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Best Buy's 'Optimization' Is Officially a Huge, Evil Scam
Topic Started: Jan 4 2010, 07:43 AM (328 Views)
George K
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Finally
http://gizmodo.com/5439590/best-buys-optimization-is-officially-a-huge-evil-scam

Quote:
 
Best Buy's computer optimization service costs $60 and promises to double the speed of your computer. They push it hard, so hard that you're often forced to get it against your wishes. The trouble? It makes computers slower.

If you've ever bought a computer from Best Buy, you've doubtlessly been pitched an optimization. And you may have even been forced to buy a model already "optimized" against your wishes, as they have a practice of opening up a sizable percentage of laptops, performing the service, then sealing them back up. Want to buy this advertised laptop? Oops, only pre-optimized models are left! That'll be $60 over the advertised price, please.

That would be a slimy enough practice if the service was actually beneficial, but a new Consumerist investigation

shows that the "service" is actually damaging, slowing down new computers by an average of 32%.

What exactly are they doing to these computers to warrant a $60, then?

Quote:
 
Upon comparing the optimized changes, the first noticeable change was a cleaner desktop. Most of the removed shortcuts were for trials, promotions and software added by the manufacture. The programs themselves were still installed and available for later access. Updates had been downloaded on all three models, but differences in the factory default setup can affect how the system is optimized. On one laptop, for example, because Windows Defender was deactivated by default, its definitions had not been updated.

Some optimization changes seemed intended to make the laptop easier to use, such as adding the status bar to the file explorer, or displaying the file menu bar in Internet Explorer. Including a link to the Downloads folder in the Start menu, for example, can save you a few clicks. Security settings were adjusted to allow for automatic Windows updates, and in Internet Explorer, privacy settings were eased up to allow websites you visit to save info you provide on your PC.


Yes, Best Buy is charging $60 to delete shortcuts from your desktop. They don't delete the actual bloatware, just the shortcuts that let you know what bloatware is there. And they download updates for you. Good lord.

Oh, and did I mention that after one of the optimizations, the Geek Squad forgot to put the power cable back in the box? Oops!

Why is Best Buy being so crazy aggressive about rip-off services like optimization? Well, it's no secret that they make almost all of their money off of accessories like HDMI cables, extended warranties and services like this. Most of the products they sell have razor-thin margins, meaning they'll make three times as much profit selling you a Monster Cable than an LED LCD TV. And services like optimizations? Almost pure profit.

But that doesn't make such anti-consumer behavior acceptable. Pre-optimizing new laptops is a downright scummy behavior, and completely contradicts their claims that it's a mere choice and not something customers are forced into. If Best Buy is going to continue to push these expensive services, they need to make sure that it's always a choice for customers. They also need to make clear that it, you know, actually does something useful.
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Thank you for talking me into sticking with my decision to make my own boxes, Best Buy.

****ing **** what swindlers.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
The idea that you could double computer speed for $60 is pretty ridiculous. I hate these shops.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
These days I just don't understand people who buy computers from retail stores and don't wipe them as soon as they get home, and reinstall the OS themselves.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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George K
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Finally
Aqua Letifer
Jan 4 2010, 07:53 AM
These days I just don't understand people who buy computers from retail stores and don't wipe them as soon as they get home, and reinstall the OS themselves.
(at least) Two reasons:

1) They're afraid they'll screw something up.
2) The install discs are full of bloatware and adware as well - at least they were with any PC I've owned.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Aqua Letifer
Jan 4 2010, 07:53 AM
These days I just don't understand people who buy computers from retail stores and don't wipe them as soon as they get home, and reinstall the OS themselves.
I don't think most users would feel confident enough to do it. It's pretty easy, obviously, but until you actually do it, it's a pretty scary proposition.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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QuirtEvans
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
Well, I'll give you one good reason for buying a computer at Best Buy.

A couple of Christmases ago, the Quirtlets got laptops for Christmas. Purchased at Best Buy, because that was where the best deal was ... including lots of online research ... at the time.

About ten months later, the screen on one of the laptops went dim, and then died completely. Ax and John D'Oh will remember this, because the anguished Quirtlet asked them to fix it for her, after I was unable to do so. They had no better luck.

I took it back to Best Buy. The Geek Squad geek looked at it for a few minutes, then told me he'd have to send it in.

From that point on, I got regular e-mails from the Geek Squad about the computer. This is what's wrong with it, this is what we have to do, we're waiting for this part.

A couple of weeks later, it was ready. New screen. Total cost: zero.

All else equal, I'd buy at Costco (because they double the manufacturers' warranties). But they didn't have what I wanted. And the drop-off and pick-up at Best Buy was incredibly easy.
It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010.
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
Back in '96 I bought an IBM Thinkpad over the internet. It cost quite a bit relative to others I could have gotten but it really paid off a few months later when the motherboard died and I got a replacement in one day. In Beijing.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
JBryan
Jan 4 2010, 08:24 AM
Back in '96 I bought an IBM Thinkpad over the internet. It cost quite a bit relative to others I could have gotten but it really paid off a few months later when the motherboard died and I got a replacement in one day. In Beijing.
Thinkpads and Toshibas are notoriously expensive but for the most part, you get what you pay for.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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George K
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Finally
Aqua Letifer
Jan 4 2010, 08:35 AM
Thinkpads and Toshibas are notoriously expensive but for the most part, you get what you pay for.
:whistle:


:lol:

A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Eh, it's true. Their netbooks especially are starting to compete nicely with ASUS, Acer, etc.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Recently acquired a low cost, no frill CPU from BestBuy. Placed order on website, picked it up from a store later. No mention about buying any extra warranty or services. Pretty darn efficient.

I'm pretty sure they'll try to sell me extra warranty and extra services if I buy the box off the shelf on the store, instead of pre-ordering and pre-paying on their website, though.

I don't condone BestBuy/GeekSquad's sales tactics and service practices if indeed what's describe in the article is accurate. But, as Quirt observed, BestBuy does certainly things well, too. Just need to figure out what they're good at and where they suck, then do business with them in a way that only deals with what they're good at.

The same can be said of Apple, Dell, Walmart, and just about any other company.
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Improviso
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HOLY CARP!!!
The old saying in our shop was, "IBM. You can buy better but you can't pay more."
Identifying narcissists isn't difficult. Just look for the person who is constantly fishing for compliments
and admiration while breaking down over even the slightest bit of criticism.

We have the freedom to choose our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences.
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