Staples review: Easytech fraud 40

Your so full of ### I see it spilling out of your ears, staples offers Free pc tune ups and if there are viruses we inform the customer and will remove included with a diagnostic so any further issues will be covered in that two month period for 129.99 what does best buy charge you lien piece of ###. I bet your a best buy employee just pissed that we do a better job, if your such a hot shot come to my store 0726 lodi I will school you on computer repair. Let me guess your way is formatting right ? Whats the best anti virus let me guess AVG? You ###en loser.

fyi Eset/Kaspersky are the best Anti-virus out there atm

Wait, what? You're going to disagree that there *are* actually some incompetent [censored]es working at Staples? I mean, I can understand denying that you know any of them, but throwing an existing employee under the bus because you don't believe they *exist*? Let me ask you something, how long have you been in retail? More importantly, are you aware that virus removals - which *don't* carry a guarantee against future reinfection, oh by the way - carry both more of a risk and less profit potential than simply backing up and starting fresh? Is Matt aware that you're pushing this line? How about Rich? Stand by superior customer service, don't attack those who have to deal with the freshest batch of daily idiocy.

Although I will agree with you on one point: if you're using AVG as an honest-to-God virus shield, you deserve everything you get.

i took my computer to staples and showed them what was wrong, it crashed, they said for $69 they would run a diagnostic and get it running like new, 2 days later a guy calls me and asked if i had all the hardware so they could load it, that is why i took it in, if i had all of that, i would have done this myself. this guy said he would have to ask someone that knows computers what to do. OMG who is working on my computer...Will never go back and will stop buying from staples, i use them for my business until now..They said sorry, i couldnt find out how to fix it..but thanks for your money

I work at staples as a Easy Tech Specialist/Easy Resident Tech and He is absolutely right NEVER get your computer fixed at staples! If you do your a ###ing ###. What a rip off in everyway, and our "trained and certified" employees aren't certified in anything except ###. Do yourself a favor and go to a local computer shop and use your money to help out local buisnesses and not corporate ###s like Staples!

i am a staples resident tech, and as for everyone on are team we are all certified. although are prices are a bit high i do feel that are work is of better quality and the customer service you will receive is untouchable. staples is a customer service oriented store by nature. mistakes do ocasionaly happen due to workload and human error as to be espected by any person. ( we are ALL human and do make mistakes everynow and then) but you will not find a buisness that feels more obligated to fix them. and it isnt true what others have said, to work for staples easytech as a resident tech you first must pass a test to get you staples certified. ( all test qustions Are pulled off of the A+ certification test which is the regular standing for a computer tech)

I paid $80.00 and with tax over $100.00 for a tech to look at a CD/DVD mechanical problem (not software) It became lodged partway in. He claimed the price included "cleaning" and putting the cd back on its track. This was not a laptop as he indicated on the bill but a Dell computer. It was not a home visit but was taken and picked up by me. I will not ever use Statpes easytech and will likely avoid computer and accessory purchases through Staples.
Evelyn Dowdell

The easy tech dept. in every single Staples store around the US must meet a certain budget. In my area, depending on store volume; anywhere from ($1000-$3500) a week. Now for a place that isn't generally that well known for computer repair, this is a little outstanding to be expected by corporate headz. All they see is $$$, they DO NOT care about the overall health of your computer (your investment). These stores have maybe 2 people that "work" on computers, let's say 1 of them actually knows what their doing and for the sake of $3500 worth of customers, hopefully does it well. To meet this "quota" they will try to up-sell you on everything, and possibly even overcharge you or charge you for a service that you totally don't even need, this is usually because of the pressures received from higher management. If the stores are actually meeting their desired budgets that means nearly 20 computers a week are being "serviced" by 1 -2 people, 1 maybe knowing what he's doing. This is whats going on and people are so naive and gullible that its really the salesmanship and conviction that do the computer repair, not the so-called technicians. Staples has over 1700 in the US, and this retail style computer repair service is definitely giving the overall computer repair industry a bad name. People this is like 100, 000 computers being serviced a year by Staples, the office supply super store.

*1700 stores, and I meant 100, 000 computer being serviced a month nationwide. AND say these stores are meeting their budgets, THATS an INSANE AMOUNT OF MONEY A YEAR. And this is not including the other 300+ stores outside the country

I'm the ERT for a Staples store. I don't know where you guys work or what kind of management you have but we never push unneccesary services on our customers. I find that with our customers, they don't want what they need. During a tuneup I'll pickup 30 malware infections and they're just like "it'll be ok". I meticulously make sure all the PCs I work on are done properly and quickly. We have a good amount of work in an average week and a great customer base. If there was an error made with someones repair I will promptly fix it for free (based on company guidlines). Also myself and my "stand in" are both certified.

