Dell and Wal-Mart are getting friendly with each other by teaming up to offer “Geek Squad” like services at select Wal-Mart stores. Best Buy has done well with their tech services that the Geek Squad offers, and Wal-Mart and Dell are expecting their solution centers will be a great opportunity for them to meet the needs of their customers who want technology in their homes but aren’t quite sure how to set-it-up or manage it.
At this point, there are only 15 planned “Solution Centers by Dell,” as they are being called, and they will be found in the Dallas, Texas area. Services that they’ll offer include set-up of high-definition TVs and home theater installations, computer repair, and consulting and set-up of wireless technology. If all goes well with their test-run, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wal-Mart and Dell expand their services and open solution centers around the country.
Dell posted about their solution center concept on their Direct2Dell blog and said “These services will be available on Dell and other branded systems and include things like home television installations, wireless network set-up, computer upgrades, services designed to protect computers, and in-home training.”
It’ll definitely be interesting to see if the demand is there from Wal-Mart customers. It could certainly help Wal-Mart in the customer satisfaction area if they’re able to do it right. Wal-Mart has started to sell more of the high-end electronics including expensive HD TV’s, so they just might have the right crowd willing to pay for support services. Did we mention that their prices are competitive and actually cheaper than Geek Squad? One example is for the installation of computer memory. In-store it will cost $29 at Wal-Mart and $39 at Best Buy. If the consumer chooses to have it done in-home it is $99 through Wal-Mart and $139 through Best Buy.
Ashley,
Just curious, where did you find the prices of the services Wal Mart will be offering, such as that of installing memory?
Thanks!
Sorry Joe, I thought I had included the link to the pricing source. I got it from the [ft.com]
I just left a Dell Solutions Center in Plano TX (suburb of Dallas). They were not at all helpful. I ordered a new Dell laptop from Dell, and have had it for 2 weeks. I took it by the Solutions Center to get help with a couple of issues I’ve had. They said they could not do anything unless they ran a diagnostic and charged me for it. I explained that I had bought Dell’s extended warranty, which included 24/7 support and in home support.
They said they were a separate entity from Dell, and would have to charge me for anything they did.
They lied. Took mine over here in FTW and they were great.