Geek Squad is the number one computer repair franchise in the United States, if you need proof ask a random person to name a computer repair shop. This is a marketer’s dream, but marketing without substance will be costly to you. Geek Squad has established a remarkable niche in the computer repair industry, but if their shoddy work persists customers have and will go elsewhere.

Here are four reasons I would never let Geek Squad repair my computer.

1. The risk of your computer being exposed to an inexperienced technician is too high. Less than 10% of Geek Squad’s technicians hold an industry certification. Most are hobbyists and college students with zero work related experience. Most Geek Squad agents only expose to computer repair training is in sales, Best Buy protocol, and using Geek Squad diagnostic software.How does this effect you? Inexperienced technicians are expensive if they don’t fix your issue, and they will attempt to charge you additional fees to re-diagnose your computer. Inexperienced technicians lengthen the amount of time you have to go without your computer.

   

2. Geek Squad diagnostic software exaggerate computer problems and give misdiagnoses. Combine this with the fact that an inexperienced technician might not have discernment to catch the diagnostic software errors and you get high profits and bad customer experiences.How does this effect you? You will pay full price to have non-existing problems resolved, or problems that most local repair shops would charge you little to no money to fix.
3. Geek Squad outsources difficult repairs to the OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and local repair shops. Which is something you could do for free.How does this effect you? Long waiting periods and added middlemen cost.
4. Your data would be at huge risk of being loss, or invaded. Months ago an expose was released showing Geek Squad technicians making personal copies of customers music, video, and pictures. Their weapon of choice against spyware is to completely destroy all of the data on your hard drive, and install everything fresh. There are instances were the customer was not even informed of the decision.How does this effect you? The hours you spent converting your 500 CD collection, gone. Your only copy of that term paper due Tuesday, gone. Back ups is still a task that goes undone by most computer users, yet it is the most regretted act when things go wrong with a computer. Back up frequently, because Geek Squad will not back up your data without a fee, and they have a reputation of backing up the unimportant things.

BONUS: A Few Tips on Choosing a Computer Repair Shop

• Get a 2nd Opinion. Click here to get a free computer diagnostic.
• Have the computer repair shop put their diagnoses in writing, and do research if time permits.
• Backup your computer information. Most shops charge extra for this. Whizbang Technologies includes data backups in the cost of service.
• Determine the shop’s warranty and return policy before starting work. If they offer no warranty. RUN!
• If you computer is in warranty and you can understand foreign accents call your OEM’s tech support. They might be able to help you over the telephone. At lease see what options your OEM offer.
• If a part swap is required see if the provider can obtain parts from the OEM, instead of making arrangements to send your computer to the OEM.

• Collect information on national service providers, which are companies who work with local IT firms to provide IT services to national and international companies.
• Design a deck of (10) postcards that I will use to keep in touch with existing clients and the community in mass mailings.
• Provide IT industry research
• Provide Data Entry services for several directories and mailing lists that we have compiled.

I also splurged and hired a Windows 2003 Administrator to help with my over flow projects (which was an excellent move).

Here are the lessons I learned during my trial with oDesk:

1. oDesk’s strong suit is programming, data entry, and network administration. I worked with Chauncey, and he blew my mind with his depth of knowledge on servers, networks, and databases. I also worked with an excellent team in India to handle my data entry needs. Computer programming is a universal language and there are some top notch developers overseas that can deliver good clean code at good prices.
2. oDesk’s weakest link is Graphic Design, Research, Administrative Assistants. The AA’s I hired was a waist of time an money and believe me I spent a lot of both. Applicants from all over the world will flock to these positions, so exercise discernment. Also, beware of no shows, I paid for a provider to ship me her old technical sales material, and she mailed a bunch of certificates and old CD’s. A lot of the applicants are not true AA’s and you don’t want to find out after the money is spent. Graphic Design is basically communication so you are better suited with US and Canada designers, OOC providers often have good portfolios, but you can gain a migraine trying to get them to understand your vision.
3. Do not rate poor performers. Simply close the job and sulk in your losses. The saying,”If you don’t have anything good to say, then shut up” holds some weight on oDesk. Providers can and will retaliate even if your concerns are true and legitimate. Retaliatory campaigns can come in the form of blogging, twitter, oDesk Forum, and Project Feedback). Here is an e-mail conversation between me an a researcher that did not work out.
   

