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Art is making something out of nothing and selling it - Lewis Carroll
John Lewis is the place to buy a PC in Blighty
THE SHOP OF THE HABERDASHER to her Majesty the Queen is the best place in the UK to buy a PC, according to a Which? Computing survey.
High Street Retailer John Lewis, who is more famous for his haberdash, scored an 84 per cent customer satisfaction level with its PC buying customers.
Toymaker Apple topped the table with an 88 per cent score but it does not count because it does not make PCs and its customers are easily satisfied.
Mike Khalfey, IT buyer for John Lewis was over the moon with the survey results. But other High Street retailers were not so happy.
PC World scored only 42 per cent when it came to customer satisfaction, with Currys and Comet faring little better with 45 per cent. This might be because their staff are so young their parents could legally apply to have them terminated or suffer from terminal acne.
A spokesperson for DSGi, the company which owns PC World and Currys, said the outfit was extremely disappointed with the results.
"We have a programme in place which focuses the entire business on the customer and on improving customer service. All store staff have been through a specially developed training programme which is updated regularly to ensure they focus on customers and their individual needs," they said.
However there must be something wrong as the established computer stores were outperformed even by local, independent stores, who scored 73 per cent.
Supermarkets also received a low score, mostly because their staff could not tell the difference between Linux and Lima Beans and thought that RAM chips were some kind of value added mutton.
Which? Computing Editor Sarah Kidner said that the shops that most people would probably turn to when buying a computer performed badly in terms of customer service. µ
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Notwithstanding the fact that everything I've purchased from John Lewis has been quality merchandise to begin with; they really do rock when it comes to customer service, I mean really, they are ORSM.
There's no up-selling or cross-selling, they don't try to flog you useless (IMHO) Monster cables (other brands of cable are available!)to go with your TV/PC/Hi-Fi - and, they know what they are talking about.
Srange that a company like PC World cannot boast of the same, especially when you consider that their range of business is much more concentrated.... on PCs.
Meh.
I love how nick just discounts Apples 88% and also fails to mention that John Lewis sells a lot of Mac's being 2nd only to Apple due to there extra year of warranty offered.
I visited a John Lewis store recently and was very impressed and somewhat surprised by the range and prices of goods on offer. Past experience suggests they're very helpful too.
They also have a large range of expensive handbags which is useful to keep the girlfriend distracted ;)
Yep, John Lewis rocks when it comes to customer care. My laptop died after 15 months. Despite me having no receipt , JL happily got it fixed with no fuss - they had my purchase on their computer so didn't need the receipt. Good store IT, staff empowered to make a difference, and two year warranties - all add up to repeat business. Pretty much all my tech is bought from John Lewis because I know that in the unlikely event of a problem they will sort it with no quibbles.
PC World / Currys and other DSG stores send you to Tech Guys call centre(run by DSG as well) to get computers sold by them repaired during warranty period. In my own and my friends experiences they are the most rude and abusive call centre staff trying to get rid of the customer with without repairing on one pretext or the other. No wonder DSG customer satisfaction is so low as they only aim on selling stuff and own warranties. When you actually need the warranty , that is when you realise you do not have the manufacturer's warranty but DSG outsourced warranty and have to go through rude and abusive call centre staff whose main work is to try to find fault with you and not the equipment. Even if you visit PC World in person you are asked to call Tech Guys on phone where someone with a fictitious name will pick up the phone and treat you like a moron to get rid of you.