Microsoft "gurus" will help you choose Vista in retail stores

Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:35AM EDT

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Somehow I missed this one a few days ago, but colleague Gina Hughes gave me the heads up last night: As part of its $300 million marketing campaign to promote Windows Vista, the company is planning to deploy customer service reps into major retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City, where they can "help people with their PC purchases." (Hey, they can't spend all that money on Jerry Seinfeld alone!)

The company says it will have 155 so-called "gurus" in stores by the end of the year. What will gurus do? "Answering questions" and "giving demos" is all that this MSNBC story mentions... but one has to imagine the truth is going to involve a little bit of the old hard sell.

In explaining the move, Microsoft says that it's "borrowing a page from Nordstrom with that retail customer experience," and at least one observer is comparing the program to Apple's retail "geniuses." The analogy isn't quite perfect, though: Both Nordstrom and Apple customer service reps work for the stores in which they are stationed, while Microsoft will be positioning its own reps in stores owned by someone else. That's significant, because those stores sell products from companies other than Microsoft, including (at least in the case of Best Buy) Macintosh computers. If I was Apple, I'd be less than thrilled at having a competitor stationed in a retail outlet to guide buyers away from my products and toward Vista... but I guess all's fair in love and business.

Other challenges are likely ahead, like how the "gurus" handle recommendations for products from different manufacturers. HP and Gateway computers will be side by side on the shelf, so what criteria does a "guru" working for Microsoft use to recommend one brand over another? Will they have hands on experience with every computer they promote? Just curious, that's all.

Microsoft says gurus won't be paid on commission but rather on the crunchier metrics of customer satisfaction and the "ability to translate the technology to a language consumers feel comfortable with." Why, I feel more comfortable already!

Comments on Microsoft "gurus" will help you choose Vista in retail stores

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  • 6 Posted by bella77427 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    It's about time "Microsoft" got up off it's butt to gain the public's confidence. I think "Apple" is doing just fine.

  • 7 Posted by jseyfield on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    Calling them "gurus" might not be the smartest thing considering Love Guru was one of the biggest bombs of the year. Bad association.

  • 8 Posted by dleyberg on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    I am one of those "guru's" you are talking about, but I handle the HP line of products in a Best Buy store. Have been doing it for over 4 years so I would say that Apple, Microsoft and others are copying our model. All I need is someone from Microsoft explaining something that people either want or don't and any convincing on their part will be for naught. My experience is that I get some push back but the customer does go ahead and buys a new PC with Vista installed. So like many of you, I wish they would spend the money on improving their product or use the money to reduce the cost of their product.

  • 9 Posted by linuxdad on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    This sounds like a last ditch effort to get anyone to possibly spend hard earned money on Vista. The poor gurus will have a very lonely time, their best bet is to reformat and load Ubuntu Linux. Poof done, a complete OS with Office, CD/DVD burning, Video Production, Educational Programs and Games, Firefox Browser, lots more, No anti-virus, No anti-spyware, quick, fast and clean. All for $0 (free - have to tell the MS gurus since they would not understand) Note: there are many, many distributions of Linux, all better than MS stuff!

  • 10 Posted by pcofmind1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    Promoting Windoze Vista? Like putting lipstick on a pig. There is no wonder in the fact Apple's market share keeps spiking upward, while PC sales languish or at best remain flat. Got a Macbook Pro over the summer (my first Apple computer) after 14 years of being PC power user. One word: Wow! There is indeed something to be said of that "Once you go Mac, you'll never go back" stuff. Conversely, I used Vista on one of my computers for a year -- appropriate user-experience comparison would be root canal.

  • 11 Posted by robertschmid on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    To me this is a big joke. I received a free Vista upgrade when I bought this computer and followed the exact download instructions and it still screwed up. NOW they want $140.00 to straighten it out!

  • 12 Posted by lordbarton7 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 6:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    What a complete waste of time, money, and resources. Nobody wants Vista. It's complete trash. Microsoft seems to keep making bad decisions. Stop kicking this dead dog....Vista. Let it go...., really, Microsoft.... it'll be ok. Just make sure the next POS OS is better. AND WORKS. This "feeble" attempt ($300 mil) is just a waste of time, like buying Vista.

  • 13 Posted by shadowman_26 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    #3, why don't you try blaming your printer and scanner makers. They are the ones that write the drivers for their products. Microsoft had nothing to do with that. Why do people always blame Microsoft when something doesn't work?

  • 14 Posted by robeko1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    #13, the printers and scanners came first. When those were built there was no Vista to write their drivers for, that's why...

  • 15 Posted by mdb92888 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:14PM EDT Report Abuse

    So the makers of you printer needs to get off its a$$ and write them the code is out there they just don't want to so you are force to go out and by a new one. That's their fault not Vistas.go chew out your printer maker.

  • 16 Posted by alexgannis on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have to say microsoft poor ads on vista isn't doing them justice If I was microsoft my ads would go like this, It time for you to get a new computer or upgrade that old baby move with the time upgrade to window vista.

  • 17 Posted by alexgannis on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:50PM EDT Report Abuse

    Post #10 your comment like "Putting lipsstick on a pig" is really stupid.

  • 18 Posted by herb90027 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    They have their salesmen in the stores...oops I mean "guru's" so they can better push Vista on an unknowing public. These guys are just hard sell, no different than your local used car salesmen. They should hang their heads in shame.......Just more flim flam artists selling crap that doesn't work....

  • 19 Posted by hlawlink on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    I laugh at people who keep saying Vista is crap that doesn't work. I upgraded to Vista early last year, and I can not stand XP at all. I gave XP a second chance, thinking my laptop would run and boot up faster, but that was all BS as it did not improve my performance whatsoever. As I am writing this now, I am again upgrading my XP restore back to Vista. I have not experienced problems with Vista that others have complained about...so maybe they should stop trying to run Vista on ancient hardware. I have used the MAC OS on my school's many iMac (they are not old, fairly recent ones actually), and I have to say that I hate the interface and it was a pain to find what I needed. So for all you Vista haters and Mac praisers, I suggest that you just shut up about your o so amazing MAC.

  • 20 Posted by mcdowell_clint on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think that microsoft should worry about correcting the problems with Vista before going out and trying to sell it to people. Sure the OS works, but it has its problems too, like shutting down unexpectingly and having to recover. I received a message from Microsoft saying to download their service package #1 to correct the problem. I did. It still shuts down for no reason. And now for some reason most of my icons on my desktop are alot larger than they use to be. I wonder if they have a program to correct that problem also. I beleive the next time I decide to purchase a computer it will be a Apple. No offence to MS, but please work out the major problems before placing it on the market, and if MS is going to put people in retail stores to let people know how great it is I'll be there also telling people about all the problems i've had with it.

  • 21 Posted by mattharris92 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hmm Microsoft "Gurus" this reminds me of Apple. They have somthing like that called Apple "Geniuses" And I do believe they have had them for quite some time.. Yet another Apple rip-off such a shame Microsoft.. With the Xbox your ripping off the wii with mii's and a new remote.. And youve ripped off Apple more times then I can count.. Tsk. Tsk...

  • 22 Posted by penny.donovan on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:06PM EDT Report Abuse

    Stop whining.....I've had no problems with my OS and really can't consider it a POS. Vista is fine.....you guys look for whining events!

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