Mila Inc. Reports 35 Percent Increase in Smart Home Installations During Lockdowns
Work- and school-from-home drove tenfold increase for on demand, remote technical support services
ZÜRICH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#consumerelectronics—Mila Inc., the European leader in on demand technical support, reported a 35 percent increase in smart home installations and a tenfold increase in remote tech support consultations for troubleshooting and installations year-to-year from March 2020 to March 2021. Mila serves customers in four European countries and the UK and saw an increase across their customer base of residential, small businesses, and enterprise customers supporting employees working from home. The company pivoted to ramp up its remote support services as lockdowns and shutdowns of their retail partners dragged on.
“Our base of over 10,000 Mila service technicians assisted customers with tasks including computer issues, wifi extensions, and home security installations,” says Chris Viatte, CEO and founder of Mila. “Our Mila Pros and Mila Friends are trained in strict COVID safety protocols, installations such as kitchen appliances and heating system installations where an onsite presence and a licensed electrician was required were also completed.”
As people complied with stay-at-home orders and work- and school-from-home became the norm, installations of new routers, printers, and wifi equipment for upgraded internet service grew as residential broadband was tested beyond normal performance capacity during lockdowns.
Installations of smart TVs, sound systems, home security systems, and other consumer electronic devices skyrocketed. Consumers realized they could safely enjoy watching a new theatrical release at home with large flat-screen TVs and powerful sound systems. And, many of them won’t be going back to crowded theaters once pandemic restrictions ease.
“Customers who experienced the convenience of remote support for the first time due to COVID concerns now realize it’s a quick and hassle-free way to resolve technical issues for their home or business,” Viatte continues. There was some concern that their customer ratings averaging 4.89 would fall, but that proved to be false.
“Our techs are usually onsite within the hour which kept our ratings high and our NPS scores consistently over 80,” Viatte concludes. “With our expanded base of retail and enterprise customers, we look forward to the continued growth of our home services as employers settle into the new hybrid work model which will require enhanced technology and ongoing tech support at employee’s homes.”
About Mila
Since 2016 in their home market of Switzerland, Mila has been delivering real-time, vetted, on-demand neighborhood tech support. Mila expanded into new markets and countries through a network of strong retail and enterprise partnerships, now offering services in Germany, Austria, France, and the UK. Mila was originally backed and owned by Swisscom. In 2020, CEO Chris Viatte acquired 100% of the shares backed by new investors including Alpana Ventures from Switzerland and Oriza Ventures from Silicon Valley, who both led the round, as well as Silicon Valley’s Plug and Play Ventures.
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