A unifying motif for a brand can be both powerful and fun. Geek Squad uses a campy retro-spy theme, reminiscent of “Get Smart.” Geek Squad reps are “double agents” saving the world one computer at a time. Folders for documents and CDs are “’Recently Declassified’ case files,” etc. etc. It works pretty well, mostly.
When Geek Squad installed a new router and set up a printer network for me recently, the service call documents referred to my computers as “Suspect No. 1” and “Suspect No. 2,” for example—on page 5 of the documents, no less. So this theme seems fairly well baked into their brand. Except when it turns out to be only half-baked.
I’ve had to call Geek Squad three times since the initial service call. Each time, I get recorded message that starts with a peppy voice saying: “If you have a Top Secret Passcode, enter it now!”
Hmm… what’s a Top Secret Passcode? Sounds like a special promotion offer. Not having one, I waded through the phone menu the first two times, finding nothing that really fits my situation. Eventually I was connected to a human being to whom I explained my situation and was asked for my order number.
On the third call, I tried something new. When prompted for my Top Secret Passcode I entered my Order Number and…it worked.
What would it take to add “aka your Order Number” to the peppy greeting? Or to create a lively “This is your Top Secret Passcode!” stamp above the Order Number in the customer’s documents?
No doubt the Order Number was created long before the spy theme and will live on long after the brand has moved to a new motif. But meanwhile, Geek Squad is mystifying consumers and creating more work for its call centers. The brand would be better served by nimble deftness, thinking through its customer’s experience, than by wielding a thick shtick.
