BBC Watchdog: Knowhow: Do they know how to give good customer service?

[Tony]

KNOWHOW is the new 360 degree installation and after-sales service offered at Curry's and PC World. The service was previously called 'The Tech Guys' who were a team of so-called experts Watchdog featured a year ago for substandard repairs and terrible customer service.

According to Dixons Retail Group, KNOWHOW is a new and improved service and it's certainly got the board of directors excited but according to some customers, nothing has changed. Rebecca Wilcox reports.

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Since the launch of KNOWHOW in March, Watchdog has had over 100 complaints. Customers have complained of lengthy delays for repairs, items being returned damaged or with parts missing, items being returned faulty and items being lost altogether. The majority of the complaints to Watchdog concern laptops. But surely with their state of the art repair lab they boast of, surely they have the KNOWHOW to fix an obvious fault?

Not the case according to Sarah Taylor who sent her laptop off to KNOWHOW when it kept switching itself off. Sarah's laptop was returned to her within a week but when she started it up she soon learnt that the fault was still there, so off it went straight back to KNOWHOW.

Sarah repeatedly sent off her laptop for repair. She thought that at least she could at least keep track of the repairs with KNOWHOW's track and trace system; however Sarah was never given a tracking number, so she couldn't use the system. After seven attempts to fix the problem, KNOWHOW eventually admitted they didn't have the 'knowhow' to fix her laptop and offered her a replacement.

KNOWHOW collected Rob Hickey's laptop after his hard drive developed a fault. But when they didn't send it back he began to worry. Rob was told that KNOWHOW could not locate his laptop. After the laptop had been in KNOWHOW's possession for two weeks, they still could not trace it and Rob was then told that a whole pallet of laptops due for delivery had gone missing from the South of England. KNOWHOW have since denied that this happened but did offer to replace Rob's laptop.

Ok, so KNOWHOW are not doing great so far. But at least customers can pay extra for 'Whatever Happens Premier' which is meant to be the best possible cover when things go wrong. But try telling that to Michelle Morgan who sent off her daughter's laptop to KNOWHOW when it developed a fault. As a premier cover customer, Michelle was told the laptop would be repaired within 7-10 days. However, weeks later there was still no sign of her laptop; so much for their speedy repair service. After repeated calls by Michelle to KNOWHOW, a laptop was delivered five weeks later. However, for Michelle the story didn't end there as the laptop that was delivered was not the right one. Michelle contacted KNOWHOW who at the time could not locate her laptop. KNOWHOW did agree to replace Michelle's computer and eventually managed to trace her lost data and gave her £40 for the trouble.

So, a new name and new slogans but for some customers it's the same old story.

Dixons Retail response:

"Our service and repair offer is the largest in the UK with the highest success rate - at 99%. We are proud of what we do, so it's upsetting that human error occasionally means that we let some customers down. We know that when things go wrong it can be traumatic for our customers, and every day we try to find ways to get rid of even this small proportion of errors. Our repair centre in Newark is like no other - so proud are we of its success rate, that we hold open days. Our next one is on November 17th and we would love to invite any of your viewers that would be interested to come and see our lab in action. Opening day details will be published on KNOWHOW.com shortly. If you have an unresolved issue, or want to know more about the Open Day, please contact everyissuematters@knowhow.com"


In answer to your questions:

What percentage of repairs does KNOWHOW achieve within the timescale stated in the relevant policy agreements or terms and conditions?

Based on our most recent data, 99% of customers have had their unit repaired or a decision has been made to write it off (ie replace it with a like for like product) within the timescales set in the terms and condition of their agreement.


What percentage of equipment does KNOWHOW repair or replace within the timeframe specified in the relevant policy agreement?

(As above)
We make 1.1 million repairs - the majority of these being Computers and TVs
With regard to replacing units the average duration from collection of a unit through to "writing it off" is 14.2 days


What policies does Dixons Retail have in place to ensure that customer's equipment is kept safe?

When laptops are sent for repair they are placed in padded boxes and sealed. A cable tie and a unique bar-coded label is attached to the taped box in the store. The colleague also attaches a further tracking label directly to the product which documents any existing scratches or damage. The box is scanned at each step of the journey to Newark, (our repair centre), and also as it arrives on the engineer's bench. The product is then examined and the fault diagnosed. Assuming no decision to write off (ie replace), the product is then repaired and safe tested before being returned. At key stages we scan and automatically document the progress of the product and this is made visible to the customer on our web site.

When we remove/replace data sensitive equipment we have robust processes in place to ensure we wipe the data storage medium. These processes comply with UK Government CESG (communications - electronics - security - group) standards. If the hard disk or data storage medium cannot be wiped we will destroy the data storage medium or hard disk, again in accordance with CESH standards

Comments on the 7 highlighted cases

1. Sarah Taylor

It is not acceptable that this laptop was sent for repair a number of times (NB, the laptop had repairs for different issues each time it was sent for repair). We should have spotted this and taken corrective action sooner. We have offered Ms Taylor a brand new laptop and as requested have returned her hard drive.

