Best Buy really, really, really loves money

[scratch42069]

I thought Best Buy was crooked for hiring Canadians for their 888 help line in the US and making them pretend to be the "helpful" fellow American next door to them lol. Nothing surprises me about them anymore. Heard and dealt with enough stories while working for them to know not to do business with them.

[Master Ryu]

Guys this is a games console, not a PC destined to do 1,000,000 things when turned on.

You turn it on, you follow on screen prompts. Microsoft purposely designed the OS so that when it's turned on it pretty much does everything for you with a walkthrough to get you playing and online.

And for the guy who said it "could be worth it to the consumer". How exactly do Best Buy land on $30? Riddle me that one. Seems like it's pulled out of thin air.

Next thing we'll have is packs of balloons being sold with a sticker saying "$5 to blow up your balloon for you, WE PROMISE IT'S DIFFICULT TO DO".

The market for this is non-existent. People buying into games consoles do not equate to the amount of people who choose to try out a PC, or are required to for work related tasks/necessity of getting on the internet, etc.

It's an absolute scam to make such a minimal task seem like it actually needs "professional" and paid help, of which it costs 30 frickin dollars!

Wish I got paid $30 every time the automated message came up on my 360 to say a firmware update is required, and all I need to do is push the big green A button.

How can you say for certain that no one will pay for this? There exist people who are so afraid of technology that they wouldn't mind shelling a few extra bucks to get everything set up. This may be the easiest thing in the world for forumers like us, but don't assume it's the same with others. That's just silly. Why do you think people go to the dealer to pay for oil changes. One could argue that changing oil is relatively an easy thing anybody can learn to do. If you told car enthusiasts that you just spent $35 for an oil change, a lot of them will scoff at you. "why didn't you do it yourself and save the money and pump your tires yourself?" But people who don't care, don't know about cars don't mind paying the extra money as they see value in that (convenience). It's the same here. Non-gamers would may see value in this (convenience). Whether it's worth $30 to you doesn't matter; what matters if it's worth $30 to them.

[(Spork)]

total waste of money anyone that can't hook up a 360 should be sent back to the cave

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

How can you say for certain that no one will pay for this? There exist people who are so afraid of technology that they wouldn't mind shelling a few extra bucks to get everything set up. This may be the easiest thing in the world for forumers like us, but don't assume it's the same with others. That's just silly. Why do you think people go to the dealer to pay for oil changes. One could argue that changing oil is relatively an easy thing anybody can learn to do. If you told car enthusiasts that you just spent $35 for an oil change, a lot of them will scoff at you. "why didn't you do yourself and save the money and pump your tires?" But people who don't care, don't know about cars don't mind paying the extra money as they see value in that (convenience). It's the same here. Non-gamers would may see value in this (convenience). Whether it's worth $30 to you doesn't matter; what matters if it's worth $30 to them.

It's a sad day if people are paying $30 for convenience reasons for something that takes hardly any of your time, and is actually part of your console experience.

And comparing a games console to an oil change is just stupid.

All Best Buy are doing is turning the console on and hitting a few buttons relating to on-screen prompts, that's it basically.

Let your kids do it, let your friends do it, let anyone else do it, but paying them $30 is laughable.

You don't buy your kids a games console for Christmas not to let them open it up and plug it in. Hell, primary school children can probably setup a 360 blind folded.

Not one person I know in my family/friends, casual and hardcore, have ever bought a games console and said to me I wish I had paid money to have this setup.

And for those stuck (after reading manuals) as I said, MS/Sony/Nintendo have you covered with their help lines, absolutely no need for BB to intervene.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Audioboxer

[scratch42069]

What's even funnier is that the people hired to turn on these consoles probably know nothing about them. It wouldn't surprise me if they hired a third party company to do it like they do with all their other services.

[Shadrack]

It's a sad day if people are paying $30 for convenience reasons for something that takes hardly any of your time, and is actually part of your console experience.

And comparing a games console to an oil change is just stupid.

All Best Buy are doing is turning the console on and hitting a few buttons relating to on-screen prompts, that's it basically.

Let your kids do it, let your friends do it, let anyone else do it, but paying them $30 is laughable.

You don't buy your kids a games console for Christmas not to let them open it up and plug it in. Hell, primary school children can probably setup a 360 blind folded.

Not one person I know in my family/friends, casual and hardcore, have ever bought a games console and said to me I wish I had paid money to have this setup.

And for those stuck (after reading manuals) as I said, MS/Sony/Nintendo have you covered with their help lines, absolutely no need for BB to intervene.

I don't remember my XBox 360 going through parental controls on its first boot wizard..maybe i forgot, it was awhile ago. I can see parents who want this feature and want to make sure it is setup right (as well as learn more about it) pay $30 to have someone show them.

