Harvey Norman AAArrrgh!

Sorry guys this is a long one.

So prior to Easter (2011) i find myself in Harvey Norman looking at washing machines before the arrival of our first baby. I noticed that all outdoor settings were 40% off, well that sounds pretty good so we ordered one and paid for it over the phone that arvo (5th April 2011).

Things have gone from bad to worse since then. the setting arrived on Saturday, they couldn't give us a time so we waited all day for it. when it finally arrived i set to putting it together and unwrapping it, this is when i started to realise how much crap you get for $2,000 (discounted 40%). the chairs had foreign objects in the back rests and inside the frames so they rattle, one of the armrests wasn't bolted to the frame, and the glass table top dosen't fit into the table (WTF!). fast forward (i'll leave out the countless email & phone calls) to today (21 May 11) when the replacement is delivered (whats that 6 weeks?) now the replacement has a welding dag in the thread for a leg and i cant assemble it!!! Harvey Normans delivery guys couldnt help reassemble it so they have gone with the other table and i now have a worse table than before the swap. obviously they hadn't checked the quality prior to the swap - idiots.

to add to it, they said they give us replacement chairs (x 2) and that we could keep the other chairs. this wasn't on their delivery sheet so we had to fight to get them too, AND they were filthy. when we spoke to the weekend manager about the chairs he said that the girl that had promised them to us had no right and that he will "slap her senseless on Monday". nice! he even had the audacity to say they have an obligation to their suppliers, what about the obligation to their customers?

so now i have to waste another Saturday (thats 3 all up) waiting for Harvey Norman delivery truck to collect this and refund my money. wish i'd shopped elsewhere.

We did get the washing machine too, and that was a very smooth transaction, it's obvious that they are different franchises under the Harvey Normans banner.

****END RANT***

I know, doesn't that crap just piss you off no end?

Funnily enough, I just finished installing our new dishwasher we picked up from H/Norman yesterday. Couple of holes through the back of the cabinets for the hoses and away it goes. Of course, what happens with me is we said thats it, no more than $700.00 on a dishwasher, and we decide on a $1100.00 Bosch.

But, if it lasts 13 years like the old Dishlex its worth it.

You know, I don't think those woes are limited to Hardly Normal stores. The whole lot of 'em mostly hire people who need an income, not people who are passionate about (in this case) outdoor furniture.

Walk into ARB, TJM or that corner performance shop. Try that little lawn mower place down the end of the street or the BBQ store run by the same family for the last 40 years that's 2 streets down.

Unfortunately for the customer, the big stores hire people who don't give a hoot about the customer as long as they're pulling out their money to hand over. Once you've handed over your cash you're useless to them - especially if they work on commission.

The sad reality - this kind of environment is just going to get worse. Big companies will get bigger and they're going to employ people to get staff on the floor. People will go for the jobs because they need a source of income that's at least marginally higher than the dole.

I don't buy a lot from Harvey Normal myself, there are competitors that are much more customer-focused that I prefer to deal with. However, I do go in there - but the items I generally buy are on super sale and are really, really hard to stuff up (like the two photo frames we grabbed recently for $50 each).

Gerry Harvey wonders why we buy on line.

Better service and better products.

From what I have found, Harvey Norman salesmen wont approach you unless your 45 plus.

So I shop at Bing Lee and the Good Guys.

A old work mate works for Bing Lee so I always get a good deal.

raywise said:

I know, doesn't that crap just piss you off no end?

Funnily enough, I just finished installing our new dishwasher we picked up from H/Norman yesterday. Couple of holes through the back of the cabinets for the hoses and away it goes. Of course, what happens with me is we said thats it, no more than $700.00 on a dishwasher, and we decide on a $1100.00 Bosch.

But, if it lasts 13 years like the old Dishlex its worth it.

Click to expand...

Dishwashers - DEFINITELY worth spending the extra money. Buying a cheap dishwasher, might as well not bother, in fact they should just be called "dishwetters." Never buy a Whirlpool, biggest pieces of crud!

Old.Tony said:

Walk into ARB. The whole lot of 'em mostly hire people who need an income, not people who are passionate and most employees of ARB franchises are useless. "All Hail the almighty dollar and yes as a matter of fact we do shit strawberrys that are the sweetest in all the land"

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I fixed your stuttering problem.

Nice job LOL ... but the ARB here in Newcastle isn't that bad. They at least know what they're talking about. If you wander into Hardly Normal and ask the guy about the support given by this particular mattress he turns to you and with his bestest impression of a stunned mullet he says ...

"Well, sir, we put 'em on beds and people sleep on 'em, dunt know much more'n that."

