88 replies to this topic

[jsmith]

zorg, on Oct 24 2005, 01:28 PM, said:

yes tend to concur we bought a de longhi (absolute pos) coffee machine from HN and after being assured several times that yes it was fully automatic for cleaning, got it home and found out you had to pull the thing apart to clean it......  Needless to say returned it rather short order after going apes...t in the store.... Bought another brand from an internet retailer and love it....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Shockers mate... They sold me a DVD player before I got the TV, and told me that it did PAL Progressive (576p)... when I got it it of course only did NTSC progressive (480p). Who wants their 576 lined disk's downed to 480 lines, then de-interlaced... no one! I went to return it months later as I only found this out when I got my TV, and I was able to try the progessive scan feature. They tried to convince me that it would be best to watch it in interlace mode anyway, at which time I asked them to refund the DVD player, and sell me the Sony that had just come out at the time with 576p. They gave me $20 off the price of the new one, but wouldn;t take back the old one    They are absolute c*&ts... especially after spening over $2000 on equip.

JSmith  :ph34r:

[mtv]

It's such a shame that the average Joe gets caught up in the sales hype of HN advertising campaigns and doesn't bother to shop around, like we "educated" forum dwellers. Not only are HN prices consistently higher than just about anywhere else, the sales people have little or no technical knowledge of the products they sell. That is, is any of them bother to serve you in the first place.

A big thumbs down from me to HN.

As Derryn used to say: "Shame, Shame, Shame"

[jsmith]

mtv, on Oct 24 2005, 02:30 PM, said:

It's such a shame that the average Joe gets caught up in the sales hype of HN advertising campaigns and doesn't bother to shop around, like we "educated" forum dwellers. Not only are HN prices consistently higher than just about anywhere else, the sales people have little or no technical knowledge of the products they sell. That is, is any of them bother to serve you in the first place.

A big thumbs down from me to HN.

As Derryn used to say: "Shame, Shame, Shame"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For sure, I certainly shopped around for the TV, but actually did get the best price there at the time compared to 3 other retailers... this was an exception from what I have experienced with them since, and have also heard from others.

JSmith  :ph34r:

[zorg]

yes I would never go back again, even if they were $50 cheaper on a certain item, unlikely that would happen though...  I'd rather support a smaller chain like Good Guys etc.

[shrek]

Some of the comments are very generalised. As jsmith said they are franchise stores, so lowest prices are at the managers descretion and are probably dependent where the store is located (ie state and suburb). Also I've noticed some of their older stock is still stickered with the older rrp, they probably can't be bothered changing the price. Don't always assume they are trying to rip you off, allyou need to do is ask if the sticker price is correct.

I bought a Sony portable cd/radio/cassette player for my daughter more than six months ago from HN and their price was the cheapest I could find (cheaper than Bing Lee, Good Guys, Retravision, etc). But their price on other things isn't.

All I'm saying is a bad experience could happen at any store. It's a matter of being vigilant of what you are buying and where from.

[mtv]

Agreed, that any franchise chain may differ from store to store, however in the case of HN, the comments in this forum are from members spread right across the country, representing a good cross-section of consumers. Whilst it's by no means an acurate survey, the indication is that most have experienced inflated prices and extremely poor customer service from HN stores, wherever they are located.

To me, it seems that if someone is lucky enough to get a good deal and even more rare, good service from a HN store, it's an exception. Good luck to those who have.

[MarkH]

zorg, on Oct 24 2005, 02:47 PM, said:

I'd rather support a smaller chain like Good Guys etc.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Isnt this the same difference?

[DavidR]

Imolator, on Oct 22 2005, 12:05 PM, said:

Their policy is to actually give you 110% of the difference, within 30 days of sale.  They have quite a lot of terms and conditions though.

Michael

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Except they don't.

Saw a microwave oven on sale for $349 (normally about $449 and, no, it wasn't a discontinued model). I knew RRP was around $480). HN quoted $549 (yes, $70 above RRP) and wouldn't budge - "we won't make any money if we sell for less than $500" and flatly denied that RRP was $480ish.

So I told the guy about their 110% difference 'guarantee' and asked him what they'd do if I bought it from them at $549, then came back the next day with the $349 catalog price. "No our price matching guarantee doesn't apply if the sale price is less than our cost price."

