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PC Geeks, Computer Geeks, and the Geek Squad

by Jessica Shambora

Watch out, geeks. You’ve got company.

Yes, Best Buy’s (BBY) Geek Squad, whose “agents” drive those Volkswagen Beetles to the homes of customers in technology distress, has competition to contend with: digital troubleshooters who aid consumers via the Internet.

Even as these forces are expanding, it’s hard to detect them. For instance, the “solution engineers” of Support.com (SPRT)’s are almost impossible to spot since they work via remote-access subterfuge. Once a troubled tech user downloads Support.com’s software, an engineer can access the computer via the Internet to diagnose and fix problems.

Ever stealthy, Support.com’s engineers even go undercover as technicians for companies like Staples (SPLS) and Sony. You’ve seen Office Depot (ODP)’s Tech Depot Services? These friendly folks are actually Support.com’s hired guns.

Perhaps you’re lucky enough to never have needed consumer tech support. (If that’s the case, either you don’t own a computer, or you own a Mac). But there’s no escaping that our lives are getting more digital every day. And even as we become more tech-savvy and as tech providers improve design and user interfaces, there will always be bugs, malfunctions, spyware and viruses.

There will be updates and upgrades. New platforms and devices to install. Compatibility issues to iron out. Who ya gonna call?

For hardware problems, you can go to your device manufacturer. But let’s face it, these days it’s all about operating systems, platforms and software: Google’s (GOOG) Chrome and Android, Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows 7, Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes, Adobe’s (ADBE) AIR.

So while the Geek Squad has been the most visible source of help (and no wonder, given the marketing muscle of Best Buy), it’s not the cheapest option. Nor the most convenient. Rivals are gaining ground as many consumers no longer need a technician to hold their hand–or simply don’t have time to schedule an appointment with a Geek.

Support.com hasn’t done well as a stock, in part because it only recently switched from serving enterprises to targeting consumers. Other options include startups like PlumChoice and iYogi. Meanwhile, phone companies are also getting in the game. Support.com CEO Josh Pickus says that Verizon (VZ), Dell (DELL), AT&T (ATT), and Wal-Mart (WMT) are all “poking around in this space.”

For more about this hot industry, check out my profile of Support.com on Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech site.

Note: Geek Squad offers tech support remotely through a partnership with SupportSpace, which offers services similar to Support.com.

Before getting into gaming, Farmville’s father was a player in the glam world of online tech support.

Before Zynga, there was SupportSoft.

Pickus (not Pincus) discusses his company's new model. Photo: Support.com

Prior to launching the hot social gaming outfit that spawned Farmville and Café World, Mark Pincus founded a trio of companies: Social networking company Tribe.net, downloading service FreeLoader, and SupportSoft, a company that began providing support software for enterprise companies in 2001.

Today, SupportSoft is called Support.com (SPRT) and its current CEO is named Josh Pickus. (The similarity to the name of the company’s founder is eerie but purely coincidental.)

The company’s focus has also morphed; the company earlier this year sold its enterprise division to Consona Corporation — a daring move, considering that sales to corporations made up a big chunk of Support.com’s revenue in recent years.

After coming on board as CEO in April 2007, Pickus instituted a strategic shift aimed at ensuring Support.com’s continued growth. He decided the company should pursue in earnest the consumer segment of the market.

Digital home tech support services are expected to grow from $3.2 billion in 2008 to $6.4 billion in 2013, according to Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Parks Associates. After all, as our world becomes more digital by the day, the possibilities for technology snafus are endless.

The fleet is out

Support.com now focuses on providing tech support for devices like PCs and mobile phones, similar to Best Buy’s (BBY) ubiquitous Geek Squad. However, unlike the Squad’s “agents,” who arrive at customers’s homes in VW Beetles, Support.com’s technicians take the virtual route, accessing computers remotely via the Internet. A more convenient solution for the consumer and the provider, says Pickus. (Update: Geek Squad offers tech support remotely through a partnership with SupportSpace, which offers services like those available from Support.com).

