A little bit short (novatech.co.uk)

Member Name: Cheuk

Product:	novatech.co.uk
Date:	07/09/01 (964 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: competitively priced, secure web site

Disadvantages: poor customer support, poor product description

Well after looking around several on-line shops for an external hard drive to back up all my data on my laptop (one long nightmare before it gets sent back for more repair. Look out for another update on my op) I was recommended by a friend to try Novatech. Novatech has been around for a long time, and advertises in many of the computer press with some reasonable offers. It has long been a mail order company, but for those living close to Portsomouth, there is also a show room, so it will save on delivery charge. The company offers many items, including their own range of PCs, as well as other hardware and software. It also mail outs a monthly catalogue as well.


The Website
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The first visit to the website was quite pleasant. It was quick to appear, but this was over a fast network link. A pop-up also appeared allowing entry into one of three prizes. Well it’s a competiton so I entered it and it disappeared. However this became a nuisance as everytime I returned to the home page, the pop up returns. I’m sure there’s something in the terms and conditions on the number of times you can enter! The website is quite easy to use and many offers are strategically placed to catch your eye. It is also certified by Which Web trader to give additional confidence on the security of the site.

However due to the shear number of products stocked by Novatech, it was very difficult to find the product I wanted. Searching to narrow the number of items down helped slightly but then I noticed the search function had a peculiar nack of not liking multiple keywords, which was annoying, and the keyword had to be specific. Eventually hitting the correct keyword enabled sufficient number of results to be returned, and hey presto, among them was what I was looking for. Clicking on the item to find additional information was disappointing though, as it only returned the stock level available. Luckily for me the
model I was after was in stock and it was reasonably priced, compared to other products and from different places. So this was looking an attractive purchase. However not wanting to part my money without finding more information about the product I emailed the company. Surprisingly a reply was returned with a couple of hours, and although short and sweet, most of the information I needed to know was there. After failing to find information on delivery charges another email was sent and again a prompt reply was received. Delivery charges where reasonable. Like most places these days, on-line orders over 50 pounds free of charge for 3-5days service, or about 5 pounds for next day and slightly more for phone orders. So all was looking well.

A return to the website later that evening was turning to be a disaster. Over a standard 56k connection the website took a while to load, and then problems where encountered, with pages incorrectly displayed or not working at all. Switching to other browsers did not fix this problem. The next problem back on a network connection the problem remained but disappeared later. After trying to register and create an account my surname was not liked, and the account was refused to be created. More frustration. Worse was that their phone system was also down, so I couldn’t get through to them.
Another email was sent to them but this time a reply was not received before I found a work round to the problem and successfully created the account, and then had to modify the details once it was created to ensure the information was correct, otherwise the credit card wouldn’t have work.

Placing the order was easy and straightforward, with the option of entering my credit card details and not storing it in my account. Another neat feature is only the last digits are displayed, including in the confirmation email. So this is an added security for those nervous about it. Also transactions are carried
out over a secure connection. Remember paying by credit card also gives added protection.

The purchase
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Well the order was made and I paid extra for the next day delivery. Sure enough the hard drive arrived the next day. But then problems where encountered (read my op on the hard drive). After failing to find a suitable firewire cable for the hard drive to connect to my laptop from nearby shops, I phoned Novatech up.

Customer service
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As you know I really scrutinize customer services. Why companies use a menu system which I detest, I don’t know, and after finally deciding the area I thought was appropriate I was finally put through. After being on hold for over ten mins I tried again and after another short wait I finally got through. I seemed to spend time waiting on phones and then passed through various departments. This time I was passed through three departments but the chap was knowledgeable. He was sympathetic with me but it was not his problem, it was the manufacturers. I said that their email reply to me, just told me it was a firewire cable and so I assumed it would be the right one. They’re reply was that they quoted the manufacturers description and there was nothing they could do. They didn’t have the cable in stock and no one was in the department, so he sent them an email and they would be in touch. A few days later having not received any reply I decided to look at other places and eventually bought a cable elsewhere, and I’ve still not heard from Novatech. This put up the cost of the purchase, but was still cheaper than rival products and places.
Well Ok it wasn’t all entirely Novatech faults, but if they’re product description was better and they know more about the product then this problem wouldn’t have occurred.

Overall
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The website is overall well designed, although I did encounter
technical problems with it, which hopefully will be corrected. However product description needs to be greatly improved upon, as I have found to my cost. Just make sure you find out every last bit of detail before you commit yourseld. The products are priced competitively and there are good bargains around. Customer service was disappointing though.

Summary: