Complaint Review: Geek Squad - Nationwide

When I originally sat down to write the review, I was trying to convey my message across as clearly as possible and explain the pains I went through. Towards the end of the review, I realized how long it was and thought I would shorten the ending for those reading.

I never said that I didn’t experience any issues. You're taking my words and switching them around. I said that, "I’ve never experienced anything quite like this." I’ve had PLENTY of issues with Geek Squad. In fact, every single time I’ve taken the computer in to have it repaired, they never called me to keep me updated on the progress, and they never delivered on the date they said they would. It was always a couple hours, or a few days later that the computer was actually done. Additionally, on a few occasions, I had to go behind them and clean up some more after they were done with the computer.

I tried to go to the same Geek Squad Agent over and over because he screwed up my PC's the least. The reason why I kept going with them, is because if I had a major issue, I was usually able to have it resolved quickly. This particular instance was the straw that broke the camels back.

So, please, do not make an assumption that their service was so good, I kept going back. It was the fairest, most realistic thing I could find. When I finally went looking, I found some other companies that offered more, for better cost. And I took a leap with one, and it turned out to work out perfectly.

To expand on how I came up with a figure of $500 - Best Buy charged me $199.99 for a virus removal and $100 or $200 for a backup of files. They originally thought that the hard drive was bad and would need to replace it. Were up to the $300-$400 range. When I suggested that the HD was not the problem, they kept working on the virus issue. I believe they wanted me to wipe the machine and start over, costing me more money. That’s when I said enough was enough, and found the remote guys at safepcfix.com to log in and look at the machine. I had to do it through safe mode I believe, but it worked, and they fixed the problem.

I had to pay them $150 to repair the issue, and another $200 for GUARANTEED virus and malware protection. If my computer is infected again, they'll repair it for free. So that is well over $500 I spent getting this fixed. Realistically, I should get the money back from Geek Squad. John, at safepcfix wrote up a list of the junk that Geek Squad Agents left on my machine and what I needed to do to get it back. I got an email this morning from Visa, saying that they've deposited the money back into my account and expect the case to be closed. Still have 15-20 days to go to know for sure.

I have more details, but I’m trying to keep this simple and to the point. I respect your interest in knowing more about the story and my experience. I assure you this story is NOT exaggerated. Have you read the reviews about Geek Squad? I can’t find a website with any positive reviews on it... Not a single one. Ive read dozens of reviews just like mine- Some of them worse actually.

Think twice before you hire Geek Squad Agents to repair your machine! 

MochaG:

I definitely agree with you. Most self proclaimed repair technicians I have come acrossed have tried to use windows restore to go back in time and say the computer is fixed. In fact, Best Buy Geek Squad did that to me a couple years back. Makes me wonder exactly how they get as far as they have in that industry.

Your comment about remote fixing doesnt make sense. Ive used remote fix for years and it always fixes the problem. Geek Squad has had it for a couple of years and my new company has box remote and onsite technicians. They both guarantee the results. And as I stated, my computer has been virus free and working properly for about 1.5 months now. These new guys also sold me GUARANTEED security. If I get a virus, they'll remove it for free. Have you heard of a company that will do that? Any "remote" company that stands behind their products with guarantees is aces in my book. 

Your statement that I am overstating and frustrated perturbs me. I am computer literate and would have been able to repair this myself if I had the time and patience to do it. I seeked out help because of my busy schedule and the need to have the computer up and running right away. Its times like those that you need to go to a professional to have the machine repaired.

I agree, it would be nice to know a computer guy. I actually know quite a few of them. However, I'm not exactly the type of friend that is going to bother my friends to look into my computer and its issues. We're all adults here and can fix our own mistakes.

Once again, I do agree with you regarding the education of what to download and not download. Its so easy these days to go to a website and get some sort of an infection that you really need proper software to prevent you from getting said infections.

While I agree with many of your statements, you seem a little short sighted in respect to my situation. I dont think your experience warrants a reply to my message.

Most of the time, what so called "tech" guy would simply use the Windows "restore" functionality and say that it is fixed. Some of virus/worms are persistent and would not be removed because they are stored in the Windows system directory or has no log of installation. As a result the file will neither be overwritten nor removed by the restore functionality. The restore functionality is useless for most virus/worm. It is there to only repair Windows corrupt files. Once restore, the computer works for a little while because the virus/worms will take some times to infect the computer again.

Using "remote fix" as you said will NEVER guarantee the result. Often time, this type of "remote" assistance will screw you up when your computer is perfectly fine. As long as you pay them money, they would fix it to an OK condition. Yeah right, "work better than before" is an over statement. You had been frustrated for a long while and then you suddenly got the working computer back, so you felt that it is now "better" than it used to be.

The best way to solve this kind of issue is to know someone who is a real technical person that works in a private company. Try to be friend with the person and you will have much less headache. Most people who know how to fix this type of problem would have already had experiences from different scenarios.

To prevent anything like this to happen again, teach and supervise everyone how to use the computer. It seems that you completely have no idea where your kids are using the computer for. Yeah right, using it for "homework" and it got infected. However, it seems that you can afford to pay for it, so I will leave this to your own decision.

Note: I have annexed some details out of the above story to save time and space.

- It is amazing how you write paragraphs upon paragraphs of how bad their service was.  Even though you apparently used them time after time for several years and had no problem with them.  In fact their service was good enough for you to keep going back to them.

Yet, you left off something very important in order to apparently "save space".  Do you know what that was?  No..well let me help you out.  Your title stated the following "...How they cost me over $500..."

So don't you think that if you make a claim that they cost you over $500 you at least take the time and space to explain that?  After all I see a $199 charge that apparently you are now going to dispute.  Or is this a case that you just wanted to exagerate your claims to get people to read your story.  Because if that is the case..one has to wonder what else you exaggerated.