Looking to Upgrade Your Tech? Google Can Help
Small business owners now have a new way to educate themselves before upgrading to a new business phone or tablet. Piggybacking on
Google Hangouts, Google now has a live (and free!) video chat support service with Google experts that allows would-be buyers to get the rundown on new products that serve as candidates for upgrading their businesses’ mobile tech.
This Google video support service affords you the opportunity to investigate new product features that may aid your business before you pull the purchasing trigger, and you can receive explanations on-demand from a human being instead of a press release or manual. It’s essentially a person-to-person, live and interactive “buyer’s guide.” The support service was rolled out in test/beta form a couple months ago but is just now receiving publicity.
So, How Does It Work and How Do You Access It?
Google’s video support service is currently being run as a public test through the Devices channel of Google Play between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time. The option to place a video call to one of Google’s experts is a little hidden in the options menu, but is actually quite easy to access and launch. Here’s the process:
- Navigate to the online portal for Google Play.
- Find the “Devices” category at the bottom of the left navigation bar of the Google Play homepage. Click on the category.
- Click the “Help” icon at the top right of the page that opens. This icon looks like a black chat message bubble with a question mark inside.
- Find the Help submenu that opens up on the left side of the page. You’ll see a “Contact Us” header in gray and all caps on the right side of this menu.
- Click on the “Video Call” option. There you have it! You should be hooked up with a Google expert in short order.
Don’t be intimidated. The service isn’t for use only by people that are looking to immediately make a purchase that day. This service can instead be used to gather information ahead of time and/or simply satisfy your curiosity regarding a Google product.
Google’s Long-Term Plan
The new Google video support service is already understandably catching comparisons to Amazon’s Mayday service, albeit the former doesn’t yet offer technical support for already purchased products that may go on the fritz. However, it’s conceivable that Google’s service will evolve to include this purpose in the near future.
Additionally, a source confided to
TechCrunch that the goal was to establish virtual help desks within retail stores… a “virtual Genius bar,” a reference to the highly successful Genius Bar physical help desk set-up that Apple popularized within their own stores. However, no timetable has been provided for the establishment of such Google virtual help desks within retail stores.
Wait, How Many Free Web Services Does Google Offer?
Quite a number, and many are useful for small businesses. Enough, in fact, that we figure a separate article detailing them all is in order. Check back with
#TechTuesdays next week and we’ll give you the rundown on all the web services Google offers that may make a difference in your day-to-day workflow.
