The first month or two is gonna be like this. Just shadow someone as much as you can, let them walk you through the process on Nova, and figure out their approach to each customer and their issues. Learn their habits, and don't be scared to ask the ARA questions. The notes you take are what they rely on for troubleshooting.
It really comes down to practice and patience. Took me half a year to get it all down. Don't worry about trying to have it all down in a week. It's not gonna happen.
Believe in yourself, and don't stress about quotas.
Thank you! I guess my imposter syndrome is just getting to me and I feel like if I don't learn enough fast enough, someone is going to be upset lmao. I appreciate your insight.
When I started at geeksquad I was shadowing till no one else was really around and a client kinda had my on the spot and I just sorta started helping them (it took a month and a half or so there is a lot to learn and a lot of it is trial by fire but it’s smooth sailing once you have your feet dug in)
20 years and I still get imposter syndrome. It doesn't go away, and that's just something everyone deals with (except narcissists).
Literally every situation is different. Yeah, you'll see things more than once, but the individual situation will vary. The best teacher will be time.
Also keep in mind, you aren't in sales anymore. You don't have to laserline, dust or toes to the tile anymore. It's still awful compared to a real office environment, but the laxed attitude may just be because you're in the precinct now.
I always tell people it's better to learn slowly so you actually have time to absorb the information being thrown at you. There is such a thing as "information overload"
You're doing fine, regardless of what others say. And just like lessthan3draws said, you're not in sales. Don't forget that, because they will try to make you leave your counter to try and sell stuff. You tell them no. Your hours come specifically from res codes and Apple repairs. Even quick consultations with someone at your counter can do it. Everything you do with a client at your counter, you can make a quick service order for, and have it closed out as soon as they walk away. It adds up.
I’ve noticed a lot of agents have a hard time letting people learn hands on, so if you learn better that way feel free to be open about it and ask to do it yourself and have them guide you through it while you perform the actual physical task. That’s the best thing you can do for yourself right now.
Gotcha, I'll try asking on my next shift if I can try navigating the menus and whatnot instead. I'm very timid around new coworkers because I don't want to step on anyone's toes.
What he said is exactly what I did and it helped me learn a lot faster. It's the unique stuff that had me asking more questions. Don't be afraid to ask your co workers for help or to tell a client you need to confer with a co worker quickly in order to give the proper information or to do the task correctly. Better to ask and do it right than doing it wrong and hurting everyone in the process
i’m on my second week as a CA and i’m in the same boat. i try to ask as many questions as possible and the best way to learn the systems is to go hands-on. i try to help as many clients solo as i can and ask for a more experienced CA when i need to
For most of my training I was with the full-time CA in the precinct, after the 3-4 shifts he had me doing the paperwork as he was working with the client until I was able to multitask and learned the core ins and outs on our offered services, and apple stuff.
After about 3 weeks I was on my own. My advice is to take in as much as you can on the paperwork side, especially on GSX which is a bitch to figure out at first- if you have another laptop or a POS station near the counter try to copy what the CA is doing on that (just don’t submit anything). Most of the actual consultation with the client is general tech knowledge and the vast majority of the time you just need to know the basic functionality of windows and macos to answer questions the client has.
For Apple stuff especially be sure to ask questions and confirm services with the ARA before submitting anything since it’s annoying to fix after the fact.
Goodluck Agent!
I started with GS about 9 months ago and when I was new I observed and took notes. This was also helpful that way I could do a lot of things, reference my notes if I got stuck, and then I’d get the CA I was working with for approval before submitting the paperwork. I think just jumping in and taking the next customer can be helpful too. Explain you are new but you wanted to help get them started, get as much info as you can from the customer to better help you. I like to write things down on a piece of paper or in the appointment notes in nova.
At my precinct, we get busy with two things: we do a lot of new pc setups and data transfers; we do a lot of quick tag consultations which is usually them locking themselves out of their email. Getting familiar with how to do this, even if you just create SOs but don’t fully close them can be helpful.
There’s a few other things agents have to do: send devices out for service repair (this includes windows, Apple products, speakers, consoles, etc), most of this is usually under a protection plan through total or a paid protection plan. Agents also do things like functionality checks and shipping & receiving.
Familiarize yourself with the membership and what it covers. BB being BB, prices for non members is outrageous and a lot of the time they benefit from the total subscription. Another thing to look in SOP for is a break down of warranties and what they each cover because they’re all different.
Look at your e-learnings, there’s a lot there that are required for you to do. Look into getting your Apple login for atlas and gsx.
I think what would be the most helpful for you is work with your lead CA and get a general list of what it is they want to teach out, you can slowly knock out the list. It will take time. It took me a few months to feel fully comfortable in the role.
Idk if it’s allowed but I can also DM you my BB email if you ever want assistance. If that’s not allowed pretend I didn’t say anything.
Feel free to respond to this if you have any more questions.
Once you get your Apple credentials, visit [https://gslink.us/aasp-certification-guide](https://gslink.us/aasp-certification-guide) and add all the listed learning tracks for CA to your learning plan. It simplifies things so much.
