Seagate to use distributor network for service support

New Delhi: Leading supplier of hard disc drives Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) will authorise its network of Seagate Premier Partners (SPPs) to accept warranty hard drives for exchange from consumers.

This makes its support network as widespread as the distribution network. Seagate is also announcing an enhancement of its service and support coverage by converting its existing 43 walk-in SeaCare Centers into support hubs for the geographical area that they cater to.

Together, both initiatives are designed to substantially reduce the turn-around time for users needing to check or replace Seagate HDDs (Hard Disc Drives). Seagate Premier Partners (SPPs) will now be able to accept warranty HDDs from their customers, giving them the option of multiple drop-off and pick-up points. Accel ICIM, Seagate''s service provider in India, is providing the pick-up-and-drop-off service from all qualified Seagate Premier Partners.

"This initiative by Seagate literally brings service to the doorstep," said Rajesh Khurana, Seagate country manager for India & SAARC. "The addition of the pick-up-and-drop-off facility to our SeaCare centers reinforces our commitment to channel partners, who will benefit from the enhanced relationship with their customers. As always, Seagate will continue to introduce innovative programs to enable its partners to offer not just the best products and technology to consumers, but to provide the best end-to-end customer experience as well."

Seagate customer-support initiatives include its 43-city SeaCare programme manned by trained staff, a SMS (Short Message Service) customer care offering, which guides users to the nearest service centres or gives the status of warranty, as well as mobile service vans catering to the trade hubs in New Delhi and Mumbai. Seagate is also the first hard drive company to provide a national toll-free call centre, which functions as a direct link to Seagate for any business or technical query related to the company''s products and services.

Seagate is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of hard disc drives, providing products for a wide-range of applications, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Branded Solutions. Seagate''s business model leverages technology leadership and world-class manufacturing to deliver industry-leading innovation and quality to its global customers, and to be the low cost producer in all markets in which it participates. The company is committed to providing award-winning products, customer support and reliability to meet the world''s growing demand for information storage.

Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Wave logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC. SeaCare is a trademark or registered trademark of Seagate Technology LLC. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Specified storage capacities reflect standard configurations exclusive of operating system or other software formatting.