... I went over to Mill Hill where there's an Argos Superstore and Comet next to each other. Argos, again, didn't have what I wanted so the only other option was Comet next door.
The place is the size of a small airport hangar and all the sales personnel looked very, very bored and harassed. ... Read review
Advantages: were able to sell me a fax machine Disadvantages: bored staff, not much choice, still flogging warranties
...there's an Argos Superstore and Comet next to each other. Argos, again, didn't have what I wanted so the only other option was Comet next door.
The place is the size of a small airport hangar and all the sales personnel looked very, very bored and harassed. At least I knew where to call for help if I ever needed some.
The layout of the store didn't look very appealing to me. It was kind of the "stack 'em high, sell ... ...My tip for shopping at Comet - and any other of the electrical superstores - do your homework. Know what you want and need, make a list of everything that is required. Don't bother asking any of the shop assistants, most of them won't even know what you are talking about. Don't fall for the extra insurance trick. If you have a high value good and want to have an extended warrantee, contact the manufacturer direct. Most of the time they will be able ... more
My fax machine imploded one Saturday. Luckily I was at home when it happened. I could smell something burning, melting or whatever that smell is when plastic starts emitting little plumes of smoke, then there was a little fizz, a plop and all the lights went out. Well, they would have gone out had it been night time, but it was the middle of the day. But it blew a fuse.
First call of action, unplug offending item, then restore electricity in the flat and thank my lucky stars that nothing had a chance to catch fire. Phew, it could have all ended in tears, or worse.
So, off I went in search of a new fax machine. yes, there are still some people who need this old fashioned type of device.
I started off locally at Argos. Although they had fax machines in their catalogues, I didn't like any of them. Well, Argos had one I wanted, but they couldn't find it in the store room. They refunded my money but I was still without a fax machine. I needed it so all I could do was brave some more shops. I went over to Mill Hill where there's an Argos Superstore and Comet next to each other. Argos, again, didn't have what I wanted so the only other option was Comet next door.
The place is the size of a small airport hangar and all the sales personnel looked very, very bored and harassed. At least I knew where to call for help if I ever needed some.
The layout of the store didn't look very appealing to me. It was kind of the "stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap" kind. There was audio-visual to the left of the store. Televisions and stereo systems were cramped into a small space, the shelves too close together. It would have been difficult for two people to pass each other without a little dance, trying to avoid bumping into each other.
To the right, and taking up about three quarters of the store were the 'white goods', fridges, freezers, washing machines and dryers - and combinations of these. I can't even remember if there were signs above the goods to point you in the direction you needed to go to find what you were looking for. I don't think there were. You either had to go on an excursion yourself and find the right section or ask a member of staff to point you in the right direction.
Then straight ahead from the entrance, you could find the rather small telecommunications area. Two rows of shelves with phones, mobiles and fax machines, if I remember correctly. Not exactly the biggest selection in the world but it was sufficient. At the end of one aisle I found the fax machines. They had a few to choose from. A lot of the cardboard labels had dropped off from the front of the products so you couldn't really see what the machines had to offer. Someone had thrown them back on the shelves in no particular order. I picked one of them up, looked at it and then used it like a little fan. But they had two fax machines I quite liked.
Enter young sales assistant from my right. Wow, I didn't even need to call out for help or try and make eye contact while everyone was busy pretending they didn't see or hear me.
I told the young man which machine I wanted to buy, so he walked off to get it for me and returned empty handed. It wasn't in stock. 'Shame', I said. 'I rather liked that one, in particular the fact it came with an answer machine that could take up to 30 minutes of messages', 'Oh', he said, 'does it?' Not exactly what you want to hear from a sales assistant. But I never held up too much hope that he even knew what fax machines were used for. So, off he went again to look if he could find the second one I had chosen. He didn't look too happy that he had to leave the safety and cool breeze from the fan to look for a fax machine in the hot store room. I wondered if all the sales people had played a game and he had drawn the short straw and was sent to help me. But he found the machine and proudly presented it to me.
We proceeded to the checkout. I handed over my card and the following conversation took place:
This fax machine only comes with a 12 months warrantee.
I know, and I don't want to buy your insurance.
But it will help you when the machine breaks down.
No, thank you.
You won't need to buy a new one or pay for expensive repair.
I said no. I don't want to buy your insurance. I told you right from the beginning. And if you don't want me to walk out of here without buying anything then you better not say another word about it.
Oh, okay. Please sign here, m'am. Thank you.
I then asked to have the box to be put into a carrier bag. The poor guy looked as if I had suddenly spoken in a different language. He looked around and a rather bored looking young female passed a bag over the counter so I could pack up the machine. I don't have the luxury of a car at the moment and have to rely on public transport. And there was no way I would carry the box on the bus without a carrier bag.
I don't normally buy at Comet, or any of the electrical superstores for that matter. But in this case I couldn't avoid it. I found the whole experience very impersonal, no effort was made to assist me properly and explain the products to me. If I hadn't done my homework and knew what I wanted, and needed, I'm sure they would have tried to sell me the most expensive machine available without really taking an interest in my needs. The lack of interest in the customer could be felt the moment I walked through the door and I don't think I will go back any time soon.
