Mr Feedback

I was involved in choosing some prescription glasses, although they were not for me. OPSM seemed like a good option, and it was the preferred centre by HBA Health Insurance.

Store
384-386 Bourke Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9670 9885

The service
We scouted the place before making the purchase. They have a wide range of glasses, and some top notch brands. Appointments were easy to come by for an eye test. The optometrist was very professional, and punctual. There were quite a few personnel, and we were approached for assistance within a few minutes of entering a store. However, on the day of finalizing our purchase (it was a Saturday morning), the staff were trying out all the glasses available. Granted this is a temptation, but not when there are “real customers” in the building. “I would never be game enough to wear this in public” said one lady, while another said (while trying out another pair): “I think these are not bad”. Entertaining sure, a bit unprofessional though.

The setting
OPSM sets a high standard, and this store was no exception. The building is kept clean, and is very inviting. The staff are professionally dressed. You would expect this when spending in excess of $500 for a pair of glasses. Optometry I hear is big business, and very lucrative. Ophthalmologist also, at that. Hmm, maybe I should change my career.

The glasses
They are great. We received an sms stating that the glasses were ready to be collected. On collection day, the optometrist sat down with us and made sure the glasses were a perfect fit. Good on ya!

Inside tips
* I notice that almost always some glasses are cheaper than their advertised price. So don’t be afraid to ask.

Suggestions
* Great store, good service - perhaps try on glasses when no one is looking. LOL!

Rating - 7/10 (don’t try on glasses and giggle when customers are around)
A bit harsh I know, but you can see why it’s not a good idea for staff to try their own products and comment on them when customers are present.

Store
Michael’s Furniture
409-411 High Street, Melton
Ph: (03) 9746 0666
Further contact details

I moved house about 3 months ago, and was on the hunt for furniture. I have always lived in furnished apartments, and it was time to venture out to buy my own furniture. I was quite keen on Fantastic Furniture - as they had deals featuring whole lounge and bed room sets. I wasn’t into buying really expensive furniture (not just yet anyway), and wanted a complete set so I could get it over and done with. One day, while driving back from Ballarat I spotted Michael’s Furniture in Melton. This is my story.

The service in store
It took a while before we got some attention from one of the staff members, but that was fine with me. I was measuring out the lounge set, and bed room set to ensure they fitted into the new apartment. I spent a good 30-40 minutes having a look around the shop, and really liked the Montego package which was on display. The main priority for me was the length of time for delivery. I was told it would be 6 weeks maximum, but in most cases it will be earlier than that. Fantastic Furniture also had similar time frames, but their deal did not include a bed, tallboy, side tables etc. After having a think about it, I decided to go ahead with the package, paid my deposit. The order was placed on 15/01/2008.

The staff member answered all my questions well, and I did have a lot of them. He even convinced to treat the furniture for“extra protection”. Anyway, now I have some life time stain warranty and free removal of stains or something like that! Read the rest of this entry »

I recently joined up to SMSPup mainly due to lack of credit for my mobile. Yes, I use it up quite quickly so I wanted a free, easy way of being in touch via sms with family. Just the odd sms when I am at work. Besides, where I work - there is poor Optus reception for mobiles.

The way SMSPup works is by sending you promotional emails, and you click on them or sign up to their products (if you want to) and you get points. Each point is worth 1 free sms, which is mainly what I use it for. Their free sms service is quite prompt. So far I have not experienced any delays at all, but I have only been using it for a few weeks.

Anyway, I got a promotion to getting 50 free prints at Snapfish. This is a HP photo print service, and their prices seem reasonable. Anything free must be great right! In true Mr Feedback spirit, I quickly jumped onto this opportunity (sorry GetDigital). Here is my analysis:

The process
The uploading process was quite stream lined, and because my photos were quite small in size I just uploaded them individually. Didn’t bother with their quick upload software. I had a similar experience recently with GetDigital - read here. The best thing about Snapfish is that they offer UNLIMITED ONLINE STORAGE OF YOUR PHOTOS, as long as you buy something at least once every year. I wonder if they accept cheap purchases once yearly to get free storage. Seems like a great way to beat the system, because Flickr and other professional photo storage options can be expensive. Especially if you have thousands of photos. All those memories, and no where to put them. Ok, back to “the process”.

I created my album, and within minutes was able to upload all my photos. Then I confirmed checkout. I got an email confirmation, and I can easily view my “free order” in my Snapfish account. Read the rest of this entry »

This a follow up post to my eBay post earlier in regards to their restrictions on payment options come a certain date. I am posting this for two reasons: 1) ben_gis is a brilliant seller on eBay with 100% positive feedback (422), 2) why eBay is silly for not allowing bank deposits.

I won two auctions offered by ben_gis on 12th April evening. I paid using my Netbank on 13th of April (interbank transfer). I received prompt emails about the status of the product, and expected delivery time. I received the item April 16th, as described, beautifully packaged, and with prompt communication.

Sure, not every seller is like ben_gis, but the majority of sellers who take themselves seriously are and the majority accept bank deposits. In terms of efficiency, I received the product on the 4th day since buying it on eBay. If I had paid using PayPal, perhaps the delivery time would have been within 2 days, but the bottom line is I received the product within days.

Anyway, eBay is not going to change the rules just because I rant here but personally I do not see major problems for bank deposits as a valued method of payment, if instructions are clearly followed.

As for the rating for ben_gis, it made it to the Raj’s list. Rating - 10/10.

I had not been to Big W for a long time, but was actually recommended by one of Target’s personnel. Go figure! Anyway, they have these pretty cool self service check outs. There was a distinct difference between the two main check out types - manned, vs self service (i.e.: oldies vs youngies).

