News - SCAN launches innovative component installation insurance

[moogle]

Is this when you are logged in, so your account rememberes? or is it a cookie?

Cos that is really going to annoy me if it's the latter.

Yeah it's a cookie, I didn't expect a new column to be added to the user tables for opting out of it
I guess the only way is to not clear your cookies or log out at all

[Funkstar]

Yeah it's a cookie, I didn't expect a new column to be added to the user tables for opting out of it
I guess the only way is to not clear your cookies or log out at all

Well that is officially rubbish then.

I use multiple systems, all over the place to order from Scan.

This is actually starting to put me off buying from them if I'm being honest.

[GoNz0]

never seem saracen do such short posts,..


but anyway, it really does seem like a way for scan to make a fast buck from those that click next to fast, it should be opt in not opt out policy, and reading up on the T&C's its not worth buying.

[Chris P]

I'm not sure why people are trying to make out there are benefits for SCAN as a negative point? Is anyone really that suprised that there are beneifts for us as an eTailer as well as the customer?, which is priced at the right level!

the whole idea behind this cover is to make it very cheap," said Raja. "It's designed to encourage people to build their own PCs and has the additional benefit to us of simplifying the RMA process."

The cover is added by default when checking out a basket of items which includes components. We asked if there had been any resistance to this from customers and Raja pointed out that in the 24 hours it's been running he's had no complaints and, furthermore, that it's very easy to opt out of.

[TheAnimus]

This reminds me of those worthless upselling insurances that mortgage people do.

I had to actually tell my broker i was going to walk out if he dared mention any payment protection insurance again. I'd told him i know those schemes are worthless, and been investigated by the FSA, but he kept trying to sell me one......

[Saracen]

I don't think anyone sees advantages to Scan as being a negative, Chris. Nobody in their right mind expects any retailer to do anything without their being a benefit. If you hold a free competition and give away a PC, it'll be because there's a benefit .... which might be advertising, or brand awareness, or gaining customer loyalty. It might be intangible and not necessarily monetary, but there'll be a benefit. If there wasn't, why would a business do it? You are, after all, a business not a charity. The whole point of a business is to make money, and you do it (and do it very well I might add) by offering customers products they want to buy at a price they want to buy it at.

But if, when you went to do your weekly shop, the cashier at Tesco added a 4 pint bottle of milk to your basket and then charged you for it if you forgot to take it out, would you be impressed? Or would you think it was presumptuous as hell of Tesco, for them to decide what you wanted to buy?

Well, personally, that's how I feel about having chargeable items added to my basket at Scan by default, unless I decide to remove them. I resent ANY retailer making decisions about what products I do or don't want to buy, and whether they're good value or not. I'll decide what I want to add to my basket, thank you, not Tesco, and not Scan.

It's arrogant.

The cover is added by default when checking out a basket of items which includes components. We asked if there had been any resistance to this from customers and Raja pointed out that in the 24 hours it's been running he's had no complaints and, furthermore, that it's very easy to opt out of.

Yes, well, you're getting feedback on that issue from customers (and potential ones like me) on that subject right now. I can tell you, for a stone cold certainty, that's there's a fair few people that really, REALLY don't like that opt-in default. I can also tell you that most won't bother to complain to you about it. They'll just be annoyed, and some of them might even shop elsewhere as a result.

I can also tell you for a certainty that Scan's attitude re RMA on XFX has already cost you customers. I've put a number of friends and customers of mine onto you as a result of seeing such good customer service from Scan over quite a long period, and after a number of recent threads especially re: XFX, I'm now finding myself having to justify to them what I was talking about. And on more than one occasion, failing to convince them.

Chris, I'm not anti-Scan. I'm a supporter. and what I'm saying here is coming from someone that has said, publicly and repeatedly, that I'd rather deal with Scan than most, perhaps, any, other retailer in the sector. What I'm saying here is intended as constructive criticism.

But when you start adding things to my basket by default, you're going to annoy even a Scan fan like me. You can listen to that and take it on-board, or you can ignore it and carry on as you are. I don't know how many see the inclusion of insurance by default as obnoxious, but I can tell you that I certainly do. And from comment here, and some comments I've received privately, I can guarantee you, I'm not alone.

So if senior management are happy they haven't had any complaints, well, they have now.

As for being easy to remove, well, so would that 4 pint bottle of milk, but that wouldn't make it any less presumptuous to have put it in there in the first place, would it?

And Chris, whether it's an accurate reflection or not, adding that in by default is going to be seen by some as underhand. It's going to be seen as relying on customers either not noticing it's there, or thinking "oh it's not much, why not" without actually thinking it through. Adding it by default is going to be seen as an underhand way of increasing the amount of insurance you sell, whether that's true or not. Many people may not care, some may even approve. But many won't. And it's the perception of motivation it creates that's damaging, not the reality of motivation. There's a fine line between you adding it in by default, and the motor insurance broker I mentioned earlier adding extra cover, charging me for it and not even telling me it was there. If I hadn't noticed it, and fought like hell to get the money back, I'd have ended up paying for cover I neither wanted nor even know about.