   ksias

   How unfair and unkind of you to leave such scathing low-rated feedback when I clearly did as I was directed.  Please change this feedback or I will also leave feedback for you as well. This is not only very unprofessional but never in my life have I been left a bad feedback. I have a plaque that deems me one of the best marketers in the St. Louis area John.  If you wanted to negotiate pay then fine. I will even return every penny of what I paid you because it appears the money I earned for you will cost me future assignments.  Do not tell me I did not do the exact job outlined.  I worked like a pro up until 2 am in the morning for you in order to BE PROFESSIONAL and I was not late on an assignment.  The last week, without asking me what my schedule was and knowing I did work for others, you requested a job be completed by Monday which was impossible. If you would have told me you were going to leave such bad feedback I would have stayed up all night to do this job.

   jwaddy

   Mrs. Sias,

   There is nothing I can do about this situation. The ratings cannot be retracted, and a refund cannot be issued. After a number of bad experiences on oDesk, I had them close my entire account. I know you are concerned about your ratings, but I just checked your profile and noticed that my rating is not visible.

   Even if I could reverse my rating, I would not. I do not know anyone who would pay over $200 for an incomplete list! Not only was the list incomplete, but it was missing the main ingredient which was RESEARCH. If I really wanted to use the information you gathered, I could have simply logged into the site and read that information, myself. The purpose of having this information in spreadsheet form with additional information, was to have an enhanced offline NSP directory.

   Again, I do not know anyone who would be excited about a transaction like this, and that is what my ratings reflected. This rating was strictly an assessment of this assignment, it was not a personal attack, nor was it done out of spite. Lets view this from a buyers perspective, I paid over $200 for a list I do not and cannot use.

   If I had given 5 stars on this transaction, I would have been lying to other buyers that will come behind me. I believe the rating is fair, it would be unfair to not compensate you for the work you did at your hourly rate. However, just because I paid does not mean I have to force myself to be satisfied with the work. Especially, when providers with far more projects running concurrently was able to complete larger scale projects for me at a fraction of the price.

   I wish you the best in your future endeavors and hope you learned as much from this experience as a provider as I did as a buyer.

   ksias

   No what your feedback could have truthfully said was that between both of us there was a MISCOMMUNICATION of what was involved with the project. I’ve managed huge firms, including one nice size law firm and I can tell you that whenever a project goes wrong we always blame the manager especially if someone new was involved such as myself not knowing the complete project, and yes you can change the feedback. I sent you that link last night.

   That’s ok. I can leave feedback of my own in the form of blogging your business to death. In fact my husband is black and I am a Jehovahs Witness is eating at me so that I do not want to retaliate but your words were very one-sided and not well thought out. Before leaving feedback for anything one is expected to contact the other party first to work out arrangements. I would and still could refund any or all of the payment you made to me and your experience with me personally would not have been a bad one.

   Have a good day!

   jwaddy

   Mrs. Sias

   Blame games are fruitless. The bottom line is that the project was botched. Being that the rating was given over a month ago, I believe we have moved on. I encourage your feedback on the matter. If you decide to go public that is fine. There is always two sides of a story, and I do not want to discourage your side of the story, just as I would not like my side discouraged.

   If you are interested, I outlined my oDesk experience on my own blog, http://www.johnwaddy.com/odesk-10-learned-burned/.

