SAN FRANCISCO — Ron Johnson is looking to revolutionize customer service in the technology retail market. Onstage at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, he shared what he believes will be the secret to Enjoy’s success: People. And it’s these employees that he’s betting on to survive the company’s next test.
As Apple’s former retail chief, Johnson knows a thing or two about impressing consumers. This weekend, his team is challenging itself to deliver the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus smartphones to customers’ homes — in under four hours. Johnson boasted that Enjoy will be able to deliver the phones on Friday and be getting the devices set up while carriers are still struggling with availability issues.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1809031,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,","session":"A"}']Of course, the iPhone is a popular device for Enjoy, others include the Sonos music system, DJI Robotics drone, GoPros, and Boosted skateboards.
Founded in 2014, Enjoy is a concierge service that not only delivers technology products to you, but also provides an expert to help set everything up and make sure you are fully versed in the product’s use. For example, if you have a new GoPro, the expert will only leave after helping you capture your first video on the device. And it’s this interaction that Johnson believes will be the key differentiator as it expands to other markets.
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“From day one, our product from Enjoy was really a person. We decided from day 1 to invest in the person,” he told interviewer Anthony Ha.
In this on-demand age, one of the raging debates centers around the classification of “workers”: Are they 1099 contractors or should they be deemed employees? While companies like Sprig, Instacart, Luxe, Zirx, and others have been making adjustments to their hiring practices, Enjoy is one of the few to have given its staff employee status from the start. “Every one is an employee, has a salary, benefits, and stock options,” said Johnson. “It’s the best decision we have ever made.”
Johnson revealed that his Enjoy experts’ knowledge and the level of service they provide is having a positive impact on customers. To date, there have been “thousands” of visits with an average rating of “4.96 out of 5.00.”
Enjoy has a growing audience and Johnson shared that not only are young millennials using the service, but also mothers with young kids. Much of the appeal is the convenience factor, in that users will be able to get their tech products and training in the same day.
Enjoy has raised $80 million in venture capital from Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Highland Capital, and Oak Investment Partners.
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