but I would've missed this, unless I was told that someone was in the PC... Those cable are typically a very snug fit and don't typically come lose on their own.
@0x12d3 Well when starting a computer diagnosis, you should always have the case open, which would obviously point out the fact that something is unplugged.
Mistake? Oh really. They say it was a broken hard drive and ask $580 for a new one .. then this new $580 comes copmplete with a virus .... Best Buy .. you are off my list of places to buy.
p.s. a hard drive costs about $100 .. without virus.
@skmanga Because this is what real journalists do. They uncover fraud for the benefit of the people. The people should then boycott the business. It has nothing to do with the government.
@Gotred we take what were given and make sure we dont go out of our way for anything different.
You really dont see how the gov't treats the population like babies, and holds everyones hands??
We all believe were making personal choices but the choices we make are limited to what the gov't deems correct. Not only that but the mainstream person is menatlly limited to what society deems acceptable, you wouldnt want to be labeled a social outcast, or that wierd loser!!
@skmanga They are things that have been long ingrained in your mind from the moment you entered the system. Were you the kid that always wanted to fit in at school? or the socially awkward kid that didnt fit in? the slut that didnt care and hooked up with older guys, or the ugly lil nerd girl who stayed home and got good grades?
Its been going on forever, and it shows how powerfull media can be.
Even if you dont realize it, it is something u cant escape!
They say they are sorry for missing consistant accuracy; you didn't fail in accuracy you were scamming people; that has nothing to do with being accurate
Oh my god, I hated those $70 diagnosis tests. That was so absurd. I hated myself when I worked there since I had to try to sell that kind of rip-off and I couldn't force the GS guys to just have a simple look at it for free. I wasn't part of Geek Squad but I was a Computer Sales Associate so I dealt with a lot of Geek Squad's BS.
my laptop had a warranty and we took it in to geek squad where we buaght it and they said there was a problem that the warranty didnt cover and i just wasted 300$
@DeltaFreestyle That sucks man. When I worked there I hated seeing customers come in and have that happen to them. Those people would get really mad, and I don't blame them. It was to the point that I ignored my supervisors and tried to steer customers away from purchasing those warranties because they rip you off. Then I eventually just quit.
. . . best buy employees are useless. i once asked them for a blackberry charger and they kept asking which wireless phone company i used. and then i was looking for a passport studio for mac and they asked if it was for an ibook or an imac.
small, independent places are ALWAYS better than large uber-corporate chains like Best Buy. i had this problem when i bought a thinkstation and the hard drive cable was lose, took 5 minutes on google and 2 minutes opening the case for me to fix it myself.
@Dusty696969 Agreed! My friend got the AV Suite trojan on her laptop, and she took it to GeekSquad and they came back with a $400 price to remove it! Upon inspection of the invoice, 298 of the bill was their "tech support subscription" that she had declined! They told her it was necessary to subscribe to their future service if she wanted it repaired. Btw, a $40 Norton's disc, an hour of my time and $20 fixed the issue. Geeksquad FTL =(
@daywrenn Just about with any virus you can go into your computer via safe mode, and then get online and google the problem and you can fix it yourself all most every time.
@Dusty696969 And I'm saying I agree with you. I was saying I agree, Don't use GeekSquad, and I gave an example of why I agreed with you. I wasting fighting with you, I was saying you are right, that GeekSquad does try to scam people. BTW, if the ostrich picture is your avatar, that seriously scared the $h!t out of me when it popped up! lol
@daywrenn I wasn't arguing with you???? I was just giving more facts based on your comment. Sorry you took it that way. LOL. Yeah my old nick name was Ostrich that's why I have it. Even though I don't look in anyway like an ostrich.
@Dusty696969 LOL, looks like that was my bad, I misread what you wrote, sorry about that! Well, if you don't have teeth like that pic.. and dont look like an ostrich, how did you get the nickname?? O_O hehe
@daywrenn Its kinda of a shame story now that I'm older. Some friends and myself decided to do some LSD. Short story said my name turned in to Ostrich. Or O (as in Oliver) for short
@Dusty696969 LOL, I hate to admit this, but thats actually cleaner than what my dirty mind assumed it to be. My wicked mind being what it is went with the screen name 696969, and mix that with ostriches burying their heads.. well, you can piece together where my mind went from there.. and now I kind of feel ashamed.. lol . O.o
@daywrenn Yeah a long time ago when I made this screen name I kept trying to get one that had Dusty in it and youtube kept giving me alternate names because all the Dusty names I wanted where already taken. I got ticked off and my perverted mind just typed 696969 and hit ok and it took. So I just kept the name. LOL.
i remember when my sister jammed in the remote in my computer causing it to get stuck... we went to geek squad and they got it out while fucking up the keybord (we had to get a new one)
I have corrected 2 geek squad morons while at bestbuy when geeksquad was part of customer service and not its own separate entity within bestbuy. I was waiting on my pre-order pickup. They acted surprised because I dont look like a geek but im a computer software engineer and I workout and I suppose those 2 things dont go hand in hand. I told the customer they were helping to go elsewhere.
My particular store was so bad at the time of my employment (West Hartford, CT) that on days when our numbers were lower than desired we would actively turn away customers who insisted they were not interested in additional services or accessories, telling them that the product is out of stock and pointing them to another BB.
The services over service mentality is heavily indoctrinated into the sales people and often they are pressured into feeling their jobs rely on numbers performance.
It's ridiculous for Best Buy to issue a statement that they feel horrible about the situation and such. I've worked for Best Buy and there is no commission incentive for the salespeople or techs to be misleading. However, there is A LOT of pressure to tack on additional services and performance appraisals are entirely focused on high margin services.
I eventually quit my job because I would come home every day feeling like an asshole for convincing people to spend their money on junk services.
