Briscoes - CGA. They say no

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#2246882 28-May-2019 11:13

networkn:

I believe it should be mandatory for all new staff that sell retail to have this, and a test to prove understanding, as part of their onboarding of new staff. You can't take the floor and talk to customers until you have passed the test.

Better still, have a course, nationally recognized which touches all the critcal parts, which people who have completed it, can add to their resume. Make it free to learn and free to sit. Require recertification every 12 to 18 months.

Even better, have a sticker that means any store having this, every staff member has met this requirement.

A lot of retailers do have this as a requirment, however, they also have staff that

forget it a week after passing the test
Dont care
Seem to think they are helping the company by making it hard on a customer

Rikkitic

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#2246883 28-May-2019 11:19

Why does no-one pass a law requiring mandatory jail time of one week for any owner/executive in charge of a retail business found guilty of doing this? Problem solved!

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kobiak

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#2246884 28-May-2019 11:20

on the other note. some companies are outstanding to deal with in case of something happened to the good.

the other week my kittens treehouse (purchased 3 months ago) got one stand to collapse. I emailed TSB living with a picture. They asked to bring the pole + stand to the shop. I did on the weekend, no question asked, no proof of purchase (I did not have receipt, but found transaction online, I was prepared to the battle :D), straight replacement under 10 mins.

Happy kitten :D

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alasta

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#2246885 28-May-2019 11:22

When I started working in retail 20 years ago I got almost no training on anything. I can remember a particularly embarrassing incident when I was operating a checkout and I hadn't been taught how to get around defects in the system.

I guess nothing has changed.

tdgeek

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#2246886 28-May-2019 11:24

networkn:

tdgeek:

Bung: Way back when the Fair Trading and Consumer Guarantees Acts were introduced Telecom had training sessions and all staff dealing with customers were given a booklet for each. Other companies would have done the same. The work has been done so they should be able to recycle it.

Agree, its not hard. Its not a 45 page booklet. Its an A5 page of bullet points, and 2 A4 pages of extra detail, its not a highly convoluted issue.

Whilst it's cheaper to pay the fines than to comply....

Non compliance isn't a training cost issue, its a preference to take the risk and get sales. The fines should be pro rated and heavier. First offence can be lowish if it can be seen as being slack. Second offence, or if its blatant and intentional is through the roof. This wont affect good businesses, it will help them. Win for a good business win for the consumer

IMHO, this thread is about knowingly from the top down, breaking the law

tdgeek

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#2246887 28-May-2019 11:27

kobiak:

on the other note. some companies are outstanding to deal with in case of something happened to the good.

the other week my kittens treehouse (purchased 3 months ago) got one stand to collapse. I emailed TSB living with a picture. They asked to bring the pole + stand to the shop. I did on the weekend, no question asked, no proof of purchase (I did not have receipt, but found transaction online, I was prepared to the battle :D), straight replacement under 10 mins.

Happy kitten :D

Its important to recognise these. The CGA is not the enemy, many businesses manage it well. Its a pity that the big names often don't

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geekIT

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#2246990 28-May-2019 12:46

An unfortunate aspect of this business is that thousands of customers aren't game to complain, or worse, complain in a mild-mannered way, and back down after the initial confrontation with the company representative.

It's essential to go straight to the top with complaints, not mess around with underlings.

For effective communication, here's my recommended hierarchy:

1) Phone call - Waste of time.

2) Face to face - Not much better.

3) Email - Better than the first two, but only just. ("Oh, I didn't receive that. I was [out of the office, on vacation, having a nervous breakdown, etc etc])

4) Letter - Best. With following provisos:

The letter should be a computer printout, not typed or handwritten. It should be addressed to the General Manager (his or her actual name) and marked for his or her attention. If possible, send a copy to someone else (manufacturer, national newspaper, Justice Minister) but ensure that there's a notation to this effect at the foot of the letter,i.e.; 'Copy to (name)', so that the recipient knows that someone else has been informed of the situation.

Make sure you have copies of everything you send and, if you want to get really serious, put your letter inside a tracked signature-required courier pack.

This works - I've done it many times. Here's one example: I bought a special-price Sleepyhead mattress from a major furniture retailer. It wasn't advertised as anything other than first quality. When the mattress arrived it had several small tears on one corner. Its plastic envelope was also abraded on the same corner, so it was obvious that it had been damaged in transit or storage. I refused to accept it. They sent another. It, too was damaged. They sent another. Incredibly, it also was damaged.

Their General Manager made sure that the fourth mattress was in an acceptable condition.

Slightly off-topic footnote: Regardless of warranties, or provisions of the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) all goods must be 'suitable for the purpose for which they were intended'. This is basic civil law.

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rugrat

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#2247250 28-May-2019 16:39

jonathan18:
rugrat:

I brought something from JB-Hifi in last couple of weeks.

At point of sale they tried to tell me purchase of an extended warranty would be less hassle if something went wrong after a year.

I took it from that, they would deliberately make it a hassle if a CGA claim after a year. I didn't buy the extended warranty.

Looks like the com com prosecutions are having no effect.

@rugrat - if the product was over $500 did they happen to make any mention of this 'voluntary warranty guide'?

I'm really not sure what the true value of this document in terms of what it offers over and above the CGA, but it's interesting (but not surprising!) to hear some are still pushing extended warranties even with this 'guide' in place.

It was about $240 item. Extended warranty $40. Can’t remember exact words but did imply extended Warranty would be less hassle then CGA after a year.

