They
are
getting really mean about this Phil. It used to be that sales staff in DFS
and
Comet/Kingfisher did not really receive commission on warranties and what
they
did get was not worth pushing it for – that’s changed! They now
can “enhance”
their salary by selling a warranty by a fair amount, last time I looked the
commission
on the ones I refuse to sell was about 30% of the total amount, sell a few
a
day and it soon mounts up.
Example:
I
am a domestic appliance and refrigeration engineer; we also repair domestic
air
conditioning units. I went into Currys and bought two AEG air-con units
about
two weeks ago (only because they were at a stupidly low price) and they
started
the warranty speech. I explained to a manager and a salesperson that I was
a
repair agent for these type of units and would repair myself if need be.
They continued,
in stereo, to bestow the virtues of the warranty like the old “what
if the compressor
fails?” stuff and I said two things to the manager “one: if the
compressor goes
I either junk it as its so cheap anyway or two: get another pot from my
stock that’s
buckshee” they still prattled on! Eventually I just told them to
chuck it I did
not want the warranty and that was
that.
I go
into
Currys/DFS stores or Comet/B&Q Kingfisher stores only when I have no
alternative,
as they are expensive, lack after sales support and trained staff. No
offence
to Mark Harrison, but the staff in many of the sheds either doesn’t
get trained
properly or they don’t pay any attention to it
IMO.
Another
example
B&Q pack a waterproof twin outlet and flog it in store for £24.99, my
local
guy can buy the EXACT same product *packed*
by B&Q in B&Q’s packaging and retail it for £9.99, go figure!
But there
is a lot of this and customers are not stupid they will cotton on just the
same
as a great many people are cottoning onto the fact that an extended
warranty on
a basic washer costs nearly as much as the appliance – just not cost
effective!
K.
-----Original
Message-----
From: Phil Johnson
[mailto:whiskybob@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 11 May 2001 21:56
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Was OT
Widescreen TV - Extended warranties
I'm
surprised just how much I spent on extended warranties over the last five
years, I only know this because they keep sending me letters asking me to
extend the expired extended warranty. The sales people seem more
eager to
sell you the extended warranty than the item you actually want to buy and
get
really miffed when you don't take out the warranty. If you want to
get a
really bemused reaction from a salesperson in Comet / Currys etc, follow my
friends advice and tell 'em confidently "If it breaks, I'll buy
another
one", whether you mean it or not, it stops them dead in their
tracks.
-
Phil
-----
Original Message -----
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, May 11,
2001
7:36 PM
Subject:
RE:
[ukha_d] Was OT Widescreen TV - Extended warranties
I know all about this stuff as I fix white goods and know a
lot of
guys that
do the brown.
Extended warranties are a rip-off the companies (mainly Comet and
Currys or
DFS groups as they should be called) are just playing the numbers game.
On
a
washer costing about £250-350 you would expect one or two repairs in
the
five year period so ergo at an average of £70 a repair you make a
profit on
selling a warranty at £150, plus you have the interest on the dosh in
the
bank. The Comet offer of getting your money back is a no-hoper IMO as
80%
of
appliances need a repair inside the five year period, particularly on
a
washer dryer!
K.
-----Original Message-----
From: Stuart Grimshaw
[mailto:stuart@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 11 May 2001 16:10
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] OT Widescreen
TV
On Friday 11 May 2001 15:42 pm, you wrote:
> Paid my £45-00 quid and declined the offer of an extended
warranty.
> About 2 weeks after the shop closed I rang the helpline and told
them
I
> hand been sent the remote and they sent me a brand new one. Just
before
the
> 12 month warranty was up I was offered the chance to take out an
extended
> guarantee for a further 12 months for ONLY £79-00.
We got a good extended warranty with out washer/dryer, if you don't use
it,
you get the cash back at the end. OK, so we miss out on the interest
it
would
have earnt but I'd only have spent it on something else anyway
:-)
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