Don't shop at Noel Leemings

Below is the text of my complaint email I sent off yesterday to Noel Leemings Head Office, and which I cc'd to Erin Brockovich. (she is currently front NL's campaign telling everyone how they are 'the real deal' and act with such wonderful 'corporate responsibility')

Full credit to Brockovich also - she actually replied - and not just a generic reply - she said she would take it up with NL. Noel Leemings have not replied.

To whom it may concern at the Noel Leemings Group NZ Ltd,

I wish to register a complaint regarding the after-sales service provided by Noel Leemings.

Around two years ago I bought a Sony Vaio lap-top computer from Noel Leemings in Wellington - and till a couple of months back - it worked fine.

However, it recently lost power and stopped working. So I took it in to your 'Technology' branch in Wellington for repair. It was outside its warranty period, so I expected a cost would be involved.

After a month or so, it was returned to me 'fixed' and I paid out around NZ$300. But, a month and a half later the same thing happened again - so I took it in, again. I was told that "If it was the same problem, it would be fixed under a three-month service warranty". I said 'great', to which your staff member replied "hehe but they normally find something else wrong and charge you for that, hehe." Naturally, to which, I raised my eyebrows. He then said - Oh only joking I'm sure they're really honest - in a slightly sarcastic tone. I dismissed this assuming he was joking.

Turns out he wasn't. I received a call yesterday telling me that it would cost an additional NZ$400 to have it repaired - as it was, you guessed it - "a different issue". I said well I'm not throwing 'good money after bad' I would sooner buy a new one. And now - just to get the thing back I have to pay what is essentially a NZ$95 ransom/service fee!

My complaint - is that I paid NZ$300 for a repair - that did not work. Now Noel Leemings want another NZ$400 to fix what is essentially the same problem - or NZ$95 just to get my unfixed computer back. Either way I am going to be at least $395 (or at worst NZ$700!) out of pocket with a computer that does not work!

For a company that has just launched a series of TV adverts endorsing their 'good corporate practices' and "doing the right thing" by customers - personally, I think this is shameful customer service.

Over the years I have spent literally thousands of dollars at Noel Leemings and Bond & Bond stores on TVs, stereos, white ware - fridges, washing machines etc, 2 computers and all sorts of other stuff. And yet when I actually tried to get some sort of reasonable standard of after sales service - I basically got shafted.

By contrast, a friend of mine had trouble with his Apple iBook - not only did the Apple outlet, Magnum-Mac, actually fix the problem, they also lent him a laptop for two weeks while his machine was being repaired. That is 'the real deal' - that is what I consider good customer service.

I intend to raise this with your store manager at Noel Leemings Technology - fully realising that it is likely to be a futile act (much like this email). But I want it known that I do not take being ripped off lightly - especially by a company that preaches that it does the right thing by customers, and is 'the real deal'.

Regards

Im waiting for them to call to say its ready for me to pick up (and pay their ransom). It will be all on like donkey kong that day.

From the Campaign Trail

As we count down to a possible change of government across the tasman, I thought I would share this gem from the campaign trail.

Australian Labor leader, Kevin Rudd, has been busy appearing on Rove and student radio etc - to appear to be down with kids. But unfortunately it turns out that Rudd is still just a 50 year old conservative Christian at heart - and like Rowan Atkinson in Four Weddings and Funeral can't bring himself to say 'condom'.

Asked on youth radio network 'Triple J' whether he supported condom use as a safe sex message for young people he broke out an absolute corker example of bureaucratise.

"In terms of effective aids prevention mechanisms, contraception along the lines you described are appropriate," said Rudd before doing a silly giggle.

Good grief. Wouldnt "Yeah absolutely" have been a better answer?

Still, it should be all on for young and old this weekend. Labor are well ahead, but my only fear is that they will over-capitalise in their safe seats, and not pick up enough votes in the marginals. I guess we will see on Saturday night (well the early hours of Sunday morning).

It's a Sony

Just a couple of weeks away from Beckham touching down in Wellington now, and the Phoenix have announced their new main sponsor - Sony.

Sony are relative newcomers to sponsorship in New Zealand - we're more accustomed to Banks, Beers, Phones and Fridges. Also means that everyone will have to go and buy the playing strip again!! lol

In other news Stuff had a dumb article on one of their 'blogs' on how we are witnessing the "death of the suit". Rubbish. Im all for suits and ties and I would go as far as to say we should ban casual Fridays. Hardly anyone does business casual - we just do casual. It can't be good for productivity.

Maybe as a compromise we could "Phoenix Fridays" and all wear our Sony Phoenix strips??

Couple of things

Well the Melbourne Cup was a bit of a dud from my amateur punters point of view - all the horses I was backing finished mid-field - bugger. I did go through a run of picking the winner four years in a row - 2002, Media Puzzle and then 2003, 04, and 05, Makybe Diva. I did pull out the big guns for our Melbourne Cup event though - making a huge comeback was my old Ozwald Boateng tie for one last dash!

Also big ups to One Moment Caller - with One Moment Caller junior set to join the team next year!

