Comet & Curry's - waste of time!

[delta]

We wandered into Comet and Curry's in Stockport Peel centre this afternoon, just to have a browse and laugh at their prices and set-ups. In Comet my mate picked up a remote to adjust the convergence on a Toshiba 46WHO8B, it was a mile out and the picture was terribel! An assistant shot across to us and told us to leave well alone because the set was set-up for the customers. He added that a Toshiba engineer had done a perfect job. The picture settings for contrast, brightness and colour were all set at maximum 100! We pointed out that it was the worse possible setting and did not give the best possible picture let alone causing the tubes to burn out sooner. We also showed him a 40" version of the WHO8B which had screen burn because the set had been left in 4:3 mode for too long. You could see where the side panels were even on a dark 16:9 picture! He said it was due to poor reception today - even though it was showing a DVD input! That was enough for us, we left. In Curry's we were made to feel like we were a necessary evil, no-one wanted to know us. However when we eventually caught the attention of an assistant and pointed out that only one tv out of about 40 was displaying the correct aspect ratio, the assistant asked, 'The aspect what...?' We left! But what really gets my goat about these places is their advertising which always proclaims these companies are offering the best ever prices and deals, yet if you keep an eye on them, the prices are gradually creeping upwards! As for the knowledge of the staff, well, don't get me started...

Dave

i know where your comming from. i went into currys on friday and asked the shop assistant if they sold S VIDEO CABLES, and the reply i got was........"S WHAT?". it took a further 2 people until i found someone who actually knew what i was talking about, and the reply was......SORRY SIR WE STOPPED STOCKING THESE CABLES, I DON'T KNOW WHY BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE COME IN AND ASK FOR THEM"
i ended up driving a further 10 miles to a specialised home cinema shop with shop assistants that did have some knowledge of their products.
" I ONLY WANTED A BLOODY CABLE "

[LV426]

.....and you were surprised by these events.....????

IMHO, Comet, Currys, Dixons, Scottish Power, etc., etc., etc., serve only ONE purpose - as a source of entertainment. And I don't mean a place to buy entertainment equipment - I mean a place to go and be entertained by their pathetic attempts to display and sell products.

The really sad thing is, that these places and their practices are actually successful; people walk into these places and actually part with their cash! Astounding!

Mind you, I don't think that hardware manufacturers, software manufacturers, and digital broadcasters, are without blame. Their differing approaches to screens aspect ratios, their misleading labelling and so on don't help. After all, what chance has the average buyer got, if the sales staff in these stores can't cope?

And, many of the questions in these forums (eg why do I get black bands on my widescreen TV when I watch an anamorphic DVD and the like) indicate that many people, even those with enough of an interest to participate in these forums, are also having difficulty.

The sooner we get out of this 4:3 >> 16:9 "transitional phase" that we seem to have been in for years, and all TVs are 16:9 and all pictures (from digital or DVD) are in 16:9 format (with or without letterboxing), and we can get rid of the various modes that allow compatibility with "legacy" 4:3 material, the better.

[delta]

Originally posted by nigel:
<STRONG>.....and you were surprised by these events.....????

IMHO, Comet, Currys, Dixons, Scottish Power, etc., etc., etc., serve only ONE purpose - as a source of entertainment. And I don't mean a place to buy entertainment equipment - I mean a place to go and be entertained by their pathetic attempts to display and sell products.

The really sad thing is, that these places and their practices are actually successful; people walk into these places and actually part with their cash! Astounding!

Mind you, I don't think that hardware manufacturers, software manufacturers, and digital broadcasters, are without blame. Their differing approaches to screens aspect ratios, their misleading labelling and so on don't help. After all, what chance has the average buyer got, if the sales staff in these stores can't cope?

And, many of the questions in these forums (eg why do I get black bands on my widescreen TV when I watch an anamorphic DVD and the like) indicate that many people, even those with enough of an interest to participate in these forums, are also having difficulty.

