Geek Squad Losing Market Share To Local Operators?

With recent scandals involving employees stealing porn from client’s computers Geek Squad may be finding it harder to woo customers. The company was rocked recently when it was discovered that the practice of invading the hard drive of a customer for pornographic content was rampant among technicians. Media coverage of the allegations has been wide-spread and Geek Squad has begun cracking down on employees.

But with prices among the highest in the consumer computer repair industry and embarrassing revelations about worker misconduct coming almost weekly, could the tech support company’s days be numbered? “I had to laugh when they told me how much they charged,” said local Chattanooga resident Megan, referring to Geek Squad’s price for a home visit. “I went ahead and popped open the phone book to call around to other places.” She found a local computer repair shop that would repair her computer for less than half of Geek Squad’s quote.

Her experience is becoming more common. Larry Hackman, owner of local Chattanooga computer repair shop Smooth Machine Computer Solutions, says he’s seen an influx of clients migrating from larger companies lately. He thinks there are a number of factors. “We can offer a level of personal attention that larger companies simply cannot.” Because of Smooth Machine’s smaller size, Mr. Hackman says that customers feel like that they can trust his company more. In addition, “[We] don’t have the overhead or the market pressures” of Geek Squad, allowing Smooth Machine to “charge significantly less.”

With earnings falling short of their expectations this quarter, Geek Squad may be feeling the pressure. Small, local companies like Smooth Machine Computer Solutions offer spend-thrifty consumers like Megan lower prices for computer repair than larger operations can compete with. Is Geek Squad done for? Mr. Hackman certainly hopes so. “We want people to realize they can get more value for less money with us.”