Tesco - The High Street Rip Off

Posted on 25 Sep 2009 at 13:59

I asked about the internet and he waved away my concerns. "It'll do the internet fine. Has your mum got internet at home already?" I told him yes, on an old PC, and he explained that she could just plug the cable in from that. What about wireless, I asked. "You'll need a router, and you'll need a little stick to put in the laptop's USB port if she wants to use it in different rooms around the house."

Aren't all laptops wireless these days, though? "Yes, if you add the wireless stick." Right. He didn't try to sell me one of these stick things, though, which could be seen as a good or bad thing, really.

Lost for word processors

Mum's final requirement was the word processor, but my helper wasn't too sure what to tell me here. After a nice little story about the fantastic, but unnamed, word processor he got on his last laptop (purchased several years ago, with his pocket money presumably), he had to run off and find his team manager to clarify the Compaq's bundled software.

After a few relieved moments, his team manager strode up to us with a confidence and a haircut that almost masked the fact he was also about 15, but he did at least seem surer of his facts. He explained that Microsoft Works will do most things my mum needs - only advanced features such as mail merge are lacking - and told me the Compaq also comes with Windows Media Player, which is... um... nice.

Whether by luck or judgement, the staff at Tesco did manage to pick out a laptop that was well suited to my stated needs

The fact that Tesco recommended a Vista Home Basic machine didn't even register until I arrived home and checked the full specs on Tesco Direct - the details on show in-store were limited to CPU, RAM and hard disk, while my trusty helper couldn't even get past the locked Tesco screensaver to check the finer points of the specification.

Nevertheless, whether by luck or judgement, the staff at Tesco did manage to pick out a laptop that was well suited to my stated needs, and kept close to my budget without trying to oversell it.

Given the startling lack of basic knowledge in key areas, though, I wouldn't exactly say I'm full of confidence that every shopper will leave with a suitable laptop. Sorry, netbook. I mean notebook.

Carphone Warehouse

Independent Retailers

PC World

Comet

John Lewis

Online

Apple

Currys Digital

Avoid the high-street rip-offs

Author: David Bayon