Scaremongering at Dixons/PC World!

Stoke

AndyPix wrote: »

I dont expect it to change - But i am allowed to be disgusted by it wether Motorguy agrees or not.


Their is no defence to this behaviour - and unlike all the examples in Spadoosh's post , these idiots are actually lying to customers to gain sales

Yeah that's fair enough, but you still seem to refuse to acknowledge personal accountability. My mum knows nothing about computers, so before she went and bought her tablet, she asked around and spoke to people so she gained a clearer picture. You wouldn't buy a car without at least doing a bit of research. Discernibility.

Ultimately, all of these salesman are what I call 'grinf*c*e*s'.

Google it.

Stoke

motorguy wrote: »

£80 HDMI lead sir? No thanks. There we go. I wasnt outraged or offended. When i bought the 4K TV they tried to sell me 2 of them at that sort of price. Not one !!!! did i give. TV was as cheap as i could get anyway. I can suffer their two mins pitch

This is very true. I recently bought a new LG TV and the 'grinf*cking' salesman behind the counter suggested it could only be used with HDMI cables that cost £25 or more. Anything less and I might notice speckles indicating the cable was unable to handle the data transfer.

4 Poundland cables, not one speckle. I didn't take his advice, just like I don't jump off cliffs when people tell me too.

Upselling is everywhere. Go into a WH Smith for a magazine, and while you're standing a the counter, they'll offer you a chocolate bar or a big bag of crisps for a pound. You didn't go in for that chocolate bar though, so they're upselling it to you.

Like I said, Blameless Britain. I'm losing my rag with it more and more. I'm quite left wing, almost a socialist, yet personal accountability has basically gone out of the window. Like the recent criticisms of Brighthouse and the like on the BBC. I can't stand Brighthouse. They're an absolutely horrific business, but the fact they're interviewing a woman who's crying about being in debt with about 19 direct debits to them, while using a £350 wireless Dyson hoover that she bought from Brighthouse. My second hand Dyson hoover cost £20 + a new set of filters, and unlike her I actually earn enough to afford the hoover she has.

Keeping up with the Jones' comes to mind here. Muddying the water.

AndyPix

My - no wonder your post count is so high - take a breath ..

motorguy wrote: »

You're getting outraged on the behalf of people who could simply price check on the internet or google it themselves - its not difficult.
Theres really no excuse these days for not doing your own research when making a significant purchase. Frankly your "bless their little cotton socks they simply just dont understand computers therefore i must get outraged and protect them from themselves" is frankly a nonsense and certainly not worth getting outraged or disgusted about.

Once again, you conveniently keep missing the actual point i am making.
Which is that they are telling lies to people who look to them as experts.
Im afraid you dont control my level of discust at this, no matter how hard you try.

motorguy wrote: »

Your analogy is daft. Why would someone in an average car pay say £100 for Brembo pads when their car doesnt need them and the £50 ones will do just fine - and who cares if the mechanic is making £20 on the cheaper ones but only £10 on the more expensive ones? He would still be saving me £50 by not fitting the Brembos.
Brembo pads - on 95% of cars - are a more expensive upgrade performance parts. Why on earth would someone want them on a car that didnt need them?
I would also say that on those 95% of cars your typical driver wont get any benefit.
Unless of course the old dear is driving a performance car?

Ok, well insert name of other decently priced brake pad instead of Brembo, you know exactly what i mean and you are deflecting with this silliness.

motorguy wrote: »

Theres no defence in offering accidental damage insurance or Internet Security upgrades? By a retailer? Looking to make money?
You do know how retail works dont you?
And i'm merely pointing out the complete overreaction with the disgusted, offended type comments - on someone elses behalf of course, because you never actually shop there and are far too technically savvy. But you're offended for other people.
Dont want to pay the prices or listen to the pitch? Dont shop there, simples.

Once again, missing the point entirely - where have i said anything about upselling warranties ?
I accept this is part of everyday business and widely practiced.
What i doint accept is "experts" lying to people to gain sales.
An £80 HDMI lead WILL NOT give you a better picture - but you think its ok for them to tell people it will to gain the sale ?
What's wrong with you ? I had you down as a straight up guy
If this happened to me, or someone i know/love - i wouldnt be disgusted , i would be down righ furious
But again, i am allowed to be disgusted at this behaviour wether you think it's warrented or not

motorguy wrote: »

They all do. All retailers do it. Car dealers, SKY, mobile phone companies, retail companies on the high street - they'll all upsell you stuff you dont need. Pair of shoes? Need some of our polish sir?
And if they're not, its because they've a huge margin built in to the price already.
IT retail has waifer thin margins. Of course they're going to try to recover those margins if they car.
£80 HDMI lead sir? No thanks. There we go. I wasnt outraged or offended. When i bought the 4K TV they tried to sell me 2 of them at that sort of price. Not one !!!! did i give. TV was as cheap as i could get anyway. I can suffer their two mins pitch

Congrats - that's great for you
Isnt it a good job you knew that you didnt need that extortionate lead ?
Many would not
But you dont give a stuff about them do you ?
As long as you're sound eh ?
How dare anyone else be offended by it

AndyPix

Stoke wrote: »

This is very true. I recently bought a new LG TV and the 'grinf*cking' salesman behind the counter suggested it could only be used with HDMI cables that cost £25 or more. Anything less and I might notice speckles indicating the cable was unable to handle the data transfer.