as a (soon to be former) resident tech in NY, i can tell you that it's staples corporate that is at fault. I'm A+ (and soon to be N+) certified and responsible for fixing 5-10 computers a day, while often working the floor simultaneously due to lack of employees. the only reason im working there at all is to get legitimate job experience, so i often go above and beyond to figure out EXACTLY what the problems are and how to fix them. lately ive been told several times to just "offer a backup and restore" because "it's easier". keep in mind that this means the customer will lose all of their programs and anything they configured themselves after they purchased it. plus, its more than twice as expensive as a diagnostic charge, which consists of actually finding the problem and resolving it. Everything gets wiped out, so unless its a hardware issue, the problem is gone. System restores are basically cheating if windows isnt totally infected with a terrible virus or massively corrupted. ive been told to offer backup and restores on computers because they are "running a little slow".
the problem is that im a nice guy, which is apparently getting me in trouble. today i found out that there was a secret shopper who gave me a poor rating solely because i turned the HP buttons on his desktop off without charging. he brought it in for a free tune up and asked if i could get rid of it and take out some of his startup programs. i told him that it would be a custom configuration charge ($40) and he declined because he "didnt have the money". to be honest, i probably would have taken out some start up programs too if my managers hadn't been talking to me about how i need to stop doing things for free. these things literally take under a minute to do. my coworkers think im crazy because i actually give a damn about the work im doing while getting paid just above minimum wage.

and thats my warning to all of you. staples does not care about qualifications, aside from the brainless "resident tech" test that half the kids cheated on. these "techs" get paid next to nothing and do a job that will usually reflect it. im apparently the extremely rare exception to this rule, which is why I've been trying to get a real IT job that will actually compensate me for the quality and amount of work i do.
/rant

I find it laughable how many corporate "Kool-Aid" drinkers actually posted replies DEFENDING Staples and/or EasyTech...as a 15+ year IT veteran, laid off in the crash of '08, and forced to take a 60%+ pay cut to work for these scam artists @ $10/hour, I feel so scummy and dirty when my shift is over, I have to take a shower the moment I get home. Let me address some of the above posts...

@Staples0726: Maybe you THINK you can "school" us in computer repair, but in the REAL world, you actually have to communicate with people using a reasonable degree of spelling, grammar, and punctuation. What's with the "texting" format? I don't see anything here stating a character limit...yes, I just might trust you with my computer, since you display such intelligence...

@that one kid: "we are all certified..." Really? By WHOM? Certainly NOT by CompTIA, Microsoft, Cisco, or any other genuinely recognized organization...those "certifications" you refer to are given to you by Staples for watching a 10-20 page slideshow of product features/benefits/how to SELL 'em, and then answering TEN insanely easy multiple-choice questions. Not a single "certification" of the 40 or so I had to take actually tested my ability to repair a computer issue. And, that "evaluation test" you mention? Yeah, I took it, too...the manager said it would take about an hour and a half-I finished it in less than 30 minutes, got a perfect score (3.50)...and the questions read as if they pulled the easiest ones from an A+ test from 1998!

@uhnonymous: Everything you said is 100% accurate...it's all about SELL-SELL-SELL..."market basket"-a/k/a "how much junk can we add-on"...and what is exceptionally frightening is that EasyTechs are judged not on their tech skills or customer service skills, but rather how many TSPs they sell.

@Bob666: For a company that preaches such a hard line on following corporate policy and procedure to the letter, I have to say that you and your stores management are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to pushing unnecessary junk. The pressure to sell, cajole, and otherwise "force" the customer is never-ending...and Staples' training mantra of "become the customer's 'trusted advisor'" makes me want to puke..."Trust me"? These thinly-veiled [censor] tactics make the lowest used-car salesman seem virtuous by comparison. Add to that the corporate harping about "ethics", and it sure sounds like "ethics" gets tossed out the window when it comes to the bottom line.

@ert_sadface: Are you reading my mind? :-) In less than 2 months here, I have experienced all of what you stated. The biggest joke is that a GENUINE IT person knows, without a doubt, that the "online virus removal" service for $150 is utterly worthless...sure, it MIGHT remove the poorly-written malware (those without any kind of self-defense/replicating mechanism), but those that require safe mode removal or a boot CD/WinPE environment? It just isn't going to happen...The corporate idea of "customer service" when it comes to Easy Tech ALWAYS comes with a price tag.

@habitual cynic

Are you insane? Your said quote : " without a doubt, that the "online virus removal" service for $150 is utterly worthless...sure, it MIGHT remove the poorly-written malware (those without any kind of self-defense/replicating mechanism), but those that require safe mode removal or a boot CD/WinPE environment? It just isn't going to happen..."

We have not only the ability to render the service in safe mode, but also to use a bootcd in a Pre windows environment should the computer be inaccessible during the middle of service. You sound like the typical person with a chip on their shoulder against big businesses and are probably driven by anger at having to work in an extremely underpaid capacity because of the economy. Trust me, I sympathize, like alot of posters I am also a Resident Technician at my store. The thing to remember is that dishonest slack-[censor] employees are at EVERY company, including Bob's Computer Repair down the street. When the program is executed correctly, you can provide simple and easy solutions to customers if you actually care about providing customer service and not just about your own personal pay. The fact is, a job is a job, if you don't like it and its so reprehensible to you, go find another place of employment at some small mom and pop and then you can feel better about yourself.

As far as the certs, go, that we can both agree on. In a perfect world, all technicians would be certified and educated employees, but for various reasons, some of us are not. I myself have no IT certifications as of this post, and am going to school to get a proper education so I can also get a "real IT job". But if i've learned one thing working in this line of work, its that some guy with a card in his pocket or a piece of paper on his wall is not automatically a respectable and credible source of technology consulting or PC repair. Its just a achievement that aids you in job placement (as far as A+ is concerned) and gives you a brief background in PC hardware and skims over the windows platform and various OS releases.