[sn00pie]

I don't see a problem with that. Their offering a service, and its upto the consumers whether they want to use the service or not.

Yes, its a waste of money, if your a tech-geek like most of the people on this website. But for that 75 year old Grandmother buying her 9 year old a X360 for Christmas, she might consider having it setup before she wraps it up.

Those are the type of customers these services are aimed at, not your average computer geeks.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

I don't see a problem with that. Their offering a service, and its upto the consumers whether they want to use the service or not.

Yes, its a waste of money, if your a tech-geek like most of the people on this website. But for that 75 year old Grandmother buying her 9 year old a X360 for Christmas, she might consider having it setup before she wraps it up.

Those are the type of customers these services are aimed at, not your average computer geeks.

Why would she do that?

All you do is plug the bloody thing in and it's ready to go :blink:

It's a games console, not a NASA space rocket.

[semi-joke]How else have all the other 9 year old swearing whining brats on Live had their 360's up and running before this BB plan?! Magic? :o[/semi-joke]

[Shadrack]

Why would she do that?

All you do is plug the bloody thing in and it's ready to go :blink:

It's a games console, not a NASA space rocket.

[semi-joke]How else have all the other 9 year old swearing whining brats on Live had their 360's up and running before this BB plan?! Magic? :o [/semi-joke]

If you want us all to agree with you that this whole thing is just silly and ridiculous, that is exactly what you are getting. It is a silly and ridiculous thing for people to waist their money on. I've probably lost more time commenting in this thread than the $30 spent to have an XBox 360 setup for me (because time is money).

Look, my point is, people spend their money on stupid ridiculous things all the time. I don't see a reason to go on for pages in an Internet forum discussing it (as I am obviously doing right now.)

Everyone here knows that it isn't a freaken space rocket and is extremely simple to setup. We get it. We understand your point. However, I think you give people too much credit. I'm sure there are a number of numb-skulls that, yes, believe it or not, need help setting up their game consoles. Kudos to Best Buy for figuring out a new way to make money from them.

I don't see any threads on Neowin that go on-and-on about how much money people waist playing the Lottery. At least there is SOME service here, so it isn't a COMPLETE waist of money.

[Black Flash]

I work in the media department at bestbuy and I haven't seen anything like this, I never even ask customers about geek squad when I help computer with their sales. It's a waste of breath, I don't get commision or anything so there's nothing to motivate me to screwing people out of their money. :D .

For example if somebody asks me they want an HDMI cable, I take them to the cheap dynex section instead of that overpriced garbage called monster. If it doesn't work then just bring it back within 30 days and get a new one. :)

[scratch42069]

I work in the media department at bestbuy and I haven't seen anything like this, I never even ask customers about geek squad when I help computer with their sales. It's a waste of breath, I don't get commision or anything so there's nothing to motivate me to screwing people out of their money. :D .

For example if somebody asks me they want an HDMI cable, I take them to the cheap dynex section instead of that overpriced garbage called monster. If it doesn't work then just bring it back within 30 days and get a new one. :)

That's because Best Buy Canada isn't nearly as crooked as the main company lol. Too bad you work there as many good companies could use helpful people like yourself and actually appreciate it too unlike BB.

[sn00pie]

Geek Squad is actually pretty good for alot of customers. New computer setup includes, Norton 360 (which sucks), Recovery CD's, Windows Updates, tweaks & customization, setup, and a few other things your average user cannot figure out how to do.

It's also a question of time. Most people want to open the box and be ready to go, no installing antiviruses, no updating every stupid program.

It's a service that is offered, and it is completely upto the customer to buy it or not.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

Why would she do that?

All you do is plug the bloody thing in and it's ready to go :blink:

It's a games console, not a NASA space rocket.

Maybe the grandmother doesn't want her 9 year old playing "M" rated games. I'd wager that only about 80% of parents understand the ESRB ratings nevermind have the technical ability to set the parental controls.

[(Spork)]

Geek Squad is actually pretty good for alot of customers. New computer setup includes, Norton 360 (which sucks), Recovery CD's, Windows Updates, tweaks & customization, setup, and a few other things your average user cannot figure out how to do.

It's also a question of time. Most people want to open the box and be ready to go, no installing antiviruses, no updating every stupid program.

It's a service that is offered, and it is completely upto the customer to buy it or not.

geek squad are freaking morons ! i went in to my local best buy and ask how do i set up a slave HD .... the guy from the geek squad looked @ me like i was a 4 heading space mutant

[devHead]

The problem I have with charging for these kinds of services is that it continues to perpetrate the notion that computers are just too complex and technical for a normal person to figure out how to configure. I remember a few years back Dell running ads for their computers (and they appeal to the masses, of course) and them saying in their commercials 'Forget the Giga-this and Mega-that' just tell us want you want to do with your PC and we'll custom build it for you. That kind of mentality conditions people in general to think that just understanding the basics of a computer are too much for them, and that only technically-savvy people really know how to do anything. So companies continue to reinforce that mentality by charging money for this stuff. It's too hard for you to figure out how to do! So hard in fact, I need $30 to do it for you, even though it will only take about 20 minutes (if that).

