MYSTERY SHOPPER
8/10 CURRYS/PC WORLD
MY INITIAL impression was fantastic – I was immediately greeted at the door by a member of staff and led to someone else who they said would help me. That’s when it fell apart.
The second staff member was impolite, telling my helper that he was too busy installing Windows on PCs to help. Even my companion seemed shocked, stuttering before apologising to me and saying he would find someone else to help.
Despite my experience so
far, the next man was friendly and knowledgeable. I asked whether it was possible to find what I was after on my budget. He replied that nothing would be found for under £600. He then tried to advertise an i5-equipped Acer laptop, but it felt incredibly forced. Next he pointed out the
Lenovo G505s, highlighting dedicated graphics and a quad-core CPU for £400. It was exactly what I was after – if only he’d thought of it first.
LAPTOP OUTLET
I HELD high hopes for the optimistically-named Laptop Outlet – if they couldn’t sell me the right laptop, who could? All of the staff were busy
as I entered, so I walked along the expansive line of neatly-arranged devices. Once a staff member became available, he immediately walked over to me and offered his help. He said that £600 was the minimum price needed for dedicated graphics, but on my walk up and down the
store I had seen some for under £400. I became concerned that he was trying to sell me a more expensive laptop, as he started advising me to buy a budget-breaking Asus. “You need at least an i5 and dedicated graphics if you want to play games,” he said, but didn’t explain why. The shop was neat and
there were suitable machines available, but the human assistance was vague and unclear – and wouldn’t have resulted in a sale this time.
SUMMARY
For a street lined with independant tech shops all competing for consumers’ cash, it was shocking to see how poor the customer service was in many shops. With prices and offerings
5/10 KAMLA
HAVING SPOTTED a small stand with only three laptops on it, I scanned the store. As I wandered around, a man asked if he could help. I explained what I was
after, and asked if they had any other devices for sale. “We’ve largely sold out,” he explained, before showing me one of the laptops: a Toshiba well within my budget but lacking gameplay capability. He began to rattle off specifications with little explanation. I offered the
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chance for him to understand my request more clearly, by asking if there was anything more powerful available. He showed me another that did have dedicated graphics, but was way out of my budget. Detecting defeat, he then began to ramble about the store’s TV offering. He might have been
polite, but smothering me with useless knowledge quickly made the whole experience exhausting.
IN2 TECHNOLOGY
I HADN’T been examining the selection of laptops for long when another person entered through the doors next to me. “Can I help you?” he suddenly asked. Taken aback by the
confusing way the staff member had entered, I hesitated a moment, before explaining what I was after. He, like the other stores,
didn’t listen to my specific requests, and started reading out specs from the signs on the shelves. Slowly,
he focused on what I was after, explaining bluntly that dedicated graphics were superior to integrated. “I’d suggest this Toshiba –
it’s got an i5,” he suddenly said, failing to say why an i5 was preferable. “To be honest, we don’t
have what you’re after,” he continued. “I’d go and have a look in PC World.” Lack of knowledge was one thing, but to tell me to seek assistance elsewhere was exactly the opposite of what I expected.
5/10
roughly equal across all the stores, a clued-in assistant could have easily stood out from the rest of the lackluster crowd and taken my cash – but most of the stores were lacking in that regard. I can see why the staff
weren’t excited about showing me their offerings though – most of the laptops were missing the key capability needed to game: dedicated graphics. However, when suitable laptops were available, most of the helpers were clueless about the budget needed for a dedicated graphics card, and didn’t identify the right rig. While most of the shops had a fair range of laptops and were largely well organised, the products seemed they were only meant for buyers who want the bare minimum. It was disappointing to see independent shops who couldn’t offer the help or knowledge needed to find the best machine for me.
PCR January 2014 | 55
6/10
STAR STORE
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