4. Beware of the dreaded Forum campaign. If a provider or potential provider (in my case) run a negative campaign against you on the oDesk Support Forums it will appear in Google and rank amazingly well. I had an experience with a provider I was interviewing, in which she expressed concern over the interviewing process. I simply agreed with her concern, and assured her that everything would be ok. I did not hire the woman, but when I ran a Google search on my name I found a post in the oDesk Forums entitled, “Job ##1640466 Client John Waddy - oDesk Community.” I simply stated my side of the story, reported the issue to oDesk, and moved on. oDesk’s response was to remove my forum signature (which is non-offensive), and keep the post.
5. Overseas workers are very inexpensive. American employees frown upon jobs going overseas, but businesses love it. Our dollar may have lost some power, but in some arenas $2 spent on an overseas worker can get you what $15 or $20 is needed in the U.S. However, the quality is still sub par. Overseas, is an excellent way to fill you data entry needs. I would not ask them to design anything or get on the telephone and speak on behalf of my company though.
6. Thoroughly communicate your goals, and request progress reports immediately after the project begins. An example would be, if I ask you to create a directory of 1000 people (name, address, telephone number, website, and profession). Ask for the provider to submit a sample after 25 names. That way you can correct course within an hour or two versus being surprised by the final results.
7. Review your provider’s productivity. oDesk provides all types of tools to make sure that you are getting your money’s worth.
8. Always provide a thorough interview. Portfolios and Tests are nice, but only a good Interview can display true compatibility. A designer can be superb, but if you have a hands off approach to managing, and they work best being micromanaged then you both are going to be confused and unhappy. In my attempt to find a designer. I created a scenario, and asked the applicant to submit two samples related to the scenario. This helped make sure I was viewing work done by the provider (and not copied), it allowed me to assess speed, and ability to convert a written scenario into an artistic vision. It also helped me to see who was really interested in the position (versus mass applications).
9. Design projects should be flat-rate, PERIOD. Why pay for someone to get their creative juices flowing? What if it takes them 20 billable hours to develop a piece you are slightly interested in? Better yet if you need something designed go to 99designs and host a contest.
10. It does not take hundreds of dollars to detect an incompatible relationship with a provider. I kept working with a person that I had funny feelings about during the interview. I kept persuading myself that she would develop. Then I started thinking I was not explaining my goals properly. After time I realized that I was doing both adequately, and that there was another issue. She was moonlighting my project. My project received attention in the late night hours, which is not the most productive period for people. Daytime calls were unanswered or deferred because she was busy. I did not pull the plug until I spent over $200. The project seemed to always need more time, which was more money.
11. Bonus: Providers work better on full-time projects than part time projects. If you have a limited amount of money you might be better served with the flat rate approach. If a provider has multiple projects going, the least paying project will receive the least attention. I was attempting to prevent being burned by assigning hours in blocks of five, that way if something went wrong I could cut my losses and move on. It is amazing that only two out of the six people I hired was desirable after five hours. three did not follow up after the interview, and 1 did not work out.

This is not a thorough assessment of oDesk. There are many brilliant people on the platform, but my initial experience was so bad I could not move forward. I have switched to eLance (whizbangtech), and things are better. Maybe it is the platform, or maybe it was the lessons learned on oDesk.

Turn off all of the programs that load up when you turn on your computer.

1. Click your Start button.
2. Click Run
3. Type msconfig
4. Click the Startup tab
5. Click the Disable All button

Load up Internet Explorer in Safe Mode.

1. Click your Start button.
2. Click Run
3. Copy and Paste the following without quotes “C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe -extoff” (This allows Internet Explorer to run in Safe Made while troubleshooting.

Use two of the three online virus scanners

• Kapersky
• ESET
• TrendMicro HouseCall

Download and install the following programs:

• AVG AntiVirus
• Comodo Firewall
• CCleaner

This concludes the detection phase of our spyware hunt, in our next segment we will discuss the actual spyware removal process. If you need your computer cleaned right away, or feel uncomfortable with the procedure you can always hire a professional company that offers online computer repair services such as Whizbang Technologies.

I must admit that System Mechanic’s advertisement was very convincing, and the low price sealed the deal. However, after reviewing the software, I realized that it is not as comprehensive as it would need to be to make every slow computer fast.

First, you must realize that computers can give the perception of slowing down for many reasons, such as spyware or virus infection, hardware malfunction, Internet connection problem, or the computer might have aged and is no longer able to run modern programs fast.

It requires a lot to diagnose a slow computer, and speed it up again. Unfortunately software is not that intuitive yet. Ironically there were people that said System Mechanic actually made the computer slower, and constantly display warnings and requests to upgrade in the bottom right corner of the screen.

Here a couple of ways to speed up your computer:

1. Hire a high caliber technician, such as those at Whizbang Technologies.
2. Uninstall Norton and McAfee products and switch to an AVAST or AVG solution.
3. Upgrade the amount of RAM your computer has, especially if you are running 512MB or less with XP or Vista.
4. Speaking of Vista, it is a larger OS and is a slow by nature, and we all have had to adjust. OS’s can put a burden on most hardware made up to two years after the OS was released. After that hard manufactures can usually get back ahead of the curve, until a new OS is released.
5. Run CCleaner, it can help remove crud and unnecessary files from your computer.

Here are some reviews I received from CNET concerning System Mechanic.

There are many reminders at the top and bottom for you to buy the product. A note on the bottom tells you that if you buy it now it costs 20 dollars, when it is supposedly 50 dollars. It says that the $20 deal expires at midnight. This seems a little shady to me. Why don’t they just say it costs $20 instead of $50?

