GREAT 'WHAT SHOPS DON'T WANT US TO KNOW" HUNT

Scarlet_Fever

A word of warning

If you go in with a bad attitude, and are abusive/not polite towards the staff you are not likely to have a pleasant experience as how the customer behaves is a major factor in how much out of warranty the manager will fix it for free for. (i.e. be a !!!!!! and if you are 1 week out of warranty you are out of luck)


this is soooo true - i used to work in customer services, and you always feel more like helping people who are friendly, and who do not make you feel personally that its your fault....

i always start now, "i know its not your personal fault, but...."

Sarahsaver

Many shops don't tell you that they have things in the stock room, or have the ability to order stuff for you. I used to work in Boots as a teenager. I made many visits to the stock room because I took my customer service seriously;)

If you get the 'we've only got it if its out' - AAARGH! - i had this with woolies' school uniforms. So i pointed out to them that it would be impossible to run a store of that size with nothing in the stock room whouldn't it? The assistant couldnt cope with that and had to call a supervisor!

merdekaorang1125

Used to own a stationery store which closed after 13 months with the loss of many thousands. In order to get discounts from suppliers one had to 'promise' to buy x amount a year. But this meant that those with the larger turnover were offered a better discount rate. So much so that, on copier paper, for instance (thanks for the recent copier paper tip, by the way, Martin), I couldn't buy the stuff for the price that a rival 10 miles away was selling it at AND offering free delivery to the business opposite my shop. I wonder why we couldn't make it? Once had a dreadful run-in with a customer who complained - while showing me the invoice from said rival - that I was overcharging him by asking for twice the price he had paid recently to the others for the same stuff. Was not at all happy when I tried to explain about the (my), realities of stock-buying. And this was an a Saturday morning, late, and he was in need of this particular paper for a special project of some sort he wanted to get out by the Monday. Still got arsie, though! He never thought about the convenience of having a store on his doorstep, clearly. Who needs customers!!!

merdekaorang1125

lil_scrooge wrote:

Sainsbury's do this all the time. Every single week there is a price discrepancy on my bill, usually where they have failed to update special offers on thier pricing systems. It can be very frustrating having to queue up at customer services afterwards. Also always check your till receipts very carefully as sometimes they only partially reduce the price tricking you into thinking you have recieved the full discount!

Re till displays customer side. I agree - till displays are, I am sure having run my own store for a while, legally required to be visible to the customer. Ever buy a lottery ticket? Ever ask at the lottery till to have a ticket scanned for the result? How do you know whether the clerk is spoofing if you are told it didn't win? I know about the till tone changing for a winning ticket but half the time it's not audible in a busy store. So I always write my last name and postcode on the back and tear it up if it's said to be a loser, given the chance. Another case of stuff the customer.

mapman_2

Got this from a DSG (Dixons, Currys etc) employee some time ago:

Ever wondered why Dixons and the like price products with differing pence amount in their prices (£123.99, £123.98, £123.78, etc)?

It's an easy way of sales staff working out which models are discontinued or they need to get rid of. The pence figure normally drops with age.

So it's no surprise that when Joe Public walks into the store and asks for help, the assistant just walks down the aisle and picks out a '.78' item...

Mighty_Moose

superhoop wrote:

Apologies if this is verging on the libellous, but I hear on the grapevine that Debenhams have been trying to extract themselves from their link-up with the Nectar card loyalty scheme, and therefore are not actively asking customers for cards at the till.

I suspect this is true since:

- I haven't seen any Debenhams offers in my last couple Nectar mailings

- I was in Debenhams recently and saw NO signage or reference to Nectar, and I wasn't asked at the till on two occasions.

Don't miss your Nectar points if you shop at Debenhams!

Steve

Cheers Steve, I also hear that Vodafone are also on their way out of Nectar aswell. Sounds like the only company who get any benefit from it are Sainsburys.

Mighty Moose

criminal_smile

dan.mcl wrote:

Just remember after the first six months it is up to you to prove that it was a manufacturing fault as opposed to during the first six months where it is the retailer that has to prove that it is not a manufacturing fault.

IIRC the acceptable length of time that a product is to be repaired for is 5 years but 6 in Scotland (this may be 6 years and 7 in Scotland).

I work for an electrical retailer in Northern Ireland and to be honest I personally find that the extended guarantees worked out very well for the customer, I bought a few myself (even when I am staff).

Even if a product is a few months out of the manufacturers guarantee period, my manager will usually arrange a repair free of charge or at least contact the manufacturer to negotiate. I know in the case of philips TV's with a faulty CRT (picture tube, screen) that were out of warranty Philips (Ireland) would usually provide the CRT free of charge if the customer paid for the labour (in some older sets the customer had to pay half the cost of the CRT).

A word of warning

If you go in with a bad attitude, and are abusive/not polite towards the staff you are not likely to have a pleasant experience as how the customer behaves is a major factor in how much out of warranty the manager will fix it for free for. (i.e. be a !!!!!! and if you are 1 week out of warranty you are out of luck)

The Limitations Act 1980 states that the length of time a consumer has to claim for reasonable repairs etc under the Sale of Goods Act (and all the other consumer protection laws) in N. Ireland, England and Wales is 6 years.

As for your word of warning.........be very aware yourself that a dossier is currently being built against electrical retailers in N.I. Each time a consumer complains, that complaint is kept on file. Enough breaches of the retailers obligations to the consumer under current consumer protection legislation, and Section 8 of The Enterprise Act 2002 will come into play. This allows Trading Standards to walk in to a store, and close them down if needs be. The larger retailers believe that they will be exempt, as no-one will take any action against them, but this is exactly the attitude the Enterprise Act is designed to tackle. If your manager believes they can decide themselves whether or not a repair should be carried out, you could do worse than point them in the direction of the legislation.
The link in my sig will give clear and impartial advice on consumer protection legislation in the UK, and N.I. consumers can use the telephone number to speak to a consumer advisor for Trading Standards Service for any queries they may have. Consumers in GB should use Trading Standards to find the number for their local advice line.

bigsquirrel

mapman wrote:

So it's no surprise that when Joe Public walks into the store and asks for help, the assistant just walks down the aisle and picks out a '.78' item...

These products are usually on yellow tickets and can sometimes be the best deals in the store, a 98,88 or 78 means that the manufacturer has discontinued the product so this can mean that theres a big reduction but plenty of stock.

If its a .97, 87 or 77p on the end then this is usually clearence, depending on the manager of that store, ask for discount, they will usually give at least another 10% as you are doing them a favour by buying it.

Pete

Not sure if this is the right thread, hope so.
I use to think McDonalds all charged the same but have noticed that some are dearer. For example happy meal in Bedford is £2.09 whereas most places it is £1.99.

greengirbil

I worked for comet (head office) for over 3 years and the money you can get off is amazing if you try hard. The minimum that the call centre will work on is a profit margin of 26% but not all the staff know how to see what the margin is on the item there selling. if you buy an Exclusive to us item this usually has the best profit margin on the item around 50%. If you buy from a shop on the price tag there will be a SKU number always 6 digits near it there will be a box with 4 letters in it this is to tell the staff that is selling you the item if it has the best kick back for them or not. So if you go in for a washer and you looking for advice about what is best for your needs BEWARE there going to tell you what is best for there commission and not what you need.

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