Hello ArCH members,  My wife and I just bought her an Asus i7 Intel desktop computer from BestBuy for around $840.  This tower also has an Nvidia 2GB graphics card and a 1TB HDD, keyboard and mouse.  However, there was something else that caught our attention and which we bought before leaving the store.

BestBuy has very smart young people performing computer repairs and diagnoses in the store and also 24/7 online and by phone.  The typical yearly great deal = $200 for this support.  However, we were offered this for the amazing price of only $99.  And before you faint from that great deal, guess what?  That’s for support and diagnostics on up to 3 computer devices, even if you didn’t buy them from BestBuy!

Geek Squad is what BestBuy calls their computer support staff.  And you can call the techs in the store where you bought the equipment, or dial their 1-800 number, or go online.  They will also remote operate/diagnose your computer as part of this service.  Every time I have had this happen from other providers, they solved the problem, whatever it was, so this is great quality service.

If any of you has ever had a computer with problems, having a support team like this could cost thousands, or certainly hundreds of dollars, if you can find them quickly.  But to have this expertise 24/7 and for up to 3 computers (or iPads, etc.) for this nominal charge is unheard of.  So now my wife and I have our own computer support staff from a major company for around a hundred bucks a year.  You, of course, must pay for any hardware needed to fix problems (unless you are under a BestBuy warranty), but the main fact of having all these smart whiz kids to analyze the problem and find a solution!  That’s the big deal here.  Knowing what to do in a crisis is the real benefit.  And taking your machine directly to your closest BestBuy Geek Squad is comforting: knowing that they are there when you need them.

Most residential Architects are either sole practitioners or small group practices, with limited budgets.  Having resources like this help keep us all up and running and hopefully not having to spend an arm and a leg for the privilege.  Hats off to BestBuy and their Geek Squad!