Bear in mind, with many people, insurance is an expensive but necessary evil. People don't like insurance companies either, by and large, because many people have had experience of insurance companies using fine print and exclusion clauses to avoid paying out where they can, often via methods people see (rightly or wrongly) as devious and underhand. Most people feel some resentment about insurance they do need to buy, let alone having some they might or might not need added by default.

Is anyone really that suprised that there are beneifts for us as an eTailer as well as the customer?, which is priced at the right level!

And by the way, that's why I went to the trouble of outlining the limitations and exclusions. It's fine for both the customer and Scan to benefit from any product priced at the right level, providing people understand what the benefits to them are, and aren't. That requires them understanding what the exclusions are, too, or they can't understand whether the price is fair or not. And personally, I'd much rather see a brief outline of the major exclusions right up there on the initial page where the benefits are listed, rather than having to play "hunt the fine print" in a PDF I have to download. Again, it's about perception.

So Chris, if you've got someone like me that does rate Scan highly saying things like this, does it make you wonder what those that don't know you so well might be thinking, whether they bother to tell you or not?

[GoNz0]

LOL CP, you might be good at retail sales, but your previous reply proves your lacking at customer support

very well put (as always i might add) post saracen

[moogle]

I can tell you, for a stone cold certainty, that's there's a fair few people that really, REALLY don't like that opt-in default.

Yep, I'm sure no one likes the Phorm opt in by default method, or Phorm at all

[how1]

I don't think anyone sees advantages to Scan as being a negative, Chris. Nobody in their right mind expects any retailer to do anything without their being a benefit. If you hold a free competition and give away a PC, it'll be because there's a benefit .... which might be advertising, or brand awareness, or gaining customer loyalty. It might be intangible and not necessarily monetary, but there'll be a benefit. If there wasn't, why would a business do it? You are, after all, a business not a charity. The whole point of a business is to make money, and you do it (and do it very well I might add) by offering customers products they want to buy at a price they want to buy it at.

But if, when you went to do your weekly shop, the cashier at Tesco added a 4 pint bottle of milk to your basket and then charged you for it if you forgot to take it out, would you be impressed? Or would you think it was presumptuous as hell of Tesco, for them to decide what you wanted to buy?

Well, personally, that's how I feel about having chargeable items added to my basket at Scan by default, unless I decide to remove them. I resent ANY retailer making decisions about what products I do or don't want to buy, and whether they're good value or not. I'll decide what I want to add to my basket, thank you, not Tesco, and not Scan.

It's arrogant.


Yes, well, you're getting feedback on that issue from customers (and potential ones like me) on that subject right now. I can tell you, for a stone cold certainty, that's there's a fair few people that really, REALLY don't like that opt-in default. I can also tell you that most won't bother to complain to you about it. They'll just be annoyed, and some of them might even shop elsewhere as a result.

I can also tell you for a certainty that Scan's attitude re RMA on XFX has already cost you customers. I've put a number of friends and customers of mine onto you as a result of seeing such good customer service from Scan over quite a long period, and after a number of recent threads especially re: XFX, I'm now finding myself having to justify to them what I was talking about. And on more than one occasion, failing to convince them.

Chris, I'm not anti-Scan. I'm a supporter. and what I'm saying here is coming from someone that has said, publicly and repeatedly, that I'd rather deal with Scan than most, perhaps, any, other retailer in the sector. What I'm saying here is intended as constructive criticism.

But when you start adding things to my basket by default, you're going to annoy even a Scan fan like me. You can listen to that and take it on-board, or you can ignore it and carry on as you are. I don't know how many see the inclusion of insurance by default as obnoxious, but I can tell you that I certainly do. And from comment here, and some comments I've received privately, I can guarantee you, I'm not alone.

So if senior management are happy they haven't had any complaints, well, they have now.

As for being easy to remove, well, so would that 4 pint bottle of milk, but that wouldn't make it any less presumptuous to have put it in there in the first place, would it?

And Chris, whether it's an accurate reflection or not, adding that in by default is going to be seen by some as underhand. It's going to be seen as relying on customers either not noticing it's there, or thinking "oh it's not much, why not" without actually thinking it through. Adding it by default is going to be seen as an underhand way of increasing the amount of insurance you sell, whether that's true or not. Many people may not care, some may even approve. But many won't. And it's the perception of motivation it creates that's damaging, not the reality of motivation. There's a fine line between you adding it in by default, and the motor insurance broker I mentioned earlier adding extra cover, charging me for it and not even telling me it was there. If I hadn't noticed it, and fought like hell to get the money back, I'd have ended up paying for cover I neither wanted nor even know about.

Bear in mind, with many people, insurance is an expensive but necessary evil. People don't like insurance companies either, by and large, because many people have had experience of insurance companies using fine print and exclusion clauses to avoid paying out where they can, often via methods people see (rightly or wrongly) as devious and underhand. Most people feel some resentment about insurance they do need to buy, let alone having some they might or might not need added by default.


