PB Tech Christchurch Central — Attraction in Christchurch

Funny how one person can destroy customer faith in a business. Since moving, I have shopped at the St Asaph St PBTech for all phone and PC needs etc. Until today they had been the only business that a YouTube ad had converted to me actually buying something because of it. They have been my number 1 choice for my needs - until today that is. Yesterday I bought an Orica High speed 4 Port Hub with stand. I stated what my purpose was. That was discussed and my final question was "is there anything more I should know?" No - there wasn't. Small issue - it wasn't compatible with my devices (mainly the Galaxy tab 7 I was hoping to use as a mini desk pc). Less than 24 hours later I returned it to the Repairs/Returns window and things really went downhill fast. The duty person (female) greeted me and I shared my problem and the fact that I was returning it with no wish for anything else. She then chose to tell me before anything else that there was a 20% restocking fee (the amount paling into insignificance as the principle at stake became the point of the exercise). Next - was it damaged? I said I can't say either way other than it doesn't do what it was bought to do. She would consider the refund (note - just the idea of a refund) if the salesperson I dealt with confirmed what I had said. I said I wasn't sure I could identify who it was. She simply looked at me and was leaning on her elbows. I looked around and was sure I spotted him about 10m away. I pointed and said I thought that was the guy. She did and said nothing. I said - well, he's your colleague...nothing... but what I took for a smirk in response so I had to go over and get his attention (he was busy) myself. I returned absolutely fuming. The demeanour was still the same. She then said she was trying to consider the refund if I would bel more cooperative. I responded that I would pay the fee but will never shop there again. Then the sales guy rushed over and took over the issue. The hub was tested and there was no fault but the device was clearly not compatible with what I needed it for. He was great. He listened and understood my needs. He admitted that he should have asked what tablet I would use and all ended well. I received a full refund which was a fair outcome. I do not intend on returning any time soon and based on the way I was treated by the repairs person on duty 16th Jan I will not buy anything of decent worth there again because of that experience. It was appalling and one of the worst examples of customer care I have ever had the misfortune to experience. I have learned that should I or anyone else I know go there to buy something reasonably expensive and you take their word that it will do what you need it to - take the salesperson's name, have a list of questions and even record your conversation because your honesty may be called into question and and you may need to rely on other employees backing you up should things not work out. I also learned that the person dealing with returns was happy to cause all of this for the sake of $5 along with the loss of my future patronage - oh yeah - and this review too. My first negative review I can remember doing. It ends well though as I did get my refund and have spent it elsewhere. But seriously PBTech, you need to reconsider who you have fronting your post-sales and returns counter and why it's important that you don't turn someone like me from a loyal, happy and smiley customer into the exact opposite in 60 seconds. You get 2 stars - 1 for being there in the past and 1 because your salesperson did what the returns person wouldn't or was incapable of doing. Yes - this is long and has been a bit of an effort to do on a phone so if you read this you will realise just how angry I was with your employee and the incredible lack of anything resembling...

TLDR; their service technician is aweful, as well as the front desk. The technician will not do a thorough job to actually test everything for you. Instead they will follow SOP and do a quick job and call it completed, wasting everyone's time. Front desk will try to convince you its your problem, and call it a day (instead of passing all the notes/tests I have to the technician).

Full story: I have a faulty RAM stick that i've tested myself with memtest86+, so i asked for a replacement.

Service #1: they comeback saying the RAM is fine. so I have to pick it up, and test it again myself and make screen shots.

Service #2: I bring it back again and telling them it is faulty and providede screenshot. A few days later, they send a text message saying the service it "completed". But when i arrived, they said they cannot find any fault again (should have call me first to avoid the unnecessary trip). At this point i realized the tool they are using are not the same, so i demanded they to switch tools and test again.

Service #3: They finally said they found an issue with the RAM. they replaced it with a new one. And for my insane bad luck, the newly replaced one IS FAULTY AS WELL. so I do several tests myself, show them all the test i've done and screenshots, and ask for a new replacement.

Service #4: they didn't call back, and simply send another text saying its 'completed'. And i'm not even suprised when I arrived and they told me "It's Fine" again. Turns out they did not use the better tool I suggested them. They were still using the old tool that their SOP ask them to. So I ask them to use memtest86+ again, as its opensource and up-to-date.

Service #5: they did not call me, but send another text saying job "completed". Sure enough, when I arrived they still said "its fine" and insist its my MB or CPU. So I give up. I took back the RAM and ran test on THREE motherboards and CPUs (borrowed them from friends and family). All 3 showed there are value errors when doing test.

Service #6: I look at the previous test results they send me, and realised that instead of testing RAM one by one, they were testing the full kit together. I did a test with full kit, and full kit didnt show any errors until the 4th full-cycle testing. Testing one by one instantly shows error. At this point this Branch has lost all credit from me, so I decided to switch branch and ask for another service.

The faulty RAM is confirmed and replaced by Hornby Branch. replaced. Dont use City Centre Branch, useless and complete...

Poor shopping experience. Unknowledgeable staff and off-putting policies. I recommend to do your research and buy online or go somewhere else.

I went to buy an USB-C headset. There is an USB-C and an USB-A version and both are sold in their website. The sales clerk was unable to tell me which one was the one they had in stock. The headset wasn't on display so sales clerk went to grab it from the warehouse and left it at the cashier. When I went to pay, I wanted to check which one it was by having a look at the box. The cashier told me that I could't look at it and that if I had any question I needed to talk to the salesman.

Eventually a different salesman to the one I talked to came. They were also unable to tell me, and at some point told me that it comes with both USB-A and C. I'm familiar with the model and I knew that's factually incorrect. So asked again to see the box, cause I know it's possible to infer this information from the model number. They insisted I was not allowed to see the box until I payed and that the information was not in the box anyways.

I got tired of arguing. Obviously they didn't know enough about the product and also convinced that treating a customer like a potential thief is a good business idea. I asked if I was gonna be able to at least return the product if it wasn't what they told me it was.

They agreed. Once I paid, I was able to look at the box, and as I expected the information was in the box. Luckily the product was the correct one with the USB-C dongle.

I hope they change their policies.The experience made me feel pretty bad as it looked like they assumed I wanted to steal. If I am going to spend 400 dollars in some headset I wan't at the very least be treated...