Deathwatch – the trouble keeps on coming for DSGi
January 9th, 2009 • 87 Comments
We’re thinking of adding a new permanent feature to the Bitterwallet homepage, since every other post appears to be about the ailing fortunes of DSG International, home to PC World and Currys. Although upon further consideration, DSGi Deathwatch sounds like a television series set in San Diego starring cod-eyed Gary Sinise, so we’ve left the idea alone.
That said, we fear it won’t be long until a forensic team are picking over its bones. Reuters reports that the company is expected to report a drop in like-for-like sales of between 7 and 12 per cent for the 12 weeks leading up to tomorrow.
On top of this, shares in DSGi have tumbled 73 percent over the past 12 months, and there are fears that the company may break rules covering its debt arrangements. Throw in a mountain of customer service problems, and it’s clear that 2009 doesn’t look too rosy for one of the biggest names on the high street.
[Reuters]
@Master_Chief
What makes you think they will install off of the CD before having a peak at IE? Providing you have some firewall (physical or even Windows firewall), you are only going to get a virus by visiting an infected site. I guess they could mistype AVG, but that doesn’t just instantly land you with a virus. And anyway, as it has already been pointed out, Norton 30-day trial should protect you in the mean time, providing you can get it uninstalled after.
Pre-installed crapware should be banned as anti-competitive.
What are you lot going on about, most of you are probably still living at home with your parents and don’t know real life obviously. The stick people put on DSGi staff is unbelievable, if you buy something and decide to stick with the normal warranty then thats your call, and yes i know tranding standards blah blah blah ,people hide behind this all the time just because you can say trading standards doesn’t mean your gonna get your way, so you’ve put your Wii remote through your TV that’s 6 months old, sure bring it back and get a new one that seems resonable (NOT) oh my i’ve crashed my car i only got it three weeks ago can i have another?!?!?, unfortunately the demands customers make are way beyond what they are entitled too but most of these whiney people think the world owes them something, and these are the people that come into the stores EVERY day 2 examples …. i dropped my laptop down the stairs i want a new one or i fitted my new graphics card and buggered my pc …. you have to give me a new one, get a life. Sure there are genuine problems but when you get 10000000 shi*e one’s a day the real ones get mixed up but DO get sorted as quick as possible. After sales is a product that you pay for, if you want it take it, if not grow some bol**cks and just say no, the sales people normally don’t get chance to explain the benefits because they get shot down straight away with a resounding NO or I DONT BELIEVE IN WARRANTIES or I NEVER TAKE THEM etc etc so you don’t understand the benefits but as soon as something goes wrong that your manufacturer won’t cover it’s the retail stores fault? seem fair, one example …. 32″TV with one payment of £7 for extended support, the TV was smashed on the way home in his car …… £7 and he was given a NEW TV! for £7 you tell me where you can buy a 32″ TV for £7, think your standard warranty would do that?. Yes there are certain products which are higher profit but em …….. ITS A STORE thats how they make money!, and if everyone didn’t insist on getting a discount on the laptop they want which makes no money in profit anyway addons wouldn’t be so important. There are targets but staff no longer earn commision so whats in it for them to pressure? another thing most people think word and excel are part of the operating system, and they want word and excel etc because there children have been told to get Office by there school, so lets use something else that’s free and not as easy to use for someone who hasn’t a clue (good idea). Everyone should just stop whining, let them get on with it and if you don’t want to shop there or are just gonna moan when you do then do it somewhere else and give the staff a break it’s easy really. I’m sorry but lots of people get lots of help from reatil stores whether you buy from them or not is your choice, the fact that on average thousands of people pass through the doors of the store i work in means that there is still a need and no matter how bitter and twisted people are there is still a demand. and as for AVG the amount of people who come in with Worms/Viri etc on their machines from using this is mad, get some real protection its not all NORTON there are others for sale, it’s free for a reason. As for services like setting up Norton etc £29.99 to create recovery discs/ update vista and Norton/ Install Office etc seem fine for most people who can’t be bothered to do it themselves or are not sure what to do, so if they think it’s a good price then what’s the problem?
Good riddance DSGi. Poor prices, poor customer services, poor choice of courier for home delivery (DHL – my PS3 “went missing” aka- stolen)
Ok, everyone has their own views etc. I am a manager of a PC World that is doing ok. I have been with the company now for over three years are seen some changes in the operating model etc. What I would love to point out is:-
1) Go and buy a car and your pressured into buying a paint guard / gap insurance etc.
