There are the things that you say. And then there are the things that you do.

Electronics retail giant Best Buy (BBY) has supplied a fine example of the difference.

What They Said:

Here’s an excerpt from a release Best Buy issued yesterday on some recent store openings:

“The company’s Blue Shirt employees are the core of Best Buy. As a people-powered organization, Best Buy invests heavily in discovering and training employees in customer service, product knowledge and financial acumen. As the store employees are closest to the customers, the company relies on them for their innovative ideas and feedback to enhance customers’ shopping experiences. Whether an individual’s passion is to be the best salesperson on the floor, a Geek Squad Agent, home theater installer or the next CEO, Best Buy fuels employees with the knowledge and resources to achieve their personal ambition.”

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Is AT&T (T) ready to take on Best Buy (BBY)? The phone company announced today that it will offer a technical support team providing in-home service for “virtually any home technology or entertainment need.” (Makes one chortle, just a little, to think about the “entertainment needs” AT&T might service in one’s home.) The offering is obviously competition for Best Buy’s Geek Squad technical support operation.

AT&T says it will help consumers configure computers, set up networking, install home theaters and mount TVs. “ConnecTech” as it’s called, will be available in the 50 States. On its Web page, ConnecTech lists prices ranging from $69 for basic troubleshooting of your PC or home network support to $179 for someone to come to your home for the same.

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Best Buy (BBY) has a nice niche with its Geek Squad, providing tech-savvy service people to help customers set up large-screen televisions, home theater systems, wireless networks and other high-end consumer electronics goods. It’s such a nice niche, in fact, that now everyone wants to do it.

Citigroup analyst Kate McShane raised the issue this morning in launching coverage of the electronics retailing giant. She rates Best Buy a “Hold,” and specifically focuses on the the rise of Geek Squad clones. That would be good news for geeks, not so good for Best Buy.

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