That's just my opinion. But I've helped a lot of people who don't consider themselves to be tech-savvy to figure out how to do stuff on their computer they figured was just too hard to even think about, and when they learned it they were like, 'Hey, that's not so hard! Why does everybody make it out to be so difficult?' Because we still live in that Working With Computers Is For Nerds And Techies culture.

<End of Rant>

[Fred Derf Veteran]

So hard in fact, I need $30 to do it for you, even though it will only take about 20 minutes (if that).

You have to remember that time is money. If it takes 20 minutes and it costs $30 then that works out to be $90/hr which is inline with what many professionals charge. Perhaps it is worth it for the customer to pay the $30 rather than spend 20 (or more) minutes of their own time trying to figure it out with the hope that they'll do it correctly. Perhaps the customers would rather spend their time billing their own customers than figuring out something from a manual or trying their patience on a tech support call.

[Draken]

for many of us this is outrageous, but there are many people out there willing to pay for a service like that, are they are stupid? no just not tech savy like us, but yes BB is greedy as hell

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

for many of us this is outrageous, but there are many people out there willing to pay for a service like that, are they are stupid? no just not tech savy like us, but yes BB is greedy as hell

Where do you draw the line though on "not tech savy" and "lazy"?

As said about 1,000,000 times everything you need to know about your 360 comes in the box - There is no advanced settings not already explained clearly and precisely. As I said, in comparison to a PC where you can pay for many setup services, a PC has so many possibilities you don't have explained to you in relevant documentation, a console does not.

Then for those unable to read an instruction manual, MS already have their help and support lines in place.

Why do BB need to intervene now after games consoles have been sold for god knows how many years? Was there a massive outcry from the 20m Xbox 360 owners about how they couldn't setup their 360? Uh, no, I doubt it.

It's just to generate cash out of, not the non-tech savy people, but the lazy or naive.

As for parental controls, the main parental control is not buying your 9 year old 18 rated games. The second is doing your own research by reading the manual that comes with the device you just bought.

[Draken]

Where do you draw the line though on "not tech savy" and "lazy"?

Not everyone buying an electronic device is a tech and not everyone refusing to set it up is lazy, for example my elder brother, he's 44, father of two, ages 12 and 7, he was very concerned about my nephews playing violent games so he called me to set up parental controls both in his Vista PC and Xbox 360, he works as an airline operations agent with a computer the whole day, so he's lazy? he's stupid? obviously not. I've told him it was really easy but he insisted, so if I wasn't available be sure that he had payed BB for the service

[soniqstylz]

I have zero problem with this.

Both my older brother and my father bought PS3's, and came over to my house to see how I had mine all set up, and still were calling with questions. Heck, my dad made me come over to his house and fiddle around as to why he couldn't get 1080p. Turns out, his TV wasn't even 1080p capable (and he's resonably tech-savvy, pretty much where I get my inner-geek from).

Some peopel aren't tech or mechanically inclined. What comes easy to us (who have been hooking up consoles since Commodore and Atari) is just too much at once for people who get confused plugging in cable.

[Ayepecks]

I think your two options are a bit extreme, personally. Where's the "maybe it's good for some people" option?

But, I still voted for the first option because I personally wouldn't buy it, obviously.

[Joseph B]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1125465158104

Vs.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231046

Enough said.

:crazy:

[Skulltrail-old]

X-Station3s.

WTF is an "X-Station3"?? Is that supposed to be funny because it ironically portrays the Playstation 3 title? Or is the author of this article an idiot?

EDIT: Best Buy thinks they are being convenient by offering this service, not knowing the Xbox 360's manual has instructions on how to do all of that. This is just for those lazy people who don't feel like reading the manual, and have money to burn.

[soniqstylz]

WTF is an "X-Station3"?? Is that supposed to be funny because it ironically portrays the Playstation 3 title? Or is the author of this article an idiot?

EDIT: Best Buy thinks they are being convenient by offering this service, not knowing the Xbox 360's manual has instructions on how to do all of that. This is just for those lazy people who don't feel like reading the manual, and have money to burn.

X-Station3 = "whatever gaming console I just bought you"

[BinaryFragger]

The price does seem outrageous (as do Geek Squad's prices) but then again, we routinely pay more than necessary for other services.

Many people go to a garage to have their car's oil changed (an oil change is not rocket science). Or go to restaurants and pay more than what a home-cooked meal with cost.

If it saves them time, sometimes spending a little more can be worth it for some people.