AT&T is taking on Best Buy’s Geek Squad through the launch of a new 50-state technical-support program that promises to provide the services that consumers need when it comes to installing and troubleshooting a variety of computing equipment, software and home-entertainment gear.
Called ConnecTech, AT&T’s new in-home services program runs the gamut from television and home-theater installations and PC troubleshooting to home network setup and hardware repair.
AT&T expects to capitalize on the fact that the communications giant has long been a familiar face in the homes of Americans, noted Carmen Nava, AT&T’s senior vice president of consumer marketing. “AT&T is taking that expertise to a whole new level with robust in-home tech support, and with the same great customer service and reliability we’ve delivered for more than a century,” Nava said.
A Crowded Market
AT&T is clearly hoping to capitalize on the past mistakes and lapses of judgment by Geek Squad associates, which “have led to legal actions for lost laptops, inappropriate videotapes, and sensitive personal photos,” said Gale Daikoku, a Gartner research director. But as Daikoku noted last month, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club are also gearing up to make services an integral part of their customer support in cooperation with Dell.
AT&T, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club will join an increasingly crowded field that also includes partners Circuit City and Verizon Communications. “The market seems destined to become oversaturated with services,” Daikoku said, “because of the potential margin contribution services represent to the business.”
During Best Buy’s first-quarter earnings call, Daikoku noted, one of the executives said that the Geek Squad grew twice as fast as the rest of the business. “In recessionary times, that says something about the importance of services to Best Buy that has focused its entire business around customer-centricity,” Daikoku explained. “Services in general would be…