Apple has its geniuses. Now, Microsoft has its gurus; a group of customer service representatives the company plans to send to major retailers such as Best Buy (which has its Geeks) to help people make their PC purchases.
Tom Pilla, general manager of corporate communication for Microsoft, told The Associated Press that Microsoft would have 155 of its gurus in stores by the end of the year. Having gurus on hand to help answer questions will get consumers "thinking Microsoft," he said.
"Think of that as borrowing a page from Nordstrom, with that retail customer experience," Mr. Pilla added.
Microsoft is looking to launch the guru program at the same time it is trying to market itself as cool with a $300 million ad campaign featuring the comedian Jerry Seinfeld along with Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. The ads have played to mixed reviews at this point. Bob Garfield, the ad critic for Advertising Age, called the first commercial "one of the weirder chapters in advertising history."
Discussion Questions: Do you see gurus providing a Nordstrom-like experience for consumers shopping for PCs? How do you expect Microsoft gurus to handle negative questions about Vista or comparisons to Apple products? How will the answers that gurus give shape the customer shopping experience?