Is phone support from tech retail sites actually important?

[poochyena]

With the new secret shopper video out, i have to ask, do many people actually do what linus and his team do? Call one of these computer companies and ask for them to pick something out for you? Or the thing i'm most wanting to know; would someone not make a purchase because they can't call a company? I would think most people are perfectly fine contacting a company by email or text chat to ask for questions. In fact, i'll avoid companies if I can only call them and not email. Who is choosing to wait on hold for an unknown amount of time and repeating words or spellings of words multiple times because of a bad phone connection (or noisy chickens in the background)?

I feel like someone who is techy enough to have even heard of most of these companies (ibuypower, maingear, etc) would know how to buy a computer from their website, or be ok emailing support, and people who have 0 tech knowledge would just go to best buy or walmart.

 

The main point of this thread are these two questions;
Is the premise of the series, that phone customer support is very important and needed to have a successful computer business, actually true?

Would a customer actually avoid buying from a website if there was no phone call options (but did have alternative contact options like email and text chat)?

[Wander Away]

While you do have a point, there are another customer base for these companies - the people who aren't interested in these things who got recommended by friends/family. 

 

I know plenty of people who wants a decent computer but don't want to put in the effort of building it themselves, no matter how much I tell them how easy it is. In which case I would just refer them to something like maingear/ibuypower. 

 

A lot of times I would pick them a build for their budget but everything else after that is up to them, and presumably that's where the support comes in. 

 

I think these people might actually be more common than people like us, who would probably build our own computers anyway, but we all have some friends who know us as the tech nerd and would come to us for advice and such.

[kirashi]

1 hour ago, poochyena said:

• Is the premise of the series, that phone customer support is very important and needed to have a successful computer business, actually true?
• Would a customer actually avoid buying from a website if there was no phone call options (but did have alternative contact options like email and text chat)?

• While I can't speak for LTT, I would say that being wherever, whenever your customers want to be is absolutely needed to run a successful business.
• Having sold electronics in a retail setting for 5+ years, yes, there will always be a subset of customers who ONLY want to contact companies via phone.

[jollander]

You have valid points... from your own perspective. I think the easiest way to answer is: People have different levels of knowledge, different personal opinion of service, different preference on types of service and expediency.

 

It's a very understandable mistake. When I trained new (young) sales reps, this was the most common thing that caused a person to fail at sales; They couldn't see beyond their own perspective and values. If they thought something was expensive, they assumed that their customers thought the same.

The same thing when T trained tech support; many tech wizards just couldn't understand that they needed to speak "another language" when they spoke with non-techies. The lack of understanding another persons perspective hampered them from successfully fixing the problem. And afterwards they'd say that the customer was an idiot and didn't understand.

 

But to address your points:

Quote

do many people actually do what linus and his team do? Call one of these computer companies and ask for them to pick something out for you?

As a person who's worked in sales and tech support both through phone and e-mail; Yes. Absolutely yes. Some people will be the exact opposite of you and only talk on the phone. If you aren't an expert in the subject, a sales rep *should* be able to help. Though apparently not these pc builders. Very unreliable, especially with the rent-a-callcenter model that some of them use. 

 

Oh and  some companies take days or even more than a week to reply on email, and you can end up in a back-and-forth that takes several weeks. 

 

Quote

Or the thing i'm most wanting to know; would someone not make a purchase because they can't call a company?

I've spoken to hundreds of customers who absolutely wanted to purchase from "an actual person" instead of going on the website - even during periods where the website had massive sales that the phone sales reps couldn't match. No doubt this kind of customer is a dying breed this day and age, but they are still around.

 

And the opposite applies as well, some people only called in to say they couldn't find the info on the website and they would avoid calling in if they could. 

 

Here's a real example on how this preference can even change an entire market:
Swedish mobile phone companies have secondary cheap brands (with another company name) that offer the same mobile service at a much cheaper price - but those customers get 0 access to telephone support and may only get service through email. The price difference? Quite significant.

Tele2 - Regular brand 
25GB data with phone support: 369kr /month (about $42.79)

 

Penny - Cheap brand 

40GB data without phone support: 289kr /month (about $33.51) almost $10 a month cheaper for almost twice the data.

 

Guess which brand has the most customers.. :) They use the same network, have the same coverage and speeds. Penny doesn't get 5g, but in Sweden we barely even have 5g yet anyway so 99.99% of the customers wouldn't be eligible for that. If something goes wrong for a Penny customer, they can chat with tech support. 

