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Winni

macrumors 68040
Oct 15, 2008
3,207
1,196
Germany.
I think it's obvious that no on that hiring panel was ever in Dixons.

Who or what is Dixons anyway? Whatever it is, it never made it to Germany, that's for sure.

But more importantly, and a really scary thought: That's probably the first photo of this guy without a tie that was shot in the last two decades...
 

yorkslad

macrumors regular
Oct 31, 2005
107
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Dixons, Curry & PC World in the UK are retail shops on the slide, I hope he doesn't bring this to apple stores which in my opinion are a fresh take on consumer electronic retail.
 

superduperdom

macrumors member
Sep 1, 2010
60
1
I'm London UK and agree with all of the above.
Dixon's Curry's PC World, slimy sleazy ripoff merchants.
Pact with the devil.
What were you thinking Apple ?
 

yetanotherdave

macrumors 68000
Apr 27, 2007
1,768
12
Bristol, England
Ahh Dixons, no shopping experience is complete without some pushy git practically yelling at you for not buying norton anti-virus or a £100 monster HDMI cable, even if you only went in for screen cleaner.

I've done secret/mystery shopping stuff in DSG shops, they are unknowledgble, pushy and rude, that's if you can get someone to talk to you. When you do, you get pushed crap you don't need, want, or was remotely related to what you went in for (see above) which is never in stock.
I can see how this would be a perfect fit! :confused:
 

cal6n

macrumors 68020
Jul 25, 2004
2,096
273
Gloucester, UK
Note to our non-UK friends here:

I doubt you will find even one positive comment from a UK poster regarding this topic. The Dixon group (and Tesco, for that matter) are a truly toxic presence in UK retail.
 

cjbryce

macrumors 6502a
Jun 4, 2008
554
276
London
Oh dear - I sincerely hope that he left DSG because they're rubbish and he wasn't allowed to implement the changes he wanted fast enough.

Stock experiences at Currys/PCWorld:-

Me: Can you tell me....
Assistant: Nope, Ibut I can just read the stuff off the shelf label
Me (leaving store empty-handed): That's OK, I'm actually pretty good at reading things for myself
 

Steve121178

macrumors 603
Apr 13, 2010
6,385
6,912
Bedfordshire, UK
Ahh Dixons, no shopping experience is complete without some pushy git practically yelling at you for not buying norton anti-virus or a £100 monster HDMI cable, even if you only went in for screen cleaner.

I've done secret/mystery shopping stuff in DSG shops, they are unknowledgble, pushy and rude, that's if you can get someone to talk to you. When you do, you get pushed crap you don't need, want, or was remotely related to what you went in for (see above) which is never in stock.
I can see how this would be a perfect fit! :confused:

I remember a few years ago I bought a TV for my Dad in Dixons. It didn't need to be anything fancy which is why I was buying it there. Anyway, the sales guy was really pushing me to purchase a SCART cable for £50. I was adamant I didn't need it so he claimed that Michael Jackson used those type of cables in his home & that I was foolish for not taking advantage of this amazing offer. Priceless.

To be fair you know what you get when you go to Dixons/PC World/Currys. You know the staff are not going to be trained or know anything about the products in store, so it's a little foolish to expect that they do.

They used to push their Mastercare warranty on everything though. I remember trying to buy a USB hub for around £15 and the person who was dealing with me wouldn't put it through the till unless I took the £12 care plan for it! Needless to say, I went elsewhere.
 

peterdevries

macrumors 68040
Feb 22, 2008
3,146
1,135
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Who or what is Dixons anyway? Whatever it is, it never made it to Germany, that's for sure.

Dixons wouldn't be able to survive in Germany with Saturn and MediaMarkt around. The difference? Dixons' stores are much smaller, less cluttered and contain marginally better informed staff. With marginally I mean that Saturn and Mediamarkt staff braindead people who couldn't distinguish a toaster oven from a microwave (as long as you have some piercings and long hair you are ok as a tech staffer in those stores, a tattoo gets you in store management), and in Dixons they would know that a computer computes stuff and runs Digdug.

What Dixons is especially good at is selling previous generation Apple stuff to uninformed people.
 