2) Go and buy a pair of shoes and your pressured into buying some shoe polich.
3) Go into Comet to buy a PC and they push MS Office and MS One care
4) Go into a restaurant and they try and sell you a pudding / more drinks.
Every business will always try and sell you more, and this is no different in PC World. Yes we do have to push Norton, Office, Warranty, Services, Broadband etc etc to hit our targets to make money (PC’s have very low margin these days) – and this is what is hitting the staff at PC World – the staff are under pressure to sell the stuff to keep their jobs. If they do not hit their targets then they are performanced managed and usually quit etc. I personally do not believe in this, but there are staff out there who do not really care.
The staff we recruit are underpaid, under resourced and usually just out of school. But this unfortunately is the business we are in and until we pay better, than this will be a given. Leisure is the same – Pizza Hut, Bowling, McDonalds all school leavers with no customer experience and just warm bodies.
I have a mortgage, bills and a family to support and the comments what is to loose our jobs with DSGi going under. Thanks! I hope you loose your jobs aswell! This is reality, directors have got it wrong, and John Browett has a hill to climb with a company that is used to high margin products, poor customer service and do the deal to get the money in the till. Now it is low margin (£10 on a £400 laptop if we are lucky), staff that are used to giving poor customer service and no discount to close the deal (we have to come in at 1% of sales discount level).
I always ask for my staff to put the customers first, but again there are managers of stores that are very black and white with what they can do!
Ian:
It’s fair to say they may just well go browsing before installing the boxed AV product but that’s not really what I was getting at in the first place. We’re talking about the sort of advice being given, an example was made and I picked up on it. It is perfectly good advice to tell somebody with little to no experience on a PC to purchase and install an AV solution before they go online to browse the web. If you tell that person to do install AV first they will probably listen to you as they look at you as an expert (highly debatable we know at PC World but the less knowledgeable would heed a shop assistant’s advice), if you tell them to browse online to find AVG, they may go to any old site before reaching Grisoft’s. What if they found a site that linked to a virus infected version, how do they know what’s official.
I’m not arguing which is the best solution for everybody, I’m just saying the PC world employee had a fair point and wasn’t out of order to advise this to somebody. I imagine all you people saying otherwise don’t actually deal with individuals with no IT experience and appreciate how difficult it is for them.
I’m not a fan of Norton by any stretch, I’m a Nod32 or Avira kind of guy, but I’d rather the PCs of every average user have that installed then nothing at all. The propagation of many Malware types would be significantly reduced which can only be a good thing.
AVG is available free online to PC’s with virus protection already installed on them. To then burn to a disk or transfer to a usb key and install on the new purchase is hardly bleeding edge thinking. Decrying it because it can only be downloaded is only done by people with too small a brain to figure out a way around it
I use to work for PC World and you are just a body , Been with then for a couple of years – Training is shite and the general running is the same , sales guys are pressured to the max , they hire bimbos and rejects – thats what they attract with their shite pay. Any one with more than half a brain cell will shop online – The customers they want are ones with less than half a brain cell and their are millions in the UK – What does that say about the masses.
PC World are infamous on HDUK for their “limited availability in store” offers, which are so limited, no one seems to find them. Hardly the way to encourage a loyal customer base.
Reap the whirlwind DSG
Why should we feel pity for you?
No reason at all, you have preyed on the unaware for too long.
Good riddance.
Time to State the Obvious:
Your brain appears to be too small to comprehend any of the previous posts made on the AVG subject which is why you failed so much in the point you just made.
I can’t believe anyone would wish DSGi to fold, all those employees who would lose jobs, im with you EH, i can say the same for our store too, i’m always dealing with customer problems and eventually there not problems anymore and become regular customers, i hope … no i know that DSGi is on the right path now, it’s not going to be easy especially with people taking a quick stab at the company basing past problems on current day and anyone who has the time to consistantly slag off really doesn’t have much of a life in the first place, actually we see them every day moaning because their wireless connection on their new laptop isn’t working ……… try the switch at the front which turns it on …..
well if EH is any indication of PCW managers then its no wonder they’re in the shite. the word is LOSE not loose. i feel sorry for the PCW drones but the managers deserve to lose their jobs.
lets not pick now but maybe start with capital W and after a full stop maybe another capital such as T and I.
Wolf359:
Managers of retail stores like this are just a cog in the wheel of these organisations the same as the sales staff. They have to answer to those above them and have very little say in the running of the store. Aim your sights higher if you want to blame someone.
