In 2002, the short-lived MTV sketch-comedy show “Scratch and Burn” made a music video called “When the Geeks will Rule the World,” a song of hope for electronics geeks who were made fun of in high school. It is hard to say if geeks rule the world in 2010, but electronics rule America, and the Geek Squad understands electronics.
“I don’t have a problem with it [the word geek],” Amber Febbraro, a Geek Squad employee, said. “I don’t personalize the job too much because I won’t be with them forever. I have learned more from them than any company I’ve worked for. We are taking a term that was once negative and turning it positive.”
In 2010, with the release of the Droid, Kindle and the latest iWhatever, it seems consumers cannot have enough, or pay enough, for the latest gadgets. When these consumers do not understand how to fix their new toys, they inevitably call someone like Febbraro, a 21-year-old communication technology major at Eastern Michigan University.
“I’ve been asked lots of weird things,” Febbraro said. “One girl had a printer issue, and I asked her to print out a test sheet. She wrote something like, ‘Call me.’ [Also,] We have a strict policy on child pornography, so if anything of that nature is on the computer, the cops are coming to the store immediately. People always ask about that. We can’t talk about that, it’s not respectful.”
As a Geek Squad agent, Febbraro needed to have at least five months of technical experience before she was hired. She had to memorize and know how to use many of the electronics before consumers had questions about them.
Marcus Brown, a 25-year-old sports medicine major at EMU, said the Geek Squad is very helpful. He used to think his computer had a virus, and within minutes, the Geek Squad discovered his computer just needed updating.
“I have a Blackberry and I’ve been through about five in the last two months,” Brown said. “It would freeze, and when the Blackberry people tried troubleshooting, it didn’t work. I’m frustrated.”
“I also have had issues with Blackberries,” Febbraro said. “I had to get a Blackberry Curve replaced three times because of a similar reason. RIM (the Blackberry manufacturer) informed me it was because the Blackberry Operating System was not working with the device’s hardware. Once they updated the OS, the issue was resolved.”
Alyssa Riddle, an 18-year-old electronic media and film major at EMU, plans to buy a video camera to make movies one day. The camera she has in mind holds a lot of memory, offers high definition, is durable, offers effects and is within her price range.
“If she is looking for one to make movies to compete, she is going to want to look at a professional-based cameras that we don’t sell at Best Buy,” Febbraro said. “But if she is looking for an entry level camera, Canon has a Vixia series, which is very nice. I have a Canon Vixia HV30 and it’s HD.”
Febbraro recommends college students buy middle to high-end laptops, because the parts in cheaper laptops aren’t as good. She prefers computers with Intel processors instead of AMD processors, because she thinks they are faster and handle tasks better.
“What excites me is technology people who don’t normally use technology can use,” Febbraro said. “The iPads aren’t great for college students because we have computers available to us, but iPads are great for older people who are learning how electronics work, because it’s a simple interface that’s easy to use.”
Febbrraro is currently collecting parts to build her own computer. She believes the practices where people succeed the most in, are because people like their practices.
“It’s what I like to do,” Febbraro said. “If you look at engineers and architects, every once in a while, you come across one where it’s what they do at home and at work. It’s not just a job.”
