Sam's Club Move into Electronics Services Offers Consumer, Business and Returns Advantages
Sam's Club is launching technical support services for electronics in a move that could help it with both consumer and business members.
Folks need technical support to help them negotiate the dazzling but dizzying array of features that come along with today's computers, flat-panel televisions, cameras, etc., and the Sam's Club Tech Experts service is preparing to provide it for them. Of course, Best Buy, with Geek Squad, and other electronics retailers have made a business out of providing support services. In fact, having support available can be an important selling point particularly in convincing consumers to trade up from more basic models. After all, the more electronics can do, the more complex the process of getting them to do it becomes. So available help can provide that edge of confidence consumers need to step up to more feature-rich items.
On the business side, all kinds of enterprises from restaurants to doctor's offices are adding flat panel televisions, advanced sound systems, even, in some cases, public computer links. Chefs and doctors may be a little too busy at work to mount new television systems, never mind trouble shoot them. Under the circumstances, the Tech Experts service could prove to be a hit in the commercial supply part of Sam's operation.
With Tech Experts, Sam's proposes a range of free support services as well as paid but reasonably priced delivery and installation packages. In fact, Sam's Club Tech Experts will answer members' questions about installation, set up problems and other consumer electronics issues whether or not they purchased the product involved from Sam's. Home delivery starts at $50 and basic installation packages at $89.
In one interesting twist, Sam's announced that it will begin to enforce a 90-day limit on returns of electronics starting on Nov. 1. By providing support via Sam's Club Tech Expert, the retailer can accommodate customers who are having legitimate product problems, but, with the returns limit, discourage those who might be trying out electronics for several months at a time then returning them. The new Sam's policy covers televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, projectors and iPods. Clearly, the Walmart division is approaching the returns issue gingerly. In announcing the new policy, the company pointed to a survey it conducted involving more than 5,000 Sam's Club members that returned 86 percent agreement with the proposal that a 90-day return limit for electronics is acceptable.
The Sam's decision moves that club in line with Costco's policy of 90-day returns on televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, cellular phones, and iPods and MP3 players.