Great Service Deserves a Great Mention
Two weeks ago, I thought I had lost everything.
No, my house didn’t burn down, my cats didn’t run away, nor was The Bike stolen. My external hard drive decided it was time to die. My files were trapped in limbo, and I thought I would never retrieve them again.
I’m happy to report that the files have been recovered and we’re back in business – not that we were ever out of business. Production didn’t stop, the world kept turning and no one was the wiser, but the external drive crash did shake me up a little.
Alright. It shook me up a lot.
My Fairy Geekfathers
The same day I posted “When You Lose a Different Kind of Everything”, I received an email straight from Geek Squad City. Mike Hans, Deputy Director of Counter Intelligence, contacted me directly.
I shouldn’t have been surprised. These guys are Geeks. Of course they’d be monitoring Google Alerts and looking for who might be talking about them.
The email surprised me because I never expected it. James and I take customer service very seriously, sure. Apparently, so does the Geek Squad. Let me tell you, they sure went all out with the red carpet treatment.
Mike called me the day my external drive arrived at Headquarters. He updated me on the status of data recovery. Joy of joys, within twenty-four hours, I received another call from Agent Olsen letting me know that the Geeks were in the process of recovering the files.
The Three Levels of Recovery
When a hard drive fails, I was told by the Geek Squad Agents, it does so for one of three reasons (which Agent Olsen will discuss in detail tomorrow).
My external drive failure was a level two, a sudden power outage. I can pinpoint the day it happened. Some fool crashed his car into a pole not far from my house and wiped out all the power in the neighborhood.
Now, I have a UPS (uninterrupted power source) tucked under my desk to make sure that if the power-out happens again, I’m covered.
The UPS was another learning experience. I was under the (mistaken) impression that a UPS would last for hours, like a generator. Wrong. A UPS gives about a half hour or so of power, just enough time to shut down your computer properly without damaging it.
Reunited
I received my files from data recovery just a few days after the incident. Everything was as it should be. The files from my external drive had been retrieved and copied to DVD. I copied them without a hitch to my computer.
It was like Christmas in July.
The file recovery wasn’t cheap. I was glad I had the money available. The $500 it cost me was a small price to pay to retrieve irreplaceable files, though. Had the drive failure been a level three, the cost of recovery would have been upwards of $1,500.
A Big Thank You
I know Agent Curtis in Henderson told me they had a feedback form on the Geek Squad site, but I’m so pleased that I wanted to let the whole world know about the good service. Word of mouth is everything and it starts right here.
To Mike Hans, Jared Bennett (Data Recovery Supervisor), and Agent Olsen at Geek Squad City: You guys are top notch. We here at Men with Pens appreciate all your hard work.
To the Geek Squad in Henderson, Nevada: Show this post to your manager and tell him to give you all a raise. Each time I visit your location, all the Agents are extremely helpful and patient. No matter how many questions a customer has, you do your best to get the answers and get the job done.
Tune in tomorrow as Agent Olsen makes an appearance with a guest post straight from Geek Squad City.
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Glad to hear. The Geek Squad in Canada (along with other tech companies) got some bad publicity last October with a CBC Marketplace report. I’m happy to hear that not all Geek Squad techs are the same…
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..The Blog is Dead! Long Live the Blog!
Harry!!!
Yes, that really is all I want to say, but I’ll attempt a serious comment too.
Though Mike doesn’t call me, the Geeks (north of Wilmington, DE—get them a raise, too) have been awesome to me, or more specifically to my Dad, when I insisted we see them after his laptop blew up this Spring.
I don’t have a UPS at home, but I do have surge protectors on everything. Went to work on a stormy day a couple of weeks ago, came back to a dead printer. VERY expensive printer so I can do proofs from home. After I beat on it and rent my garments, I unplugged the blighter and got ready to give it a proper burial, when I thought, let me just check one more thing, and I plugged it into the wall. Turns out the storm had killed the surge protector, but not the printer.
Best 15 bucks I ever spent. Gotta sew up all these rent garments, though.
Once more, with feeling:
Harry!!!
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Observing: Are You a Bulldozer or a Zen Professor?
Talk about cause-based marketing!
But as you say, the Geek Squad can likely track down a lot of leads on the Internet that we mere mortals cannot. Maybe they should open a spin-off company: Geek Marketing.
Glad it all worked out for you Harry.