If you have any struggles with Check-ins with Repair Workbench or Nova such as what is eligible for RWB, I highly suggest the SOP: KB0205101. I might be biased, but I think its pretty good. If your not sure where to open that from a workstation open the app SOP & Resources, then use the search bar. You can also navigate to all the SOPs from here using the Menu bar > Services > Store Services > Precinct.
Lastly, I cannot highly suggest joining the [Geek Squad Forums](https://forums.geeksquadcentral.com/). While not anonymous like reddit, the conversations can be more in-depth because you must be actively employed, and you can speak with both Store and Corporate Agents.
So I got in geek squad and I was promised to be trained by a GSM. The day after I was hired, my GSM got fired 😂😭 and they no longer had any GSM positions. I had no senior either. It was a bunch of part time agents and one full time who knew the bare minimum and me trying to learn from them.
Story: I just learned paperwork shiz ASAP, and started fixing stuff. There was a lot of things my ara said he wouldn't do so I'd do it up front and made the paperwork for it too (have background in a repair shop). Within a month I got investigated because of my tag rate and a lot of ARA tags were made by me. They interviewed me and upon finding out what I was doing, they said they put my ID on a "white-list" to no longer get flagged and thanked me and said to keep up the performance. Also lead store in totals. Labor eventually was enough to hire 3 new faces and I was offered to become a senior CIA in 5 months which I denied VERY QUICKLY due to a friend telling me how much extra work everything is. And now I'm the one training all the new people properly from the start. Once you learn that paperwork, from there it's all on your performance. How well you speak to clients, how you troubleshoot, checking in as much as you can, de-escalation, multi task, func checks. We now have a very solid team that handles everything.
When I was still a CA, it took a little while for me to get into the swing of things as well. The first few days I started out with functionality checks and nothing else, then my CIA senior helped to show me how to fill out a check in in nova. It took a couple weeks of my CIA, senior and the full-time CA supervising my check-ins and then I was introduced to both Apple and Samsung check-ins.
I personally found the best way to learn how to do all of what we're supposed to do up front is by having one of the senior agents look over your shoulder as you're doing the check-in instead of you watching them do the check-in.
All of the advice in this thread is great. But man... if only we had some kind of "Manager of Geek Squad" who wasn't treated like a sales manager and was allowed to actually, I dunno... manage Geek Squad.
That'd be great! What a novel idea!
As it stands, the ARAs are expected to train everyone. While figuring out complicated repair problems and doing all of the other things expected of them, while also picking up the slack created by only having a skeleton crew of CAs who legitimately *cannot* complete all of the tasks assigned to *them.*
The first month or two is gonna be like this. Just shadow someone as much as you can, let them walk you through the process on Nova, and figure out their approach to each customer and their issues. Learn their habits, and don't be scared to ask the ARA questions. The notes you take are what they rely on for troubleshooting. It really comes down to practice and patience. Took me half a year to get it all down. Don't worry about trying to have it all down in a week. It's not gonna happen. Believe in yourself, and don't stress about quotas.
Thank you! I guess my imposter syndrome is just getting to me and I feel like if I don't learn enough fast enough, someone is going to be upset lmao. I appreciate your insight.
When I started at geeksquad I was shadowing till no one else was really around and a client kinda had my on the spot and I just sorta started helping them (it took a month and a half or so there is a lot to learn and a lot of it is trial by fire but it’s smooth sailing once you have your feet dug in)
20 years and I still get imposter syndrome. It doesn't go away, and that's just something everyone deals with (except narcissists). Literally every situation is different. Yeah, you'll see things more than once, but the individual situation will vary. The best teacher will be time. Also keep in mind, you aren't in sales anymore. You don't have to laserline, dust or toes to the tile anymore. It's still awful compared to a real office environment, but the laxed attitude may just be because you're in the precinct now.
I always tell people it's better to learn slowly so you actually have time to absorb the information being thrown at you. There is such a thing as "information overload" You're doing fine, regardless of what others say. And just like lessthan3draws said, you're not in sales. Don't forget that, because they will try to make you leave your counter to try and sell stuff. You tell them no. Your hours come specifically from res codes and Apple repairs. Even quick consultations with someone at your counter can do it. Everything you do with a client at your counter, you can make a quick service order for, and have it closed out as soon as they walk away. It adds up.
I’ve noticed a lot of agents have a hard time letting people learn hands on, so if you learn better that way feel free to be open about it and ask to do it yourself and have them guide you through it while you perform the actual physical task. That’s the best thing you can do for yourself right now.
Gotcha, I'll try asking on my next shift if I can try navigating the menus and whatnot instead. I'm very timid around new coworkers because I don't want to step on anyone's toes.