And as we know, a retailer's cost price  is not necessarily the same as their actual buy price. It's more like a fictitious figure which in almost all cases is significantly higher than what they actually buy stuff for. There's all sorts of hidden/undisclosed rebates, discounts and kickbacks which affect the price they actually pay. I work for an IT company and as a preferred supplier of a particular brand of comms/networking hardware, we get 67% off the regular wholesale price. So in theory, we could sell it for half the RRP and still make money.

It's a sad reflection on the ACCC that they don't enforce false advertising laws. I think maybe Gerry Harvey has Graeme Samuel in his pocket.

[jsmith]

DavidR, on Oct 25 2005, 10:57 AM, said:

It's a sad reflection on the ACCC that they don't enforce false advertising laws. I think maybe Gerry Harvey has Graeme Samuel in his pocket.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Clearly he does....    These "sales" are just becoming dodgy, and the laws needs to change to reflect consumer annoyance, or at least be applied if they currently exist.

JSmith  :ph34r:

[DavoNogo]

DavidR, on Oct 25 2005, 10:57 AM, said:

Except they don't.

Saw a microwave oven on sale for $349 (normally about $449 and, no, it wasn't a discontinued model). I knew RRP was around $480). HN quoted $549 (yes, $70 above RRP) and wouldn't budge - "we won't make any money if we sell for less than $500" and flatly denied that RRP was $480ish.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sure hope you got it from where you saw it for $349, then tried to sell it to Harvey Norman at their "cost price"

[zorg]

oldest retailer trick on the book, bump up the price, often above retail then put it on sale for 20% off and suck people in... HN disgust me.

[phill735]

I went into HN once looking for a stereo, their ticket price was $200 above RRP and it was a new model, I asked what was the best price they could do, They asked if they find out what the price was if I would buy it, I said I would only buy it if it was a good price, he said in a polite way if your not going to buy it i cant give you our best price. Finaly he priced it at $1599, this was there absolute bottem price and it was a good thing the manager was away, I said that I wouldnt by from HN after that epesode, went down the road to retravision and picked it up for $1080 cash. And the retravision guy gave me no problems. Ive only had bad experiences with HN and dont even like to enter their stores.

[FMB]

I've always considered HN as a great place to shop, but the worst place to buy.

They have a good range of products and you can do side-by-side comparisons (as long as you know what you're doing yourself, because the salespeople won't). But when it comes to actually buying, forget it. I've bought a few things from HN, but only because I knew that, for whatever reason, it was the best/only option.

IMHO Gerry Harvey is no better than a sleazy used car salesman and he's not getting any of my money.

[dkmaj]

when i purchased my Pana RP HDTV, retravision in orange gave me an excellent deal, but they had to order it in, were as the local HN had the product instore, so i gave the HN manager the retravision card with retravisions best price on it, he accused me (in front of my children) of lying and that i made up the price and wrote it myself on a 'stolen' retravision business card!!, i told him to ring the guy at retravision and he say nope he didnt have time, he then said HN was the best still as they offered 'interest free' terms, i said im paying cash, so that meant nothing, and the $1500 price diff WAS A LOT OF INTEREST I WOULD PAY if i was stupid enough to buy of them. Went back to retravision and ordered it, then took the wife after work to HN to show her (as they had them instock and one operating on the showroom floor) the manager saw me and yelled out i knew youd back, i said mate you are kidding i purchased from retra but just wanted to show the missus what it was like in the flesh (as opposed to brochures). as said before great place to shop (to see products displayed) not a good place to buy from....

[zorg]

wow - so many interesting stories coming out of the woodwork... still a huge amount of people buy from themm... heard on the grapevine they might buy megamart....

[FMB]

zorg, on Oct 25 2005, 05:01 PM, said:

wow - so many interesting stories coming out of the woodwork... still a huge amount of people buy from themm... heard on the grapevine they might buy megamart....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There are still a lot of gullible people out there. My parents have almost bought stuff from HN in the past because they couldn't be bothered shopping around, saw enticing advertising and/or were taken in by salespeople with great sales skills, but lousy product knowledge. In some cases I was able to stop them in time. Other times, I just pointed out their mistake in $.