Most consumers probably have never heard of Support.com, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t encountered the company’s support services. It provides “white label” service for retailers such as Staples (SPLS), product manufacturers like Sony (SNE), and anti-virus providers like AVG.

At Office Depot (ODP), for example, the service is known as Office Depot Tech Depot Services.

Why don’t each of these partners draft their own platoon of geeks? “It’s too non-core, no one wants to do it themselves,” says Pickus. After all, Best Buy didn’t invent the Geek Squad, but acquired the company in 2002 for $3 million.

Under the white label set-up — made possible by the remote access subterfuge — Support.com’s partners get a cut of the revenue and just as important, the chance to establish their brand as a trusted adviser to consumers, who are then more likely to return for future purchases.

Outsourced, but not offshore, tech support

It’s this latter benefit that’s attracting scores of players to the tech-support market. In addition to the Geek Squad, Support.com, and a handful of other startups, “Verizon, Dell, AT&T, and Wal-Mart are all poking around in this space,” says Pickus.

Indeed several telecoms have begun providing technical support along with their broadband service — some in-house, some outsourced. It’s both a new revenue source and a way to retain customers who might be on the verge of defecting or even going completely wireless.

Support.com may win contracts with the telecoms and seek to grow its partnerships in other channels, but its success will ultimately depend on two things: the quality of service it delivers and the ability to automate as much of the support transaction as possible.

Pickus says the company relies heavily on what it calls “support automation.” Through software, it helps computers repair themselves so customers don’t actually have to call a help desk. If automation doesn’t do the trick, a Support.com staffer is available for live support.

Support.com’s technicians are in constant contact with the company’s R&D team, providing feedback that helps refine the diagnostic tools used to assist customers. The better the software, the faster the problem gets resolved, which serves the company, the customer and the technician (billing is not based on time but on a flat fee per incident or a monthly subscription).

“Tech support is difficult,” Pickus acknowledges. “But if I fund R&D as if I’m a software company, I can create margins that don’t look like service company margins.”

Still, says Parks Associates analyst Scherf, “If you’re not fully implementing automated tools, those margins don’t exist.” He cautions that thorny, time-consuming problems beyond removing malware and clearing out caches could be costly.

Adding to the challenge ahead for Pickus, Support.com is publicly listed and trading at less than $3 per share. That’s down about 40% from two years ago, when my colleague Jon Fortt wrote about the company’s effort to find a new game plan.

But Pickus remains optimistic. “We’ll grow into it rather than take the time to go private.”

His prediction? “In the future everyone will have one of these subscriptions and you’ll get a free computer with the service.”

They did it!!!!  The Geek Squad rescued all my data!!!! They’re mailing it back to me on a portable drive.  I <3 the Geek Squad.

I <3 Seagate, too.  I checked on them, and they were really laid back.  Don’t worry about the drive, they said, we’ll take it when you get it back.

I <3 you guys, and your prayers.  Thank you SO MUCH for your support, and guidance <hugs!>!

A bevy of retail opening announcements are coming in this weekend aren’t they? The newest one is a Best Buy in Union Square. What makes this one so special? It will be open 24 hours during the weekday. Saturdays and Sundays look pretty regular.

24 hours a day you say? YES. Good news and bad news. The good: you can splurge there and play Rockband or Guitar Hero all day all night until security kicks you out.

The bad news. No more excuses for students who procrastinated on their papers and run into trouble. That means you can go and buy ink and paper for your printer when you have a report due the next morning. Need to burn a CD for your project due? Best Buy has you covered. Have a PC and need to fix that stupid “blue screen of death“? Geek squad to the rescue.

It should be noted that the new Best Buy will be stomping all over Circuit City’s grave, because the retail space is the exact same location.

To celebrate the festivities, Bon Jovi will be performing live at the new store when it opens next Friday, November 13, one day before the new upper west side Apple store. So which one will you camp out for? Smells like a PC vs. Mac debacle to me!