 

Quote

I feel like someone who is techy enough to have even heard of most of these companies (ibuypower, maingear, etc) would know how to buy a computer from their website

What do you base this on? Is knowing the name of the store = technical knowledge? That's absurd. 

 

Quote

and people who have 0 tech knowledge would just go to best buy or walmart.

Again, what do you base this on? Just because their typical customer might be tech illiterates doesn't mean tech illiterates have to go there, right?

 

Word of mouth is a very powerful growth factor for companies. Give excellent service and people will tell some of their friends. Give shitty service and people will tell everyone they know. (NPS)

 

 

Yikes, long post. I guess the TL:DR came in the beginning. But let me end it with: I personally prefer buying online, but I do call when I suspect I can get a great deal. I once managed to make phone companies "outbid" each other for me and got my Samsung S8 for half-price only a few months after it was released lol. 

 

 

[poochyena]

34 minutes ago, jollander said:

What do you base this on? Is knowing the name of the store = technical knowledge? That's absurd.

well, yes. How would someone not techy know of ibuypower or maingear or NZXT? They don't advertise outside of techy environments like Dell or HP do.

38 minutes ago, jollander said:

Again, what do you base this on?

Because thats where they see it. They walk through walmart and see computer for sale, mostly from brands like HP and Dell, so they buy their computers there. They see billboards and TV ads of best buy, so they go there. If you don't watch tech youtuber or visit tech forums or do other tech enthusiast things, how would you know about those other gaming computer brands?

[jollander]

39 minutes ago, poochyena said:

well, yes. How would someone not techy know of ibuypower or maingear or NZXT? They don't advertise outside of techy environments like Dell or HP do.

Because thats where they see it. They walk through walmart and see computer for sale, mostly from brands like HP and Dell, so they buy their computers there. They see billboards and TV ads of best buy, so they go there. If you don't watch tech youtuber or visit tech forums or do other tech enthusiast things, how would you know about those other gaming computer brands?

 

I already answered this in my first post

 

And I want to question your line of reasoning in the text in bold: Psst, my entire post was about pointing out different perspectives. You're still stuck in your own perspective. You watch tech youtubers and visit tech forums and learn about tech that way - does that mean that's the only way in the universe to hear about store names or get store recommendations? 

 

Quote

Word of mouth is a very powerful growth factor for companies. Give excellent service and people will tell some of their friends. Give shitty service and people will tell everyone they know. (NPS)

 

You know those survey questions you get a lot in (for example) software? "What is the likelyhood you would recommend our X product/software/service?" That's a Net Promotor Score (NPS) question to determine the likelihood of you bringing in more customers. It's a very powerful metric for companies to measure their potential growth via word of mouth, or their potential issues based on customer dissatisfaction.  We don't need to go in to major detail, but my point is that companies are willing to fund departments to survey, measure and suggest changes based on this metric because it can generate a significant amount of money. Because word of mouth is hella powerful. So yes, the average person will see a lot of ads - and maybe most of them go to bestbuy. But that's not important, because it doesnt mean they cant hear of other stores.

[poochyena]

2 hours ago, jollander said:

And I want to question your line of reasoning in the text in bold

but I did, its literally a question.......................

[PeachGr]

They thing is that you don't know about PC and have no one to ask, not everybody have a geek friend to ask. That's the thing apple does good, you go to a store, you see something and you buy it, it will do the same thing better or worst depend on the price

[NineEyeRon]

No it is not that important BUT it is far and away the best method of determining how knowledgeable the sales people at the company are when it trades mostly online.

[minibois]

13 hours ago, poochyena said:

do many people actually do what linus and his team do? Call one of these computer companies and ask for them to pick something out for you?

Yes, people certainly do.

In my experience though, usually the people who do call the sales department have done a little bit of 'research', meaning they talked with a friend or family member who usually gave them some light pointers such as "Get an i5/R5, you don't need an i7", "get 8GB RAM minimum, preferably more", etc., so the people calling sales know some things to ask.

 

So absolutely, people do call sales (or visit them in real life, if they might have a physical store) to get advice on what PC to pick out.

13 hours ago, poochyena said:

Or the thing i'm most wanting to know; would someone not make a purchase because they can't call a company?

