So I just got back from the IdeaFestival kick off party at Geek Squad City and I’m pretty speechless. I’ll give the quick and dirty since I’m tired and a bit inebriated. The facility there is HUGE. Imagine over 600 ‘agents’ showing up in black slacks, black shoes, white shirts and a black tie to start repairs on computers at 5AM. That’s when UPS shows up with the first delivery. The Geek Squad center handles about 2,300 incoming shipments a day. Over Labor Day weekend they received over 5,700 units for repair. These individuals are a dedicated group. They work really hard to ensure customer’s orders are assessed and fixed in a timely manner. But they also genuinely love coming to work every day. I forgot how many Geek Squad employees said this to me over the course of the night. Here’s an interesting fact about the parts runners in the warehouse. They walk on average of 12 miles a day. 12 MILES A DAY! And they keep coming back for more. The facility was outrageous. They also don’t leave until the last UPS shipment is sent out at 10PM. Hit the jump for pics.
Keyboards, modems, and other junked products were strewn about the food tables.
That’s one way of recycling an HP laptop screen.
Geek Squad City Mayor Wes Snyder and Geek Squad City Ambassador Randy Ratliff.
Justin Mead with his Geek Squad tattoo. This is what I meant about dedication.
Here we go.
Some crazy motivational posters in the break room.
The Xbox 360 stations where agents go to blow off some steam.
The big screen with N64 hooked up.
DDR. Awesome.
This is where the LAN parties take place and I’m told everyone is playing F.E.A.R. these days.
I’m told not a lot of people get through these doors. I tried to get in, but then security came over. Oops.
Cosmos aka the Cafeteria.
So I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of “Downtown”, which is where all the magic happens. My camera and Sidekick 3 were confiscated before going in, but a quick Google search and look what I found. This is the repair center where those 600+ employees start repairs. It’s crazy in there.
Founder of Geek Squad Robert Stephens’ Beetle. This is the one and only Turbo GS Beetle. It now sits in the Geek Squad Museum.
I had a great time at the kick off party and I can’t wait for IdeaFestival to start. I’ll be bringing live coverage of the event today so stay tuned. Oh, and Ray Bradbury won’t physically be here in Louisville, but he’ll have a life size hologram of himself projected on the stage from his home for his keynote. I can’t wait to see how that turns out.