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dapoohda
Kompani Linge
Premium
join:2000-11-09
Fargo, ND
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 ·CableOne
| Best Buy ramping up oversight of Geek Squad troubleshooters
Best Buy ramping up oversight of Geek Squad troubleshooters
The Associated Press - Sunday, July 22, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS
Best Buy Co. said it is increasing the monitoring of technicians who work for the company's popular Geek Squad computer repair service after Internet-driven complaints about invasions of privacy.
In recent months, allegations have circulated on the Internet about agents copying pornography, music and alluring photos from customers' computers. Some bloggers now call the business the "Peek Squad.
Four current and former Geek Squad technicians in three Best Buy stores told the Star Tribune that they witnessed co-workers pulling up customers' personal photos and urging others to look. Three of the four recall colleagues copying customers' photos onto DVDs and USB drives.
"They're testosterone-driven geeks, and they're going to look around," said Brett Haddock, a former Geek Squad worker at a Best Buy store in Santa Clarita, Calif., northwest of Los Angeles. "It's the male prerogative. The temptation is always there."
Best Buy, however, said any problems are caused by rogue employees, though Robert Willett, Best Buy's chief information officer, said the company is exploring ways to bring an increased level of oversight to Geek Squad's in-store work areas.
He declined to be specific but said, "Let's just say there are ways of monitoring the tech bench."
The company insists that customers' personal photos and other files are safer with the Geek Squad than with most independent computer repair services. The company has rigorous privacy and security measures in place, including checking workers' bags before and after work.
Current and former Geek Squad agents told the paper that intrusions into customer privacy are symptomatic of a larger problem: that Geek Squad's rapid growth has compromised its service quality and consistency. Some agents said they are graded more on the number of services sold than on the quality of their repairs.
Geek Squad is critical to Best Buy's efforts to provide more higher-margin services. Driving this change is competition from discount chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and falling prices on many consumer electronic items, particularly big-screen televisions.
In 1994, Robert Stephens started Geek Squad with $200 and a bicycle to take him from job to job. Eight years later, he sold the firm to Best Buy for $3 million. At the time, the firm had just 50 employees; there are now about 11,000.
In May, a Geek Squad agent from California, Hao Kuo Chi, pleaded no contest to one count of invasion of privacy after a woman charged that he secretly used a camera phone to make a video of her taking a shower while he was on a house call.
Stephens, Geek Squad's founder and "chief inspector," is convinced that these are rare occurrences, but nevertheless he is taking them seriously.
"If I were to verify these ... employees, they would be gone - in a minute," he said.
In addition to stringent policies and procedures for guarding customer data, Best Buy has held at least three mandatory training sessions on customer privacy since last fall.
The company said oversight is particularly stringent at "Geek Squad City," a 165,000-square-foot computer repair facility near Louisville, Ky., where most laptop computers are sent for repairs. Cameras are focused on technicians at all times, and security guards walk the aisles.
Some allege Geek Squad agents copy your files
Best Buy's computer trouble-shooters face claims that some technicians copied porn, photos and music from customers.
By Chris Serres, Star Tribune
Last update: July 22, 2007 – 6:08 AM
When Best Buy Co. Inc. bought the Geek Squad five years ago, the two companies pledged to "protect the world from the assault of computerized technology." Geek Squad "agents" even wore badges and drove vehicles resembling police cars.
But as this squadron of techno-nerds has mushroomed into the largest collection of computer troubleshooters in the world, it has become increasingly difficult for the firm to police its own employees.
In recent months, allegations of agents copying pornography, music and alluring photos from customers' computers have circulated on the Internet. Some bloggers now call it the "Peek Squad."Any attractive young woman who drops off her computer with the Geek Squad should assume that her photos will be looked at," said Brett Haddock, a former Geek Squad technician.
Best Buy says that any problems are caused by rogue employees and are not systemic. But in light of allegations, the company will increase its monitoring of technicians.
It insists customers' personal photos and other files are safer with the Geek Squad than with most independent computer repair services. The company has rigorous privacy and security measures in place, including checking workers' bags before and after work.
But some current and former Geek Squad agents say the intrusions into customer privacy are symptomatic of a larger problem: that Geek Squad's rapid growth has compromised its service quality and consistency. Some agents said they are graded more on the number of services sold than on the quality of their repairs.
Geek Squad is critical to Best Buy's efforts to provide more higher-margin services. Driving this change is competition from discount chains such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and falling prices on many consumer electronic items, particularly big-screen televisions.
In 1994, Robert Stephens started Geek Squad with $200 and a bicycle to take him from job to job. Eight years later, Stephens sold the firm to Best Buy for $3 million. At the time, the firm had just 50 employees; there are now about 11,000.
More than fixing?
The firm claims that it can "fix any PC problem anytime, anywhere," no matter where it was purchased. The agents also make house calls.
But that service has caused problems recently. In May, a Geek Squad agent from California, Hao Kuo Chi, pleaded no contest to one count of invasion of privacy after a woman charged that he secretly used a camera phone to make a video of her taking a shower while he was on a house call.
