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<td width="343" valign="bottom"><p class="date"><a href="default.html">4/23/04 • Vol.
128, No. 35</a></p></td>
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<td align="left" valign="top"><p><a href="geeksquad.jsp">Who are you
gonna call?</a></p>
<p><a href="springfashion.jsp">Spring fashion is in full bloom</a></p>
<p><a href="DeadDaysBar6.jpg">DEAD DAYS</a></p></td>
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<h1><font size="5">Who are you gonna call?</font></h1>
<p class="subhead">Best Buy's Geek Squad makes friendly computer house calls</p>
<p class="byline">By Stanley A. Miller II</p>
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<td><p><a href="BIZ-CPT-GEEKSQUAD-1-MW.jpg"><img src="BIZ-CPT-GEEKSQUAD-1-MW.jpg" alt="" name="Photo" width="221" height="141" border="1" style=""></a></p>
<p align="justify">Gavin McKay stands by his custom-painted Volkswagen
in Milwaukee, Wisc., he uses as part of his business, Geek Squad,
which makes house calls to fix problems with PCs. </p>
<p class="byline">-Photo courtesy of KRT Campus</p>
</td>
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</table> <p>MILWAUKEE—Despite
the seemingly effortless way that experts fix computer problems, giving
technical support isn’t easy.</p>
<p> Home technical support is even harder. You’re on the client’s
turf, they are often irritated by the problem, and they tend to hover and
ask questions as you try to diagnose and repair what is wrong.</p>
<p> Welcome to a day in the life of the Geek Squad, Best Buy’s technical
support service, which began operating in Milwaukee in mid-April. The Minnesota-based
Geek Squad will work out of local Best Buy locations and offer a 24-hour
house call service.</p> <p> These repair professionals say there is no computer problem they can’t
handle, whether it’s a term paper lost because of a hard drive crash
or a machine that is running amok because of spyware.</p>
<p> They are company men and women, and they look the part. Geek Squad “agents” are
recognizable with their white shirts, black ties, shiny badges and sunglasses,
as well as the black-and-white Volkswagen Beetles they buzz around town
in.</p> <p> “
They officially have no life now,” joked Gavin McKay, a Geek Squad “special
agent” on loan from headquarters who is organizing the Milwaukee
team.</p>
<p> Although computer knowledge is obviously essential, Geek Squad members
are selected for their interpersonal skills, McKay said. Agents need
to be friendly and attentive, even if frantic clients are breathing
down their
necks, the family dog is growling at them, and there is a screaming
baby in the next room.</p>
<p> “
You can always teach technical skills,” McKay said. “You can’t
teach personality. You have to interact with people.”</p>
<p> The squad has operated in Minneapolis for about 10 years and offers limited
service in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C.</p>
<p> Milwaukee, San Francisco, Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit and Grand Rapids,
Mich., are the first cities to be assigned fully staffed Geek Squads.</p>
<p> If the company’s experience from other cities translates to Milwaukee,
the most common tasks for the local agents will be setting up new computers,
helping configure wireless networks and removing malicious software such
as viruses and spyware. Back-to-school time is often the busiest time of
year for the Geek Squad, McKay said, although virus “events” such
as “Blaster” and “SoBig” Internet worms kept him
busy.</p>
<p> Geek Squad agents carry all the tools and spare parts they need in their
cars, except motherboards and processors. But if a DVD drive stops spinning
or a hard drive fails, the components can be replaced immediately. Agents
also tote some software for sale, including anti-virus programs and operating
systems, if customers want to upgrade.</p>
<p> “
The trunk of a Beetle is surprisingly roomy,” McKay said.</p>
<p> The Geek Squad is a dream team for Best Buy. Prices vary, but basic on-site
support, with a response time of within 48 hours _ begins at $130. The
Geek Squad’s “911” service, which gets a technician on
the scene immediately, starts at $300. That doesn’t include any software
or new parts. Besides the service charges, the Geek Squad is a way for
Best Buy to market its products, from keyboards and mice, to video cards
and blank CDs.</p> <p> Milwaukee’s Geek Squad will start with five agents, including “double
agent” Joe Sabatini.</p>
<p> “
I get to work one-on-one in their environment,” he said. “In
their homes, they are much more comfortable. And I like to talk to people.”</p>
<p> For some high-tech households, on-site IT professionals are angels of
mercy in a time when Internet-borne viruses run rampant and computer equipment
is still too intimidating for the average person to manage.</p>
<p> Some computer problems, such as issues with networking and complex peripherals
like scanners, are best solved in their native environment instead of
being brought into the shop, said Phil Thien, owner of Computer Gallery
in Shorewood,
Wis. Thien said his company’s on-site service is busy with customers
working out of home offices.</p>
<p> “
For them, it is like visiting their small business,” Thien said. “They
want parity with the level of service that a small- and medium-sized business
would get. They don’t see why they should have to disconnect everything
to bring it in, and they don’t have to.”</p>
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