By Kavita Kumar
Star Tribune
Best Buy already has Geek Squad agents that make house calls to install and fix things. And experts from its high-end Magnolia Design Center will come out to suggest pricey ways to deck out home theater rooms.
Now the electronics retailer, headquartered outside Minneapolis, is testing in a handful of markets an in-home consulting service.
Armed with a tablet, the adviser helps customers troubleshoot issues such as improving their wireless speed for faster streaming and can also recommend a host of products for the kitchen or throughout the home.
They could, for example, help people figure out how to stream music throughout the rooms of their house by using wireless speakers and a mobile device or set up a system of connected devices that can be controlled from a smartphone or tablet.
The in-home consultation business is one of several pilot programs Best Buy is launching this year to grow sales and enhance its service offerings in order to give customers another reason to go to Best Buy instead of a host of other websites and retailers that peddle the same products.
The Best Buy consultant is tasked with creating a personalized technology plan and helping coordinate with cable, internet and home security providers, staying in touch with the customer throughout the process.
The service is free, but the hope is that customers will purchase recommended products from Best Buy.
“When it comes to adding tech to your home, picking the right products and getting everything working together can be a little overwhelming,” a narrator says in a video on Best Buy’s website explaining the service.
— Star Tribune
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