The more I read statements like what people are posting here, the more depressing my fellow co-workers and customer base seem. There are people who cut corners everywhere, just because you work for a corporation does not automatically brand you as a [censored]/greedy [censor], nor does working for an independent automatically make you honest.

@ATT: Habitual Cynic. Really? 3.5 highest score? Really? The best score is 4.0, and I received it. The only thing I agree on with you is that, your right, the "evaluation" test is very old, asking socket type for a intel pentium 3 processor. So that test is VERY old. Other than that, your wrong. Now I am not a Staples preacher, but we offer great services with great turn around times. Are the prices high? Yes on a lot of the services. But whats more expensive, paying $170 for a backup and restore or a new machine, with new software and a new printer? You do the math.

Neutral in that all have valid comments/complaints. I think a Staples store CAN be a great place to work, but it depends on many different factors. I'm an ERT for about the past 2 months, formerly the ETE for around a year. Took 25% pay cut because my GM said "it'll be less stress and more time for you to go to school!" I had to surpress the outright guffaws at that one. The only reason we needed an ERT is because our last one was a certified genius, but they treated him like a dog, so he went into business for himself in web design. We still don't have an ETE. I agree that some of the services are ridiculously overpriced, such as 40 bucks to install RAM. I've seen companies that will actually come to your home/office and install it for 15 dollars. Prior to the "in-store online virus removal" there was no standard procedure for the virus removal service, so I agree in using it in that regard. We've had glitches with the service through support.com, but I think it's a good service, if overpriced (now at $200, supposedly because it includes a diagnostic which it always has). The lack of real training at Staples is a travesty, as the only thing you need to do to service a customer's PC is pass the silly test and a background check. Staples won't even cover your A+ certification fees through tuition reimbursement because it's supposedly not going to advance your skills in working for Staples. Currently I'm busting my butt with this whole PC tune-up and consultation event, working only 15 hours a week. So cramming that, getting people signed up for it, doing some actual work, and if I'm a good boy I get to eat lunch :) I had just under 4k in tech sales last month, just by myself, and never got a "good job", just "how are the computers coming?" Today was a great day as my sales manager came off maternity leave and she is semi-grounded in reality and raises the BS flag when necessary. There are 3 "certified" techs in the store, but I'm the only one doing the work 98% of the time, as there are customers to help on the sales floor. We're getting our remodel soon, and expected to average 5k/week with that. We had 3k in one week about a year and a half ago and we had PCs stacked on the freaking floor in the basically broom closet I work in. I'd be more than interested to know how much in tech a typical Best Buy store pulls in and what type of staff they generally have to support it, anyone have an idea?

Easy Tech? Easy is NOT the operative word here. I dropped off my computer at Staples on Feb. 23. On the 25th, they called and said that they had to send it out, but I would have to prepay prior to them doing so. I went over on Feb. 28 and prepaid. They called on March 5 to say the computer was back, and that it was repaired, but needed some virus' removed. I called and authorized the service and they said I'd have the computer back in 72 hours. Just got a phone call that they won't do the service until I go back, AGAIN and prepay for the service. I will go back tonight, and pick up my computer and bring it somewhere that might be able to provide better customer service.

I work for easytech and the online cost will be rolled into your in store costs if it doesnt fix the problem. If you were smart you would have them run a diagnostic for 69.99 and then whatever they find is necessary to complete the task at hand and the 69.99 you paid will roll into your repair costs which is typically on or around that number anyways. Obviously depending on the problem a hand. Sounds like a disgruntled employee who got fired because he didn't get all the viruses out of a system. I can't blame him though hackers are one step ahead of everyone so the algorithym staples uses may have been out dated at the time but it is constantly updated. I always recommend a free anti virus removal software utility because hackers want to go after the corparate market not the free software. Just my 2 cents. Staples is a great place to get your computer fixed and if buying a new computer you should buy it there because they will price match any offer from a store and will transfer data for free. The person above had a serious problem with the computer and went to a staples that didnt have a good tech on site to do safe mode removal but thats just them not doing due dilligence on where to take their computer.

@disgruntledeasytech

Just because some tard is offering services at ridiculously undercut prices does not mean that the service has such a low value. It just means those businesses are selling the services at a loss instead of being profitable, which is what drives companies to create better products and services in the first place.