4 Poundland cables, not one speckle. I didn't take his advice, just like I don't jump off cliffs when people tell me too.

Upselling is everywhere. Go into a WH Smith for a magazine, and while you're standing a the counter, they'll offer you a chocolate bar or a big bag of crisps for a pound. You didn't go in for that chocolate bar though, so they're upselling it to you.

Like I said, Blameless Britain. I'm losing my rag with it more and more. I'm quite left wing, almost a socialist, yet personal accountability has basically gone out of the window. Like the recent criticisms of Brighthouse and the like on the BBC. I can't stand Brighthouse. They're an absolutely horrific business, but the fact they're interviewing a woman who's crying about being in debt with about 19 direct debits to them, while using a £350 wireless Dyson hoover that she bought from Brighthouse. My second hand Dyson hoover cost £20 + a new set of filters, and unlike her I actually earn enough to afford the hoover she has.

Keeping up with the Jones' comes to mind here. Muddying the water.

Upselling != Lying (for you while you're a software engineer)


This is the key difference
WH Smith are upselling - PC world are lying


They lie that the £80 cable will be better and you need it.
They lie that they havent got any laptops left that are not "pre set up"


Google "PC world lies" for a full list of their horrible behaviour - Im dumbstruck why intelligent people are defending them - I really am !!

almillar

Why does 'buyer beware' go out the window some places?

'I'm not a techie'

'I don't know about cars'

Well learn a bit then before handing over your money.

Currys try to sell AV, leads when you buy a computer or TV.

Audi try to sell paint protection, finance, gap insurance etc when you buy a car.

M&S try to sell you a credit card when you buy groceries.

Is that M&S employee a financial advisor?!

Dell Outlet? Yes, most are happy with their 'refurbs', which are often appear untouched.
I bought an 'as new' refurb nearly nine years ago...and am using it to create this post.
So if you prefer to spend £130 more for exactly the same laptop, then more power to your wallet.

Not fair. I've bought refurbs before, and they've been spotless. But your are running a RISK. Refurb IS NOT new. If your laptop arrives with a scratch or dead pixel, you don't have comeback. New gives you that comeback, and commands a premium. Do not compare refurb with new equally.

it is exactly the same device

It is NOT NECESSARILY the same device. You are taking a RISK. It seems to be a small risk, but it's still a risk.

Handling an apple beforehand doesn't turn it into an orange. It's still an apple.

OK then. Would you like a new apple, or would you like the apple that I bought from Tesco, decided I didn't want, and took back to Tesco for a refund? A refurb apple, for the same price. Do you know where I've had that apple?! Is the new one maybe worth more?!

the vast majority of these machines ARE brand new

So that's not a 100% NEW guarantee then. Still a risk.

The thing is though - is that people without the knowledge ie the general public, have no idea that they are being lied to ..

I'm not defending PC World (not on purpose!) but this happens up and down the high street and online every day. Why is IT treated differently? You need a driving licence to get onto the road (now including knowledge of what's under the bonnet). This site is about informed consumers. If OP had been on here BEFORE purchasing, they probably would have ended up with a spotless, cheaper laptop from Dell Direct!

Anything less and I might notice speckles indicating the cable was unable to handle the data transfer.

Without referring to price, if a cable can't handle a high enough bandwidth, then you can have handshake, tearing, flickering issues or hey, maybe even speckles. But that £1 lead out of poundland might just do the job.

motorguy

Stoke wrote: »

I didn't take his advice, just like I don't jump off cliffs when people tell me too.

Its the degrees of separation that bemuses me on this thread - its not like

"oh i went in to Currys and the salesman sold me an HDMI lead for £25. I found out later i could have bought for £1 that would have done the job. I'm outraged :mad:"

or even

"I was in Currys and the salesman tried to sell me an HDMI lead for £25 that i knew i could buy for £1. I'm outraged that he thought i was that gullible. :mad:"

or even

"A relative of mine paid £80 for an HDMI cable and i know that i could have got one for a £1. I'm outraged for him :mad:"

No, its

"Complete strangers to me might go in to Currys and might inadvertently buy something they dont need because they havent bothered taking 5 minutes to check online first to see if they need it or not or if its too expensive. I'm outraged that might happen to them! :mad:"

Laughable. :rotfl:

AndyPix

^^ In the same vein, i am disgusted by people who rob old grannies ..


