Geek Squad® at Best Buy

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Geek Squad® Serves and Protects Nationwide with Sprint

How do you launch a national service at warp speed? Best Buy can tell you. This leading consumer electronics retailer took Geek Squad — a 24-hour computer support task force — from a local success story in Minneapolis to a coast-to-coast capability in just five months. Best Buy called one company, Sprint, to arm Geek Squad Agents with the latest in wireless communications so they can tend to technical emergencies from wherever they may be.

Challenge

Geek Squad makes it easy to solve technical difficulties and set up new computer gear. Sporting agent badges, short-sleeved white shirts and clip-on ties, Geek Squad Agents arrive at the scene of an emergency to perform a wide range of technical tasks. Whether a laptop crashes, a network goes down, a printer won't print or a consumer needs help getting onto the Internet, Geek Squad can help.

Chief Inspector Robert Stephens started the Geek Squad 10 years ago. Recognizing the service's appeal, Best Buy joined forces with Stephens six years later to support customers near Best Buy's base in Minneapolis. Back then, Agents used WAP-enabled phones and were dispatched to customer homes via a homegrown system.

The concept won over customers locally, so Best Buy decided to launch Geek Squad service nationally at its 622 stores. This massive undertaking meant updating 650 "Double Agents" on the road and 6,000 "Counter-Intelligence Agents" at local precincts in Best Buy stores with a seamless communications system — so they can resolve technical problems quickly, wherever duty calls them.

Solution

Best Buy chose Sprint to supply its new Geek Squad wireless communications system. Sprint proved it had the coverage, the technology and the motivation to get Geek Squad rolling nationwide at a rapid rate. Sprint met with Best Buy at the end of April 2004 and had the pilot network operating in one month. By August 2004, the coast-to-coast Sprint system helped enable Geek Squad Agents to make as many as 1,000 house calls a day.

Wireless phones keep Agents organized, on time and on top of customer service issues. They start their workdays by consulting Sprint wireless phones to check assignments. Unlimited Web access will enable Best Buy to update schedules in real time, as opposed to working through a standard dispatch, to increase service flexibility.

Sprint operates the largest, all-digital nationwide wireless network. That gives one Agent the power of the entire Geek Squad; that is, every Agent has the ability to access the "intelligence" of every team member anytime to solve problems from virtually anywhere.

From across the country, Agents speak over clear connections and also send and receive text messages. Agents talk "walkie-talkie-style" using Sprint PCS Ready Link(SM) service — a faster, more convenient alternative to making a regular voice call. At the touch of a button, Agents can collaborate one-to-one or as a group to brainstorm emergency care. Then they're "over and out" and onto the next service issue.

Bottom line

According to Best Buy, Sprint's rapid response helped enable Geek Squad to go national on time, more easily and more cost effectively than if Best Buy had done it alone. The partnership with Sprint made all the difference, offering these benefits:

• High responsiveness — Sprint quickly assembled the right team and technology
• Nationwide coverage — Sprint has wide wireless accessibility so Geek Squad can rely on a single communications company
• More satisfied customers — the Sprint solution helps Agents arrive on time and tap into a wide range of resources to meet customer needs
• High productivity — Sprint phones have proved a valuable time-management tool, helping Agents give the right customers priority attention
• Access to advanced applications — Geek Squad and Best Buy know future Sprint innovations will enable them to leverage the latest in wireless technologies

About Geek Squad®

Geek Squad is a 24-Hour Computer Support® Task Force focused solely on computer and network support. Agents go wherever they're needed to help with everything from setting up and upgrading systems to troubleshooting specific technical issues. For more information, visit www.geeksquad.com.

About Best Buy

Best Buy Co. Inc. is North America's No. 1 specialty retailer of consumer electronics, PCs, entertainment software and appliances. Forbes named Best Buy its company of the year in 2004. The company was rated first in the Stores' ranking of the Top 100 Specialty Retailers. For more information, visit www.bestbuy.com.

Why Sprint?

When you choose Sprint, you're in good company. In fact, 95% of the FORTUNE 1000® use Sprint for combinations of data, Internet, voice or wireless solutions. The reasons are clear and compelling:

• Sprint is truly dedicated to understanding your needs and challenges and committed to developing tailored solutions that can help improve your productivity and effectiveness
• Sprint is the service provider best positioned to offer a total networking solution — one that integrates wireline and wireless services — so your employees can be connected seamlessly and securely, virtually anywhere their jobs take them
• Sprint remains one of the most financially stable companies in the industry with the resources required to maintain high service levels
• Sprint is a recognized leader in quality customer care, service reliability and product innovation

"Sprint equips us with a key communications tool so Geek Squad Agents can take care of technical emergencies and set up computers wherever we're needed. We're better problem-solvers using highly expandable, always available Sprint wireless communications."
Robert Stephens, Chief Inspector, Geek Squad

FORTUNE 1000® is a registered trademark of FORTUNE magazine, a division of Time inc.

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