The most famous consumer tech-support service is undoubtedly Best Buy's Geek Squad. Geek Squad is also arguably the most polished computer-help service, offering not only online help, but in-store and at-home repair services, too. It's also the least-expensive service I've tested and includes a license for top-notch security software. Geek Squad technicians, on the whole, delivered the best results among the services tested, and they didn't pester me to purchase additional products.
One-time online support is Geek Squad's least expensive option, starting at $49.99 for a PC tune-up service (you'd pay $99.99 for this in the store). A $9.99-per-month subscription service (with a $99.99 initial fee) is also an excellent value. It tallies up to $219.87 the first year and $119.88 per year thereafter. For similar service, iTOK.net costs $34.99 per month with a $99.99 setup charge, or $519.87 the first year and $419.88 in subsequent years. iYogi costs $179.99 per year with no setup fee, but it doesn't include security software. So if what you're looking for is long-term protection, Geek Squad is cheapest in the end.
For this test of Geek Squad, I signed up for the one-year $9.99 per month plan, which requires a full-year commitment. After plunking down my $99 startup fee, Geek Squad emailed me a serial key for Webroot SecureAnywhere Internet Security for PC and Mac license key—a Choice that would cost you $79.99 a year all by itself.
The Test Plan
My test plan for testing consumer tech-support
services involved at least three separate support sessions in which I challenged the
service with problems of decreasing difficulty. This let me not only see how the service
handled different kinds of problems, but it also gave me experience with several
technicians for each.
The first test, malware cleanup, was the most difficult. I loaded a Windows 8.1 laptop with rogue system-protection software and reported slow operation to the support service. This system-slowing "grayware" is one of the most common problems non-technical friends bring to me. My PC was so handicapped by browser and search "helpers" and driver and install "protectors" that I could barely use it. In all, there were 15 undesirable programs for the support service to remove—including one that couldn't be removed via the Control Panel. I reproduced the same set of problem software for each support vendor by re-imaging the PC using O&O DiskImage 8.
My second challenge was to have the support service set up a biometric heath-monitoring wristband device, the Polar Loop, which didn't have the necessary software installed. Finally, I asked the technician to help me with a non-functioning iTunes installation, which, when run, displayed an error message to the effect that "Apple Application Support was not found."
The Support Experience
You can start interacting with a Geek Squad
representative either by phone or on the company's website, which features a "Chat with
an Agent" button. When I first tried the website, I requested my Member number, but that
didn't arrive in my email till the next day. In working with support services, you'll
need to get on the phone with a tech sooner or later, so I went ahead and called the
toll-free number. A voice-recognition system asked what kind of product (phone,
computer, or other) I needed help with, transferred me to a customer service line. All
operators were busy, so the system offered to call back within 16 minutes. It took 25
rather than 16 minutes—not great, but within tolerance.
Geek Squad has two levels of tech—one does an analysis, then a more expert tech performs the repairs. Everyone I spoke with from Geek Squad spoke fluent American English—all the agents are U.S.-based, according to the company.
I was connected with Agent Justin M. (Geek Squad refers to all its support reps and techs as "Agent.") Justin asked me what OS I was running and informed me of Geek Squad's privacy policy—no passwords are stored, and you can disconnect any time you're uncomfortable with what the tech is doing. He then took remote control of my PC using LogMeIn Rescue—an excellent tool that's capable of reclaiming remote control even after a reboot. Geek Squad initiates this remote-control by having you enter a number they tell you on the site's "Top Secret Passcode" page and then pressing the "Connect to Agent" button.
Justin looked at my Internet Explorer Add-ons, finding several of the nasty items I'd planted (Wajam, Qwiklinx, Cartwheel Shopping). He also checked whether I was running antivirus software and ran Webroot System Analyzer, which reported a score of 83, with perfect PC health being 100.
After this analysis, Justin told me that he'd be transferring me to an expert technician who'd perform the actual repairs. But this doesn't happen right away. Justin told me that it could take up to an hour for the expert to start working on my PC, and the servicing itself could take over an hour. Justin asked me to enter my Windows password so that the tech could reboot my PC during repair. This was handy, because I had to leave the office. Other services, such as iYogi, require you to stay on the phone with them for the whole session.
The next day I looked at the LogMeIn chat window to see what the expert, Agent Gazzel V, had done to my PC. I also received an email detailing fixes performed. Gazzel started by gathering lots of information—about my memory, OS, CPU, hard disk, recent events, and scheduled tasks. Gazzell ran CCleaner, OpenMRI, and WindowsCleanUp. I could see that he lost connection a couple times but was able to reconnect without me. He created a PDF report of the "mission," which told me that he also performed manual removal of some malware traces. The report claimed that only one actual instance malware was found, so I checked my installed programs list to see whether everything problematic was gone.
