I gotta give them 2 stars based on the wackness of service, and I didn't even get my laptop fixed thru them. When you get there, be prepared to stand in line for a LOOOOONG time. I get that busted electronics aren't easy to fix, but c'mon. They seriously move like molasses. One guy came in w/ his Xbox, and the geek plugged it into a TV & started playing some game. Listening in on their convo, the geek was straight giving him strategy pointers. What the heck!?!? read more

Seems a bunch of folks have had a hard time with them with computer repairs, but my experience with home installation was awesome. Bought a new big flat panel TV and needed to wall mount it in our bedroom (in a weird, plaster and lathe wall, not standard wood or plasterboard). Plus, had components in cabinets and needed an IR repeater etc. Anyway, they actually had a deal where if you buy the TV mount from them, and the Geek Squad installation, you get $100 off. So, they gave us a 4 hour window, but called and came early. Did an AWESOME job, fast, courteous, professional. Did all the installation and mounting, all the component connections, minimized wire exposure, and cleaned up perfectly. I, the tech guy, was ecstatic my wife, the clean freak, was ecstatic no complaints at all with this aspect of their service. in fact, real big props. My neighbors paid a $1000 for just wall mounting stuff, this, for $250, was a bargain. read more

My computer died. I sent my computer in to get fixed and I was told that the computer needs a new hard drive. When I came to pick up the "fixed" computer, the computer was having problems during the test run IN THE STORE. The manager told me that this is NEW problem and that I will need to have the computer assessed again and still PAY FOR the hard drive repair. Seems like they have poor testing and repair services. And the whole send your computer away to get fixed makes for lack of accountability for shoddy work. read more

Can I score a less than zero? I would if I could. After waiting for 4 hours for someone to show up, guess what? No one showed up. Called, they had some lame excuse with profuse apologies, that it was really not scheduled. Really, well why was it confirmed when the call was made to schedule? Enough already. After reading about the credit card compromise, glad it didn't happen. Was I lucky or what? read more

My first review, ever. But I am angry. Geek Squad took me to the cleaners. Service is just horrible. They supposed to clean my computer and make it run faster, all for almost $300, for nothing. My computer still runs bad. Please, please DO NOT use these people. If you do, you are bound to get really pissed. Yelp, please come with negative stars, so I can apply one to Geek Squad, aka Best Buy. read more

These people had me so mad I considered driving my car through the front doors! Dont worry I sat in the parking lot for 30 minutes to cool down before I got behind the wheel........I have always purchased my computers, lap tops ect at best buy. I even have a best buy credit card. I bought my newest laptop and purchased the service agreement along with it, the largest one they had since I work from home and use my lap top every day for work. Everything was fine until windows did an update and the sound in my lap top went out. My first step was to contact geek squad online as I had done many times before for minor issues. They were always helpful and got the job done. This time I explained to the tech what had happened with the sound and he informed me that my protection plan had expired and I would have to pay a one time fee of $69.99 to resolve the issue and that the issue could be resolved online. I agreed and paid for the service. Then I was transferred to the tech that was actually going to do the work and after 20 minutes of him working on my lap top remotely he said that he did everything he can and there is no way for him to fix it. That I would have to go to the store. The tech told me that this was not a software issue but a hardware issue. He then told me that he was going to put all the notes in my file so that when i go to the store the tech there could pull up the information and take it from there. I said ok and went to the store. There was no line and I walked up to the counter. I explained to the tech what the issue was, what he online geek squad said and that everything should be in my file for them to review. So at this point the tech looks at the other tech behind the counter and they both look at me like i had two heads.........they then proceed to tell me that geek squad online is not that same as the in store and that they do not have access to anything they have done or not done online. Even the money I paid geek squad online could not be credited or recovered at the store level. By this time the tech could tell that i was pretty upset and he was very nice to me and gave me my options. After all I cant blame him for what someone else told me.........so I re-upped on my protection plan at the cost of almost $400 bucks! I left my lap top there and they said they would get to it as fast as possible. 5 days later i get a call saying that they will need to send my computer out to get fixed but I cant authorize it over the phone i need to go there. So i went there and they told me that i need to pay to ship my lap top out to their repair place and that the protection plan I paid for does not cover hard ware it only covers software. Now if you remember I specifically said to the tech online geek squad said it was not software related it was a hardware issue! So now i am standing there feeling like fire might come flying out the top of my head because I was sold a protection plan that does not cover the issue i had and they knew dam well it would not cover the issue. BAIT and SWITCH!! Bottom line is to get the refund from geek squad on line took over a month and 5 phone calls and to get the refund on the $400 protection plan I was sold only took days...........I will never ever use geek squad online or in store. And trust me I have many more lap tops, tvs and printers yet to buy in my life time and they wont be getting my business. read more

