Geek Squad to Help With Converter Boxes

Once grandma gets her $40 coupon for a converter box and buys the box from her local big-box retailer, how on Earth is she going to rig it to the old Zenith?

According to Best Buy, members of its Geek Squad computer repair operation will undergo training to do just that.

That’s just one tactic the megastore told the FCC it’s employing to help customers get and use the boxes. It’s also training phone agents to sell the boxes over Best Buy’s “Phone Channel,” and engaging in “reinforcement of store training as needed.”

The company will put educational messages in Sunday advertising supplements starting in March. And since December, Best Buy stores have printed a pointed message on every register receipt: “Be ready for the Analog to Digital TV Transition on February 17, 2009. Learn more at www.bestbuy.com/DTV or www.dtv.gov.”

It’s also made specially trained store employees available to national media and in 15 key markets to explain the DTV transition. Best Buy said it has been part of more than 314 news stories about the transition, reaching more than 167 million customers.

“We have endeavored to respond to your leadership and to do our part,” the company said in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.