by Tri County Furniture Service, powered by Service Technologies, is launching a first-of-its-kind virtual platform that will allow customers to use video technology to diagnose and repair issues with home furnishings products without the need to send out a technician.
The furniture industry has been notorious for lagging behind in terms of adopting new technology, but Covid — and the resulting increase of the home technological evolution as more people work from home — has changed the way nearly everyone does business, purchases new products, and even views how services are delivered, according to Service Technologies Owner Bryan Lysaght.
Because of this, consumers are more accepting of video technology, and that’s where the company saw an opportunity to both increase customer satisfaction with retailers and save manufacturers time and money.
The Virtual Tech platform will allow customers to schedule a virtual visit at their convenience and virtually interact with a representative at Tri County Furniture Service to diagnose a problem efficiently and determine what’s needed to resolve the issue, if the item should be covered under the warranty, and if the item can be repaired during the virtual visit.
First, the consumer will contact the retailer or manufacturer about the service issue, and a rep will determine if a virtual visit is needed after troubleshooting, seeing what the damage is and if it’s covered, and verifying if parts or a tech visit is needed.
The rep will send a link to the customer to start a virtual visit via text message. Through the video call, the rep will view damages with the customer and, when needed and if qualified, will troubleshoot to resolve the issue.
If troubleshooting works, the claim is then closed. But if the issue is not resolved, then depending on the results the rep determines the best course of action, the rep will either send the tech to repair damages, order or locate parts to repair the issue before sending a tech, or help in determining if the piece should be covered and repaired with sending a detailed report back to the vendor
“We’ll be able to process more calls than a furniture company typically would by handling it over the phone,” Lysaght explains. “Traditional turnaround time is usually 7-10 days, and an in-person inspection can take up to 30 days depending on the demographic of the customer’s location. But with the virtual platform, service visits could occur in as quickly as 30 minutes depending on the consumer’s availability.”
Tri County Furniture Service has 22 parts that it can supply itself, and these are the most commonly needed parts—from adapters to plugs, handles, springs, connectors, etc. They also have motors for motion furniture coming on their next shipment and plan to add over 40 new parts to their arsenal. “Discounted pricing options are provided to our partners” says Lysaght.
“This service would cost our vendors about half the cost of a normal in-person inspection visit while doing more than twice the amount of services in a single day,” Lysaght says. “It’s going to save so much time and money for everyone. Customers can call us directly as well. We can send them a link and figure out what’s needed and auto charge them right there for the service and part and get it fixed. “
Over the past few months, Tri County Furniture Service has been testing the technology with its partners and fixing bugs, and the virtual tech on demand will go live in December 2021.
For more information, visit tricountyfurnitureservice.com