Now that doesnt mean my granny has to have been robbed for me to be disgusted at this does it ?

I am allowed to be outraged that there is someone out there who is willing to rob a granny

Understand ?


Your bemusement bemuses me

Stoke

AndyPix wrote: »

Upselling != Lying (for you while you're a software engineer)


This is the key difference
WH Smith are upselling - PC world are lying


They lie that the £80 cable will be better and you need it.
They lie that they havent got any laptops left that are not "pre set up"


Google "PC world lies" for a full list of their horrible behaviour - Im dumbstruck why intelligent people are defending them - I really am !!

Like I've said, we both know what they get it up to. It's exactly the same as what the some of the guys in Halfords get up to. That said, do people actually walk into Halfords and believe the employees are 'experts'. I thought most people were on board with the fact they're speaking to: either a spotty teenager trying to get beer money, or someone with a limited capacity for learning (let's be honest, they'd be working in a garage as a mechanic otherwise).

What they're doing isn't very nice and it's probably a bit immoral, but I still believe the discerning customer puts a bit of time in to find out before blindly walking into a shop willing to part with cash. I've just bought a newer car, and I spent hours and hours looking before I travelled to purchase. I then spent another 2 hours with the vehicle before finally parting with my money. Another example: I know nothing about Golf. I've never played Golf. To be honest, I never want to play Golf, but if I did become so bored with my life that I decided to take up Golf, I wouldn't go and ask the random who works in the American Golf shop. I would probably speak to someone at work who plays, or I would speak to someone in my family who I know who occasionally plays. I would put in the effort to find out a few small details.

Everybody knows someone who understands technology. Even if it's your 15 year daughter or whatever...... It's too widespread for that not to be the case. The only people who are 'genuinely' vulnerable are elderly people who have limited connections to people with knowledge. Unfortunately, that's on the conscience of the salesman. Do grinf***ers care about morals? That's for them to decide.

spadoosh

AndyPix wrote: »

Upselling != Lying (for you while you're a software engineer)


This is the key difference
WH Smith are upselling - PC world are lying


They lie that the £80 cable will be better and you need it.
They lie that they havent got any laptops left that are not "pre set up"


Google "PC world lies" for a full list of their horrible behaviour - Im dumbstruck why intelligent people are defending them - I really am !!

This is reality in a lot of day to day transactions though. Lying and minpulating. Lynx sell a body spray that has on it 'all day fresh', ive never actually tried the product (because i dont believe it) and whilst i havent tried it i suspect the claim is at least a little bit exagerated. I cant imagine it keeps a skip diver in the new delhi slums fresh all day. Me sat at my desk all day, maybe. But then my idea of fresh isnt wearing lynx body spray.

At the end of it though this is their idea of running a business, yes its a terrible idea and yes its a somewhat scummy thing to do but its only ever going to stop when people choose to stop being a victim of it. Those who choose to not be a victim arent. Those who choose to be a victim are. And that choice comes down to the individuals free will. I have a quite clearly defined (to me) red line when dealing with people/businesses. If they do something to upset me and dont try and make it any better i dont want anything to do with them they cna have their points for that win but ill take the win from the battle (ie keeping my integrity). IM someone who wont shop at pc world, becuase i dont like what they do, nothing they can do will change that, short of putting right everything i think theyve done wrong (probably close to impossible for them) as such a direct result of their actions means i and im presuming you will never shop there. Its got to trickle down, most people on this forum will tell you not to shop there, it does kind of scream in your face. Im not about forcing someone to stop doing something im about encouraging people to take responsibility for not making a mistake. If we lived in your world we wouldnt have fire because stupid people get burnt.

I do think i understand where youre coming from to a degree, i just think its a bit tight picking on pc world when the likes of the roman catholic church, the government and a few other bastions of human integrity completely and utterly take the proverbial when it comes to money and lies.

RumRat

The main problem for most people is that they like to see before they buy. This is a problem with online purchases.
People won't stop using curry's because, they have little, or no, high street competition and there will always be a majority who don't know what they are doing.
Do, I think their tactics are right, no I don't, but, that's not going to change anything anymore than the arguments on here.
I buy from Currys when I want something in a hurry. I've never paid the ticket price on anything that's cheaper online. A chat with the manager usually sorts that.
Would I pay for the extras?................Of course not, but many do, unfortunately....All I can do, is try to protect family/friends from making the same mistake.