Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
APRIL 18,
1925
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
13
Cutting the Radio Service Two-Thirds
Plan Used by the Radio Department of the Harlem Store of Kranich & Bach, New York, Lowers the Cost
of Servicing the Sets They Sell by 66 2/3 Per Cent and Injures in No Way the Good Will
of the House With Its Customers—A Plan That Is Widely A d a p t a b l e
R
EPORTS from many music merchants in
the metropolitan territory show that the
greatest factor affecting the net profit on
a radio sale is the service that follows installa-
tion. Customers have evidently gotten into the
pernicious habit of calling upon the dealer for
no reason at all, other than "they think that
the set should be looked over." This, of course,
is due to the fact that the clients look upon the
receivers as technical instruments in need of
constant repairs. Sometimes the customer's re-
ceiver will act up for an evening, due to some
uncontrollable condition in the air, and then
immediately comes a call from the client to the
effect that the set is not working correctly and
needs repairing. When the service man calls
he will find nothing wrong but simply that the
previous evening, due"to the fact that there was
a lot of static or that one of the stations had
changed its power, reception was not up to
average.
These tactics are unjust of course, but where
a set has been allowed to go out of the store
on installments, the merchant of course is anx-
ious to keep the customer satisfied and so he
sends his men out on these wild-goose chases
and stands the brunt of the burden. But there
are some who have realized the real facts of the
case and who operate their departments differ-
ently.
How One Plan Works
The management of the radio department of
the Kranich & Bach warerooms, located on
West 125th street, New York City, catering to
both a transient and regular trade, has for sev-
eral months altered its policy in running the
radio service department. The new method has
cut service charges from an average of $15 per
sale down to $5, an appreciable difference. This
does not mean that service has been refused
customers, but that all calls for service are made
by the customers themselves by agreement
when the set is purchased.
At first mention this would seem to be a
pretty hard proposition to put across, consider-
ing the fact that the average man who buys a
radio set has been led to suppose that its up-
keep for the first year depends either upon the
manufacturer or upon the dealer who sells it.
But, when Kranich & Bach sell a radio set,
and they carry most all the popular nationally-
advertised receivers in stock, it is sold in the
following manner:
When the customer is fully sold and the con-
tract signed, the salesman informs the former
that the house will install the set and supervise
its operation and maintenance for a period of
two weeks, during which time the customer
should become well acquainted with the re-
ceiver. Furthermore, the customer is told that
1
any faults in the set or the accessories will al-
ways show up during the first week or so and
so this supervision assures him of a perfect
receiver and satisfactory accessories.
This procedure generally means that one call
is made by a salesman about a week after the
installation of the receiver. The men of the
force take turns calling on these clients so that
the work is evenly spread over. But, after the
one service call is made and a further selling
talk is given by the salesmen right in the home
of the customer, a card is used by the salesman-
service man on which it states that the cus-
tomer is thoroughly satisfied with the working
of the receiver and that it is in perfect working
condition. This is signed by the customer and,
so far as servicing is considered, Kranich &
Bach are through. Should the customer call up
in a month's time and state that some trouble
has occurred he is informed that, as the set
was in perfect condition on the last call of their
representative and gave no indication of faulty
conditions, there will be a minimum charge of
$2.50 for a service call, and in case of repairs
not due to a faulty receiver, a time charge of
$1.50 per hour for the man's time, which the
customer will pay.
Overcoming Objections
This, of course, takes the customer off his
feet in some cases and he starts to object. It
is then that the subject of the signed card stat-
ing that on such and such a date a free inspec-
tion of the receiver was made and the set and
accessories were found to be in perfect working
condition, as per the agreement when the set
was sold, is produced. If the trouble is serious
and due to the customer, which it most always
is, because after the novelty of the receiver has
worn off a man will try to educate himself into
(Continued on page 14)
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