I have had the oppurtunity to read all of the quote on quote "complaints" that I see on the Easytech Fraud board and have to say I have not in all my years ever had the pleasure of disagreeing with something as I did with 75% of the comments on here! I am a Senior Tech at the local Staples store and have to say that My Techs are all certified it may not be a must in all Staples by the hiring managers but it certainly does Count in my store. My GM is fantastic as well as all my other supervisors in the store they make it a point to hire experienced Techs and don't allow an uncertified person to touch a machine Now I don't disagree that there may be some employees in other stores that may not know all that you should know, but lets get real! You want to chance going to a mom and pop computer store that was opened by some Techie dropout from A defunked retail store because he got limited training from best buy, circuit city or because he took a computer apart and decided that he could make money for himself if he rented a shop and fixed computers be my guest! Staples is a Multi million dollar company and will take care of the customer, and in all fairness we have repaired some real disasters in our store from many the small computer repair shops in the are. No one is perfect and quite frankly lets get real any tech knows that the customer who is simply the computer user will from time to time not learn theyre lesson I have at times repaired a computer and in a weeks time have had the customer come back with a totally new issue, that they are more than willing to put blame on the place that repaired the computer. I am not saying that we are the best, but I compare Staples like I would compare going to mcdonalds. I love the Big mac at the one near my house but you go across the bridge to the other and that big mac sucks. in short all I am saying is yes they should monitor the people they hire, but I will defend my store because I know the staff that we hire are certainly more than qualified. an angry review is an angry review but sometimes that angry review could be written by perhaps the "scorned" customer that continuously break theyre computer themselves, or an ex employee that was underqualified and got canned . Not that some are not legitimate but from most that I have read on here it all seems like a load of bull. if you were the "supreme" tech you would not be working at a retail store you would be excelling in an IT support career or you would be working in sillicon valley! you seem like a snotty little brat who never got hugged enough period. I am experienced and I am in retail because I like people and dont want to work in a cubicle. thats all I just wanted the oppurtunity to defend a company that quite frankly takes care of theyre employees

All I have to say to all of this is that, 1) all of you that are just complaining to the internet junkies are pathetic. 2) if you have such a big problem with them and how your issues were handled, contact HR, or a customer service rep and report it. They do take these things seriously. I am an EZ Tech Associate at a staples in NH and i can honestly say that the Resident Tech's at our staples know what they are talking about. The floor techs, not so much. I am about to take the Resident Tech Test which consists of 22 questions, and only 1 shot at passing it otherwise you are not allowed to work on customer computers. I would also like to add that anyone besides an easy tech is not allowed behind the work bench (where the active computers are) and that if they are not getting worked on they are locked inside a bin. Also the computers on the bench are alarmed. As to a previous comment about privacy, NOONE is allowed to view content on a person's computer that need not be worked on or viewed. So reguardless of whether or not they WANT to, they can't otherwise they will be fired. At Staples they don't "force" customers to buy things they do not need, they simply suggest, suggest being the key word here, that they get something that may make their lives easier, cause after all, we're not all techy and most older aged people don't know much about the electronics they use. so therefore, complaining because they sell things to customers you may not need, does not necessarily mean the customer being spoken to at the time doesn't.

@Habitual Cynic
Perfect is a 3.50? Funny I scored a 3.80 on my test. I am a MT ET Expert for Staples. I also took a large paycut back when the economy crashed. My previous job I was a Network administrator for a bank. I have 0 certifications but my 19 years of computers I guess beats your 15.

I will tell you why Staples EasyTech is a joke. I was a former Staples Tech Employee at store 1157 Camillus NY. The goal for these stores are to hit 2 things. Warranty dollars of $1, 000 and Tech dollars of $1, 000 weekly. At my store and im not saying at ALL stores, my "Sales Manager" who oversees this department had very little knowledge at all about computers. Staples doesn't "Repair" anything. A repair is actually diagnosing a hardware failure within the computer itself. Okay, you're right we might replaced a hard drive in store. Thats about as much "repair" we do. If you have a dead mobo these units go out for whats called a depot repair. These garbage services start at $250. This company is called BlueRaven. They repair you're computer with used parts and offer only a 90 day warranty on them. So if you're currently an EasyTech employee already becoming upset at this post saying "Well ### I do know how to diagnose these issues." Then why are you at staples? Why not open you're own shop and repair computers? You're a worker starting a $8 pushed to sell garbage service, warranties that you getting laughable bonus' on. But don't worry you keep making your manager look good! Staples is a wipe and reload center. The Corporate issued norton virus removal program made for Staples is aweful. Real computer repair technicians know that all these of these antivirus' norton, avg, kaspersky, mcafee can't remove weather bug trashy software is pure junk. I'm not going to say what I use but you wanna-be techs. Start hitting forums for real computer repair and actually useful tools. And again, Staples employees must use the corporate issued virus removal tools aka Norton Virus Removal built for staples. The computers that we use in store have a hard drive that is all passworded up like a high school network. You're supposed to use ONLY these corporate issued tools. So @Staples0726 you're talking out your ###. You aren't even allowed by the Staples corporate policies to even use Kaspersky on a customer's Computer. At my store because Managers all had complete lack of knowledge we print screened the Staples Background of the company issued hard drive thus giving us a wallpaper. Then made it the default wallpaper on a hard drive seperately brought in by an employee as our default wallpaper. TA DA! Hello Facebook. Customers please save you're money on the warranties. You get a 1 year through the company you buy the unit from. We say we give you a 2 and 3. But you're only getting our service regardless after 1 year. We no matter what send your item to the manufacturer in the first year after that. It goes to the company BlueRaven. And for the price you're paying for that repair it is SO no worth the money. They aren't using new parts to fix your unit. They are used. I've seen a customer get charged $105 on an old 250 watt power supply. It's a joke. Look for an honest smaller repair shop in you're area where the service people have much more knowledge and freedom to better alternative tools and parts. A new motherboard on an older unit, because you're out of your 1 year, will be 60-80$ better than that 300$ you paid on that laptop warranty. This board will also 99.9% of the time carry a 3 year warranty not 90 days. And these smaller stores will probably install it for $75. So for half the price you get a new board, 3 year warranty on the part not 90 days. Any questions get at me bhifamous1337@yahoo.com . I'm also not saying managers are bad at there jobs. But I also wouldn't ask a mechanic to perform surgery on me.

