One of the PCs in our office has been having some problems for quite a while, so I decided to bite the bullet and call for help. I called Geek Squad because I thought they knew what they were doing. Not so much.
Cutting to the chase, the computer in question, which is the one on which I typed this post, is still having problems. In fact, while typing this post Firefox crashed and lost several minutes of work. Hang on a moment. Let me save so I don’t lose more in case Firefox crashes again.
OK. File saved. Now it’s on autosave.
When Geek Squad showed up at my office for the appointment on Monday, April 13, 2009, I explained the PC’s recent behavior to the agent. After several minutes of trying to explain the problems I wasn’t hopeful. I still had a few more things to explain, but at that point he seemed checked-out and wanting to sit at the machine to do that voodoo. So I let him.
After about an hour and a half of diagnosis, he couldn’t find “anything wrong with it.” Curious. If nothing was wrong with it, why would I call Geek Squad in the first place and why were we getting the following errors?
Security package not updating correctly.
Firefox crashing about, oh, eight times per day.
Irregular recognition of external hard drives.
OSA.exe error notices.
PC crashing periodically upon Outlook booting.
Generic host process for Win32 services on start-up, periodically.
Periodic notices at start-up that Windows had recovered from a serious error. (Yes. No kidding. I think the most serious error was to buy a Windows machine in the first place.)
Periodic file checking notices in Outlook due to a file not closing last time Outlook in use.
Interesting that with all those problems he couldn’t find “anything wrong.” So, instead of the $300 I was quoted when I called in for the appointment, the agent charged only $139 for their “Quick Fix Service.” He went happily on his way.
But I wasn’t happy.
For days after the visit, the machine kept making the same errors, and new ones were added to its dastardly repertoire.
Upon shut-down, blue screen errors occurred saying there was a memory management problem.
Windows would not update automatically.
Software installation was disabled.
Outlook archive folders MIA.
I looked at the Geek Squad Service Agreement for information about warranty and here’s what it says:
Item 4 – Labor Warranty: Geek Squad guarantees services provided to you at your home or business for 30 days; however, for repairs necessitated by a virus or spyware, the 30-day warranty is valid only if the antivirus and antispyware protection for your product is installed or updated during repair or before you access the internet again. If there is a problem with the service provided to you at the Geek Squad store and if you notify us at 1800 GeekSquad (1-800-433-5778) within the 30-day time period, Geek Squad will work to remedy your original problem quickly and at no cost.
So I called them. Two service reps told me that the “Quick Fix Service”
Continue reading Geek Squad Not as Geeky as Expected, or as Good
In a recent article about marketers, here, it was stated that an “overwhelming majority,” or 88% of those who responded, use some form of social media in their marketing programs.
Impressive.
But then the article also states the top three questions on those marketers minds. The third most popular question was, “Where do I start?”
Seems that if 88% of respondents are already using social media in marketing programs, they’ve already started.
Just curious. How does this add up?
Part of the goal behind using social media is making friends, not enemies. It’s easy to make enemies; it’s more difficult to make friends. Who said that? I’m sure it was said before me, at least I hope it was.
Last week I became involved in a LinkedIn group conversation that started to go a little hairy, but fortunately didn’t get out of control, as these things sometimes can. If you’ll read the conversation, which starts here, you’ll see that things got heated relatively quickly. And you’ll also see that some of the comments made weren’t appreciated by some individuals in the group. I’d have to say that, at first, I was one of them.
Reading through, you’ll see that I was “snarked” with a comment about a $15 economics textbook. Now, I could have gone off the deep end over that one, because on the face it appears to be quite a smack. But I thought twice before “speaking” once. I imagined that commenter and I in a face-to-face conversation; and I also imagined him making that comment with a smile on his face and a lilt in his voice. Nuances indicating that the comment was a just a friendly jibe, not meant to insult or demean.
Nuance is lost, or at least misplace, in social media. Funny huh? Since part of social media’s intent is about making friends. Emoticons can’t carry all the weight that nuance has for centuries, nay millennia. So when we mix it up on the social web, we must be aware of that and choose our words carefully, and read over, at least once, what we’ve just written before pushing the Send button. When reading it over, if what you’ve written seems like it could be misconstrued in terms of the emotions, then write about the emotion that you wish to convey. Put it in words instead of leaving it up to the roulette wheel of interpretation. Say what you mean, yes. But on the social web we must also say what we imply.
Seems like a lot of effort? Well, yeah. It is. But then making friends isn’t always easy. Oh, and speaking of making friends? That commenter that jibed me about the economics book? Shortly thereafter we spoke on the phone, he initiated the conversation by the way. And since then I feel like a found a new friend.
Amazing ain’t it?
New and different is partly what defines social media. Now there’s a church in North Carolina which encourages its congregants to tweet while the service is in progress. Talk about religion keeping up with the times. What a novel idea.
In a way, this reminds me of the late 60′s. During that time of social change, many churches were beginning to incorporate folk music into their services, rather than just rely on the tried and true choral types of music. Some liked it, others not so much. But what happened at that time, in those churches, was an increase in attendance. Why? Because the service was more relevant to its audience. If communication isn’t relevant, what’s the point? The use of Twitter in the church services mentioned above is, at least indirectly, credited with increased church attendance.
So, is Twitter the right social media tool to use in a church service. I don’t know. But if it’s helping people connect, and spread a mesage that they feel is valuable and doing so in a relevant way, with an increase in church attendance, then why not go for it? As Father Mulcahy said in a M*A*S*H episode that I saw recently, “There’s more than one way to skin a spirit.”
Social media is about this; or social media is about that.
Naturally, in my profession I read a lot about social media. Everyday. And what I read more than any other statement about social media is that social media is about relationships. Well, that is true. After all, social media is called social. We use the media to be social, to build and strengthen relationships. But when it comes to business using social media, social media is about more.
For businesses to build a relationship with their customers is essential to success. But what we tend to forget in business is that business is about solving a problem; solving it better than someone else. And to do that builds a pretty good foundation for a relationship.
So next time you’re in a staff meeting wondering what social media is “about” just remember why you’re there in the first place. To solve someone’s problem. And if you use social media toward that goal, you’ll be that much more ahead of your competition.
At that particular time, the Power Lunch Twitter page had around 1500 followers, but Power Lunch was following only 7. Seven. That’s it. And a ratio of over 200 to 1 does not a conversation make. Certainly doesn’t, especially when you consider the nature of their tweets.
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About  Here at " Richard Telofski on The War on Capitalism," I discuss and analyze the individuals and groups conducting campaigns against capitalism. In the articles on this site, I provide analysis on lesser known facts about this movement. More . . .
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