With increased netbook choice in the market in recent months, our Mystery Shopper visited Lakeside Shopping Centre to research the latest deals, product availability, specification and prices.
Tec 7 (Concession within House of Fraser)
This concession within House of Fraser was merchandised to a high standard, pristine in its appearance with a plentiful supply of stock for the potential customer to try out. I was approached by Stuart, who offered, very politely, to help in my potential purchase.
I told him I was keen to look at netbook products, make comparisons between manufacturers including specification and price. My understanding was that they were smaller and easier to use than laptops, however, as there were so many now in the market, was unsure as to which one to buy. I added the last part to ensure that it elicited a response, which I hoped were going to be full of recommendations.
Reflecting on the product range before us, he proceeded to talk me through the specifications of each machine. He asked pertinent and leading questions checking my requirements such as screen and keyboard size and my preference of Windows; XP or Vista. This was impressive; he obviously wanted to make sure I was comfortable buying a product that suited my needs rather than the most expensive machine on sale. Our conversation continued onto screen quality; Stuart was quick to pick on the fact that I was really keen to ensure that the viewing experience was good. I think I gave him the impression that I wanted a laptop; I did labour a bit too long the details of screen quality.
Stuart recommended two machines, these included the following specifications: -
Toshiba NB1200 12A, 8.9” TruBrite WSVGA TFT Display, Intel Atom N270 processor
120GB HDD, 1GB DDR2 Ram, Integrated VGA Webcam = £292.99
Samsung NC10, 10.2” WSVGA LED Display, Intel Atom N270 processor, 160GB HDD, 1GB DDR2 Ram = £329.99
The service and knowledge was impressive; I was given a brochure with full details to take to consider my options at my leisure.
9/10
Currys
Having browsed the netbooks for a couple of minutes, I was approached by Chris who seemed keen to help, eager to get a sale. Keen to get the conversation going, I told him that I keen to buy a netbook, asking him to explain the choices before us. I was asked if there was a preference on colour; this seemed a strange question to start the conversation, but I went with the flow. I replied that it didn’t matter too much and that I was more interested in what the machine could do.
Somehow, through his body language, I got the impression that I was going to be shown a Dell mini 10 first of all. Sure enough, the first product up for demo was indeed this machine, which was the most expensive of the models shown. It had a 10.1” Screen, Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, HDMI Connection, available in 6 colours, priced £299.99.
Quickly moving on, I tried to bring the conversation around to the other models in the hope that I could reduce the cost; buy a good machine and get a good deal. I reminded him that I thought the first recommendation was too expensive.
Still very eager to sell me a machine, he enthusiastically moved over to the Advent 4213. In his opinion it was, “the best netbook available” and boasted a 10” Screen, built-in SIM slot for Mobile Broadband, Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD and was priced £279.99. I couldn’t help thinking why didn’t he show me this machine first. Moving on apace, like a true salesman, he reminded me that it was a good size, something which was obvious and, “fairly quick”. Great – thanks for that.
If I purchased the netbook today, I would also receive Norton Antivirus for a discounted price of £30 rather than £60. Plus, Microsoft Office was also reduced to £80 from the standard price of £100. Finally, the cheapest was the Advent 4214, similar specification although without the SIM slot, priced £249.99.
Chris’s salesmanship and knowledge was impressive and I forgive him for trying to make that add-on sale of extra software.
8/10
Comet
This Comet store was tucked away in a little trading estate just outside of the Lakeside Shopping Centre. There was no need for searching for these little machines here; they were straight in front of me as I walked through the store entrance. Without a moment to lose, I was approached by a very cheerful chap by the name of Terry. I’d like to buy a netbook, I told him, standing back in preparation for the wave of enthusiasm that was about to wash over me.
He pointed me towards two differing types of Toshiba netbooks. Asking for his opinion on both, this is where he really excelled when giving his verdicts. Launching into his sales pitch, he told me that one of the machines used Linux operating system, the other on Windows XP. This was pretty much all he told me concerning these models, although I was able to glean the following information for each of them:
Toshiba NB100 11R, 8.9” Screen, Intel Atom N270, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD, Linux OS, priced £219.99
Toshiba NB100 12ª, 8.9” Screen, Intel Atom N270, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Windows XP OS, priced £249.99
He finished this chapter, by asking me what I was likely to use it for; from this answer he introduced into the conversation the Samsung NC10. This was the most expensive of the models shown so far and had a 10.2” WSVGA LED Display, Intel Atom N270 processor, 160GB HDD, 1GB DDR2 RAM and was priced £319.99.
