The Changing Mediums

Hewlett-Packard and Arizona University announced this week they have developed a paper thin, flexible, unbreakable display made of OLEDs. Wrap it, fold it, wrinkle it - the image does not distort! Amazing new medium for the new age. I can't wait till I get my first "flexscreen"! It is just another way that the developing technology is showing that all mediums are changing, both in practice and in theory, both in hardware and in software.

The Audio-Visual Integration and Installation industry can be summarized, for the most part, into a handful of categories: (1) Education/Classroom Technology, (2) Corporate Conference Room/Boardroom Technology, (3) Videoconferencing/Telepresence, (4) Digital Signage and (5) Large Venue Technology. Most of these categories have been around for 20-some years or longer - the ability to audioconference, videoconference, show a movie, review a spreadsheet, present a powerpoint, etc.

Most of these systems have a computer as the main source and typically one or two additional sources: DVD player, VHS deck (yes, really, still), BluRay, Videoconferencing Codec, etc. But the one trend I am beginning to notice more and more is how long will these multiple sources last?

We already have numerous ways to stream or download films, videos, etc from the internet: iTunes, NetFlix, Blockbuster Online... and now Google is talking about launching a video-rental site. On top of that, anyone with a camcorder (not to mention high-end production houses) can post their videos to YouTube, LinkedIn, their company websites, etc.

How much longer will the current technology formats last? When will it all change to being web-based? TV, video rentals, corporate communications - they can all now be run over the internet. Polycom, recognizing that in the future they will sell more software than hardware, has already begun marketing (and successfully selling) their PC-based software for videoconferencing over IP.

All I'm saying is that it's only a matter of time until we won't need the VCR, the DVD player, the Blu-Ray player or the videoconferencing codec in our systems. We'll simply need a Room PC and a laptop hook-up... and even that may be going quickly due to wireless! Who knows, by 2020, it may be that a conference room strictly consists of a 100% transparent glass OLED overlay that hangs on the wall and immediately comes to life when wirelessly connected to someone's blackberry. And from there, you will be able to review the P&L for the 2nd quarter, review the proposal for the new client, teach and train the staff on the use of the new CRM database, and do it all while in a multipoint videoconference to Malaysia, Japan, Canada and Brazil. Pretty cool - and it's coming quick.

Whatever Happened to True Customer Service?

Over the past two years in the Pro AV World, I have noticed that major electronics manufacturers have begun a new trend and a new approach to giving their clients (resellers) service: providing service when it's convenient for the manufacturer. On far too many occasions recently, I have reached out to our manufacturers to set-up return authorizations for bad equipment and warranty repairs or for simply some technical answers about their product. And what, to my surprise, has become the new method of manufacturers supporting their resellers? "We're sorry, but due to a high volume of calls no one is available to take your call at this time. Please leave a message at the tone and someone will be in touch with you just as soon as possible. Thank you for choosing and have a great day."

Now, some manufacturers have had this process in play for quote some time and have made it fairly successful (Crestron). But these other manufacturers who did not always perform this way are not handling this approach correctly. Not only did I not receive phone calls back the same day, in most cases I did not receive any communication back at all! This is unprofessional and inexcusable.

One manufacturer waited 24 hours and then sent me an email (obviously taking the time to cross-reference my contact info in their database in order to get my email address). The email stated that they were, and I'm paraphrasing here, too busy for me.

One manufacturer's message actually said that they only way they will process a proper return is if we sent them a copy of the original invoice along with a written description of the problem via FAX. Are you kidding me? You're an electronics company and you only accept RA requests via FAX? Like I am going to trust that...

So what does all of this mean? Well, I am interpreting it as a problem industry-wide with having the proper staffing in the customer support departments of the manufacturers. It is also a problem with launching new products before they are completely tested and ready for the market in order to recover some research and development losses early.

But the effects reach farther than to just the resellers. They reach the end users. And who does this hurt? Everyone. The end user is angry because their product doesn't work when they need it to work. Nine times out of Ten, they're taking out that aggression on the reseller because that's who sold them the product. So, the reseller goes back to the manufacturer, but we're being hit with the circus-like process above, so the resolution takes much longer than is necessary and certainly longer than that of our clients' patience for waiting on a repair. If the process continues, then the reseller will look for another manufacturer. That is when the manufacturer will get hurt. It's just a shame that resellers in the AV industry bounce from one manufacturer to another all too frequently - so the manufacturer may never get the message.

Of course, the up side is that certain mega-manufacturers are taking a completely different approach - including extended service free of charge as incentives for customers, offering free advance replacements for any failures within the first year, second year or even the third year on the rare occasion without additional charge. These manufacturers are the Cities on the Hills, in my opinion, to the other manufacturers. This should be the end customer service goal for all electronics manufacturers. Of course, do you think it is a coincidence that these manufacturers also seem to be the ones with the product lines that have the fewest failures in the Pro AV world? Hmm...

Hopefully the trends started by the mega-manufacturers will have the effect needed among the smaller houses. Our customers need and expect their electronics to work. And when they don't work, they expect service turnaround as fast as possible. I'm not saying that we need to give them brand new equipment within 24 hours, but maybe the manufacturers should consider adding to their customer support and technical support staff so that repairs only take 1 week for the client (from time of reporting the problem to the problem resolution) instead of the average 2 weeks we're seeing with our manufacturers. There's your finish line and I so challenge you.