back to article UK tech retailers are rubbish

Staff at UK electrical retailers such as Currys and Comet know nothing about the products they're selling – unless you're after an extended warranty of course. This revelation comes not from usual source of the bleeding obvious WikiLeaks but from consumer organisation Which? It made 154 visits to shops including Currys, Comet …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yep...

    I started going into shops last year asking about Freeview HD and when it would be built into new TVs. I was repeatedly told by incredulous staff that I meant FreesatHD. Sony, Dixons/Curries a couple of indipendants and even Ritcher Sounds. It got to the point that each sales guy in each shop was so convinced that I was wrong that I started to question myself.

  2. whattsamattayou
    FAIL

    old news

    I went to dixons to buy a displayport to hdmi adapter for my laptop. They tried to sell me as solutions in no particular order, a usb cable (as thats probably what I meant), a hdmi cable (as the port is nearly the same size its probably what you need), a DVI to hdmi adapter (as DVI is the latest tech and displayport is an older tech I guess), a HDMI right angle adapter, etc

    Even though I spelled it out for them they had not a notion....not a notion...i explained and they insisted i was wrong...even involved other staff...I left in the end

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Yep

    I've had to walk out and buy elsewhere several times because of their warranty upsell. To the point that I now don't really bother ever going there anymore.

    1. Tony Humphreys
      Thumb Up

      Warranty - great!

      No, no, no. Always haggle down as far as you can, then say cheaper on the net. When they wont match say that you were thinking about the warranty, and cant get that online. The price will come down much more if you buy the warranty.

      The best bit is that by law you can cancel the warranty within 60 (I think) days, and receive a full refund for it. So you get the tat for a lot less, and no warranty.

      Its just a haggling toy - and if you play it too then you can beat them at their own game.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @Tony Humphries - funny story

        Not overly relevant but I was in Comet couple of years ago buying some Christmas stuff and when I gave them the old "cheaper on the net" spiel they just tried to argue -

        -can't trust no-name stores

        -warranty useless and invalid

        -no face to face staff if there is a problem

        -not easy to get a warranty honoured

        -hidden costs not visible till you buy

        and so on. Basically they were telling me whoever I was looking at on the net must be lying, stealing scumbags who would rip me off and laugh at my misfortune. So I showed them the on-line price showed on comet.co.uk and after a brief stunned silence they shrugged and offered me the web prices.

        Remember, a reduced purchase price to whoever you are speaking to may mean a reduced profit for them, but it is still profit. No matter how much you pay elsewhere it still means zero profit / turnover for the store you are in.

        1. DPWDC

          Warranty

          I once bought a desk fan for £19.99 from Comet (I was in a rush) - they tried to sell me 12 months of "like for like" replacement warranty for £20... I pointed out that I'd save 1p if I had to buy another one... It was lost on them.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Paris Hilton

            Last time I bought from DSG...

            A new Iron.

            £20. Extended warranty, Sir? £30. Seriously.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @AC:Warranty Upsell

      Shame you walked out as you missed Warranty Upsell 2.0 - unnecessarily expensive cables.

      "No but sir, this GBP 100 HDMI cable will give you so much better picture and sound than the GBP 20 one you're considering"

      I can't believe that the likes of What Hi-Fi came into the digital era stating that the GBP 150 optical cable gives richer/better sound etc than the GBP 40 one. That may have worked in the analog era but no more my friend. Once you get past cheap tat that's pretty much it.

    3. John Bailey
      Thumb Up

      Been there..

      I got offered an extended warranty on a pair of £17 ear buds the last time I went to Richer sounds. Even the sales guy was embarrassed. A pity.. They used to be good.

      Now I buy all my consumer electronics online.

      No trudging to the shop, no hard sell, no risk of the damn thing being out of stock, and requiring a second visit.

      Dixons group.. Give me strength.. I've seen cabbages with more technical knowledge.

      A friend told me last week that he was sold an external USB DVD drive and assured that it would work for recording TV programs.

  4. TeeCee Gold badge
    Stop

    Surprise me.

    "...and were recommended a DVD recorder rather than a cheaper personal video recorder."

    Tell 'em to wait until there's a promo push on PVRs and go back. They'll be able to specifically ask for a DVD recorder and get pushed a PVR on some pretext* then. They're sales droids these lads and they'll sell whatever's got the commission rates jacked up this week.

    Which's mystery shoppers should thank their lucky stars that they didn't end up leaving with a bloody washing machine......

    *Carefully adjusting the picture to its best on all the stuff you wanted to sell and randomly twiddling the knobs on all the others was a favourite trick back in the day. SCART connecting the stuff on promo and relegating the rest to coax via the tuners was another.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I think they still do that to an extent.

