Linda Walton wrote: > John Lewis have always used their famous slogan, "never > knowingly undersold". If you find the same thing for sale > more cheaply anywhere else, they will match the price: > I've tested this, and it's true. "Value for money" is > not the same as "cheapest". By the way, > this is not the same as the "never knowingly undersold" > sevice offered by retailers such as Curry's. I was told, (by a senior > person with the Citizen's Advice Bureau, but some time ago - > so the policy may have changed), that you have to prove that > the price you've found elsewhere is for exactly the same model. > The trick is that the retailers have a deal with the > manufacturers to produce models especially for them, (usually > a very basic model), with its own exclusive model number.
I had an experience with Curry's. I chose a Philips iron from their display; it was marked at £45. It was "out of stock" and they wouldn't sell me the display model. Just as well, in the end - I went to Comet (almost next door) and found the exact same model of iron priced at £60. The Comet salesman rang up Curry's to confirm model number and price, and sold me the iron for £45 minus £4.50 - price match and 10% of the difference! So I paid £40.50. In future I'll shop around and then look in Comet <G>. They were very willing to help, and seemed perfectly happy with the arrangement. Margery. ================================================= [email protected] in North Hertfordshire, UK ================================================= > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of > Sent: Sunday 07 November 2010 09:19 > To: Lace Chat > Subject: Re: [lace-chat] Dishwashers > > [email protected] wrote: > [snip] > > > > One thing that you can deduce from the Consumer Affairs complaint > bureau is that there is no misery greater than an appliance > that is a > lemon from the day you get it, and that if you are unlucky enough to > get one of these, you will be shunned by the manufacturer > and lied to > by repairmen who tell you you have misused the appliance by > having your > water too hot. too cold, or too hard, the wrong kind of > detergent, or > dishes that are not sufficiently dirty. All repairs will > cost as much > as a new dishwasher. Meanwhile, other people will be > deliriously happy > with the same appliance. > > I'm horrified at the thought of finding myself in this position. The > way we get round it is to buy through a retailer who has the > strength to > stand up to the manufacturers and the repairers, and the > motivation to > maintain their own reputation for quality service by doing so. After > all, you might only buy a limited number of items from any > manufacturer > in your lifetime, while a national retailer could buy thousands over > many years. In our case, we go to John Lewis, from whom we > have bought > all the domestic machines I mentioned in my earlier post, as > well as our > fridge/freezer and gas cooker, (and television and my laptop, among > other gadgets). > > The only thing that has ever given us a problem was the fridge, which > went wrong in the first weeks. It also had an alarm that went off > whenever the internal temperature of the fridge or the freezer > compartment was too warm. This alarm would go off at any time of the > day or night, and we had to leave it sounding because the only way to > stop it was to turn off the whole thing, thus ruining the > food stored in > the compartment that was still working at the right temperature, but > leavin it on ruined our sleep. Since the fridge freezer was > still well > inside the shop's (legally required, I think - not paid for > by us), two > year guarantee period, they sent round repair people at once > and without > charge. On the third time this happened, they simply offered > to replace > it. We accepted their offer, and received a bigger, better > fridge/freezer the next day, with no extra charges at all. > Last year, > when a part in the fridge's works wore out, we went back to > the repair > company used by John Lewis, since they had proved themselves > honest and > reliable. They found the problem and fixed it on the spot, > and we have > had no further trouble. > > This kind of service is not reflected in the price we paid for the > goods. John Lewis have always used their famous slogan, "never > knowingly undersold". If you find the same thing for sale > more cheaply > anywhere else, they will match the price: I've tested this, and it's > true. "Value for money" is not the same as "cheapest". By the way, > this is not the same as the "never knowingly undersold" > sevice offered > by retailers such as Curry's. I was told, (by a senior > person with the > Citizen's Advice Bureau, but some time ago - so the policy may have > changed), that you have to prove that the price you've found > elsewhere > is for exactly the same model. The trick is that the > retailers have a > deal with the manufacturers to produce models especially for them, > (usually a very basic model), with its own exclusive model > number. My > C.A.B. friend also warned me that they had more complaints about the > service received from Curry's than about any other - again, > it was quite > a while ago, so this may have changed. (But I doubt it.) > > So - my message is: get the power of a bigger, stronger > outfit to help > you, and reward them by buying your goods through them. When > we wanted > to add more insulation to our home, I was desperate to avoid the > situation of my neighbour. When she had cavity wall > insulation and loft > insulation put in, the clumsy installers damaged her outside wall and > fell through her bedroom ceiling - and she had to argue for months > before they would do any repairs. So I went to Marks and Spencer's. > After all, any company with a contract with M&S has a lot more > motivation to do a good job and correct problems quickly than > a company > with a contract with me alone! > > Wishing you all the very best of luck with all your household buys, > Linda Walton, > (in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, U.K, where it's a calm morning and > the sky the delightful pale blue of a hen's egg, {the Old Cotswold > Legbar egg I'm boiling for my breakfast}. But although we're > promised > "heavy rain and severe gales" next week, I'm tucked up safe > with a cosy > lace pillow - hope you are too!). > > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing > the line: > unsubscribe lace-chat [email protected]. For help, write to > [email protected]. > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected].
