Anyone a Geek Squad worker?

A Best Buy in my area is hiring a "Double Agent" for their squad, and I was wondering if anyone works as this position or knows about it? I might just apply and see what they tell me anyway haha. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Job Desc.:
Responsibilities

• • Facilitate the complete solution of product sales, upgrades, installations and service both at the store and at customer sites
• • Educate customers on the operation of their products/service/solution
• • Travel via Geekmobile™ to provide a complete service solution at customer sites
• • Provide thorough documentation of all work performed
• • Coach customers on proper use and maintenance of hardware and software

Basic Qualifications

• • Proficiency in peer-to-peer networks and operating systems up to Windows Vista; no server experience necessary
• • Current valid driver’s license and clear driving record

I sat next to a guy at a wedding reception who was one and liked his job quite a bit. Sorry thats all I've got.

One of my best friends works at Geek Squad, but he doesn't do any house calls.

He likes the job a lot and it pays decent. The only problems he has with it are the fact that you have to deal with a lot of stupid customers and the fact that you have to sell really stupid products and services to people. If you can deal with those two things, he says it is a pretty good job.

I uses to work at Geek Squad, it was okay. The Geek Squad crew was all pretty cool, but the BestBuy management sucked hard. I also had some issues with how badly they screwed over people on things, We were told to charge people $45 to turn on the WiFi on their laptop, I know people are stupid but it just felt wrong to take advantage of them.

I had more issues with the management then the stupid customers.

Well from what i picked up through my life is that

You are a somehow a geek and you work as a squad...

yep

haha well I'm currently a waiter (inbetween classes) so I'm pretty used to dealing with people, especially stupid ones. I think I might get that app in. I heard they start at around 18 an hour...

There's a former Geek Squader in my Intro to Mass Media class. He looks the part.

I'd rather be a waiter, at least you have some dignity. Plus you know you'll end up having to go to some really nasty homes.

[quote name='JolietJake']I'd rather be a waiter, at least you have some dignity. Plus you know you'll end up having to go to some really nasty homes.[/QUOTE]

The above is exactly what you don't want to listen to. I'm sure you have a few of him in your life too, negative people who say anything to try to keep you down.

There's nothing wrong with working at Best Buy or Geek Squad. It's a great place to start your IT career. You get two of the best skills for the future marketplace - tech skills for a straight IT job, and people skills which incorporates into any job (companies love people skills.)

You'll run into some assholes, and some dirty houses. It's not really a big deal. You always run into some bad stuff any job you do. The good will outweigh (by far) the bad.

And unless you have aspirations to work at one of the higher end restaurants (which is a very respectable profession,) being a waiter is a dead end job.

[quote name='BigPopov']
You'll run into some assholes, and some dirty houses. It's not really a big deal.[/QUOTE]

What about horny MILFs?

[quote name='darthbudge']...and the fact that you have to sell really stupid products and services to people...[/QUOTE]

That's why I could never enjoy a job like that. How can you build trust with the customer when you screw them over like that.

[quote name='Filbert']That's why I could never enjoy a job like that. How can you build trust with the customer when you screw them over like that.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's what I don't like about it. It's hard for me to be dishonest to people, unless they are douches. Atleast in the restaurant business I know the food is good that we sell so I have no prob suggesting it.

Yeah I've run into some, uhh, appreciative females. lol, one of the perks of the on call service industry.

On products. They provide a genuine benefit to the consumer. Especially antivirus and PC tuneup. I don't really see the difference between providing a product that the consumer makes a decision on if he wants, versus selling a piece of chicken meal for $10+ which you know at the core costs maybe 1/5 that in raw goods. People go in to a restaurant for the convenience and taste of food, not because it is cheap.

maybe it's different in different markets, or varies manager-to-manager, but i applied with 2 years of IT experience, got a first interview (as part of a two-interview hiring process) and never got called back in. my doom seemed to be from "do you hold any certifications?", my answer being no. when i interviewed there was a guy waiting before me and a guy waiting after me, it seemed like he was just interviewing a ton of people. i felt overqualified, but no cert seemed like a dealbreaker.

my experience was as "easy resident technician" (ERT) at Staples, which is basically the Staples knock-off of Geek Squad... i felt perfectly qualified, since I had been performing the exact job they were looking for, yet didnt even get the second interview. when i interviewed the pay was $14/hr, which was $3 more than Staples was paying me at the time.

i'm just saying this so you know not to necessarily get your hopes up. they didn't list any certifications as requirements, but seemed to demand them due to the number of applications they receive. but if you're interested in the job, by all means, apply.

[quote name='BigPopov']On products. They provide a genuine benefit to the consumer. Especially antivirus and PC tuneup. I don't really see the difference between providing a product that the consumer makes a decision on if he wants, versus selling a piece of chicken meal for $10+ which you know at the core costs maybe 1/5 that in raw goods. People go in to a restaurant for the convenience and taste of food, not because it is cheap.[/QUOTE]

you're not really being honest with yourself there. people buy a chicken meal knowing exactly what they're getting. of the customers i dealt with at staples, i'd say 95% were convinced to buy the service because a salesman pushed it on them, while the remaining 5% fit your chicken meal buying analogue with a "i don't care as much about money as i do about my time and effort" mentality.

those 5%, yeah, no guilt, but on most customers, charging $50 for a "tune-up" that any monkey with a finger could do definitely eroded the soul... the majority of customers' problems could be solved just by running any sort of antimalware app... but no, I couldn't give customers the URL for AVG, i was told to sell them a $50 piece of shit AV software and a $30 install fee... after the $40 diagnostic, of course. $110 instead of free. i definitely wasn't able to justify that with anything other than "it's my job, if i dont do it someone else will".

it definitely wasn't a bad job, though. it came with better job security and pay than most of the other positions, and i didn't have to deal with as much sales pressure as the guys on the floor.

