I needed some cheap shoes to wear to work in the mornings. $30 was my budget. Nothing special. I came across these nice pair of shoes. Unfortunately there was only 1 pair to my eyes after an extensive search, and they were scratched, rather obviously if you look for them. I asked the store attendant if she could find another pair perhaps in the back.
She looked for other pairs, and could not find any. I asked if I could get a discount as the current pair were scratched. “Nope” was the answer.
A bit disappointed. I should have not bought the pair, but I really liked them. Perhaps Spendless Shoes should have a discount policy for faulty merchandise. What do you think?
After much arguing on the phone (because the phone consultant just wouldn’t get it that I am not interested in the deal), I managed to get my contract canceled with Energy Australia.
After all those deals, it worked out just the same as my current company so my question was: “Why would I change to Energy Australia?”. They didn’t have a good enough answer (which would have been something like, “we will give you 15% off” the bill every month?”)
Here is something interesting I found out on the weekend. Big W does not subscribe to the Scanning code of practice. I bought a box of Huggies Nappies at their store which was scanned by the price check point as $34.98. I had to scan it because the price as not quoted next to the item. When I used the self service check out, the item scanned at $36.98. When I informed the staff there, I was told I had to pay the check out price and was not entitled to the discounted check point price.
I have never experienced this before. Usually when an item scans incorrectly then there are two options: 1) get it at the cheaper price, 2) get it for free. This depends on the retailer and their in store policy.
I inquired about Big W’s policy, and was informed that they do not subscribe to the Scanning code of practice. This code was developed to protect the interests of customers when it comes to scanning goods. Big W is part of the Woolworths Ltd, but has not signed up to the code. Interesting, because Woolworths has signed up to the deal.
I just assumed it was semi-law for all major Australian retailers, and I was wrong. You can find out about more policies at Australian Retailers Association website.
After 2 months of waiting, I finally received my HD Bonus from Panasonic the other day. Excited. I haven’t opened it yet, just haven’t had the time to see how the things work. My bonus gift was the Blu Ray Home TheatreSystem. I was one of the lucky ones who scrapped through for the gifts and got it reserved on back order.
I am pretty impressed with Panasonic so far. They said it will take 8 weeks, and spot on they were right. Their website is also very useful, and had up to date information. I know some others may differ with their views, but in my experience it has been a pleasant one.
Panasonic initially had the Wii promotion, and then brought out this promotion. Pretty tough to beat! I believe both promotions have now ended.
I would be interested to hear how everyone else’s HD bonus gift is working and what they got, and what their experiences have been. Comment below.
Store Optus Yes Shop Shop 113, Forest Hill Shopping Centre
270 Canterbury Rd
Forest Hill, VIC 3131
Tel: (03) 8804 6900
When you visit this store (which is a franchise) be sure to ask for Matt. I recently went there to get the Optus Broadband + Home bundle package. Matt was extremely helpful in these ways:
* Very clear about the pricing
* Knew the answers to all of my questions (I also tested his knowledge because some answers I knew as well)
* Knew the product really well
* Was not pushy to sign me up
However this is what I expect from any customer service consultant. Here is how Matt excelled:
* He said it may take 2 weeks to get the broadband cable installed, but rang within 1 hr to confirm installation within 2 days
* He struck a deal with Optus (without me asking) to waive the land line connection fee of $55
* He obtained a tel number for me straight away
So far I have had my dealings with Optus, a large part of them negative. You can read about my Optus rant here! There were rare moments of surprise. Almost all of my dealings with Optus was via the phone with some dude sitting on the side of the planet. This just annoys me.
I was quite surprised to received such great service from Optus. Maybe the franchise issue has something to do with it, but I hope Matt and Optus Forest Hill keep up their customer service.
I am getting my broadband installed tomorrow, and hopefully things go smoothly.
I don’t usually review latest technology products, as this blog is not designed for such occurrences. However with the latest announcement of the Apple iPad, I thought I will make a few salient points.
Point to note: I have not reviewed it, I have not used it, I have not seen it. My post is based on other people’s written/video reviews, and experiences. Other people who have a little bit more knowledge about technology than me, however I hope to provide a consumer aspect to this by relating to how I would use it (if I had one).
