Electrical stores in UK misleading customers – watchdog

Staff in some of the UK’s biggest electrical stores are misleading customers because they lack basic knowledge of the products they are selling, an undercover investigation has claimed.

Consumer watchdog Which? found staff at branches of Comet, Currys, John Lewis, Richer Sounds and independent shops “regularly gave bad advice”, including confusing HD ready with full HD TVs.

It said: “We found alarming examples of bad advice which, if followed, would have left customers buying the wrong size or type of machine, and spending more than they needed.”

It rated just eight of the 154 stores it visited as excellent for their knowledge of TVs and personal video recorders (PVRs).

Several staff also used “hard sell” tactics when promoting LED TVs over LCD models, even though LED is generally more expensive and not always better, the group reported.

The investigation found “some” branches of John Lewis and Richer Sounds were excellent but others were not “up to scratch”.

In 10 cases, staff contradicted the printed correct information on a product’s specifications that they had handed to Which? researchers. The watchdog said “plenty” of shop staff confused HD ready and full HD, neglecting to point out that although HD ready is suitable for broadcast HD programmes and will work with blu-ray, full HD is best for watching the higher resolution blu-ray format.

Staff knew more about PVR basics than HD TVs but misled customers over their storage space, Which? said.

One Currys branch told a researcher that a 500GB hard drive would give 75 to 100 hours of recording when a 250GB drive would provide around 125 hours.

Which? said shops needed to ensure their staff were properly trained to guarantee they were serving the best interests of their customers.

Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, said: “Electrical stores have to up their game and train their staff properly. We trust them to know about the products they’re selling.

“Unfortunately, big retailers are letting their customers down, offering wrong or misleading advice that could leave people shelling out more money for features or products they just don’t need.”

A Currys spokesman said: “Our store colleagues are regularly trained on a huge range of products and new technologies across the store so that they can help customers find the right solution for their individual needs.

“It is very disappointing to see the examples selected here and we would like to know which stores were visited so that we can address this appropriately.”

Lesley Ballantyne, director of operational development at John Lewis, said: “John Lewis takes its enviable customer service reputation extremely seriously and all our partners (staff) are trained to deliver the high level of service we know our customers come to expect of John Lewis.

“We were delighted to have scored best in key elements of the Which? investigation on shop floor knowledge. As well as our own mystery shopping tests, we value any external surveys which allow us to identify areas for improvement within our customer service offering and the Which? survey is one of these.”