Racked

Thank you all for responding to my previous post! I was going pretty crazy over that, I can tell you, but all the support both here and on FB really allowed my temper to calm!

So, the drive is in Level 3 Data Recovery at the Geek Squad DRD Lab. Apparently, they had to take it apart, re-mount the plates, and try to get stuff off.  Please join me in my prayers to St. Anthony and St. Jude that they can get all the information off. It will be weeks before we know but I’m prepared for whatever they tell me now.

Either way, both Seagate and the Geek Squad have been wicked awesome about all of this, even through my hysterical phase. Seagate is even going to replace the drive after all the hulabaloo is done. And the Geek Squad has given me everything that I’ve asked for, and more.

Super companies + Super customer service = much calmer me.

I’ll update y’all when I hear anymore.

“can time change be the only thing to blame”

Over the last few years I have noticed that people are started to be more and more ok with their friends being Bisexual, and long with the fact that more and more women are starting to come out about their personal Bisexualities. But the question that I have is what has changed people minds from it being something as horrible to a point where you can end a friendship to a point to people are saying “Hey do what you do”.

I think it has something to do with the time that we are in. After a while certain things get old and it because it gets to a point of who cares. For example a few years ago if people found out that you was a girl and you sucked dick you was a hoe and no one would even think about drinking after you however now girls are on the phone with their friends giving them tips on what to and what not to do. When it comes to guys it’ used to be just plain nasty to eat girls out now people are saying its 2009 if you don’t do that you need to step your game up. But can time change be the only thing to blame?

Personally I blame music, for example you didn’t used have songs like Lil Wayne “Pussy Monster” [which thanks to YouTube can be heard HERE] songs like “I Eat The Pussy” by Geek Squad [which ones again thanks to YouTube can be heard HERE] and last but not least songs like “69” by T-Pain [that can be heard HERE] stuff like that, yes it is good songs but at the same time because they are good songs after a while people are going to really listen to them and try out what is being said in the songs. I mean don’t get me wrong back in the day yes they had some freaky songs but they wasn’t as blunt as they are now a days you had to listen really hard to what they was saying before you realized that they was giving you sex tips.

But back to the subject at hand when did it become okay for women to be bisexual. Well once again I blame music, hell go grab you some Nicki Minaj and see how feel about that. I think it also has to do with women starting to love the female body [which is a beautiful thing I might add] if you don’t love to female body I bet that if you ask a male what they like about it and they really tell you what they love about it sooner or later you might become Bisexual too LOL.

But on some real shit its just a matter of time changing and the fact that its 2009. 2009 seems to be the year that everyone is letting it be known, so what does that mean it means that bitches have been Bi for a lloonngggg time but just haven’t found the right time to come out and say it. So in a way its almost has always been okay for a girl to be Bi you just have to know the right people.

I asked a couple of people what they thought of girls that was bi and why they thought the girls were bi and here’s what they had to say:

“Maybe cuz they’re curious 2 see what a female can do, or maybe their nigga ain’t hittin it right lol”

“I think girls where always bi, just some are willing to actually put it into action instead of just thinking about it”

“Some women are continuously getting hurt by men so they feel women are the only ones who understand what they need, but they still love the dick so they are not fully lesbian”

“Bi girls are the shit I’m still waiting to do a 3 sum myself”

“Cuz some of the shit dudes doing now days, make the females turn to other females , in they coming out with it more now, cause well why not everybody else is, so they don’t care anymore”

“I think they need to pick a damn side”

“they aight 2 me, they like what they like…Most girls now dayz r bi”

“Hmm I think that they are greedy and selfish because they taking from both sides”

“I think they just don’t know what they want and are hella confused” 

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

I forgot about my most blogworthy still in-progress thing that is going on right now.

Almost a month and a half ago I applied to Best Buy’s Geek Squad.  I had applied for this position twice already over a year ago but I couldn’t pass the personality test to have my application considered.