2. James Leighfield

We are sorry for the confusion caused when Mr Leighfield's laptop was sent for repair. He had changed address in the middle of the process and he had requested a rerouted delivery but unfortunately we failed to action this. His laptop has now been returned to him repaired.

3. Amy Iche

We apologise for the miscommunication which occurred after her laptop was sent for repair. This is a case of us not delivering within the timeframe we gave her to repair. Ms Iche has now received her working laptop back and we have refunded the fee which she had paid for the 'Fault and Fix' service.

4. Carly Chandler

We are extremely sorry that we have been unable to locate the hard drive from Ms Chandler's laptop - the laptop arrived at the repair centre without the hard drive in place - and we have made every effort to locate it. We would like to assure Ms Chandler that we have a robust process for securely destroying any hard drives that we replace or remove from customers' machines as part of a repair and her unit will have been disposed of in accordance with this process. We have given Ms Chandler a new laptop along with free software.

5. Robert Hickey

We apologise for the confusion around the status of Mr Hickey's laptop when it was taken in for repair - (however it is certainly not the case that a whole pallet of laptops went missing). Mr Hickey's laptop has now been located though he opted to accept a refund instead.

6. Kim Payne

We are sorry that Ms Payne had not received her laptop back once it had been repaired. Unfortunately there was a mix up in the delivery addresses- there was another customer A.Payne on the system. Her laptop has now been repaired

7. Michelle Morgan

We are sorry that we failed to repair Ms Morgan's laptop in the promised time of 7 days as stated in her policy, as well as for the miscommunication on our part. We are sorry that she received the wrong laptop, and although her original laptop has now been located, Ms Morgan's hard drive has been returned to her and, due to the time frames involved her unit has been replaced with a new one.




Knowhow: Do they know how to give good customer service?

 

[Robert higgins]

We bought an apple touch 32G in April 2012. I took it into PC world Wisbech on the 17th December 2015 because it had developed a charging fault. They said it had to be sent away for repair. We went back in to the shop 23 days later and the staff did not have a clue where our ipod was. I was given the Knowhow free phone number & told to ring them.

On phoning the number they had no idea where the item was I was told give us 72 hours & we will either fix it or send you vouchers to use in store. 96 hours later I phoned back only to find out they had put a voucher code on my account for £33. for a Mr Smith not me ?? Then I was told I would need to wait another day OR two for them to try to locate my ipod.

I told him that it says on their own paperwork that if the item is not repaired within 21 days we can request a replacement. He stated this is only an advisory time and they can decide how long they take. His name was Christian Egginton. When I said I wanted to put in an official complaint he turned around and said that I wont hear anything back because under the data protection act they cannot tell me anything about who messed up.

Why have I paid for a policy for over three years to protect my item, a policy that I was told entitled us to a replacement item on the spot, only to find that it is not worth the paper it is printed on? I would never take one out again, and would avoid both Dixons Retail Group and Apple in future.

 

[cottboy00]

I bought a refurbished HP Envy laptop though Curry's off these people in August 2015, by January 2016 it died on me. I returned it to the store who sent it off the Knowhow (or should I say Don'tKnowHow).
I came into store on the pick up date provided only to find it wasn't returned.
The Curry's customer support rang through and they explained that the laptop couldn't be repaired as it had looked like the battery had been removed and water damage in the slot and the reason for delay was they had to send it to the forensic department for pictures of the damage. I explained the battery had only ever been removed after the laptop had died to see if this made a difference.
On final return of the laptop WITHOUT any pictures of evidence a few days later I called KnowHow with the case reference number. I was passed through a few different people.
The technical support person explained that the unit could not be repaired due to the damage to which I ask for the pictures of evidence to back their clain of damage. At first he replied stating the picture was not sent to store as it was too big a file size, when I asked for him to send either a digital copy of hard copy to me he then made an excuse that they couldn't due to data protection (really!!?).
He mentioned I could make an appeal and transferred me to "the relevant department" another 10 minutes waiting I finally got through to someone in Customer Services who then told me I couldn't make an appeal with him only a complaint, which I did (reference cc2961422, honestly I don't believe it was even logged). I then asked for the appeals address to which he said he didn't have and had to transfer me back to Tech Support.
Another 10 minutes later (I am paying for this call by the way) I get through to another guy named Grant, I explain the situation again and ask for the appeals address to which he says, after consulting a manager, that I couldn't make an appeal, I had to get a third party confirmation (meaning I would have to pay more money) of evidence that the laptop was not in fact water damaged, and then write back to the correspondence department and see if the laptop could be resubmitted for repair. I also asked him for the picture evidence to which he said they are not at liberty to give out, which is not true.

This has been the biggest fob off ever. I don't believe the laptop was ever water damaged and they are just making that an excuse particularly that they refuse to send picture evidence.
I will never ever deal with this company again OR purchase anything from Curry's again. That is £500 out my pocket wasted. I urge anyone not to deal with these people and this review will be posted on as many sites as I can find.
Yes, I am unhappy!!