My tip for shopping at Comet - and any other of the electrical superstores - do your homework. Know what you want and need, make a list of everything that is required. Don't bother asking any of the shop assistants, most of them won't even know what you are talking about. Don't fall for the extra insurance trick. If you have a high value good and want to have an extended warrantee, contact the manufacturer direct. Most of the time they will be able to offer you extended insurance at a much better price. If you pay by credit card and the value of the item is over £100, contact the credit card company. A lot of them, if not most or all, offer some kind of extended warranty scheme and you might not have to pay anything.
I don't think I'll be entering one of their establishments any time soon. I didn't get much use out of the fax machine in the end and sold it on Loot for just under what I had paid in the first place.
Advantages: Price, initially friendly, handy locations, good website Disadvantages: Rude staff, hidden information...lots and lots more!
...a mini disc player. Comet let us buy now and pay later...what a mistake that turned out to be. We checked the date for the payment to be taken with the date our student loans got paid in, and all seemed fine. Comet decided to take the money out a couple of days early, so we got charged! After much complaining we realised that we were wasting more money by calling them and let them off on this one...rah! Very annoying situation though.
The next incident ... ...went on to explain that Comet has such low prices because they buy the service agreements from the manufacturers and do them themselves. So, the Hotpoint man couldn't fix it!
So, Comet came out (after two months of waiting!) - do they not realise that teachers cannot leave work early!?! "Oh, I don't think that we'll be able to fix it, as it is just cosmetic damage!" was the response "but I'll see what we can do. I'll log it and be in touch". He ...
vikstar 31.08.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Comet (Shop)
Advantages: Good prices Disadvantages: bad customer service and shoddy goods.
...service that the electrical chain Comet provides. In general, they sell somewhat shoddy items, which only tend to last as long as you keep the guarantee. I don't know what it is with me a lasers but they never seem to like me!
It all started about 2 years ago, I had bought a new Aiwa midi system 2 years previous and was pleased with my system, that was until it started playing up that is. The Aiwa system was one of my best buys until it decided ... ...the repairers, which proves that customer service is not their main priority. As you can tell from this opinion, I do no hold Comet in high regard and although the second Midi system is currently faultless, the customer service communication received the actual products are far from perfect. ...
15091983 21.05.2002 (04.06.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Comet (Shop)
Advantages: low prices,wide selection Disadvantages: service,stock and service again
...Range of goods:
Comet stock a good range of items,and each item is stocked in a variety of makes and models to suit just about all budgets and requirements.I don't think there has ever been an appliance I have been unable to find in their stores yet.
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Availability of goods:
This is where Comet start to have problems.Whilst smaller items kettles,fryers,videos etc are almost always in stock..nearly all larger items,washers and ... ...The highest point of Comet stores is their pricing,and just about without exception you will struggle to find a more competative price for any of their goods.The only store I have ever found as competative being Currys, which still does not always compare on prices.But please not this does not nescessarily mean value for money..read on and make your own mind up on that point!
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Service:
Oh my gosh,I do hate to be so negative,but ...
babajane32 09.08.2002 (14.11.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Comet (Shop)
Advantages: It's a good store, wide selection and good value for money! The website is great too. Disadvantages: The Staff! The Staff! The Staff! I can not emphasise it enough.
...letting a store down, and Comet is no exception.
~ The Plan ~
I wanted a DVD player, no more than £200, and since comet were offering three DVD’s with every DVD player they sell it was obviously the obvious choice. Comet is quite far from where I live, and since I don’t have a car, I looked at Comet’s site on the Internet to see what they had to offer. Now the website is pretty good, great layout, easy to negotiate and quite a wide selection of ... ...in order to get to Comet to find out if they had the product I wanted.
~ In the Shop ~
I think everyone’s been to a Comet, but just incase you haven’t, it is a very large store selling fridge’s, freezers, cookers, computers, TV’s, videos, mobile phones and DVD players of course. The Bedford store had seven sales staff on the shop floor when I got there, there was two customers, one buying a TV and another buying a fridge. This seemed great, as ...
sarahbethy 24.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Comet (Shop)
COMET claim these days that they don't have sales, just permanently low prices and state on TV that they price check around 34,000 prices every week (or some silly such figure) and are deemed to be one of the cheapest and best large electrical dealers around - having said all this, with the exception of Currys, alternative choice these days seems to be limited to small local companies who provide the personal touch, but charge the earth, or mainly ... ...I would never shop in Comet again. Well, they do say never is a long time. STORE CARD Despite being reluctant to give me credit, a couple of weeks later I received a Comet store card giving me £x,xxx credit; The TIME card can be used in Woolworths, MVC, Comet, NEXT, B&Q and Superdrug, and operates on the same basis as a credit card, allowing you up to a maximum of 7 weeks interest free credit, a minimum payment (which is actually set at 5% of your ...
sue.51 28.03.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Comet (Shop)
Price
Value for money
Selection & range
Quality
Staff knowledge
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