[TechAssist] Re: MEMBERS IN GENERAL! Another Nationwide Servicer??? NESDA top Brass involved???
- From: "Leonard Caillouet" <lcaillo@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <techassist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 21:44:38 -0400
The service industry is changing. The independent servicer is in the same
position that independent retailers have been in for years. You have to
find a niche where you can offer something that the big corporations cannot.
As they move to board swappers instead of technicians, the fact is that the
need for what many of us do now will be much less in demand. Consolidation
is a natural consequence.
What seems distasteful to me is the "private" nature of this NSA Corp while
principals appear to be among the officers of NESDA. I have never been a
NESDA member, though for a couple of decades I have tried to find benefit in
joining. I never found a good enough reason to be involved with NESDA. It
always seemed to reek of the good ole boy politics of my home state,
Louisiana, also the home of Mr. McCall. Seems like my gut feeling may have
been correct.
I run a service shop for a single store retailer that specializes in custom
installation and mostly mid to high end audio, video, and home automation.
The way that they compete with the big "whorehouses" is to offer a level of
service and integration that the big guys with there $8/hour employees
cannot. We try to do the same in the service department and a lot of our
work is crossing over with the installation department. In fact, I have a
tech that I am cross-training as an installer specifically for this reason.
We have to be able to solve problems that go beyond fixing the set and the
installers need more technical capability.
The IBMs and others will learn what Optoma (they contracted with Decision
One for all of their service initially and now are scrambling to set up
independents) and others have, that an IT/board swapping operation is
inefficient and in many ways ineffective. They will end up exchanging too
many sets and the cost of service will be too high to sustain the lowball
prices on the sales end. Samsung is learning this now with their DLP and
PDP systems. If they don't maintain more effective service networks they
will end up losing sales in the end.
There will always be a place for the independent, just don't expect the
gravy like the past and know that we will have to become better and more
efficient at what we do to survive. The fact is, many are not very good at
learning new things nor at the kind of integrated customer service that the
independent servicer will have to be doing in the future. But then, as the
old hands retire away, there are very few new techs coming along to do the
work who are skilled enough to survive in an independent shop.
The cream will rise...I still believe in the free market. Let IBM and NSA
do their thing. As for NESDA, I never needed it. It is a shame that it
never became what it should have, but that is partly due to the reluctance
of members to set the bar higher for themselves. In that respect McCall has
always been right, IIRC, he has always pushed for higher standards.
Leonard Caillouet
Electronics World
1261 NW 76 Blvd
Gainesville, FL 32606
352-332-5608
FAX 352-332-5668
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ty" <ty1k@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Techassist" <techassist@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2004 6:17 PM
Subject: [TechAssist] MEMBERS IN GENERAL! Another Nationwide Servicer???
NESDA top Brass involved???
> The big Hubbub at NESDA!
> This is an interesting thread which is developing on the NESDA Net.
> It pertains to all Independent Servicers.
> Another entity is being setup for "National Service" to cut us out of the
> picture?
> IS NESDA Involved?
> To see it, go to this address:
> http://www.tech-assist.org/NESDA.pdf
>
> I will update it as things develop.
>
> Ty
>
> Tiberius Kraemer
> BLUE STAR ELECTRONICS
> 3312 Silverton Rd. NE
> Salem, Oregon
> Phone: 503 391 1491
> Mailto:ty1k@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
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