I am disappointed in the Geek Squad service team. After almost being hit mid-crosswalk (with my third grader) by a Geek Squad van, I tried to contact any service representative. Many neighbors use Geek Squad and I want them to drive safely in our neighborhood. I called and had to hang up after many minutes on hold. I started an online chat with "Agent Annie" and got no response after the greeting message. At the moment, I cannot recommend Geek Squad. read more

This is a review of Geek Squad (Best Buy) Emeryville. Beware having them to your house to repair something and then paying with a credit card. They came to my house yesterday to repair my washing machine, which I bought there 5 years ago. The repair itself was satisfactory. But my credit card appears to have been compromised when I paid them for the repair. A day later, a dozen unauthorized charges showed up on my card. I was able to reverse them, but I had to cancel the card, which is a huge hassle. The problem is the method Best Buy uses to accept credit card payments offsite. Instead of having a card reader like everybody else uses, where you just swipe your card, Best Buy has its own in-house software that runs on the laptop the repairman brings with him. To pay, the customer must type the CC information into the repairman's laptop, which I was assured is very "secure" since the number cannot be seen by the repairman and is not stored on the laptop once it's been transmitted and authorized. But here's the scam: the friendly young repairman offered to read the number off my card out loud while I typed it in, and unfortunately I fell for it, including letting him read the expiration date and the code. I think he must have been recording himself on his phone, and then made a little cash later selling my CC information. Lesson learned: don't call Geek Squad to come to your house. read more

I guess I just missed checking Yelp on this one. Its not the worst time I was taken for money out of missing all the signs and cues. But it is the most recent, and I thought I was street smart ...ouch and 1/2. The setting was a bit suspect, like a scene out of the TV Series "Prison Break." I believe for a second I was caught in a three way stare down similar to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." The difference is I was paying a lot and they were collecting too much. The boss was not friendly so I did stare at him for 3 seconds like..."really dude." He didn't like my attitude so he randomly increased the fee... High School relived, except that never happened to me in high school, only at Best Buy on my car audio installation. The staff workers were actually okay. But the install had some problems like 2 back speakers were not powered by the amp and had to be re-installed at a professional stereo shop for another $100. The other two speakers were too bright, and so the amp was not set up correctly. By the way, the install was as much as all the components, and it was not even installed correctly. Maybe Obama can add Obamacare to correct the insane after market car audio situation- covered California for car audio installation?? I guess I am one of the few that believes in second consults, and so the second consult at a professional car audio install place clearly demonstrated low quality wiring on one back speaker and missed connection from amp to back speakers. Best Buy is clearly incentivizing revenue production over quality, and the result is going to be lost revenue... suggest you short the best Buy stock. Ouch again. At least my contribution helped the Gross Domestic Product and California Economy, and there is nothing wrong with having to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for several weeks because you were robbed by the Geek Squad. Upside down PQRS. read more

Steven was great. He installed my deck into my car. Very nice guy and got the job done quickly and efficiently.5 star service and Thank you Steven!! read more

I gave my laptop to them over a month ago. It needed to go out for a new motherboard. Okay, I understand that. Then about 2 weeks later, I get a phone call that says it's ready to be picked up. I arrived and they discovered they hadn't put my files onto it. The guy, Chris, said it would be ready later on that day, that was a Friday. He said he would personally call me. Here it is Sunday night, no call. I finally, and I mean FINALLY, got someone on the 800 number who knew what to do and she said "they tried to reach out to you today, on email." Well, I had been using my wife's antique computer, had my email, been using my email all week long, there was no email, much less no phone call from anyone, no nothing. I still don't have any idea whether to trust them an drive all the way over tomorrow to see if it's ready. And I thought Comcast was bad. What is so hard about giving someone who paid for the family plan some kind of service? I challenge anyone over there to write a response to this. I will update all of you tomorrow on whether they give it back to me in one piece. read more

So, I took it to YY Computer, and they got all my data for $90! And they wouldn't have charged me anything for diagnosing the problem. I do not recommend Geek Squad at all. read more