A lot of people prefer the more immediate person to person contact the phone allows you to get.

With e-mail, even the simplest of questions need to be asked back-and-forth, while on the phone you can answer right away.

 

I am not sure if people would not choose a company because of there being no phone support; but I am sure people see it as a huge plus.

13 hours ago, poochyena said:

I feel like someone who is techy enough to have even heard of most of these companies (ibuypower, maingear, etc) would know how to buy a computer from their website, or be ok emailing support, and people who have 0 tech knowledge would just go to best buy or walmart.

That's sort of ignoring the world isn't that simple.

Even people that do know how to build a PC, might prefer paying the premium to get something that 'just works'.

The people who have "0 tech knowledge" might have heard from iBuyPower/Maingear/etc. via a friend, family member or just online ads and indeed wants the option to buy a bit more of a customer (gaming) desktop.

13 hours ago, poochyena said:

Is the premise of the series, that phone customer support is very important and needed to have a successful computer business, actually true?

Not to a lot of people in the LTT audience, who want to DIY a PC.

But people who like tech/gaming/etc., but don't want the hassle of building your own PC, configuring the BIOS, etc. will want this level of support.

 

Plus, the series is based on three chapters (at least the previous one was and I will assume the current one too):

1. buying a PC and getting (good/honest) advice

2. the end user experience and basic troubleshooting

3. overall value of the PC

 

These three are all very important, with the last one of course being a sample of one, so you can't judge the entire company based on it.

 

EDIT: oh and I should mention even people that are knowledgeable about tech/PC's/etc. will often want one-on-one advice too.

Usually they see it less as 'sales advice', but more as "I - a techy - can work together with this sales rep - hopefully also a techy - so we can work out together what the best PC within my budget/demands is".

 

That is basically the same as someone on the forum here who is knowledgeable about tech/PC's asking for advice in the New Builds and Planning thread for advice.

People know that when you stare at a parts list for an hour, you might not notice something that is wrong and needs fixing, having more eyes on the plan ensures it's the best overall option.

[TetraSky]

Personally, instead of phone support, I'd rather have a Live Chat service.

 

I feel like it would be easier. Before the Live Chat starts, simply have a short "survey" such as
"How familiar are you with the various components in a computer?" - > "Not at all | Somewhat | Very."
"Are you looking for a recommendation ?" - > "Yes | No"

etc... To be sent to the right department.
Then it would be a simple matter of

Quote

User : Hi, I don't know anything about PC and I'm a bit lost on your website, what would you recommend within my budget of $#### if I want to play X and Y while streaming ?

CSrep : Hello, my name is blank and I'm here to assist you. For the needs you've described, I would suggest our W model. While the default configuration may not suit your streaming needs, you can customize it by switching out the i3 for a 6 core Ryzen processor. 

User : Can you just give me the best config for my budget?

CSrep : Sure, I can do that. Give me a moment. *2 minutes later* Alright, here's a link to a system that should fit your needs within your budget. With this purchase, you get a free 1 year warranty on parts through us. If you'd like more, we also offer an extended warranty for an extra $50 during checkout.
Is there anything else I can help you with today?

 

Short, simple, and you don't need to wait on hold for 30 minutes because they can serve like 15 people at the same time.

[Lord Vile]

17 hours ago, poochyena said:

With the new secret shopper video out, i have to ask, do many people actually do what linus and his team do? Call one of these computer companies and ask for them to pick something out for you? Or the thing i'm most wanting to know; would someone not make a purchase because they can't call a company? I would think most people are perfectly fine contacting a company by email or text chat to ask for questions. In fact, i'll avoid companies if I can only call them and not email. Who is choosing to wait on hold for an unknown amount of time and repeating words or spellings of words multiple times because of a bad phone connection (or noisy chickens in the background)?

I feel like someone who is techy enough to have even heard of most of these companies (ibuypower, maingear, etc) would know how to buy a computer from their website, or be ok emailing support, and people who have 0 tech knowledge would just go to best buy or walmart.

 

The main point of this thread are these two questions;
Is the premise of the series, that phone customer support is very important and needed to have a successful computer business, actually true?

Would a customer actually avoid buying from a website if there was no phone call options (but did have alternative contact options like email and text chat)?

The person behind an email or phone is the same so it's still the same interaction. You can also get a phone call done in an afternoon rather than wait sometimes 5 days between emails.

