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> Everyone buys these things online or at Walmart. Most people need in-person, tech customer support--especially in small towns. Radio Shack could find a nice
by bsder 3y ago
> Everyone buys these things online or at Walmart.
Most people need in-person, tech customer support--especially in small towns. Radio Shack could find a nice niche by being that.
The problem is that while it could be profitable, it won't be a "growth industry". And that seems to be a gigantic problem given the MBA management mindset in the US.
- notatoad 3y ago"people will pay more to shop in person because they want the in-person support that our staff provide" is written on the gravestone of every dead retail company.
- bsder 3y agoOnly because they try to scale. Support doesn't scale. It's weakly profitable. It's specific to an area. It's slow. It requires workers with a bit of clue. Support is everything that modern business culture loathes.
- notatoad 3y agoSupport scales fine. there's plenty of huge companies built around charging for support, all the way up to consulting companies like IBM and SAP. support doesn't scale, or work at all as a business, if you aren't charging for it. if you're providing free support as a loss leader to get people to buy your stuff, people will take the free support and leave. it's nothing to do with scale.