April Fools

Dearest Readers,

Who’s the fool?

April fools day has passed and yet I see that we are being made fools by computer retailers in the high street and online.

A brochure dropped through the door, advertising a certain mail order computer company, offering brand new laptops from under 300 pounds. I get a little suspicious but Jo Public will continue to be duped by such advertising.

Let me break this down.

If a laptop (notebook, call it what you will) is offered for sale at £279 you should check the small print. Simply this price does not include VAT, delivery, handling charge and full warranty. I don’t want to drop any names here but let’s be honest, handling charge?

I was prey to such advertising only a few years ago. But if common sense prevails then I should have stopped to think a little harder before handing over my cash.

Handling Charge?

If you open a sweet shop, you intend to sell sweets. Why charge customers for handling those sweets? Would you quote prices excluding the paper bag to put them in? I suppose that if you sold sweets and someone requested some fruit, you would then be in a position to charge for handling, because it’s something you wouldn’t normally deal with.

But surely you will get fantastic tech support and excellent warranty?

Not true. Call centres, long waiting times, under trained staff.

Ok, so what if you think the handling charge is acceptable?

Finance is "subject to status" and "Free double memory is only valid for a short time". Oh and "free antivirus is on select models only" and then “only for a limited time”. I see the words “Image for illustrative purpose only", which means in plain English "What you see IS NOT what you get".

So if you’re looking for a new computer, beware, be very aware of what you’re buying. Sometimes things are not all they seem, or in this case, things are not at all what they seem.

Other things I could mention.

Did I mention that we get these computers in for repair quite often? Did I mention how disgruntled the customers were when I told them what they had purchased could not be upgraded? Did I mention that customers had not been given a copy of important software on disk such as Windows XP? Did I mention that finding important software like device drivers on the internet was very difficult for the majority of computers coming from such big companies? Did I mention £1 a min tech support lines?

Do you agree or disagree?

We always welcome your comments here! :) And we won’t be critical. If you think a computer company has bent over backwards to make sure your experience was a pleasant one please let us know!


The Dog