Alternative services to Geek Squad? (laptop, desktop, hard drive, transfer)
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For 100.00 bucks annually I have used Geek Squad for the last few years to do remote in desktop computer tune-ups. Seemed fine, my computer was usually faster after, painless etc.
Well yesterday I used their service and my computer was worse after. So I called again today, got someone, they were working on it and usually when finished the chat window is still open saying they are finished and if within an hour you can ping the tech with questions. Came back after half an hour and they were just gone. I'm assuming the work session was completed but I don't actually know. At least facebook opened up so its better than it was?
Anyway my suspicion, based on the chat names from yesterday and this first agen this morning is that they have outsourced to India or someplace. The last tech was Paul. I am aware that sometimes the overseas operators take US names but yesterdays and the entry level this mornings did not. Previously (last year, theyear before, I don't actually use them that often) they all seemed US which is not as important as the experence and result were good.
So...I'm wondering, are there other similar "places" you can get this? Some company that is trustworth (they do remote into your machine, not that I have much of worth there) that will update your security, clean up your temp files, check for virus's in the bckground etc?
There used to be local PC shops in most communities that did similar things. Look for computer shops in your local area.
This, though be aware some small shops can be just as bad, if not worse, than the Geek Squad when it comes to doing anything, if not be just outright scammy. A friend of my mother took a laptop to one of the places around here, they told her it would be far too expensive to fix to be worth it, and she would be better off buying a new one, and oh yeah they would be oh so kind to to the e recycle thing for her so she didn't have to worry about it. Turned around, did the super cheap fix it needed and sold it, ended up being owned by a friend of the original owner. Laptop had some unique marks on it that the original owner was able to recognize. Ask around before going anywhere, the bad eggs will usually be known.
This has been a complicated problem for a long time.
There are local shops that are quite good, and some have been written up in the media for stealing and scamming.
A quick google will show many, many, many stories against Geek Squad. Bad value for bad quality and bad service.
(I'm sure there are exceptions, but again, how to tell.
Finally, an IT friend gave me great advise:
Find someone who is the IT person for a pretty large local office, and then ask them who they use for local support. Even if they are brilliant at PC servicing, they will still have researched outside help in case they get swamped. And the more brilliant they are, the better their judgement.
I've used Geek Squad and have not been either thrilled or all that disappointed. One advantage is that they are affiliated with Best Buy and will stand behind their service. (I've only used the in-store service, not the online - and don't know if they outsource that).
Other computer services seem to be a hit-or-miss proposition and too many of the online offshore services have been exposed as scams.
The alternative is to use any number of packages for periodic clean-up and defrag services - and use a local service if/when something special is required. That has worked for me.
Update. Opened a service ticket or whatever you want to call it and though the agent window etc. disappeared on me and I wondered what had happened I did get an actual telephone call from an agent asking if what "paul" had done was satisfactory and if I needed anything further. Things are better, so all in all I'm ok with it.
I suspect that the outsourcing has its first level technician which wasn't satisfactory. My second call got me to a more advanced technician who was "paul". Whatever their nationality, more experienced.
You know Boxus, snickering at people online is bs. 100 a year for someone to do this for me is reasonable for me. I hate it. So yea, SERIOUSLY
This will save you money, time and headache. Buy an internal hard drive and housing. Download any of the free cloning software. Clone your computer hard drive. When your computer has problems, swap the hard drives. This approach not only protects against malware and virus but also protects against physical hard drive failure. You only have to clone it once and no matter what happens to your hard drive or software, you are 100% protected. No more relying on and paying for any Geek Squad this or computer shop that. The peace of mind is priceless.
This will save you money, time and headache. Buy an internal hard drive and housing. Download any of the free cloning software. Clone your computer hard drive. When your computer has problems, swap the hard drives. This approach not only protects against malware and virus but also protects against physical hard drive failure. You only have to clone it once and no matter what happens to your hard drive or software, you are 100% protected. No more relying on and paying for any Geek Squad this or computer shop that. The peace of mind is priceless.
A good idea, but inaccurate. If you have problems and swap the drives you need to clone again because when the "new" drive sucks (Whatever you do that causes the original to have problems you will still be doing, so the new drive is going to develop the same problems) you have to swap it out to the original again. Right back to the one you originally swapped out with all its problems.
And all the changes you made to the original after the clone and before the swap are lost. If you clone on a regular basis to keep up with changes then whatever makes the original suck is transferred to the clone.
That was hard to explain. I hope you understand it.
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