PC World
Price promotions galore greeted me as I found the PC and laptop section in the quiet Birmingham store. Windows 7 was displayed in numerous locations with additional point of sale designed to catch the eye. After loitering around the appropriate section of the store for over ten minutes, I finally caught the attention of a staff member.
He enquired how he could help me and, after Iexplained my search for touchscreen compatible PCs, he informed me there was only one suitable model available in store – the HP Touchsmart 300 1025uk (an all-in-one PC with a 20-inch touchscreen monitor).
“Could you tell me more about it, how it works and what’s so good about Windows 7 being on it?” I asked. The assistant looked a bit stressed by this. “I’m afraid I do not know too much about this PC, it has a lot of features that are built specifically for the touchscreen,” he said. “Has it been in store long?” I asked. “A few weeks,” he replied. It didn’t seem like the conversation was going to progress much further without a prompt, so I asked for a spec sheet to help.
The unit specification sheet stated the following: Windows 7 Home Premium, AMD Processor, 4GB RAM Memory, Bluetooth, wireless keyboard and mouse, 500GB hard drive, DVD Rewriter, built-in wireless and an integrated 20-inch monitor.
The machine was very stylish, priced at £899.99, or £929.34 with Norton Anti-Virus included. It would have looked good in a living room, study or bedroom.
I was expecting a little more from the store. The assistant’s honesty regarding his limited product knowledge was not inexcusable, but appreciated – better that than fabricated product features. The product itself was very interesting, but with no other models to compare it to, a wider search was necessary.
Score: 5/10
Tec 7 – House of Fraser
Tec 7 is based in House of Fraser on the 6th floor. It was easy to find the concession store from the lift doors, as a large Bose wall display and numerous technology products were clearly visible.
Cameras, laptops, iPod docks, radios and so on were neatly displayed, but for some reason there were no price tickets next to the items, so customers could not immediately see any prices or features.
The staff seemed pre-occupied and did not approach me – possibly due to a refit being carried out in the store. Over five minutes passed without any attention, so I went to seek advice. “Do you have any touchscreen PCs?” I asked the man behind the sales counter. “No, I’m afraid we don’t stock them,” came the response. I waited to see if any further recommendations were coming, but that was it.
Although the refurbishment work meant that the store was not as it would normally be, the staff seemed stressed and disengaged from conversation, while product ticketing was completely missing. This does not, however, account for the low level of customer service I experienced while visiting this store.
Score: 3/10
Tek Zone – Selfridges
Located in the Selfridges Bull Ring, I had high hopes for this store and its staff. My first impressions of the store were good, although a bit more light to see would have been helpful. The products were well laid out, with obvious sections to make navigation easier. Everything was neatly displayed with tickets on all products, highlighting any available saving in red.
Music was playing louder than in the other stores visited but it suited the store’s atmosphere. A member of staff situated in the PC section asked if he could help, “Could you show me your touchscreen PCs please?” I asked.
“We don’t have them” he replied. He went on to recommend Currys for further assistance and advised me that the best ones on the market were those in HP’s Touchsmart range, because they are easy to use and come with the Windows 7 operating system. I thanked him for his time and advice and said goodbye.
I was surprised that the store did not stock any touchscreen PCs, as the products fit perfectly into the Selfridges customer demographic. They are fashionable and would appeal to both women and men. Top marks for recommending another store to visit and knowing of a manufacturer that produces them.
Score: 7/10
Comet
As I entered the large store, I found the PC section quickly and, to my relief, included touchscreen computers. I browsed the displays trying to catch the eye of the sales people, but to no avail. After five minutes of wandering I took the bull by the horns.
One member of staff asked if he could help. After considering the products available the sales assistant recommended the HP Touchsmart 300-1025, priced at £849.99. “This PC has a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM memory, so it will run multiple programs at
once and store all your photos and music. It also has an Athon II x 3400e processor (the higher the number, the better the processor), a 256MB dedicated graphics card, bluetooth, wireless, TV tuner, a host of media card slots, speakers and many more features,” he said, adding that it came with Windows 7 pre-installed.
I was impressed with his knowledge as he didn’t seem to be reading from any literature. I asked if I could be shown how to use it. The member of staff didn’t fully understand the system, but called a colleague who began by showing me how fast it booted up compared to a Vista machine. Next the touchscreen capability. He selected programs, moved windows around and encouraged me to try for myself. The demonstration went on to include media recording, photo viewing and email. I also asked for, and received, a spec sheet about the unit.
The visit was very satisfactory. The product I was looking for was available, staff knowledge was good and I felt, had I really been in the market for a touchscreen PC, I may have actually purchased one. The waiting time was a bit of a let down but aside from that it was very good.
Score: 8/10
Currys
The store was well laid out, with white goods available on the left hand side and technology on the right. Around the technology area anti-virus software seemed to have a lot of emphasis, supported with plenty of point of sale products.
A sales assistant greeted me with a smile. I explained l was looking for a touchscreen PC. “If you wait here a second I’ll go and see if we have any,” she said, and returned a couple of minutes later with news frequently heard during the visits. “We don’t sell them anymore. Would you be interested in anything else?” I politely declined and made my exit.
The customer service was very good – the assistant was very helpful and needed no encouragement to find out if the store had stock. Unfortunately, the touchscreen PC is rare in these parts and while I was pleased by the staff I encountered, the lack of product prevents a more in depth mystery shop.
Score: 5/10
Staples
The promotional Christmas posters in the store window described an offer of a free iPod with a selected printer and the seasonal stationary push. Inside, a Christmas tree drew the customers’ eyes towards ideas for gifts, calendars and cards, etc.
I located the PC section of the store and tried to find touchscreen products but all l could see was monitors and laptops. No luck. I was approached by a member of staff, who smiled and asked how he could help. l explained that l was looking for a touchscreen machine and he told me that the store doesn’t stock them. “Why not?”, I asked. He replied: “We had some in the past but they were not big sellers and therefore we have not taken any more.”
This was a very brief visit in the end. The staff member was polite and took the time to approach me to offer customer service, which I appreciated. Unfortunately, it didn’t make up for the lack of touchscreen PCs and not offering any further advice about where I might look.
Score: 4/10
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