Dell is also chopping alot of jobs. i don’t that many people are buying pcs / upgrading their pcs at the moment, hence why sales are low and companies are chopping jobs / downsizing due to this (credit crunch).
Also, when people come in to buy PCs, they want a PC, not all the extras that the company wants to sell them, because that’s where it makes its profit.
Me: there’s a big difference between not capitalising and not being able to spell a simple word like lose.
Master_Chief: I realise they’re just cogs but they, in my personal experience at least, are just full of themselves.
One refused to hand over something I had already bought and paid for (interstore transfer) and I had to ring consumerdirect in front of him and get them to inform him of my legal rights before he would give in
Thanks for the reply master chief , if you give people so little credit that they cant type 3 letters into a keyboard thats says a lot about your opinion of others , maybe you should take a job with them you seem to have the right skills.
pcworld are chit, morons selling crap. disastercare for repairs.
my firn were offering the rent a pc deal, but they offered pc world vouchers, lots refused cuz of poor rep.
norton is a nuisence, caused my pc to crash even after un-installing.
avg is better and free….no contest!
scouse think you were aiming at me ,sorry i was just being picky like the other person, seemed to be the right thing to do to fit in. I normally keep my opinions to myself and just don’t feel that every DSGi person should be painted with the same brush im sorry but someone who is branded bad for mis-spelling a word really isn’t a real judge of the persons character. The fact of the matter is … if you don’t like something then don’t use it, i just think it’s wrong to keep knocking something when it’s trying to be better, the situation at the moment really doesn’t need for more negativity. This conversation will just keep going round and round in circles so me for one …. im not waisting anymore time on this …. oh and for your information i already work for them and am i a dumb shite? well just one thing im older now settled with a family and don’t have the luxury of travelling around the world like i did when i was younger developing HUD systems for aircraft, and programming flight systems and satellite guidance software systems, so were all stupid?, mind you i’m sure i can’t compete with your amstrad 1512 knowledge. As for me thanks and bye.
I love the way idiots blame the likes of currys when something breaks instead of the manufacturer!!! And currys are the cheapest around for laptops and have very good prices on tv’s! yes they are over priced on accessories like cables etc but thats what they make the most margin on, they make fuck all on the big stuff, i know i work for them and have seen the figures. I dont like them either but i dont want to be stood on cue with the thousands of people already out of work.
I can’t believe the store staff and managers who are complaining on this website. They seem to be saying that they offer S***T service because their margins are too tight. They have to sell expensive warranties and software to make money. Stop complaining and start to smell the coffee. You have sold computers over the last 20 years which has given people the opportunity to use the internet and buy cheaper. It’s called shooting yourself in the foot. You have presumed that customers are too stupid to realise that extended warranties are for making DSGi mpney and not for offering service. Your service has pissed off so many customers your now in trouble. John Lewis offers better service and their electronic sales are UP by 20% last year. People have had enough of your company and prefer to shop elsewhere. You should of worked harder at school.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride this Thursday John!!!
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article5488500.ece?Submitted=true
The mess is slowly being revealed – partly thanks to bitter wallet
just like to add a short comment about their ”management team” When i tried to exchange a laptop which i thought was faulty, they said they were busy at the moment but had to test it 1st, fair enough, but they said i will have to leave it in the store, and return after a few hours, i wasnt too impressed. So i requested if i can have a identical laptop (instead of a refund) so i can get out and go home, which is quite a journey.
this guy in the ”management team” came over and had a go at me, saying i have ”registered” the laptop, and so i cant get another one. i tried to explain how i didnt even have the internet, theres no way for me to have registered. He later on, about 15 min of crap, finally explain that when i have bought it, its is mine, so.. it is ”apparently” registered to me?
so instead of a having a team who does know something about pc, they had some idiot, time waster, who couldnt explain themselves clearly, and are in so called ”management” team who wasted around an hour of my time, then.. i had to leave my laptop there, and had to return later.
Obviously there management team, is just some random guy, who probably had problems passing his IT in high school, and probably failing in gcses english.
I have to say, they shouldnt have the right to sell any complicated electronic items. The only items they should sell are accessories, like a mouse and a keyboard, or maybe even simple components.
Just have to say… dont know how they didnt win worse retailers award last year.
