PC World are useless - was Re: [Gllug] OT: microdirect.co.ukreliable?

[Luke Hopkins]

They may say they don't do discounts, but they do. When I was in Uni one
of the guys on my course worked in PC world. I went in to get a joystick
one weekend, choise of two both marked up at £29.99, we went to the
terminal, he showed me what he could do on each one. One for £20, one
for £15 (which I obviously took).

All their products except consumables are discoutable, but of course all
the staff on the floor work on commision (which is capped per day, so
end of the day in a busy store is the best time to go).

Luke


> -----Original Message-----
> From: gllug-bounces at gllug.org.uk 
> [mailto:gllug-bounces at gllug.org.uk] On Behalf Of Ian Norton
> Sent: 13 January 2005 14:54
> To: Greater London Linux Users Group
> Subject: OT: PC World are useless - was Re: [Gllug] OT: 
> microdirect.co.ukreliable?
> 
> 
> On Wed, Jan 12, 2005 at 10:30:24PM +0000, Christopher Hunter wrote:
> > On Wednesday 12 Jan 2005 17:55, Alistair Mann wrote: 
> > Neither are any good - Maplin are an overpriced joke, and 
> don't get me started 
> > on PC World!  ANY other computer shop (with the possible 
> exception of the one 
> > in Mortimer Street) would be better.
> 
> \begin{rant}
> 
> I have a rather fun PC world story, specifically, PC World in Norwich.
> 
> my fiance' urgently wanted a new laptop for uni (tired of 
> crap battery and lack of
> cd drive) so. we trundled off to pc world (she really 
> urgently needed a new
> machine as 99% of her uni communications are through email 
> and submissions are
> mostly electronic). so, with the suspicion of being ripped 
> off we went to pc
> world.
> 
> we had seen a toshiba A50 and A100 online , wanted to have a 
> play in the shop to see
> what they were like,
> 
> they didnt have the A100 yet, (it was far too new for pc 
> world and due to be a
> full 400 pounds more than from toshiba). so we had a look at an A50. 
> 
> nice screen, seemed fast, had all the right bits, little sign 
> next to it
> reported 3hr battery, the display model had no battery...
> 
> after waiting to attract sales driod for a while we 
> encountered the most
> idiotic asshole ever....
> 
> me:
> 	can you put a battery in this so we can tell how heavy 
> it is please? we are
> 	thinking of buying it.
> 
> idiot:
> 	sorry sir, i cant do that, they keep getting stolen.
> 
> me: 
> 	i won't steal it, we want to make sure it is 
> comfortable to carry and
> 	doesnt weigh a ton, you must have the battery that came 
> with it out the
> 	back.
> 
> idiot:
> 	im afraid these do not have batteries, they are display models.
> 
> 
> my fiance and I had a little talk, we both decided that this 
> was staffed by the
> worst kind of idiot ever and that we would get a better deal 
> elsewhere, but we
> really urgently needed the laptop, we would have to get 
> ripped off and not fail
> the course due to laptop crashing/overheating/etc when doing 
> a presentation.
> so, we decided to buy a bare bones A50 (or was it A60) and 
> buy extra ram and
> hard disk space for it on-line.
> 
> me:
> 	we would like to buy one of these ones please.
> 
> idiot:
> 	ok sir, ill just go to see if we have it in stock.
> 
> 10 mins pases
> 
> idiot:
> 	the computer says we have 5 in stock. lets come and 
> take your details.
> 
> 10 mins more..
> 
> idiot:
> 	ill just go and get your machine from the stock room.
> 
> 15 mins passes.
> idiot returns..
> 
> idiot:
> 	im afraid we don't have any in stock of that particular model.
> 
> me:
> 	but your computer just said 5, it says so there on the screen 
> 	(idiot left sales terminal logged in)
> 
> idiot:
> 	ah yes, those ones are reserved for business customers 
> im afraid,
> 
> me:
> 	right.. well, we urgently need a machine, do you have 
> another toshiba that
> 	is the same sort of price and has the same battery power?
> 
> idiot:
> 	<tap tap tap>
> 	yes, we have another A50, it has less RAM though and 
> only a cdrw not a
> 	combo cdwriter/dvd
> 
> me:
> 	well, ok, how much is that?
> 
> idiot:
> 	<tap>
> 	(50 pounds more than the one with more ram, bigger 
> drive and dvd/cdr)
> 
> me:
> 	how come it's more expensive, it is identical to the 
> other one but has less, you are asking 
> 	us to pay 50 pounds more for about 100 pounds less of stuff. 
> 
> idiot:
> 	its just they wat it is.
> 
> me:
> 	how about you sell it to us for the same price as the 
> one we wanted first?
> 
> idiot:
> 	i cant do that, 
> 
> me:
> 	why not.
> 
> idiot:
> 	why should I?
> 
> me:
> 	<stunned by rudeness for a second>
> 
> 
> we decided that we really needed a machine asap (for reasons 
> I wont go into),
> so, we gave in, 
> 
> me:
> 	ok, can we have one of those ones then, 
> 
> idiot:
> 	ok, how would you like to pay?
> 
> me:
> 	can you physically check to the stock room first?
> 
> idiot:
> 	but we have several in stock
> 
> me:
> 	humor us.
> 
> idiot goes off to check,
> 
> 5 mins passes..
> 
> idiot:
> 	yes, we have one, and its not reserved.
> 
> me:
> 	ok, fine, (feeling like im about to explode) 
> 
> we go off and pay, sign the card slip..
> 
> idiot returns..
> 
> idiot:
> 	im afraid there is a small problem..
> 
> me:
> 	really? what is it now?
> 
> idiot:
> 	this machine has been returned, its a second,
> 
> me:
> 	and you didnt realise this when you just checked?
> 
> idiot:
> 	<blank look>
> 
> me:
> 	ok, what is wrong with it? why was it returned and can 
> we have a discount?
> 
> idiot:
> 	er, i dont know, we dont do discounts.
> 
> me:
> 	i want my money back right now.
> 
> till droid:
> 	<runs off switch refund transaction>
> 
> resigned to failure in the face of idiocy, purchased newer 
> toshiba A100 via
> quick grovelling call to work and got it 100 quid cheaper than 
> advertised with next day delivery,
> 
> moral of story:-
> 
> Never buy anything from pc world, no matter how urgently 
> needed, or any shop
> hight street PC shop for that matter.. 
> 
> The only thing pc world (all the stored I have been in 
> anyway) are good for is 
> selling you over priced crap that they will try to tell you 
> isnt broken or that
> you used it wrong when you return it.
> 
> \end{rant}
> 
> Ian
> -- 
> /* www.darkspace.org.uk {
>  web development, application development, consultancy, firewalls 
>  */
> 

-- 
Gllug mailing list  -  Gllug at gllug.org.uk
http://lists.gllug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/gllug