Dixons Kaput?

[ken_ichikawa]

As much as it will affect the thousands of staff – apart from the tosspots in Harrogate////////GOOD

The See You Next Tuesdays sold us a £180 camera that we took on honeymoon last year and it kept either not working or when it did left us with blurred images. Number of times i wanted to take a picture and it just wouldn’t. Brought one whilst away which rescued things but still lost picture moments.

Went to the branch in Harrogate, with all of the insurance, they did not care one jot about the situation offered like for like or equivalent, no cash refund. And no goodwill gesture at all. Unfortunately for them it then cost them a £600 laptop sale and an £1100 LED TV purchase – of which i informed them, followed by a train of expletives.

AFAIK from a guy I know who used to work there the staff there earn commission.

[cica]

One problem that eBay has solved for society is direct access to Hong Kong to buy pretty much ANY cable/connector for £1 or £2. The markup on various propriety cables etc. is completely mind blowing.

Currys are ok. Some of their prices are reasonable but it is outdated and often overpriced.

Their worst period was the cheap CD hi-fi boom of the late 90s with Aiwa etc. Awful awful stuff.

Edited April 14, 2011 by cica

[thod]

Outdated business model, they are finished in the medium/long term. It will be a shame to see them go though, as it's handy to be able to walk into a store and actually have a look at the goods you're considering buying before ordering them at a cheaper price on the internet.

Following the links I see the following "16 per cent of the group's sales, or £1.4bn, now comes from its various online stores."

As stated, people will tend to shop for the lowest internet prices. Yet none of the start-ups has DSG's muscles. DSG sells such large volumes it can twist the arm of suppliers for the lowest prices. DSG is buying cheaper and thus making a higher margin. It is willing to tolerate the little outfits, they can only compete whilst DSG keeps its margins high. Should they begin to take too much share, DSG will just cut its margins and drive them out of business. It seems to me they are milking the internet side to finance the loss making stores.

[iamdamosuzuki]

A disgrace for years.

Last thing I bought was a TV - didn't work. Took it back, they refused to accept it wasn't working until a staff member had checked it out. Eventually I said - look it's shit anyway, I want to buy something else (the sound was appaling). They point bank refused - became obnoxious, threatened ME with the poilice for raising my voice (never happened before or since). Insisted on sending out someone to fix it (an engineer - apparently it was just the settings). The staff were on a platform about 6 inches above us at all times.... etc etc etc. I had enough, and have never bought anyhing from DSG since.

Richer Sounds is cheaper, better, more honest and staffed by people who treat you like a human. How DSG has survived is beyond me, they are a throwback to the age of monopoly and contempt for customers.

Maybe they should rebrand as a bank!

[Tonkers]

A disgrace for years.

Last thing I bought was a TV - didn't work. Took it back, they refused to accept it wasn't working until a staff member had checked it out. Eventually I said - look it's shit anyway, I want to buy something else (the sound was appaling). They point bank refused - became obnoxious, threatened ME with the poilice for raising my voice (never happened before or since). Insisted on sending out someone to fix it (an engineer - apparently it was just the settings). The staff were on a platform about 6 inches above us at all times.... etc etc etc. I had enough, and have never bought anyhing from DSG since.

Richer Sounds is cheaper, better, more honest and staffed by people who treat you like a human. How DSG has survived is beyond me, they are a throwback to the age of monopoly and contempt for customers.

Maybe they should rebrand as a bank!

That's what I got when I had to return and LG TV that did not work. No anger from me but they threatened the police. I requested that they did as the police would be a bit unhappy about the false call out.

[Guest_ringledman_*]

Outdated business model, they are finished in the medium/long term. It will be a shame to see them go though, as it's handy to be able to walk into a store and actually have a look at the goods you're considering buying before ordering them at a cheaper price on the internet.

Waterstones likewise. Delayed gratification

[SHERWICK]

Strangely, I have nothing but good things to say about Dixons: bought a very good LCD TV and a couple of graet HItachi mini-stereos there at 50% off sales... unfortunately that was back in 2004 though...