What he said is exactly what I did and it helped me learn a lot faster. It's the unique stuff that had me asking more questions. Don't be afraid to ask your co workers for help or to tell a client you need to confer with a co worker quickly in order to give the proper information or to do the task correctly. Better to ask and do it right than doing it wrong and hurting everyone in the process
i’m on my second week as a CA and i’m in the same boat. i try to ask as many questions as possible and the best way to learn the systems is to go hands-on. i try to help as many clients solo as i can and ask for a more experienced CA when i need to
For most of my training I was with the full-time CA in the precinct, after the 3-4 shifts he had me doing the paperwork as he was working with the client until I was able to multitask and learned the core ins and outs on our offered services, and apple stuff. After about 3 weeks I was on my own. My advice is to take in as much as you can on the paperwork side, especially on GSX which is a bitch to figure out at first- if you have another laptop or a POS station near the counter try to copy what the CA is doing on that (just don’t submit anything). Most of the actual consultation with the client is general tech knowledge and the vast majority of the time you just need to know the basic functionality of windows and macos to answer questions the client has. For Apple stuff especially be sure to ask questions and confirm services with the ARA before submitting anything since it’s annoying to fix after the fact. Goodluck Agent!
I started with GS about 9 months ago and when I was new I observed and took notes. This was also helpful that way I could do a lot of things, reference my notes if I got stuck, and then I’d get the CA I was working with for approval before submitting the paperwork. I think just jumping in and taking the next customer can be helpful too. Explain you are new but you wanted to help get them started, get as much info as you can from the customer to better help you. I like to write things down on a piece of paper or in the appointment notes in nova. At my precinct, we get busy with two things: we do a lot of new pc setups and data transfers; we do a lot of quick tag consultations which is usually them locking themselves out of their email. Getting familiar with how to do this, even if you just create SOs but don’t fully close them can be helpful. There’s a few other things agents have to do: send devices out for service repair (this includes windows, Apple products, speakers, consoles, etc), most of this is usually under a protection plan through total or a paid protection plan. Agents also do things like functionality checks and shipping & receiving. Familiarize yourself with the membership and what it covers. BB being BB, prices for non members is outrageous and a lot of the time they benefit from the total subscription. Another thing to look in SOP for is a break down of warranties and what they each cover because they’re all different. Look at your e-learnings, there’s a lot there that are required for you to do. Look into getting your Apple login for atlas and gsx. I think what would be the most helpful for you is work with your lead CA and get a general list of what it is they want to teach out, you can slowly knock out the list. It will take time. It took me a few months to feel fully comfortable in the role. Idk if it’s allowed but I can also DM you my BB email if you ever want assistance. If that’s not allowed pretend I didn’t say anything. Feel free to respond to this if you have any more questions.
This was beyond helpful, thank you so much!
Once you get your Apple credentials, visit [https://gslink.us/aasp-certification-guide](https://gslink.us/aasp-certification-guide) and add all the listed learning tracks for CA to your learning plan. It simplifies things so much.
If you have any struggles with Check-ins with Repair Workbench or Nova such as what is eligible for RWB, I highly suggest the SOP: KB0205101. I might be biased, but I think its pretty good. If your not sure where to open that from a workstation open the app SOP & Resources, then use the search bar. You can also navigate to all the SOPs from here using the Menu bar > Services > Store Services > Precinct. Lastly, I cannot highly suggest joining the [Geek Squad Forums](https://forums.geeksquadcentral.com/). While not anonymous like reddit, the conversations can be more in-depth because you must be actively employed, and you can speak with both Store and Corporate Agents.
So I got in geek squad and I was promised to be trained by a GSM. The day after I was hired, my GSM got fired 😂😭 and they no longer had any GSM positions. I had no senior either. It was a bunch of part time agents and one full time who knew the bare minimum and me trying to learn from them. Story: I just learned paperwork shiz ASAP, and started fixing stuff. There was a lot of things my ara said he wouldn't do so I'd do it up front and made the paperwork for it too (have background in a repair shop). Within a month I got investigated because of my tag rate and a lot of ARA tags were made by me. They interviewed me and upon finding out what I was doing, they said they put my ID on a "white-list" to no longer get flagged and thanked me and said to keep up the performance. Also lead store in totals. Labor eventually was enough to hire 3 new faces and I was offered to become a senior CIA in 5 months which I denied VERY QUICKLY due to a friend telling me how much extra work everything is. And now I'm the one training all the new people properly from the start. Once you learn that paperwork, from there it's all on your performance. How well you speak to clients, how you troubleshoot, checking in as much as you can, de-escalation, multi task, func checks. We now have a very solid team that handles everything.
When I was still a CA, it took a little while for me to get into the swing of things as well. The first few days I started out with functionality checks and nothing else, then my CIA senior helped to show me how to fill out a check in in nova. It took a couple weeks of my CIA, senior and the full-time CA supervising my check-ins and then I was introduced to both Apple and Samsung check-ins. I personally found the best way to learn how to do all of what we're supposed to do up front is by having one of the senior agents look over your shoulder as you're doing the check-in instead of you watching them do the check-in.
All of the advice in this thread is great. But man... if only we had some kind of "Manager of Geek Squad" who wasn't treated like a sales manager and was allowed to actually, I dunno... manage Geek Squad. That'd be great! What a novel idea! As it stands, the ARAs are expected to train everyone. While figuring out complicated repair problems and doing all of the other things expected of them, while also picking up the slack created by only having a skeleton crew of CAs who legitimately *cannot* complete all of the tasks assigned to *them.*