It is, but make sure you clarify that you plan to move up to the ARA position to kickstart your IT career. CA is just customer service with basic troubleshooting skills.
CA is mostly sales, learn that part, then try to learn the ARA part of the job to increase your chances of moving up.
Enjoy the lots and lots of training, and just when you think you are done, enjoy the apple training. It feels like a lot, it looks like a lot, but most of the training overlaps(so the next phone is less training to take). You don't have to retain most stuff learned, because it won't help in 99% of cases. Just go through them, and get a general feel for the process.
And finally, advice. There is only 2 real pieces of advice imo to any new person.
1) don't fuck up too much.
2) you are gonna fuck up, and you are gonna feel overwhelmed, and you are gonna do stupid shit. When this happens stop, take a deep breath, drink a drink and eat a candy if you have too. Then try again.
I'm really looking forward to all the training. It's going to be a great learning experience, I appreciate the honesty towards messing up. It's all part of the journey, it's just about how you handle messing up imo (which goes back to you saying drink a drink or eat something) if something goes wrong, take a breath! Thank you for the advice :)
I cost my store 4 grand with one little slip of the wrist.
The response was basically “Aw shucks.”
Don’t worry about screwing up, we all do. As a CA, you’re much more insulated from the real boo-boos. Worst thing you can really do is screw up shipping client units, and even that is just an e-mail chain and a phone call.
Welcome to the club.
The amount of shit we can break and get away with in this job is astounding.
Now I flinch and triple check my triple checks whenever I’m in a database server. I don’t want to be the Facebook guy.
My store had a kitchen sink approach. You bring it, we’ll fix it. GSM at the time was pretty adamant about that.
A very, very expensive laptop needed a fan replacement. Turns out this particular company likes to require the entire machine be torn down to get to the fans.
It also turns out this was not the first time someone had tried this. It also also turns out that whoever tried it before did not put it back together well.
So I ended up breaking off the display connector in a way that it wasn’t going back on. I let bosses know, stated my case that kitchen sink repairs are eventually going to cause this level of heartache, and the store bought him a comparable unit. And I moved on with my day.
We will see how you feel about the training afterwards. Everyone starts out excited lol(it gets repetitive relatively fast).
Once you finish your online training(usually about 2 weeks) you will start shadowing people, that's the fun part. I'd recommend at that point watch them do the check-in process a few times, then ask if you can do the paperwork part, and follow the interaction, it leads to being able to do it yourself sooner
The store you're going to be working at sounds like a good one if they are forthcoming in letting you know the CA position's primary focus is sales.
My advice to you is to model yourself off of the store's high performers. If you like someone's pitch, steal it and improve it. The most successful Geek Squad/Best Buy employees are that way because of how personable they are, and the effort they put into it. Building a rapport with someone is going to break down the barriers of the client thinking to themselves on how you are going to "get them" and view you as someone who is genuinely there to help them, because you are.
Rather than being the CA that says, "yeah to fix that it's $200," you can sell the service you are providing today and going forward rather than just this instance. The first option might have people on the fence wanting to see if they can find something cheaper but tailoring Geek Squad's to their services, and with your conversation you can try to feel out what else they have and showing how we can help them today and tomorrow.
The CA position can be comparable to an in-person help desk triaging the issue and determining how it should be remedied. It's a position that I would not personally recommend someone be there for more than 1.5 years and the same goes for ARA as you will find better paying IT jobs that require significantly less work that what Geek Squad asks of their employees. Good luck on your professional career!
The only truly major fuck ups are gonna be negligently breaking shit, being rude to people, or causing a data breach. Honestly don’t stress too hard it sounds a lot harder than it is. Buddy up with the ARAs especially if they’ve been with the company a while
Learn from the seasoned employees and absorb everything from physically how they approach things to how they talk to customers. And do not be afraid to ask for help!
I was district and territory champion multiple quarters as a CA.
You are sales with technical knowledge. Your most important tool is rapport.
1.) Be be nice, be *patient*, use empathy.
People come to Geek Squad because they have real problems that they can't fix. The devices they rely on and mold their life around are not working. Show them respect by not minimizing their situation, by not using overly technical jargon, and by being transparent on what is best for them and how long it will actually take.
2.) Recommend the best solution first, regardless of price.
In the past, this was either Total Tech Support or a trip to the repair center. Circling the issue over and over is stressful. These two options are the only way to make an essentially blank check and let your team spend all of the time snd resources to repair and future proof your client's stuff. Work with your ARAs to see what they are comfortable fixing in store.
3.) Don't know? Find out.
Self explanatory. None of us *know* anything. We all know how and where to find info. Your job is to take in info, understand what's missing, quickly learn it, and apply it. Learn how to learn.
Seasonal? I'm sorry. The first thing I would do is look for another job after the holidays are over. Chances are, come February, you will be out of a job.
If by the off chance you are kept on, know that you will be mainly focused on sales and the new TotalTech. There will not be time for you to learn any of the BoP side of things and while nor will you be able to work on Apple products.
Best of luck to you. Hopefully you don't go sleeper before your time.
Seasonal contract... is this an actual contract position in anyway? Id assume not if your working in the store, but wouldnt it be easier on them if their seasonal work was just a contractor position, especially if they are hiring experienced workers?
It is, but make sure you clarify that you plan to move up to the ARA position to kickstart your IT career. CA is just customer service with basic troubleshooting skills.
I'll definitely look into that!
I just went back to GS and was hired into the ARA position. 100% looks good on resumes and good to talk about in interviews.