[jsmith]

dkmaj, on Oct 25 2005, 04:44 PM, said:

when i purchased my Pana RP HDTV, retravision in orange gave me an excellent deal, but they had to order it in, were as the local HN had the product instore, so i gave the HN manager the retravision card with retravisions best price on it, he accused me (in front of my children) of lying and that i made up the price and wrote it myself on a 'stolen' retravision business card!!, i told him to ring the guy at retravision and he say nope he didnt have time, he then said HN was the best still as they offered 'interest free' terms, i said im paying cash, so that meant nothing, and the $1500 price diff WAS A LOT OF INTEREST I WOULD PAY if i was stupid enough to buy of them. Went back to retravision and ordered it, then took the wife after work to HN to show her (as they had them instock and one operating on the showroom floor) the manager saw me and yelled out i knew youd back, i said mate you are kidding i purchased from retra but just wanted to show the missus what it was like in the flesh (as opposed to brochures). as said before great place to shop (to see products displayed) not a good place to buy from....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They are rubbish aren't they? I purchased mine there simply becasue Retra did not have it in stock... I offered cash on a $2000 tv at the time... what did I get off $50 ) pr*cks... I should've waited for Retra who I would've been happy to pay the extra $50 to at the time, just to ensure I got a TV with no mould in it    I have never heard of something more ridiculous than an electrical product with mould in the box  

JSmith  :ph34r:

[Pigglypuff]

Its actually quite amusing hearing all these stories regarding Hardly Normal and their evil schemes of ripping off consumers and providing bad service. But all up its quite unfair to criticise a chain of stores especially if it is franchised for bad experiences at one store and one salesperson. You might end up having a shocker of a time with one sales drone but why dont u bother checking out the product knowledge of another different person at another store, surely u dont believe they all know the same stuff.

Another funny psychological thing people do is that a greater proportional of dissatisfied customers tend to rant and complain while the satisfied customers wont bother posting on forum saying "i had excellent service at XYZ when i purchased ...", the same when it applies to criticising brand names for faulty and crappy products. If they sell a million units, and hear 10 complaints, big deal life moves on. Ur business isnt gonna affect their bottomline unless they are chronically underperforming for all their customers.

Overall, support ur local store and they will look after u in return, whats the point of shaving urself an extra $50 bucks off a $4000 dollar item and driving 20KM from where you live to get advice or rectify a problem. The time saving isnt just worth it. And with all these people shopping around 10 places for one item for an extra $30 buck saving, thats just ridiculous too, there is something called shopping around for price comparison and overshopping. Dont people have families these days to spend time with instead of going to retail shops to practice their haggling skills?

Its actually pretty funny to hear people rave about one particular store providing poor service where as they could rather post a topic on XYZ store providing quality service and good customer support. People tend to focus on the negative. People always want to vent their anger and frustration, wanting people to sympathise with their situation, yes we all know everyone has bad experience one time or another, why not post the good experiences?

Though i havent shopped with HN before not for any particular reason, Im sure they are doing something right to consistently have customers. Im sure if they are consistently "ripping" off customers then i dont think they will have repeat customers going back. As other people have mentioned, shop for price and SERVICE, maintaining a good relationship with a local retailer will surely beat the frustration with running around different places shopping for that extra $20 bucks discount u would of wasted with petrol driving around.

[Thornton Melon]

Pigglypuff, on Nov 1 2005, 03:35 PM, said:

Its actually quite amusing hearing all these stories regarding Hardly Normal and their evil schemes of ripping off consumers and providing bad service. But all up its quite unfair to criticise a chain of stores especially if it is franchised for bad experiences at one store and one salesperson. You might end up having a shocker of a time with one sales drone but why dont u bother checking out the product knowledge of another different person at another store, surely u dont believe they all know the same stuff.

Another funny psychological thing people do is that a greater proportional of dissatisfied customers tend to rant and complain while the satisfied customers wont bother posting on forum saying "i had excellent service at XYZ when i purchased ...", the same when it applies to criticising brand names for faulty and crappy products. If they sell a million units, and hear 10 complaints, big deal life moves on. Ur business isnt gonna affect their bottomline unless they are chronically underperforming for all their customers.