Im not wiz when it comes to computers but I do know a few things and ignore anything they throw at me that will cost a bunch of money. I go to Geek Squad only to get more memory installed and nothing else as I don't have major problems with my PC. I wouldn't go down the path of a witch hunt against Geek Squad after all 1 fixed the problem with no cost but the other tried to run a scam. The thing is people see a crop ran company like Geek Squad so all of them scam, it isn't true.
So instead of just owning-up to their attempt to fuck people in the ass, Best-Buy/Geek Squad immediately contacts the Better Business Bureau and discovers they have an "F" rating for their bullshit antics and has them combine the scores for the entire district just so they can falsely increase their score rating instead of implementing things that will fix their scamming reputation.
And this douchebag company has the balls to continue opening their doors for business every day. Fuck Best-Buy.
@greenrefrigerator I completely agree with your statement that combining the scores to get a better rating is shady but at the same time the score going from an F to an A- proves the scam is isolated to a very small area and not reflective of the whole company.
@jairodrigue That may in fact be the case, although my original comment never specifically told people not to go there. I merely said, "Fuck them".
Having said that, I need to inform those reading this there has been a confirmed scam issue going on at my local Best-Buy store with the Geek Squad people several states apart. Earlier this year they were stung by the local news crew for doing the same exact thing. So clearly this isn't as isolated as some would like to portray it to be.
Not exactly a scientific test, but pretty illustrative of what can happen when you put Tech Support on sales commission.
On another note, I'm curious what would have happened if they had a slightly more complicated problem. Like if they had a bad power supply, or fan, or anything that should cost slightly more than nothing to fix. It'd be interesting to see price comparison there.
well here we are again. proof that we get scammed all the time. I used to fix friends computers for free cause shops around here would charge a big price to just change a faulty wire. it was obvious about the unplugged hard drive. a massive failure on the part of geeksquad.
ok i just randomly found this video. Im not even from oregon, i am from texas. However... goodness! What a great investigative team. I am surprised that they found the geek squad rating had been consolidated. I appreciate news teams that spend a bit of money testing out local repair shops and businesses for their viewers.
man my laptop was tripping so i went to the geeksquad and they said it had a vires i said WHAT I GO HOME FOR 4 DAMN MINUTES CHECKING MY FACEBOOK THEN IT CRASHES YOU GUYS SUCK so i told my moms freind to fix it
@wildbuck007 - yes you can.. expect it for free. It takes minutes & look at it as investment the next time there's something seriously wrong they might come back to your business. But I'm assuming most have probably caught on that it was a test somehow
A person who has been victim of Geek Squad, don't ever take your PC to Geek Squad unless you like get ripped the FUCK OFF. GEEK SQUAD CAN EAT A BIG HAIRY DROOL COVER DICK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Several things. You bring it in. Be aware you will be charges a flat fee. It IS a service rendered no matter if it is something this small. Most of us won't charge you. But do not count on NOT being charged.
The bottom line is that it is a business and because yer a dumb ass who pulled a simple plug takes our time away from a serious cluster fuck on some one else machine.
You cannot expect to walk in and take their time and not expect to pay them something. Nicer ones just may do it free.
Wow, just like anywhere there are multiple locations you are going to have hit or miss service. If there would have been multple PC Paramedix locations then one of those could have misdiagnosed too. Get real and stop drawing conclusions from a single incident. Judging a huge company by one of 1000 locations is idiotic.
You can never trust large corporations. They are ALWAYS in it for profit and nothing else. They will lie and cheat their way to a profit any chance they get.
I agree with the Geek Squad bullshit. But I don't agree that the repair should be done for free though, well maybe as a courtesy the first time, but you've got to realize that the repair person has bills to pay too. $10-$15 bucks for this repair would have been fine.
REMEMBER my previous comment still stands but as much as i hate fruad i hate FOX NEWS EVEN MORE bunch of ethnocentric asswipes with their heads up their asses, they are forgetting that the technician is different if you bring in a closed hard drive with the wire unplugged after doing a diagnostics test i would assume the hard drive is broken too since none of its functions are working and the next step replace it.. or he was just scaming but fox is still shit retarded shit.
The harddrive is always closed. Maybe you are referring to the PC case.
You never quote a job when you haven't opened the case. It's like quoting an auto repair without opening the hood because you turned the key and it didn't turn over.
yea ofcourse any computer repair can be done easily at home on ur computer by URSELF! go to geeksquad or any other type of computer tech people they just charge u a hundred bux for simply running a antivirus or rebooting it.
I used to work at Best Buy a few months ago, and there are probably a lot more instances of this happening at Best Buys nowadays. Best Buy is feeling the effects of the economy and are really pushing their employees to sell, sell, sell.
try dell they are even worse. dell charges you 50 dollars so they can tell you what to do and they know nothing. I got into an argument with the guy on the phone because he didn't know what he was talking about and I wound up getting my money back and fixing it myself. found out a ram card blew but it was hard to diagnose because it did it while only one program was running and i left the computer for awhile, when i came back the fans were spinning as fast as they could and couldnt enter bios.
Im happy they do tests like this cause there are dirty business people in every king of business from auto repair shops to the guy who installs your stereo at the electronics store.
@khainguyen98 if your computer will not start, then your computer is just plain busted, kind of hard to fix a computer that won't even start up and i have never even tried. The average user who goes to best buy, is going for virus repair. i have take computers that wont boot the os, reloaded the os and gotten them running better than brand new and i was able to do that with System Mechanic and it did not cost me a dime to do so.
@khainguyen98 even more amazing is that you were able go to you tube and post your cheeky little remark, when your computer doesn't even start up. Uh, if you cant get the power to turn on, i suggest that you buy a new computer, just dont go to best buy, go to tiger direct.
@persevere67 Just stating something. If they are commenting, it is not hard to believe they are using someone elses computer to post their "cheeky little remarks" or have another one. Its the 21st century. Being a smart ass doesn't get you far my friend.
@persevere67 yah, well your little program will fix minor software issues. Not many people have such an open mind to just buy a new computer once theirs have a problem. If I were like that then i would have bought 4 new laptops. you take your computers to repair shops for hardware issues.
I want someone to test the one here in Sarasota, because seriously, sketchy shiit going on. They open and close the case over and over because I have that free repair thing (have to pay to replace parts) and they can't even completely fix my computer.
@PaigeChan130 dont take a PC into a store.. thats the onyl thing i can tell you.. you just need freinds who are good at computers.. cas as this video proves.. there are alot fo ass hole scammers out there =\
@TheBum642 yeah... My parents wont listen though. 3 computers that broke were brought there for their 3 free computer check and two of them said they can be fixed but later just said the motherboard is dead... then I bring the 3rd one and suddenly its cuz the mother board is dead too. Odd right? I am going to go there and talk to them, but they never take teens seriously =/
You're better off going to a mom and pop shop. Their more geeky and may do simple fixes free to get you to come back next time. Best thing to do first even is to check with your resident geek friend to see if he may know what's up. As we all know if you have a friend that works with computers then he's an expert in all things that have anything to do with computers.. and phones... hell even that clock you have on you're wall that stopped ticking. :)
I had the opportunity to work for an unscrupulous man some years ago. What I saw is not that some technicians "fail" to determine what is wrong. What I saw was simple, basic robbery. A woman brings a PC, she does not know what is the problem. Technician finds it, but receives commission based on the number of tickets he gets in the day, and above his quota. He resorts to these tactics to increase incoming money, and thus, his commission and potential promotion. Unethical? Of course.
I'm not claiming to be entirely competent with the 1's and 0's of computer repair, but the Bios will tell you during the boot test whether the HDD is detected. Heck, Geek Squad can't even tell the difference between DDR and DDR2.
I'm a PC tech. and I've heard so many problems from Geek Squad all the time, I've helped so many people with Virus Removal\backup and PC repair and I've charged nothing at times or very low amount and when i find out how much Best Buy charges, its ridiculous. So many people are told one thing and in reality its something minor.
@tgoodfella i know right i help people out to. One person bought a brand new laptop and was told in best buy they will set up here new computer for $50, that's insane i did it for free it only rook 5 minutes to do and was really easy something basic a dog can do it.
@XS7SXSNIPER if u got it done in 5 minutes u failed, thats not a setup, thats just turning on the machine and putting in the basic info, a true setup is loading all the windows updates ~2hours, making recovery disks ~ 2-4 hours,cleaning out bloatware and loading antivirus.if you do it right it will take a person who knows what they are doing a minimum of 4-8 hours. so its pretty cheap considering the 4-8 hrs of time put into it,and if u know what your doing its how u value your time
24 bucks for a new ide cable
computersshot 4 hours ago
I worked in the geek squad in Oklahoma for 2 years, and I can tell you that the level of skill among the techs varied greatly. I just depended on who was assigned to work your case. A good tech would've spotted that. The problem is that the GS managers are hevily pressured to "Up sell" services, and they force techs to push the blanket $200 & $300 service packs to increase revenue numbers. Each tech was tracked for how many he/she sold in a week/month.
suitnthaiguy 15 hours ago
@suitnthaiguy
Exactly, I can guarantee you that they knew the hard drive was unplugged. They could haven mentioned and fixed that while still trying to "up sell". "Hey, this was unplugged, but it might be a good idea to still check out the PC anyway with a diagnostic".
Anyway, it is absolutely the managers hounding the employees about sales and numbers that drive this kind of behavior. If my managers knew half of what I did for free to help customers at Staples, I would be fired.
glowyrm 8 hours ago
This is one of the most annoying things I've ever watched. You can't blame the Geek Squad for preying on someone stupid enough to carry around a punch card reader in the 21st century.
mrmattcohn 17 hours ago
Services like Geek Squad are just there to pray on the uniformed. How much was that new hard drvie? Holy crap.
navypukevomit 1 day ago
useless shitbags
Rock11001 2 days ago
They told me a Windows 7 computer and Windows XP computer couldn't be on the same network, and that I needed an upgrade. BS.
NerdOnTheStreet 2 days ago
The real scumbags are you phonys at Fox news
mendokane 2 days ago
Sounds like the had a newb in there that didn't know what to do.
briggsjos 2 days ago
@briggsjos It sounds worst then a newb, after all first thing I do is pull the side cover and look to make sure it is all plugged together correctly. A connection that is off be spotted in 2 minutes...most time being removing the side cover depending on your PC...mine takes 10 seconds to remove. Then again I do all my own work, same for auto, motorcycle and home repairs....it's best to LEARN in life then to rely on OTHER people.
modette99 1 day ago
I live there
300NUKEZ 2 days ago
LIFE LESSON #1 You pay for what you nothing about. I fix my own computers, cars, house and my asian g/f does my taxes ; )
freakyflow 2 days ago
This is why you always get opinions from several different shops!
mak098 3 days ago
This is what happens when you hire teenagers and only pay them slave wages. FUCK Best Buy!
Painkiller9013 4 days ago
Look at the way Best Buy handles it. They regret the "misdiagnosis." What a bunch of BS.
Infinity161 4 days ago
$580? lmao
SkygroundQ 5 days ago
@SkygroundQ That's the going rate for data recovery which is what I'm guessing they quoted that price for, but obviously it didn't need it lol.
TalesOfWar 2 days ago
LOL $580?
eerisome 5 days ago
@eerisome No kidding. Sheesh. Hard drives generally don't even cost half that much, esp not the ones that go in towers. And the only real "expensive" problem an HDD could have is if it flubs and you lost all ur data...
