Best Buy Unapologetic About Charging For PS3 Firmware Updates

After discovering that electronics retailer Best Buy was charging ignorant customers $30 for the 'service' of installing updated firmware on PS3s, IndustryGamers got word from the company on its policy. Best Buy sees no problem with charging for this convenience, even though it's something Sony provides to PS3 owners completely free. 'While many gamers can handle firmware upgrades easily on their own, those customers who do want help can get it from Geek Squad, and we continue to evaluate this offering to ensure it meets their needs. The service goes beyond a firmware updates, and includes user account setup, parental control setup and other components,' a representative said."

http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/1...rmware-Updates

Hah, $30 for about three minutes and absolutely no effort whatsoever.

The worst part is, there is people actually that dumb, at least when it comes to technological stuff

Geek Squad is the smartest idea ever, from a company perspective. They gouge people for their stupidity.
Case in point: My dad had me look at his Vaio laptop. I told him that the hard drive was roached and it might need a new ribbon for the keyboard. He didn't want to wait for me to fix it so he took it to them. They charged him in the neighborhood of $70 to tell him what I told him. Then they informed him that they couldn't access the BIOS for some odd reason and that, because of the keyboard problem, they would have to send it to Sony for repairs. They wanted $300 to do it and just like the good salesmen they are they suggested that he just purchase another laptop. So he handed it off to me. $60 bucks for a hard drive and a slight trimming of the keyboard ribbon and I had it fixed. Oh yeah, and I had no problems accessing the BIOS.
Not really sure why I'm posting all of this as I'm relatively sure that anyone on this webpage is smart enough to NOT go to the Geek Squad, but it still gives a good example of how "good" their services really are.