Opaque Lucidity

Techs Need Not Apply

Stories like this are becoming more and more common as more Best Buy stores open nationwide. The bottom line is this: don't buy any of the services the Geek Squad sells. Period. Some of you are fortunate in that you have one of us geeky types in your family or your immediate circle of friends. For the rest of you, I have assembled some tips I believe are worth mentioning:

1. Go local. Chances are the the guy who fixes PCs out of a small storefront knows a hell of a lot more about your computer than anyone at CompUSA or Best Buy. Most of his advertising is done via word of mouth, so he cares about your opinion of his service.

2. Back up. There is something on your computer that is irreplaceable: financial data, family photos, blackmail documents, etc. Your hard drive, being an electric-mechanical device with moving parts, will fail. Not MAY, but WILL. If you are not backing up to a CD, DVD or external/internal drive, you are asking for disaster. Even a great tech can not always pull data off a dead drive. Recovery services exist, but they can cost thousands of dollars.

3. Be specific. Tell your tech what you were doing when the problem occurred, how often it happens, etc. You will save money if you can give details. Think of it this way: if you take your car to a mechanic and say, "It's making noise", he has no idea where to start unless he can reproduce the problem, a task that is sometimes impossible.

4. Be up front. If the tech is coming to your house, make sure you tell him everything you need fixed WHEN HE ARRIVES. After he fixes the main problem, please don't a)tell him about some other problem or b)ask for a lesson on some application (that's what manuals are for---open and read!). You may be saying, "I'm paying for his time" and you would be correct. However, the tech is planning his day based on what you have told him. If you extend his day because of your lack of planning, other customers are going to suffer. One day that customer will be you.