Mohan/Thread:
This is a thought-provoking article, and in my eyes the reason for part of the Dell success in the past. I am not sure how long the 'direct-trend' will still be substainable.
This article does point out, though, coming back to NW's queries as well as the negative comments on the thread regarding the CPQ www site what needs to change for CPQ to really merge the two strategies:
be a champion at both (and their working on reducing channel outlets will be the first step on one front!)
K.
Lost in the PC supermarket
By Rivka Tadjer
December 12, 1997
ZDNN
NEW YORK---With just days left until Christmas, there are gridlock warnings every hour. Here on Fifth Avenue, Shopping Mecca of the Western World, the massive, block-long CompUSA superstore stands ready. Forget Gimbel's, forget Macy's. The miracles people expect today come from Intel, not Santa.
The problem is that these miracles take some explaining. Can the customer service reps handle this tough New York crowd? Stores are running out of computer games fast, with no time for restocking. This is not a joke for yuppie parents in the Big Apple. As I observe the commotion outside the CompUSA entrance, a small but ferocious woman runs headlong into me, almost knocking the wind out of me.
"Tourist!" she scolds, already halfway through the door.
Inside the store, scurrying shoppers pick up graphics cards and modems and software, turn them over, read the boxes, turn them back over, look confused, turn them over again, and look up in search of a Red Shirt. If they find one of these showroom representatives, they pepper the poor slob with questions.
"Okay, this is the deal," says 65-year old Otis Pearsall, a native New York litigation lawyer looking at a Sony PCG-705C notebook. He explains to hardware manager Glen Balestrieri that he saw the same configuration in a mail-order catalog for significantly less than the superstore's price. "And everything was one notch superior--instead of a Pentium 150 MMX, it was a 166. Instead of this 12.1-inch screen, it was 13.2. You see what I'm getting at? Why would I buy it here?"
My incognito act of pretending to be writing down the specs of laptops as I eavesdrop is stopped dead in its tracks. This is an incredibly good question. I look up and join several other curious customers. We stare at Balestrieri and wait.
"I don't work on commission," Balestrieri says finally after a pregnant pause. "I think that's important because I'm here, every day, to help, even after the sale."
"Thank you," Pearsall says politely and then wanders away. I follow him.
"Excuse me--mind if I ask what you thought of his answer?"
"He didn't tell me anything," Pearsall says. "Dell has warranties and customer service agreements, just like here." Pearsall was not buying anything that day from CompUSA.
Once I step back onto Fifth Avenue, I decide to compare CompUSA's service with others. This being Fifth Avenue, I only have to walk across the street. DataVision, a superstore wanna-be, has the slogan "The Intelligent Superstore." It also takes three helpers--who wear suits instead of trade-show polo shirts with logos--to answer my questions. There is no evidence that any of them know what they are talking about, so I leave.
Strolling out onto Fifth again, I spot a small store half a block down: The Essential Computer. I'm barely through the door when Jaime Mendez, store manager, approaches me. I explain that I am looking for a customizable keyboard so that I can change key assignments.
"Oh, yes, I know what you mean," he says.
"Really?"
"I don't think I have one, but I can find it or software that goes with the Microsoft one and get it for you." Smart business guy.
Walking away from the cluster of computer supermarkets and boutiques, out of all the voices, I keep hearing Pearsall's question ringing in my head: If I know the specs, and there's the same warranty, why would I pay CompUSA more than I would have to pay Dell? Why not kick the tires in the showroom and then buy from Dell, unless I need to walk out of the store with it that day?
Why, indeed.
Rivka Tadjer is a freelance writer in New York.
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