Archive for the ‘Tech Support’ Category

Walmart to rival Best Buy’s Geek Squad with own in-home install crew

We’ve never truly been at ease with that Geek Squad crowd. Something about “the people” they hang with and “the places” they hang at just worries us, so we’re pretty thrilled to see another mega-corp stepping in to take the place of the now-deceased Circuit City FireDog crew. Starting sometime before the holiday season, Wally World will be partnering with N.E.W. Customer Service Companies in order to offer in-home installation to customers buying anything from a wireless router to a HTIB. The service plans will be sold on prepaid cards ranging from $99 to $399 in value, and each install includes a “preliminary consultation and a tutorial after installation is completed.” Granted, it may be a bit tough to get the dude looking to spend $5 on a new plasma to spring for such a service, but hey, it’s not like competition is a bad thing.

[Via Hot Hardware]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Wireless, Networking

Walmart to rival Best Buy’s Geek Squad with own in-home install crew originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wal-Mart rolling out tech support services

Hey, lookin’ good there Mr. Man. I like your protective booties. They look like slippers!

Wal-Mart has contracted with service provider N.E.W. to offer tech support services, seemingly in an attempt to compete with Best Buy’s Geek Squad and similar outfits.

It’s probably not a bad idea, seeing as though Wal-Mart is making a bigger push into the consumer electronics retail void that’s been left open by the closing of stores like CompUSA and Circuit City.

Plans will apparently be offered on prepaid cards with pricing set at between $99 and $339 for services such as TV, home theater, and wireless network setups, to name a few. Service will be provided by third-party contractors, so it’s not quite the same as how Best Buy offers in-store Geek Squad stuff. This appears to be more in-home service only, not counter service inside actual Wal-Mart stores.

Service offerings are expected to roll out in all Wal-Mart locations by the holidays.

[via Reuters]

Carol Brady Creates The Worst Tech Support Job On The Face Of The Earth [Tech Support]

If you thought your IT job was filled with annoying questions, try working for Florence Henderson’s new FloH Club. It’s a telephone-based tech support service for old people.

This isn’t Carol Brady’s first foray into tech support however. She was also on the front lines during the DTV conversion. Perhaps that, along with her confusion regarding the intricacies of her own cellphone provided the inspiration to start up FloH.

“I didn’t grow up with this technology,” she said. “It’s like learning a new language.”

Now, as a proficient text-messenger, Skyper and active member on Facebook, she wants to help others learn to do the same.

FloH memberships run $25 for a month or $250 for the year and includes access to their telephone support network for any computer-related queries. For an additional $50, users can participate in one-time personal training session on issues ranging from setting up a Facebook account to tuning up your PC. In other words, it’s quite a racket. Although, Florence doesn’t have to be the one manning the phones from 8am to 2am. To those people all I can say is…Godspeed. [FloH and NYT]