Laptops at Powerbuy! Check first!

[marcusd]

Not laughing at the dilemma that you found yourself in but I did enjoy reading about your little tech-dance. I did not purchase a notebook from Powerbuy because the sales staff was lazy and unknowledgeable. I know my limitations with Thai language and my questions were understandable to other vendors- but the crew at Powerbuy did not want to be bothered with any sort of language barrier challenge. They repeatedly passed me off to other employees who did a bow out as quickly as they could. I made several visits and when the staff saw me coming they took a hike. Over time I have found that this slovenly ethic is a common denominator at Powerbuy stores.

Now walk into a Lenovo shop and they make it a point to understand exactly what your needs are, offer suggestions and alternatives. Granted they are dealing with a more focused selection of electronics but good ethics and commitment are just that.

I did walk out and went to It city

and have found excellent service. I have bought 12 pcs and 3laptops in two years for our business

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

[marcusd]

Surely, the easiest thing to do is just buy a Mac. Then you won't have to bother with all the sh*t that people refer to in the replies here.

Ironically, one guy here mentions looking "specs" up on his iPad!!!!!!!

Oh, but I forgot....Apple costs a little bit more.

lets not apple mac and PC this and that.

I use both,in business and I can promise you, windows pcs work far more efficiently and cheaper in price with the work,I do connecting to Australian government agencies

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

[roly]

Surely, the easiest thing to do is just buy a Mac. Then you won't have to bother with all the sh*t that people refer to in the replies here.

Ironically, one guy here mentions looking "specs" up on his iPad!!!!!!!

Oh, but I forgot....Apple costs a little bit more.

As I said in the original post, I already have a Mac - I bought a new MacBook Pro 13" Retina in December for 49,000 baht from iBeat and I'm very happy with it. Unfortunately, when I was in Japan I needed to use things like Visual Studio which you can't get on the Mac, and a load of other software which is PC-only. :-(

Edited March 6, 2014 by roly

[roly]

So you buy a laptop and dont spend 10 mns checking it at the shop ? Yes, PB are monkeys !

Well yes that was my fault, but I was very pushed for time trying to get home and then to the airport. Normally I would have been more thorough.

But yes Powerbuy ARE monkeys, because for starters they can't get the labels right, and then they TELL you it's Windows even though it's Ubuntu, and yes you SHOULD check but you shouldn't HAVE to. :-)

Edited March 6, 2014 by roly

[roly]

just curious, since you were leaving for Japan on such short notice, why didn't you simply plan on buying a computer when you reached Japan. It would definitely have been a more satisfying experience, with this unique quality known as "customer service." Akihabara is da bomb!

Well that thought had crossed my mind, however I wanted to get all the apps and stuff that I needed on from home and it *seemed* like a better idea to have the machine ready for use day 1 in Japan Monday morning (which didn't happen any way because of the problems), and also because last time I was in Japan, I was stuck in a data centre for 15 hours a day and the only place close by that sold laptops had very expensive ones, and I really needed to be in the office at 9am with everything ready to go. As it turned out, yes it would have been just better to buy one at Japan or even at the airport where I could have spent more time deciding :-)

[Awk]

was there not a similar thread to this a few weeks ago in this forum discussing poor service from a hua hin based furniture seller, and the OP had been warned not to name the company as it is against forum rules

yet this thread is allowed to stand, and people are allowed to discuss negative experiences they have had with this particular retailer

why is this thread allowed, whereas the furniture one was only allowed to stand as long as he did not name the retailer?

What is your point, exactly? That you want someone to close this thread? If not, why not simply keep silent?

Interesting thread. I had the impression, wrong or right, that Powerbuy was part of Central, which in my very limited experience (one product) do know the stuff they are selling impressively well. Seems it was good luck that when I last month purchased some very expensive home appliances and went to Powerbuy first, they did not sell what I wanted to buy. Even though it was listed on their website. After reading this thread, I'll make sure to stay clear of Powerbuy.

Lots of people recommend HomePro, so going with them when I can for now.

[chazz14]

Negative comment: I agree that the staff in PB are a problem - like similar shops in England, the staff are very young, indifferent and seemed want to avoid me. Obviously, there is the language barrier also...

Positive question: Given that PB is a potentially hazardous place to (attempt) to buy IT, can anyone suggest a local alternative?

I beleive that PB's prices are above average (maybe that's why the place has been desrted on each of my 4 visits). I personally don't mind paying a bit more is the salesperson is credible and knows about what they are selling!

Chazz

[UKJASE]

was there not a similar thread to this a few weeks ago in this forum discussing poor service from a hua hin based furniture seller, and the OP had been warned not to name the company as it is against forum rules

yet this thread is allowed to stand, and people are allowed to discuss negative experiences they have had with this particular retailer

why is this thread allowed, whereas the furniture one was only allowed to stand as long as he did not name the retailer?

What is your point, exactly? That you want someone to close this thread? If not, why not simply keep silent?

Interesting thread. I had the impression, wrong or right, that Powerbuy was part of Central, which in my very limited experience (one product) do know the stuff they are selling impressively well. Seems it was good luck that when I last month purchased some very expensive home appliances and went to Powerbuy first, they did not sell what I wanted to buy. Even though it was listed on their website. After reading this thread, I'll make sure to stay clear of Powerbuy.

Lots of people recommend HomePro, so going with them when I can for now.

No. Of course i dont want the thread closing. I think the sharing of this type information is great. My point is simply what i stated in my post. Why are we allowed to talk about Powerbuy here and talk about them in a negative way, whereas the furniture thread the OP was warned not to name the retailer. Is it because Powerbuy is a large national retailer that can easily handle a bit of flak...... or what is it?

[Usual Suspect]

Reading this report about PB's mis-labelling reminds me of a thread on another HH forum a few years back where the big IT shop above HH shopping Mall were very good at displaying a labtop with a great spec for a great price...then when you got it home & checked the model's specs once booted up it most certainaly was not the same unit you thought you'd bought! It seems so-so easy for these stores to be happy, smiley & say "Solly,solly" if/when you return a product..(if you don't return then their scam has worked in their favour).

[roly]

I have since checked underneath the laptop and it DOES have the Windows 8 sticker, so it definitely should come with it. Anyway it's too late now I've already put a proper copy of Windows on it, so there's not much I can do. I've also upgraded the RAM to 8 GB (from 4GB). :-)