Geek Squad provides 24-7 house calls

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Meet “Agent” Lewis. Dressed in a short-sleeved white shirt, clip-on black tie and pants with white socks, he’s clearly a geek. Call him for service at his West Des Moines “precinct house,” and he’ll jump into his black-and-white New Beetle any time of the day or night to fix your computer.

Geek Squad, an on-demand repair affiliate of Best Buy, introduced its offbeat brand of 24-7 on-call service earlier this month at Best Buy’s stores in Greater Des Moines. It’s part of a nationwide rollout of the service in the chain’s 620 stores.

Created 10 years ago by Robert Stephens, a University of Minnesota computer science student, Minneapolis-based Geek Squad expanded into several major cities before it was acquired by Best Buy in 2002.

For Michael Lewis, who worked in Best Buy’s computer department for the past three years before signing on as a Geek Squad “double agent,” the mobile work allows him to take his expertise from the store to people’s homes or offices.

“So rather than showing someone how to do something at the store, I can show them how to do it on their computer,” he said.

Lewis said Geek Squad’s flat-rate pricing on service calls should make it popular for small-business owners seeking to control their overhead costs. Computer setups are priced at $129.99; wireless network installations at $159.99. Each agent carries parts that can be purchased on-site, though customers may supply their own equipment or parts.

The company does charge a higher rate for late-night calls, which in other cities have typically been from businesses that need a system or network up and running by morning. For those who want to save the cost of a house call, the company also performs in-store service. Just ask for one of the squad’s “counter intelligence agents.”

For more information on Geek Squad, visit www.geeksquad.com or call (800) GEEK-SQUAD.