The main benefit of studying computer science for five years in "one of the most prestigious British academic institution[s]" is that you feel slightly superior to a middle-aged sales guy who attended a half-day, Microsoft-sponsored training course at a plush hotel.
A week ago I bought a super-cheap Samsung S600 digital camera from the Surrey Quays branch of Currys.digital, the new high-street name for Dixons. The camera turned out to have a host of problems, so I decided to return it after fighting with it for about a week. It was in perfect condition, clean of any fingerprints, with original batteries intact in box, so I figured I should be able to return it even without a reason.
When I got to Currys, I was directed to a slightly more managerial-looking guy in (I’m guessing) his late thirties. After explaining the three problems I had found in the camera, he decided to focus on one – USB connection problems – and reasoned that if he can get the camera to work on one of their laptops, then obviously there cannot be interconnection problems with any other computers. He wasn’t really convinced that the other two problems (misaligned lens element so that in one corner was hopelessly soft, and infrequent firmware lockups) really mattered.
We had a lively 15-minute discussion during which I tried to avoid having to explain such things as USB interface timing issues while he questioned my academic credentials. Then, one of his alternate personalities suddenly kicked in. He calmly walked to a terminal, checked something in the store database, and then decided that I can, after all, return the item. My guess is he realised they are running low on this bestselling model and wanted to offload my lemon to someone else. The refund process took about a minute, and I walked home with the cautious hope that eventually I might see the refund appear on my card.
High street stores really can’t afford to do this to their customers. The only reason someone would go to a bricks-and-mortar store is that you get good, knowledgeable service. In Currys you’ll be served by a high-school dropout who probably joined the company because the name sounded delicious. This, of course, is a problem with most retailers. As long as sales staff are paid badly, you can’t expect expertise from any store.
But at least most other chains have sensible returns policies. I know Jessops has a fourteen-day no-quibbles returns policy. I’m guessing all DSG group stores (Currys, Dixons, PC World, The Link) have the same "we-know-it’s-shit-and-we-don’t-care" policy. Interestingly, if I had ordered the same camera on the Currys website, I could have gotten free delivery and the right to return the product to my nearest store.
I don’t see myself shopping in Currys in the near future, and I think the store manager at Surrey Quays is happy to hear that.
Lemon curry?
The main benefit of studying computer science for five years in "one of the most prestigious British academic institution[s]" is that you feel slightly superior to a middle-aged sales guy who attended a half-day, Microsoft-sponsored training course at a plush hotel.
A week ago I bought a super-cheap Samsung S600 digital camera from the Surrey Quays branch of Currys.digital, the new high-street name for Dixons. The camera turned out to have a host of problems, so I decided to return it after fighting with it for about a week. It was in perfect condition, clean of any fingerprints, with original batteries intact in box, so I figured I should be able to return it even without a reason.
When I got to Currys, I was directed to a slightly more managerial-looking guy in (I’m guessing) his late thirties. After explaining the three problems I had found in the camera, he decided to focus on one – USB connection problems – and reasoned that if he can get the camera to work on one of their laptops, then obviously there cannot be interconnection problems with any other computers. He wasn’t really convinced that the other two problems (misaligned lens element so that in one corner was hopelessly soft, and infrequent firmware lockups) really mattered.
We had a lively 15-minute discussion during which I tried to avoid having to explain such things as USB interface timing issues while he questioned my academic credentials. Then, one of his alternate personalities suddenly kicked in. He calmly walked to a terminal, checked something in the store database, and then decided that I can, after all, return the item. My guess is he realised they are running low on this bestselling model and wanted to offload my lemon to someone else. The refund process took about a minute, and I walked home with the cautious hope that eventually I might see the refund appear on my card.
High street stores really can’t afford to do this to their customers. The only reason someone would go to a bricks-and-mortar store is that you get good, knowledgeable service. In Currys you’ll be served by a high-school dropout who probably joined the company because the name sounded delicious. This, of course, is a problem with most retailers. As long as sales staff are paid badly, you can’t expect expertise from any store.
But at least most other chains have sensible returns policies. I know Jessops has a fourteen-day no-quibbles returns policy. I’m guessing all DSG group stores (Currys, Dixons, PC World, The Link) have the same "we-know-it’s-shit-and-we-don’t-care" policy. Interestingly, if I had ordered the same camera on the Currys website, I could have gotten free delivery and the right to return the product to my nearest store.
I don’t see myself shopping in Currys in the near future, and I think the store manager at Surrey Quays is happy to hear that.