| Product: |
Comet.co.uk |
| Date: |
03.09.01 (166 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Appalling customer service, No products in stock, ever, Ignorant staff
I recently purchased a Phillips TV & Video package from Comet for about £550. It was a special promotional deal, right in front of the main doors of the store.
The salesman was very helpful and took our money with pleasure and even helped us to the car with the boxes. So far so good.
The products were fine and I was pleased with the quality, etc. and up to this point had no complaints.
The trouble started after the TV had been in use for about 2.5 hours and England were on their way to thrashing Germany 5-1. Suddenly the picture went off and, to cut a long story short, it never came back on.
Naturally I was dissapointed, but these things do happen with electrical goods, so I returned to my local store the next day (I actually purchased the goods from a different branch).
The assistant at my local store told me that they didn't have any of the TVs in stock, and also they could not order any more. This was despite the fact that they had a three-inch stack of promotional leaflets advertising the TV & Video package on the counter.
He searched the other stores in the area and told me that the computer showed that there were 3 in a store that was about 25 miles away, although that was no guarantee that there actually were any in that store at all as the computer was often wrong.
He telephoned the other store and spoke to the duty manager. She told him that they may have some in stock, but as it was only 10:25am and the store did not open until 11:00am, she would not go and check until after 11:00am!!!!!
Annoyed, I spoke to the duty manager of my local store. He said that if they did have one in stock, I would have to drive out to pick it up myself, because they would not deliver a replacement to my home unless an engineer came to my house and certified the original TV as broken.
I explained that the original TV was in the boot of my car and he said that the engineer would not come
to the store and that I would have to take it home and take a day off work to wait for him. Exasperated I tried to explain to him that I had only had the unit for one day, and that it was pretty easy to tell that it was broken by plugging it in and switching it on, but he was unimpressed.
Seething by this point, I went home awaiting a call from the assistant to tell me if the other store actually had any in stock. He never called.
I returned to the store a couple of hours later and the assistant told me that he had called the other store and they did have a TV, so I could drive over to get it. He couldn't however tell me the address of the store or give me any directions of how to find it.
When I eventually got to the other store, they didn't know who I was or anything about my problem. Eventually after producing the reams of paperwork involved I got my new TV and (fingers crossed) it has been ok since.
I am appalled at the lack of customer-focus from Comet. Once they had my money they really didn't give a damn if I had a working product or not. The manager of my local store offered no solutions and was totally uninterested. They advertised a product that they didn't stock and couldn't order, and when it broke they had no way of replacing it without inconveniencing me even further. I was fuming!!
Incidentally in the past I have also tried to purchase the following from my local Comet:
1. Cordless Telephone
2. Video Recorder
3. Cooker Hood
worth a combined total of about £450, all of which they had on display but had no units in stock. On no occasion did they offer to order one, etc. They appeared satisfied to simply lose the business to the Currys down the road.
Summary:
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