I can't remember ever having had such appalling or deceitful service from a US company before. I called Emeryville Best Buy Geek Squad on Tues Aug 7th to ask them what they charged to find out what was wrong with my desktop (it had stopped booting up) and give me a repair estimate. The rep said that diagnosis and estimates were free and normally completed in 24 hours. So, thinking (as I now assume, like I was supposed to think, given their level of deceipt) that I couldn't lose, I took it in the following day (Weds). After waiting 15 mins while 2 other customers were attemded tp who came in after I did, I placed my CPU on the counter and explained the problem that I was having with my system. The rep immediately said I needed to pay $70 up front. When I queried this, given that I'd been told the day before that diagnosis and estimates were free, he said "that only applies to eyeballing the outside of the machine" (I think to myself "wtf. What kind of diagnosis or estimate or repairs could anybody do withOUT opening up the case and looking inside?". This was like a car repair place offering free estimates but when you drive there they say that if they have to lift the hood, there's a fee! Mind-boggling. So, I pay the $70 after which he says that I'd be better off taking my computer to any other Best Buy Geek Squad than this one (Emeryville) because they were inundated and I'd get quicker service elsewhere. When I asked how long it would take, he said a diagnosis should be available by Friday lunchtime. Given that I was busy, the CPU was heavy and bulky, I decided that I'd wait this long. He said that I'd get a status report/phone call on Friday. No such call by 4 pm so I call and am told that nobody has looked at it yet "but it's on the bench ready to be examined" and that work would begin on it first thing in the mornng. Well, by Saturday afternoon there's still no word and I cal back only to be told that the technician was not available. When I finally got hold of him, he said that I needed a new heat sink in order for a diagnosis to be made and that I had to pay for this ahead of time (~$30). He recommended that I buy a new computer. How such a recommendation could be made without first having a diagnosis is anybody's guess. And I paid (by now over $100) NOT for a recommendation to buy a Best Buy computer but for a diagnosis! He seemed to know less about the way forward than I did so I suggested that he try swapping out the (recently upgraded) processor or trying to boot the system with a more powerful power supply since the ASUS owner's manual (which I'd left him to read, which he'd clearly not done) recommended moving from a 350w to a 600+w power supply with any upgrades. I declined referral to sales for a new computer and said that I'd pay with a credit card over the phone. He said that that would not be acceptable and that I'd have to come in with my credit card. When I asked why, he stalled and then said it was "for security reasons" (this was 10 days after I'd purchased a $700 laptop from Best Buy online and picked it up at this same store without being asked for any ID! Today (Thursday), eight days later, $100 poorer, I still did not have what I'd paid for (a diagnosis of the problem) and the Goon Squad had still not tried booting up with a bigger power power supply. So, I picked up my computer today and took it to a place in North Berkeley (after reading Yelp reviews -- yes, I know -- I should have read these 9 days ago! LOL). Unless you're willing to shell out good money to look at young guys in tailored suits (the "geeks" -- since when did geeks dress smartly??) and give them directions that they dont' follow, you'd best stay away from this place. I will file a dispute with my credit card company for the $70 since this charge was essentially fraudulent but my main concern was the (unnecessary) loss of 9 days of computer usage at a critical time for me. read more

Mixed bag on customer service. The first agent was very friendly and tried to answer my questions about data and program transfers between my old and new computer. When he consulted a second agent, that is when things went downhill. The second guy was rude and dismissive. Granted, he was helping another customer at the time the first agent asked him to help me, but all he had to say was I can help you after I'm finished. I don't know if the second guy is frustrated because he's not working for Google and has to wear a Book of Mormon outfit at his Best Buy job, but please don't take it out on me. Then he gave me bogus information -- affirmatively stating that no consumer available product existed to transfer programs between computers, and that my only option was to utilize the Geek Squad transfer service which starts at $200. After I got home, a quick Google search showed that such software does exist (e.g., PCMover, $45 to $60) and is SOLD AT Best Buy! Needless to say, I will buy the software -- not from Best Buy -- and do it myself. read more

worst computer services ever - any child today is more talented

Brought my computer in because it seemed to be infected with a virus. As I was waiting in line, I kept hearing them selling their one year service plan. It just seemed as if it was such a sales pitch yet what is our recourse? They seem nice but it is uncertain if you can trust them. I received my computer back (faster turn around time than they originally said which was a good thing) but is my computer running better? Well, it still freezes here and there, my settings were changed (not to my preference) and my memory card is missing. Overall, pretty disappointing! read more

The line is usually long and these people are always busy. It's fun listening to these frustrated people who cannot think for themselves. I purchased my warranty service so I can get my stuff repaired, and these people think these guys can just wave their hands on their electronics and it's fix. I blame the customers who waste Geek Squad's time listening to their rants. MAKING ME LISTEN TO IT. read more