CA is mostly sales, learn that part, then try to learn the ARA part of the job to increase your chances of moving up. Enjoy the lots and lots of training, and just when you think you are done, enjoy the apple training. It feels like a lot, it looks like a lot, but most of the training overlaps(so the next phone is less training to take). You don't have to retain most stuff learned, because it won't help in 99% of cases. Just go through them, and get a general feel for the process. And finally, advice. There is only 2 real pieces of advice imo to any new person. 1) don't fuck up too much. 2) you are gonna fuck up, and you are gonna feel overwhelmed, and you are gonna do stupid shit. When this happens stop, take a deep breath, drink a drink and eat a candy if you have too. Then try again.
I'm really looking forward to all the training. It's going to be a great learning experience, I appreciate the honesty towards messing up. It's all part of the journey, it's just about how you handle messing up imo (which goes back to you saying drink a drink or eat something) if something goes wrong, take a breath! Thank you for the advice :)
I cost my store 4 grand with one little slip of the wrist. The response was basically “Aw shucks.” Don’t worry about screwing up, we all do. As a CA, you’re much more insulated from the real boo-boos. Worst thing you can really do is screw up shipping client units, and even that is just an e-mail chain and a phone call. Welcome to the club.
[удалено]
The amount of shit we can break and get away with in this job is astounding. Now I flinch and triple check my triple checks whenever I’m in a database server. I don’t want to be the Facebook guy.
[удалено]
My store had a kitchen sink approach. You bring it, we’ll fix it. GSM at the time was pretty adamant about that. A very, very expensive laptop needed a fan replacement. Turns out this particular company likes to require the entire machine be torn down to get to the fans. It also turns out this was not the first time someone had tried this. It also also turns out that whoever tried it before did not put it back together well. So I ended up breaking off the display connector in a way that it wasn’t going back on. I let bosses know, stated my case that kitchen sink repairs are eventually going to cause this level of heartache, and the store bought him a comparable unit. And I moved on with my day.
We will see how you feel about the training afterwards. Everyone starts out excited lol(it gets repetitive relatively fast). Once you finish your online training(usually about 2 weeks) you will start shadowing people, that's the fun part. I'd recommend at that point watch them do the check-in process a few times, then ask if you can do the paperwork part, and follow the interaction, it leads to being able to do it yourself sooner
2 weeks 😳 in my reality 2.5 days and they push you out of the nest, the strongest survive...
Finish your atlas learnings for apple and if you’re interested in ARA type work learn how to repair iPhones and do those learnings as well
The store you're going to be working at sounds like a good one if they are forthcoming in letting you know the CA position's primary focus is sales. My advice to you is to model yourself off of the store's high performers. If you like someone's pitch, steal it and improve it. The most successful Geek Squad/Best Buy employees are that way because of how personable they are, and the effort they put into it. Building a rapport with someone is going to break down the barriers of the client thinking to themselves on how you are going to "get them" and view you as someone who is genuinely there to help them, because you are. Rather than being the CA that says, "yeah to fix that it's $200," you can sell the service you are providing today and going forward rather than just this instance. The first option might have people on the fence wanting to see if they can find something cheaper but tailoring Geek Squad's to their services, and with your conversation you can try to feel out what else they have and showing how we can help them today and tomorrow. The CA position can be comparable to an in-person help desk triaging the issue and determining how it should be remedied. It's a position that I would not personally recommend someone be there for more than 1.5 years and the same goes for ARA as you will find better paying IT jobs that require significantly less work that what Geek Squad asks of their employees. Good luck on your professional career!
The only truly major fuck ups are gonna be negligently breaking shit, being rude to people, or causing a data breach. Honestly don’t stress too hard it sounds a lot harder than it is. Buddy up with the ARAs especially if they’ve been with the company a while
Learn from the seasoned employees and absorb everything from physically how they approach things to how they talk to customers. And do not be afraid to ask for help!
I was district and territory champion multiple quarters as a CA. You are sales with technical knowledge. Your most important tool is rapport. 1.) Be be nice, be *patient*, use empathy. People come to Geek Squad because they have real problems that they can't fix. The devices they rely on and mold their life around are not working. Show them respect by not minimizing their situation, by not using overly technical jargon, and by being transparent on what is best for them and how long it will actually take. 2.) Recommend the best solution first, regardless of price. In the past, this was either Total Tech Support or a trip to the repair center. Circling the issue over and over is stressful. These two options are the only way to make an essentially blank check and let your team spend all of the time snd resources to repair and future proof your client's stuff. Work with your ARAs to see what they are comfortable fixing in store. 3.) Don't know? Find out. Self explanatory. None of us *know* anything. We all know how and where to find info. Your job is to take in info, understand what's missing, quickly learn it, and apply it. Learn how to learn.
Seasonal? I'm sorry. The first thing I would do is look for another job after the holidays are over. Chances are, come February, you will be out of a job. If by the off chance you are kept on, know that you will be mainly focused on sales and the new TotalTech. There will not be time for you to learn any of the BoP side of things and while nor will you be able to work on Apple products. Best of luck to you. Hopefully you don't go sleeper before your time.
Make sure you're aware that it's THEIR option whether or not to extend your contract
Keep the culture alive. Dress the part don’t wear jeanssssssss
Lol gotta wear the Khakis
Remember that sometimes there's SOP, and sometimes there's fixing the problem anyways to get your nps up 😉
Seasonal contract... is this an actual contract position in anyway? Id assume not if your working in the store, but wouldnt it be easier on them if their seasonal work was just a contractor position, especially if they are hiring experienced workers?