Symbol's Repair Program Is Hassle For Some Partners

The Holtsville, N.Y.-based vendor's program, dubbed "Service from the Start" and announced in January, lets partners sell three-year coverage plans for accidental damage to its MC line of mobile computers and enterprise PDAs. Although the partner manages the service relationship with the customer, Symbol handles all repairs and promises a three-day turnaround.

Some partners said they prefer Service from the Start because they get service revenue upfront, ranging from $115 for the MC1000 line to $369 for the MC70 line, while others plan to continue to repair Symbol devices themselves.

"Symbol has been trying to strong-arm all its partners into buying [Service from the Start], but I won't do it because they can't handle the serviceand service is too important to my business," said one partner who requested anonymity.

Another partner added: "Symbol would love for all of us to be out of the third-party service business, and they threaten to end the partnership if you do any service. It puts you in a really difficult situation [with customers]."

When Symbol launched its PartnerSelect program in 2003 and centralized repairs, it agreed to give partners professional services business opportunities such as consulting, planning and integration to compensate for revenue they would lose from no longer being able to do repairs, said a Symbol spokesperson. Last year, Symbol launched a program to encourage partners to add their own value-added services on top of Symbol's repair services, he added.

Chic Holsinger, vice president of sales at Point-Of-Activity, a Richmond, Va., VAR, said partners' frustration stems from lingering resentment from Symbol's move to centralize repairs.

Partners that have complied with Symbol's repair policy said while they experienced some initial pain in transitioning away from incremental repair revenue, their customers are embracing Service From the Start.

"It was a challenge to change our business model, but [to compensate] we've stayed focused on software solutions, complex deals, and bundled services," said one partner, who estimates an attach rate of between 50 percent to 60 percent for Service from the Start.