Argos wanted me to pay for a watch just to view it

[Richard A Thackeray]

I bought a watch from their a few weeks ago, as the (plastic) strap had cracked on my 'day to day' watch, & it was going slow
As much as that watch suited me, it was cheaper to buy a new watch than replace the strap & battery

I was quite happy with paying first, as it wasn't of a high value, so wasn't too bothered about looking at it

This is the broken strap watch; https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9025873?clickPR=plp:8:378 (none in stock, or I'd have bought another)
What I bought; https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7343959?clickPR=plp:51:378

 

[classic33]

They started off as Green Shield Stamp shops. That's another one for the Odd Factoids section.

I remember using cigarette cards/coupons "buying a watch" from their long gone Bradford shop.

 

[Drago]

Can't they trace their history back to Green Shield stamps?

 

[Brandane]

Can't they trace their history back to Green Shield stamps?

If you trace the history of this thread back to post #5 you might find out.....

 

[vickster]

I have bought a washing machine and an under counter freezer from Argos. The big advantage is free delivery to an offshore island which saves me a considerable amount of money. The prices were ok as well as I did comparisons.
The only downside is that I now get regular junk emails from them but is just a drop in the bucket.

You should be able to opt out if you want 👍🏻

 

[Rusty Nails]

I can honestly say I've never found shopping at Argos to be a pleasurable experience.

FTFY

 

[stephec]

Think about it.

Argos price up each sale accounting for a worker to fetch an item from the warehouse and another worker to hand it to the customer. Customer takes it and leaves. Low staffing costs, almost zero chance of theft by the customer.

If they changed to a "shoe shop" type model with workers taking items to and from the warehouse and customers mauling them, ruminating over them and possibly nicking them before handing over any cash then their operating costs would skyrocket.

As DT says, I remember going to Argos over thirty years ago when you would look at a laminated catalogue bolted to a counter, pick up a bookie's style pen and piece of paper, write down the number of the thing you wanted, go to the payment counter, then get a code number and wait at the collection point for your goods to appear.

Thankfully the Internet has now negated the need for any such nonsense.

 

[Drago]

If you trace the history of this thread back to post #5 you might find out.....

And if the author of that post is blocked and I cant see it...?

 

[Brandane]

And if the author of that post is blocked and I cant see it...?

Such are the perils of blocking posters, as I have found out in the past. It makes threads disjointed. I gave up and stopped using ignore.

 

[bonzobanana]

I collected an item from the Argos in Yeovil a few days ago that I ordered online and admittedly it was an hour before closing time but the shop was empty apart from me and maybe 5 members of staff. Normally I don't find Argos competitive but in recent times there has been a few well priced items. It feels like a business close to the end of its life as often when I visit Sainsburys there is nothing happening at the Argos section. Admittedly I'm almost never in a Sainsbury's at the weekend which could be busier.

 

[Donger]

My mum was the sort of person who probably caused their change of policy! Back in the early 00ies mum needed a new alarm clock and looked around in a few catalogues/newspaper adverts etc. She would have been well into her 80s at the time, with a forceful personality ... knew her rights etc. I had the job of driving her to Argos. It just happened to be early January, when they were queuing out of the door in Argos to return damaged/unwanted Christmas presents and my heart sank. When we eventually got to the front of the customer service queue a flustered and beleaguered teenage staff member in customer service had the unenviable task of dealing with my mum.

She asked an endless series of questions about not one, not two, but three of the portable alarm clocks in the catalogue. Obviously (to anyone but my mum) he couldn't possibly have known anything more about the products than they could both read for themselves in the catalogue, so mum demanded to see all three items before buying. Cue audible tuts and sighs from behind us in the queue. Several minutes later, after insisting on getting all three out of their boxes, mum decided which one most fitted her brief (clear face, large buttons etc) and decided on a winner. The lad rang up the price and held a hand out for the money. "Oh, no! I'm not buying it here, it's cheaper in Comet next door" announced my mum. As we walked out I was unable to look anyone in the eye.

Footnote: When she did buy it next door, she publicly told me off for not looking away as she entered her secret PIN in the payment machine. She promptly messed that up (as I knew she would) and ended up, several minutes later, telling the assistant her number so that she could complete the sale for her! I had no such problems with my in-laws, who always happily entrusted me with their payment cards and PINs so that I could do their shopping for them.

 

[sevenfourate]

I just shock my head with disappointment and walked away. I could have gone along with with what they wanted,but because I thought it was a completely absurd practice it's lost them a sale.

Maybe I’m more simple than you. I’d have bought it. Then kept or returned as appropriate. To get what I wanted - irrespective of their policy decisions…..

 

[Psamathe]

Now I maybe missing the point somewhere, but with high Street shops struggling nowadays you would think there would be more flexibility in their selling practices.

My "local" photographic store does the same. They are generous in that you have 1 month to return for refund (undamaged) but returned stuff they sell discounted. So if I ask to see a camera bag I have to buy, go out to car, decide it's too small, walk back in and they have to then sell at a discount. They can appreciate that get a sales person to fetch it open it, put it away and they can still sell as new item at full price.

Daft but their choice.

Ian

 

[Time Waster]

Argos IME is a good shop to buy from if you accept its origins and ways it does business. In fact it is better than most in that their returns policy is one of the best out there. We have never had any issue with returns and we have returned a lot that of we'd bought elsewhere they'd not accept it. So we but certain things from them only.

I think the OP is being a bit unreasonable and I think he should just accept that he is not the customer for the way Argos works. That way allows them to be significantly cheaper than anywhere else for the casio watches they sell.

PS I just bought a second Royale so I could get the extra links to replace the dodgy links on my first Royale. Cheaper than buying spare links!

 

[Dogtrousers]

Back in the 80s / 90s I had a work colleague who had a minor obsession with Argos.

I remember him marching into the office in a state of rapture brandishing the newly released catalogue, showing it to all and sundry exitedly saying "It's out! It's out!". The highlight of his year (or six months, or however often they released new catalogues then)