Circuit City's Firedog Takes on the Geek Squad

"If it's so easy to install, why don't you do it?" That's what I often feel like screaming to the support folks who take me for an imbecile.

Nowadays they will install it.

First came Best Buy, which truly made a best buy when it bought the Geek Squad, a small startup that promised to do home installations and troubleshoot PCs and electronics. Not only did it differentiate Best Buy from the rest of the retail crowd, it provided a revenue stream, too.

Late last month, Circuit City joined the fray with firedog, a new service that also will make house calls to install and troubleshoot. Firedog will do it all, helping you sync devices, install a wireless network, get rid of viruses, or find missing files. The service is available 24/7 and fees vary based on the task, but expect to pay $100-plus dollars for just having firedog show up at your house.

Like the Geek Squad, firedog personnel will wear nice uniforms and drive logo-clad vehicles. The service is available at more than 600 Circuit City superstores (of 626) around the country, but will only provide home theater installations within 25 miles of stores. According to reports, home theater installation packages range from $170 to $550. Consumers with high-speed Internet connections also will have access to a 24-hour technical assistance line for PCs.

Electronic retailers are well motivated to make these services work. According to MediaPost Publications, a European study found that about half the electronics products returned to stores work just fine, except that consumers can't figure them out. It also found that the average consumer would struggle for only 20 minutes with an electronics purchase before giving up.

In-home repair and installation is a big step forward for tech-kind. It should help those who are either too busy or find it too difficult to manage their own tech lives. But like any other service business, there's always a tendency to upsell your customer. Stories from the Geek Squad rank and file indicate that service people are often trained to upsell you to more products as well as fix what's wrong.

Oh yeah, what's with the name, firedog? According to MediaPost, the name represents the kind of qualities you want a technician to have: helpful, friendly, knowledgeable, and reliable. Just watch out for any fire hydrants you may have as décor.