Particularly Crap (PC World)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	PC World
Date:	18/01/08 (342 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap-ish

Disadvantages: Rubbish service, warranties, stores, staff

(Although this category is under computing, my review applies to the store experience. I have posted here under instruction from Dooyoo. My personal preference would be for a separate category.)

It's incredible to think that high street retailer PC World started with one branch just 17 years ago. Today, the chain has over 160 stores in the UK and (as part of the electrical giant DSG) occupies a dominant position in the mainstream computing market. It remains one of my least-favourite retailers, a feeling shared with many other British consumers who have fallen foul of the company's lack of ethics and poor customer service.

Like many retail chains, one PC World store is very much like another. Generally to be found in large retail parks, the units are normally large, bright, airy, warehouse-style shop, where an abundance of space incorrectly suggests an enormous range of goods. You can purchase complete PC systems, accessories, parts, games, printers and even office furniture, but the emphasis is clearly on price, particularly on the store's own brand (Advent) products. The pricing policy is, however, unclear. Prices charged in the store differ to those charged online (sometimes more, sometimes less) and indeed differ to those charged in the chain's partner store Curry's.

When it comes to computing, PC World caters for the masses and in fairness, you wouldn't expect anything else. Thousands of shoppers pour through the doors every day, very often with only a very basic appreciation of computers and the staff training seems geared towards supporting and increasing this very basic knowledge. As such, the range is generally quite basic. There are plenty of complete PC systems, but for the more adventurous shopper, who understands the benefits of building a system from its component parts, PC World has little to offer. Carrying only a very limited range of these parts, PC World often discourages this concept, intent on selling customers complete systems, with maximum profit margin and lowest handling costs.

As a Mac user, I now find PC World almost redundant. Whilst the stores are increasingly starting to stock the systems, it's hard to find the accessories. A visit on Sunday reinforced the point, when I nipped in to see if I could get a new wireless "Mighty Mouse". "I'm sure we had one once" was the reply, greeted with a flurry of feet and a quick trip to the nearest Apple store.

From time to time, I've found it necessary to go into a PC World store (alone or with others) to purchase something and have very often needed to make sure I'm buying the right thing. The staff members' approach seems to fall into one of two camps; they either pester you relentlessly until you leave the store in a cloud of harassment, or they simply tuck themselves away in a corner and refuse to approach you. More often than not, the male staff members look like they need a good wash, but once you've made contact and disregarded the greasy hair and badly-fitting trousers, the advice is rarely "unbiased". Some time ago, PC World made a big song and dance about the fact that their customer service staff members would no longer receive sales bonuses, the inference being that the advice would be impartial. (They do, actually, still receive a bonus, but it's linked to other targets that theoretically do not influence their sales pitch). The advice received is far from impartial and instead tends to be informed by personal bias or preference. "They're crap." "You don't want one of them." "You'd have to be stupid to buy one of them." This is the extent of the advice that you may well receive. My personal experience is that they will apply the tried and tested principle of trying to sell a "package" at all costs; a PC, complete with printer, which may seem cheap until you see how much they charge for the ink cartridges.

The reality is, of course, that the customer service staff members are paid and trained very little more than any other retail employees, so it would be unfair to expect specialist advice. For this, you should approach one of their PC Clinics, or perhaps you could contact one of their technical advice telephone help lines.

For the latter, expect to pay £1.50 a minute, including any time spent queuing. This is an expensive way to get advice and offers a huge profit margin for the retailer.

For the former, expect long delays, incorrect advice and incomplete repairs. Years ago, I had some "repair" work completed on a hard drive and it simply never worked the same again. The retailer accepted repeat visits, but in reality, the effort of continually driving back to the store was too much and I simply took the opportunity to buy a new unit. The PC Performance Plan wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. When my flat screen failed (a £239 model) it was replaced with a cheap, white plastic £39 replacement - which apparently, their terms and conditions state they can do. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to receive second-hand / recycled parts in your machine if and when they complete the repairs (again stated in the terms and conditions.) Very often, you will be expected to cart items into the store, or wait for an engineer to call (during working hours, with a delayed appointment book.) The perception that once you purchase the plan, PC World will look after your every need, is entirely flawed.

The "one-off" purchase route isn't entirely promising either. Having purchased a brand new flat screen, I installed it at home to find that there were two "broken" pixels (leaving dots on the screen.) When I returned it to the store as faulty, I was advised that PC World did not consider this a fault and that whilst they would replace on this occasion, if the next one had the same problem, they would not. I eventually obtained a refund and vowed never to return.

So do they offer value for money? Well, I'm not entirely sure. It can be hard to compare their prices like for like with other retailers, because the price changes according to the package offered. Certainly, on like for like stand alone items and accessories, I see very little difference between them and other retailers and certainly the comparison with online retailers is unfavourable. Their marketing and advertising indicates very cheap deals on particular laptops or desktops but these are low-specification models that you can find comparably priced in the most of the supermarkets. Reliability and low performance mean that these models are often false economy.

What are the alternatives? If you're insistent on using the high street, I find that the likes of John Lewis or Selfridges are far more reliable, far more honest and far better informed about what they're selling. But the real savings can be found online, where a host of reputable retailers offer far better prices, and far better standards of advice and information. PC World can only ever be an "emergency" destination for me and like their electrical counterpart Curry's, I have absolutely zero trust and confidence in their ability to sell anything with any integrity or ethics.

Summary: The nation's least favourite computer retailer