Realising that he might lose a sale, he added that if I wanted a “normal netbook”, than the XP version of the Toshiba model would be okay.
He briefly touched on some, “price saving packages” including discounts on Norton Antivirus when bought with a netbook. He also advised to buy extended cover; the reason given was that due to increased portability, there was a higher probability of damage.
To finish, Terry asked me if I would be making a purchase offering to print off product information for the three netbooks discussed.
7/10
Currys.digital
There were four netbook machines on display in this store, one more than the sister company. As in the other stores just visited, I was quickly approached by an eager salesman. After asking Godfrey for his recommendation, he politely and dutifully began to recite the product range before us. Again, he started off by showing me the most expensive model. This was the Dell Mini 10, already showed me in the larger Currys store, which had the 10.1” Screen, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, priced £299.99 and yes, let’s not forget about the 6 available colours; although this latter point was laboured on in this store so much.
Having heard this story before, I was keen to move onto other choices, asking him to tell me what other customers were going for. He answered this question by re-iterating the most expensive machine again.
Reminding him that this was a bit too expensive and asking him to show me cheaper models, he moved a notch down in terms of price. It was only £20 cheaper and yes, was another model already shown. The Advent 4213, 10” Screen, Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD was priced £279.99. I felt that he was trying to get the most money out of me rather than what I actually needed.
Reminding him that it wasn’t going to be used for anything too taxing, he gave in and talked me through the remaining models, ending on the cheapest which was the Advent 4214, 10” Screen, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, priced £249.99. Not forgetting the software deals, he reminded me the discounts I could receive when buying Norton Antivirus and Microsoft Office, as he handed me a brochure to help me consider my options.
Although Godfrey was very polite and helpful I felt he was trying too hard to get the most money out of the sale he could rather than listening to what I really needed.
6/10
PC World
This was an impressive store with the new layout now commonplace in the newly refurbished ‘Winning New Revenues’ store. Having been rushed in other stores visited today, I decided to take my time in looking over the product range of netbooks. I was closely watched by a security guard throughout.
After about 10 minutes, I was approached by Peter. I told him that I was keen to buy a new netbook, as I felt these were easier to transport and just as versatile as larger laptop machines. He began by asking, what I thought was a bit of a strange question. In the same vane as other sales staff today, the pound signs were rolling around his eye balls. The first comment of his tongue was to ask if I definitely wanted a netbook. If I spent a bit more, in his opinion, I could buy a laptop. I reminded him that a netbook was all I wanted to consider today and asked him to give me his opinion on the models available and recommend a machine. As in other store today, the machine first up was, yes, the Dell mini 10. Just in case I needed a reminder, it had a 10.1” Screen, Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB Ram, priced £299.99 and, for my consideration, was available in 6 fabulous colours. I think I’ve heard that one before.
Having recited the full specification, I was asked if I needed a CD drive. Asking him to explain why, I was reminded, “for a bit more money you can get a laptop”. Okay, I get the point; but the main reason for buying a netbook was to surf the net and do light tasks, I said.
Returning to the netbooks, he showed me two Advent models, reading the specifications from the point of sale tickets in front of us. These were the same two models previously available in Currys.digital and Currys stores and were the Advent 4213 and Advent 4214, priced £279.99 and £249.99 respectively.
I was shown a brochure that contained the complete selection of netbooks and then told about the special Microsoft Office 2007 and Norton 360 install for only £98.66, being reminded that I could probably get a good deal on the price.
5/10
Marks and Spencer
This high street veteran albeit newcomer to the technology sector only stocked one netbook. The technology department was devoid of customers. This allowed me to spend some time in store talking to Carla. I told her that I was considering buying a netbook largely to surf the internet on the move; what was her opinion of these smaller machines, I asked.
Carla took considerable time and patience listening to my needs. In her view, there was little point in buying a laptop, if all I wanted to do was surf the internet. This was a refreshing approach and not unexpected from this customer service orientated retailer. She answered all my many questions concerning the processor’s speed, hard disk drive and explained the benefits of owning a netbook over a laptop; these were largely the ease of use and portability aspects.
The Toshiba machine had a Toshiba NB100 12ª, 8.9” Screen, Intel Atom N270, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Windows XP Operating System and was priced £279.00.
The mystery shop conducted in this store was excellent; the customer service superb. It’s just a shame the store didn’t stock more models. It would be beneficial if the selection was increased in the coming months.
6/10
PC Retail Mystery Shopper July 09 – Best Netbook