Scouse:
I’m curious as to what you do for a living? I work in IT and part of my job is to support users who don’t have a clue about computers and believe me if I was to just tell them to download AVG off the internet they would struggle. My opinion of them as people and their ability to do their day-to-day jobs doesn’t go down, I just know that some of them need a hell of helping hand when it comes to IT. The people who work for my company are fortunate that they can turn to people who they can trust to help them out, You’re average Joe who goes into a place like PC World probably doesn’t have somebody like that to help them out so they rely on the store assistant. Offering a boxed AV solution is the best option for somebody who obviously has no idea about PCs and is relying on a store assistant for help.
Some of you are acting like it’s a crime because they try and push Norton, at least it’s something and not leaving them to the mercy of sorting their own anti-virus out. It’s only £30 anyway, it’s hardly daylight robbery. I would recommend anybody pay that sort of money anyway rather than use AVG free. If the free version was so good then they wouldn’t feel the need to offer a paid version with more features. Those features are actually a must as far as I’m concerned, not a luxury. I’ve installed Nod32 and Avira on machines running AVG and they picked up loads of malware that AVG missed. Look at online tests and you’ll see how poorly AVG performs against other solutions. JUst because it’s free doesn’t make it the absolute solution for everybody.
Well Master_bater i would say i worked in IT but i dont ,not any more , the people i employ below me work in IT . if it helps you in some strange way knowing were i work i work for a large multi national company and there are 2800 people on this site alone.
Go back to playing Halo and browseing through friends reunited for pictures of your dad.
Scouse:
This large multi-national company you work for can’t be too picky on the managers it employs, your spelling and grammar is appalling. I don’t usually nitpick people for that sort of thing as we all make mistakes and oversights when posting on forums but yours takes the biscuit and shows you genuinely have no comprehension of the English language.
Let’s just say for a minute that you did work in IT, you must surely understand the low level of IT ability you deal with when supporting say 2800 people. I wasn’t suggesting my opinion held more value than yours if you didn’t work in IT, I’m just calling upon my experiences (and everybody I know who works in this business) with dealing with IT illiterates and why you can’t trust some of them to wipe their own behinds, figuratively speaking, when it comes to PCs.
Regarding your last comment, I could of course comment on your name and make some reference to stealing or something but that would be too easy. I’ll leave the cheap shots to you!
PC World in dire need of TechGuys as websites goes offline | BitterWallet
I would to my comment was pretty correct ,it isnt me who insults people by claiming their brains are too small to understand simple things like this, and with that said my lack of grammer and correct punctuation make no difference to my secretary who types my letters and does all of my filing (but of course it should read ,your spelling and grammar are appalling rather than is appalling glass houses and stones ?? DICKtionary boy ) but thanks for that. Despite my obvious failings in the English language department i am still in the position i am mostly down to hard work rather than joining a “clan” at work , but again thanks for that
Hey I said we all make mistakes, you just come across as illiterate. I like how you’re trying a bit harder now though, well done – D+ for that.
The brains comment was in reference to somebody else who made a similar statement about others, in context it was appropriate, your comments are just insulting. Insulting comments are fine by me though, I can take it, I’m secure enough to not have to tell lies on the internet. Of course you have a secretary and of course you hold a high ranking position within an organisation. Everything about your posts clearly indicates this.
Yes I got to my position by being part of a ‘clan’ as you’re implying. That is exactly how the real world works and is entirely how I would imagine somebody in your oh-so-powerful position would think.
Your efforts to make out your this high flying person are mainly undermined by the fact your arguing online with somebody who plays online games in clans (I don’t by the way) and doesn’t know who is father is (was that what you was implying?) . All the ‘hard working’ Managers/Directors I know don’t spend their time arguing online.
There’s a simple fact in life and that is… those who spend time online proclaiming how great/successful/important they are and use that as a tool to try and undermine others in an argument to avoid the actual points being raised generally are full of BS. In fact make that – ALWAYS full of BS!!
That was actually quite funny. In no way do i try to imply that i am “high flying” i simply have a good job attained through a few years of hard work is that so amazing to you ? you did ask what i did for a living i just let you know. As with many people i spend my freetime doing what i want and at the minute that is having a bit of fun on here reading your latest rant or is the internet solely for “IT” people.
Scouse:
Yes I’m ranting. It’s been a pleasure, let’s move on to the next post!!
THE MEDIA IS TO BLAME FOR BUISNESSES GOING BUST, WHIPPING YOU ALL UP INTO A SCARE FRENZY ABOUT SPENDING YOUR CASH! THAT IS WHY COMPANYS GO BANKRUPT! ANOTHER REASON IS BECAUSE YOU LOVE YOUR MONEY MORE THAN YOUR COUNTRY AND SPEND YOUR MONEY ONLINE ORDERING FROM OTHER COUNTRIES!!!!!!