[theblacksheeple]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/apr/14/oft-extended-warranties-investigation - More troubles ahead too

[SNACR]

DSG's problem's customer service then - from reading through this thread.

Local independents always used to get great ratings for customer service - they must be thriving then? Right?

[nuts]

Strangely, I have nothing but good things to say about Dixons: bought a very good LCD TV and a couple of graet HItachi mini-stereos there at 50% off sales... unfortunately that was back in 2004 though...

I think that Dixons are a mixed bag. They have got better recently (the Bestbuy threat is looming) but they suffer dreadfully from years of poor service,

... oh actually now I come to think of it ....they did sell me a Video camera as new - which had somebody else's movies on the tape enclosed in the box.

I will use them - if I really really really need something shiny in a hurry ... but otherwise I will pay the extra and go to John Lewis (yeah I know they pricematch - but only on the lines that they stock).

[Diver Dan]

Got sick of them trying to sell insurance every time I bought something - I bought a £20 device there once and they tried selling me insurance for £18!

My last trip to a PC World was to get an aerosol-can of compressed-air and the meat-puppet at the till offered to sell me an extended warranty. I sh!t you not.

Edited April 14, 2011 by Diver Dan

[Dave Beans]

As much as it will affect the thousands of staff – apart from the tosspots in Harrogate////////GOOD

The See You Next Tuesdays sold us a £180 camera that we took on honeymoon last year and it kept either not working or when it did left us with blurred images. Number of times i wanted to take a picture and it just wouldn’t. Brought one whilst away which rescued things but still lost picture moments.

Went to the branch in Harrogate, with all of the insurance, they did not care one jot about the situation offered like for like or equivalent, no cash refund. And no goodwill gesture at all. Unfortunately for them it then cost them a £600 laptop sale and an £1100 LED TV purchase – of which i informed them, followed by a train of expletives.

Oh gawd...I've got to return a laptop to Curry's as the CPU keeps on overheating...sounds like they may offer me a Teas Made as a direct replacement...

[Lagarde's Drift]

As much as it will affect the thousands of staff – apart from the tosspots in Harrogate////////GOOD

The See You Next Tuesdays sold us a £180 camera that we took on honeymoon last year and it kept either not working or when it did left us with blurred images. Number of times i wanted to take a picture and it just wouldn’t. Brought one whilst away which rescued things but still lost picture moments.

Went to the branch in Harrogate, with all of the insurance, they did not care one jot about the situation offered like for like or equivalent, no cash refund. And no goodwill gesture at all. Unfortunately for them it then cost them a £600 laptop sale and an £1100 LED TV purchase – of which i informed them, followed by a train of expletives.

You were going to blow 1700 quid on Dixons kit?! Consider yourself lucky to have missed out on that one!

[Lagarde's Drift]

My last trip to a PC World was to get an aerosol-can of compressed-air and the meat-puppet at the till offered to sell me an extended warranty. I sh!t you not.

The " meat puppet " is paid Feck all and forced into making silly sales talk like that. Not its fault. Look higher up.

[Lagarde's Drift]

Waterstones likewise. Delayed gratification

Bookstores are actually quite nice places to browse and chat up chicks, worth paying for a latte if not a book

[douggggy]

My last trip to a PC World was to get an aerosol-can of compressed-air and the meat-puppet at the till offered to sell me an extended warranty. I sh!t you not.

one £12.00 an hour person with a brain is worth more to ANY business than three £6.00 an hour meat-puppets

less with more is more .... more with less is more or less Dixons et al most of UK plc

Edited April 14, 2011 by douggggy

[longtomsilver]

Not quite. Their business model is evolving. They own some on-line retail outfits. Not sure whether they intend to rebrand them. Probably better for them not to given the apathy many people have to DSG stores.

