"Shall We Also Check This Appliance?" Samsung Electronics Plus Care Service Usage Soars

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] COVID-19 has changed the atmosphere of after-sales service (AS) in the electronics industry. Consumers, who were reluctant to have outsiders visit in order to prevent face-to-face contact, have increasingly requested that home appliance repair engineers inspect not only the requested product but also other products at the same time.

According to the electronics industry on the 26th, the number of uses of Samsung Electronics Service's 'Plus Care Service' increased sixfold compared to the previous year. This service involves a home appliance repair technician visiting the customer's home to inspect the requested product and providing additional free inspections for other products. Originally started in 2018 to spread out the heavy air conditioner repair workload, which usually peaks in July and August, to the period from March to June, last year the service expanded its target products to include refrigerators, washing machines, and TVs in addition to air conditioners.

Last year, with the expansion of remote work due to COVID-19 and increased time spent indoors, the number of consumers staying at home increased, leading to a rise in AS needs for home appliances. However, due to the impact of COVID-19, consumers were reluctant to allow outsiders to visit, which appears to have changed consumer tendencies. Instead of inspecting only a specific product, pre-inspecting other products allows consumers to save on service fees and other costs while enhancing convenience. Samsung Electronics Service plans to further expand the target products this year to include dryers, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, and air purifiers.

LG Electronics is also conducting an 'active service' where, during home visits for product repairs, they first inquire whether there are any issues with other LG products and proceed with additional inspections. If the consumer agrees, they conduct joint inspections of those products and perform repairs within the scope of on-site response.

As consumer demand for simultaneous inspection and repair of various home appliances grows, the home appliance industry is focusing on training engineers capable of responding to this demand. According to Samsung Electronics Service, as of January, one out of every three engineers at the company has obtained a 'multi-qualification' allowing them to repair multiple types of home appliances.