| By :
Martin Hofschroer
Dixons Retail will try to improve customer service and appear less geeky by launching a new department. The electronics retailer group, which owns Currys and PC World, will replace their Techguys brand with a new 'Knowhow' division that will attempt to improve customer service by being more approachable and accessible. Chief executive John Browett confessed that the time was right for such an overhaul because customer service levels in the electricals sector have been below par for a number of years. Director Katie Bickerstaffe said Techguys was being replaced next year because the department had a reputation for being geeky and prone to jargon. She said: "This will go much deeper and will present customers with a completely different experience. We wanted something that would appeal to everyone from the technologically savvy to my mum." Ms Bickerstaffe went onto say that there is no excuse for poor customer service in the electricals sector because many consumers are anxious of purchasing complex technology. While Bickerstaffe argued that the new initiative was not implemented in response to increased competition brought about by the arrival of American electricals firm Best Buy, it is understand Dixons Retail aims to emulate their success. Best Buy and Carphone Warehouse's joint venture The Geek Squad that claims to improve customer service by explaining gadgets and gizmos in plain and understandable language. Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror has reported that Dixons Retail's contact centres are guilty of providing poor customer service because they are preoccupied with reducing the time of consumer calls. The newspaper claims that workers rush customer telephone conversations because they have been warned to keep calls less than four minutes in length or they risk facing the sack. One employee, who asked not to be named, told the Mirror that an obsession with quick calls did not improve customer service and ultimately resulted in poor staff morale. They said: "This leads ultimately to a lack of service or care. The threat of the sack leads to rising stress levels, which raises sickness levels, causing more stress for the surviving advisers.'' The company responded by stating that they expected calls to average out at four minutes over a four-week period and that employees who did not meet targets were provided with performance improvement coaching. Dixons Retail is predicted to say that losses in the first half of this year were halved to around £9 million, according to thisismoney.co.uk.
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