2009: Having been an avid fan of Windows operating system and PC rather than Apple’s equivalent I decided to give way and but an Apple iPhone 3GS. It transformed by day to day life. The phone feature is pretty mundane, and there is nothing special about it. However, the rest of the iPhone is simply brilliant. I use it every day, keep in touch with News, Stock, Facebook, Videos, Photos and much more more. I cannot stress how much I enjoy using it, and I take my hat off to Apple and Steve Jobs who were responsible for such a wonderful creation.
Having said this, I still think Windows is a more practical operating system and PCs are better than an Mac book pro, or Air or whatever else Apple calls it.
Unfortunately for Apple, my love for their product stops there. Their new iPad is not a super tablet as Steve Jobs made it out to be in his much hyped announcement a few days ago. Here are my problems with it from a consumer point of view, and why it won’t be as useful as my iPhone even (In his announcement, Steve claims the iPad is better are many things when compared to a smart phone, or Notebook so I will be phrasing my opinion surrounding this statement)!
The name: There has been much fun poked at the name, and I suspect a lot of women find those comments offensive (even though some women think it’s a great name!). Why is it OK to say “notepad”, but not “iPad”? But there were better options out there such as: “iSlate” or “iTablet”. A slate is a small blackboard used in many developing countries, so “iSlate” would have complemented the huge advances we have made in technology when compared to 30 years ago. Steve is wrong!
No camera: This is just stupid. No camera means you cannot take photos, or use internet video calling software such as Skype. I use Skype every day on my notebook/laptop, so why would I buy a tablet computer if I cannot do that. Steve is wrong!
No multi-tasking: This is a no-brainer. Right now, I am checking news and stocks while I am typing this post. I can’t do that on the iPad. This is also an annoyance on the iPhone and I hate that aspect of it. Steve is wrong!
No USB or HDMI: My laptop/notebook has both of these connectors. I use it every single day. I connect my laptop to my TV and share photos with visitors when I hold a party. It’s the best way to share. I also display all movies I watch onto my TV. These cannot be done on the iPad. What’s the point of watching high definition video on a 9 inch screen? Steve is wrong!
No GPS support: The iPad has Google Maps, but no GPS. What’s the point? Yet again, I am perplexed to find that even the basic feature of the iPhone is not included in the iPad.
iBooks only US based: Why treat other countries as pariahs? Don’t we also deserve to use the iPad as an e-reader. After all, isn’t that what Steve is using to sell the so called “cool” product.
Restricted to iTunes: Apple has a business concept tied to the iPhone, and iPad. The App store, iTunes and now iBooks. Restricting consumers to these features just annoys people. I think Apple has to set the tone by allowing people to add third party applications from other online stores, and eventually other companies will follow.
No 3G support: Do you expect me to only use the iPad within the house. Defeats the purpose! Sure,this is one thing I cannot do on my laptop/notebook but nor can the iPad.
Reading online reviews about the iPad, there are plenty more reason “why the iPad sucks?” as one article put it, but a lot of the other reasons don’t really apply to me. For now, I will be sticking to my laptop however I think Apple will hit back with the next generation iPad with all these features. By then, people will find something else to complain about.
One of the things I find hard to grasp is, the iPad doesn’t even have some of the basic features we take for granted in a laptop/notebook. If Steve wants to promote the iPad saying “it can do things better than a laptop”, he better have a better product to put forward next time he takes centre stage because a lot of what he was showing off during the announcement I already have my beloved iPhone 3GS!
Baby Bunting is probably one of the best stores out there for all things baby. Surprisly, all things baby means all things expensive. How can smaller clothes, small plastic toys, and baby related bedding be so expensive. It’s simple, they play on parents emotions which is why I got sucked into buying an enormous amount from Baby Bunting. The shopping experience was pleasant, however there are a few things I find very annoying.