In May, a consumer blog known as the Consumerist ran a lengthy "confession" from an anonymous blogger claiming to be a former Geek Squad agent. "If you have any interesting pictures of yourself or others on your computer, then they -- will -- be -- found," the person wrote.
Since then, others have come forward with similar allegations. Four current and former Geek Squad technicians in three Best Buy stores who were interviewed by the Star Tribune said that they witnessed co-workers pulling up customers' personal photos and urging others to look. Three of the four recall colleagues copying customers' photos onto DVDs and USB drives.
"They're testosterone-driven geeks, and they're going to look around," said Haddock, who worked at a Best Buy store in Santa Clarita, Calif., northwest of Los Angeles. "It's the male prerogative. The temptation is always there."
David O'Hare, a former Geek Squad agent who worked at the Best Buy store in Santa Clarita, said his colleagues illegally copied "thousands of songs," which are protected by copyrights, from customers' computers and stored them on a store computer.
"We probably had 50 to 100 [gigabytes] of music just sitting there for anyone to listen to or copy," said O'Hare, who left Geek Squad a month ago.
Ben Popken, editor of the Consumerist, tried his own experiment. In June, he and a writer at the Consumerist installed software on a desktop computer that tracks every mouse click made by the user. Then they loaded onto the computer photos of attractive young women -- including some wearing bikinis.
The Consumerist writer took the computer to Best Buy stores. On the fifth visit, Popken said, the software captured a Geek Squad agent opening the folder and copying the photos to a flash drive, which the Consumerist made into a video.
What Best Buy is doing
Stephens, Geek Squad's founder and "chief inspector," is convinced that these are rare occurrences, but nevertheless he is taking them seriously.
"If I were to verify these ... employees, they would be gone -- in a minute," he said.
In addition to stringent policies and procedures for guarding customer data, Best Buy has held at least three mandatory training sessions on customer privacy since last fall.
Andrew Coombs, a former Geek Squad agent who lives in Chattanooga, Tenn., said that stealing customer data would have been "unthinkable" at the store where he worked in Winston-Salem, N.C.
"Number one, you don't poke around because it's wrong, and it was made very clear to us that was grounds for immediate termination," Coombs said, noting that Best Buy constantly updated the privacy policy. "Number two, you don't have the time."
The company said that oversight is particularly stringent at "Geek Squad City," a 165,000-square-foot computer repair facility near Louisville, Ky., where most laptop computers are sent for repairs. Cameras are focused on technicians at all times, and security guards walk the aisles.
Robert Willett, Best Buy's chief information officer, said that the company is exploring ways to bring an increased level of oversight to Geek Squad's in-store work areas, though he declined to be specific.
"Let's just say there are ways of monitoring the tech bench," he said.
But Geek Squad's reputation has already taken a hit, as reports of the privacy intrusions -- and Popken's video -- circulate online.
Some agents wonder whether the company expanded too quickly. Many of the newer hires are college students who have little or no experience fixing computers, they say. Starting pay in many stores ranges from $10 to $12 an hour -- not enough to retain quality technicians, some agents say.
What's more, some agents complain that their mandate has shifted from fixing computers to providing a wide array of services -- such as hardware installation and virus removals. And Best Buy makes more doing a data backup and reinstalling Windows ($129), a process knows as restoring, than actually doing a diagnostic to uncover a problem ($69).
"It used to be that the problem had to be really, really bad before you would 'restore' a computer," said O'Hare, the former agent. "Then it became, if it gets things done quicker, then do a restore."
Stephens said Geek Squad technicians will occasionally restore hard drives but only in cases where they can't fix a problem. To discourage that, the firm last year created an in-house group of highly experienced technicians, known as "Secret Weapon," who can answer agents' questions.
"We're really battling it and saying, 'Don't restore,' " he said.
Even so, Holly Petersen, a former Geek Squad agent from Minneapolis, said the recent turmoil was in part why she just sold her Geek Squad badge on eBay for $300.
She got the badge four years ago during a ceremony at a Minneapolis nightclub. A waitress brought it on a platter.
"I feel like the caliber of customer service is not what it once was," Petersen said. | |
Tommyastro
join:2004-01-18
Poughkeepsie, NY | Anyone that uses the "Geek Squad" deserves whatever they get.
Best buy SUCKS. | |
NetWatchMan
Premium,VIP
join:2001-03-13
Alpharetta, GA
| reply to dapoohda
quote:
What's more, some agents complain that their mandate has shifted from fixing computers to providing a wide array of services -- such as hardware installation and virus removals. And Best Buy makes more doing a data backup and reinstalling Windows ($129), a process knows as restoring, than actually doing a diagnostic to uncover a problem ($69).
Right but virus *removal* is more than $200 so this is still more profitable than reinstalls.
However, based on what I know about malware removal from Windows systems I'm pretty skeptical that their $200 process, executed by "technicians" that make $10-20/hr. is actually effective. I'm real tempted to random drop a few infected machines off at Geek Squad and their similar competitors and then do a post cleaning review of their handiwork. Now THAT would be a story.