It was a fit bit smart watch for a gift. From other posts sounds like a hard sell and they would honour CGA after a year.

cshaun

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#2247255 28-May-2019 16:46

I’ve had a few issues myself. Bit tricky because of the 'what’s reasonable' clause – it’s a pretty big grey area.

I have had a number of video cards die. I now stick to ones with 3 year warranties, and typically try upgrade before that runs out because of the hassle. Though they seem to have become more reliable. What’s reasonable? I guess it depends a bit on the card, but I’d imagine most computer components should last 5+ years with typical home use.

Had a $10 toaster many years back from The Warehouse. Died at approx. 12 months. Took another 2 months for me to take it in. Spoke to the manager and they refused. Said 1 year was all I should expect from a $10 toaster and if I hadn’t taken so long to bring it in they’d have replaced it. I said if I believed that I would never have bought it, I would have thought a few years at least (say 3). Anyway felt I was completely in the right and they were breaking CGA, but it just wasn’t worth arguing further over $10.

My wife bought a $10 electric fly swatter from Briscoes, which broke a few months after swinging it (without touching anything). Replaced no issues. But the replacement broke at around 13 months from original purchase. Haven’t bothered trying to have that replaced – assume it’d just be another argument about it.

If I had more expensive things die I’d most certainly kick up a big fuss and try have them replaced under the CGA.

Mistenfuru

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#2247256 28-May-2019 16:54

I had a good/bad example of a CGA complaint.

Had an LG new model LED TV, backlight died just after 2 years (warranty was 1 year), went to Noel's who flat out refused to act on a replacement or repair.

Called LG who happily repaired the TV at their cost (with a local repairer) and provided a warranty on the repair for another year, pretty much no questions asked, was the easiest product repair process I have ever dealt with..

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mattwnz

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#2247267 28-May-2019 17:03

cshaun:

Had a $10 toaster many years back from The Warehouse. Died at approx. 12 months. Took another 2 months for me to take it in. Spoke to the manager and they refused. Said 1 year was all I should expect from a $10 toaster and if I hadn’t taken so long to bring it in they’d have replaced it. I said if I believed that I would never have bought it, I would have thought a few years at least (say 3). Anyway felt I was completely in the right and they were breaking CGA, but it just wasn’t worth arguing further over $10.

This is the problem when retailers price things very low, and the downside is that things get thrown out rather than repaired, and we end up with more waste and plastic etc in our landfills. The gov should have been looking at this, rather than plastic bags. Obviously a $600 toaster is going to be expected to last longer than a $10 toaster. So if a $10 toaster fails after 12 months, then I would doubt many people would try to get it replaced under the CGA. Especially considering a toaster element by itself costs more than $10

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cshaun

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#2247273 28-May-2019 17:28

mattwnz:

This is the problem when retailers price things very low, and the downside is that things get thrown out rather than repaired, and we end up with more waste and plastic etc in our landfills. The gov should have been looking at this, rather than plastic bags. Obviously a $600 toaster is going to be expected to last longer than a $10 toaster. So if a $10 toaster fails after 12 months, then I would doubt many people would try to get it replaced under the CGA. Especially considering a toaster element by itself costs more than $10

I tend not to buy cheap junk for that reason, and usually it's more expensive in the long run, especially when you take time into account. But sometimes it's just painful, there will be $10 toasters, $20 ones, all the way up to $150 ones. Are the $150 ones better? Maybe. Though a good chance they have the same cheap elements. With the cheap one at least you know what you're getting vs spending more and just getting the same quality for a higher price.

I have a washing machine from the 80's or maybe 90's that has never needed repairs and just keeps working. Despite my wife wanting a new one... things just aren't built to last anymore.

Rikkitic

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#2247310 28-May-2019 18:04

Older washing machines are programmed with mechanical dials. I have had different ones that would have lasted centuries. Unlike the 'modern' crap we now have with all kinds of unnecessary electronics and pretty leds that goes belly-up every six months.

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tdgeek

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#2247314 28-May-2019 18:27

mattwnz:

cshaun:

Had a $10 toaster many years back from The Warehouse. Died at approx. 12 months. Took another 2 months for me to take it in. Spoke to the manager and they refused. Said 1 year was all I should expect from a $10 toaster and if I hadn’t taken so long to bring it in they’d have replaced it. I said if I believed that I would never have bought it, I would have thought a few years at least (say 3). Anyway felt I was completely in the right and they were breaking CGA, but it just wasn’t worth arguing further over $10.

This is the problem when retailers price things very low, and the downside is that things get thrown out rather than repaired, and we end up with more waste and plastic etc in our landfills. The gov should have been looking at this, rather than plastic bags. Obviously a $600 toaster is going to be expected to last longer than a $10 toaster. So if a $10 toaster fails after 12 months, then I would doubt many people would try to get it replaced under the CGA. Especially considering a toaster element by itself costs more than $10

I would consider one year on a $10 toaster to be reasonable life. Using the CGA for that is IMO abusing the CGA.

andrewNZ

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#2247329 28-May-2019 19:01

Briscoes definitely does CGA and FTA training, it is a requirement for every employee to complete, and there are occasional follow up questions to answer.
I believe the training is accurate and reasonably unbiased. I'm trying to get access to have a read through it.

Unfortunately the training only has to be done once (not ideal, but it is accessable at any time), and individual managers are ultimately in control.
You definitely cannot expect the average staff member to be making CGA judgements.

As with any chain store, the staff make the calls, and the company may not have knowledge of their actions.

As far as the "consumable elements" argument goes, I strongly disagree. If it was a consumable item it would need to be user replaceable.

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