EB1089 3 days ago
It's good to see some honest shops out there, though
anzwertree 6 days ago
Geek squad tried ripping my friend off a couple years back. He somehow lost his sound card driver but geek squad told them it would be over 300 dollars, they claimed his motherboard had died. I fixed the problem within 10 minutes, To this day i tell everybody i know to never go to geeksquad and that i will look at their machine free of charge
SpazticGamer 6 days ago
I would like to try something like this with geek squad and then when they say they can't figure out the problem, I show them the problem, tell their manager so they get fired because PC repair technicians should be smart!
spud92988 6 days ago
Lesson of the day...support your local businesses!!! They do it right because 1)A huge part of a small business is referrals, so doing things right will keep customers and their friends/family coming back. 2) Big box stores are the opposite, they don't give a damn about referrals seeing how their big ad's will get you. Support your local business as they most likely will have your best interests in mind.
SuperRavensfan5220 6 days ago 2
The Geek Squad is awful! I live in Tucson, AZ, and a couple years ago I went to a nearby Best Buy to get my computer fixed. They said that it would be ready the next day. It took them two weeks! Because they kept on findning "problems." Not only did they charge me hundreds of dollars, but my computer STILL wasn't fixed. It's a scam.
milaxoxo 6 days ago
Always good to have a best friend that builds computers for a living :D
jvyoung2111 1 week ago
Jesus Christ that HDD uses an IDE cable... God people get with the time lol.
jpmac098 1 week ago
When you have to talk to the PR department for an unplugged hard drive cable - it's time to file for bankruptcy.
darthspeaks 1 week ago
I'm going to drive to Tony Gambino's place next time my PC goes down. An HONEST PC repair guy? Extremely rare. Tony - you deserve a Tony award for honesty.
Hats off to you mate.
darthspeaks 1 week ago
why don't you do the same with an auto mechanic, taking him an okay engine, and see how much they try to scam you?
they are the worst
Gutsyndicate 1 week ago
its what we do "should be there new saying/quote" lol
codehackerzane 1 week ago
Better Business Bureau is a scam
BabyEater9000 1 week ago
If Geek Squad would lower their prices and hire people who know how to actually know what they are doing then everybody would be happy. Instead they hire a bunch of lazy fat bastards who only spend 10 mins looking at the computer and give up, not even digging deep and spend at least an hour or 2 to find the actual problem and come up with a solution. I'm 16 and I could've spotted that problem in about 5 secs. Geek Squad is not scamming people, the employees just don't know shit.
Blu3Izzy 1 week ago
@Blu3Izzy The only problem with that is when they said there was a virus as well. To KNOW there was a virus on the computer, they clearly would have had to plug the hard drive in (the one they said was broken) and at that point they would have known it wasn't the drive. That being said, it's now clear that it was a scam to get them to buy a new computer.
stickboyST 1 week ago
@stickboyST That is true. I didn't notice that part. . . So I take back what I said about them not scamming people
Blu3Izzy 1 week ago
OMG like how hard is it to plug in again a IDE cable OMFG those big fat liars!!! a kind of same story happend to me one time...
the hard drive was failing they took t to repair and then said the monitor was broken well we did not brak it what a customer annoyance!!!
MinecraftGamerzss 1 week ago
GeekSquad is a huge scam
PilotVBall 1 week ago
You got caught Best Buy...finally! Thanks Fox for revealing the Light of Justice upon them
stretchypants123 1 week ago
i cant trust america now
wtl1964 1 week ago
@wtl1964 well that's true, but definitely not Best Buy
stretchypants123 1 week ago
how can you have a virus if the harddrive is broken
chiccosanchez 1 week ago
@chiccosanchez Good point, even I, who have repaired several computers both professionally and non-professionally, have missed that.
stretchypants123 1 week ago
I just fix my own stuff, my dad knows his way around a computer, so anything I can't figure out I just give it to him
appleipodtouch2g 1 week ago
2 tout of 2 times asking A ? one they did not know the difrence in A IDE and A SATA hard drive , I was looking for A 500 gig ide they did not know what an ide was. Two they wanted to charge me 250 bucks in sandeage to install A video card for me, I did not want void the warenty by doing it my self, that is how they rip off custors by selling the plan that if something goes wrong they will replace it when they buy a new computer
how367 1 week ago
I hate this woman's voice
SlipperyMooseCakes 1 week ago
Makes me proud to see how honest and customer oriented most small businesses are; this really does embody the work ethic and professional responsibility that a lot of small businesses hold themselves to. P.S. I'm not a computer tech by trade, but am the family's "goto geek", but I would've missed this, unless I was told that someone was in the PC... Those cable are typically a very snug fit and don't typically come lose on their own.
0x12d3 2 weeks ago 2
@0x12d3 Well when starting a computer diagnosis, you should always have the case open, which would obviously point out the fact that something is unplugged.
afig110610 2 weeks ago
This has been flagged as spam show
...when money is involved dont always trust the person giving you advice!...
SteveSabbai 2 weeks ago
Mistake? Oh really. They say it was a broken hard drive and ask $580 for a new one .. then this new $580 comes copmplete with a virus .... Best Buy .. you are off my list of places to buy.
p.s. a hard drive costs about $100 .. without virus.
ETericET 2 weeks ago
Some technicians abuse their power, some don't. WHAT A FUCKING SURPRISE!!
SubstancePrime 2 weeks ago
her voice makes me want to kill myself
Cryingchicken 2 weeks ago
This is why you learn how to fix your own shit :)
UnknownAs1an 2 weeks ago 49
why dosent the government step in and protect the people from this obvious scam?
You dont need this news report to know that the geek squad are dirty criminals!!
skmanga 2 weeks ago
@skmanga Because this is what real journalists do. They uncover fraud for the benefit of the people. The people should then boycott the business. It has nothing to do with the government.
Gotred 2 weeks ago
@Gotred The people have proved to be to stupid to protect themselves.
