I use my laptop for work while in travel, and at such times my wife's desktop becomes the computer with primary link to the local Verizon wireless module.
A few weeks ago, after returning from business travel, I re-established our home network but found that my own laptop wouldn't connect to the network, after trying numerous re-connects and re-starts.
I called up Geek Squad (their blanket 1-800 number) and signed up for the phone assistance ($ 79). Because the phone connection dropped off twice, I needed to go through complicated procedures to get myself re-established for the over-the-phone assistance. The second time (with a second person on the tech support end) I found myself trying to understand a woman with a heavy South Asian accent directing me through various DOS commands (from the "Run" link at Windows Start). The especially "entertaining" part of this was that try as I might to get her to use something like aviation references to alphabetics ("A as in Andrew, " etc.), she would not do it, even though I often had to ask her more than once to repeat something through the unclear audio over the phone connection.
I'm generally willing to let some Tech Support person lead me down a path for a while, if it would eventually get us to a solution. This got us nowhere. And I had a hunch, from a lot of experience with my home network, that her approach was not getting to the solution.
Eventually this connection, too, dropped off with no ready explanation.
In both instances, the connection dropped off, Geek Squad had my phone and email contact points, and I heard nothing back from them. After the second experience, in frustration I decided I wouldn't bother calling again.
I kept fiddling with my network settings and after about 15 more minutes I had the connectivity problem fixed on my own. My Geek Squad experience, however, was a disaster.
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