Yeah they are useless at Harvey Norman but you get a bit more sense out of them than the average Bunnings employee. Cant wait for a bit of competition there.

I once won a $1500 voucher to spend with Gerry. Had to be spent there and so I made the little peckerheads work for it......I'm a simple guy and have many ways of amusing myself. They didn't know of the voucher but I spent lots of time with one employee discussing the virtues of their clock radios - I had to lure him away from the plasma telly area to give me a $2 discount on a clock radio because I said I had seen a similar unit that had all of the features ( of a clock radio for chrisake ) that was around the same price. 1/2 hour of questions pissing about and he got a sale of $21 - discounted.
Then it was onto toasters......Needless to say the chick that was trying to sell $1000+ coffee machines didn't fair much better when we chucked in the $40 "she'll be right" toaster after discussing high end kitchen appliances for another hour.
Shopping is good fun......unless it involves supermarkets

If you leave the out door setting on a patio where it's open to wind and cold weather but not the rain (i.e. an open on the sides but a roof over the top) keep an eye on all the joins and welds. I've had mine for a few years not and most of the welds are some spots of the frames on both the table and the chairs have surface rust. None of the rust has eaten the frame and made it un-safe and I've since painted it with a rust inhibitor but it still sucks that these sort of thing rust like they do after only a few winters of being left outside.

+1 on Bing Lee. we don't bother going anywhere else these days. In the past, every time we did the rounds BL was always cheaper.

Really did well on the replacement deep freeze last month and we'll wander down there soon for a replacement DSLR camera.

At one stage you could go to Harldy normal to see a better range, but not any more.

What pi$$es me off is when they market themselves as a premium outlet and are so vocal about the internet making them less competitive and loosing business.

I worked in retail for almost 10 years and cannot understand why when you spend millions each year on advertising just to get people in their stores they dont give the service to keep them. They are clearly offering price competition and not service. to me, that's not a premium outlet, it's a glorified "Cunninghams warehouse" or "cheap as chips". The difference is they have premium products.

Another rant on Harvey Norman...

Bought a new fridge from them before Easter. Fridge not available in Adelaide until after Easter. Fridge delivered Friday morning after Easter. Unwrap the Fridge to discover the forky has put a tine through the door of the fridge.

Ring HN, They arrange for Electrolux to fit a replacement door Monday morning (2 May). The bloke turns up on Monday, inspects the fridge and determines that a forklift tine has damaged the fridge. I seek reassurance that he will replace it there and then as HN had promised.

"No" is answer. "I am only here to check that the fridge is indeed damaged. I will need order the door and it will then be manufactured. It will be 4 to 6 weeks before it will be ready to be replaced."

I rang HN and complained. Don't know why I bothered.

Got an automated text message from Electrolux on 20 May confirming that the replacement door had been ordered. It took 18 days just to order the bloody door!

Not happy Jan.

^ I would of demanded a new fridge.

Not just the door.

!@#$ I hate bad customer service.

grrr just been in there to buy some vaccum bags. took 10mins to find someone the "wasnt busy" to show me what ones i needed, then 10mins standing at the casheir while one girl was flirting and the other was to busy talking to serve but had time to answer the phone well. i threw my crap on the floor and walked out. not going to my local harvey nomore again.

Dave said:

^ I would of demanded a new fridge.

Not just the door.

!@#$ I hate bad customer service.

Click to expand...

Dave

We considered it but it had already cost me too much time just waiting around for the first delivery and then for the 'repair' man to turn up.

Dave said:

Gerry Harvey wonders why we buy on line.

Better service and better products.

From what I have found, Harvey Norman salesmen wont approach you unless your 45 plus.

So I shop at Bing Lee and the Good Guys.

A old work mate works for Bing Lee so I always get a good deal.

Click to expand...

+1 to the 45+ age. I moved out of home at 18, now 23 and they don't serve me, even though I am furnishing a whole house. I spend just as much money as the next person and get the top of the range products but they just don't serve me. I often end up at my local electrical place which are the same price but I get good service.


I would also have demanded a new fridge. I would load it on the ute, dump it in there front door and say now wheres the new one.

^ Mate if you have a Bing Lee there. Go there.

There willing to bargain and the service is good.

Dave said:

^ Mate if you have a Bing Lee there. Go there.

There willing to bargain and the service is good.

Click to expand...

And if you are 45+, you don't have to do too much haggling, especially if your salesman is 45+.

<don't know if it is true but we always seem to get a better price, -10%+ with Hmm, so what price is that available at>.

^ Ill second that.

A old work mate always gives me good deals.

However if he isn't there on the day, I am still better off then driving to Harvey Norman.