You’ve probably wondered what it takes to become a Genius at an Apple Store. I mean, they’re called Geniuses, and it’s Apple, and they only deal with Apple products, so they know them to the core, right? Well, in at least one Apple Store, not so much. MacBlogz’s Aviv went through the whole process of applying, which he has helpfully documented for us. After answering 17 out of 20 ridiculously easy technical questions correctly, he was offered the job for $US17 an hour (which you can see in the letter below). Because that made him not just a Genius, but a superstar.
As part of their US$300 Million ad campaign Microsoft has announced that they will begin to deploy in-store representatives to large chains like Best Buy and Circuit City to help consumers with their PC issues. Like their Apple counterparts, The “Microsoft Gurus” will not be paid on commission and they will be available to handle general questions and give demos of products—but they will not be available for any real tech support or repairs. So they are kind of like Apple Geniuses, only a lot less useful. Nonetheless, Microsoft plans to roll out around 155 of these trained experts during an initial trial run sometime before the end of the year. [Electronista]
If only John Mayer’s dad lived in Australia and owned a Dell. Then all of John Mayer’s dad’s tech support questions could have been easily answered by the good folks at Gizmo.
You see, today Dell and Gizmo announced that they were going to get intimate, with Gizmo services like setting up your Dell PC or setting up a wireless network available as an optional extra when purchasing a new Dell machine.
While it’s highly unlikely that anybody reading this would need tech support to set up their own computer, this could be the kind of thing that you purchase for your own mum or dad when buying them a PC, so you can save yourself the 1,742 phone calls about how to get the computer working or, in John Mayer’s case, finding an application.
Pricing is a bit on the expensive side, but look at it this way: they have to put up with all of those inane questions from old people so you don’t have to. Isn’t that worth something?
Pricing is below:
newVideoPlayer("/johnmayer_gizmodo.flv", 476, 376,""); In a twist of destiny, John Mayer–the guy who writes to Apple Support saying “Hey guys, John Mayer here” and actually gets replies back–had to turn into tech support guy after his dad called saying “Hey, John Mayer’s dad here.” The musician tried to guide his father through Mac OS X in order to find his Entourage icon with no success, getting more and more frustrated with every turn of the conversation. We were able to grab the hilarious 100% unedited clip from TMZ before it disappeared.
If I ran Wal-Mart and was brainstorming ideas to pump up customer satisfaction, offering Dell tech services would be near the bottom of my list. Free Snickers would probably be near the top. Anyways, you can guess which one Wal-Mart is actually going with.
Texas has a new law that makes it mandatory for computer repair technicians in the state to have private investigator licenses. This is being contested by at least one advocacy group that’s suing, as many techs don’t know they’re being criminals by doing their jobs. The strange new law comes about because sometimes in the course of repairing a computer some investigation is needed, and in the great state of Texas that’s a felony without a licence. It can take up to three years to get one, so this whole thing is messed up. Hopefully no poor minimum wage Windows jockey will wind up in jail over this, but stranger things have happened in Texas. Looks like those Geek Squad guys will get real badges, though. [Gear Log]
The main problem with being tech savvy is that everyone looks to you to solve their gadget-related issues. I mean, I’m happy to help but sometimes I just want to say “go and Google it dammit!” This is especially true with anything computer related. You know what I’m talking about–that frantic call from a friend who says their computer isn’t working, so you go over there and find it unplugged. Seriously, I don’t know how IT people can stand it. So, my question is: are you one of those people that gets stuck fixing everyone’s gadget problems?
By way of sister site The Consumerist comes word this afternoon that big box chain Wal-Mart is “very interested” in expanding its services into Best Buy’s Geek Squad territory. “We are looking at different options,” said Gary Severson, a Wal-Mart senior vice president. Tough luck for Best Buy on that one, should it come to pass. According to MarketWatch, analysts consider Best Buy’s Geek Squad operation a key differentiator compared to Wal-Mart. So, the question is, if Geek Squad guys drive those black and white VW Beetles, would Wal-Mart stormtroopers technicians fly Star Destroyers drive SMART cars? [MarketWatch via Consumerist]
One of our seven reasons for not buying a Psystar computer right now was their untested tech support. Well, one of our readers tested it, and turns out they should have studied a little more.
Everyone seems to love the EeePC‘s tiny body, but their US tech support seems kind of lousy. Giz US reader John purchased one, but couldn’t get it to work with his 2Wire router. When calling Asus support, he found out that the Eee doesn’t work with the brand.