Overall, support ur local store and they will look after u in return, whats the point of shaving urself an extra $50 bucks off a $4000 dollar item and driving 20KM from where you live to get advice or rectify a problem. The time saving isnt just worth it. And with all these people shopping around 10 places for one item for an extra $30 buck saving, thats just ridiculous too, there is something called shopping around for price comparison and overshopping. Dont people have families these days to spend time with instead of going to retail shops to practice their haggling skills?

Its actually pretty funny to hear people rave about one particular store providing poor service where as they could rather post a topic on XYZ store providing quality service and good customer support. People tend to focus on the negative. People always want to vent their anger and frustration, wanting people to sympathise with their situation, yes we all know everyone has bad experience one time or another, why not post the good experiences?

Though i havent shopped with HN before not for any particular reason, Im sure they are doing something right to consistently have customers. Im sure if they are consistently "ripping" off customers then i dont think they will have repeat customers going back. As other people have mentioned, shop for price and SERVICE, maintaining a good relationship with a local retailer will surely beat the frustration with running around different places shopping for that extra $20 bucks discount u would of wasted with petrol driving around.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's easy to play the H/N game,just ring every store to get the best price and bingo,they hate losing to another store,I find harvey at Wiley park in sydney great to do buisness with,but at Taren Pt. forget it,go Retrovision and only 100mtrs apart

[RodN]

Pigglypuff, on Nov 1 2005, 03:35 PM, said:

Its actually quite amusing hearing all these stories regarding Hardly Normal and their

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds like a salesman talking, i.e our high prices are all the customers fault, somehow!

[Doug]

Thornton Melon, on Nov 1 2005, 04:50 PM, said:

It's easy to play the H/N game,just ring every store to get the best price and bingo,they hate losing to another store,I find harvey at Wiley park in sydney great to do buisness with,but at Taren Pt. forget it,go Retrovision and only 100mtrs apart

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

H/N are just like Telstra - they make their money off suckers who are too lazy to to shop around and who end up paying far too much for an isentical service they can buy from someone else.

[jsmith]

Pigglypuff, on Nov 1 2005, 03:35 PM, said:

Though i havent shopped with HN before

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mate, you said it all...  

Please only post from experience here... and also please believe the people that have shopped there... we are trying to tell you not to, not blow a horn for a busniness you have never shopped with. The only reason they do well, like alot of large companies is their advertising and the creation of value in the customers mind. This doesn't necessarily equate to value I'm afraid...  

JSmith  :ph34r:

[Alex]

Pigglypuff, on Nov 1 2005, 03:35 PM, said:

... As other people have mentioned, shop for price and SERVICE, maintaining a good relationship with a local retailer will surely beat the frustration with running around different places shopping for that extra $20 bucks discount u would of wasted with petrol driving around.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The problem with HN is that the droids aren't interested in the products they sell nor the customers they sell them to. If that's the case then why should buyers not treat the droids for what they are - useless.

[FMB]

If you look hard enough, you'll find lots of posts praising other retailers. You'll also find lots of posts criticising retailers other than HN. However, the number of posts critcising HN for their pricing and lack of product knowledge, strongly suggests some sort of systemic problem with the company. Yes, all of the stores are franchised, but they all toe the company line. HN are very strict with their franshisees.

Sorry, but the argument simply doesn't carry any weight.

[Chodan]

I actually just purchased a Panasonic 42" plasma from Hardly Normal. DSE, JB, Megamart, Myer and the Good Guys would not meet HN's price. The first sales rep I spoke to at HN had no clue and I easily caught him out lying several times and made him look a fool infront of several customers. The second rep I spoke to actually knew quite alot. She didnt fall for the SD, ED and HD questions and admitted that the so called bonus stand, which many retailers including HN advertise as a bonus, is really just the standard stand shipped with all Panasonic plasmas.

I think whatever the retailer you will strike **** reps and the practice of marking up a product then dropping it down to near normal prices to fool moms and dads is common practice. Just do your homework (use forums, check manufacturers websites visit lots of stores) shop around and remember you dont have to buy from any particular retailer.