It regularly tries to say it can’t find an active firewall (totally bogus upsell attempt to their own security solutions). Also, it claims to find non-existent things like keyloggers…also trying to upsell to its Spython product. Dishonest Engineering/Marketing.

The antivirus and firewall do not work with Vista Ultimate. I installed, uninstalled, and re-installed again and again and they still don’t work. The Service to client was absolutely bad and useless. I had System Mechanic since their version 6 and I have to admit they are going from bad to worse. Big disappointment!

YOU must take time to LEARN how to use it!!! The more YOU use it the more YOU learn!!!!!!!!!!

There are no quick and easy fixes, l and if there are they certainly aren’t $49.95. Again, if you need a technician contact Whizbang Technologies @ 800.266.9452. They now offer remote desktop support. So you do not have to take you computer to a shop or wait on a technician to visit you. Call 800.266.9452.

1. Do: Try to avoid retail purchases, unless it is The Apple Retail Store.  Visiting retail stores to get a feel for a computer is fine, but I would highly recommend taking pictures of the product, copying the specs, and doing further research on the Internet. Don’t: buy a retail computer from Wal-Mart, Office Max and Office Depot. Their extended warranty services are terrible. Their computers do not rotate as often as Big Box electronic stores, which mean they could still charge regular price for a 6 month or 1 year old computer, whereas, online stores and big box stores discount old stock.
2. Avoid computers priced extremely low the day after Thanksgiving. These are all junk computers that could not be sold any other way. They are full of compromises in power and reliability. You will more than likely be returning that computer the day after Christmas.
3. Consider buying straight from the factory. You have more customization options and a way better warranty. Both HP and Dell offer at home repair services although HP might have the leg up over HP in that area. Both HP and Dell have daily sales and promotions to take advantage of. Don’t worry, if you afraid of shopping online you can build your computer online, save the confirmation number and complete the transaction by telephone. This should allow you to avoid haggle. Both Dell and HP have a very informative sales process so you will have everything you need to make an informed decision.
4. Consider having a consultant purchase a computer for you. That way you know you are getting a good reliable computer. Whizbang Technologies even offer extended at home warranties for customers in the St. Louis area. Best of all the service is free. Call them at 800.266.2549.

Computer Repair Technician Type 1: Young and Inexperienced

Technician one is the high school/college student that gets employed at most of the big box computer repair operations such as Circuit City, Geek Squad, or your local Office Store. They usually have “surface” experience. They know how to use applications, and “recite” computer specifications, but their experience, troubleshooting skills are severely limited. They are usually scripted, and unable to fix a problem that is not documented. They are most likely to forget to backup your documentation before formatting your computer. This is usually their first real experience, and all the “magic” solutions to computer problems are printed in a manual at the workbench. Their general ideology about mistakes is that they don’t effect them.”

Computer Repair Technician Type 2: Frustrated and Self-Entitled

Technician two is usually unemployed, either through layoffs or termination. A lot of your current technicians are help desk agents whose jobs were outsourced. Most of their experience is scripted just as the first technician. Most do not have hands on experience, but they can occasionally think outside the box and fix a problem. These people tend to be older than the typical college age, and technician wages are decreasing by the year, so most are not happy with the pay. These type of technicians can put you at risk. They do just enough to say the job is done, because “they aren’t paying me enough to do extra.” What happens is your problem gets resolved, but then you have to take the computer back to have an issue resolved that could have been fixed during the first visit.
You find these types of technicians in Big Box Stores, but they mainly have enough experience to work at small, intimate local repair shops.

Computer Repair Technician Type 3: The Independent Contractor

Technician three is really an independent contractor. The pay is better and so is the odds of getting an experienced technician. There are a few IC’s that have little experience, but most were tired of the workforce, but not quite at the point of starting a full-fledged business. The problem with IC’s is the lack of regulation and requirements on performance. A lot of the companies that send these people out have little to know standards in who they select. Most will choose the first person to raise their hands. Often times no performance checks, drug tests, background check, and etc are done. The odds of encountering a bad IC is about 50%. A lot of the good technicians start companies, and work to acquire their own customers.

Computer Repair Technician Type 4: A Solid Respectable Computer Repair Business

Technician four is not a technician, usually they are consultants and businesses with years of experience, and certifications and college degrees to set them above the three previous technicians. The very nature of being a consultant eliminate the bad stuff quickly, because of how fast word of mouth spread. Usually the long their doors have been open the better they are. The only downside with businesses is that they can often dispatch inexperienced people so alway ask for information about the person who will be working on your computer.

