ProService Magazine October 2011 : Page 3
NESDA President’s Article by Ben Fowler CSM/MST • NESDA President R October 2011 3) “Currently, I recognize that it is very difficult for all of us to make ends meet. I suspect that the future will be more of the same. The real competition which makes this indus-try more challenging is price compression of new products. Our company will continue to improve our relationship with companies that make the service experience less pain-ful for the customer. We need good service and we want to partner with companies who will help us deliver our service obligations. Service companies that are more likely to survive will need to be more resourceful because manu-facturers are continually being challenged with shrinking budgets and decreasing support staff. Much of the techni-cal support staff that used to support service centers are gone and more than likely will never come back. Manufac-turers need service companies that they can trust. Service companies that succeed in the future will need to be pro-ficient in trouble shooting “system” problems, which may include Internet, cable, audio etc. Component level trouble shooting skills could improve your chances of being more successful completing COD repairs. I see potential oppor-Recently, I had interesting conversations with several man-ufacturers’ service managers about “the elephant in the room,” the future of the TV service business. Below you will find the responses that I received. Since I wanted to en-courage candid comments, I promised not to include their names. I asked each of these representatives two questions: 1) In your opinion, what do you think the future of the consumer electronics service industry holds for us service centers? 2) What advice would you offer consumer electronics ser-vice centers to help them prepare for the future? Here are the answers that I received to my questions: 1) “In the very near future, TV’s will be sold that will re-semble roll-down curtains: the display will be composed of OLED technology on a flexible substrate (Google it) and will be able to roll up and down like a window shade. They "There are tremendous opportunities for adding additional sales to every service event but so many servicers are just focused on the repair and they leave a lot of money on the table." will be very reliable and the need for service will be dras-tically reduced.” Furthermore, he said, “Traditional con-sumer electronics service centers need to develop other op-tions for revenue. Some of my accounts are expanding into commercial service which includes audio and video instal-lations. Others have entered the appliance service business. Some have gravitated towards consumer sales and custom installations and still others have gotten into security and surveillance systems.” 2) “For well-run service businesses, the future will be good. Service companies not only need to have strong technical skills but they need excellent customer service and support staffs. Actually, in the future, the quality of a company’s support staff may be more important than their technical skills. I see opportunities in the hospitality industries and the business-to-business arena. Service centers and manu-facturers need to become better business partners, by con-ducting their business affairs in such a manner that it in-stills trust in each other.” tunities for service companies in the hospitality industry, especially those that learn about “head ends and network distribution.” The successful service companies will need to control their expenses and create budgets that will allow them to be profitable. After all, the primary purpose of any business is to create profits.” 4) “I believe that many servicers are missing the boat. When they are in the customer’s home, they need to look around and ask questions; what additional services can the service center provide for the customers? There are tremendous opportunities for adding additional sales to every service event but so many servicers are just focused on the repair and they leave a lot of money on the table. Service centers need to stock their truck with accessories. When you make that 50 mile trip to a customer’s home and he needs an HDMI cable to make the system function better, you will be the hero and also make a nice profit at the same time. I think the future can be very bright if we just open our eyes and ask some questions. We need to recognize that cus-Continued at the top of page 5 Pro Service October 2011 3
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