[Lord Vile]

1 hour ago, TetraSky said:

Personally, instead of phone support, I'd rather have a Live Chat service.

 

I feel like it would be easier. Before the Live Chat starts, simply have a short "survey" such as
"How familiar are you with the various components in a computer?" - > "Not at all | Somewhat | Very."
"Are you looking for a recommendation ?" - > "Yes | No"

etc... To be sent to the right department.
Then it would be a simple matter of

 

Short, simple, and you don't need to wait on hold for 30 minutes because they can serve like 15 people at the same time.

The only time I've had a serious issue and tried to deal with it over live chat I just got rerouted to phone. Also serving 15 people at once is bad because the service is poor. Phone is generally a better service than live chat.

[poochyena]

17 minutes ago, Lord Vile said:

You can also get a phone call done in an afternoon rather than wait sometimes 5 days between emails.

waiting on an email is significantly better than waiting on hold on a phone call for 20+ min. Phone calls away more time of someone's day than an email. It doesn't take time away from my day waiting on an email.

[TetraSky]

11 minutes ago, poochyena said:

waiting on an email is significantly better than waiting on hold on a phone call for 20+ min. Phone calls away more time of someone's day than an email. It doesn't take time away from my day waiting on an email.

Seriously, just last week the lab technician at my college was walking around while waiting on the phone. Everyone could hear the shitty on hold music and the message that would come every once in a while telling him all their staff is busy and to keep waiting.

It took nearly two hours for him to get a hold of someone at Service Canada. The man is patient as fuck.

Email or Live Chat, one of the two, are my preferred method of communication when dealing with companies.

[Phoned_]

14 minutes ago, poochyena said:

waiting on an email is significantly better than waiting on hold on a phone call for 20+ min. Phone calls away more time of someone's day than an email. It doesn't take time away from my day waiting on an email.

I agree. One time, my mom was trying to call walmart to check if an item was in stock. She was on hold for at LEAST an hour

[Eighjan]

Gotta be said that I cringed at the content of the video in question, because it didn't show the calls being made from the viewpoint of someone who 'genuinely' didn't know a CPU from a SSD.  The staffer making the calls seemed to be trying too hard to not give away that she DID indeed know what parts would be ideal for the purchase in question (sorry that I forgot the young ladies' name).

 

There's also a lot of validity to the phone support staff having to work to scripts & not expect that an IT professional is making the call... to be honest I wouldn't want to work for any of the companies included in this series knowing that  they were under scrutiny from this kind of 'mystery shopper'.

 

Phone sales of this kind is going the way of the dinosaur... and companies that don't offer live chat as an alternative to phone sales may want to reconsider that as an option.

 

EDIT:

I would also posit that many people who want to buy this level of tech/kit will know someone who can advise them what to buy to further render the nature of the series increasingly archaic...

[GDRRiley]

phones sales I don't care about but phone support can be super helpful. it is why here in the US I've often pushed people to buy tech from cosco because of their great phone support

[Lord Vile]

53 minutes ago, poochyena said:

waiting on an email is significantly better than waiting on hold on a phone call for 20+ min. Phone calls away more time of someone's day than an email. It doesn't take time away from my day waiting on an email.

But overall the issue is solved quicker. I could email them and it take 3 weeks to get a resolution or I could spend an hour on the phone after work and get it solved that day.

[Lord Vile]

40 minutes ago, Eighjan said:

Gotta be said that I cringed at the content of the video in question, because it didn't show the calls being made from the viewpoint of someone who 'genuinely' didn't know a CPU from a SSD.  The staffer making the calls seemed to be trying too hard to not give away that she DID indeed know what parts would be ideal for the purchase in question (sorry that I forgot the young ladies' name).

 

There's also a lot of validity to the phone support staff having to work to scripts & not expect that an IT professional is making the call... to be honest I wouldn't want to work for any of the companies included in this series knowing that  they were under scrutiny from this kind of 'mystery shopper'.

 

Phone sales of this kind is going the way of the dinosaur... and companies that don't offer live chat as an alternative to phone sales may want to reconsider that as an option.

 

EDIT:

I would also posit that many people who want to buy this level of tech/kit will know someone who can advise them what to buy to further render the nature of the series increasingly archaic...

Think the main thing with the series is build quality and support after purchase. The first episode is just padding and a way to separate companies if the other rounds are a tie.