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Anaemik

macrumors 6502
Feb 25, 2009
289
0
An excerpt of the conversation I had with a salesperson the last time I stepped foot inside a Dixons (at Heathrow Terminal 4):



"How can I help you today Sir?"

"Well, I have this camera here, and the battery is dead, so I…"

"So what you'll needing then is a new battery. No problem. We have just want you want right here. That'll be £45. Do you want to pay by cash, credit card, or blood?"

"Um, well actually I was thinking more about getting a char…."

"Ahh so what you'll be wanting then in which case sir is our universal international battery charger that comes complete with an international power adapter. That'll be just £60 to you. Now if you'll just give me your direct debit details so we can randomly remove funds from your bank account twice a month for the rest of your life…."

"Well, ah, actually I already have the international adapter thing so really all I need is the charger please."

"I see. And you bought that from us did you sir?"

"Um no, sorry. I got it somewhere else."

"Somewhere else. Well sir, we strongly recommend our own international adapters to go with any goods we sell. I can do that for you today at just £15. Would you like the 5 year protection plan to go with that for £349.99?"

"Actually, I honestly think I'll be fine with the adapter I already have. If it's not too much trouble can I just get the charger by itself please?"

"This is most unprecedented sir. Obviously we can't be held responsible if your current adapter turns out to be faulty and explodes on the plane burning you and 300 other people to a crisp and leaving your relatives with nothing to bury when they finally scrape you off the ocean floor. But, the customer is always right I suppose. DEEPAK, CAN YOU GRAB A CRAPTEL XV694a FROM THE BACK ROOM FOR THIS GENTLEMAN? NO INTERNATIONAL ADAPTER"

"Sorry, did you say *no* international adapter?"

"THAT'S WHAT THE GENTLEMAN WANTS"

"Did you tell him about the risk of death by horrific burning?"

"YES, THE GENTLEMAN IS ADAMANT"

"This is most unprecedented."

"QUITE. I HAVE ALREADY EXPLAINED THIS TO THE GENTLEMAN. HE SEEMS HAPPY TO RISK THE LIVES OF HIS FELLOW PASSENGERS. IF YOU SEE REPORTS OF A PLANE EXPLODING OVER THE ATLANTIC ON THE NEWS TONIGHT, AT LEAST YOU'LL KNOW WHOSE FAULT IT IS. PLEASE FETCH THE CHARGER FOR THE GENTLEMAN. If you'd like to accompany me to the desk sir then we can clean you out and have you on your way in no time"







Needless to say, I haven't been back.
 

Defender2010

Cancelled
Jun 6, 2010
3,131
1,097
This really doesn't bode well. Hopefully this guy is leaving Dixons due to frustration with them, rather than seeing the writing is on the wall for current technology vendors.

Dixons retails closed their Dixons brand stores in the UK, a number of their Currys and PC World stores merged.

The shopping experience is frustrating - you can get accosted by 5 different members of staff as you browse the store - all asking 'are you ok there ? ' - staff are not very knowledgeable, products are poorly displayed, shelf labels are often missing, pricing differs in store and on the website, they are very eager to push warranties and technical support packages. They also have a lot of cheap crap sold at higher prices.

They have a new store concept - Currys PC World Black - where they are blatantly trying to emulate an Apple store - but it is screamingly obvious you are still in a PC World despite the lighting, benches, and smug staff.

They sure know how to pick staff, don't they! (Up there with Carphone Warehouse!)
 

sgibson

macrumors regular
Mar 24, 2008
130
0

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coffeemadmanUK

macrumors 6502a
Jan 30, 2012
575
212
United Kingdom
an excerpt of the conversation i had with a salesperson the last time i stepped foot inside a dixons (at heathrow terminal 4):



"how can i help you today sir?"

"well, i have this camera here, and the battery is dead, so i…"

"so what you'll needing then is a new battery. No problem. We have just want you want right here. That'll be £45. Do you want to pay by cash, credit card, or blood?"

"um, well actually i was thinking more about getting a char…."