We left our computer at a NH Staples (North Conway) after being told it would be repaired in three days. Five days later we spent 90 minutes in the store while an experienced tech and the store manager tried to figure out what had been done and what still needed to be done. One problem was the unreadable handwriting of the tech who made notes! Today, a week later, we are still struggling with the "fixed" computer. Note too that we spent hours downloading ourselves what Staples tech "expert" should have tended to. Also, it's pretty insulting to say that most "older aged " people ( note to writer: check out the word "redundant" in dictionary) don't know much about electronics they are using. Our experience shows that most Staples techs don't know much either. As a side note one of the reasons we brought it in was because the computer was shutting down --wellllll...in the last 15 minutes it shut down 4 x! Staples techs are experts? My advice --
Go somewhere else!

Shutting down most likely to overheating. If it randomly just decides to turn off at random it is the CPU fan. If this is the case i recommend purchasing artic silver paste along with a new fan that correctly fits your processor. You can find out what fan you need by looking up your model and searching on google for a replacement fan. It is a matter of 4 screws or 2 clamps and a 4 pin connection to where youre existing fan already is plugged in to the motherboard. Hope this is helpful for you.

hey store 0726, one question ... can i see your "certified" techs certification? OH YEA THAT'S RIGHT, THEY LIE ABOUT THAT TOO. STAPLES IS THE WORST PLACE TO BRING A PC FOR REPAIR. The prices are incredibly high, and the work is incompetent. The Easy Techs are under trained and unskilled in computers, instead are highly trained in selling you things you don't need. EVEN NOW, an easy tech does not do the work on the PC, it is hooked up to the "online tech" and they fix it from there. Cloud computing is not for repairing. And by the way, reformatting computers is one of the best ways to sure thing get rid of all viruses and corruption. BUT, Staples Easy Techs are undereducated of the fact of framework being destructed by viruses. If you wana have a "tech off" lol to see whose the better tech. Id suggest you grab a book and start reading. Ive written my own damn OS so ###off

HOW TO PROVE EASY TECH IS FULLLLLL OFFF [censored]TTTTTTTT.
Step 1: Go to your local staples with a computer.
Step 2: Before dropping it off, ask to see the techs certifications
O WAITTTTT THERE IS NONE

Staples Easy Techs are about as advanced as dirt is. They are undereducated and definitely NOT certified. I was an ET Expert and i left the place in disgust of how they "fix" computers. "fix" meaning letting someone in the phillipines cloud compute to fix the problem. What these idiots little know about framework (and any easytech right now is probably thinking, "the framework in my house is good") and true virus removal procedures is far from the "should know" Framework in a computer is easily corrupted when a virus attacks. Viruses can be disinfected, but just like the term "virus" its in forever. So eventually, enough framework damages can cause the OS to fail. So conventionally, the "reformatters" are truly in the best possible way to fix a problem. It is fast, easy and with according backup, makes the customer very pleased due to the now guarantee of no viruses and a brand new running computer. (no OS corruption) Obviously there are other ways to fix problems, just not 100% effective. cmd>sfc/scannow can sfc for os files and restore them, and theres that startup repair which is a 1 in 10 shot. OR you can challenge me to write some framework which a DOUBT not a single STAPLES associate knows WTF it is. YEA SO, DONT GO TO STAPLES FOR REPAIR VERY BAD IDEA

This says it all:
www.iworkatpencils.blogspot.com

Are you kidding me?
www.iworkatpencils.blogspot.com

I have recently been hired at Staples as an "Easy Tech" Associate and I must say it's terrible. First off let me give you a brief introduction about myself and my tech background. I am 23 years-old and I have been working on computer since the age of 13. In that time I have learned a great deal through self-education. As of today I can build a computer from scratch, do programming, setup networks, etc. I am going to school for electrical engineering (senior now) and I have worked an internship this past summer for a network engineer/systems administrator position. I only have taken the job at Staples because I thought I would be working on computers, not selling them. Also the fact that I got fired from my supermarket job (of 4 years) this past April so I needed the money, mostly for school.
I have started working at Staples late this past October. They first start you off by making you watch sales videos and how to properly close a sale with a customer. At first I thought "fair enough we sell stuff so this should be required training". Then after that I had realized it was slow brainwashing into sales and only sales. The training consists of questions related to the product features even to the motto of the company itself! They set you up with a computer simulation of a customer coming in to buy a chair mat and end up walking out with a computer bundle worth in excess of $1500. That in itself is just living in a fantasy world. That's like someone walking into a store to get a soda and a lottery ticket and expecting to become a millionaire. The training is absolutely ridiculous. The questions at the end of each module are a joke. They're directly based off of the training video you have just watched five minutes before. In a nutshell the questions have nothing to do with tech and it's all about the product features and how to close a sale.
When you get out onto the floor, the real fun starts to happen. You begin to see that Staples really doesn't care about helping the customer fix their computer or even sell them the right merchandise. During my first days of being an "Easy Tech" I was forced (and I still am) to sell ridiculous, expensive and exorbitant service plans. All of the products these customers purchase already have warranties. The Staples "service plan" promises things the manufacturer warranty does not. This includes services such as 24/7 technical support, protection against power surges, blah, blah, blah. In the end it just takes the customer's hard-earned money and gives them an absolute headache when they try to utilize the services of the protection plan. After I have read many reviews online of the service plans and customer's frustrations and plight; I do not even offer them anymore. I do this to save them money and to save my own soul.
When it comes to sales, whatever you do is never good enough. About two weeks ago I had sold a desktop computer along with two on-site services, a two-year service plan, battery backup and a flash drive. The total came out to be ~$1400. The manager told me something like "the goal is now to get an even higher market basket. You must now sell even more than what you have sold before at one time." I thought I was going to get a reward (wishful thinking) or even a simple congratulations for selling that much. But no, instead I got a speech telling me to work even harder at selling. On top of that computer I have also sold many laptops. Since I didn't have a large market basket I was scolded for that. Apparently selling ten laptops at $400-800 a piece is not good enough at all for Staples.
 