This time I did pass the test (after a week or so of trying to track down some management that could tell me if I passed or not).  About a week later I was called in for my first interview which I thought went pretty well.  In the interest of not bashing my future (hopefully) employer I won’t include much of the better stories I have of my misadventures of finding out info on my application but I am still waiting for an official callback / next interview almost 4 and a half weeks later.  Supposedly they were supposed to look over the applications again and schedule final interviews soon after but I haven’t heard anything yet.  I imagine they are getting tired of hearing from me every week but at the same time I am trying to stay on the side of showing that I’m a very interested applicant than someone who doesn’t really care about working there or someone that is super annoying.

Best Buy, if you can read this, please call me.

More on this as it develops.

Some considered Twitter a fad earlier this year. Today, it is a force to be reckoned with.

Twitter’s estimate worth is $1 billion. In February 2008, Twitter was hovering around 475,000 users. eMarketer did research earlier this year and estimated there would be 18 million users by the end of 2009. They were way off! By the end of August 2009, there were 27 million users. And there are no signs it is slowing down any time soon. With Google and Bing adding Tweets to the search results, it means Twitter is here to stay.

How will Twitter deal with the mass number of tweets and maintain Twitter so it’s accessible? At any given time so many people are tweeting, it’s common to see this image when you are trying to tweet.

Twitter is over capacity

And as of today, October 20, 2009, Twitter surpassed 5 billion tweets.

So what are people tweeting about? Someone are talking about themselves. This group of “Meformers” makes up roughly 80% of Twitter users according to a study done by Rutgers University. Meformers generally post updates their everyday lives, feelings, and thoughts. The remaining 20% of users are known as “Informers” and they like sharing information and usually include links to their sources.

The Rutgers research determined 9 different types of tweets:

1. information sharing (i.e. 5 WordPress plug-ins to try out + URL)
2. self promotion (i.e. Check out Arnold DC’s latest work +URL)
3. opinions and complaints (i.e. I love Amtrak!!) Best person to follow on Twitter for this is @shitmydadsays
4. statements and random thoughts (i.e. Ever wonder why dogs like cat food so much?)
5. me now (i.e. Enjoying a margarita after a long day)
6. question to followers (i.e. When is the economy going to turn around?)
7. presence maintenance (i.e. Good Morning everyone. Miss me?)
8. self-referential anecdotes (i.e. “My kid poured spaghetti sauce all over me. Twice!”)
9. anecdotes about others (i.e. “Can’t believe @username woke up early to jog. It was 40 degrees!”)

So why are so many people joining Twitter?

Personally, I think when Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) battled CNN to become the first one on Twitter to have 1 million followers, it got people wondering what Twitter was all about. The battle was all over the news. Ultimately, Ashton smoked CNN. After the challenge, you can see a huge surge in the number of people joining.

Ashton’s stunt isn’t the only thing that has made people join. Others have joined because of the impact Twitter is starting to have on our lives. For example:

1. Twitter helped people understand what was happening in Tehran and Iran after they had their recent election. Twitter became the way how Iranians communicated with the rest of the world.
2. Twitter is creating news. It’s the pulse of what’s on people’s minds. And it’s often told later on the evening news. Every second, the trending topics show you what the most popular topics are.
3. It’s one of the first places people and companies break news.
4. Shaq and other players were tweeting from the bench–until the NBA banned tweeting from the bench.
5. Share experiences in real-time with the world. Tweet while you’re at a concert or out shopping. Give minute-by-minute play. When President Obama came to Manassas, Virginia the night before the election, he was supposed to speak at Nissan Pavilion. But he was late. He tweeted the whole way there (i.e. at Dulles airport, stuck in traffic on I-66). I remember the newscasters relying on his tweets to know his whereabouts.
6. Hate waiting on hold? Many companies are using their Twitter accounts for customer service. Speak with a person and get answers or directed to someone who will help. Home Depot and Geek Squad are two examples.
7. See things you would never have seen before. Astronaut Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike) actually tweeted pics from space on the shuttle. Lance Armstrong tweeted pics from the hospital when his baby was born earlier this year.
8. Twitter is helping brands connect with consumers on a whole new level. As an example, there have already been 3 million tweets about the Ford Fiesta. And in April, Ford CEO Alan Mulally answered questions on Twitter. One consumer was undecided after doing a second test drive. Mulally personally called him and won the consumer over.