And by the way, that's why I went to the trouble of outlining the limitations and exclusions. It's fine for both the customer and Scan to benefit from any product priced at the right level, providing people understand what the benefits to them are, and aren't. That requires them understanding what the exclusions are, too, or they can't understand whether the price is fair or not. And personally, I'd much rather see a brief outline of the major exclusions right up there on the initial page where the benefits are listed, rather than having to play "hunt the fine print" in a PDF I have to download. Again, it's about perception.

So Chris, if you've got someone like me that does rate Scan highly saying things like this, does it make you wonder what those that don't know you so well might be thinking, whether they bother to tell you or not?

Very well put reply. I agree 100%.

[Blackbadger]

Its nice to have the option, however as others, I access the site from multiple systems, and cookies are usually cleaned. It would be best to opt-in rather than opt-out.

If in the unfortunate event you must claim to have a component replaced,
What is the procedure ? The website says

Making a claim is simple, call our usual customer service number and we will do the rest.

Do you really do the rest ? - no forms have to be printed off, sent in etc, do we have to take trips to the post office?
It's very vague.

If paying for this extra cover what actually happens if say you damaged a gfx card.
- Does scan send out a new one for the next day, and pick up the old ?
- Must you send back the dead component first ? - have it go through the normal delays due to "high volumes" as scans rma team checks the hardware first?
- What if the Gfx card just doesn't work when you first install it and you have this insurance (all though your pretty sure you didn't break it). Do you 1) quickly replace the card ? as normally should happen, 2) start rma procedures ? 3) Or do you use the insurance ?
- Importantly! How long does the procedure take to get a replacement part from the 24hrs notification period ?

Also if you do make a claim, Will it effect any other insurance policy's you have ?
For example, If you take home/buildings cover you are asked if you have made any insurance claims over the last 3 years.. - If so.. you may pay higher premiums, as you are classed as higher risk. The extra on these premiums could cost far more than the component at hand.

[Vadim]

Sometimes the legal wording may sound a bit unclear, and I may be wrong, please someone from Scan correct me if thats the case:

Normally, if you install a waterblock for your VGA, you void the warranty of your VGA Card, but not of the VGA Block as you follow the instructions.

If you have this insurance, if you follow the instructions of the VGA Block and you accidentally damage the card, you are covered by the insurance to get a replacement card as long as you pack it back with its original cooler before having it shipped to Scan. Same thing - if your waterloop is leaking within 28 days, you get covered for any damage caused by the leak. You did follow the instructions to set up your watercooling for your system as a whole, yet accidents happen...

How many of us have never accidentally damaged a component when building a system due to our own fault? The last one I done is bending the pins of a core 2 duo mobo and the supplier refused to replace it - fact.
Dropping a HD/VGA/mobo - accident

I still think that this insurance is a very positive thing and paying around £10 for £500 worth of goods is a bargain. I bet it would feel good if something from above would happen, and just have to tell the RMA department - while I was building my rig, the water burst all over the place from the tubes and there you go - accident

Edit: Although I agree - having it as an optional item and giving you an extra warning when you dont select the insurance it will be more ethical

[Chris P]

XFX RMA'S are a seperate issue, which I'm not going to get back into at this point but we have constantly tried to re-assure customer's that we are working with XFX to improve the service. Maybe this has lost XFX sales and customer's have switched to other brands but there doesnt seem to be any effect in the actuual Sales presently but we are still always looking to improve the RMA service as well as all other areas of SCAN and it's services.

Saracen some of your points are clearly sensationalised one of which is "hunt the fine print" in a PDF, and even if you are a supporter of SCAN its a rediculous comment based on the exclusions are clearly visible and NOT in fine print, so i'll ignore these kind of comments and would really expect more from you. Your constructive feedback is still greatly appreciated.

All feedback we have reveived is appreciated as always and the threads are being monitored by the Senior Management you speak of, with any new service there is always resistance of some sort. If is felt that the exclusions are not clear.

For customer who have chosen to proceed with Scansure there have not been any complaints I am aware of so far, but I understand the initial reservations, which are to be expected.

I will see what can be done about putting some examples up to hopefully clarify the exclusions..

Chris

[PeterStoba]

do we get no claims bonuses?

[Azza]

do we get no claims bonuses?

Great idea.


Thanks for that Vadim.


As Blackbadger said, would the component go through the normal RMA procedure under this insurance or would the get processed quicker or anything?

[tickedon]

I will see what can be done about putting some examples up to hopefully clarify the exclusions..

This would be most helpful in establishing the value of the product, as right now I can't really see it with all the exclusions.

I would also agree, if you are wanting to push this product, then you should take the effort to add another column to your users table in the database for people who want to opt out.

I don't mind something being added to my basket once, as long as if I remove it, it doesn't keep coming back.

[Chris P]

do we get no claims bonuses?

Can we increase the premiums if you claim