 

[MrD.]

A few keys stopped working on my laptop and when i sent it away for repair they tried to call me after six days to say that they were still waiting on the part. They could not offer a replacement laptop and after the seven days they offered me a new laptop. This would obviously mean spending ages reinstalling everything so i waited a few more days for them to get the part in and called back for an update. They were still waiting for the part. In effect i've now been without a laptop for 11 days, they don't know when they will get the part in are not offering any worthwhile service. I'm sick of waiting so have told them to just send my laptop back unrepaired.
What gets me is that i have been paying for a so-called premuim service for two years. This has cost me £132, and when i've needed something done they have just fumbled around and stuffed things up. My local PC repair man said that he can get the part in in 3-4 working days and the cost for parts and labour would be under £53, meaning that the Knowhow service essentially has produced no results and cost 250% of a local repair man.
I asked for a refund and this was refused because according to them they have lived up to their end of the agreement by offering me a new laptop.
The knowhow service should really be called the dontknowhow service and i recommend that you avoid it like the plaque because it's just a waste of time (spent 20 mins on hold to them today alone) and money and you'd be better off arguing with a small child before giving it all your cash.

 

[Rupal Gupta]

I am one of the disappointed customer from KnowHow. I purchased Surface pro3 from Curry-PC world and they introduce me to knowHow, saying if anything goes wrong with your £900 worth of computer, knowHow will give you peace of mind and we offer like for like replacement. Surface pro started giving trouble just after 6 months of purchase with battery life. It was sold as 9 hours battery life, but did not last more than 2 and half. Since then I have booked in for repairs for 3 times now. When I lasted visited for repair, knowhow team mentioned, that If it still gives the same problem, we will get replacement.
This time, they denied to even find any problem with computer, forget repairing, And now number of repairs have gone up to 4 times if want a replacement.
No consistency what so ever.

I got the computer after being repaired or shall i say fixed yesterday, took me 5 hours to get all the updates installed, and look what, it gave me a battery life of 3 hours before dying. No one is addressing the issue. I have no voice heard.
Some one needs to address this at KnowHow. Dear friends, help me fix this problem. I am an unemployed person, looking for employment and spending time at job application. I am also studying to improve my chance of employment. I cannot afford to buy a new computer when I payed insurance on my current one for past 2 years. It does not work

 

[Rupal Gupta]

I have paid in £204 for knowHow and have survived with out my computer on 3 occasions for nearly 10 days each time(nearly a month combined together) and several phone calls, mental stress and from yesterday nearly 1 whole day of my life finding solutions for this issue. I am stressed. I have a job interview and an assignment submission for my course. I have to barrow my friend's mac to even write this post.

I feel like crying. I feel I have been ripped off. Can some one suggest me what action I can take?

 

[lyricallucy]

Another angry customer. Wow there are so many of us, something needs to change. I took my Laptop into KNOWHOW Wimbledon London for repair recently ( mid September 2016 ) . After waiting three weeks and being told they could not get the part needed which I think is rubbish, I requested my Laptop be returned. I later found out that an Employee from the Wimbledon branch had requested my laptop be written off WITHOUT my consent. I stressed that I wanted it back over the phone with KNOWHOW as I have documents on it regarding my late husband ie his Will , Estate documents etc that I will need and they are personal. I was told I would get the hardrive back via courier in the next ten days, well nine days have passed.

I have written a complaint to PC World as when you call KNOWHOW you just get send from person to person and have to keep repeating yourself. I've had no call about my letter. They just do not seem to care that your computer is your life, and that to just take it away is well in my opinion mental cruelty, mental cruelty that we are paying for. I wonder why they keep our laptops, maybe because if they cannot fix them, they don't want to look incompetent if we find someone that can, or there is money involved or quotas who knows!!

They seriously need looking into, it's very creepy not knowing where our hardrives end up! we are talking computers here, not bags of sugar.

Shame on KNOWHOW.

 

[sabakhalid8@hotmail.com]

I bought an iPad mini for my autistic boy so it could help him develop his communication skills and make use of apps designed by Edinburgh university to develop his eye contact etc from pcworld. As I was buying it for a child I got the whatever happens guarantee.
Last month my son dropped it as he was getting into the car and although it was inside a heavy duty Otterbox - some water got into it. I sent it in for repair and was told that whatever happens guarantee doesn't cover this.
I was told at the time of buying the guarantee that whatever happens guarantee means whatever happens! There is no mention of any damage due to negligence mentioned there.
I would be grateful if they would sort it out.

 

[Stanleysteamer]

Bit of an odd one this! 12 December last, the Knowhow driver backed into our wall and damaged the end of it. The team then scratched the fridge/freezer they were delivering. They logged all this and took it away. A short time later a new one was delivered without incident. But can I get them to fix the wall?
They know they did it, they agree they did it, they keep saying someone will deal with it. I have now been forced to contact the CEO of Dixons Carphone by registered post, addressing it "Private and Confidential" but am yet to hear from them.

What a bunch!