Twitter Homepage

If you’re not on Twitter yet and want to, but don’t understand how it works. Here’s a few tips to get you started.

YOU WANT TO: Acknowledge someone, publicly talk to someone
HOW: Put a @ before their user ID
EXAMPLE: @quinonesanibal Really nice follow up to milliondollarhomepage.com http://bit.ly/1R4bnT

YOU WANT TO: Retweet something cool that someone wrote
HOW: Put a RT before you paste their message.
EXAMPLES: RT @leeclowsbeard Dear jr. (or sr.) team: Before whining about not getting good work produced, try showing some first.
Really nice video. RT @Vejvoda: Did You Know 4.0 – Fascinating, The Economist does it again. http://bit.ly/2LAr7F

YOU WANT TO: PUT A HASHTAG (aka tag your tweet)
HOW: Put a # before the hashtag you would like to use
EXAMPLES: “The purpose of a business is to create a customer who creates customers for you. ” -Peter Drucker #ims09
Bring Tracy Morgan to Twitter. http://twacy.org “Tell her that you want her privates and your privates to do a high five.” -TM #twacy

YOU WANT TO: POST A URL, BUT IT’S FREAKIN’ LONG. HOW: Paste the URL in BIT.LY first. This site shrinks your URL from 50 characters to around 7.

YOU WANT TO: WRITE SOMETHING, BUT IT’S TOO LONG
HOW: Don’t be afraid of using “&” for “and” or “2” for “to” or leaving off punctuation.
Example: It’s nice outside. I ran 2 the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument & the Mall this AM. Check out this crazy bird. http://twitpic.com/56748

***Some facts for this article were researched from mashable.com. Follow Mashable on Twitter for great social media news.

These are especially tough economic times for many small to medium sized businesses.  Small businesses often rely on technology to help their business grow and operate effectively.  Most small and medium sized business can not justify employing full time IT staff. 

Based on several focus groups and meetings we have had with our clients, we have decided to offer a managed services product.  We have demonstrated this product will be a win / win for our clients and Argent Systems.  We can help drop our clients IT cost on average of 3o percent and at the same time improving our problem resolution time.  As a added benefit to Argent we have reduced our own operating costs because in most cases we do not always have to dispatch a tech on-site.  Of course if we do, we promptly dispatch a system engineer. 

Argent Systems’ Small Office Solution provides all of the core network, server, hardware, software, and support management services a small business needs to run smoothly and efficiently. For a single, low monthly fee, your business will have an outsourced, managed IT solution that is secure, reliable, customizable, and most importantly – cost effective. And, as your sole outsourced IT service provider, we proactively manage all aspects of your server and network.   In many cases we will be able to detect and resolve an issue on your servers before you even notice. 

Benefits Overview 

• Server Monitoring
• Proactive Problem Resolution
• Unlimited Remote Support
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• Data Backup Monitoring and Administration
• Software Updates on PC’s and servers
• Automated Reporting
• 24 x 7 Support
• Remote Resolution
• Application Deployment
• Network Monitoring
• VPN / Firewall Management
• Anti-Virus Monitoring
• Anti-Spyware Monitoring

If you would like to find out about a Managed IT solution for your small business please call 561-784-9464 and select option 1 for a consultant.  If you prefer email, please email us at info@argentsys.com.  For information about our other services please visit our web site

Alright. Here’s Episode 4. On time again. I think I’m starting to get the hang of this again. And so is Ben. It used to take forever to get him to find time to record, and then having him transcribe the shownotes was always like pulling teeth. It’s good that we have an actual schedule now. I’ll keep this news post short. I’m starting to go into a food coma. As the episode title suggests. It was a slow news week. I didn’t really have much to talk about but I wanted to put an episode out. I still think the show turned out good anyway. Hopefully something interesting will happen next week so that I have something I can bitch about.