Hiya all,
Im an assistant manager of PCWorld in lancashire. My job is on the line now £25K pa. I have a new baby, large mortage, nagging wife, but I will be absolutely honest. When the company started it was the only one in the market and charged extortionate prices but where else could you go. After making lots of money and with freeserve making even more the company didnt know where to go. Now facing with ruin, as the new operating model of one team and no commission, no ones bothered model, is not delivering, John Browett (tesco supremo went to Harvard self financed) & Keith Jones ( i used to be a driver for dsgi, give me a break) have been advocating a selling model of fives using the derren brown mind control programming techniques(these arent the droids your looking for)..ANTHONY. But the reality is, all colleagues are pressured into selling pc performance warranty which will be given to you for free for the first month, then cancel it. Also offered norton and office as their the ones the suppliers want the company to sell, After that the staff cant be bothered as the pressure is then off. The problem is that these directors offer the market these winning programmes, so they get the funding due to so called customer retention, etc, etc . But my major gripe is that in the number of stores I’ve worked in, the staff, really want to help every person that walks into theire stores. YES we do, we want to help but their is so much bollocks from head office regarding fleecing customers via smartplan, pc performance warranty’s, norton, selling up that now all the staff are constantly worrying about their low paid jobs which they need to pay off their livelihood. Im not slagging the company off but if we acted that we owned part of the company and wanted to secure its livelihood by looking after customers we would never be in this mess. The problem is that the chiefs are too greedy. Why on earth cant we look after customers properly is beyond me.
Well, what is all this talk of being pleased to see the back of DSGI, I am a colleage of said company and can not believe that this kind of stuff is being discussed. People are working here guys! what kind of people think its funny to see the back of a brand that has spanned for many years providing customers with what they want, yes that is what I said what THEY want. No business could survive this legnth of prosperity without doing just that. Yes bad service is all around the country and not confined to or accepted in DSGI! Service is a matter of perception and you can’t please all people. Issue is people who have problems with their products and or services fall into 3cats 1. have a real problem that needs some assistance. 2. Can’t use their product properly . 3. have accidently broken the product and want to blame others! For the first type you will find the majority of these people satisfied that they have been helped, for the people in cat 2 I WOULD ASK YOU NAY SAYERS TO REASON WITH THEM! and for cat 3 expect threats shouting and general unaceptable behaviour, in my 9 years with DSGI I come in to contact with all 3 every month, yes many people actually use their products for a long time with no problem shock horror!. If you have a problem with your product or service try treating the colleagues with a bit of respect instead of refering to them as idiots, you just might get some help
I worked there for a while, so a few facts about sales people and selling Norton (they get Norton provided free) sales people have to sell a min 40% Norton with PCs, so that is why they are pushy! If they dont sell over 40% “premium profit” cables they are put on a MVC “manage via consequence” basically this means unless they rip enough people off they will be sacked! They are now told to use the “Fives” sales model which uses mind control tactics (planting a seed) it is aimed at selling “Whateverhappens” their insurance! If a sales person does not consistantly follow “FIVES” its MVC and he/she is soon out of the door! So rip people off or your scked is the way DSGI work, nice company I know, I have seen it first hand! Customer service is not part of what they are trained for *really*, the main training is all about is ripping people off, so dont expect customer service they are not intersted really! It’s not the sales guys fault, they usually get treated like shit by the company, they dont even get comission anymore, its just about them doing what they are told to do so they dont lose their jobs! The more inteligent ones know their jobs are shit and they are working for a shit company! But a jobs a job!
I think that to brush all of PCW stores with the same brush is a fuking joke I work at PCW and I always provide excellent customer service to any customer no matter who he/she is even if its something minor like finding a wireless router, usb flash drive etc now Norton nowadays is £29.99 when bought with a laptop/pc etc and ms office 2010 is £59.99 when bought with laptop/pc now your no going to tell me that them prices are rip offs where else can u get office ms or norton or any other av from for cheaper!? AVG Free is a fukin joke does not protect you what so ever and to go onto the what ever happens and no its not called insurance as this would imply it covers you from theft which what ever happens does not it does cover however any thing that ges wrong with the laptop and if it cant be fixed you get a brand new one so as long as u got that you will never need to buy another laptop again! now payng something £7.99+ a month on a NO CONTRACT but 30 day thing now how da fuk is dat a rip off you thick fuks no nothing!
hey buddy… i just wanted to say that my browser is exploding when I click on the links… are you using some javascript or something?