The service We have been to several baby stores in and around SE Melbourne, and found Baby Bunting (Bentleigh) to have all the products under the one roof. They also have a 3 month layby service which is useful if you are buying plenty of items and racking up the bill. We took pretty much a whole day to do our shopping, which demanded a personalised shopping assistant. Baby Bunting is one of the few stores that offers this service. A customer service lady accompanied us the whole day explaining each and every product, and dissecting out our questions. It seems she knew most things, however did slip up on a few occasions. We didn’t expect her to know everything, but overall the service was admirable.
It started to get a bit annoying when I sensed she was starting to feed on our paranoia and baby ignorance by recommending products we didn’t need, such as the specific nappy disposal unit. Sure it might be useful, but certainly not a necessity by any means. I caught onto this and stayed stern towards the end of the day. We did blow our budget significantly, but hey – its for the baby, so it’s worth it.
The price Don’t expect Baby Bunting to be the cheapest place out there because it is NOT. We found prices for most products were competitively priced, however there are price exaggerations around. We found cheaper play toys, gyms, clothes, bedding, and cots at other places such as: Babies R Us, Baby Co, Babies Galore however because Baby Bunting sold all things under the 1 roof we stuck with our choice and paid that little bit extra. Also the 3 month laybe helped us in terms of meeting our costs in time.
The annoying things I mentioned earlier…
* Admirable that they have a 3 month interest free laybe system, however you can only take the products you have paid for. They really should have a 12 or 24 month interest free terms for purchase prices above a certain range similar to electronics stores. This allows for people to budget for the products, and also buy a lot more at once which will benefit Baby Bunting anyway.
* Each time you pay for your layby you are given a receipt with outstanding amounts due, but not given a receipt for items you have taken home. This puts the onus on the buyer to keep track of what they have taken home, and what is still left at the store. When you buy a few items, this task is easy but when you buy several items (like in our situation) it became a bit of a nightmare. It is is really annoying for the customer. Perhaps an online, or even an email system will help customer’s keep track relatively easily.
* The delivery service is subcontracted out to King’s who further subcontracts to an private individual who delivers using a van. The buyer must help during the delivery process. Now, they deliver mostly on weekdays, and customers are usually working with their pregnant wives at work or at home (so they can’t help, i.e.: they’re pregnant, they are buying baby products – hint hint!!). It’s really annoying how they charge for the delivery but yet ask for the customer’s physical help to unload the van. This is my view is very poor practice!!
* The phone number for the East Bentleigh store rings out after only a few rings, and often cuts out with an “unreachable” message. This is super annoying when you ring after 10am which is their busiest or even on weekends. Their phone system needs an upgrade.
The delivery Despite clearly booking the delivery on a certain date, it was delivered to our home almost 2 weeks early. The guy rang me to ask me where I was, and I told him I wasn’t expecting the delivery today. This was a bit annoying because he asked if he could leave it outside the house. WHAT? I was a few hundred km away, so was in no way prepared to have expensive items left outside the house (in the rain too!). Silly question from his part!
The botched bassinet It turned out the bassinnet which I assembled and couldn’t for the life of me figure out why it was slanted, did in fact have a manufacturing defect. I promptly returned it for a brand new bassinnet (these aren’t easy to assemble either).
Summary - 7 / 10 (service as impressive, but annoyances are a major downside to the experience!)
I would recommend Baby Bunting you want those small products, or want to buy everything in 1 shop. I would certainly recommend if you want variety because Baby Bunting has it all, but don’t go there if you want a bargain because you WILL be disappointed.
Clive Peeters are hosting their VIP customer invitational only sale in December. You need to ring up your local Clive Peeters dealer and register your interest to attend this night.
It is a one night only event where they are guaranteeing all products at cost price + 5% across their range. It’s a good saving if the product you want is not already heavily discounted.
I got my invitation recently, however I have already secured a great deal at Clive Peeters for some electronics but if you are looking for a bargain then it’s a great opportunity. Snacks and beverages will be provided on the night.
Note: there is not much out there about this sale on the internet.
Makemytrip.com is a one stop solution for travellers to India. Their website is comprehensive, and is similar to the Australian equivalent: Wotif.com. I am a great fan of Wotif.com (see my earlier post). I was recommended by a friend to give Makemytrip.com to plan my Indian trip.
