OfficeMax expands ‘ctrlcenter’ tech services to home, in-store

Naperville, Ill. —OfficeMax has addressed a deficiency in a technology service offering launched earlier this year by adding the capability to service customers’ computers at home or in store.

Previously, the service branded as “ctrlcenter,” was a Web-based offering whereby customers either accessed a Web site or called a number to speak with a technician to diagnose and fix their problem.

At the time the service was launched, OfficeMax indicated that 90% of computer problems are capable of being solved remotely. However, with the recent change, the company now has a team of 2,500 technicians who are fully certified for leading computer brands such as HP, Compaq, Toshiba, and Sony, enabling both warranty and out-of-warranty repairs. The service is available at all of the company’s roughly 900 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico.

“Current economic conditions have consumers thinking twice before they invest in a new system and they are more focused than ever on keeping their current PC performing at an optimum level,” said Ryan Vero, evp and chief merchandising officer for OfficeMax. “Customers appreciate the quality of support that ctrlcenter’s Web-based platform offers so much so that they wanted to see it extended to at-home and in-store service options.”

By adding new layers of customer engagement to its existing service offering, OfficeMax has put itself on more of an equal footing with the likes of Best Buy’s Geek Squad and Staples’ EasyTech, both of which were in existence for several years before OfficeMax launched ctrlcenter. The in-store capability is seen as especially important since consumers who experience computer problems that render their machine inoperable want to be able to take it somewhere to have repairs performed quickly.

Staples discovered that after it launched a technology repair service in 2005. Initially, the service was offered in homes, offices and select stores. However, by January 2007, Staples amended the program and began offering in-store service at all of its U.S. locations.