PC world....

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Not me, no.

PC World are what they are. Of course they're expensive, compared to e-tailers. Given the costs they face, they have to be. I've also not generally been impressed with the knowledge of the sales guys, but every once in a while you happen to come across someone who knows their stuff .... and no doubt that's due to hobbyist and personal knowledge not company training.

But .... I'm better off having them there than not, simply because they are convenient. Sometimes, when I need (or just want) something, I need/want it right now, not in a couple of days (or weeks) time. And if I mail-order, I either have to be sure someone's here to accept deliver or I have to stay here myself, and time is money.

PC World are useful to me. Their stock range might not be ideal, but I can usually find something that does the trick. I can also usually just go get it, rather than have to muck about with couriers. So, if it means I pay more than I have to compared to mail-order, so what? If I don't like the price, I don't have to go there.

I find the attitude that often prevails when PC World threads crop up to be very patronising. Not everybody buying in PC World is doing it because they don't know what things cost online, or because they don't know any better. It might be because, for instance, if it goes wrong, they want to be able to pop a mile or two down the road, plonk it on the desk and get a replacement right there and then, rather than have to much about with couriers. Sure, not everybody knows about PCs and will get sold something they don't need. PC World are hardly unique on that.

Personally, I don't buy there unless what I'm buying is value for money and that does NOT necessarily mean the cheapest source.

I agree entirely. For an emergency they can be useful as unfortunately there are not many decent independent computer shops everywhere with any stock!!

[Saracen]

I agree entirely. For an emergency they can be useful as unfortunately there are not many decent independent computer shops everywhere with any stock!!

I'm lucky in having a pretty good small independent too. Their stock isn't great, but for higher valued items, they'll usually get exactly what I want in a couple of days, and often at prices that match e-tailing prices, too .... or come pretty close. While that means I have to wait a couple of days, so it isn't much use in the "right now" situation, it does mean I can collect at a time convenient to me, and as they're about a mile from me, it's no great inconvenience. It also avoids using couriers. That and PC World solves most of my PC needs.

[HSK]

Hmm well, they are expensive. never really had a problem with any of the stuff bought from there. i guess it a case of emergency etc, when u need something you could get it from there - if they have it - the things they stock are pretty crap, otherwise we tend to avoid it.

[Betty_Swallocks]

I agree completely. I use them often myself if I need something quickly.

When family or non computer literate friends ask my for advice I always send them to one of the big 3 local stores, Currys Comet or PC World. I just make sure I discuss their needs with them and advise them exactly what they need to get so that there's no chance of the salesman selling them something unsuitable just because that's what the bosses are plugging that week.

For most (less techy) people the ability to load a faulty bit of kit into the car, go 5 miles down the road, plonk it on the counter and get it fixed or replaced is far more valuable than saving a few quid by buying online.

You only need to have to ship something back to an online retailer once at your own expense to lose any savings you might have made and your machine could be out of action for weeks while it is tested, repaired, sent back, found to be still faulty, sent away again.............

As Saracen says, they do what they do. You can't expect computer experts for the money they pay, they might happen across a good person now and again butt they tend to move on to more lucrative lines of work quite quickly just like field service engineers.

All in all I'm glad they're there. There are small independant retailers around but tbh I very rarely use them. Their prices are usually even higher than PC World, their stock is even more limited. The only thing they bring to the party is knowledge and I have that already.

When I thought my psu had blown up a while ago (Don't ask. It was the switch on the back that was off. So much for knowledge, hey?) it was PC World I turned to. All the independants could offer were 20 quid nameless units that I wouldn't even consider. At least PC World had a decent Jeantech at a reasonable price. It's still going strong over 2 years later. If I'd been all sniffy about dealing with them my machine would potentially have been out of action for a week. As it was I was back up and running within the hour.

[Betty_Swallocks]

I once bought a MS Keyboard from them, only to discover that it was used.

PC World are hardly unique in this respect I'm afraid. It seems to be becoming industry standard practice to put returned items back into stock, even with some companies that should know better and shall remain nameless here.
I bought a laptop from one company (not PC World) and found that it still had another persons data on it.

[Blitzen]

but it's actually a job that would suit me really well if it weren't for the all the selling

So you dont want to sell anything but you want to work in a shop????

I am the only one seeing the BIG flaw in your career choice?

[pepsi_max2k]

>> I am the only one seeing the BIG flaw in your career choice?

The repairs department of a shop, yes. There's precious few other desktop build/repair jobs that are located in a single place and require no knowledge of other systems.

The other options are places like online retailers (of which there is one within a 40 mile radius), indie repair shops (there's 2 in the city) which usually require you to man sales given their lower staff count, larger companies like dell / packard bell etc which I presume would be much more automated and again, none around here... field work, either self employed or not, which requires a driving license... educational work, most of which require either teaching or knowledge of servers / large networks, other buisiness IT departments which again usually require server / large network knowledge and experience, and general sys admin jobs (see previous 2).

