Oh god, the "return/service" line will be too long and it's awfully long already!

Of course I completely trust Wal-Mart to fix my PC.

Hey, if they want people who've built PCs and can wire up a small home network, I could use the extra bucks. I think I'll have to cruise by the local store and check out the job listings...

Nothin like a minimum wage techie to f-up your computer

i think thats what ill do to get some money for upcoming games

) lol



Seriously though I hope they don't have it anywhere near the games or DVDs. I don't want to hear the stupidity when I go up and buy stuff or I'll have to be all like "Excuse me miss, but this tech you're talking too is full of shit!".

More competition: I welcome Wal-Mart

this could very well open up a few jobs for people like us tomshardware readers who know what we are doing in terms of computers and electronics, instead of having "Linda" who is 65 years old trying to explain the differences between wireless b/g to -n.

The average Walmart customer is not going to be your average Tom's reader. Just think about all those tech-support calls you always heard about: unplugged computers not turning on, CD-drives as cupholders, slipping CD's/floppys into the vent slots on the computer/monitor, etc.. etc... This is clearly your average Walmart customer, and the type of person they are catering this service to.

I also don't think the people offering this support will be anything other than average employees who volunteered to take the week-long training in exchange for 5 extra minutes of break time every other tuesday. Think more along the lines of a call center employee.

+"Hello, whats your problem?"
-"Help!! My computer is on fire."
+"Ok sir, please don't panic, have you tried resetting windows?" -"What? Its on fire, how would that help?"
+"Please sir, try restarting, I'll wait on the line..."
-"No, that didn't help."
+"Ok sir, you may have a corrupted registry, do you have the rescue CD that came with your computer, we're going to try to reinstall windows."
-"I really don't think that will help, isn't there something else I can try?"
+"Sir, until we've eliminated any Windows issues, I'm not authorized to issue a service ticket."
-"Well, I don't think I have the CD, but it doesn't matter anyway, the fire has melted my CD drive."
+"Oh, I'm sorry sir, but physical damage to your computer is not covered under your warranty. If you would like to purchase a replacement CD drive, I can connect you to our sales department."
-"*click*"

I don't think you can make that assumption about a market as diverse as the one Wal-Mart serves. Virtually everyone has or does or will shop at Wal-Mart.

***dramatic music reaching a climax***
NEVER!!!!


Anyways...

This:
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/

+

This:
http://www.geeksquad.com/

=

A beautiful new low for humanity.

looks like I got a job opening for me.

Actually if you read the story you'll see that they appear to be outsourcing the tech support to a 3rd party company. I have no clue what type of support it will actually be but I suspect it will be better than the guy on register 3 getting a $.05 raise to answer tech questions.

I'm a little biased, both for and against, because I worked at Geek Squad but I do get a little irritated at the idea that people in those positions are incompetent. I think if you posed the same questions to the average Tom's reader OUTSIDE of the forum environment most wouldn't fare any better than the average big box store tech. It's easy to seem smart when you have Google at your finger tips or you can cherry pick which questions to answer. Put most of the people on this forum on the spot in a live situation and I expect they would sound just like all the Geek Squad/Staples/(soon to be)WalMart techs.

Great, now the kid that pushes in shopping carts on weekends can tech on computers during the week. Fail? I think so.

In all honesty...

People that come to THG will not use this service.

I have several walmart stores in my area and have been inside most of them. In my experience, the employees roaming the aisles rarely speak English as a primary language.

What I visualize is a Geek-Squad-like Hispanic/Russian/Vietnamese person trying to sell computer upgrades/repairs in broken english and trying to convey non-tech jargon to a confused Joe-user who has no idea what to do with the computer anyway.

This is not a recipe for success in the business.

It's not going to be the people on the help desk that are the problem but the manager saying your not selling enough or your taking to long fixing it (just say its broken and sell them a new one). As purplrat says time to think about the problem is the last thing the help desk people are going to get( and most likely the resources to look it up either).

I can't stand the crappy, over priced geek squad, so I welcome any competition for the average person.

Hmm... wonder what they'll call the in store tech support guys. "Poverty-level-wage Squad!"? "Slave Tech"? or how about the "Fuck Unions... Computer Service Center".

"But for consumers who have no clue in setting up a wireless router or throwing together a brand new home theater, Wal-Mart's new service may be worth the money."

LOL ROFL funniest shit ir ead all day kevin LOL damn thanks forteh laugh ...are you serious you ever worked at a wal mart ? , well i have anmd i can tell you right now the palce is full idiots who dont know jack about comps and taht's teh EMPLOYEES, LOL i don't think thier tech support would be useful to any one.

LOl alos funny , people at THG don't shop for comp gear at wal mart so you can say with 100% acurracy that no one here , will ever use wal mart tech support LOL

They don't want people who actually know what they are doing, they will want people who can talk customers into unneeded and EXPENSIVE upgrades.

Camikazi is right.. I work at Staples and as a retailer, we try to push as much add-ons as we can to the customer. Oh your computer has evidence of spyware, we can get rid of it for $30.

Walmart has nothing to do with the services. The services are offered by "N.E.W. Customer Service Companies". Other than selling the prepaid cards, the Walmart employee's will have absolutely nothing to do with it.

I welcome competition....what I don't welcome is the huge influx of customers I'll end up with by the time Walmart is done. I only do this PART TIME!!!!! I need some free time for my full time job and my family!!!

Wow from the same department where I can ask a guy in the DVD aisle where the LCD Tv's are at and he doesn't know and isn't sure if they carry any...., to offer me tech support.

So do they just outright smash the thing with a sledge hammer? or do they trick the customer into letting them THINK they know what their doing like the worthless tool bags at butt buy?

I pitty the fool who pays to ha\/e their pc ruined...

Oh gee ,thanks Wal-mart for fucking up my chances even more of getting a decent paying tech job.

Attention Walmart shoppers, we have a... oh, nevermind!
If your smart, or even stupid.. you should expand your social network of friends to can help you at 1/2 the price walmart is charging. In some cases the advice might even be *FREE OF CHARGE* if it doesn't involve alot of time and/or thinking to give advice/help. Walmart bottom feeds alot in retail, now it's trying to parlay that success into offering services.. the Tracfone/Straight-Talk partnership comes to mind. Afterall, goods makers will only be PUSHED so *LOW* in their pricing before they push back and give their business to competitors so they have to tread that line carefully-- and you see Walmart's loss as Target's gains. I'd first recommend WallyMart upgrade their computer section to something more than a hodge-podge of tech equipment & laptops/netbooks. I was in my local wallyworld and the "trainers" were boasting about how this or that product (happend to be by the hdtv's at this particular event but similar things were going on all over the store) can and should sell better given increased training and aggressive sales tactics of sales personnel. Up until now, they haven't been pushy.. and we know exactly why.. minimum wage workers & welfare grade employees with no skills. Well, apparently they're trying to change that and gentrify... an impossible task, but leave up to Walmart to try to become more like Target/BestBuy.

I don't work for Wal-mart, but from the sound of it neither do you, or else you would know that it's not a minimum wage paying job. And it's really hard to f-up a computer any more than anyone who buys a crappy retail PC at Wal-mart has already f-ed it up. I cannot believe people still buy retail-build PCs! Do they now know that they could have a superior custom build system from a local PC store for a much lower cost?

Ever asked for help finding something at Walmart? Ask where the hot sauce is, they'll end up looking under cars in the parking lot for it. Nonetheless I don't care what people do - if you're dumb enough to ask for tech support at Walmart, then Darwinism is doing its job perfectly.

lol... it's going to be a nightmare for the peoples having PC related problems...