~Graham
Graham Strong’s last blog post..Profiling Your Target Market
Lest any one get confused, never, ever, ever, ever buy the Best Buy warranty. If you’re not a blog with a big following, they will keep your computer for WEEKS. It takes them 5-10 days to ship your computer 15 miles across town to their nearest service center, about 2-3 weeks in that service center at which you are not allowed to pick it up, and about 5-10 days to ship your computer the 15 miles back to the store.
This hasn’t just happened to me, but to every single person who has had a warranty issue that I know.
On the other hand, a manufacturer’s extended warranty will ship you a box within 1 day, it’ll take 2 days to get to the service place, and they’ll send it back 1-2 days after they receive it. Turnaround is usually between 3-6 days.
Best Buy won’t tell you that you can buy your extended warranty with the manufacturer, so you have to be careful.
spyscribbler’s last blog post..Lopsided Relationships
Harry,
I figured I’d better drop back in to comment in addition to the pingback, first to say “thanks” for a neat follow-up blog post, and second to explain a bit more.
Folks, I’d upgraded my WordPress to 2.6 recently, and was having an issue with image positioning for my new posts. I sent Harry an IM, and within just a few minutes, he had it all fixed up.
Great Service Deserving a Great Mention. MwP are like Geek Squad for WordPress.
(Thanks again Harry)
-Brett
Brett Legree’s last blog post..dog food.
Nice post. Good writing!
ramiro marques’s last blog post..Um programa para limpar as escolas das polÃticas erradas de MLR
I’m going to echo Brett’s cheer for Harry (and James). I’ve been working with them on the new version of my blog (launching next week!) and they have been phenomenal. I’d highly recommend them to anyone who wants to make their blog (and their sales copy) significantly more professional looking/feeling.
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..The Blog is Dead! Long Live the Blog!
Right after my son was born, my laptop started acting funny, so I took it into the Apple store to have a look see. This was a few years ago, and life had not yet punched me in the teeth enough to make me realize how important back ups were. I’d never made a one.
When I went to pick up my notebook, they had replaced my dead hard drive with a new one. Every picture we’d taken of my daughter for the last three years was gone. No copies, no backup, nothing.
So, I called Apple (I was upset, my wife was in mourning). They said that there was nothing that they could do. The hard drives were unlabeled. Once removed they were bagged, tossed into a pile, then shipped to an even bigger pile to some warehouse in the midwest.
I felt like my house had burned down. Three years and three thousand pictures, gone. Poof. No more.
I asked to speak to someone else. About an hour later, someone from fairly high up in the Apple tree called me and said that there was pretty much nothing they could do, but they would do that nothing to the best of their ability.
Okay, I said.
Two weeks later, I got another phone call. They had located the hard drive. I could pick it up at any time.
Yay. I still had to take it to a data recovery specialist, and I still had to spend a ridiculous $2500 (I just recently finished paying this off) to retrieve the photos, but I have my three years worth of photos back and about 37,241 various systems of backup now in place.
I’m glad everything worked out so well for you, considering. Congratulations.
Writer Dad’s last blog post..Sink or Swim
@ Writer Dad – Ohmigod. That’s a horrible story. You know, I’ve heard that, when asked, people firmly state the family pictures as the first thing they’d save in the event of a house fire.
When Harry called me to say he’d lost everything, he said two things: “I can get back all the files for the business. Don’t worry; that’s not a concern. But… I lost all my pictures, James. Even the ones of the kittens.”
This was one moment in time that I did not even *consider* anything else but sympathy.
So I hear you on the pictures.
@ Brett/Alex – Hahah I’m so going to use that tagline, and you two are great for saying that. Harry’ll be just as pleased as I am
Harry – glad to see you’re fully recovered!
And itt’s great to see a brand delivering on the rally cry of their founder:
“Advertising is the tax you pay for being unremarkable.”
- Robert Stephens
Cale Johnson’s last blog post..A lesson from Paris Hilton
@Writer Dad,
Wow, what a great story with a happy ending. That was pretty lucky indeed.
@James,
Go for it! You guys work hard and deserve it.
Brett Legree’s last blog post..dog food.
Whew! So nice to bring data back from near death. Congratulations Harry! You too Writer Dad. That’s a great story.
Yup, backing up your data is so worth the money. Surety for your data and peace for your mind for a fraction of the cost. I back up everything, including all my external drives. And I have a UPS with about an hour of battery life. After a couple of NDE’s, I’m educated and ready. : )
@Alex and Brett: Thanks guys. We’re very big on customer service, even long after the project has left our desks. I think everyone we’ve done work for has at one time or another pinged me in the late night hours with a cry for help. Even people we haven’t worked for have done that. Our clients and community are very important to us and I’m glad it shows.
