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Tech Support Businesses on the Rise
prostoalex writes "People are relying on more technology that ever before, and tech support geek squads are on the rise, media reports. The USA Today article says Best Buy has hired 1,500 more technicians for its Geek Squad and CompUSA currently keeps its tech support ranks at 12,000. The article from Digital Connect magazine talks about Geeks On Call, a nationwide tech support franchise, which has more than 300 shops in 20 states. The USA Today article states the profit margins for the tech support teams generally run within 30%, while the Digital Connect magazine gives an estimate on prices charged to achieve the margins: "An initial diagnostics call, for example, could run $99. Cleanup jobs usually run one to two hours, and some franchisees say they charge between $149 and $165 for one hour and $265 to $275 for two hours.""
..because the cup-holder on my computer will no longer come out. Good to know that help is available.
air and light and time and space
So this means they will have antoher 1,500 people whose only function is to tell you they have to send your laptop aways for 2 weeks to do a 15 minute harddrive swap???
Madre de Dios! Es El Pollo Diablo! -- Captain Blondebeard
Spyware attacks are on the rise.
You can hire a decent whore for that much. And, yes, I speak from experience.
I went to Best Buy once, looking for a static strap, ad one of the guys behind the counter went into the back room to talk to a technician, and came out with the reccomendation that I buy a "Wireless static strap" because "That's what everyone here uses."
Sounded a little too good to be true, so I looked it up, and found, unsurprisingly, that while people actually DO make wireless static straps, they are, in fact, completely useless. (they rely on the Corona effect, which would maybe be useful if you got, I don't know, struck by lightning, but not for static). Something nice to know before you get them to install your RAM.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
...and resinstall all of the programs that you have from the original factory disks that are carefully organized on your bookshelf, right? Oh, and somehow copy all of your docs and emails over to the new PC. Oh, and restore all of your settings, preferences, backgrounds, sounds. Sounds like a 10-minute job to me.
I hear tech support can help with all that. What a vicious cycle!
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
I're a gewd speeler!
Pretty Pictures!
I am a UNIX sysadmin, and I change the oil in two cars, two motorcycles, and my GF's car as well.
And I only use synthetics!
And I build all of my computers from scratch.
The only problem is that my massive, cast brass balls clank when I walk.
just what I wanted to do was to go into some strangers house and work on their windoze computer.
where do I sign up.
How do you guys operate when you are doing tech support jobs for family, friends, or strangers? How much do you charge? Do you have written-down procedures for removing spyware, installing an OS, etc.? How do you advertise? What materials do you use? Do you back people's data up for them?
Just a thought related to this article.
Does that have anything to do with how many Corona's it takes to reach the floor?
-- Chop
I work for an indipendent "geeks-on-call" type service.
Our offices is just across the street from a high school The kids love to walk in and ask if we are a "real" company.
I got fed up one time with a bunch of female 12 graders laughing and giggling with each other till one got up the verve to *ask the question*.
Girl: "What is [rent-a-geek]?"
Me (in my best husky tone) : "Why little lady, we are a geek escourt service. What sort of "services" might you be interested in?"
She turned bight red, and all her friends started laughing at her.