I found that almost all of the bad stuff was gone, but two undesirable shopping "helpers" remained—Cartwheel Shopping and SavingsbullFilter. My browser home page was still set to mysearchdial.com. Gazzell might have thought I wanted those, but, really, they're unequivocal browser nuisances. One thing I was very happy and impressed to see gone was the RegClean Pro pest, which could not be removed via the Control Panel.
Oddly, Gazzell didn't install the Geek Squad-sanctioned Webroot security software but rather installed a trial version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. It could be that he didn't have access to my Webroot serial number. By comparison, the iTOK service fully installed a copy of Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security ($44.95 at Trend Micro Small Business).
After a reboot, I ran Webroot Analyzer and got a score of 90. While that's not perfect, it soundly beat iTOK.net, which scored a 73 on this post-cleanup test. And it walloped iYogi: that service's use of one-size-fits-all optimization software only managed a score of 62. The Webroot test isn't the be-all-and-end all of support success, but it's a useful measuring stick.
Hardware and Software Tests
Hardware Driver Test
Cleanup was my most important test, but I
also wanted to see how Geek Squad handled my Polar Loop health monitor wristband setup.
This time, I started with text chat. You can do this without even having an account, and
the initial rep quotes you a price. The agent responded in less than a minute, asked
about my problem, and quickly got me connected via LogMeIn to a tech. This Time I got
Agent John Q. By comparison, when I went to iYogi this way, I was ignored
because I already had an account—their website-chat agents were only
interested in selling new service.
Geek Squad's John Q surprised me by telling me I had a virus!—Conduit. He offered an estimate of 260 minutes for driver and antivirus servicing and said he'd need to transfer me to advanced repair agent. Eleven minutes later, Megan C was on the case. She said she needed to take full control of the PC and that I could step away. She also said that she'd place a note up when finished and call my phone if she needed assistance. If you haven't seen remote PC control, it's kind of fun to see your mouse cursor zipping around the screen by itself, opening windows and such.
Megan went through several lengthy script download and run procedures, some of which were labeled "Internal Use Only" and "Geek Squad Trade Secret." So the service clearly has some unique cleanup tools, but she also used widely available tools like CCleaner and products from Kaspersky, Norton, and MalwareBytes. She manually checked my installed programs, and, unlike the previous agent, uninstalled everything nefarious, including borderline baddies such as Cartwheel Shopping and FLVPlayer.
The next morning, I saw the "Evaluate your session" box in my browser. Megan C left me a note in the chat box saying "Your computer is now free of infections and has been updated and optimized! Polar Loop software was also installed :D." When I plugged it in, my Polar Loop biometric device was indeed fully functional.
No mischievous programs appeared in my Control Panel Programs page, and the only suspicious IE extension remaining was Highlightly. Nor was anything questionable running in the background in Task Manager; it was a thorough cleanup, this time around. Though it took two sessions, I give Geek Squad high marks for thoroughly cleaning out a very mucked-up system.
The Missing iTunes
There was still the matter of my non-functioning
iTunes application: Whenever I double-clicked its desktop icon, a message box stated
"Apple Application Support was not found." I was connected with Agent Shawn H. After
taking control via LogMeIn, he estimated the fix would take 90 minutes, which seemed
long for a simple iTunes reinstall.
But my iTunes problem proved peskier than I'd expected: Geek Squad Agent Ace C tried reinstalling it, but the same message popped up. Ace consulted Microsoft tech-support page on software installation. He added a new Windows user account called GS TEST. He then went into the Registry Editor, and ran Windows Installer Cleanup. At 2 p.m., I had a working iTunes! It took longer than I'd hoped, but less than the 90 minute estimate.
Web Resources
In addition to live services, the Geek Squad site's
Self Help section contains a wealth of free computer health tips and resources intended
to help you help yourself. The section includes tips for things getting the most out of
Windows 8, testing your Internet connection speed, or running a virus scan on your
machine, among others.
Another informative section is the Online Agents page: This lets you see all on-duty technicians along with user ratings and number of cases serviced. There were 58 agents on duty in the middle of a Friday, any of I could connect with, if I liked the cut of their jib. These are, however, not the expert repair agents. They are, rather, the initial-analysis agents, so you can't connect to someone who did a bang-up job fixing a gnarly problem.
Call the Geek Squad?
While it's not perfect, and your results will
somewhat depend on the particular Agent you're connected to, Geek Squad is head and
shoulders above the other help services I've tested. It's got a deep tool set, a large
number of U.S.-based technicians, and a support process that makes everything clear and
efficient. Its servicing is unlikely to take up an inordinate amount of your time,
because you don't need to remain on the line for extended fixes. I'm also impressed that
it includes a license for the top-notch Webroot SecureAnywhere anti-malware software,
and that you can start service via either Web chat or phone. All this makes clear
Editors' Choice for online tech-support services.
Geek Squad, the best-known tech-support service, boasts deep resources and U.S.-based agents. Its $9.99-a-month plan is also the least expensive you'll find among competing services.
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