@Kelly: KELLY!!!
Yes, I’ve had surge protectors crap out too. My roommate recently came back from a week long trip, went to turn on his comp and – nothing. Nothing like getting off a 6 hour flight and having to figure out why your computer isn’t working when all you want to do is sit down and check email, you know? Turns out the surge protector strip was shot. Oh, and his comp’s power source (the on/off button – can’t remember if that’s the right term).
Invest in a UPS too, you’ll be glad you did.
@Graham: Thanks!
@WriterDad: Cripes. That’s terrible what Apple did – and even worse that you had to spend over 2K to have everything recovered. Apple should have offered to pay a portion of that (or at least offered *something* as compensation) for being so careless as to chuck everything without asking you if you needed anything recovered.
I think losing pictures is the worst part of it all. It’s like losing pieces of your life. You can’t go back and recreate those moments in time like you would a project file. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
@Cale: Yes!
@Ed: When it comes to data, be like the Boy Scouts for sure.
Harry-
Smiling for you and retrieved kitty pics, business files too, but heart is heart. There’s a photo for the Geeks. Like firemen rescuing kittens from a tree. Geeks can retrieve them from your hard drive.
Looking forward to Agent Olsen’s report.
Janice C Cartier’s last blog post..Beginner’s Mind
That’s great the data was retrieved. I’m happy.
Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..What’s The True Value of Blog Comments?
I’m so glad to hear you got all your data back, especially the kitten pictures. Re-doing client work is a pain but it’s possible to almost completely replace lost work… but like you said, those pictures would have been irreplaceable.
Very happy to see you back, Harry!
Allison’s last blog post..Seto Japanese Cuisine
Glad to hear things worked out for you. It’s good to hear positive reviews of the Geek Squad. I have only vague recollections of negative press and the occasional neutral encounter. This gives me a lot more confidence in going to them with problems. Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to do some backups …
Bill K.’s last blog post..Homeland Insecurity: Privacy rights take another hit
@Alex – perfect! James will never let up on me now! *grin*
@Harry – exists and writes; not bad for a pink bunny.
For Christmas, the Urbane Lion got a sexy external hard drive. Yes, he calls it a *sexy* hard drive. It’s even labelled such on our network listings. Something about it being designed by a car designer. Whatever. Anyway, it’s huge! Not physically, but space-wise (notice the technical terminology I am using), and I back up all my photographs to it each and everytime I upload them. I am totally paranoid about losing my photographs. The Lion backs up his music to it. This man takes his music VERY seriously. Anyway, should the sexy drive, the computer AND the laptop freak out all at once, I’m very glad to know there are geeks out there to bring it all back.
Lord knows I’m not a geek. I’m an ar-teest! *chuckle*..that one’s for you, James
Urban Panther’s last blog post..The undisciplined Panther
@Janice: Excellent idea for a photo!
@Allison: Told ya I’d be back. Was it worth the wait?
@Bill K: I can only speak for the Vegas Geeks, they’ve always been very good to me. I think Kelly weighed in on the Delaware Geeks too and they did right by her dad.
Go forth and back up those files!
@Panther: I told Alex this morning that my cats have given him their stamp of approval too. Each time he chats with me, one of the two felines has to lay right in front of the computer. Happens every time.
@ Panther – Only you. Only because I love your photo. Only because you couldn’t pull off arTEESTe if your life depended on it
Actually, Janice is our resident arTEESTe, but she does it so well that she flies in the face of my definitions and makes it sound like a good thing.
Great news about the drive recovery, Harry!
I have a handful of tech companies that I work with that provide service above and beyond the call of duty. I love it when they come through in a pinch, or even when they call with a proactive comment or suggestion. Help like that doesn’t grow on trees and I always make sure to hand out pats on the back.
Classy post, Harry. Very Classy.
Jamie Grove – How Not To Write’s last blog post..A Writer’s Choice
All’s well that ends well, Harry. I’ve heard some Geek Squad horror stories, but I’m sure that the majority of them do the best they can like most folks do.
I’ve heard enough horror stories of how rudely and dismissively people have been treated at the hands of Apple customer service to wonder how on earth they ever got such a rabid fan base.
Michael Martine’s last blog post..Tomorrow is Your Last Day to Learn How to Get Search Results Like These
I heard THAT.
Thank you, Quebecois.
Janice C Cartier’s last blog post..Beginner’s Mind
@Harry – that’s my brother, the cat magnet. Hmmm..not quite the same ring as chick magnet..but then again for him it would be the opposite of chick, which is…whoa, is this a Family Rated site?