Now the idea in my head behind the sales is prevalent. Sell as much useless crap as possible to boost sales and rip off the customer. Instead of offering the customer high quality goods based on what they actually need; they want the sales people to sell them expensive junk that isn't needed. Whenever you sell a device with a small market-basket and no service plan the manager just gives you a dirty look and/or a speech telling you that you have to "sell, sell, sell." It's absolutely ridiculous.
Since I don’t work as an actual tech selling computers I don’t know what programs they use to remove viruses or tune-up the computer. I also can’t comment on the whole “depot” process used to the order parts for the customer if one is needed to run the computer. From comments and other testimony I have heard the prices for depot repair are astronomical compared to bringing the computer to a local shop for repair. Also the tune-up/diagnostic service is done in a very half-assed way. Usually I have customers calling up and yelling that the virus is still on the computer after bringing it in for a diagnostic a few days earlier. Most people aren’t tech-saavy but I actually believe them when they say the virus is still on the machine.
Just the other day the district manager came in and the store manager had introduced me to him. I told him my name and everything. The very first thing he had asked me is “are you doing a lot of sales?” The look on my face was completely priceless. I was flabbergasted. Instead of saying “hello, how are you?” or “hi, what’s your name?” I was greeted with that question. That just goes to show you that they really don’t care about anything except sales. Basically the premise is to sell as much as possible without any regard for people, ethics, morals, values or anything else for that matter. Basically “sell by any means necessary” even if it takes lying to the customer flat-out and performing abhorrent services that accomplish absolutely nothing. This type of business practice makes used car salesmen look like truth-telling saints.
Every week I’m locked in a small room the size of a closet and forced to watch a small video segment referred to as “brainshark”. Yeah, you can see where this is going… It’s basically a ten minute brainwashing session which describes on how to sell the products that are on sale for that week. They go on about the features and characteristics of the product and compare it to others that we sell. Of course they always include some speech about how to increase the market basket and to tack on as many superfluous items at once. It’s quite sad to be honest. Needless to say I have felt like Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange. “I have learned that selling a low market-basket is terribly wrong!”
The brainwashing actually has gotten to most of my coworkers, save for one really nice girl. She really only sells what the customer needs, as do I. However the rest of them including the resident “tech expert” are pretty much too far gone. They actually believe they’re doing a quality service for low prices. I have noticed this disturbing trend amongst most easy tech associates. Charging in excess of $129.99 to install a new DVD drive is absolutely disgusting. Any respectable computer tech would cringe and be angered by such an atrocity. After seeing all of these poor people come in and fork over large amounts of money to have simple things fixed (in a half-assed way mind you) just makes me want to jump in and do it for free.
Aside from the selling duties I have to do the work of three other people. I have to take in computers, release computers to people, stock shelves, including lifting printers up over my head onto the high racks, make signs, answer phones and assist others on the sales floor. Usually I am by myself and get extremely dirty looks from the manager whenever a task is not complete. Keep in mind they actually give you a check list of what has to be done! The amount of work and aggravation I get is not worth the $8.75 per hour salary whatsoever. If they want employees to sell many plans and products they should at least offer some kind of incentive. The promises of an LG 42” television and a Mustang for the store manager are completely and utterly ludicrous. I was told that if we do the most sales each associate will win a television and the car goes to the general store manager. How can you believe such promises from a company that enjoys ripping people off every chance that they get?
I have a feeling that my demise at this job is coming extremely soon. You know a job is atrocious when you consider quitting every second you’re there from the start of the day to the end of the day. The only reason why I took the job because I thought I would be fixing computers with minimal selling. I also thought there would at least be decent pay, such as $14-17 an hour with commission. I may sound like I’m being an arrogant egomaniac here but I think the amount of skill and education I have is not being valued at such a job. I get treated like ### even though I’m very respectable, well-mannered and speak very eloquently.
I don’t want to risk my professional integrity by ripping people off every second. At the end of the day I always feel sorry for what I have done to unsuspecting customers. That feeling alone is definitely not worth the pay at all. As a college student I’m only doing this for quick money until I graduate next year. However I feel the amount of money I get is not worth the stress, aggravation, headaches and bad reputation. If I were getting a good salary and benefits I would put up with it in the meantime. But all in all, it’s not worth it. If you’re thinking about being an “easy tech” associate it’s anything but easy. You’re better of working mopping out toilets in a restaurant part-time. At least you will not be obligated to sell customers toilet paper!