The website The website is comprehensive, providings travellers with air, bus, and rail options. Their main attraction is the cheap accommodation packages. I wanted to book accommodation in New Delhi, and it provided me with a range of options quickly within my budget. Furthermore, you can direct your search based on location (i.e.: South Delhi, Gurgoan, Connaught Place, or International Airport). Using this in conjunction with Google Maps made my booking a breeze.
With flight bookings, they have a really cool feature which tells you the percentage on time statistics for flights, and average delays expected. Internal flights in India can be a bit of a nightmare, so don’t go for the cheapest flights. You will also notice the exaggerated taxes associated with flights. Advertising is not strictly controlled, so they will advertise only the cost price of flights and not tell you the taxes until the very last page (which can be very annoying). Similar advertising strategies are not allowed in Australia.
Addit: Recently they do display the “all inclusive price” straight up.
The service
Most web companies have minimal customer service. This is what makes Makemytrip.com much better than other similar products. They have call centres staffed to assist you in your bookings. I made some changes to my booking, and dealt mainly with emails. In most cases, I received replies within 24 hours which is excellent service for a large web company. I also spoke to staff at their head office in Gurgoan who were very helpful. However, their Australian headquarters in Sydney were not very helpful at all, with a guy who spoke little English (which I was not expecting).
Cancellations I had to cancel a few flights and rebook them. I received full refund of the taxes (which amounted to the majority of the price) which was pretty cool. Similar refunds are not possible with many Australian airlines. The refunds were processed within 5 business days straight into my credit card.
Suggestions
* Too much graphics on your site, so keep it to a minimum to make bookings easier.
* Perhaps a site specific to Australian travellers will be helpful, similar to your US and UAE site. I understand volume is an issue
* Add a feature where you can get reduced prices if you leave your booking till late (similar to lastminute.com, or wotif.com)
Inside tips * Read the fine price carefully, notice: refundable, non-refundable tickets
* Choose your airline carefully, stick to: Jet Airways in general
* Allow plenty of time for connections, Indian airports are notorious for bad design and cause maximum annoyance for travelers with multiple security checks due to domestic security issues
* Check with smarttraveller.gov.au before you anywhere.
Summary – 8/10 (I would use it again) The cluttered search results page needs an overhaul. I am impressed with your level of customer service.
Houspect Cost: $550 (building and pest inspections) Rating: 9.5/10
After purchasing my home subject to building & pest inspections, I came across Houspect. Houspect specialise in various inspections, depreciation schedules for investment properties and some commercial options as well.
The service
I had to organise an inspection within 5 business days. That was part of the contract. In hindsight, I would have liked more time. My major concern was not being able to get hold of a reputable inspector. The person I talked to on the phone was remarkably helpful. He went through the total cost, what to expect in the report, and liaised with the estate agent to organise suitable times.
The inspection was done the following day, when I rang on Monday afternoon. Incredibly quick.
Once the inspection had been done, I received a phone call detailing a brief summary to put my mind at ease, and then within 24 hours I received a detailed report by email. This included several page reports, and recommendations.
The follow up call
A few days down the track I received a follow up call from Houspect. I thought this was excellent, and wasn’t expecting it.
The report
I received 2 pdf files within 24 hours detailing the building and pest inspection results including brief summaries. The industry is quick conservative when it comes to recommendations, so don’t get too fussed about all the detail. Note that it is best to get an inspection on an empty property, but this is not always possible so you have to take it with a grain of salt.
Summary
For the money I paid, which was around a few hundred bucks, I was impressed with the service rendered. When you buy your first property, you quickly come up with a list of trusted services whom you can rely on next time. It’s important to have this list, and build a business relationship with them. Well done Houspect!
I needed some cheap shoes to wear to work in the mornings. $30 was my budget. Nothing special. I came across these nice pair of shoes. Unfortunately there was only 1 pair to my eyes after an extensive search, and they were scratched, rather obviously if you look for them. I asked the store attendant if she could find another pair perhaps in the back. 
It is a one night only event where they are guaranteeing all products at cost price + 5% across their range. It’s a good saving if the product you want is not already heavily discounted.