It's the same reason the government controls what we can and cant put into our bodies.
What we can and cant see on tv and the news, and what we can and cant buy.
Why would they let us fall victim to this obvious scam?
Insufficient proof?(i can provide evidence)
There must be some behind the scenes gay lovin goin on between the gov't and best buy!!
Must be why circuit city went under..
skmanga 2 weeks ago
@skmanga I'm sorry that you feel the majority of the population is too stupid to make personal choices and take personal responsibility.
Gotred 2 weeks ago
@Gotred we take what were given and make sure we dont go out of our way for anything different.
You really dont see how the gov't treats the population like babies, and holds everyones hands??
We all believe were making personal choices but the choices we make are limited to what the gov't deems correct. Not only that but the mainstream person is menatlly limited to what society deems acceptable, you wouldnt want to be labeled a social outcast, or that wierd loser!!
skmanga 1 week ago
@skmanga They are things that have been long ingrained in your mind from the moment you entered the system. Were you the kid that always wanted to fit in at school? or the socially awkward kid that didnt fit in? the slut that didnt care and hooked up with older guys, or the ugly lil nerd girl who stayed home and got good grades?
Its been going on forever, and it shows how powerfull media can be.
Even if you dont realize it, it is something u cant escape!
skmanga 1 week ago
@skmanga Everyone always wants to be right i get it, but just because you have #'s backing your thoughts dosent make em any more real then reality.
we all have biased views with ourselves at the center, step back and realize what, who, where, and why we are.
skmanga 1 week ago
I went to geeksquad and they wanted $200 to restore my laptop!! i googled it and did it myself for free!! there a bunch of fucking crooks!
moiseswin 2 weeks ago
@moiseswin lol
n3rdbear 2 weeks ago
Holy shit, this is insane! Thank god I know enough about PC's that I can fix my own shit.
veltro75 2 weeks ago
I dont take em anywhere, i fix em my self
nagashadow100 2 weeks ago
ya so certain geek squads are crap and some are good...doesnt mean there all crap :P
Xxken101xX 3 weeks ago
They say they are sorry for missing consistant accuracy; you didn't fail in accuracy you were scamming people; that has nothing to do with being accurate
koolaidinator101 3 weeks ago
lol geek squad
motivationalvideo0 3 weeks ago
Omg lol these are the Best Buys near my house.
vash1053 3 weeks ago
come to me ill install your new hard drive for fun.
Sangrex2 3 weeks ago
Oh my god, I hated those $70 diagnosis tests. That was so absurd. I hated myself when I worked there since I had to try to sell that kind of rip-off and I couldn't force the GS guys to just have a simple look at it for free. I wasn't part of Geek Squad but I was a Computer Sales Associate so I dealt with a lot of Geek Squad's BS.
Yusuf1187 3 weeks ago
Scumbag people. Lying to make an extra buck.
Lisztman88 3 weeks ago 23
my laptop had a warranty and we took it in to geek squad where we buaght it and they said there was a problem that the warranty didnt cover and i just wasted 300$
DeltaFreestyle 3 weeks ago
@DeltaFreestyle That sucks man. When I worked there I hated seeing customers come in and have that happen to them. Those people would get really mad, and I don't blame them. It was to the point that I ignored my supervisors and tried to steer customers away from purchasing those warranties because they rip you off. Then I eventually just quit.
Yusuf1187 3 weeks ago
Glad there are still honest people out there, but it's scary to know that scanners also exist
DannyNQH 3 weeks ago
@DannyNQH Yeah gotta watch out for those scanners.. Damn technology these days.
JokrProject 3 weeks ago
. . . best buy employees are useless. i once asked them for a blackberry charger and they kept asking which wireless phone company i used. and then i was looking for a passport studio for mac and they asked if it was for an ibook or an imac.
jercraigg 3 weeks ago
small, independent places are ALWAYS better than large uber-corporate chains like Best Buy. i had this problem when i bought a thinkstation and the hard drive cable was lose, took 5 minutes on google and 2 minutes opening the case for me to fix it myself.
jercraigg 3 weeks ago
Best Buy sucks! But they'll be going under in a couple of years anyway.
demoskunk 3 weeks ago
It's like with mechanics - some are honest, some will just "look" for stuff to fix so they can charge you more.
Elvishairdude89 3 weeks ago
Pcparamedix "repaired" their pc for free, but is charging $159.99 for a 250 GB harddrive? 3:59
MrRagalshnagal 3 weeks ago
over 500 dollars for a hard drive!!!!! Get the fuck out of here. People don't ever use Geek squad.
Dusty696969 1 month ago
@Dusty696969 Agreed! My friend got the AV Suite trojan on her laptop, and she took it to GeekSquad and they came back with a $400 price to remove it! Upon inspection of the invoice, 298 of the bill was their "tech support subscription" that she had declined! They told her it was necessary to subscribe to their future service if she wanted it repaired. Btw, a $40 Norton's disc, an hour of my time and $20 fixed the issue. Geeksquad FTL =(
daywrenn 3 weeks ago
@daywrenn Just about with any virus you can go into your computer via safe mode, and then get online and google the problem and you can fix it yourself all most every time.
Dusty696969 3 weeks ago
@Dusty696969 And I'm saying I agree with you. I was saying I agree, Don't use GeekSquad, and I gave an example of why I agreed with you. I wasting fighting with you, I was saying you are right, that GeekSquad does try to scam people. BTW, if the ostrich picture is your avatar, that seriously scared the $h!t out of me when it popped up! lol
daywrenn 3 weeks ago
@daywrenn I wasn't arguing with you???? I was just giving more facts based on your comment. Sorry you took it that way. LOL. Yeah my old nick name was Ostrich that's why I have it. Even though I don't look in anyway like an ostrich.