I had a networking issue, lost all connectivity. Geek Squad had installed my router and setup my network in August of 2010. I called after I could not figure out the problem to see if an agent could come out, I explained that I work a great deal from my home computer and could not even hard connnect to the modem and live by commission. The earliest they could come to my house was two weeks out and 129.99 just to walk in the door and look at the problem. I find that unacceptable of a response time especially since I had problems less than 9 months from their setup. I have resolved my issues, first with assistance from at&t to get a hard connect and then paying someone else $50 to come fix my network. Thanks for nothing Geek Squad read more

I have found consistently good service with the Geek Squad in Emeryville and with their telephone/on-line service as well. They have been efficient, honest, professional and thorough whenever my computer got into problem areas. The service is well worth the money. I highly recommend them. read more

Best Buy sells Apple products but cannot support them thru Geek Squad even though they claim they can. They have no clue to what they are doing with Apple products. This is a disservice to the Apple brand which in the long run reflects back on Apple. It's like Volkswagen dealer assuming he has the knowledge to sell a Rolls Royce. My advice is for Apple to tread very lightly with Best Buy. They do no justice to Apple brand. read more

These guys are outright liars. I'm 10 min early on a Friday night for my 7:40pm appointment, waiting in line while a tech is working on a laptop for a customer. I'm guessing it was the manager who helped me with my "appointment" because he sure wasn't a tech. I tell him i'm here to change my iphone battery out and he says that he didn't see a 7:40pm appointment (I have confirmation in my email that I did) and told me to turn around and pointed to a guy walking out and said "we can't change your battery because that's the tech that changes batteries leaving for the night". He notices I'm frustrated and asks the tech working on the laptop if he wants to do a battery change, and of course the tech says no. I turn around and as i'm leaving and he asks if I would like to re-schedule. Of course not, not with you, I'll go somewhere else. And sure enough, as I walk out the store and check my email, I receive a YOUR APPOINTMENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED email at 7:31pm. It would have been one thing if they were short handed. But to tell me that you didn't see my appointment, and then it shows up cancelled in my email 9 minutes before it was even supposed to take place? What a joke. This manager needs to get canned. read more

Geek Squad? More like the Goon Squad. I'm writing for my husband. He bought a memory card and power booster for his computer, and had the Geek Squad install it. It was running fine when he disconnected it and brought it in, then later he gets a call and they tell him that after they installed the hardware and tried to boot up the computer, it started making a buzzing noise. So they sent it off to Kentucky. He later gets a call saying that his motherboard is fried. Somehow they thought that it was fried before he ever brought it in, but I can attest to the fact that it was working perfectly until the Geek Squad got their hands on it. So now we are getting charged $700 to fix the motherboard, and the oh so not helpful people at the Geek Squad are taking no responsibility for said fried motherboard. They never even considered that it might be their fault. Funny how a computer that's running perfectly suddenly blows out its motherboard after the Geek Squad futzed with it and somehow it's not their doing. I've read other reviews that said if you make enough of a stink and go to corporate, you can get somewhere. However, YOU WILL NEVER GET TRANSFERRED TO CORPORATE when you call the help line, and the number is impossible to find. Avoid these people at all costs. read more

I took my Dell laptop in to Best Buy to see their Geek Squad. I informed the young Asian clerk that I had viruses on my laptop and wanted to see if the Geek Squad could help me. He informed me the flat fee was $199 and if I needed backup, it would be an additional charge. I thought that was very high since new PC laptops are going for under $500, so I asked if there were coupons or discounts. He answered in a very bored, unfriendly tone: "No." Then I asked him if he knew of some alternative competitors who might be able to help me at a lesser cost, now, granted, I suppose his job isn't to guide me to Best Buy's competitors, but again he was super unfriendly, cold and informed me that he could give me no information on competitors. I have been to retail stores whose salespeople have provided me with the names of competitors in the past - those are the nice people. Anyway, the clerks working in this Emeryville Geek Squad department did not engender any nice feelings and I will not be going back ever. read more

I agree with a bulk of these reviews. The last time I was at the Geek Squad in Emeryville I was taking my mac in to be fixed and I knew the repair would be covered under the extended warranty I purchased with my computer. Without even looking up my warranty, the representative said that it would not be covered, but I could send it out if I wanted to waste 4 weeks (which lets face it, is way more in best buy time). I left the store and called the corporate number, where they guaranteed that the repair was covered under my warranty. So I went back to best buy, waited in the ridiculous line again and met with the manager. He also refused to look up my warranty and was incredibly rude to me. I ended up taking my computer to the apple store and they fixed my mac for free (my computer wasn't even covered under apple care anymore!). This isn't the first problem I've had with this best buy. They also forgot to order my charger and I didn't find out until I called best buy headquarters after being computerless for over a month. read more