I have bought a few things from JB, the last ones a travel notebook, a mouse, and a mp3 player as they were cheaper than elsewhere. They always have great discounts, so I tend to browse their website when I am looking for specific items.
Unlike other electronic shops where I pop up regularly to see what they have in store and browse around, JB Hi-fi stores seem to be uninviting, sombre places, overcrowded with stuff or just the layout not well thought to favour movement and exhibition of products. They are also short of knowledgeable staff too often, and short of staff in general also often.
Although along the years I have found nice staff at JBHF, the norm for me has been just finding the unhelpful, uninterested unfriendly staff, so nothing that invites me to visit any more than I strictly need and when their prices are cheaper than elsewhere. Some of the guys on the floor don't really know anything about anything they sell, others do, so if you are unlucky enough to get one of the baddies, they can easily mislead you. I have also seen patronising attitudes towards people of a certain age or women because, in their silliness, some of them think they know something, when in fact they don't. I have found the people at the cash out and managers usually lovely, friendly and very helpful.
The most annoying thing is that there aren't sample mice to use and test on the tables in the stores, so you cannot test them for size, heaviness and comfort, and have to buy them, go home and, if not a fit, return it, and do the same with other mouse until you find one that fits. If you are looking for a work mouse, choosing the right mouse for you might take you to test several mice, so I wonder what's the convenience of having to go three times to the store.
They have one of the worse branding ever. Unmistakable, that is good. Cheap looking, bordering tasteless, that is not good.
In a nutshell -- They have good prices but outdated shops and bad service overall.
THE GOOD
> Excellent prices for most things. Some products are
cheap and are great, while others are cheaper than in normal
supermarkets. You can expend 100 bucks and will get a trolley fully packed with staples.
> Nice packaging and design.
> Aldi favours local manufactures and producers, so there are more chances of finding an Australian product that is actually Australian in Aldi than in other supermarkets.
> You can find first-class brands at discounted prices, a la Reject Shop.
> International goodies available at decent prices, usually cheaper than in normal supermarkets. Perhaps not cheap, but affordable.
> Seasonal and special goods are sold at incredible prices as well, from TVs, garage stuff, tools, Christmas or Easter seasonal products, and what is not.
> Aldi liquor are
very small sections, I would say, but their prices are amazing, and you
find from the local Australian one to French wines.
> Products I like are their dish-washing liquid, their serrano ham, their speck and smoked ham, wafer crackers, some varieties of instant coffee, some of their cheeses, and some of their rubbish bin bags.
> Very fast cashier lines. Their cash line are opened or closed depending on the number of people
approaching, so more people cueing, more cashiers are opened
immediately.
> If you are not happy with a product, they will exchange it and return your money, not problem.
THE SO-SO
> Aldi's organisation system is not the usual and will get you a bit to get used to it.
> The fresh veggies and fruit area is mediocre by all means.
> The meat section is mediocre by all means.
> Although they have the basics, the variety and quantity of products is limited. Sometimes I have found myself looking for a staple, and did not find it.
> Products you love
disappear for long periods of time or never come back.
> The packaging of their generics is too similar to know brands, so its seems you are buying a known brand, but it is a generic. No problem if you give a dam about that you are buying.
> Some of their
cheap prices are more expensive than the specials or every-day-prices in Woolies and Coles. So if
you are on a budget study the prices beforehand.
> Although it varies
from person to person, generally speaking customer service is never as good, friendly or attentive as in Coles or Woolies.
> Depending on the
stores, you cannot take the basket outside the cashier, which forces you
to pack your staff at the speed of light because nobody will do so for you, and
they have a tiny space to move around, and the next customer is approaching dangerously.
THE BAD
> The warehouse feeling of their supermarkets.
> Their cold meat area. I have had some of their cold meats that, when fresh, are excellent. However, I have noticed that despite the expire date being quite long, some of them have grainy white dots that are not salt, they are something I don't want to see on any cold meat. It is not just once, it is many times that I found them. I even warned the manager in one of their supermarkets. Next time I visited they were still there. I think it has to do with the refrigeration chain being broken between the producer and the shop, or perhaps between the warehouse and the supermarket. I recommend you to inspect every single packet of cold meat you buy. I do so.
> Some products are cheap because they are crap. Period. I hate their gourmet chips, they always taste of stale and are way too salty and anything but gourmet.
> If you pay with a card, they charge you a tiny commission fee, pro-rate, so the more you spend the more commission they get.
> No express lines or cash-only lines.
The Reject Shop stores aren't pretty fancy ones, but they are the sort of stores you want to have nearby if you are on a budget or just don't want to pay more than you should for anything.