[quote name='BigPopov']The above is exactly what you don't want to listen to. I'm sure you have a few of him in your life too, negative people who say anything to try to keep you down.

There's nothing wrong with working at Best Buy or Geek Squad. It's a great place to start your IT career. You get two of the best skills for the future marketplace - tech skills for a straight IT job, and people skills which incorporates into any job (companies love people skills.)

You'll run into some assholes, and some dirty houses. It's not really a big deal. You always run into some bad stuff any job you do. The good will outweigh (by far) the bad.

And unless you have aspirations to work at one of the higher end restaurants (which is a very respectable profession,) being a waiter is a dead end job.[/QUOTE]I've worked retail, i currently work in IT, i wouldn't want to work what amounts to retail IT. The guy wanted an honest opinion, i gave it to him. You can get both of those skills without having to dress like a fool and driving around in what amounts to a toy car.

Plus as i said, i wouldn't want to visit some of the homes he'll end up having to. Some people are down right nasty.

edit-You're defending those ripoff "services" they provide? Come on man.

[quote name='BigPopov']
On products. They provide a genuine benefit to the consumer. Especially antivirus and PC tuneup. I don't really see the difference between providing a product that the consumer makes a decision on if he wants, versus selling a piece of chicken meal for $10+ which you know at the core costs maybe 1/5 that in raw goods. People go in to a restaurant for the convenience and taste of food, not because it is cheap.[/QUOTE]

How the hell do you justify selling fear to people?

What is your position on BB 'optimizing'(doing nothing special for $40+) on >50% of their weekly deal computers?

[quote name='JolietJake']I've worked retail, i currently work in IT, i wouldn't want to work what amounts to retail IT. The guy wanted an honest opinion, i gave it to him. You can get both of those skills without having to dress like a fool and driving around in what amounts to a toy car.[/QUOTE]

I was bashing your negativity. Basically, you're telling the guy to pass up on a entry level IT job and remain at a dead end waiting job in the midst of a recession.

News flash, most of the country isn't exactly hopping with jobs. And entry level jobs are commonly being taken by higher qualified people who were laid off thier higher paying positions.

It's hard to explain the value of services to people who know them, because most IT people severly undervalue thier skills. Do you realize how much on call people / consultants / contractors bill people in the real world? $100 an hour is very common, actually low. Many services go beyond that. Plumbing can be anywhere from $100-$300 an hour around here. Average lawyer is $250 an hour in DC. I have several clients who consult and charge thousands of dollars an hour.

I don't really agree with BBs pricing, but I don't see where you can bash the services. They all have a need in the real world for various people.

[quote name='JolietJake']I've worked retail, i currently work in IT, i wouldn't want to work what amounts to retail IT. The guy wanted an honest opinion, i gave it to him. You can get both of those skills without having to dress like a fool and driving around in what amounts to a toy car.

Plus as i said, i wouldn't want to visit some of the homes he'll end up having to. Some people are down right nasty.

edit-You're defending those ripoff "services" they provide? Come on man.[/QUOTE]

You're trying to destroy the "geek" stereotype!

...

To the OP, do you hold any certifications such as A+ or Network+?

If you don't hold those certifications, you have no proof that you'll be adequate at the job.

If you do hold those certifications, why don't you get a CCNA and deal with networks for higher pay and no contact with mouthbreathers?

...

Geek Squad is a dead end job unless you want to start your own computer repair business. I'm sure Geek Squad has managers, but you don't need technical expertise to manage technical people.

[quote name='manthing']How the hell do you justify selling fear to people?

What is your position on BB 'optimizing'(doing nothing special for $40+) on >50% of their weekly deal computers?[/QUOTE]

The argument was over an onsite job, which is what I was referring to in my arguments.

Onsite wise, (where the computer is presumably not new) computer optimization is one of the best things you do.

The very simple things I do to optimize my clients computers thrills them more than anything else generally.

At one point (up until a couple years ago) there was a value in POS optimizations, but nowadays companies have really scaled back the amount of junk programs that ship with a PC so it's not really pertinant anymore.

Umm, if GeekSquad/BestBuy offered you Kool-Aid, would you drink it?

Because there is *0* reason to defend optimization.

dude even i'd drink the free kool-aid and i hate best buy, kool-aid is delicious, that's a terrible test of loyalty

[quote name='crunchb3rry']What about horny MILFs?[/QUOTE]
"I want you to plug your HDMI cable inside me."

Any service job that requires household visits could result in adulterous sex, so take the job.

Two guys I know enjoy their jobs as Geek Squad. They definitely recommended *at least* A+ certification. One of them had Network + as well.

I applied a couple years back with some college IT education, an A+ cert, and a few contract jobs and was offered a job. (I didn't end up taking it, because I found better work.)

Although, the job applicant rate is probably much higher now than what it was when I applied, so YMMV on qualifications.

You can get in quite easily without the A+ (depends on who's hiring, of course)

Generally BB looks for people skills more than tech skills. You can easily train someone with basic computer knowledge how to do most of BBs work, but people skills are a little harder to train.

A+ def helps though.

[quote name='BigPopov']You can get in quite easily without the A+ (depends on who's hiring, of course)

Generally BB looks for people skills more than tech skills. You can easily train someone with basic computer knowledge how to do most of BBs work, but people skills are a little harder to train.

A+ def helps though.[/QUOTE]

If somebody can't find an Ethernet cable, I wouldn't want him or her "optimizing" my computer regardless of how pleasant he or she is.