Geek Squad

G eek[怪誕可笑的人] squad—what a funny name！ When I first encountered the name three years ago， I thought to myself who were these geeks driving a black-and-white Volkswagen Bug on the street. I was attracted by the cute car as much as the name.

When it comes to repairing computers， America is nowhere as convenient as China. It’s difficult for me to find reliable IT repairmen in America. Instead， franchising[特許經營權] is a common model of business for big companies. So if my computer breaks down， I usually turn to Best Buy， one of the nationwide electronic retailers， for help. Be prepared for a possible high price though！ Simply because American labor is ten times more expensive than Chinese labor. If you didn’t purchase your computer from a Best Buy store or you didn’t enroll in their maintenance[維護] program， a preliminary[起步的] checkup of your computer may cost as much as US$100.

Since I knew nobody who could fix my laptop back then， I agreed unwillingly to the cost for the sake of my peace of mind. But paying that amount wasn’t a guarantee your problem would be solved in a timely manner. It took me a week—longer than what Geek Squad had promised—to get my laptop fixed.

Just tracking the repair status was a

nuisance[麻煩事]. I couldn’t get any updates on the Geek Squad website， nor could I talk to a representative on the phone regarding the problem. Eventually I had to visit the store for a face-to-face inquiry. That seemed to be the most effective way. I learned that my laptop was fixed the day before but nobody bothered to notify me.

I thought that would be the end of my association with Geek Squad. Not yet！ A few days ago my laptop had some glitches[小故障]. This time I had signed up for the Geek Squad protection plan which allowed me to reach them online. So I gave it a try and connected with a technician named Russell K.. We exchanged instant messages through a conversation box on the screen. Then Russell began to remotely control my laptop. I had no idea how he did it but I could see the cursor[光標] was moving on my computer screen， as if it was commanded by an invisible man.

In half an hour， my laptop was in good shape again. My online experience with Geek Squad was utterly different from my previous time. Is this how Best Buy tries to attract the customers by providing good online service？ New technology changes traditional shopping methods， as it has changed traditional customer service.