In case you haven’t notice, Best Buy has recently reconfigured some of their stores, addomg a new service called Geek Squad Solution Central. I have spent a lot of time and money at Best Buy in the past few months and had the opportunity to check this new FREE service out for myself.
The Geek Squad is familiar to any one who has shopped at Best Buy. Their iconic black, white, and orange logo is easily recognizable. Best Buy has taken their tech service up a notch by providing in store services beyond the traditional computer repair and tech support.
According to Best Buy, they are moving “beyond a functional role of being ‘just another place to buy’ and ‘just another repair place’ to establishing a higher level, emotional relationship and to deliver a differentiated, high-touch Customer Experience.”
The Geek Squad Solution Central is designed to help customers learn in depth about their new technology so they can better enjoy and utilize it. Geek Squad Solution Central is staffed with Technology Education Agents (TEAs) who are knowledgeable about the technology and services in the store. TEAs partner with Best Buy employees (Blueshirts) during the sales process to make sure the customer needs are met not only during the selection and sale of technology but afterwards as well.
TEAs at Geek Squad Solution Central provide 3 different services to Best Buy customers. The first is my favorite and that is “Walk-Out-Working”. When you purchase a new tablet, computer, digital camera, gaming, and other mobile devices you have the option to have your device 100% set up and working before leaving the store. You can also schedule an appointment for later on if you would rather. The TEA will make sure you are comfortable and knowledgeable about your new technology and that everything is working to your satisfaction, demonstrating anything you need to know to operate your new toy.
The second service Geek Squad Solution Central offers are 1-on-1 Consultations. This is a free 30 minute consultation with a TEA covering any topic the customer has questions on.
The third service provided is the one I recently took advantage of, Technology Debriefing Classes. A variety of classes are offered in a broad range of topics that customers have shown an interest in learning about. Examples of classes include How to Watch TV on your Phone, App-stravaganza, Operating System Showdown, and Windows 8. The class times and descriptions are listed online at Geek Squad.
I signed up for “Windows, Reimagined” class online. It was super easy to do and there were quite a few times and dates options. I went on Jan. 28th. The class is 30 minutes and is a brief overview of Windows 8. My class was small, just me and another lady. The TEA was quite knowledgeable about all the new stuff in Windows 8 and very patient with the 2 of us. My new computer has Windows 8 on it and I must admit totally confuses me sometimes. Our class actually went about 10 minutes over time because the TEA was answering lots of questions for us. The class was hands on. My classmate brought her laptop with her and Best Buy had one for me to look at and use during the class. Overall I walked away feeling much more confident in my ability to figure Windows 8 out and learned some new things to boot.
Other Geek Squad services do have fees based on what service you need. At this time a limited number of Best Buy stores have Geek Squad Solution Central so be sure to look online at www.GeekSquad.com/scheduling to see if your local Best Buy is included. Look through the classes offered and sign up for one! I hope you have as good an experience as I did. I plan on signing up for another class next month in fact.
Elizabeth
{DISCLOSURE: The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. The opinions given are 100% my own.}