      Some tellies on composite, some on component (which is split and probably about a mile long by the time it gets to the telly) and some on HDMI.

      That's why when I bought a telly, I checked it out at several retailers, then saved £100 by ordering it off amazon.

      1. JohnG

        Online/Mail order vs. high street

        "That's why when I bought a telly, I checked it out at several retailers, then saved £100 by ordering it off amazon."

        This is the crux of the problem - going to a retailer to see the product and then buying it online/mail order. We all do it but this is why the traditional stores that actually knew about the TVs and other electrical goods they sold (and even how to repair them) all went out of business over 20 years ago*. We are left with a bunch of box-shifters who employ the cheapest school leavers they can find, so as to be able to compete with the online stores.

        *For those too young to remember, before online shopping came along, people used to buy mail order stuff from adverts in magazines.

        1. Naughtyhorse

          given that this survey backs up all anecdotal evidence

          that the people working in these stores are..... eejuts.

          why do you people bother going to the store in the first place?

          If im going to order online, then i'll be sat at my computer anyway, so why not just get the dope from the horses mouth, i.e. Mfrs' website? it's what i have done for years.

          1. Zot

            But perhaps

            People go in the shops just to see what something actually looks like and if it's a TV then I think that's really important.

            I go in have look around then go home and buy it on the Net!

        2. John Bailey
          Stop

          Quite the oppsite in fact

          Actually.. The big box stores were the ones who killed off the specialist stores 20 years ago. Not the internet. Now the internet is killing the big box stores. And nothing of value is lost. And who is on the internet? The little guys the big box stores killed off.

          Online retailers are a joy to deal with. And the few times I have needed to return anything, it's been accepted and I get the refund as quickly as possible.

          Bug box = Expensive cab fairs, hassle of arguing with some kid who barely knows how to plug the appliance in, and tries to pass off a credit note, as "store policy".

          Once you get outside amazon, there are plenty of small specialist knowledgeable operations selling good quality stuff at reasonable prices. Many couldn't survive in bricks and mortar land, because they are just too specialized.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Different chain different country

        A local crowd of box pushers has competitive pricing for their stuff. To compensate they ONLY carry

        the $300 AUD hdmi cables. I bet they burnt a few people with that scam.

  5. Nigel Brown

    title?

    I recently bought a full HD tv from RIcher Sounds. While enquiring about the HDMI cable I needed I became aware of a similar conversation to my left, where the couple were told that nothing less than a £100-odd quid cable would do. The guy making my sale offered me a £20 cable with a grin and told me I wouldn't notice the difference between them.

    1. James Hughes 1

      Still ripped off.

      My HDMI leads cost £5 and work fine.

      1. Ian Stephenson
        Coat

        So were you.

        £2.99 from the online tat bazaar...

        1. Silver

          Re: So were you

          And you were too.

          http://www.amazon.co.uk/1-8M-HDMI-Cable-Gold-Connectors/dp/B0017RW94A/

          £1.34 :)

          1. Ian Stephenson
            Thumb Up

            @silver: yes

            I deserved that one.

            (And yes I upvoted your post)

            1. Silver
              Happy

              Re: @silver: yes

              Bless you Sir for your generosity :) Although I was half expecting someone to come along with a link to a 99p one!

              1. Peter2 Silver badge
                Joke

                Re: @silver: yes

                99P?! That's a ripoff for a SCART cable!

                http://www.dhwelectronics.com/To_Scart_Standard_017001400020/T113D_Black_15m_Multicore_Screened_Scart_Plug_to_Scart_Plug

                (70p inc VAT. Now beat THAT!)

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  70p!?

                  You need to ask for the 5 finger discount man.

              2. CmdrX3
                Pint

                Well not quite but...

                If you happen to live near one, you could save a few more pennies

                http://www.poundland.co.uk/product-range/a-z/signalex-hdmi-cable-for-home-entertainment/

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  If you really need a SCART cable

                  Drop round my place and I can give you a dustbin bag full of them.

              3. xenny
                Happy

                99p HDMI cable

                Here you go

                http://www.bargainspy.co.uk/node/312883

                99p from Wilko.

          2. Alan Lewis 1

            Even cheaper here

            Ahem - and you

            http://www.amazon.co.uk/1-8M-HDMI-Cable-Gold-Connectors/dp/B0017RW94A/

            Price: £0.37

            And 534 reviews that say much the same thing

            "There's absolutely no difference in quality between this, extremely well priced one, and the over priced ones that the oh-so-convincing sales reps might convince you that you need."