Electronic goods manufacturers realise that price sensitive consumers will search out the best price on-line. But there's no substitute for feeling and touching goods. The manufacturers are paying store groups like DSG for displaying their goods. Much like food manufacturers pay the supermarkets for shelf space.

These marketing funds subsidise the retail stores even though the retailers themselves have on-line sales channels.

+1

This is absolutely spot-on!

Wife paid well over £100k of her s&p to PC World for this very reason... and that was for something like a 2ft square space in the top stores.

[Traktion]

Oh dear - you have much to learn here, Oh newbie one.

Having an independent means of exchange is one of the single most important thing we can have.

Online doesn't mean no independent means of exchange.

Take a look at http://ripple-project.org/ and http://www.bitcoin.org/. Sooner or later, fiat money will become a very old fashioned concept, but that doesn't mean we need to be carrying around notes or coins.

[SNACR]

I think that Dixons are a mixed bag. They have got better recently (the Bestbuy threat is looming) but they suffer dreadfully from years of poor service,

... oh actually now I come to think of it ....they did sell me a Video camera as new - which had somebody else's movies on the tape enclosed in the box.

I will use them - if I really really really need something shiny in a hurry ... but otherwise I will pay the extra and go to John Lewis (yeah I know they pricematch - but only on the lines that they stock).

Whilst catering for nice educated middle class people, prepared to travel for the privilege, John Lewis can easily operate a perceived high level of customer service.

If it was to build a metal shed on the outskirts of every town, and open its doors to the entire cross-section of society, I suspect (in fact, know) it's customer service levels would deteriorate markedly or it would be left with an empty bank account and a warehouse full of returned electrical goods wrecked, or simply unwanted, by f**kwits.

BTW, I always like the collection area for electrical and bulky goods at John Lewis. I try to remember to mention loudly 'it's just like Argos but for the aspirational'.

[eric pebble]

A disgrace for years.

....//...

How DSG has survived is beyond me, they are a throwback to the age of monopoly and contempt for customers.

Maybe they should rebrand as a bank!

11/10.

[Brave New World]

You were going to blow 1700 quid on Dixons kit?! Consider yourself lucky to have missed out on that one!

Yeah, went to Comet instead!!!! And got mugged off into buying a £360 5 year guarantee on the TV - not down with my tech stuff but didn't realise how f-ed you are if an LED breaks down. Still will kick the TV in in 4 years and claim for a new one.

[ken_ichikawa]

Yeah, went to Comet instead!!!! And got mugged off into buying a £360 5 year guarantee on the TV - not down with my tech stuff but didn't realise how f-ed you are if an LED breaks down. Still will kick the TV in in 4 years and claim for a new one.

Why did you go there? They prey on weaklings like you

[mfp123]

Yeah, went to Comet instead!!!! And got mugged off into buying a £360 5 year guarantee on the TV - not down with my tech stuff but didn't realise how f-ed you are if an LED breaks down. Still will kick the TV in in 4 years and claim for a new one.

never buy extended warranty - it is a rip off.

for £360 you can buy another 42" inch TV should it break.

did you know 1/3 of the profits of dixons is from extended warranties. thats why their so keen to push it.

the cost/risk ratio for warranties on any item, phones for example, just doesnt make economical sense.

[libspero]

Whilst catering for nice educated middle class people, prepared to travel for the privilege, John Lewis can easily operate a perceived high level of customer service.

If it was to build a metal shed on the outskirts of every town, and open its doors to the entire cross-section of society, I suspect (in fact, know) it's customer service levels would deteriorate markedly or it would be left with an empty bank account and a warehouse full of returned electrical goods wrecked, or simply unwanted, by f**kwits.

BTW, I always like the collection area for electrical and bulky goods at John Lewis. I try to remember to mention loudly 'it's just like Argos but for the aspirational'.

[Nationalist]

To be fair, the last thing I bought at Dixons was a Roberts radio for £40. Just checked and online it seems to be £43.99. So far it has worked fine! :crossedfingersemoticon: