Remember last January when I told you about Best Buy / Geek Squad’s mandatory computer set up fees and what a rip off they were? At least they (presumably) were doing something for that money.
The folks at Lifehacker have uncovered something new. Best Buy / Geek Squad will now “set up” your new e-Reader for you. That’s right. $30 to put in a password.
Umm . . . does anybody need this service? I mean, seriously: if you can’t figure out how to set up an e-reader, should you be using one?
Listen: I applaud anyone who finds a way to add revenue. Most important business tenets are about maximizing your relationship with each and every customer. Best Buy / Geek Squad have every right to do this and if you’re willing to pay them to do stuff then more power to them. But if you do “work” for your customers and deliver absolutely nothing of value you’ll maximize customers sales figures in the short run and chase customers away over time.
Customer Service? Negative impact in this case. Really bad idea.
Make sure everything you do adds value. And have enough respect for your customers to avoid things that cast them as stupid. Or like Best Buy / Geek Squad, you’ll come off as a rip-off artist.
