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Carphone Warehouse - The High Street Rip Off

Posted on 25 Sep 2009 at 13:35

By this point he was talking at just short of a million miles an hour, determined to educate me. I gave him a sporting chance to try and earn his sales bonus and pointed to the £50 more expensive Toshiba sitting next door. "Toshiba," I gushed excitedly. "I've heard of them, they're supposed to be really good."

I could have been sharking Megan Fox at strip poker and not have been as excited, but Slick wasn't biting. His response was a shrug: "It's slightly higher specification, but the Acer does everything you need."

Pregnant pause

I was irrationally angry at that point. I wanted to be fleeced and fate had handed me the worst salesman ever to put on a gaudy tie and pink shirt. I wasn't giving up, though. I asked about the software, and whether I needed to buy anything else to write a few documents, or edit those photos of potato-faced Trevor. "Everything you'll need is on it." He confirmed airily.

In a final act of humiliation he handed me a copy of Carphone Warehouse's "Broadband and Laptop Guide", before reiterating the location of PC World. I left the store undone and headed for another about half-a-mile away. The female sales assistant fussed over my pregnant wife, asking how far along she was - causing some panic because I hadn't thought through my alibi that deeply - but stuck to the facts, offering exactly the same £300 Acer Aspire 5335, though pushing the mobile-broadband deal.

Humbled by her undeserved loveliness I took flight, heading back to the PC Pro office with my head hung in shame that I'd been forced to lie. I actually felt bad, and I never feel bad. Genghis Khan would be shocked by my lack of scruples. In the end then, the only shocking thing about Carphone Warehouse was the honesty of its staff, which is no bad thing. I wasn't wrong, though. They're terrible at selling laptops.

Tesco

Independent Retailers

PC World

Comet

John Lewis

Online

Apple

Currys Digital

Avoid the high-street rip-offs

Author: Stuart Turton