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October 20, 2007
The End of an Era: No More Free Installs
By Sean
ICE Merchandiser
Around 10 years ago, Best Buy single-handedly transformed the Mobile Electronics industry when they started offering free basic installation on any radio above $100. This caused quite a stir among the smaller chains and mom-n-pop shops as they now not only had to compete with the leading big-box retailer on product pricing, but they also had to convince shoppers that their professional installers’ labor was worth the asking price. The marketing concept eventually spread to most other big box retailers, forcing smaller operations to compete at a level only truly affordable to larger retailers.
According to Twice magazine, the winds of change have finally shifted at Best Buy, which is bringing its free-install campaign to an end. With the success of the Geek Squad, Best Buy seems to understand that placing a financial value on your skilled technicians’ abilities adds value to the service by the customer. Chris Homeister, PCs and Mobility Products VP, found after a study in a few test markets that customers are willing to pay for installation and "this is not something we need to give away." Best Buy will now place all installation service—computer, home, and car—under the Geek Squad umbrella.
Comments
Hollywood Nicky
Nov 6, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Damn… That sucks for people.
Sean C
Oct 22, 2007 at 5:33 am
I got my start on the sales floor and install bay of my local Best Buy, as have many in our industry. It’s a pretty solid company and although they pretty much are the definition of Big Box, I give them props for their training and supporting the MECP program. No, most of the guys can’t rip out a bad ass custom job, but the bread and butter work they do offer is usually done well.
Ted
Oct 22, 2007 at 1:52 am
The install shop at the BB I went to have a reputation for doing great work, and I had no problem with their install. The speakers were a lot of work for me. This lightened my workload.
No regrets.
Jake
Oct 21, 2007 at 5:32 am
Right… like I’d have someone else work on my system, let alone a Best Buy.
Ted
Oct 21, 2007 at 3:51 am
I had to pay $100 to have a new DUAL head unit installed into my Firebird convertible a couple weeks ago. I thought the price of the unit was decent enough for me to splurge and have someone else do the install for a change. I didn’t get the speakers there because I wanted matched DUAL speakers but they didn’t have any in stock, so I found 2 sets of 6.5 inchers and installed them myslf.
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The head unit install was a little pricey, but a full install if they had speakers I wanted was out of the question. I’d look at the price and figure it’s worth the aggravation to save hundreds. It almost always is.