These self service check outs are really easy to use. I don’t know how long they have had them, but surely we need more of these in other stores.

I EFTPOS’D my payment, and took cash out as well. Cool! A big thumbs up to Big W for keeping up with technology.

Store: QV Shopping centre, Melbourne CBD 

I have been an eBay fan for a long time now, and have bought and sold many products using the service. Their recent announcement about only accepting PayPal payments leaves a sour taste in my mouth, because I am one of those users affected by the change.

I offer Paypal as an option for payment, but also regularly accept direct bank deposits. To be honest, never have I had a problem with a failed transaction - but there have been delays because it often takes a while before the payment appears on the statement. I clearly specify to the buyer to leave the item number or eBay username when direct depositing funds.

The annoying thing about all this is, because eBay has such a strangle hold on the online auction marketplace, it will not significantly affect their usership. Sure, some people will stray away to alternative sites (and there are plenty out there).

There is a positive to all this though: PayPal payments are instant therefore further reducing turnaround times for delivery. This can translate increased sales, through increased sale numbers. Profits for eBay Powersellers can increase, but only through increasing their item sales per month. I suspect they will force buyers to supplement a % of PayPal costs. For what it’s worth, they are increasing Paypal fraud protection limit to $20K.

eBay quotes “To make our marketplace an even safer place to buy and sell, eBay.com.au is introducing some changes”. However, PayPal is not free you see. You get slugged for accepting payments through PayPal, and it can be a significant amount for large sales (recently I paid $1.96, and almost $4 for sales). One way to avoid the backslash is to reduce PayPal fees, but I suspect these rates will increase even further to promote a monopoly.

Mr Feedback not happy about eBay! Thanks Mr. Vice President!

Note to self: a number of Facebook groups have already sprung up about this.

Read my post earlier on Get Digital, This is a follow up post.

I received a call yesterday from Wood Pharmacy (7th of April) about my package being ready. I ordered the photos on 3rd of April late at night, and the order appeared as processed the very next day (with confirmation email).
Here’s the incredible efficiency of this process: 5th and 6th of April were weekend days. So essentially, my 218 photos were printed the next day, and delivered the next business day. I picked it up from the Wood Pharmacy at Royal Children’s Hospital today.

The package was neatly fitted into a Get Digital Box, and clearly print labeled on the front. I am happy with the quality of the photos, especially for the price. I don’t know how they make their money, unless they are printing in the thousands of photos each hour.

Total cost: $23.80 (very reasonable).

I am going to start printing all of my digital photos (more than 4000 in total I think). These Get Digital people are for real.

Rating: 10/10 (anything else would be just pure evil!)
Really impressed, and you can expect 4000 X $0.10 = $400 worth of business from me. If you really want to impress me, why not try and give me a deal. I do deals! Find out how!

I am yet to buy a car, so I trialled the Safeway (or Woolworths) delivery service the other day. Safeway is located a good walking distance from my home, but I am the type of person who likes shopping once a fortnight, rather than doing it more regularly. Keeps my budget in check, and also allows me to plan my shopping. Which means buying loads of stuff, therefore transport is a problem.

I bought 16 bags worth of shopping yesterday, and tested out the delivery service. Here is what I thought.

The shopping itself
Woolworths has a great website, where you can shop online. I am a huge fan of shopping online, and I regularly make purchases online (e.g.: eBay). However, shopping for groceries online is a bit of a hassle. Surprisingly, I found using the website difficult - not because of its design characteristics, but rather I find it much easier seeing my food before buying. I have not fully tested out the site, but I hope there is a functionality which allows for keeping tabs of your favorite products thereby reducing your searching time (or remembering your previous shopping list). The site does not provide photos of all the products at a glance unless you click on individual items, which can get annoying. Overall, a novel site, but not for me at this stage.

The delivery
After the purchase, I advised the “check out chick” that I preferred delivery. It was quite easy, all bags are tagged and bar coded. My contact details are given, and the lady explained that delivery will occur “before 5pm today” (and I get a card with delivery information). This gave me ample time to get back home, before the goods arrived. I live in an apartment, so would have preferred the groceries to be dropped off at my level. Instead, I was told to get them from downstairs. Fair enough I guess. My expectations are high, I know. The delivery time was 4.30pm - so punctuality was maintained.

The cost of delivery was less than $5. Now doing the sums:
* Cost of a tram ticket for 2 hours (Zone 1): $3.50
* There was no way I could have brought 16 bags by myself, which meant a taxi was required.

So delivery is an economical option for those without private transport. A big tick for Safeway for keeping things affordable.

Inside tips
* When using the site, watch for the “specials” link at the top - which details all your savings. This is a great feature of the site.
* It gives you running totals, so you know how much you are spending. This is something you do not get while doing shopping physically.
*Delivery is a great option if you have loads to carry
* Watch out, delivery for purchases made online can be more expensive!

Suggestions
* I can see a major market for busy couples who would like their shopping delivered, particularly those living in inner city apartments. So make delivery to the door, rather than to the building.
* The delivery card does not have information on whom to contact if you do not get your goods, so this would be a good idea. You do not want customers left out in the cold when deliveries don’t come on time.

Rating - 8/10 (delivery was a great deal!)
I suspect delivery is subcontracted, and thank you for making it affordable. If you can deliver to people’s doors (incl. apartments) then it will really attract a lot of inner city dwellers. As for your website, things look good here - but consider incorporating pictures that are easily accessible instead of making us click on each product link.