Dusty696969 3 weeks ago
@Dusty696969 LOL, looks like that was my bad, I misread what you wrote, sorry about that! Well, if you don't have teeth like that pic.. and dont look like an ostrich, how did you get the nickname?? O_O hehe
daywrenn 3 weeks ago
@daywrenn Its kinda of a shame story now that I'm older. Some friends and myself decided to do some LSD. Short story said my name turned in to Ostrich. Or O (as in Oliver) for short
Dusty696969 3 weeks ago
@Dusty696969 LOL, I hate to admit this, but thats actually cleaner than what my dirty mind assumed it to be. My wicked mind being what it is went with the screen name 696969, and mix that with ostriches burying their heads.. well, you can piece together where my mind went from there.. and now I kind of feel ashamed.. lol . O.o
daywrenn 3 weeks ago
@daywrenn Yeah a long time ago when I made this screen name I kept trying to get one that had Dusty in it and youtube kept giving me alternate names because all the Dusty names I wanted where already taken. I got ticked off and my perverted mind just typed 696969 and hit ok and it took. So I just kept the name. LOL.
Dusty696969 3 weeks ago
i remember when my sister jammed in the remote in my computer causing it to get stuck... we went to geek squad and they got it out while fucking up the keybord (we had to get a new one)
pcblah 1 month ago
I have corrected 2 geek squad morons while at bestbuy when geeksquad was part of customer service and not its own separate entity within bestbuy. I was waiting on my pre-order pickup. They acted surprised because I dont look like a geek but im a computer software engineer and I workout and I suppose those 2 things dont go hand in hand. I told the customer they were helping to go elsewhere.
Ex0dus2099 1 month ago
What normal person unplugs their hard drive anyways or even knows how? Bad test.
deltaray3 1 month ago
My particular store was so bad at the time of my employment (West Hartford, CT) that on days when our numbers were lower than desired we would actively turn away customers who insisted they were not interested in additional services or accessories, telling them that the product is out of stock and pointing them to another BB.
The services over service mentality is heavily indoctrinated into the sales people and often they are pressured into feeling their jobs rely on numbers performance.
negatyve 1 month ago
It's ridiculous for Best Buy to issue a statement that they feel horrible about the situation and such. I've worked for Best Buy and there is no commission incentive for the salespeople or techs to be misleading. However, there is A LOT of pressure to tack on additional services and performance appraisals are entirely focused on high margin services.
I eventually quit my job because I would come home every day feeling like an asshole for convincing people to spend their money on junk services.
negatyve 1 month ago 2
HEY, that's my news channel in Portland! :D
quinnmyster 1 month ago
little shops can do things different then corporations, just saying
plutonicdude 1 month ago
these are ridiculous o.o
plutonicdude 1 month ago
The Geek Squad have over 15,000 local complaints with the BBB, or so I've heard.
psyoptica 1 month ago
Im not wiz when it comes to computers but I do know a few things and ignore anything they throw at me that will cost a bunch of money. I go to Geek Squad only to get more memory installed and nothing else as I don't have major problems with my PC. I wouldn't go down the path of a witch hunt against Geek Squad after all 1 fixed the problem with no cost but the other tried to run a scam. The thing is people see a crop ran company like Geek Squad so all of them scam, it isn't true.
Psyk0Mantis 1 month ago
should've came to SBK Computers lol
babiboi206 1 month ago
So instead of just owning-up to their attempt to fuck people in the ass, Best-Buy/Geek Squad immediately contacts the Better Business Bureau and discovers they have an "F" rating for their bullshit antics and has them combine the scores for the entire district just so they can falsely increase their score rating instead of implementing things that will fix their scamming reputation.
And this douchebag company has the balls to continue opening their doors for business every day. Fuck Best-Buy.
greenrefrigerator 1 month ago
@greenrefrigerator I completely agree with your statement that combining the scores to get a better rating is shady but at the same time the score going from an F to an A- proves the scam is isolated to a very small area and not reflective of the whole company.
jairodrigue 1 month ago
@jairodrigue That may in fact be the case, although my original comment never specifically told people not to go there. I merely said, "Fuck them".
Having said that, I need to inform those reading this there has been a confirmed scam issue going on at my local Best-Buy store with the Geek Squad people several states apart. Earlier this year they were stung by the local news crew for doing the same exact thing. So clearly this isn't as isolated as some would like to portray it to be.
greenrefrigerator 1 month ago
this ladys voice is annoying
warhead213 1 month ago
And this is what news teams are meant to do. Very awesome.
NameIsNew 1 month ago
Fuck the Geek Squad.
dirgekv2 1 month ago
PR=Pretty Ridiculous
DigitalPraise7 1 month ago
Not exactly a scientific test, but pretty illustrative of what can happen when you put Tech Support on sales commission.
On another note, I'm curious what would have happened if they had a slightly more complicated problem. Like if they had a bad power supply, or fan, or anything that should cost slightly more than nothing to fix. It'd be interesting to see price comparison there.
Great2BaNerd 1 month ago
well here we are again. proof that we get scammed all the time. I used to fix friends computers for free cause shops around here would charge a big price to just change a faulty wire. it was obvious about the unplugged hard drive. a massive failure on the part of geeksquad.
saturnin002 1 month ago
ok i just randomly found this video. Im not even from oregon, i am from texas. However... goodness! What a great investigative team. I am surprised that they found the geek squad rating had been consolidated. I appreciate news teams that spend a bit of money testing out local repair shops and businesses for their viewers.
inlovewithsammy 1 month ago
I had my computer brought there they charge me $100 just to look at it and tell me I need a new one.