Also, November is right around the corner. That means it’s almost time for NaNoWriMo. I’ll be participating in it again this year. You can check out my Writer Blog for any updates regarding NaNo that I make. Enjoy the show and let me know what you think about this weeks episode by leaving some feedback. If you still don’t know how to leave feedback for the show be sure to listen to the outro at the end of the show for that information. I’ll see you next week.

Timeline:

0:00 Intro
2:25 Slap Chop Remix
5:45 Front End Banter
9:00 Gamer DNA
15:05 Break: The GearHeart
16:35 Hugh Laurie Suffers Because of House Role
19:55 Lilly Allen is a hypocrite
23:20 Best Buy Setup Scam
29:15 Walmart Food Bank Problem
32:40 Scribblenauts
42:30 Ben Gets A Facebook Profile
59:00 Break: Weatherchild
59:55 WTF Of The Week: Self Image Issues
1:07:25 Outtro
1:12:20 End Of Show

You can buy an installation service for your PS3 when you buy at Best Buy, and it’s pretty pricey. There are wars of words on the Internet, with one side saying the service preys on the ignorant so viciously that it should be illegal, and the other saying that it’s necessary for some consumers but priced way too high. There’s also a lot of noise about the competence of Best Buy’s Geek Squad.

Perhaps Best Buy’s PS3 inventory isn’t moving fast enough to suit them, and they’re concerned about taxes on their inventory. A Bizarro World explanation is that Best Buy expects demand to increase when Sony drops the price, doesn’t have enough to cover that demand, and wants to create a false impression of difficulty in order to scare off purchasers. Or, maybe it’s simple. Maybe Geek Squad is reporting back that, while doing other in-home services, they’re often asked to hook up PS3s to home theater systems, thus alerting their corporate masters that a market opportunity exists.

It also seems obvious to me that there are three possible reasons for charging half as much as the console for the installation.

1. You don’t want to do it. Too many people have asked for the service, and you’re afraid that saying “No, we don’t do that” will cost you business, so you create the service but price it so high only people with money to burn pay for it.
2. You do want to do it. You just have to charge enough to cover your costs and turn a small profit. The overhead for Geek Squad (vehicles, training, tools, store space, wages) requires a higher price tag.
3. Sony has a reputation for not being able to produce enough consoles to meet demand. This leads to retailers over-ordering, hoping their allocation will suffice. When production catches up with demand, retailers wind up with large, costly inventories. Then Sony goes and drops the price. Retailers bought their inventories at the old price, and risk losing customers if they don’t sell at the new price. Charging for an installation service could be a way to make up the loss, and that would set the price.

But will social media change anything? No, it won’t, not in any way that the Internet hasn’t already changed it. First, people have to believe they need the service. Then they have to believe the service is worth the price. The chances of both those impressions remaining true are nonexistent. Web sites will spring up to help people set up their systems. Alternate, cheaper, installation services will swoop in like sharks smelling blood.

Social media is a key component of contemporary marketing, and it’s not going away, but neither is it a huge, world-changing, revolution.

For a cheap $130, Best Buy’s GEEK SQUAD can install your Playstation 3!!!  That is so amazing!  I read something about this on Gizmodo, but today, I was watching sxephil on youtube, and he mentioned about the $130 installation for a PS3!!!

I also read the link, so I guess its true!  You can have Geek Squad open your PS3 box, (unless it’s already opened) and plug the PS3 into a wall socket, and your TV!!  Can humans actually do that?!? It’s like…WOW.. .. …(CB)

http://consumerist.com/5363816/geek-squad-will-plug-in-your-ps3-for-only-130?skyline=true&s=x

Go and get Geek Squad’s help!  It’s FRANKly Sarcastic!!!