            "I've compared them with a friends M*nster brand cable and THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE IN PICTURE QUALITY!!! "

      2. corrodedmonkee

        boo

        Aye, I've yet to see a need to have anything other than a £5 HDMI cable to do that entire metre.

        When I bought my AV amp from Richer Sounds I noticed an £111 HDMI cable. More money than sense, I suspect.

    2. Adam 10
      Thumb Up

      Ah, Richer Sounds

      This is the same Richer Sounds who used to proudly proclaim that they would never sell TVs, midi systems, portable audio or washing machines.

      The same Richer Sounds who now sell all the above apart from washing machines... then went and acquired Empire Direct, the now-defunct online seller of washing machines.

      Lol.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Yes

        The same Richer Sounds that used to pride itself on sales staff that knew something ... and where I over heard one such "knowledgeable" employee telling a potential buyer that one set of speakers was more powerful than another.

        Oh for the days when that original London Bridge shop was a treasure trove of *real* hifi odds and ends.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Not just Richer Sounds

      Comet are especially evil in this regard. They carry Monster cables - and we all know what good value for money they aren't - and bully customers into buying them with a TV. My parents got scammed for £60 for component cables (and were told this was a special offer because they were buying a table) - when both their DVD player and TV had HDMI.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    it's not their fault bless 'em

    many of these staff live on the breadline.

    Let's take the case of a typical sales clerk named Dave:

    Dave has to live in a squalid bedsit with a communal toilet 3 floors above. At 3am every night his drunken neighbour, Mr Scumbag, comes home and tries to open Dave's door by mistake. One night Dave forgot to lock his door and woke up with Mr Scumbag's balls right on his face. Mr Scumbag had also eaten Dave's cereal, which meant that he now had nothing to eat for the following week.

    Having eaten several candles to stave off hunger, Dave is now freezing to death, as his single glazed window has never been able to close. The local kids throw dog turd in through it.

    Dave has nothing to do at night except stare vacantly at the jug he has resorted to pissing into, given that the communal toilet was "out of order", thanks the landlord, who on a drunken bender decided to smash it with a golf club.

    Luckily the golf club was left at the scene of the crime but unluckily Dave's teeth are not strong enough to eat it.

    Sometime later an angry shopper kicks Dave to death.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Eh?

      Just because you made something up, doesn't make it true. I know quite a few people who work in sales and while none of them are exactly coining it in, they're not living in squalor.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "they're not living in squalor."

        ...yet.

    2. Chaosechoz
      Grenade

      @Anonymous Coward "it's not their fault bless 'em"

      YAY!

      Someone else who shares my insider knowledge the exact sort of morons Tandy's, (for those of you old enough to remember them), Dixon's, Curries and PC world employ to save a few pennies for the share holders...

      I was once gang raped into buying a P.O.S 28" HD (apparently!) Gaming Monitor from PC World. I went in to purchase a specific model that I spent 3 days researching every tiny detail of then when I arrived some sales droid basically forced me to purchase a lesser model. I took it home, smashed it to bits, put it back in its box and sealed it up.

      Took it back with the receipt and spoke to the bastards manager claiming and I quote "See that twat over there, he sold me this.." handed him the box then proceeded to say "I came in 2 hours ago wanting this model *hands over model number * and that 'sales' assistant you call him effectively forced me to purchase this model which.. well is smashed to crap"

      After about 45 mins of my unrelenting tirade of verbiage the Manager apologised offered me a complete refund, store credit and free delivery of any item I wanted :)

      Guess what the manager did next..... Took the lad out the back and while I was stood after making the exact purchase I originally came in for, he fired the lad and threw him out of the store.

      I love it when scum-bags that "think" they know more than me get what's coming to them!

      1. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

        Re: @Anonymous Coward "it's not their fault bless 'em"

        "Gang raped"?

        1. Annihilator
          FAIL

          Re: @Anonymous Coward "it's not their fault bless 'em"

          "Forced me to purchase"? Who's really got the lesser mind here?...

          1. Chaosechoz
            Go

            @ Annihilator....

            Ever tried to say no 11 times It gets boring after half an hour of the sales vermin saying "no seriously you want this model I got one myself on my staff discount and it is 'Well Wick'd' " ...

            So knowing what I know, which is far more superior than your average teenage wannabe sales mong. I did what I had to do, took the item, made some personal alterations to the product, I.E. Gave it a good kick in! then took the item in question back and got EXACTLY what I wanted in more ways than one.