And to finish, I have an oddspot. Prince, (who has been mentioned on my blog before) is actually crazier than we all first thought. The Seventh Day Adventist (I love saying that) has apparently threatened the people who run fan websites - dedicated to him! - with legal action, unless they remove images they have of him on their sites. You would have thought his bizarro actions in the last few years would have put them off already - but this may be the last straw?? I guess this is what it sounds like when doves cry?

Festivas for the rest of us

The Documentary Film Festival has just got under way. The standout in the line up has to be Spike Lee's four hour epic When the Levees Broke. The film was originally shown on HBO in the states in four parts. Lee goes around interviewing residents of New Orleans post-Katrina. By all accounts it is an incredibly moving picture.

Also, the International Festival of the Arts has launched their programme. The free projection show (Body Moves) on the city-side of Te Papa looks great, and I hope it works as well as the Waitangi Park outdoor exhibition at the last festival.

Composer Philip Glass', new work, Book of Longing, based on the 'poetry and images' of Leonard Cohen looks great. Giselle, the dance work by the 'Fabulous Beast Dance Company' of Ireland looks so crazy that it must be fun to watch!

Of course Blackbird will attract a lot of attention as a result of being directed by Cate Blanchett, but the blurb does make it look interesting. Might be hard to get tickets though given Blanchett's involvement (and the fact that its name is similar to my blog!)

If the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain are half as good as Wellington's International Ukulele Orchestra - then this show is an absolute must-see. Apparently they play songs by Tchaikovsky, Nirvana, Kate Bush, The Sex Pistols, Otis Redding and many others - sounds like a great night. Also good to see that they are taking performances out to the provinces, with shows in Masterton and Pram.

Finishing it off, the excellent David (possibly the funniest man in NZ) Fane probably makes going to the Bro'Town live stage show worthwhile.

Check it out - its festivals like these that make Wellington great.

Meh

Meh - is my reaction to this week's Cabinet reshuffle. One of the commentators (Espiner?) were close to the mark when they said the reshuffle was like painting the walls and cupboards and replacing the taps without doing anything else to the kitchen - fundamentally its still the same beast.

For all his previous great work, Finance Minister Cullen now appears arrogant and seems to have come down with what Jane Clifton called i-know-best-itis. I think at the very least he should have been shifted to a shared Treasurer/Minister of Finance role with the popular and very electable Phil Goff.

In saying that, I didn't really expect that to happen anyway. I only hope Labour hasn't missed yet another opportunity this year. Rightly or wrongly, people in New Zealand and Australia have been attracted to their respective fresh and enthusiastic opposition leaders. I think the reshuffle was a chance to neutralise that in the NZ case by promoting someone like Goff to the pivotal Finance role.

Anyway, you will remember that earlier in the year I gave my suggestion for a reshuffle - now I was almost entirely wrong - but I was saying what I wanted rather than what I thought would happen. Regardless, of the five people I suggested be promoted to the Ministry (Jones, Street, Chadwick, Chauvel and Hughes), only Chauvel missed out. I guess four out of five ain't bad. Although I'm still not sure why Chauvel didn't get in - at least to a role outside the Cabinet? He is clearly as capable as Hughes or Chadwick.

Its good to see new blood all the same though. I was also happy with how Law and Order has been shut down - King/Goff vs Power will be a much better contest than Burton/O'Connor vs Power ever was. Cunliffe has performed well in Immigration and Comms and IT, and although he will be outside his comfort-zone, I think the Health portfolio could make him. I worry about Carter in Education - he was controversial in the junior Housing and Conservation portfolios - I hope he gets it together now. King running Electoral Finance (EFB) could be something to watch too. She failed to get any sort of cross-party consensus on the ANZTPA (Therapeutics) - which is what is needed now on the EFB. I really hope she can turn that Bill into something that at least upholds Labour's values.

So on the whole, there are some great bits, and well, some 'other' bits - hence my reaction: meh.

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Last couple of days Ive been listening to Radiohead's seventh album - In Rainbows. Its a little hard to review as I have no idea what the track names are and the computer shat itself, so my burnt copy doesnt have the last two tracks.

Before youre outraged at me owning a burnt copy - this is of course the album that they released via their website for "however much you want to pay". In my case that meant nothing.... shut it, Ive spent more than enough over the years on EPs, Singles etc by Radiohead to make up for it - and frankly giving, like a buck, would be insulting. Thats my line and im sticking to it.

Anyway the album follows on nicely from Hail to the Thief. I always thought that Hail was the album that should have come out after OK Computer, before Kid A. I think that may have provided a nice link for those who felt Kid A and Amnesiac (which of course features my favourite Radiohead track - Pyramid Song) were a bridge too far.

In Rainbows, while still pushing the boundaries, is again along the lines of Hail to the Thief. Tracks 2, 5 and 6 are all outstanding and Im really loving Track 4 - toe tapping goodness! Despite missing the last couple of tracks, I think this is a fantastic album.

Like Hail to the Thief, this could bring a lot of the OK Computer crowd back to, arguably, the most important band in the last 15 years.

Download a copy here (feel free to make a donation in lieu of my download).

You can read about all the background etc etc and even see a track listing here