I'm starting to wonder where the hell everyone's PCs come from and how they're all getting them fixed. Like I said, if you know of anywhere else...

[acrobat]

I was buying a bunch of Wii games the other day, and many of them where much cheaper in PC World than on Play.com

I think probably 60% of them where cheaper in PC World than in Play (or Amazon). So they aren't always stupidly expensive.

[Agent]

The repairs department of a shop, yes.

Look into the job more, its not what you think.

You have to fix machines then sell the customer something to 'stop it happening again'.
Fixing a machine usually involves putting the restore disks in.

If there is a hardware issue, you're looking at 10 mins of trouble shooting and then a new part, overpriced of course.

Its still a sales job mate. Just one that requires to you insert CD's into a system more often than most.

[Parm]

I've had a complete change of heart with PC World. In the past I used to find them so incredibly expensive I just used to feel sorry for people buying from them unaware of the discounts available online.

Now however, I actually buy a few things from PC World myself! It's buy online and pick up in store service is fab. The online prices can be very competitive, I've bought a few things that I couldn't find cheaper anywhere else. Better still, I can reserve it and pick it up 20mins later, no need to wait for delivery.

I've never used the tech support services, and wouldn't wish it on myself, but the buy online and pick up in store service works well.

[Splash]

I've never used the tech support services, and wouldn't wish it on myself, but the buy online and pick up in store service works well.

For my sins I used to (a fair few years back now) work for their tech support line - I used to deal with all kinds of stuff ranging from businesses who'd bought a bunch of systems to Mrs. Brady, old lady all the way to the tech support staff at the stores. The range of technical knowledge and expertise given was massively varied, but I know a few people (myself included) used the job as a foot in the door in the industry.

Given Pepsi_max2k's situation I'd suggest that s/he take some time and learn some soft skills then take a job working helldesk for a local company. It can be stressfull, you have to be able to deal with people who have less than zero technical skills and also people who are waaaaaaaay more skilled than yourself. You have to be able to talk to all kinds of people, but unless you're prepared to do some training (which will set you back some cash) it really is (in my opinion) the best way into the industry. I'm now skilled in network admin, server support and all kinds of other guff simply because I had enough interest in the industry and the enthusiasm to start a the bottom rung. A little knowledge and a thurst for learning will take you a long way, but please don't try for a career in IT if you want to do it for the money advertised in the Learndirect adverts - a lot of the time you'll be earning little more than the guys at PC World at the start, and you won't have the sales comission to bump the cash.

Anyways - back on topic. PC World is a big business because it fulfills a demand and it has brand awareness. It's not the cheapest of places however the convenience factor is worth a lot to a lot of people (as mentioned elsewhere in the thread). Some of the staff are motivated more by sales than customer care, but that's the environment in retail - you don't shift the boxes, you don't get the bonuses.

[Buzzsaw]

I'll agree with people that they are expensive, but sometimes they have some good prices on stuff in sales.
A couple of years ago I bought a 4port router, with 4 8m cat5e cables and 4 cards. I think it cost about £20, the same price as the same router with only 1 5m cable and card.
I've never used all of the cards, but the cables are used now with the network I wired into the house last year for the broadband router.
I also use them to check out peripherals, eg mice, keyboards, etc, to see how they feel. Having used too many mice over the years that don't fit, I consider it very important to try before I buy.

[staffsMike]

I have to admit over the past few years and the introduction of the reserve online service I have started to use them.

Games, chairs, fans ..just bought LG M228WA in there with my mates staff discount (£205 which is cheaper than I've seen anywhere ).. i've even seen a couple of pc's I would probably buy in there if I didn't feel like building them.

I don't like a lot of the rubbish they do sell, I hate pacard bell for example but they do seem to sell some good stuff at fairly reasonable prices these days.

[Agent]

They do some brilliant laptop deals sometimes

[Behemoth]

I don't mind going into the one in Truro now. Mainly because I work for Curry' so I'm known by the staff there so they leave me alone and don't try and force anything on me, but secondly because there are a few staff in there that actually know what they are talking about.

One bloke, I forget is name is so darn helpful I always go and see him if I want to make a purchase of something and the collect and reserve system is dead handy

The last time I had a rough deal with them was when I bought Half Life 2 in there and they wou;dn't le me use my staff discount on it.

[b0redom]

Don't forget, to draw an analogy, you guys are all Ferrari drivers, walking into a Ford garage. Of course you're likely to know more than the sales staff, but if you need a spare tyre in an emergency they might be able to help.

Most people are plain clueless when it comes to PCs, and having somewhere local they can drop in and ask is pretty useful for them.