Signature Service
Microsoft offers what they call Signature as a service. Essentially, Microsoft, not the PC vendor, decides what is loaded on your PC. No crapware, just clean Windows 7 and Security Essentials. Here is how they describe it:
New PCs may come filled with lots of trialware and sample software that slows your computer down and makes it a pain to clean out all that stuff, just to get your new PC up and running, so we do that for you! Every PC the Microsoft Store sells is put on a software diet and performance is tuned to run the best it can. We call this process Signature.
They also make sure that the PC is configured before you leave the store. They set everything up for you, including user ID’s, Office, Windows Live, etc. You are good to go when you leave the store with a fully configured PC optimized by Microsoft. And each purchase comes with 90 days of support. For an extra $50, you can get access to indivualized training in the store as well as a one year subscription to Lojack for Laptops, a PC theft recovery/remote wipe service, and one year of support. Nice!
Here is how Microsoft describes the basic Signature benefits:
Performance you’ll love.
Each PC we sell is configured by Microsoft engineers to operate at each model’s peak performance level. From start-up to shut down or waking the computer from sleep, you’ll notice the performance advantage!
Just the software you need.
Each PC includes Windows 7, Windows Live Essentials, Zune software, Internet Explorer with Bing optimization, and more—all ready to go, right from the moment you turn on your PC.
World-class security software.
Every PC comes with Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus software that is ready to go with no renewal fees!
Microsoft support.
You get phone support for virtually anything you need on your new PC for the first 90 days!
The Shopping Experience
The first time that I shopped at the Oak Brook location, I really enjoyed walking around and seeing the machines on display. They had two Surface units on demonstration, something that my daughter and wife thought was fun. And of course the full-blown XBOX display with Kinect and a large screen TV that you could demo was a real draw. However, all the great PC’s on the floor are not worth much with the typical Big Box level of technical understanding. The employees on the floor know the PC’s on offer and know them well. I tried to stump them on the ExoPC unit, and they knew their stuff. They were also very helpful and did not use pressure tactics to push a sale. In fact, I’d describe their approach as helpful, zero-pressure product assistance. And you are free to actually put your hands on the PC yourself and test drive it to your heart’s content. The stores are decorated in a way that reminded me of a home, compared to the clinical white everywhere in an Apple store. This is a store that I could easily spend hours in.
Buying a PC
When the ASUS EP 121 came available in the Oak Brook store, I took a trip up to check it out and to compare to the iPad2. When I got to the store, there were four EP 121’s on the floor that we could play with. My coworker and I each put one through its paces. While we were demoing the units, one of the store employees checked in on us. He answered all of our questions, was very helpful and really did assist us in making the decision. We both decided to buy that day, and that’s when the store staff really stepped in. They took down the user ID’s and passwords that we wanted to use, determined which Office suite we wanted to buy (Office Home and Student since we didn’t need Outlook, Access or Publisher) and got to work setting up the tablets for us. We went over to the Apple Store to look at the iPad2 for about an hour. When we returned, we had fully configured tablets ready to use with no further setup required! Nice!
In-Store Services
One area where Apple stores really shine is their in-store support. I’m happy to say that Microsoft stores offer as good support in the store and that service includes available personal one-on-one training in the use of your product. I have been thrilled with the in-store service that I’ve received at Apple stores in the past. Microsoft does as good a job as Apple, a high compliment.
Effective Selling Platform for a Software Company
Microsoft has historically been a bit disconnected from the end user of Windows computers, relying on their relationships with PC vendors to deliver the product to end users. That puts them at a disadvantage relative to someone like Apple, who has direct access to the ultimate customer and can quickly tailor products and services to meet demand much more flexibly. Microsoft stores now give them both better connections to their ultimate customers and leverage with PC vendors to step up their game. I hope that the lessons that Microsoft learns from having these stores can be transferred to their hardware partners to improve the experience for all PC buyers.
Another benefit to having the store is being able to have more control over how Microsoft technologies are introduced to customers. One example is the XBOX Kinect and my family. I am the gamer in the family and have two PlayStation 3’s and a Wii. While I liked the Kinect technology, I did not want to buy yet another gaming platform, and my wife agreed. However, the last time we were at the Oak Brook store, my daughter played Kinect for about an hour and a half and showed my wife. As we walked out of the store, my wife was talking about buying an XBOX and Kinect. Without that demonstration area, it is doubtful that she would have had any interest in the product at all. There is great benefit to being able to control how the ultimate customer learns about your products!
Microsoft Store Microsoft Signature Signature Premium
