Recently the company I work for (one of the big office supply chains in the US) set up a pretty little feedback form on our internal website to allow employees to make suggestions in hopes of building business and making the company more cost effective. One day I wrote a long piece running over a few ideas all at once, included within this long list of things was the question of why we didn't offer Linux on *any* of the computers we sold, be it in the store or on the website. It took them a little bit, but they got back to me. Here's my original submission:
This is the response I received back from them:
This response that quotes Best Buy (one of the worst retail stores I've stepped foot in, shy of perhaps Wal-mart) as a reason to support not selling Linux computer options is a response that needs to be squashed with facts and logic. I have started searching Google for news articles that provide useful information to support my desire to see my employer realize that Windows is not the only solution worthy of our customers, nor is it the best solution. I'd even be willing to concede that perhaps the retail locations might not be ready to sell Linux solutions to our customer base. This is certainly not due to a lack of quality of the Linux solutions, but instead due to a lack of education on the part of the average person. However, all that said, why are all the *server* computer options we sell Windows only? That's a market that has an established satisfaction rate in the Linux space... numerous corporate websites run off of Linux based servers.
Also, by their very own logic, we should not be selling netbooks at all, given the high return rate on all netbook products. A lot of consumers buy netbooks thinking they're getting a highly portable machine that can do everything a standard notebook can, and find out that if it's running Windows, they can barely web surf due to all the extra software needed to maintain and protect the netbook eating up the precious few resources the small machine has. It doesn't matter much anyways, as our return policy on netbooks and computers is very very restrictive. We only take back computers of any sort if they've still got their original factory seal, within a small window of time from the original purchase date. We'll *exchange* an open defective computer for one of the same model, also within the small return window. Everything past that requires the customer to go back to the manufacture unless the customer purchased the extended coverage option. I've had customers walk away from purchasing a laptop due to the restrictiveness of the return policy, so this further makes their above argument about the high return rate a little silly. We already frustrate our customer base with our return policy.
Anyone have any suggestions on what else I can tell my employer to at least make them consider offering some open source and Linux computers via special order or our website? Given the trends on pricing with Linux computers via other sources, like Dell where Windows kickbacks undercut the savings of not having to pay the Windows tax on the Linux machines, I don't believe we'll get too many stupid customers buying a Linux machine by accident unless it happens to end up on sale, and given my employer's reluctance to sell Linux machines to start with, I highly doubt they'll go on sale.
Why do we not carry any Linux/Open Source computers? Why do we ASSUME that windows is the best solution for all of our customers? Please look into offering more options to meet our customers' computer and technology needs. Linux is starting to be a serious competitor in the desktop, laptop and netbook space, and has long been a dominating presence in the service space. Why are we only offering Windows?
Also, consider the possibility for {our company's extended service plan} attachment on a Linux laptop. Our plans include accidental damage, a big concern for a laptop. There is not a manufactures warranty that will cover that, and Linux users are often left out in the cold for protection on their hardware because a lot of vendors will play the game of not being willing to help their customers simply because the customer installed an alternate OS. Even Dell, which is probably the biggest computer vendor that offers proper Linux support, will only include the accidental damage protection for the length of the extended *software* support that is not only way over priced, but includes all sorts of extras that someone primarily looking for *hardware* support and coverage will not need.
Also, consider the possibility for {our company's extended service plan} attachment on a Linux laptop. Our plans include accidental damage, a big concern for a laptop. There is not a manufactures warranty that will cover that, and Linux users are often left out in the cold for protection on their hardware because a lot of vendors will play the game of not being willing to help their customers simply because the customer installed an alternate OS. Even Dell, which is probably the biggest computer vendor that offers proper Linux support, will only include the accidental damage protection for the length of the extended *software* support that is not only way over priced, but includes all sorts of extras that someone primarily looking for *hardware* support and coverage will not need.
Thank you for submitting your idea about carrying Linux/Open Source computers. We have decided not to carry these products in our stores because of the high industry return rate. Even Best Buy discontinued selling these computers because of the returns. Shoppers who purchase these machines return them more often than other computers, and the high rate of return leads to dissatisfied customers and a decrease in revenue. However, we are constantly evaluating the products we carry as industry trends shift.
Also, by their very own logic, we should not be selling netbooks at all, given the high return rate on all netbook products. A lot of consumers buy netbooks thinking they're getting a highly portable machine that can do everything a standard notebook can, and find out that if it's running Windows, they can barely web surf due to all the extra software needed to maintain and protect the netbook eating up the precious few resources the small machine has. It doesn't matter much anyways, as our return policy on netbooks and computers is very very restrictive. We only take back computers of any sort if they've still got their original factory seal, within a small window of time from the original purchase date. We'll *exchange* an open defective computer for one of the same model, also within the small return window. Everything past that requires the customer to go back to the manufacture unless the customer purchased the extended coverage option. I've had customers walk away from purchasing a laptop due to the restrictiveness of the return policy, so this further makes their above argument about the high return rate a little silly. We already frustrate our customer base with our return policy.
Anyone have any suggestions on what else I can tell my employer to at least make them consider offering some open source and Linux computers via special order or our website? Given the trends on pricing with Linux computers via other sources, like Dell where Windows kickbacks undercut the savings of not having to pay the Windows tax on the Linux machines, I don't believe we'll get too many stupid customers buying a Linux machine by accident unless it happens to end up on sale, and given my employer's reluctance to sell Linux machines to start with, I highly doubt they'll go on sale.
) most people are just afraid or scared of new things or things they dont understand but after u give them a short intro and see how easy it is
Comment