Curry's in the Retail Park: bad service. Options

[Rachel]

When I was looking at buying a new plasma I went to Currys on the retail park and was very frustrated with the service and lack of knowledge. I ended up going to Dixons who used to be opposite Camps in town and they were amazingly helpful and had oodles of knowledge on the products they sold. They bent over backwards to help me.

I know that they are also part of DSG but the difference in knowledge and customer service levels was immense. It's such a shame that they are no longer there.

Don't be tempted by Dixons online though! I bought a docking station from there a couple of months ago, twas £23 cheaper than the same model anywhere else & came as promised. 6 weeks later it wouldn't play music through the speakers so I contacted them...by phone (at my cost) as they don't have online customer services, despite being an online store! They told me they'd collect that day, which they did, & replace it as soon as they got the returned product. They then emailled me to inform me they'd given me a refund. I rang again, telling them I didn't want a refund, I wanted a replacement as it'd gone up in price. They couldn't stop the refund, so offered me a further refund of £35 so that I could pay the extra & for my calls, which they promised by BACS payment in 24 hours. I accepted & agreed to re-order once I'd had a full refund. It has taken me a further 6 weeks of calls to get my money, when actually the threat of Traiding Standards worked. I vow & declare to never knowingly purchase from DSG again.

[Richard Garvie]

For the record, DSG is Dixons, Curry's, PC World... any others?

The thing is, you have choice with those kind of shops. I would never willingly travel with First Group train companies or East Midlands Trains if there were alternative providers!!!

[Brad]

In which case you can use live chat. The technical people at Novatech are extremely savvy if you need information. I have bought all my computing stuff from them for years - and they now have a store in Reading if you prefer to collect.

I seond this, only online computer shop i use, they are brilliant.

[Brad]

woops

[Ben01635]

Hi All,

Just thought I'd chip in with my latest Curry's experience! - Went to the offending store yesterday evening with a wallet full of cash ready to exchange for a nice new shiny laptop. After waiting about 10 minutes to be seen, and not seeing anyone available to help I decided that pulling the USB alarm on one of the laptops would be a sure fired way to attract some attention! - Sure enough a young lad came over to inspect the alarm and I asked if anyone was available to help, he said he would go find someone (obviously he was not capable of helping me himself) - 5 minutes later he returns to turn the alarm off, and then begins checking the alarm connections to which I advise him that I set the alarm off to attract attention and I've still not been served after waiting 15 minutes - more apologies and he goes off to find someone who can help, quickly returning to advise that the guy serving at the till will be with me in a couple of minutes. A further 5 minutes passes and still I'm waiting, at which point I stopped another employee (who looked as if he was leaving for the day) and asked to speak to a manager, whilst explaining my annoyance the 'till' guy finally come over to serve me. - I explained to them both that the store had a reputation, so much so that a topic had been started on it on the Newbury Today Forum, which they both thought was highly amusing and couldn't wait to read it!!!
To top everything off, I finally spend 5 minutes with the assistant helping me choose a product (I had already pretty much decided on the one I wanted) and then when he went to check stock they had run out! - 30 minutes wasted for nothing.

The story does have an upside though..... I got home, logged on to the Dell web site and ordered a better spec laptop that will be delivered in a few days - Oh and I was able to use their live chat service to answer all the questions I had and they took about 30 seconds to assist me!

[Chesapeake]

The story does have an upside though..... I got home, logged on to the Dell web site and ordered a better spec laptop that will be delivered in a few days - Oh and I was able to use their live chat service to answer all the questions I had and they took about 30 seconds to assist me!

I can also recommend Dell Insurance policy. I bought a Dell laptop for my daughter and when it came apart a little (teenagers!) I rang Dell and they sent someone out very quickly and replaced the broken parts and fixed it. My daughter then had a problem with the keyboard and again they came out very quickly and replaced the offending parts. I must add that it broke not because it was sub-standard but because it was being used by a teenager!

Dell were very helpful and very quick to react to our problem. Brilliant...can highly recomment them. Good choice Ben01635

[GMR]

I can also recommend Dell Insurance policy. I bought a Dell laptop for my daughter and when it came apart a little (teenagers!) I rang Dell and they sent someone out very quickly and replaced the broken parts and fixed it. My daughter then had a problem with the keyboard and again they came out very quickly and replaced the offending parts. I must add that it broke not because it was sub-standard but because it was being used by a teenager!

