Nerd grudge match: Geek Squad vs. Apple Genius

first of all, it's hard to compare the 2 jobs -- Apple store employees deal with what brand of computer? What do Geek Squad employees have to deal with every day? Apple, Toshiba, HP, Asus, Acer, Gateway, Sony Vaio, etc. Not to mention, printers, routers, stereos, TVs, DVD players, Xbox, PS3, DS, iPods, etc. They also have to actually fix these items, not just give advice like the Mac guys do (I'm assuming they don't actually replace hardware, LCDs, etc in their little stores).

Also, if the Mac guys are getting paid $6 more per hour then they are making $18/hr compared to what I make which is nice, but GS employees don't make $8.50/hr -- some do but they just deal with shipping/answering phone calls, no actual computer tech work.

Pretty much everyone that works there is either in school and is gaining experience for a future career or they work part-time as a second job.

I don't know any Apple "Geniuses" but the local store sends a lot of customers to my Best Buy Geek Squad to get their Macs repaired.

I agree with .."balls"
but you gotta accept it
geek squad's nerds are cool in their own little way
i mean seriously,
geniuses just think they are cool wearing their tees
-->w.e
when most of the time they just know the basics.

Professional Nerds don't make an average of $8.50/hr.

Real Professional Nerds make an average of 96k/year.

My experiences mirror those of ChrisM70 @4. The Genius Bar folks in the Apple Store at Willow Bend Mall in Plano, TX are great. Both knowledgeable and good people skills. The local Geek Squad ? Errr... not so much :/

Hardly a grudge match. For the Apple Geniuses it's more like a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent ;)

Never been near a "Geek" except avoiding being hit by one of their VW's! :-) But have some very good, efficient and friendly help from several Genius'. Maybe I just have smaller problems? They were with a missing foot on a laptop and my new iPhone/AppStore connection password.

Frankly, I don't think the comparison is equal. "Geeks" have a lot more hardware to be acquainted with and a somewhat less than stellar OS(s) to run on it!

Where I worked, many of the Genius Bar staff were hand-picked and scouted from Geek Squads. So, presumably, it's a step up.

I don't know what's more troubling.

The mental (and aromatic) picture of a Geek Squad person wearing a t-shit.

Or the fact that this word is apparently in Dave Caolo's spellcheck dictionary.

I don't think that too many on the geek squad wear their uniform with any pride. On the last visit to Best (sic!) Buy most had loose ties, open ill fitting shirts and pants. They actually looked hilarious (to me) and I bet they felt miserable in those stupid uniforms.

never dealt with the GS, but every time I visit the "genius" bar its a painful experience. Some of the most uninformed, unhelpful people I've ever had to speak with. For only having like a half dozen products in the entire store, they know surprisingly little about anything short of how to tell someone to reboot to try and fix a problem.

In the morning when I head out to do the work of the people, I love the smell of a crisp t-shit. I am, however, a bit bored with the limited color selection.