Refrigerator Adventures
October 9th, 2008 by Sam Morse
Last week, I was looking at a new refrigerator for my apartment. I went to a few different vendors looking for a unit that would fit my specifications. Finding the product wasn’t all that difficult but it was very hard to find a distributor who offered installation. I wasn’t so hung up on an adequate price rather an installation plan that would be convenient for me. I needed someone who would remove my broken refrigerator and install the new one without any hiccups. Most of the smaller vendors I went to couldn’t provide this type of support. It wasn’t until I went to a Sears superstore that I could get an installation option. So I made the purchase and my refrigerator was installed a few days later. I was impressed by the level of service and customer care that came from such a large retailer. Obviously, management at Sears is doing something right in creating a total solution package to address the needs of their customers. Personally, I was twice as likely to pay for a product that was hassle free and didn’t require me to make additional arrangements for an install. The lesson learned from my adventures in refrigerator buying is that I believe consumers are more likely to purchase from a retailer when services, installation, and repair are readily available.Best Buy already offers similar installation/repair services with automotive sound systems, home theater, and home networking solutions. For Best Buy this strategy seems to be a solid idea. In a 2008 press release, they state that their “services revenue category recorded a 4.1% comparable store sales gain due primarily to sales growth in home theater installation and computer services…” In the past few months a variety of big retailers have begun to offer more services for their products including Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is teaming up with Dell to include in-store kiosks in 15 test stores throughout Texas that offer repairs, upgrades, and other types of technology integration. Wal-Mart hopes that a partnership with Dell will be a significant move to competing with Best Buy for consumer electronics.
I’m glad I didn’t have to wrestle my new refrigerator up three flights of stairs or take the doors off the old one and haul it off to the dump. It was all done efficiently and with a certain level of professionalism that I could only expect from adequately trained personnel. I am happy to see more and more companies move towards integrated product services to better help their customers make smooth purchases.
December 10th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Thanks for post. Nice to see such good ideas.