Dell were very helpful and very quick to react to our problem. Brilliant...can highly recomment them. Good choice Ben01635

I agree, I also got insurance with my computer as well, and I had to use it.

[Darren]

Wouldn't touch Dell with a barge pole.

Pray it doesn't go wrong out of it's warranty period otherwise just throw it away.

Because of their market position, all the parts used are designed specifically for them and spares are 3 times the cost of normal parts.

On desktops, the motherboard fits using non-ATX standard grounding posts so you cannot replace the board unless it's with another Dell one. Internal PSU's are only available from Dell, again, at inflated prices.

Stick with laptops from Acer and HP (or Mac). FOr desktops, build your own - easier and cheaper than you think.

[Ben01635]

Wouldn't touch Dell with a barge pole.

Pray it doesn't go wrong out of it's warranty period otherwise just throw it away.

Because of their market position, all the parts used are designed specifically for them and spares are 3 times the cost of normal parts.

On desktops, the motherboard fits using non-ATX standard grounding posts so you cannot replace the board unless it's with another Dell one. Internal PSU's are only available from Dell, again, at inflated prices.

Stick with laptops from Acer and HP (or Mac). FOr desktops, build your own - easier and cheaper than you think.

Can't say I agree with this Darren - Maybe Dell 10 years ago but I have had many Dell's over the past few years and never had any problems with the product or the service. As an IT administrator, I have seen many HP laptops in recent years that suffer overheating problems, usually within 18 months from new where they try and stuff so much hardware in without considering ventilation. And honestly.... Acer? they make good budget laptops, but they are budget and the cheap flimsy plastics are hideous. Agree on building your own desktop though; always the most sensible option if not a little costly.

[GMR]

Wouldn't touch Dell with a barge pole.

Pray it doesn't go wrong out of it's warranty period otherwise just throw it away.

Because of their market position, all the parts used are designed specifically for them and spares are 3 times the cost of normal parts.

On desktops, the motherboard fits using non-ATX standard grounding posts so you cannot replace the board unless it's with another Dell one. Internal PSU's are only available from Dell, again, at inflated prices.

Stick with laptops from Acer and HP (or Mac). FOr desktops, build your own - easier and cheaper than you think.

If you didn't make your own what would you buy in the shops (model/make) and where?

[Biker1]

If you didn't make your own what would you buy in the shops (model/make) and where?

The internet can be a help or a hinderance when purchasing an item.

If you look at reviews for almost anything there will be good and bad.

Take the above - Dell are great / Dell are crap.

How do you make a choice?

[Iommi]

You tend to get what you pay for. The budget ranges are just that, no matter who you use. If I were to get a notebook, I'd make sure that I had at least 3 years accidental damage warranty (and save for a new one in the meantime). Notebooks are notoriously more fragile than PCs and harder to fix yourself.

Main thing is:

1. Periodically backup (copy) your data (photos, music emails, etc) somewhere else that is safe.
2. Make copies of the installation disks (most new computers have this option).
3. Be gentle to notebooks, especially when they are on.
4. Make sure you do not obscure the air vents when you are using it (like when sat up in bed for example).

Dell are OK, as are the others, but there is no guarantee that you will get a good 'un. Another thing: modern MACs are just a good/bad as PCs.

If I were buying, I'd be focused on a decent processor (an Intel i5 for instance) than who made the machine. Good processors tend to get fitted to better motherboards.

[Jayjay]

Can't say I agree with this Darren - Maybe Dell 10 years ago but I have had many Dell's over the past few years and never had any problems with the product or the service. As an IT administrator, I have seen many HP laptops in recent years that suffer overheating problems, usually within 18 months from new where they try and stuff so much hardware in without considering ventilation. And honestly.... Acer? they make good budget laptops, but they are budget and the cheap flimsy plastics are hideous. Agree on building your own desktop though; always the most sensible option if not a little costly.

Have had problems with Toshiba over heating as well. Purchased a notebook fan from Poundland which has solved the problem.