Went to purchase phone instore how ridiculous and confusing is this?

[Netcurtainnelly]

Ive always gone into the EE store and bought a phone outright. Been with EE many years.

The store then changes the sim and does the photo transfer and everything.
I have recently been in to buy a new phone which I saw on their website at three hundreds and forty nine pounds.

We sat down to do the sale and the assistant told me it was Five Hundred as I am buying in-store. She said she didnt know why.

They said I could order it online for 349 on their website from my phone and get click and collected delivered to them. I could collect instore and they would help with sim change and everything.

I went to try this later, no offer to help me in the shop, and they said they couldn't order for me.

When i went online later after leaving the store, you could not order click and collect. I rang the helpline and they confirmed that. I could order to my home address only.

I could then take the phone to the store when it arrived and they would still help me with set up.

This is batshit bonkers isn't it.
First they wanted to charge loads more for me to buy in-store.
Then the assistant told me I could order from my phone click and collect to the the store and they would help.

That turned out not to be true when I got home. No click and collect. Direct to my home only, then take it to shop and they will help.

They could have just sold it to me in-store for 349. They are going to help set up apparantely anyway so why all this fuss?

Long standing customer both for phone and Sim.
Anyone work in a phone shop?
Any advice?
Why so much more in-store?
Why send me away telling me I can order myself and get click and collect to store and then help when the phone arrives when I cant?

Ive never known this before?
Very confusing and unhelpful and they have possibly lost a sale. I would have bought when I was in-store.

What would you do?🤔🙄
Should I complain?

I guess they are charging more instore because they are helping you with the sim etc but 150 more???

That still dosent make sense anyway because they are still helping if you order online and then take it in?
Be great to hear from anyone who has insight or works in a phone shop in particular.

It's so easy to transfer everything over from your old phone,if I can do it anyone can! Just have it delivered to home and have a go yourself.

Or go elsewhere.

Never buy in store. You have no right of return or cooling off period for contracts!

I think the assistant was just mistaken about click and collect option. Yes. we expect them to know these basic things but often they don’t. It’s not good but not deliberate.
By the way about price difference: are you sure that both models are absolutely 100% identical? It’s possible that the shop model has some extras like more memory.

Yes idéntical.
Ive never known this faff before. Charging 150 more instore.

I buy outright not contract.
Do you work in store. Not sure what you mean. Surely you can return if faulty?

It couldn't be simpler to transfer from one phone to another, honestly. Basically you just press "go".
Presumably phones bought in shops aren't covered by the same distance selling rules, cooling off period etc.

It's way, way less faff to order online to your home and then just set it up yourself! They're trying, with good reason, to move away from the in-store sales model. The overheads for keeping a store running are enormous compared to online sales. It's not just the staff time setting things up for you.

Why aren't you using cloud storage and SD storage for your photos? It's very insecure just having them on one device!

I like having someone to change Sim, transfer photos, make sure everything is ok. Thats the service the shop offers. Ive always done that.

The difference in price and the wrong info is more what i am asking about, not opinions on whether I should do it myself.

I've seen various shops where there is an online "sale" price which is online only (and occasionally the opposite way too)

And it might be that certain models do have a click and collect options and the assistant was right about that option, but this one (maybe because of the sale price) doesn't have that option

And as others have said, it's so easy to just do it yourself. You don't even have to take the battery out any more. And the phones talk you through the transfer

You’ll probably find before long you can’t go in store and do that anymore, just like banks. We seem to have lost so much in person customer service and instead constantly directed to online live chats or telephone numbers.

ive had similar before and assume you’re paying for the convenience in store of being able to walk in and walk out with a phone in little time rather than having to wait for delivery online. A lot of our phone shops have shut down actual stores because like said above, companies are charged more overheads and commercial rents. I’d learn to transfer it all yourself

I couldn’t buy a SIM free iPhone in Tesco Mobile because it was ‘too expensive to put through the till’. You’re a phone shop?!?!

Yes you can return if faulty. Thats it by law!!!

Online you have more rights. 30 days. For any reason.

And contracts. I am talking all contracts. Even if you are buying outright surely you have an air time plan contract for your SIM?

It’s just something worth knowing about. Imagine you walk out the shop and go oh shit! Thats the wrong storage amount. Or you walk round the corner and see it cheaper in the Vodafone store. They dont have to take it back. Even if it was 5 seconds ago!

The assistant tried to help but alerted you to the fact it was more money which is good of them. They then tried to solve a problem for you but got it slightly wrong as they don’t run web sales. The assistant doesnt control prices. Also there’s no difference it being delivered to you or sent to the shop as you have to go there anyway.

So what would you complain about? The price difference? It’s standard practice for retailers to have online only prices. They are trying to move away from the shop model but they will help you do something very simple for free when you do get the phone so I don’t think anything warrants a complaint?!

Online purchases don't have anywhere near as high costs in rent, rates, fixtures and fittings, heating, insurance, staffing etc. They are encouraging people to buy online so that they don't need stores because it is less costly for both you and them. It's a win/win.

It sounds like you're very fixed on doing as you always have which is fine but it is probably costing you a lot of unnecessary money. Go on line, compare costs with other companies. Hope you get it sorted.

The difference in price is because they want you to buy online, not in the shop. It's an incentive to buy online.

The misinformation is likely a mistake. The assistant didn't know what she suggested wasn't possible.

If you can do it, anyone can?

Out of interest do you have arthritic fingers that make handling the sim card tricky? Eyesight problems that mean reading instructions is difficult (especially as usual voice control does not work in a transfer process)? Cognitive disabilities (which could be as simple as old age) making it hard to understand this?

Or do you assume these people should have to rely on friends/family for help and not aim to be independent as possible. Or perhaps an assumption that these people don’t use phones?

You do you know that when you take that phone in store they are probably going to tell you they can't help set it up as you didn't buy it there 🤯.

I hate how in-store pricing differs from online. I get 10-20% off JD Sports online (blue light) so I take my son into the shops he tries on and picks what he wants then I go home and order it all online. They won't do the discount in store. I usually click and collect too.

Have you tried setting your phone and SIM yourself? All you have to do is follow the instructions the phone gives you. There is no reason to go to a shop for that.
Maybe get a family member or friend to help the first time?

Data transfer is basically putting both phones on top of each other and press "ok". Photos if saved on a Google account or similar, is just about logging in.

That's bonkers! 😂

Were you paying in gold doubloons?!

I used to work in a phone shop. The incentive isn't there for a salesperson to sell you a non new contract/upgrade phone. They get commission for selling contracts/upgrades so are probably keeping that phone in stock for contract and upgrade sales. When I worked in a phone shop you'd get £1 for every pay as you go sale and £10 per contract/upgrades. This was almost 20 years ago though!

If you check the small print of the ad it probably says the price is an online deal only. Happens a lot with phone companies.

This.
And it happens a lot with a lot of things, not just phones. It's much cheaper and easier to send orders from a warehouse than from a main street shop.

Ok , point taken but it does seem that the OP just died it because she's always done it not because she has to .

I tried to buy a football top in Sports Direct, it said online it was half price. When I asked at the till they said that it was online only but that I could order it for free delivery to the store. I literally had the top in my hand. I had to put that one back, order it online and then go and collect it, from the same shop, the next day.