            So OK, gang raped and "forced me to purchase" are a bit excessive but I am a extremist and proud of it!!!. Don't like it? Well tough cherry dipped shit cakes to you!

            I know what I like and if I don't like something / someone ill do my damnedest to make them or it look like the worthless servile piece of left over excrement they / it truly is!

            1. Annihilator
              FAIL

              re: @ Annihilator....

              "Ever tried to say no 11 times It gets boring after half an hour of the sales vermin saying "no seriously you want this model I got one myself on my staff discount and it is 'Well Wick'd' " ..."

              Never had the need. "Do you have this in stock?" "No, but here's an alternative.."

              Walk out the bloody door you fool. Or fantasize about how you got someone sacked for selling a product to an idiot - as someone else has commented, it never happened...

      2. PsychicMonkey
        FAIL

        I smell BS.

        if, and thats a big IF, your story is true, then it's the manager who should be fired. The salesman was doing his job, comvincing you to buy the product that made him and his employer more money. The fact you were too stupid to get what you wanted is your problem.

        But I call bullshit. it didn't happen at all.

    3. Thomas 4
      Thumb Up

      A stirring tale, sir.

      I can hear the violins playing even now.

  7. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Just like Tesco

    Try this. Go to your local supermarket, corner a shelf-stacker and start asking them about the calorific value of their chunky pickle, or whether "I can't believe it's not butter" is better than "Olive spread". You'll get just as poor quality advice from their untrained and disinterested staff as you will from the untrained and disinterested staff in any computer store.

    The big difference is that shoppers in computer stores generally know even less about the products they are prepared to hand over money for, than the untrained and disinterested employees. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

    Now, I appreciate that yer average ASDA doesn't advertise about how every checkout person has a PhD in nutrition or food science. But it's *advertising*, people - you really shouldn't expect facts, truth or fairness. They're after your money, for the least cost to themselves, surely that's not a surprise to anyone?

    The good thing about computer stores (and those ones that sell electronic toys) is that the staff know that they know bugger all about any of the products and will go to great lengths to avoid talking to or eye contact with, any potential customers. In that respect at least, they're helping us.

    1. BorkedAgain

      Not quite the same...

      I buy bread, cheese, pickle, margarine, milk etc on a fairly regular basis. So does pretty much everyone I know. It's not a major outlay (although the way things are going...) and it's something we all do all the time. Everyone pretty much knows their preferences by now and, beyond a little promotion-inspired brand disloyalty, you probably know what you're going to buy this week and how it'll taste.

      If (heaven help you) you're visiting Dixon's or Vomet or wherever to make a tech purchase, you're in a different position. You probably don't buy a new telly, PVR, laptop etc every week, and if you're Joe Public you probably don't know your GB from your Mb/s so you are going to be relying on helpful staff who have the faintest idea what they're about and are motivated to help you find the best solution for your needs, not the best sale for their commission.

      To put it another way, you're screwed.

      As someone else said, these stores should be treated as a place to check out the hardware in real-life before ordering it for a hefty discount online. And spread the good word to anyone non-techie you care about, to save them falling victim...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Eh?

      But the article was about shop floor salespeople, they're supposed to know a bit about the stuff they're selling so they can sell it. AFAIK supermarket shelf stackers are employed to stack shelves and tell you where the baked beans are, not sell stuff on commission.

    3. James Hughes 1

      Not the same

      Tesco's shelf stackers are not supposed to know about the products - they are not selling it, they are stacking it. The retail staff on the high street are salespeople - they are supposed to know about this stuff in order to sell it.

      And they don't.

    4. jason 7
      Happy

      I would like to be asked that as a stacker.

      Because then I'd know there was someone with a more boring and insufferable life than mine.

      1. Dr. Mouse

        RE: Just like Tesco

        Gotta agree.

        When I was in 6th form, I worked at the local Asda. We were always told to take a customer to the product if they asked where it was, rather than just point it out.

        One day on elderly gentleman asked me where he could find the Calgon. It was accross the other side of the store, so on the way, I enquired why he wanted a water softener when he lived in a soft water area. He had just seen the adverts, and wanted his washer to last longer.

        After a brief explanation, he agreed that he didn't need them, and carried on with his shopping.

        Later that day, my boss collared me. The gentleman in question had stopped him and praised my efforts, something which would normally have earned me a pat on the back. Instead it earned me a bollocking for stopping a customer spending money.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. Captain Scarlet Silver badge
          Thumb Down

          Customer Service

          Thats just wrong, the training stores provide like Sainsbury's clearly state you are there to help the customer not mislead them, your boss should have been made to sit through the cheesy 80's videos they have.

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