Very interesting comment! I wonder if Brenda agrees.

Its something about person integrity or maybe pms

Brenda is that you?

Maybe Norm.

I've worked for best buy and staples, and it is a big difference in how things are run in store, you don't have to be a genius to work for either, and you don't need certifications. Best buy worried about money more than anything, I didn't have a problem bringing in money as i brought in 2000 dollars in one day alone, and received an award from corporate, its nice to be recognized, but as for EZ tech, they worry more on customer service. The sales team at EZ tech don't usually have much computer knowledge they are usually just good with people and a good talker, but then there are the repair geeks that do the repairs, and don't handle too much customers, occasionally you get people that can do both very well, but that is rare.

I work at staples and i am a senior tech expert and i will agree 200% that you should not get your computer repaired here. To be honest with you i only work there because 1. I need the money 2. It beats working at dollar tree (Which is waaaayyy worse btw) and 3. I love working with computers and figured why not. The prices are outrageous and the service is sub - par. Try asking your auto mechanic to be a nuclear physicist. That's basically what staples has done here. An office supply chain that excels in selling paper, pens, binders, and the occasional office desk or chair cannot and should not repair computers. It's almost funny working here and seeing the daily 3 ring circus of ### that goes on. Now don't get me wrong the people that take their computers into staples to get them repaired honestly deserve everything that is coming to them in every way because if i spent anything over $100 on any computer i would not take it in to a staples to have it repaired. I would at least go to some local hole - in - the - wall computer shop. Staples is a corporation that feeds on uneducated people to bring in their computers only to have their wallets drained right before their eyes. I never had the pleasure of actually going into the staples i work at before i actually worked there because if i had, i definitely would have reconsidered the job. To have to spend $100 for a uneducated technician to literally put a disc in and enter the product key that is on your computer to re - install windows is completely insane! I also find it funny that the virus removals aren't actually done in - store by the staples easytech technicians that you are led to believe. They are simply just remote technicians that access your computer, run a utility, install some over - priced version of an antivirus program, and leave a survey of how "good" they did on your screen. . . Done. . . $170 down the drain for something you could have had your toothless grandmother do while she was taking a ###. So to sum all this up. . . Something wrong with your computer? Have some common sense and take it to a computer shop!

I agree with one thing, easy tech is a fraud. They also lie. I know this because they called me on the 4th of July at 1 p. m. They say that there was no one there. Bull. My daughter was listening on the other phone and heard the conversation. They were suppose to fix my computer, not screw it up. I finally had to take my computer down to factory set up in order to get back some of the things that they destroyed, files that I needed. I was angry and I still am. The next time anyone wants their computer repaired, go somewhere else.
I ordered this on the 3rd and cancelled it on the 4th (when they said no one was there). They said that they would refund the 35.00 back to my card on the 5th. When I called them today, they said that they worked on my computer and were not giving the money back. I called my credit card company and filed a dispute. They are lairs and a scam. Don't trust them, not at all.

