Vouchers

Deloitte, the administrators of collapsing Comet, are in a bit of a tiz over vouchers. First they said they wouldn't accept them, which kind of brings into question exactly what vouchers represent. Now they will accept personal ones but not corporate ones. The 'company' ones we are told are discounted, meaning the company buying them didn't pay full face value.

I'm not sure I can discern what that has got to do with anything, it was a commercial decision of a trading company. And it is at odds with their first idea that they should discount your vouchers completely! Also, I'm guessing that Deloitte will sell the stock off cheaply to get in what money they can quickly. No, I think what Deloitte are trying to say is that they have already had the money for the vouchers, if we renege on that deal we can sell the goods elsewhere we would otherwise have had to give to voucher holders. Which I think falls within the definition of theft.

If I have a voucher, relevant to a company stilling trading, under whatever conditions, in what way is it not an intention to permanently deprive, if I am denied the ability to trade the vouchers? So what are vouchers and why should we buy them? In short, they are a con and nobody should buy them.

And they have expiry dates. If you are a senior executive with a large retail company, please answer me this question; why do vouchers have use by dates? The cash I used to pay for them didn't have an expiry date. Again, I don't understand how anyone can sell you something which becomes worthless at a certain point.

Is this OK, for instance? Instead of buying vouchers, I actually buy a television. I take it home and put it in the spare room. But you know what, I don't use it for 12 months. Am I crazy or what? It doesn't matter though, I am entitled to do with it what I want. But, does the shop have the right to take it back after a year? Because that is what they effectively do, if I have the same value in vouchers and don't use them.

All I can say is don't buy vouchers, ever. But, if you do have Comet vouchers here is something to appraise Deloitte of; unless the terms of the contract are made clear at the point of sale, the Unfair Consumer Contract Act 1999 may well come into play. If you didn't know there was an expiry date, or if there was, when it expires, then the contract is voided. Deloitte should give you your money back - not goods to the value of, -your money.

See, usually when you go to a till in a shop and say 'can I have a £20 gift card' they ring it up, you pay and then you get the card/voucher, on which the terms are printed. Too late! The law requires you to be informed ahead of the sale.

On a related note, it is nice to see Dixons making a noise about their employing as many Comet staff as they can. Very generous of them. Except, with Christmas coming they wanted extra staff anyway and were going to employ pretty much anyone who showed a reasonable intention of turning up for work on at least most days. Now they can grab some people who are already working in an almost identical environment.

It doesn't change the fact that it is good for worried Comet staff, but it is self interest on Dixons' part  and they could have been a little more honest about it and still got the kudos. Just a thought.

John Browett, Apple

Well, it is very much less of a surprise that John Browett has gone from Apple than when he got the job in the first place. The whole operation at Apple is a million miles away from what Browett stands for, I have no idea what they saw in the guy. At the time, Apple were banging on about the unbelievable customer service focus that he apparently had. From what I saw, I probably could do better and my experience is way short of his!

I don't know if Browett is a complete numpty and just rose on the wave of success Tesco has experienced in the past, or if he genuinely was a part of it. But he brought that mindset to Dixons and it was entirely inappropriate to their business. What followed was a period of confusion and inertia, as Browett led the company into blind alleys with no clear strategy at a time when it needed strong leadership. The recession merely highlighted the flaws in his policies.

It was sheer genius though, to land the job at Apple, not just because it got him out of the failing company he was responsible for, but also because of the target. I mean, Apple! But it hasn't taken long for a company that makes massive profits on the desirability of its brand (which means huge sales even with huge margins), to discover a man steeped in the tradition of cheap, minimal staffing (both in numbers and talent), 'sale', '50% off'', 'must end soon' wasn't right for them.

Browett might be a lovely man and he may have genuine talent, but his target should have been Poundstretcher or Wal Mart or Costco. There he might have stood a chance.

It is interesting though, that the man has gone from Apple and the only things we know about his time there is that on being offered the role, we heard he was some kind of customer service guru and on leaving that he was cutting staff. In what way do those two things sit together well?

Interestingly, it seems things are very much better at Dixons these days. If they could just get a proper grip on their place in the market and shift away from the 'sale' mentality they will be fine.

Dixons - Nice

Having just read the article on Dixon's recent reported results, it seems obvious that the CEO of the electronics group reads this blog. I have pointed out their failings in addressing the look of their stores (and their ads -useless), products, prices and customer service previously. Let alone leveraging their market position and sticking the knife in to Comet and Argos.

It's all about crowds ladies and gentlemen, crowds. Ever read Asimov's Foundation trilogy?

Did I Miss The Good News?

We all know our newspapers thrive on bad news, but really some consistency in the things they report wouldn't go amiss, even when it does mean reporting good news. Recently they have been banging on about how bad it is on the 'high street', how retail is going down the pan. So when Dixons Retail post some pretty OK results, in the current climate, we get no mention of it at all.

Is that really how we want these institutions to behave? Maybe Leveson should be looking into that. Things are tough, but from what I gather nowhere near as bad as they paint it, particularly regarding research and development and manufacturing. It could probably do with some help, but Cameron is tied up with tilting at windmills and chasing chimera's; gay marriage and non-existent global warming.

Wasn't there also something in the Queen's Speech about holding the tide back? I mean if we think that we control the weather.....

Murder On The Sales Floor

The bad news from retailers continues to roll in and the papers continue to pump it up. But is it so bad? Round here the shops looked as busy as ever. M&S and JL's report decent trading. So what does that tell us? That when things get a little tight, people look for quality. They do not want to risk their money with rock bottom retailers but want stuff that will last.

Those suffering are those that don't pay attention to this. Obviously Argos and Comet, but strangely Dixons too. Why, in their position would a company decide to ignore the evidence and pursue a rush to the bottom? Is it because they have a Tesco mentality? OK so they are not as cynical in dealing with their customers as 'the nations favourite grocer', but they do love the word 'sale'.

Personally, I probably get caught by the 'half price' tag that is routinely used as much as anyone, but then get really annoyed when it is half a price they made up and pretty much the same as everyone else charges. But me being annoyed doesn't register. If the con works sometimes then stick with it, they seem to be thinking. If the annoyed move away from that retailer, then something happens that they hadn't contemplated.

It appears that there is an entrenched mindset at Dixons and nothing will cause it to change. 'Well, we've always done it like that'. I see that part of the success at Dixons has been Dr Dre headphones, which are basically over-hyped, over-priced mediocrity, so how to explain the sales? Might be that brand image and suggestion of higher quality (they aren't crap, but you can get better sound cheaper -though not with the image admittedly!)? But Dixons move up market and address their core customers? Wow! What a lot for a retailer to take in.

No, the rudderless ship continues on its way, though hardly alone. The current breed of CEO's seem to be focussed on grand schemes for European expansion (without realising what a bad idea 'Europe' is), borrowing exorbitantly and rather less on raising their game as a functioning business.

Customer Service Comes From The Heart

I have purchased an item from Dixons which was faulty on arrival so a replacement is awaited. In the meantime I have had some contact with what passes for Customer Service at Dixons. I shan't go into detail at this time as I am planning, once the replacement proves to be OK to contact someone at the company in a senior position, in an effort to see if changes can be made. It seems to be out of control, disconnected and far too rigid and bureaucratic in operation. It has been designed to serve the company not the customer.

Blimey, this company is in such a good place at the moment, to plan for the future and seize the present but seems to have allowed itself to become becalmed and limp. It doesn't need radical, it just needs focus and a little passion.