Criticisms
PC World has attracted criticism in a number of areas. Common complaints include:
- Failure to honour statutory responsibilities under the Sale of Goods Act (see controversies below)
- Promotion of goods with misleading or incorrect information (see false advertising below)
- Promotion of extended warranties (also known as insurance and support packages)
- Customers are required to use out-sourced, local rate telephone support for hardware issues or premium rate telephone lines (£1/minute, except for set-up which is 75p/minute) for software issues, unless an extended warranty has been purchased
- Disparity in pricing between PC World stores, the PC World website and other shops owned by the Dixons group
- Overcharging for repairs and lack of technical competence among technicians from seven sampled stores
Similar criticisms have been aimed at other retailers in the Dixons Retail plc (including Dixons and Currys).
In 2005, a Which? survey ranked PC World joint last for customer satisfaction. In 2006 PC World attempted to get away from its reputation for having sales staff on up to 20% commission who would therefore use high pressure sales tactics with its "One Team" marketing campaign. This involved adverts in major newspapers claiming staff no longer received commission, however this claim is misleading. Staff now receive a bonus based on the performance of the entire store as a whole (up to £200), meaning that pay is still linked to performance. The bonus is also based on other non-monetary metrics, such as customer satisfaction. To compensate the 275 highest earners under the old scheme for reduced bonuses, their basic pay was raised by 16% from around £11,000 to around £13,000 per year.
In response to the perception that PC World staff are often young and lacking in knowledge and communications skills, in 2007 a set of e-learning courses called "The Power of Knowledge" were completed by 6,000 staff and the results were incorporated into their Christmas bonuses as an incentive for staff to improve their knowledge.
In January 2008 a survey for Which? revealed that PC World was ranked in the bottom ten retailers in the UK.
Read more about this topic: PC World (retailer)
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