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Lawrence Baldwin
myNetWatchman
The Internet Neighborhood Watch | |
SnowyOne
Premium
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI
·RoadRunner Cable
 ·Clearwire Wireless
| said by NetWatchMan  : I'm real tempted to random drop a few infected machines off at Geek Squad and their similar competitors and then do a post cleaning review of their handiwork. Now THAT would be a story. That would be a good companion story to this one.
I'm game if you'd like to submit identical machines in a wider geographical area.
»File stealing techs - | |
seqrets
Premium
join:2001-05-03
Nederland, TX
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to dapoohda
In the many times that I have fixed friends/Coworkers computers, I have never once crossed the line to where I have broken anyone's trust!
You just don't cross some lines!
Unfortunately, The Geek Squad is not any different than many Computer Repair Centers "big and small", once you turn your data over to them, honesty is the only saving grace!
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La Luna
Surviving Ashraful
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join:2001-07-12
Warwick, NY
clubs:
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 ·Vonage
1 edit | reply to dapoohda
Side note....
.....In May, a Geek Squad agent from California, Hao Kuo Chi, pleaded no contest to one count of invasion of privacy after a woman charged that he secretly used a camera phone to make a video of her taking a shower while he was on a house call.....
Not that it in any way exonerates the guy, but why would this woman would take a shower while some strange man (Geek Squad tech) is in her house? 
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~~"As long as America is an infidel enemy, terrorizing it is a duty." Sayed Imam Abdul-Aziz el-Sheriff~~
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GadgetsRme
R.I.P. dadkins
Premium
join:2002-01-30
Canon City, CO
| said by La Luna :Side note.... .....In May, a Geek Squad agent from California, Hao Kuo Chi, pleaded no contest to one count of invasion of privacy after a woman charged that he secretly used a camera phone to make a video of her taking a shower while he was on a house call.....Not that it in any way exonerates the guy, but why would this woman would take a shower while some strange man (Geek Squad tech) is in her house? I agree. That move falls into the category of "What was she thinking".
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Gadgets | |
PTS
Premium
join:2001-12-13
Charlotte, NC
clubs:
| said by GadgetsRme :I agree. That move falls into the category of " What wWas she thinking?" Fixed it for you... | |
SnowyOne
Premium
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI | I can derail a thread as good as anyone.
What's next? The she was asking for it argument? | |
GadgetsRme
R.I.P. dadkins
Premium
join:2002-01-30
Canon City, CO
| said by SnowyOne :What's next? The she was asking for it argument? No, if you note La Luna's comment "Not that it in any way exonerates the guy,....." that isn't being said or even implied. However a little common sense goes a long way in life. For instance if I show up at a customers home and the lady of the house is in her night clothes and they're fairly revealing, I tell her I'll be back in 15 minutes so you have time to change. Nothing probably would happen if I didn't, but why not protect yourself from any possible problem. If a unknown service person is in my home I don't hover but they know I'm close by and check on them periodically. I don't put myself in a situation where I'm easily compromised. I'm of the male persuasion and do this, someone of the female persuasion needs to be even more careful, it's just a sad fact of life.
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Gadgets | |
GadgetsRme
R.I.P. dadkins
Premium
join:2002-01-30
Canon City, CO
| reply to SnowyOne
said by SnowyOne :I can derail a thread as good as anyone. This is not derailing a thread. The Geek Squad needs to monitor their employees when they are in the companies facilities. When they come into your house it becomes your responsibility, NO ONE ELSE'S. You can't do that when you're in the shower!!!! So again what was she thinking?
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Gadgets | |
SnowyOne
Premium
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI
·RoadRunner Cable
·Clearwire Wireless
| reply to GadgetsRme
said by GadgetsRme :...if I show up at a customers home and the lady of the house is in her night clothes and they're fairly revealing, I tell her I'll be back in 15 minutes so you have time to change. Nothing probably would happen if I didn't,... Well you should have said that in the first place.
It's comforting to know that nothing would probably happen if you found yourself in that position. | |
GadgetsRme
R.I.P. dadkins
Premium
join:2002-01-30
Canon City, CO
1 edit | said by SnowyOne :said by GadgetsRme :...if I show up at a customers home and the lady of the house is in her night clothes and they're fairly revealing, I tell her I'll be back in 15 minutes so you have time to change. Nothing probably would happen if I didn't,... Well you should have said that in the first place. It's comforting to know that nothing would probably happen if you found yourself in that position. Nothing untoward would happen by my action, however I do know of at least one instance of a false accusation by a female against a male service person after she let him in when she was inappropriately dressed. I wasn't protecting her from me, rather me from her. That's that "common sense" thing again. If you'd quit trying to read nefarious intents into others posts and look for the real meaning, it might help.
Edit spelling.
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Gadgets | |
SnowyOne
Premium
join:2003-04-05
Kailua, HI
·RoadRunner Cable
·Clearwire Wireless
| said by GadgetsRme :If you'd quit trying to read nefarious intents into others posts and look for the real meaning, it might help. OK | |
Blue2
Premium
join:2004-04-14
France
| reply to dapoohda
Well, I wouldn't make any judgements after reading one sentence in an AP wire. Try this:
»www.itwire.com.au/content/view/11348/53/
Now that will really make you scratch your head. | |
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