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Great in-store customer service is important, but excellent customer service after you leave, well that stands apart from the crowd. Best Buy has differentiated itself with just that strategy.
Through its Remote Service Project, an enterprisewide business-IT system that remotely distributes computer repair, maintenance and other work among the company's more than 10,000 Best Buy Geek Squad Agents (who provide tech support and more), the company was able to boost customer satisfaction long after point-of-sale.
It is a business model that has found very substantial traction in the Canadian market as well, according to industry analyst. Geek Squad's Ontrack data recovery program has become very popular in Canada
The information technology project began in response to research that made a troubling discovery: Far too many PC buyers were unable to get their computers up and running once they got home, a problem that colored (for the worse) their assessment of Best Buy. The company's response was its Remote Service Project, a strategy targeted at PCs, but which has been extended to home theater systems and more. The Remote Service Project has enabled the company's Geek Squad agents to serve 25 percent more customers and has improved redo rates by 33 percent. On top of that, the company attributes an annual sales increase of $6.2 million to the project.
The Remote Service Project was also a standout winner in the CIO 100 competition.
Outsourced tech support services such as Geek Squad are very popular among consumers and SMB operators in Canada as well, according to Carmi Levy, research analyst and vice-president of AR Communications Inc. in Toronto.
"Depending on the quality of service they provide, these outfits can be a godsend to computer users," he said.
A majority of IT device buyers do not have the technical expertise needed to set up or manage the systems they purchase. Also most SMBs do not have the budget to maintain a dedicated IT support staff. "For these two groups, an on-call technician onboard a Volkswagen is the next best thing".
"Offering on-call service is also an excellent opportunity for outlets to improve their margins on otherwise low-margin devices," the analyst added.
In Canada, Nerds on Site , an international tech support provider got a jump ahead of most outlet-based support providers such as Geek Squad and recent entry ConnectPro of the Future Shop franchise.
Levy, however, is worried that the tech support for the masses model might prove to be too successful for its own good. "As operators place greater emphasis on reaching as many customers as possible, there's always the risk of losing on quality of service."
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