Hellonagol 1 month ago
We were victums of the geek thugs so now you will never see us at Best Buy
myfriendlucky 1 month ago
man my laptop was tripping so i went to the geeksquad and they said it had a vires i said WHAT I GO HOME FOR 4 DAMN MINUTES CHECKING MY FACEBOOK THEN IT CRASHES YOU GUYS SUCK so i told my moms freind to fix it
SammyFlores238 1 month ago
This girls voice is soooooooo annoying
EpiCQuickkie 1 month ago
Nice cover up
YhwhKhaiMostHigh 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@wildbuck007 - yes you can.. expect it for free. It takes minutes & look at it as investment the next time there's something seriously wrong they might come back to your business. But I'm assuming most have probably caught on that it was a test somehow
nkiddswiftkidd 1 month ago
I take one look at their website & can tell their full of shit, Like most other 'professionals'
nkiddswiftkidd 1 month ago
There's like 3 GeekSquads in Portland. I laugh when i used to go to in BestBuy on 82nd & they looked like a bunch of children.
madjimms 1 month ago
Taking advantage of consumer ignorance.
Sad but all too easy to do.
SENTRY000 2 months ago 2
Translation at 03:31. We apologize for this inconvenience. Some people are about to get fired.
summer20105707 2 months ago 36
A person who has been victim of Geek Squad, don't ever take your PC to Geek Squad unless you like get ripped the FUCK OFF. GEEK SQUAD CAN EAT A BIG HAIRY DROOL COVER DICK!!!!!!!!!!!!
Supramna92557 2 months ago 36
This has been flagged as spam show
@Supramna92557 I bet you love big hairy dick in your mouth.
Ihatehytz 2 months ago
@Supramna92557 I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT!!
I live in oregon too... time for me to open my own shop ;-)
GeekSquad in tigard lol.... <_< fail.
hellzone100 1 month ago
@Supramna92557
i like you
fujimiful 1 month ago
@Supramna92557 can i ask why?
killer14221 2 weeks ago
You know those guys at the geeksquad got fired.
poliuy1 2 months ago
Several things. You bring it in. Be aware you will be charges a flat fee. It IS a service rendered no matter if it is something this small. Most of us won't charge you. But do not count on NOT being charged.
The bottom line is that it is a business and because yer a dumb ass who pulled a simple plug takes our time away from a serious cluster fuck on some one else machine.
You cannot expect to walk in and take their time and not expect to pay them something. Nicer ones just may do it free.
WildBuck007 2 months ago
Wow, just like anywhere there are multiple locations you are going to have hit or miss service. If there would have been multple PC Paramedix locations then one of those could have misdiagnosed too. Get real and stop drawing conclusions from a single incident. Judging a huge company by one of 1000 locations is idiotic.
civicvtec87 2 months ago
@civicvtec87 i guess u are a loyal fan of the geeks
bleachpornal 2 months ago
they said it's broken b/c they think ppl won't know the difference if they dont realize the hard drive is unplugged xD
xxzonbixx 2 months ago
So... Mechanics of the digital age?
SoftwareGlitches 2 months ago 2
my ass u dont who the fk says if someone dosent follow procedure they will drop dead on the spot?
Addicti0nz1 2 months ago
You can never trust large corporations. They are ALWAYS in it for profit and nothing else. They will lie and cheat their way to a profit any chance they get.
derekxnl 2 months ago 2
FUCKERS! They did the same thing to me. Different country. Recommended I change the mother board ($450.00 + tax) or buy a new computer.
I took it across the street. Problem: Power supply. $60.00.
Fucking Best Buy...!
patientzero532 2 months ago
damn paramedix is such a smartass name. nice symbol too.
kashewz 2 months ago
Wtf is up with her voice.
BrocxMalaak 2 months ago 2
I agree with the Geek Squad bullshit. But I don't agree that the repair should be done for free though, well maybe as a courtesy the first time, but you've got to realize that the repair person has bills to pay too. $10-$15 bucks for this repair would have been fine.
Cpillin425 2 months ago
Not surprised. Any store that will charge $85 to hook up your PS3 or 360 for you is obviously a scam organization.
AgileMJOLNIR 2 months ago
their name speaks for itself
ExtraTerrestrials 2 months ago
REMEMBER my previous comment still stands but as much as i hate fruad i hate FOX NEWS EVEN MORE bunch of ethnocentric asswipes with their heads up their asses, they are forgetting that the technician is different if you bring in a closed hard drive with the wire unplugged after doing a diagnostics test i would assume the hard drive is broken too since none of its functions are working and the next step replace it.. or he was just scaming but fox is still shit retarded shit.
Addicti0nz1 2 months ago
@Addicti0nz1 This isn't Fox news. This is a fox affiliate.
coffeeandsugar20 2 months ago
@Addicti0nz1
The harddrive is always closed. Maybe you are referring to the PC case.
You never quote a job when you haven't opened the case. It's like quoting an auto repair without opening the hood because you turned the key and it didn't turn over.
BigDTinyE 2 months ago
yea ofcourse any computer repair can be done easily at home on ur computer by URSELF! go to geeksquad or any other type of computer tech people they just charge u a hundred bux for simply running a antivirus or rebooting it.
Addicti0nz1 2 months ago
Never did business with GeekFraud, and by the looks of this report, certainly glad I never did.
mookixox 2 months ago
I don't know why anyone in their right mind would ask GeekSquad to fix anything...