I have bought many things from the Reject Shop in the past, from fancy gourmet salt, coffee, laundry soap, plastic containers, storage items, and party/seasonal needs. Except for a couple of times when I bought things that were not good, I was always satisfied with the things I bough from the RS and the prices I paid for.
My experience in these shops is that one can find:
> Items that although from good brands ended being so-so in quality due to faulty manufacturing and or design /assembling.
> Discontinued lines of first class brands.
> End of batches of first class products that are being replaced by the "new" or "improved" varieties of the same.
> 2-dollar-shop kind of stuff.
> Products from good brands manufactured for/from other countries that fall short for the needs of preferences of Australians.
> Cheapies imitating good brands stuff.
> Party needs and seasonal celebration stuff.
If you are lucky you can buy the same product, brand and model as in your supermarket for a fraction of the price. If you are unlucky, something you have bought, will break very soon! As a rule of thumb, I always advice to check the price of a product of a well-known brand in Coles or Woolies using your smartphone to see if what you are buying is a bargain or not.
I tend to stick to known brands in the RS because, when I have found crappy stuff, were all unbranded. Having said that, many times I have been pleasantly surprised with unbranded products that were great at ridiculous prices.
Their catalogues are great to find extra-cheap items that you might need.
THE GOOD
> Ikea offers you anything you need for your home at affordable or very cheap prices. If you are a student, have a budget, are newly-wed, moved cities, moved countries, have and need to furnish your full house right now or buy essential items at good prices, this is your place.
> Cool design and styling. They really have an eye for colour, funkiness, simple functional well-designed items, some of them designed on purpose for Ikea by young designers, while others are replicas of well-known designers.
> Very friendly and even enthusiastic guys in their stores.
> Free metre tapes and pencils to take measurements all over the store.
> Pick up and/or delivery services are fast and very well organised. They are not cheap, but not more expensive than other private services that would do the same for you.
> I specially like some of the basic stuff for the kitchen, bathroom, pot plants area, and some of their organisational boxes. They are good quality, cheap and good looking. And no assembly or very basic assembly is required.
> They have a free concierge service at the exit of their stores, so you can leave your trolley and purchases with the guys there and pick them up when it suits you.
> They have reward points system with Ikea Family card.
> I like their
meatballs with mash potato at their "restaurant". Guilty pleasure.
THE BAD
> They don't pay as much taxes in Australia as they should as evade plenty of taxes with dodgy well-planed evading tax systems. They make millions out of Australians like vulgar predators.
> They have inflated prices for Australians, for the same items. Booohhhhh.
> Some shops are understaffed, so if you visit during the weekend, you will be fighting for the attention of the guys in the shop.
> No online shopping in Australia except for WA and SA. Pathetic.
> Pick up service has some important downsides. They only pick up those products that are in their warehouse area of the shop, not in others, even if you buy plenty of them. You have to do that personally. Stupid!
> The delivery is just for bulky items. They don't want your small items. If you push them, they will take them to your place BUT you are responsible if they get broken or get lost. They are not liable. Seriously... Outrageous.
> They don't transfer items from one shop to another. Say you want a chair that is available in shop A but not in shop B, they don't care, you go to the shop yourself, they won't bring it for you to the shop you live close by.
> If an item is out of stock, you cannot leave your details for them to inform you that the item has arrived. You have to keep checking their website. Of course, you cannot prepay and reserve any item. And of course, they don't tell when approximately is the item going to be back in stock. They give a dam about you.
> Some of their products are cheap and will do for an emergency, but they are crap. If I had the money I wouldn't go to Ikea. As simple as that.
> I hate flat packing, with a passion. But there is no option because if you want your things properly assembled, you do it yourself or you pay a fortune to other people to do that for you. Bring me the old furniture shops. That was customer service as it should be.
> If you just want to buy a couple of things you have to walk like a kilometre to get to your thingie.
> The coffee in their restaurants is very cheap, refillable, but you won't want to refill, ever :D.
> I never experienced the benefits of their rewards card. I got plenty of promotional emails instead, and some of the discounts to members were so ridiculous that bordered insulting.
NOTES
+ The assembly service they offer is overbooked most of the time, meaning there is a waiting list or it will take them a while to go to your place. But most people buying in Ikea need those items right now. Buy a proper screwdriver and set of tools, that will get your things assembled faster. Otherwise, assembly guys are everywhere these days, check the yellow pages online.
= I love their assembly instructions pages, no words. Effective in most cases, but not always. Like they treat us like 3-year-old customers.
- So much style and the style of the uniform of the staff is dreadful :O.