@James – *pout* and I so wanted to be an arTEEST. Dag nab it!
Urban Panther’s last blog post..The undisciplined Panther
@Urban Panther,
Hey, you could just say “dude magnet”, that would be family friendly, right?
If you’re not an arTEEST, could you not still have an arTEESTic side to you?
Brett Legree’s last blog post..dog food.
@Panther: MwP is as of yet unrated, and we like it that way.
@ Panther – You’d have to get all snotty and lofty and arrogant and then we just couldn’t be friends anymore because I’d have to tell you that you’re being an ass and all.
Then you’d get all mad and throw a tantrum and cry and have big drama, because that’s what arTEESTes do (except Janice, of course), and I’d have to tell you that you were being ridiculous and curse at you in French.
That’s about the point you’d get all snotty again and sniff and look down your nose and go tell all your arTEESTe friends what a complete ignorant idiot I am, and… you see how things go. I’d be sad. I’d cry! You don’t want to make me CRY, now, do you? What would people think?
@Brett – actually very much an arTEESTic side. Singer (see tomorrow’s post on my upcoming concert), photographer, sketch artist, piano and guitar player, writer…why I am in IT is beyond me!
@Harry – then I will do what I can to push the boundaries of your non-rating. I like to pitch in and help wherever I can. I’m just that type of gal.
Urban Panther’s last blog post..The undisciplined Panther
@ Panther – YOU PLAY GUITAR? *AND* piano? And you did not TELL me these things? Ohmigod. I’m hurt. Betrayed.
@ Harry – I have this serious urge to say bad words.
@James – whoa! Okay, I’m not an arTEEST. Really I’m not. However, I would like to point out a flaw in your logic. Because you are French, even being my friend, you would likely curse at me in French regardless.
Urban Panther’s last blog post..The undisciplined Panther
@James – it didn’t come up in conversation. I’m telling you now! That has to count for something!
Urban Panther’s last blog post..The undisciplined Panther
@James: don’t look at me for permission. what’s stopping you?
@ Harry – You take all the fun out of it. Fuck. Now I can’t break any rules. Not that we had any to begin with, but hey.
@ Panther – True. Cursing can be a form of fond friendship. So there, siboire!
@Harry – Absolutely.
@James – Gasp! My innocent ears!
Allison’s last blog post..Seto Japanese Cuisine
Harry is awakened from his long slumber by a kiss from the Geek Squad, James complains that no one ever tells their friends he’s a complete ignorant idiot, and I miss all the fun.
Tabernac!
Kelly’s last blog post..Observing: Are You a Bulldozer or a Zen Professor?
@Kelly: You can always come back tomorrow.
And I know you will.
*bows deeply, with great flourishes of her elegant hand*
Loyal lapdog, at your service.
(Man, I got to get me some of those for my blog. Lapdogs, not flourishes.)
Kelly’s last blog post..Observing: Are You a Bulldozer or a Zen Professor?
@Panther,
You are in IT for the same reason I’m an engineer (the reason being, “I’m not quite sure…”)
I like to problem solve. And the problem is…
Engineers are not allowed to problem solve – at least where I work! Never mind turning a wrench, that is heresy!
Social skills – what would an engineer need those for?
Nope. I may be an engineer by the 16th or 18th century definition or even the mid-20th century definition, but certainly not where I work now…
Brett Legree’s last blog post..dog food.
Wow, now THIS is social media conversing! And what’s with all the talking about me while I was asleep? (Not that I mind – please talk about me some more! After all, I am a Leo).
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..The Blog is Dead! Long Live the Blog!
Harry, it was a pleasure working with you. I want everyone to know that Geek Squad strives for that perfect customer experience and satisfaction. I was quite pleased with the quality of your recovery, and even more happy that we could save the day for you.
Agent Olsen
@Alex: That happens a lot around here. You should see what they say about me while I’m asleep. At least you’re in a timezone that’s earlier than James’.
@Agent Olsen: Dude! Thanks for stopping by! I was wondering when you’d show up.
You did help to make the data recovery a much better experience. Nothing is worse than that feeling of having lost everything and I can’t thank you enough for coming to the rescue.
Wow, how often do I get to say that? I’m usually the one in shining armor saving everyone else from certain doom. Guess the Bank of Good Karma cashed one in for me.
I can sympathize with you. This has happened to me and I have had a similar experience. You can get UPS units with batteries that will give you back up power for up to eight hours, so that you can continue to work rather than save and shut down. They are however very expensive as they need bigger batteries.
