Mega-retailer Best Buy has invested some serious time into training employees at their brick and mortar stores about Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 8. Speaking to Forbes, Best Buy's merchant vice president for computing, Jason Bonfig, said that they have dedicated over 50,000 hours to making sure certain blue-shirts, Geek Squad consultants and "Microsoft Advisors" all have a working knowledge of Windows 8, so they can help customers feel comfortable with what is surely a change in what they are used to seeing on a Windows computer.
“When customers go through an OS transition, they want to touch and feel the product. They want to be able to talk to someone who is knowledgeable, who can ask them questions, and match them with the products that best meets their needs.”
Unfortunately for Best Buy, after heading to the store to see the product in person, they often go home empty-handed, only to buy it online at a cheaper price. In addition to what they hope will be a knowledgeable staff, Best Buy hopes to remedy that by offering things that online sellers, like Amazon, cannot.
The chain will carry exclusive Windows 8-based PCs. They will also offer buyers a 15-minute Geek Squad session which will cover the initial setup of the computer, email configuration, security software installation and general information rundown.
For those of us who have been to Best Buy and seen a "Let Geek Squad install it for you!" sticker plastered on the front of an Xbox game, this latest effort may not instill enough confidence to make us buy in-store, but at least they're trying. Hopefully, it will drive enough sales so the rest of us can go check out a device in person before we buy it online.
