The repair and maintenance service industry in India is estimated to be worth Rs 1 billion. Of this, repair and maintenance related to home appliances like televisions, air conditioners, refrigerators and kitchen appliances like mixer-grinder, microwave form a large proportion of the market. The announcement of lockdown has come with a set of challenges for consumers as it has led to non-availability of many services including repair, installation of home appliances.
Appliances and consumer electronics makers like Panasonic and Godrej are helping customers make use of DIY (Do-It-Yourself) videos or remote assistance virtually to keep the products in shape on a real-time basis.
Panasonic has kept its customer centre open for customers to register their complaints which go directly to the branch office. The customer care executives are helping the people resolve their issues virtually as field service is not operational. If a customer is not registered, they can register themselves through the company’s contact centre.
Ravi Bhat, Service Head, Godrej Appliances said, "We have initiated ‘Remote Assist’ where we are providing 'Do It Yourself' videos or voice assistance in order to solve at least some of the simpler service requests from our customers. Customers can continue to reach us through our website, email and our mobile application (Godrej Smart Care) in case they have any query or need assistance.”
Appliance maker Samsung has also started an AI-assisted chat service where individuals can reach the company for any product related queries.
Electrical goods firm Havells is also leveraging digital communication techniques like WhatsApp to help customers register their complaints.
Havells product users can WhatsApp on 9711773333 and chat with the representative for service request registration. Customers can also visit the Havells Consumer Connect / My Lloyd App or SMS by sharing pincode and the service required on 9212110303 for service request registration.
To solve standard service requests from customers, Havells is providing ‘Do It Yourself’ tutorial videos and step by step illustrations for various products like AC cleaning, water purifier tank, filter cleaning and mixer grinder etc. for basic troubleshooting.
Saurabh Goel, President, Havells India said, “To ensure that our customers stay safe and secure, we are offering various services and guidance digitally. We have trained our field engineers to provide solutions to our customer needs through various virtual tools including video call assisted self-service. Based on our philosophy of ‘making a difference’, Havells continues with its rigorous efforts to ensure trouble free livelihood of our customers.”
247around is a home appliance servicing partner for leading brands which is offering free video assistance for its customers during the current lockdown situation.
With the company’s employees working from home, it allows customers to seamlessly book appointments via a national helpline number – 9555000247. The platform is using WhatsApp and Google meeting integration on 247around proprietary software.
Nitin Malhotra, CEO and Co-Founder, 247around, said, “Industry receives 25 million electronic products for repair every 30 days. This is the quantum of people who are suffering. We are happy that we are able to delight the customers via our free video helpline. Most popular appliance complaints we are solving online are gas-burners, water purifiers, ACs, washing machines and dishwashers. Success ratio of video repair is 25-30%."