Not for Free

4

Package Innovation

Electronics retailer Best Buy noticed in the late 1990s that returns were skyrocketing. When asked, customers often complained that an item didn’t work, but the real issue was often that the customer had installed the software incorrectly or had not connected peripheral devices properly. Customers just weren’t up to the task of operating the complex, feature-rich products that earn retailers the highest margins.

Seeing an opportunity to decrease expensive returns, Best Buy bought Geek Squad in 2002. Geek Squad was founded as the layman’s technical support desk. The firm was on call to help technology consumers with computer issues (software installation, virus cleaning, migration, network setup, and data backup) and help ...