I believe that every CI business that provides unbelievable service ” AND THEN SOME ” will be in for the long haul and the profits will be there.  It’s all about providing astounding service which reciprocates word of mouth referrals.  Without referrals I can understand the doom and gloom but we are all in control of our own destiny.  We tell our customers that they are welcome to go to BB or FS but what if they have a problem in 6 months, what are the chances of them receiving service from the guy who sold it to him .  Not likely!!  Personal service is what we sell and if we do it extremely well we can have that customer AND HIS CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE, For all their future purchases and professional installations.  I find it hard to believe that Walmart will ever effect my business and in fact believe that if they get into better product selection it will open peoples eyes to what they can get and will help us all expand on installing some of this product and upselling to accessories, cables , etc. while in the Walmart customers home.  Let’s turn a negative into a positive and do what got us in this busines, helping people get awesome entertainment.  If someone else sells it, get the installation and do your magic from there.

I think you have to be aware of anything new that comes along, I will say also that in large city’s, million plus, you may have a few guys with talent looking for work, in small town USA below 400 thousand, its imposable to even find the type of qualified help from such a small employee pool to pull from, Where do you think they will find these type of people?
If Walmart intends to invest in training there new installers then I think you should look at this as a plus for your company, After they have weeded out the slackers and job hopper’s THE GUYS with talent will realize there in the little league and will want to move up the food chain with there knowledge, where do you go with Walmart, all the better for us. They will be looking at your company to grow there thurts for bigger and better installs and a better pay check.

This will last about as long as the BB new builder prewire division who left uncountable builders holding the bag. That’s were we fall back into what the real need for the CI guy really is. LONG TERM. EXPERTS IN THE TOTAL solution

The last thing I would like to say is, Do you really thing the WM shopper is your client? When shoppers are looking for a deal after beating there computers to death with price shopping then they come out to local stores to see if we will match or beat the lowest price around on a Westinghouse 32’’ lcd, and they tell you they see no difference between that LCD for $299.99 then your $5000.00 Elite. Or I was only expecting to spend $299.99 on all of the equipment for my surround sound and that includes install right?
If your worried about this market group then maybe you will be effected, Lets not forget, Walmart also sells Caskets, do you think the funeral homes are worried?

keep your eyes on your over head & inventory] keep up to speed with latest equipment to wow your customers,
Everyone said the same thing a few years back about BB, we are still in the game and plan to stay in it for a long time.

Once again, I recommend to embrace the competition and use it to your advantage. Since I’m a custom dealer, (and gave up my showroom years ago to save on overhead expenses), in the rare event that a client actually wants to see a TV before they purchase it, I have no problem sending them to a big box store.

Use their showroom as your own, and let the client experience 1st hand the lack of quality and competence of their sales people. It’s no secret that the big box stores give nothing away… that’s how they grew in the 1st place.

However, we should also remember that due to the poor economy, many qualified installers & sales people have been laid off from their $80-$100K gigs without even having the opportunity to accept a major pay cut to keep their jobs. There was simply, “No more room at the Inn.” 

Thus, these very qualified people wind up in a Best Buy in order to put food on the table and receive health benefits for their family. Even with the extreme cuts in pay from what they were used to earning, they had no choice in lowering their ambitions or furthering their careers in order to keep their heads above water and survive.

I have personally witnessed this situation happen on more than one occasion. After speaking to these uprooted talented people, some actually find relief knowing that when they punch out at 5pm, they no longer have to take their work home with them. No longer do they have to worry about proposal or contract deadlines, or if Mr. Jones is going to refer him to his friends… Their day is over at the time clock.

It is important that we all remember and be aware that these very qualified people now lay dormant like a cancer which could possibly one day become a stage 4 inoperable disease with no cure.