PC World coming to Staines - real soon now :)

Common guys... PC World ain't that bad!

Ever so often I'm desperately in need of a small tidbit eg a cable, hard
drive bracket, thermal compound, power supplier splitter etc etc

Sourcing these small but essential tidbits online isn't worth it, and I
can
now pop down to PCWorld and be sorted in minutes. From time to time they
do
have the odd bargain too

But yes I certainly won't be buying hard drives, memory, processors etc
there. I'm not that thick!


I would definitely agree that PC World does have its benefits, when compared
to their online competitors.

Their range of 'brown box' goods, for the home builder can be quite
competetive.
Bargains are there to be had occasionally, you just need to be on your toes.
(And I don't mean the 'Manager's Specials')

The staff have a varying amount of knowledge, some can be gits, but at least
you can usually talk to someone who knows his way around the insides of a
computer. When buying online, you're on your own.

You know when they have stock, because its in front of your face. Buying a
bunch of bits online can get frustrating when it turns out 1 item which
*was* listed as stocked, is actually out of stock. You then wait, hoping
that other items in your order are not 'borrowed' to fulfil other customers'
orders.

You don't have to play the waiting game for Citylink/UPS/uniformed-gorillas
to deliver your parcel. I don't know about you, but here in the 21st
century, both me and the missus works during the day. Its a novel concept.
Its a pity that delivery companys think its the 19th century.
Is it just me, or is the idea of having deliveries during the evening
actually pretty nifty.
What actually happens is you miss the delivery, and you ring them up and
tell them you work during the day.
What happens next?
1 You try to get them to deliver it at work. They ring up the sender, and
ask them if they will pay for it to be delivered elsewhere. The sender tells
them to whistle. The delivery guys decide to deliver it again at your
house - and again for the next 5 days, despite you telling them you won't be
in. So instead of making a 5 min detour, they waste petrol all week coming
to my house.
2 You take a day off work, and sit at home waiting for a guy in a van,
afraid to go to the toilet in case you miss him slipping that card thru the
door. You would like to be given an approximate time of delivery, but that
is far too complicated for 19 century man. Sometimes, when you ring up the
depot, they don't even know if the parcel has been loaded, and if it has,
which van has it. Remarkable.
3 You decide to drive into the countryside to pick up the parcel yourself.
MAKE SURE THEY DIDN'T LOAD IT INTO A RANDOM VAN *before* driving there. Once
you've correctly identified yourself by saying, 'Hi, I have a card, do you
have my parcel?', you will be left while they fetch your parcel / their
goalpost.
Its nice to know YOU'RE paying for this privalidge.

Finally, and most importantly, what happens when you have a problem???
Compare and contrast....

Ebuyer - I bought a hard disk.
The disk failed within a week, I completed an enote
I waited a week
I got an RMA, and sent off the defective drive. A day later they received
it.
I waited a week
I waited a week
I sent another enote
I waited a week
I was told they did not have the parcel. Royal Mail Special Delivery said
otherwise
I waited 3 days
They admitted they had it. They sent it off for fixing
I completed an enote to say I WANTED A REFUND
I waited a week
I was told it would be repaired
I rung them up and would not hang up until they gave me a refund. 30 mins
later, I got my card refunded.

PC World - I bought a Wireless Access Point
It worked well for 4 months.
Saturday morning it wouldn't work.
Saturday afternoon, I drove to PC World
Saturday afternoon, I spoke to the Returns guy who asked me...
1 Do I want a refund?
2 Do I want a replacement?
3 Do I want a different model?
Saturday afternoon, I got home and plugged my replacement WAP into my
network, and the kids were happy again.


So, all in all, PC World can be OK.
I recenly bought from tekheads, and found them to be helpful, as was Dorothy
Bradbury.
Dabs was once reliable, but then they became 'corporatized', around the time
they moved a few years ago. Now I put then in the same mental slot as
Ebuyer/Scan/etc
Online vendors should take note of this, since I must fit their profile
(tech/computer savvy) as an ideal customer.
I like a bargain as much as the next guy, but I am prepared to pay 5-10%
extra at PC World just for the knowledge that I *know* I can get good
customer service from them.
And hey - if I do bump into an asshole assistant at PC World, I enjoy
winding them up. ;^P

Regards, Darren

"lbockhed" wrote in message
...
so you can look at stuff before buying it cheaper online

That's what I'll be doing
--
Andrew

NOTE: Return E-mail address is a spam-trap and does not get read!

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 22:09:23 +0100, "tHatDudeUK"
wrote:


"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
Add on the P&P and there's now often little difference.

Depends, this is usually not the case IMO. You need to look around a few
sites though rather than the first one that pops up.

I've bought stuff from PC World that undercuts EBuyer at times
(usually on Creative Labs stuff). You just have to find a localish
place that they will price match.
--
This post does not reflect the opinions of all saggy cloth
cats be they a bit loose at the seams or not
GSX600F - Matilda the (now) two eared teapot, complete with
white gaffer tape, though no rectal chainsaw

On Fri, 3 Oct 2003 20:40:06 +0100, "Trust No One®"
wrote:

But yes I certainly won't be buying hard drives, memory, processors etc
there. I'm not that thick!

Last time I got a CPU from then they were undercutting DABS by a few
quid and I could just return it if there was a problem. You are right
about memory though, the prices are obscene, but thats branded, boxed
memory for you.
--
This post does not reflect the opinions of all saggy cloth
cats be they a bit loose at the seams or not
GSX600F - Matilda the (now) two eared teapot, complete with
white gaffer tape, though no rectal chainsaw