Exceptions to the Rule, Tips on Finding a Computer Repair Shop, and Closing Thoughts

There are always exceptions to each of these categories, and that is where research comes into play. Ask questions, ask for references, check their appearance. Most responsible consultants go out of their way to secure references, and are informative.

Consultants draw from a dept of knowledge about computers that can only be achieved by passion (demonstrated by the fact that they formed a business, leased an office, etc), years of experience which results in faster solutions, and more precaution and foresight when approaching problems.

Personally I only deal with companies that has a vested interested in my problem being solved. Companies can grow so large that their focus shift from quality to profit. Companies with vested interest, realize that bad word of mouth can spread and damage their company. They have as much to lose in a tarnished reputation as you have in a bad or half-done job.

With Big Box Stores you do not know who will work on your computer or if it will be worked on at all. The accountability is lost in the shuffle of high turn over rates, poor management, and often times technician ability to document their procedures. Always ask who will be fixing my equipment, and ask for details of the repair to be added to the invoice. I have seen companies charge hundreds of dollars and send technicians out to do the work for pennies.

So again I ask you, why would you take your computer to a stranger and expect good results. If you are in the St. Louis area Whizbang Technologies offer fre diagnosis of computer problems, and offer a tremendous value. Give us a call at (800) 266-2549, and ask for John.

Related Links

• The Death of Computer Repair Shops

However, certifications will draw way more customers on the commercial side of things. When a small biz SEO runs a search for someone to setup a Windows 2008 server, he will be more persuaded if he say a Microsoft cert.

If an end user needed a Cisco router configured and installed he would be assured to see a CCNA or CCNP technician doing the job.

I believe certifications are an extension of your appearance. It is not something you throw in people faces. But a certification will show that you have some substance to go along with your neat appearance.

The insanity does not end there. I have encountered web sites, hardware, cell phones, you name it, and in their attempt to improve an already solid product they destroy it. I know majority of the motivation is profit driven. The idiology of lets lets build something that lasts for a couple of years is over a half century old and still effective.

A lot of the changes does not improve the end user experience one iota. A word precessor will always be just that, and so will an e-mail client, or video editing software. Think about it. PlayStation 2 reigned supreme for 5+ years, but gamers upgrade their video graphics card every 6 - 12 months. Are the games better no, are the requirements heavier no, but marketing makes it a must have.

Personally I like Apples approach to computing and I believe the marhet does too. They place a lot of hype on revolutionary changes, such as the transition from iPod classic to iPhone and iPod touch. Other transtions receive marketing but on a much less scale, such as their OS X upgrades. For the most part a person using OS 10.1 is still very much in the loop.

Everywhere I go I hear people say they are stupid or out of touch because they don’t understand computers. I calmly tell them it’s not you, it is us who understand them. People with heavy exposure to computers think way differently than those who don’t. I look at my wife crazy when she pulls out a calculator and do the bills. I always nag and ask her why would she just put it in a spreadsheet and keep record.

If you do not see the insantiy in computing. Try pulling the plug for a week and see hoe you function. I have tried, and it was a very painful thing.

Here are some online (cloud) applications that you should check out.

Office Suites

• Zoho
• Google Apps

Customer Relationship Management

• SalesForce
• 37 Signals
• Remember the Milk
• Kayako

Accounting

• Intuit Billing Manager
• Quicken Online
• Quickbooks Online

With popular devices such as iPhone, and ultra small laptops. We are entering a revolution where processing power will no longer be king. It only makes sense because computers has pretty much saturated the market to the point that households like mine have (5) amd counting. I like the fact that I can whip out a phone and perform tasks that were once confined to a computer.

The cost of DATA is becoming cheaper and easier to access now that phones and Internet tablets have the processing power of capable PC’s or old. Add to that video game systems that can easily convert to computers, and I will go out on a limb and say software will begin losing major marketshare as cloud computing takes off.

VOIP allows your home employees to have access to extension, join conference calls, and share address books with their office co-workers, seamlessly. We have even implimented solutions where you can join your bluetooth cell phone to your telephone and when you leave the desk your calls are automatically transferred to your cellphone. Also try getting your old Avaya telephone to pull up a customers puchase history when they call.

These are all of the benefits of VOIP, and there is so much more that it can offer. I have programmers that write customer software to pair with their VOIP solutions to help them become more productive.

VOIP is more than just cost efficient. It is time efficient. It is rock solid. Now the only other question you could have is whether or not to host your own VOIP solution.