I hate this advert."Get really terrific service finding something you want, and then fuck the shop over because you can get it more cheaply on a website where they don't need to pay the overheads of shop rental, display items and helpful salespeople who know what they're talking about. Eventually the shop will close down and the helpful salesperson will lose his job, and your high street will be a desolate wasteland, and the only place left on earth to shop will be dixons.co.uk, and you'll be screwed because next time you want a TV there won't be a display item or a helpful salesperson, but who cares, because you got a cheap TV."
If you want to shop online, shop online, but don't use the real world to browse. You're only getting it cheaper because you're stealing expertise.
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13 comments:
I too am loathing this ad.... But on the bright side, it makes damn sure I'll never buy anything from Dixons again.
Also, it's inducing a massive craving in me to go to John Lewis.
As an ex-bookseller, this advert brought back horrible memories of going to great pains to find exactly the right book for a customer, only to have them say TO MY FACE, "Yeah, that sounds perfect, but will it be cheaper on Amazon?" SHAME ON THEM!
Awful ad. When I bought my sunglasses, I had wonderful help from a man in an independent shop. I knew I could get them cheaper online, but decided to buy them from the shop because of how helpful he'd been (and the tolerance he'd shown as I tried them on for the third day in a row...). Also good to support the independents too, even if it costs you a couple of quid more.
They even have the gall to use a John Lewis style font for the first part of the ad.
I nearly blew up in frustration last weekend when I foolishly tried a major DIY outlet for a purchase. They looked at me blankly as I tried to see if they could advise me on obtaining some new cooker hood light bulbs or if suitable lower watt alternatives would do the trick (as they didn't stock the size/watts we needed). 'Don't stock them'. I'm going to try somewhere that either (a) orders them in for me if they don't have them in stock or (b) tries to advise and is prepared to point to a suitable alternative from themselves or another store. And have learnt the lesson of using such places.
PS Dixons suck on a large scale.
Last week on Radio 4's Media Show they were discussing Apps for mobiles mentioning one that lets you scan barcodes in shops so it can let you know how much the product is online.
We all need to be a bit responsible about this. If we shop exclusively online, then we'll never be able to see and touch things in real life again before we receive them. We won't be able to talk to someone with expertise.
One thing I do know is that even if I am shopping for electricals online, it's not going to be at dixons.co.uk.
Curiously their parent company DSG (owners of PC World and Currys) already operates a bizarre scheme that means you can reserve things online to collect and pay for later in store, often paying less than if you'd idly wandered in off the street and picked the same item up off the shelves.
My mother is wanting to buy a Wii (which just proves how good the Nintendo marketing is) and Wii Fit.
The cheapest place where she can buy exactly what she wants without having to faff about - John Lewis.
At the moment my response when asked why a book is cheaper on the company website than in the branch is to say "That's because the extra money covers rent, heating, lighting...oh and staffing. You'd have had to have spent time looking for it yourself rather than having me do it."
Quite apart from your very correct objections, I absolutely loathe the reverse-snobbism of the ad: "middle England", "awfully well brought up". Hate, hate, hate snobs who pretend to hate snobs. I can only imagine how they treat their own staff and customers if they have so little concern for good service. Loathsome.
I suspect that there's an element of glee in the Dixons ad. Essentially, Dixons closed all its stores (leaving just the Curry's behind) because people were looking at their huge mark-ups and shopping online itself. So they're now doing unto others what was done to them.
Of course, as with PC World, finding someone who knew what they were talking about in Dixons was always a challenge, so that's the big difference between the two scenarios.
Good luck, incidentally, anyone who tries to claim anything on the guarantee with Dixons.co.uk...
Agreed, sis, the sneery snobbery of this ad is just another reason to loathe it.
Thank you, Marie. I hadn't known this ad existed, so my outrage is newly minted.
I, too, now have a burning desire to visit John Lewis. The last time I shopped there, the salesman who helped me find shoes to match my new dress was so helpful that I found myself desperately hoping that the next pair he brought would fit, look good, not pinch, etc. It was the nearest I'd ever come to being Cinderella but, alas, nothing fitted, leaving me to take the part of the disappointed ugly sister instead.
I value good service more than I value a couple of quid. The last time I shopped at Tesco I was still in the store at closing time, at which point a spotty youth was let loose to stride around the shop shouting at customers to go to the tills as the shop was now closed.
Suffice to say that has NEVER happened in Waitrose...
Totally Agree!!! I have thought this myself on many on occasion. Further to your point, I would gladly pay more at the local mom and pop where the salespeople care and are knowledgeable than the big-box department stores where the staff often haven't a clue about the merchandise.
But if you are stuck in a big box store sizing up a piece of merchandise, if one has a mobile phone browser, then resources like Amazon or epinions can be consulted while shopping in place or in addition to the salespeople.
Cheers,
Gary
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