Wal-Mart Busts Out Its Own "Geek Squad"
As margins on actual wares grow slimmer, many retailers are looking to
soak up more cash in the form of services. Granted, that's increasingly
tough in the DIY universe that we live in, and even tougher in a
retailer that looks to save people money. In an odd move aimed to rival
Best Buy's Geek Squad, Wal-Mart has announced plans to offer its own
form of tech support for shoppers.
The mega-retailer has confirmed that it has started up a partnership with N.E.W. Customer Service Companies in order to offer in-home setup services to those who buy their gear from Wally World. In fact, the new offering will be in place prior to the holiday season getting fully underway, so there's a good chance things will take off this winter.
A Walmart Greeter, one of thousands that welcome over 100 million shoppers weekly...
Wal-Mart customers will be able to buy service plans on a prepaid card ranging from $99 to $399, which honestly sounds like a curious way to pay for in-home installation services. At any rate, the services available range from standard television setup to wiring an entire home theater system or home network, and all plans include preliminary consultation and a tutorial after installation is completed.
It'll be interesting to see if bargain hunters spring for a service plan; if you're going to Wal-Mart intentionally to save money, are you really prepared to splurge on services? But on the other hand, you may say that you're spending some of your savings on the installation that you know you need help with.
The mega-retailer has confirmed that it has started up a partnership with N.E.W. Customer Service Companies in order to offer in-home setup services to those who buy their gear from Wally World. In fact, the new offering will be in place prior to the holiday season getting fully underway, so there's a good chance things will take off this winter.
A Walmart Greeter, one of thousands that welcome over 100 million shoppers weekly...
Wal-Mart customers will be able to buy service plans on a prepaid card ranging from $99 to $399, which honestly sounds like a curious way to pay for in-home installation services. At any rate, the services available range from standard television setup to wiring an entire home theater system or home network, and all plans include preliminary consultation and a tutorial after installation is completed.
It'll be interesting to see if bargain hunters spring for a service plan; if you're going to Wal-Mart intentionally to save money, are you really prepared to splurge on services? But on the other hand, you may say that you're spending some of your savings on the installation that you know you need help with.
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Via: Reuters | News Archive
| Tags:
HDTV,
Wal-Mart,
retail,
Best Buy,
services,
Sales,
electronics,
install
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Comments
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Best Buy will always match Wal-Mart's price. And if you need support, I would choose the Geek-Squad over the N.E.W. Wally-Squad any day. |
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Yeah, and if you do a Google search for "Geek Squad" the list of dissatisfied customers talking Geek Squad horror stories will astound you. Even if you automatically throw out 75% of them just to cut the "Squad" a little slack, there are many thousands left screaming about the crappy service and their now infamous service agreement that you have to sign that gives them 'Cart Blanc' to lose all of your data without recourse. There are just too many complaints to ignore. I have a feeling that Wal-Mart's service may be more of the same. Time will tell. |
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