I just got done reading this article on the Geek Squad, written by a former Geek Squad employee.
This story is quite familiar to me, as I used to work as a Best Buy tech. However, I worked for them years before the rise and fall of Geek Squad, back when we were simply known as PC-Install Techs. Back then we had similar pride in our work, and similar reasons for an ailing department.
Initially Best Buy had some great techs, but they started transferring people from the sales floor to the tech bench. I recall being hired as a salesperson, a job I abhorred. I took a tech position 6 months to a year later. I excelled in the position, but not long after, the push for revenue came to our desks. The more PC's we could pump through, the better. Quality work became a thing of the past. I quit soon after, and gave my resignation to my managers, stating that the corporate culture had destroyed a good company.
The Consumerist's account nearly mirrored my own memories. And clearly, Best Buy has a lasting habit of applying bad management to great business models. Geek Squad, on it's own, was apparently a great service. Then Best Buy got ahold of it, applied it's management strategy, and killed the tech bench once again.
Way to go Best Buy, way to go.
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