DISCUSSION
Will access to hard-to-find gifts make Totaltech-heads out of Best Buy’s customers?
Written by George Anderson
Photo: Best Buy
Best Buy is launching a nationwide rollout of its Totaltech subscription program. Membership offers a host of service and purchasing benefits including unlimited technical support from the retailer’s Geek Squad, VIP service with access to dedicated phone and chat teams, exclusive pricing, free standard shipping of online orders, extended 60-day return windows, installation of most appliances and consumer electronics purchases at no extra charge as well as free haul-away on most products being replaced.
The program was successfully piloted as a “Best Buy Beta” beginning in April in designated store locations in Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Best Buy is offering Totaltech memberships for $199.99 a year.
“Technology plays an increasingly crucial role in our lives today, and each customer needs technology in a different way,” said Allison Peterson, chief customer officer at Best Buy. “That’s why we created Totaltech, to not only meet all of these needs, but also to give them a heightened sense of confidence — in getting a great price, in using their tech and by knowing we have their back if something goes wrong.”
Totaltech members are also being promised deals ahead of the holiday season. The retailer said members will gain access to products expected to be in short supply in the lead-up to Christmas.
Subscribers will also be able to take advantage of Member Monday, a series of special events with exclusive deals on some of the hottest tech available through the chain. Member Monday kicks off on Oct. 18 and will pop up on select weeks throughout the season.
Best Buy said that all current members of its Best Buy Beta, Total Tech Support and Geek Squad Tech Support programs will be automatically upgraded to Totaltech membership in the coming days. The chain will send members an email welcoming them to Totaltech once their upgrade is completed.
The retailer is rolling out the program during the same period that it has kicked off a new branding campaign intended to demonstrate to consumers that Best Buy and its associates are there for them where and whenever it is needed.
The new spots focus on the chain’s customers and how they can turn to Best Buy’s blue shirts and Geeks for expert advice and to make the most of the technology it sells.