A bit of a shaggy dog story. Sorry, just wanted to get it off my chest:
It's Wednesday today and I've been to HMV, which is at the other end Croydon to where I live, every day this week. You might be thinking that they must be really good there and, on the whole, they are.
I went in on Monday to see how much a certain dvd boxset cost and found that, amazingly, it was £20 cheaper than the exact same boxset in Zavvi, down the road. So I bought it and, at the same time, asked about another boxset I've been seeking out for a while. The boy behind the dvd counter was very helpful and in the end I ordered the second boxset because the price was very reaonable. I had to pay a deposit and the boy took my number saying it would probably take about a week for the boxset to arrive. As it turned out, I got a call from HMV today and have just picked up my nice new dvd. It was very quick and painless and although the opening times from the official website show that they shut at 6.00pm I was in there well after this time (Monday, Tuesday and today). That's the good bit.
Why did I go to HMV yesterday as well? Because the first Boxset I'd bought on Monday had a fault and I wanted a refund. When I got there there was an old man returning a cd to a boy (different boy to the nice one the day before) so I waited to be served and caught a bit of their conversation. The old man was asking if there was a reason why they didn't have a facility for people to listen to cds before they bought them as it would have saved him having to bring these ones back. I wasn't really listening but the boy said something about security issues and the old man suddenly blew up at him and said he really shouldn't just make things up if he didn't know the answer.
I thought the old man was a nutcaseuntil it was my turn at the till. I told the boy that the dvd was faulty, yada yada yada. He very confidently told me that HMV don't do refunds. He then called over a colleague and said to her, in what I can only describe as a stage whisper, I've told her we don't do refunds. Anyway, five minutes later I was out of the shop with my refund so I'm not too bothered about it really. I do think it's a bizarre way to treat a customer with a legitimate complaint and a simple request.
I just wanted to say - avoid the young boy with the Hoxton fin if you're in the Croydon branch of HMV and want to do anything more complicated than hand over cash. The stars are for the good prices, handy opening times (official or not), and helpful staff. Lack of more stars because of some idiot who doesn't know when to defer to people who know better before opening his mouth. read more