What I miss about Amiga shops.......

[Franko]

Gotta agree on the Apple shops, "come in sir, sit down for a mere £25 per half our one of our stuck up staff will advice you on just what we think you need and how much we're going to fleece you for"... :lol:

On he other hand PCworld staff "can I help you mate... no ta just looking... well if you need any help just give me a shout"...

Compare that to Princes Street in Edinburgh circa 1980's. John Menzies, WHSmiths, Dixons, Boots, Laskys, HMV, Virgin, Woolworths not mention all those neat little specialist shops the sprang up every where off the side streets & beaten track...

Saturday mornings & afternoons were spent touring all these great places in ever growing crowds, checking out this weeks releases and comparing prices and thoroughly testing them all before deciding which to buy that week....

It was a time when you made many new and even lifelong friends & acquaintances and where many user groups sprang up from, all because we had one thing in common, our fascination and love for all these new fangled home computer thingies...

It even got so popular that some of the guys who owned the small but equally well stocked independent stores had to arrange times for the ever growing groups to arrive and leave at certain times cos there were just too many to fit into all at once these magic little treasure caves stuffed full of all the latest goodies...

Then if you were old enough (or even if you weren't) it was off to the nearest pub to discuss & compare each others haul this week before setting of to invade whomevers bedroom who lived nearest to try out all the latest goodies...

Often wondered what some of the bemused mums thought when wee Johny arrived back home on those Saturday afternoons and announced "mum I've brought a few friends back, just going upstairs now to my room", then anything up to about 15 or 16 of us would trail into wee Johny's mums house with a cheery " hello Johny's Mum, look at what we bought this week"...

Wonder if such things still happen these days, highly doubt it but to be honest it was an experience and pleasure that I'm glad to say I didn't miss out on and remember most fondly...

[Franko]

Which is just as well, because the only help they would be is if you had trouble reading the label on the shelf edge, they could read it to you. That and pointing out the most expensive item in the line they have while saying "This is what you need sir!" seems to be all they're good for.

Apple staff tend to be elitist alright, but at least they know the products they're trying to sell you.

All very true that's why in PCWorld I just say "no ta, just looking" cos I can read the display tag or box myself...

Apple shop staff knowing what they're talking about, no quite true apart from their 25 quid per half hour "Consulting fee" they love to try and get you to pay, ask to test out the machine you're actually going to buy and not the display model and it's "sorry we can't do that", believe me I've tried...

Even a question about how many "dead pixels" are allowed on a screen before it can be classed as either needing replaced or your money refunded is met by a totally wrong answer as they don't have a clue about what by trading laws in the UK is considered acceptable or not...

I'd rather take my chances on ebay or buying second hand when it comes to anything Apple...

[Franko]

One of the worst things about visiting any type of electrical shop, whether it's a computer, TV or even a washing machine is the never ending sales push to get you to purchase the extra 3 or 5 year Warranty that cost half the price or more of the item your buying, that really pees me off but the best answer I've found to that is to reply with...

"So the piece of kit your trying to sell me is so unreliable that I need to purchase this extra warranty for it for when IT DOES BREAK DOWN within the first few years... In that case I'll not even bother buying such a piece of crap..."

Never fails as they either just shut up or mumble something under their breath as they waddle of knowing that they won't be getting a cut from selling you this scam...

[Franko]

A government sponsored report a number of years ago in the UK about these "extended warranties" showed that this money making scam (and that's all it is) that almost 78% of these purchased warranties are never used or needed during the warranties lifetime by the buyer and the small remainder that do require it when something does break down, will more often than not find that the company claims the broken part is not covered by the warranty...

If you know a friend who is a shop manager that tries to sell such warranties ask them to tell you just how much the "warranty provider" (ie: insurance company) actually pays the company/shop a share of the revenue from selling these things and just how much the shop actually pays the staff a bonus/fee for each one they sell, reckon you might be surprised when you find out the truth...

Never buy one... it's not worth the money and in most cases the paper it's written on...

[Franko]

@ Kesa

Just woke up for a pee & a quick fag...

Cows aren't real you know, there just a figroll of your imagination and therefore don't hold any water... off to sleep again... night, night...

[Franko]

What I miss about Amiga shops..... ..... is their existance. ;-)

Nice one...

+1