SCHIZOPHRENlC 2 months ago
Thats why I repair my own computers and I repair other peoples computers
zeosrule 2 months ago
Fuck the geek squad!!!!! they should face a firing squad. Because I'm one of their victim. Be aware of those geek but not so geek enough. Fuck them.
dakkeltibuto4466 2 months ago
I used to work at Best Buy a few months ago, and there are probably a lot more instances of this happening at Best Buys nowadays. Best Buy is feeling the effects of the economy and are really pushing their employees to sell, sell, sell.
yeahsomuch83 2 months ago
Holy shit her voice is horrible.
deadlymassacre1 2 months ago 2
Big business strikes again!
mrfrenik 2 months ago
@DoctorKrabs
I'm going to venture a guess here, but I would say... an honest one.
financehawk 2 months ago
oh and those diagnostic lights were not helping either they were flashing codes not in the manuals
imus1426 2 months ago
try dell they are even worse. dell charges you 50 dollars so they can tell you what to do and they know nothing. I got into an argument with the guy on the phone because he didn't know what he was talking about and I wound up getting my money back and fixing it myself. found out a ram card blew but it was hard to diagnose because it did it while only one program was running and i left the computer for awhile, when i came back the fans were spinning as fast as they could and couldnt enter bios.
imus1426 2 months ago
fucking asians
dookiekong007 2 months ago
Geek Squad...should be called "EPIC FAIL SQUAD!!"
thegentleman90 2 months ago
Im happy they do tests like this cause there are dirty business people in every king of business from auto repair shops to the guy who installs your stereo at the electronics store.
cammybammy 3 months ago
System Mechanic free download, use it, repair shops are for suckers
persevere67 3 months ago
@persevere67 So your saying that this program will start,,, even though my computer wont start? amazing!
khainguyen98 2 months ago
@khainguyen98 if your computer will not start, then your computer is just plain busted, kind of hard to fix a computer that won't even start up and i have never even tried. The average user who goes to best buy, is going for virus repair. i have take computers that wont boot the os, reloaded the os and gotten them running better than brand new and i was able to do that with System Mechanic and it did not cost me a dime to do so.
persevere67 2 months ago
@khainguyen98 even more amazing is that you were able go to you tube and post your cheeky little remark, when your computer doesn't even start up. Uh, if you cant get the power to turn on, i suggest that you buy a new computer, just dont go to best buy, go to tiger direct.
persevere67 2 months ago
@persevere67 Just stating something. If they are commenting, it is not hard to believe they are using someone elses computer to post their "cheeky little remarks" or have another one. Its the 21st century. Being a smart ass doesn't get you far my friend.
LivingInEnvy 2 months ago
@persevere67 yah, well your little program will fix minor software issues. Not many people have such an open mind to just buy a new computer once theirs have a problem. If I were like that then i would have bought 4 new laptops. you take your computers to repair shops for hardware issues.
khainguyen98 2 months ago
I want someone to test the one here in Sarasota, because seriously, sketchy shiit going on. They open and close the case over and over because I have that free repair thing (have to pay to replace parts) and they can't even completely fix my computer.
PaigeChan130 3 months ago
@PaigeChan130 dont take a PC into a store.. thats the onyl thing i can tell you.. you just need freinds who are good at computers.. cas as this video proves.. there are alot fo ass hole scammers out there =\
TheBum642 3 months ago
@TheBum642 yeah... My parents wont listen though. 3 computers that broke were brought there for their 3 free computer check and two of them said they can be fixed but later just said the motherboard is dead... then I bring the 3rd one and suddenly its cuz the mother board is dead too. Odd right? I am going to go there and talk to them, but they never take teens seriously =/
PaigeChan130 2 months ago
You're better off going to a mom and pop shop. Their more geeky and may do simple fixes free to get you to come back next time. Best thing to do first even is to check with your resident geek friend to see if he may know what's up. As we all know if you have a friend that works with computers then he's an expert in all things that have anything to do with computers.. and phones... hell even that clock you have on you're wall that stopped ticking. :)
Omego2K 3 months ago
I had the opportunity to work for an unscrupulous man some years ago. What I saw is not that some technicians "fail" to determine what is wrong. What I saw was simple, basic robbery. A woman brings a PC, she does not know what is the problem. Technician finds it, but receives commission based on the number of tickets he gets in the day, and above his quota. He resorts to these tactics to increase incoming money, and thus, his commission and potential promotion. Unethical? Of course.
kvasir40 3 months ago
@kvasir40 Car repair shops have been doing that for decades... The sad thing is computers are much, much easier to fix.
thebeetalls 2 months ago
I'm not claiming to be entirely competent with the 1's and 0's of computer repair, but the Bios will tell you during the boot test whether the HDD is detected. Heck, Geek Squad can't even tell the difference between DDR and DDR2.
Spongebob420ish 3 months ago
I'm a PC tech. and I've heard so many problems from Geek Squad all the time, I've helped so many people with Virus Removal\backup and PC repair and I've charged nothing at times or very low amount and when i find out how much Best Buy charges, its ridiculous. So many people are told one thing and in reality its something minor.
tgoodfella 3 months ago
@tgoodfella i know right i help people out to. One person bought a brand new laptop and was told in best buy they will set up here new computer for $50, that's insane i did it for free it only rook 5 minutes to do and was really easy something basic a dog can do it.
XS7SXSNIPER 3 months ago
Comment removed
tgoodfella 3 months ago
@XS7SXSNIPER Its ridiculous isnt it. These big ass corporations make a fortune.
tgoodfella 3 months ago
@XS7SXSNIPER if u got it done in 5 minutes u failed, thats not a setup, thats just turning on the machine and putting in the basic info, a true setup is loading all the windows updates ~2hours, making recovery disks ~ 2-4 hours,cleaning out bloatware and loading antivirus.if you do it right it will take a person who knows what they are doing a minimum of 4-8 hours. so its pretty cheap considering the 4-8 hrs of time put into it,and if u know what your doing its how u value your time
Gmc42082 3 months ago
@Gmc42082 ''Basic'' not the full thing she needed to work = D
XS7SXSNIPER 3 months ago
@tgoodfella lol yeah I went on their site $149.99 for Computer Setup? hahahahhahahah.
shadowtsunami 3 months ago
@shadowtsunami how do they get away with such bullshit.
tgoodfella 3 months ago
The way she talks pisses me off.
MrComicMischief 3 months ago
@MrComicMischief Hahaha, glad i'm not the only one :D.