Pushy sales people.

hoyles10

Me and the wife have been out today looking for a couple of new laptops. We've been saving up for them but I won a few quid at the bookies so decided to go and see what sort of laptops we both wanted.

We had a look round a couple of shops and got some rough prices, on our way home we happened to be passing PC World so called in to see what they had in and if the slight possibility they were cheaper than the ones we'd seen. As soon as we walked in a salesman came over to us and asked if we needed any help to which we replied that we were just looking for now but if we needed any help we'd give him a shout.

We got to the section with the laptops and up pops the same salesman again and went straight into a pitch about some deal they have on for £40 per month and you get to change the laptop every 2 years. We said we weren't interested in that and told him again that if we needed him we'd ask for his help. He just continued trying to sell us this lease deal and following us about wittering on. 2 other sales assistants thought it was funny as we clearly weren't interested in what he had to say and decided to leave the shop.

I'm dreading going anywhere else now as I really don't want someone following me about trying to sell me something and not leaving me alone. Had the PC world bloke left us alone he might have stood a chance of getting a 2 laptop sale out of us but because he didn't shut up there's not a chance of us getting anything from there.

Mk14:37

You should thank your lucky stars OP, it could have been so much worse - you could have ended up buying a laptop from PC World!

The staff in PC World know next to nothing. Ask them a question about any model and watch them read the spec off the label in front of you. Even the Tech Guys aren't up to much.

There are some great threads here about buying laptops. Personally I was very happy with my experience with ebuyer (I am sitting typing on my Samsung R580 and have had absolutely no problems with it). You can also get some good cashback deals on Topcashback and Quidco - HP often go up to 8%.

DCFC79

The mistake was going to puck world, only people who buy form them are people who A dont have access to the internet or B people who have used them before and got good service or C theres people who through no fault of they're own they dont know what they want but buy anyway

paulsad

I used to while away the odd hour just listening in to salespersons "advising customers" at my local PCW...Quite entertaining the bull that was talked.
There is the odd decent one though.

vyle

Mk14:37 wrote: »

The staff in PC World know next to nothing. Ask them a question about any model and watch them read the spec off the label in front of you. Even the Tech Guys aren't up to much.

To be fair, laptop and pc model names are nigh on unintelligible at the best of times. Where I work there are about 30 latpop models on display and 10 different desktops, and I have to look at the ticket to remember how the DM3-1060SA/EA differs from the HP Pavilion DM3-2040EA.

Acer is even worse, where they'll have identical bodies and only the last 4 numbers of the model number are different. It doesn't help that the models change with greater frequency than TVs do, meaning that it's little more than a rote memory exercise to remember spec.

Hell, one of my colleagues got a 1:1 degree in computer science and is has just been commissioned to write a research paper on cloud computing (and has been given £6K worth of equipment to set up his own simulated cloud)... but apparently he knows nothing about computers because he has to reference the card to remember which one of the laptops uses an i3 or AMD equivalent, rather than an i5.

I don't work for PC world, but it annoys me when someone who may be good at their job is looked down upon simply for failing to have a perfect photographic memory.

Gavin83

I actually agree with the poster above. Although the salesperson should know a little about a few of the models on offer you can't expect them to know the specs of every machine off by heart. Product knowledge is of course important but there is a limit.

However, where the knowledge should lie is knowing what the different specs represent, how one PC would compare to another and what the customer requires based on their needs. If a customer asks what different a duel core or quad core processor on two different PC's means for their web browsing for example, the salesperson should know.

I actually worked in sales around 5 years ago now. I made sure I knew the specs of a couple of models religiously and then browsed other tickets as needbe, although I was extremely good at skimming the ticket without customers actually realising I was reading the ticket.

fozmcfc

My mate bought his last laptop in PC World, we didn't need anyone cause he knew roughly what he wanted and I'm computing savvy, having used them for 30 years, so I could answer his questions.

Anyway, he decided which one he wanted, then the woman started about extra cover, my mate politely refused, but she continued, he refused again a bit more firmly but still politely, she still continued and I knew what was coming lol. My mate blew his top and told her in no uncertain terms, either you shut up now or I'll go elsewhere. Finally she got the message and went and got the laptop.

To be fair to PC World, their prices have got better, they used to be totally uncompetitive when it came to computing, but they are not so bad now. Sometime their prices are just as cheap and sometimes the cheapest.

Sometimes it is worth paying a few quid extra for the conveience of getting your item instantly, such as blank discs etc...

LJM

i have to say we avoid pc world like the plague now as they are like flies as soon as your in the door they are on you

Esqui

Gavin83 wrote: »

II actually worked in sales around 5 years ago now. I made sure I knew the specs of a couple of models religiously and then browsed other tickets as needbe, although I was extremely good at skimming the ticket without customers actually realising I was reading the ticket.

Same here, I'll memorise the spec and location of a few key laptops, but the others I will have floating around vaguely and read off the specs to find out.

It's what you do with the information that matters.

barbiedoll

My gullible sister just bought a laptop in PC World. She intended to spend around £400, she ended up buying a £500 Dell! She was pleased that she got a "free" Norton package thrown in (next to useless) and "free" Microsoft Office (as opposed to totally free OpenOffice) but she did look a little sheepish when I told her that she should have told them to stick their freebies and that she wanted 3 years free warranty instead. I also told her to check her bank account like a hawk in case they start charging for any "free" insurance packages that she may have signed up for ...."I do remember signing something but I think it was a sales voucher or whatever"
Grrrrrrr.....:mad:

chuckley

One word: Commission.