Oh dear... Surface Pro 3 buying experience in John Lewis Kingston

[FredBloggs007]

So I took my wife to JL Kingston to have a look at the SP3. There was no one there from MS to demo the device, so I asked one of the store reps to assist. He called over someone from the PC dept (wearing a Lenovo shirt) who started to show it to us.

My wife said "how does it work on your lap?"
and the guy says "it's not designed for that, it's more for touch and stuff".
So my wife goes, "Isn't this the tablet to replace your laptop?"
to which the guy goes, "not really, it's a powerful tablet"
She then says, "Can't I use a Bluetooth keyboard, if the keyboard isn't as good as you claim?"
He says, "No, it hasn't got BT and you must use the keyboard that's included."

At that point, I stepped in and then took over the "salesman" role, showed my wife the "lapability" feature with the kickstand, explained that you can also get a docking station and the guy walks away slowly not to be seen again. (We had to ask for the tiny alarm cord to be removed so we could use it in laptop mode - which is so stupid given it's the biggest selling point!!!)

We called over another JL rep, who clearly knows his stuff and we then do the deal and we pick up the i7/512 model tomorrow. However, if we were an average person with average knowledge, we would have walked away buying something else - probably an iPad with a BT keyboard or an MacBook.

If anyone from Microsoft or JL is reading this then please PM me and I can give you more details. This is outrageous and drives me mad that your MS products aren't getting the push they so badly need. Also, the Apple stand is so prominent that you can't see the tiny SP3 dwarfed in the background.

Not impressed guys. Anyone else care to join in...

 

[Pete]

I bought mine in John Lewis as well (different branch though). The salesman for me was pretty good, he was at the Oxford Street launch event. He told me that the Microsoft guys demonstrating the new tablets were good, but not so hot at describing how different the new ones were from the old one).

I had a pretty good experience and a good chat and I walked away happy. Unfortunately, I was unable to distract him enough to lead him into putting the 512Gb version in the bag after I'd paid for the 256Gb Surface.

 

[hopmedic]

Sounds like walking into a Verizon store and asking for an Icon. :straight:

 

[foaf]

I'm from the UK but was in Texas last week. Was in Best Buy and heard the exact same thing, the salesman specifically told a customer "it's not designed for the lap and it's kind of a tablet hybrid thingy" the customer was clearly confused. Additionally I couldn't play with the SP3 because it was bound with security devices.

I then went to the Microsoft Store (which was exciting for a UK person), all the SP3s we free of security devices and stalls were available to sit and really play with the device. Keyboards came off and pens were available. Completely different retail experience. Staff were pretty helpful too, offered a rebate on my SP2.

For the UK, MS at least need a flagship store in London. Their brand is simply not represented properly in their retail channel.

 

[FredBloggs007]

For the UK, MS at least need a flagship store in London. Their brand is simply not represented properly in their retail channel.

Spot on. I really hope some one from MS is reading this.

 

[onysi]

he sounded like an apple ******.

 

[sathish14]

I went to Currys at Edinburgh princes street. Salesman didn't have a clue about the product.

Then I went to John lewis at Thistle - Edinburgh - demo model not working. That's the only piece they got on display. Again salesman didn't have a clue about it. He simply said, "...even if it is working, you cant buy today as it is for online order only..."

MS certainly has to work on this.

 

[FredBloggs007]

I was in Kingston again this weekend. The girl from Microsoft who was demoing the Surface in John Lewis (MS logo shirt and all) was on a lunch break flashing her iPhone around!!! Nice one Microsoft... sort it out please!!!

 

[Pete]

MS certainly has to work on this.

No, it's up to John Lewis and Curry's to improve their service.

I was in Kingston again this weekend. The girl from Microsoft who was demoing the Surface in John Lewis (MS logo shirt and all) was on a lunch break flashing her iPhone around!!! Nice one Microsoft... sort it out please!!!

The demo staff are not directly employed by Microsoft - they're just agency staff who have gone through training for each individual product.

 

[TechFreak1]

I can relate to the OP... the initial experience I had at currys with the Sp3 was refreshing when I went awhile ago and the 2nd visit to pick one up after learning from one the posters here that sp3 was available on finance (where I was told by a rep no i7 in stock until friday - that just went)... was met with the same experience from a different sales rep (unfortunately the rep I met previously wasn't there). I was about to pick a surface 2 on finance at the same time for my kid sister as she needs to start doing her coursework, but the demo guy just put me straight off.

When he ushered the words "this does not have office or support office", trying to correct me as I was going through the advantages and disadvantages of the various tablets again with my sister. As she is the one that is going to be using it and plus has to last her through college also possibly university. My sister and I looked at each other, without a word we both just walked away in disgust. I took her to Currys a few days prior to test out different solutions as my siblings were pushing on me to get her an ipad or a galaxy tablet and she decided on the Surface 2.

Seriously how do these brain dead sales people get these jobs???

 

[FredBloggs007]

The demo staff are not directly employed by Microsoft - they're just agency staff who have gone through training for each individual product.

Very true, but presumably they are trained by MS and if they are given MS uniforms to wear with a massive MS logo on the back, they should at least have been told by MS not to flash any competitor products around whilst being an ambassador for the brand. Even if they weren't told, it kinda makes sense. I mean, would you catch an Apple store associate walking around in their blue t-shirts on their lunch breaks 2 mins away from the store holding a Galaxy? I dunno, maybe I'm just expecting too much...

 

[Racheya]

Very true, but presumably they are trained by MS and if they are given MS uniforms to wear with a massive MS logo on the back, they should at least have been told by MS not to flash any competitor products around whilst being an ambassador for the brand. Even if they weren't told, it kinda makes sense. I mean, would you catch an Apple store associate walking around in their blue t-shirts on their lunch breaks 2 mins away from the store holding a Galaxy? I dunno, maybe I'm just expecting too much...

I dunno, seems like you'd need to pay someone a lot more than these guys are (presumably) being paid to stop using their phone in their own break time. It's not like they're employed by Microsoft, they're unlikely to get fired over it, why should they care about Microsoft's brand representation?

On another note, these sales people need to sort themselves out. I dread to imagine what must go on every day in those stores, with unaware people being peddled the highest margin items by people who couldn't care less if the product is actually what the customer wants. There's a reason I never go into those sorts of places without knowing exactly what I want.

 

[exkerZ]

Best buy in West Covina, California (inside Westfield shopping mall) has soooo many employees that really love the surface product line. One guy remembers me, and asks how I'm enjoying my surface, and if i laugh at "every person that uses an iPad because they don't have what i have." Haha

Just my experience and story.
The one that got my surface 2 was so helpful and really happy to have sold it when i got it. Although, there is a chance of that being a "yay we got rid of one thing." But ill be positive.

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[RajeevT]

The one that got my surface 2 was so helpful and really happy to have sold it when i got it. Although, there is a chance of that being a "yay we got rid of one thing." But ill be positive.

Lol