Cristine Buntin

Ok first let me state that some of you have some relevant points. While some have some not so relevant points. However, allow me to apologize when I say that most of you are idiots. None of you see the heart of the problem. The truth is as follows and comes sadly from over 3 years of experience from working for staples. Furthermore, it comes from an additional 5 years of experience in the IT world and academic world (i.e. BS in IT). The real issue is the greed of money and ignorance of individuals on all levels. The situation: America has moved from a service base economy to a consumer based economy or a throw away society. Therefore, servicing a PC has in its self became a dwindling occupation. Other factors have contributed to the current situation as well. Take for example the following example: While people be little calling up a IT support hotline and getting an individual from a foreign country like India . The reality although for most might be hard to swallow is that the person although hard to understand is very much so intelligent. The only barrier is normally language and accent, or cultural meaning the person is trying to give support to a product that he has never seen before accept for in a manual. I recall managing a tech center in the Philippines were they were helping trouble shoot snowblowers in Canada. Really, it has never and probly will never snow in the Philippines. Think for a second do you not believe that the individual you call either thinks your intelligence is questionable when he tells you to press the start and you reply what is the start, or would love to hang up on you when you keep be littling them and telling them you dont understand them. So why does this relationship continue. The truth is the person obtained a degree just like most REAL IT professionals not to undermind the tech savey individual who happens to learn from monkey see monkey do or self education, but lets face it in todays society degrees and sadly even certifications are gold for simular reason that is a whole new topic. The indviduals economy is not are great as the US at this point and time. Therefore, the cost of living is cheap and an individual can accept a good living at a much lesser salary. moeny hungery Corporations make profit by cutting labor and outsourcing and off shoring it to compitent individuals abroad. For the time being the individuals dont complain because the pay for them is good although it is pennies on the dollar to us. As corporations continue to find ways to do this it cuts professional jobs in the USA leaving us struggling to find work in our profession. Now the staples delema along with more greed comes into play. Staples wishes to provide a service that requires a skill set. Ironically, they to have fail victim to there own greed. Other corporations charge fees to certify individuals in respected areas of expertise as a money game. Money hungery Staples has found ways to undercut their corporate brothers by coming up with in some ways ingenious ideas for them. Instead of paying to have there employees get A+ certified which is not really much to brag about but more of a way to make you feel good about yourself for buying proof of knowledge that you might already have. They use there Corporate name to back their service making you "Staples Certified". Which sadly isn't much defference. They just cut cost of paying to have a cheesy test administered to you by administering it themselves a much more relaxed and watered down version. As a side note being A+ certifed makes you no more of an expert then it makes me or any other person with a degree better knowledgeable then some self tought monkey. Its like saying that a person who learned to ride a bike is now a professional bike engineer or even just a bike riding professional. It takes lots of knowledge and experience to become proficient in anything. Furthermore, Staples wishes to hire someone with a professional skill set at a much lower wage. On top of that you have a money driven corporation that cares about only profit. SO not only do they expect that person to perform his skill set at a unacceptable wage, but become a sales con. They must devote there entire time to leeching and hounding every customer for any sign of potential to draw out money. At the same time they must find a way to complete services on PCs which any person who trouble shoots understands the dedication, time, and headache spent finding real solutions without simply resulting to basic procedures like restoring to factory state etc. In short they exspect an unrealistic result of an individual for a unrealistic wage. The issues when trying to hire becomes EASY to identify. You get individuals who have real skill sets demanding a realistic wage but will not be given from Staples who more then likely decline to accept position and seek work some where else, or an unexperienced individual who has limited or no real experience but is eager to want to learn how to become a tech and gets suckered into accepting low wages and quickly becomes demoralized when they dont learn much except how to do repairs at a very low teir level. Seldomly, Staple gets lucky and recieves a real professional that finds themselves either in a bad situation in need of work, unable to find any other means of financial security, or other unfortunate situtions that has lead them to accept a position at Staples. The truth is that while you might find some experience or even professional IT individuals at Staples it is very rare and not a beneficial opportunity for the IT professional. We unfortunatly have become more and more dependent on Corporations for services and every other aspect of our lives that we have short changed ourselves. I could write a book on the issues at hand and have already started lol. I havn't been able to say everything that i wanted, but i think this is so long. I hope you all open your eyes and get the point. Stop fighting about meaningless arguements and help to fix the real issues. We dont need corporations to take from us.
Now in days our profession is dwindling because we all wave the white flag and submit and go to work for corporations. They changed are society and now people often hear prices to service a PC and throw away a perfect device because of reapir fees and buy a new one. Reason is because corporations dont pay use are skills to soder boards they are now done buy machines and so they trowit away and replace it with a new one. which ratches up the price and forces us to throw away and buy a new one. Remember the history of our profession came from people who made their living buy offering their services to design and build wonderful machines that was geared to the individual not a universal software or PC tower. Most of the best programmers and designers became outlaws or labeled hackers for going against corproate greed. Im not trying to cause hate or anything, but instead give a wake up to people. In order to fix the real problem we need to inform the people who are not techs and get them back to the personal one on one and small business service.it will bring job back to our country and drive our economy. Restore our profession by using your tech knowledge to benefit yourself not Staples or any other corporation. Open your own business or work out of your own gurage. I know this is deep, but it bothers me to hear people get suckered into arguements that dont fix the real problem. WAKE UP!

My main question is how did the title "Easy Tech Associate" get through any type of review meeting. I saw this tag on the girl that was waiting on me in the checkout line the last time I was in there. I commented that someone had not thought through their name tags very well. She had no idea what I was talking about. (not to stereo type here, but she was blonde) So I repeated. You are an "Easy... tech associate?" Took her a minute, but the look on her face when she got it was pretty priceless. She had been wearing the tag for over a year. So my question... Cruel joke or just a bad idea?

I work at staples and I am here to tell you not all of them know what they are doing, our store averages around 3k a week in tech services our turn around is 1.9 days on average which is fairly well. Me and the other tech are both A+ cert and working on our network+ as well basically what I am trying to get at is just because you work or went to ###ed a** holes does not mean that all of us are.

I went to staples to tell tech that my computer will not boot. This is after I called HP support. I turned computer on. The power light goes on. I hear hard drive. All that is blinking is blue light blinking once every second. Took battery out. Same problem. HP thinks it may be CPU or motherboard. They said bring to tech person. I think hard drive failed. Staples says they would try to back up hard drive. If successful they would send it out for 370. I would also have to buy new exterexterrnal hard drive for about 70. If. Hard drive fails staples wouiwouild charge 1500. Ridiculous. They even said if computer could not be repaired I would gergert money back. I think I will ask someone at work to help me. I tioll tyjinking about new Mac or PC. I still cannot get HP pavillion to boot.

Staples wanted 370 to send out my computer, charge me 60 for external drive (I shjouldf buy one anyway). Computer will nmot boot. Only blue light keep on blinking every second. Maybe it is cvcvpu motherboastd, or hard drive crashed. Staples would try to back up haste drive. If so they wouiwouild send out computer to fix (they think 370 includes fixing CPU, etc. If they cannot I wouiwouild get 370 back (I think they ate lying. If they cannot backup hard drive they would send out and chatgerchatger 1500.