The sooner we get out of this 4:3 &gt;&gt; 16:9 "transitional phase" that we seem to have been in for years, and all TVs are 16:9 and all pictures (from digital or DVD) are in 16:9 format (with or without letterboxing), and we can get rid of the various modes that allow compatibility with "legacy" 4:3 material, the better.</STRONG>

No, I wasn't surprsied but I thought I would put pen to paper to see what reaction there might be. Thanks for yours...! I agree with all that you say. But, when will people learn? Only by experience I guess.

Dave

[Panavision]

Funny stories, lads
Well, I bought my Sony Tele from Dixons. I knew what I wanted and I know my stuff.
I tend to buy from stores for peace of mind, I don't mind paying a little extra for peace of mind.

at the risk of making you kick yourself, John Lewis match internet prices - best of both worlds.
Stu

[delta]

Originally posted by stu_allen:
<STRONG>at the risk of making you kick yourself, John Lewis match internet prices - best of both worlds.
Stu</STRONG>

Yes, you are right about John Lewis. They claim to be 'Never knowingly undersold' so they will do a price match. However if you look at the same product next time you go in, the price is as it was before they price-matched, so they DO know they are being undersold! I have returned damaged goods to them in the past only to find them on sale the next time I have been there and at the original price, not the matched price!! Someone is bull****ting somewhere! Just be wary that's all.

Dave

Panavision, Dixons is the last place you will get peace of mind believe me, I know from experience. I bought a very expensive hifi system from them 10 years ago and the dvd player went faulty within a month and also the laser failed just out of 1 year guarantee. Whenever I need to buy Audio/hifi gear I just remember what the store manager said to me "not my problem mate! So I have shopped elsewhere ever since. Customer service and peace of mind is something you will never get there.

S'funny! A faulty DVD player from 10 years ago! Must've been a VERY early model...

Oops! Quite funny. You know what I mean!

[RMCF]

I think that you have to remember that the majority of people out there do not have an in-depth knowledge of HC/TV technology/DVD players etc etc. I would say that maybe only 5% of people would 'know their stuff' when going into shops - maybe people like the readers on this forum. But the vast majority just buy things on how they look and the price. I mean (hopefully this will not offend anyone) how else would Matsui equipment ever sell? You have to agree that places like Argos, Currys, Dixons, Index etc probably sell Alba, JMB, Medion, Matsui DVD players by the bucketfull. The punter who goes into these places does not know the difference between an Alba and a Sony player. You all must have experienced at some time a member of your family saying 'I don't hear any difference' after listening to your new CD seperate through your Rotel amp compared to their Goodmans mini system. Or not noticing the difference between VHS and DVD. These sort of people make up the majority of the buying public.

Having said that, some of us are unfortunate enough not to have any specialist shops within easy commuting distance and we have to shop from the likes of Currys. I mean if I want a good quality scart such as Ixos or QED then I would have a round trip of 150 miles. The reason is because my local shops would never sell a £39 scart when there are ones for £3.99 - cos thats what most people will buy.

[delta]

You are absolutely right. But this makes it all the more gauling when we 'in the know' see customers being told all kinds of rubbish from people who should know better. Sadly the majority of people do buy on price or looks alone. I think this kind of forum does help many people and I also feel that much of what is said here should be included in the magazine, which I guess reaches a far wider audience.

[Panavision]

No John Lewis in Birmingham.

But you can probably say the same thing about almost everything on sale...

People on this bulletin board know about AV stuff, but we're probably all guilty of buying other stuff in a sheeplike manner. I mean, if I wanted a washing machine I'd probably go to Comet or somewhere similar, but there are probably washing machine bulletin boards where they'd slate me and tell me I need to get an in-home demo of at least 3 or 4 machines before I buy. And what about top-loader vs front-loader? And then there's the quality of your water supply to consider...

Fair point KAO. Anybody know how to access the service menu on a Hotpoint Spinomatic