"ahh so what you'll be wanting then in which case sir is our universal international battery charger that comes complete with an international power adapter. That'll be just £60 to you. Now if you'll just give me your direct debit details so we can randomly remove funds from your bank account twice a month for the rest of your life…."

"well, ah, actually i already have the international adapter thing so really all i need is the charger please."

"i see. And you bought that from us did you sir?"

"um no, sorry. I got it somewhere else."

"somewhere else. Well sir, we strongly recommend our own international adapters to go with any goods we sell. I can do that for you today at just £15. Would you like the 5 year protection plan to go with that for £349.99?"

"actually, i honestly think i'll be fine with the adapter i already have. If it's not too much trouble can i just get the charger by itself please?"

"this is most unprecedented sir. Obviously we can't be held responsible if your current adapter turns out to be faulty and explodes on the plane burning you and 300 other people to a crisp and leaving your relatives with nothing to bury when they finally scrape you off the ocean floor. But, the customer is always right i suppose. Deepak, can you grab a craptel xv694a from the back room for this gentleman? No international adapter"

"sorry, did you say *no* international adapter?"

"that's what the gentleman wants"

"did you tell him about the risk of death by horrific burning?"

"yes, the gentleman is adamant"

"this is most unprecedented."

"quite. I have already explained this to the gentleman. He seems happy to risk the lives of his fellow passengers. If you see reports of a plane exploding over the atlantic on the news tonight, at least you'll know whose fault it is. Please fetch the charger for the gentleman. If you'd like to accompany me to the desk sir then we can clean you out and have you on your way in no time"







needless to say, i haven't been back.

fantastic!
 

PDE

macrumors 68020
Nov 16, 2005
2,482
13
... or Tesco, for that matter.

This guy's previous employers typify the antithesis of the Apple retail experience.

It will not end well, either for Apple or Browett...

I seldom post here anymore, but had to comment on this. Dixons/ PC world are possibly the worst retail experiences I have had anywhere. Close second is Tesco. A recent example was dixons at heathrow. I was looking at a rather pricey digital camera and the batter wasnt charged. I asked if they had another battery, to which the lady replied that they didn't and then grabbed another model camera (one that was in a totally different, entry level category) and said that the camera is "about the same" and I could try that one instead. Amazing.

Staff are generally clueless , lacking in customer service spirit and have no product knowledge. They've never been nasty to me, but the experience of shopping there is never good. I only do it if I'm in need of something quickly and can't wait for amazon.


Tesco is an awful supermarket with poor display, generally poor produce and absolutely o effort is made to improve anything ever. The ONLY thing it has going for it is that it's generally cheap. Nothing else.

For the first time in years, I now am worried about Apple's future,or at least the future of its stores. How could they pick someone who has headed the two least attractive chains in the UK??


A telling excerpt from Wikipedia:

"Failure to honour statutory responsibilities under the Sale of Goods Act (see controversies below)
Promotion of goods with misleading or incorrect information (see false advertising below)
Promotion of extended warranties (also known as insurance and support packages)[4]
Customers are required to use out-sourced, local rate telephone support for hardware issues or premium rate telephone lines (£1/minute, except for set-up which is 75p/minute) for software issues, unless an extended warranty has been purchased[5][6]
Disparity in pricing between PC World stores, the PC World website and other shops owned by the Dixons group[7]
Overcharging for repairs and lack of technical competence among technicians from seven sampled stores[8]
Similar criticisms have been aimed at other retailers in the Dixons Retail plc (including Dixons and Currys).
In 2005, a Which? survey ranked PC World joint last for customer satisfaction.[9] In 2006 PC World attempted to get away from its reputation for having sales staff on up to 20% commission who would therefore use high pressure sales tactics with its "One Team" marketing campaign.[10] This involved adverts in major newspapers claiming staff no longer received commission, however this claim is misleading. Staff now receive a bonus based on the performance of the entire store as a whole (up to £200[citation needed]), meaning that pay is still linked to performance. The bonus is also based on other non-monetary metrics, such as customer satisfaction. To compensate the 275 highest earners under the old scheme for reduced bonuses, their basic pay was raised by 16% from around £11,000 to around £13,000 per year.[11]
In response to the perception that PC World staff are often young and lacking in knowledge and communications skills, in 2007 a set of e-learning courses called "The Power of Knowledge" were completed by 6,000 staff[12] and the results were incorporated into their Christmas bonuses as an incentive for staff to improve their knowledge.
In January 2008 a survey for Which? revealed that PC World was ranked in the bottom ten retailers in the UK.[13]
[edit]Controversies"
 

afd

macrumors 65816
Apr 12, 2005
1,134
389
Scotland
I used to like Dixons when it was a camera shop. That was when I was trying to decide between a Pentax ME Super and an Olympus OM10 though.
My last experience of them was when I went with my parents to help with choosing a telly and PVR, when they did the "your eyes will burn out if you don't buy this HDMI cable" thing when i asked for the cheapest HDMI cable. Then we got home and found the PVR had a an included cable.
 

Coltaine

macrumors 6502
Jan 7, 2012
314
331
I've always been worried about what happens to Apple once Steve is gone.

I really don't want to be in the permanent line of doomsayers, but I hope Browett is gonna be really good or this is no indication of the direction Apple is going.

I just don't think Steve would have hired this guy.
I know, Steve is gone, it's a different company now and that doesn't need to be bad. But I just wish, he could have lived another 30 years.

The last ten years have been one hell of a ride and it would be really sad to see it all go to pieces in a few years.
 

Apple Knowledge Navigator

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2010
3,525
11,675
Tesco isn't as bad as people say, although I imagine it change depending on what region you live. I live in North West England and I've found the staff to be nothing but friendly. OK, so not Waitrose 'in your face smiles', but they always have lovely lasses.

It's Dixons, Currys and PC World that are the worst shop experiences full stop. I feel like saying to these bozos "Look, nobody forced you to work here!"
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,553
9,745
I'm a rolling stone.
Wow, what a lot of hate, is Dixons that bad, I went into Dixons more than once but never bought anything just because they are too expensive and buying on the internet is way cheaper nowadays, or Mediamarkt but that's even worse, I just look and then buy on the internet.

But give the guy a change, who says its his fault, lets just wait and see.
 
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Puevlo

macrumors 6502a
Oct 21, 2011
633
1
Out of the thousands of Apple employees there's not one person better than this Browett eurotrash?
 

deanbar

macrumors member
Jul 17, 2008
41
20
Coleford, Gloucestershire, uk
I can't believe Apple would make such a poor choice. How did Apple get sucked in like this. He must talk the good talk. Dixons, Curry's, PC World -all in the same DSG group - have some of the worst retailing experience.

This does not bode well for Apple's future retailing, and it doesn't inspire me with confidence on Apple's thought processes moving forward if this is what they came up with. :(:(
 

Reason077

macrumors 68040
Aug 14, 2007
3,588
3,532
I just don't think Steve would have hired this guy.

It certainly is an interesting appointment. Despite the spin in the press release, European/UK chains aren't really known for their customer service ethos. Shopping at Currys/PC World is pretty much the polar opposite of the (ideal) Apple store experience.

That said, UK retail is extremely competitive, and Dixons has fared much better than their main rivals, Comet and Best Buy (the later recently announced they are closing down all their UK stores). So the guy must be doing something right.
 

peterdevries

macrumors 68040
Feb 22, 2008
3,146
1,135
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
I've always been worried about what happens to Apple once Steve is gone.

I really don't want to be in the permanent line of doomsayers, but I hope Browett is gonna be really good or this is no indication of the direction Apple is going.

I just don't think Steve would have hired this guy.
I know, Steve is gone, it's a different company now and that doesn't need to be bad. But I just wish, he could have lived another 30 years.

The last ten years have been one hell of a ride and it would be really sad to see it all go to pieces in a few years.

You are all missing the point. Apple's retail strategy is set and clear and this guy will not be able to change that to any significant degree. For Apple it's now all about location and expansion and you can bet that this guy has all major retail real estate brokers on speed dial. Apple needs to focus outside the US now and the change to a European director makes sense.

Do not expect to see the Apple store change in any big way anytime soon.
 
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