Nicole Price’s last blog post..Discount DVDs
*whispering, because Harry’s asleep* Dude, you’re cute when your computer’s fixed and all’s right with the world. Positively bubbly. *tiptoeing away*
Kelly’s last blog post..Observing a Dead Mouse
@Alex – hurray! All this talk about how you should be on a social networking site, and now I can finally say I am. “Oh yes,” she says with an air of arTEESTic arrogance, “I’m on the Men with Pens site. ONLY site to be on, don’t you know?”
Urban Panther’s last blog post..The undisciplined Panther
Hey! I’m an arTEEST too. I used to make miniature rocking chairs out of wooden clothespins.
I’ve used Geek squad recently for a sound system problem on our boat. The sound kept cutting off when the volume was raise past a certain level. This biker showed up at marina with this hot shot Harley and fixed the problem in 15 min. flat! Saved me hours of frustration!
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
Aaaaargh! Just finished writing a post on how arTEESTic I am and also gave a positive review of Geek Squad and the whole frigging thing syphilisized on me! Not writing it again! Too bad! I will drown my sorrows in my Belle Gueule!
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
@Lion: Hey! Good to see the other half has stopped by. No need to drown, it was your first time posting so I had to get my butt over here to approve it.
A Geek on a Harley? Damn. I thought for sure a Geek would have a Honda. Then again, I guess owning a HD sorta makes him used to fixing things.
@ Lion – No no, that’s called rustic hobbiry, not arTEESTe. I’m afraid there’s no hope for you cool cats. None. Nope.
Now gimme a beer.
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..Inside the Secret Squad Room: Agent Olsen Lets Us Look
James: I can carve a flower pot out of a squash! Interested?
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
HAAAAARRYYY! : Ca a morpionné encore! I hit Submit Comment and the screen filled up with warnings! Considering sticking with Typepad!
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
@ Lion – Ben crisse, what’d you do? What kind of warnings?
(Down with Typepad…)
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post..Inside the Secret Squad Room: Agent Olsen Lets Us Look
This is merely a test to re-create the error message I get when submitting comments from this site. Please disregard this post. Oh… I forgot! New English word of the day: Chairdrobe. It’s the chair you use to throw your clothes on when you’re too lazy to put it away. I also have a floordrobe!
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
Aaaah ben tabarn#@*&! Didn’t get the error message! This is probably a conspiracy to make me look stupid again!
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
@Lion: Does that apply to home gym equipment too?
What??? Did the Panther talk about the hammock chair in our bedroom?
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
James: Just sent you the error message by email. Notice how it mentions ‘Bad Argument’ ? Wonder what that could possibly mean? Probably has to do with you flaunting WP too much!
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
Lion,
He is a very bad arguer, with a loud megaphone. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly’s last blog post..Observing a Dead Mouse
Now, now, Kelly. It’s not nice to talk about Harry like that…
@Lion: That’s going to be Greek to James. Send me a copy, would you?
@ Harry – You already have a copy in your inbox.
Now *that’s* service!
Kelly: I’m a full, hot blooded french Quebecer. Don’t worry about me too much!
Urbane Lion’s last blog post..Fantastic bruschettas!
morpionné?
tacked?
How’m I supposed to learn French when you Quebecois say such funny things?
Kelly’s last blog post..Observing a Dead Mouse
@ Kelly – morpions – crabs. It’s not the kind of expression you use around gramma, y’know?
This is why my French will remain at pathetic. Because babelfish is constantly lying to me. Why did it say “tacked”?
Kelly’s last blog post..Observing a Dead Mouse
Hey Harry – welcome back!
I feel ya with the computer problems. Let’s put it this way – it took me getting a computer degree to finally figure out just how much computers can really piss me off. Needless to say, I am no longer a programmer.
I enjoy calling companies like the Geek Squad now and making a tuna sandwich instead.
John Hoff’s last blog post..Is A Google XML Sitemap Necessary?
@Harry – Thanks so much for the follow up. We’re glad to hear your “everything” is back as it should be; this is after all what we live and breathe for. Feel free to call on us again is the need arises, we are here 24/7 for all of you.
@Kelly – I could give you a call if you’d like? Let me know how we can help.
@spyscribbler – Warranty or not… We are still here for you. Let us know if we can help.
@writer dad – Sorry to hear of your experience. We dig Macs too so give us a shout if we can be of any assistance.
@John Hoff – I couldn’t agree more with you my friend. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new about them. Although I prefer a nice turkey and provolone with a sugar free Red Bull…
Until next time – We wish you all Happy,Safe, Secure, and Backed Up experiences.