Hello. I know at least one person here on QGL forums works at CA. I'm wanting to buy a bit or 2 from CA and want to know who to ask for ;D

Cheers. :D

Spoiler:
www.umart.com.au

Go www.msy.com.au purely for the website.

(net sales) Will..

(net sales) Craig..

(tech)Troy (Hermi)..

(tech)Elfman

(tech)Mark (Rubba)

dunno about the guys out the front though :/

I am going on holiday in 30mins :D



last edited by koopz at 16:25:59 03/Apr/07

last edited by koopz at 00:08:36 04/Apr/07

Umart screwed my sister around royally. She had a faulty Mobo, which they sent away for repairs, it came back with 1 of the faults repaired. It was sent away again. A differnt Mobo came back with a fault, it was sent away again, so about 4 weeks total, at least, has been spent waiting for it to be repaired. That is over $300 of computer parts plus stuff already in puter rendered useless for over a month. A replacement board, on the spot, would have gone a long, long way towards good service.

Watching all this happen has made me not want to purchase at umart unless I can help it. I prefer to reward good customer service, of which CA has never let me down, ever.

As for CA..

Does buying over the net make it any cheaper then walking in?

how old was the mobo?

if it was within 3 months old, it shoulda been replaced with a newie

when I was at global, sometimes RMA boards would come back still faulty. I used to test them before giving them back to the customer generally.

BTW what are the faults you describe? I've only experienced one real type of fault with a motherboard - dead.

It was still under warrenty, that didnt stop them sending it back and making her wait.. 3 times. AND she had to argue to extend the warrenty on the replacement board which they wanted to give her from the day she purchased the original board..


The Mobo engaged the case intruded and wouldnt allow booting. Even tho the pin was set to not detect intrusions. Also, the primary PCI-e slot wasnt working. The board came back with the Intrusion detection fixed, however the PCI-e slot still wasnt working. It went to ASUS again. Then with next board the PCI-e slot failed within the week. My sis also has one of those safe power box thingies, the ones that are sure to stop power spikes and keep power to computer running for a few mins after a power outage.


EDIT: To be fair, they didn't have a spare mobo in stock however they seemed very reluctent to compramise, ie swaping for a board of similar value. My sister said she felt like a number and not a customer. No-one likes that.

last edited by Tollaz0r! at 17:14:30 03/Apr/07

I can see what you're saying tollie. But, the warranty is always as per the original product purchased. If i remember correctly, say if you send a board away a day before its warranty runs out, then the board you get back will have 30 days warranty left on it. I think.

This is all a historical thing. People DEMAND the s*** cheapest computer prices available. People will travel halfway across the other side of town just so they don't spend $130 when they can spend $119 at some dodgy-ass place like umart. What eventuates from that is there is no money left in the profit margins for any real service. So then the service gets s***, and you get dealt with like a number. This is not a new phenomenon, and certainly not isolated to the retail IT industry.

I firmly believe, especially after working in IT retail, you are better off paying the couple of extra dollars to make sure you get full service from a local place who are there to look after you.

Umart screwed my sister around royally

tell me more

i just bought ~11k worth of gear from CA (it was actually Will who looked after me) next time i want a QGL discount :D

msy's website may suck but their prices rule/

msy do indeed rule

Will looks after works account, does a great job and excellent service. I buy all my stuff through CA because I know ill get good service.

Umart are the biggest bunch of c***s and I couldnt reccomend anything more than to avoid them like aids

you havent lived until you gots a Umart horror story.

Umart screwed my sister around royally


tell me more

my thoughts aswell

anyone who expects warranty items back same day is a f***tard.
Unless the unit is no more than 7 days old, go eat a dick up.

wow, umart use to be the bomb. i take it there customer service has gone down the s*** lately?

true story, i bought a HDD off umart, it died 10 months later, took it back, the guy picked it up shook it and listend to it. goes "ok, its broken" and gave me a brand spanking new one on the spot.

that was back in the day when everyone recomended umart.

Will sounds hot. So my guess is he isn't... Damn phone lines

anyone who expects warranty items back same day is a f***tard.
Unless the unit is no more than 7 days old, go eat a dick up.

Except this wasnt same day, it was after 2nd time it went back. I think it is fair to swap for another board of similar value after that, dont you?

Never had an issue with umart myself.

so you get a car right... and you drive it for 30,000km... and then it has faults in the steering..... so you take it to their service centre, and because it's a fault of the machinery, they repair the steering issue for you.... you take it home and drive it for another 5,000km, and the same fault occurs again... so you take it back to them.....

tell me please, would they f***ing replace your car with a new one? Or just fix it again?

maybe instead of being a tard, and bitching about the retail store you bought it from, you could possibly shift your blame to poor choice of motherboard brand or model? if there was that much of a problem with a mainboard I'd bought, I'd curse myself for buying a crap mainboard, not the retail store for not replacing it on the spot.





last edited by Moo at 21:33:08 03/Apr/07

last edited by Moo at 21:34:50 03/Apr/07

You just went from getting something replaced within 7 days to getting it fixed after 15-30 weeks. These problems occured within 1 week, 1 day (not fully fixed) and 2 weeks.
I'm saying it is fair to send it back to be replaced/fixed once, maybe even twice, after that tho.. comon.

EDIT: Aye, the Mobo model does have issues. The way it was handled by umart gave my sister a very poor level of satisfaction however. It is the customer service that is the issue here. The way in which the faults were handled, not the nature of the faults.

last edited by Tollaz0r! at 21:39:42 03/Apr/07

I could see there would be a problem with not being treated as more than a number, but that's the choice you make when you walk into umart in the first place is it not?

When you order online and pay the cheaper price, do you not already start as just another 'order number'??

It's all relative, yes if you bought from Computer alliance, you'd definately recieve more face to face service in both your sales and after sales experience. But you do pay a pretty penny more for it. And there's definately no 100% guarantee you'd ALWAYS get a straight replacement on any parts back. I like both stores, and I think there's a place for both of them. One is for the people who appreciate cheaper prices, and not expecting much when it comes to after sales service, and the other is for people who appreciate a higher, more corporate level of service at a higher cost to you.

The issue I have is, that when you purchase from the cheaper stores, you must all realise that because they are cheaper, it means they're operating on a smaller profit margin, and therefore don't have as much ability to cover losses such as used/warranty stock. This isn't to say that Umart isn't making a profit, but if they straight replaced something for every customer that brought something back, when they're damn well not likely to be getting a new replacement from their suppliers, they WOULD go broke, and no longer be able to trade to you guys at a cheaper price.

This is what gets me so frustrated when I read people complain about service when the pay bugger all!

I could understand if they flat-out told her to f*** off and they weren't honouring warranty, but they are honouring it, and if you've ever dealt with Achieva, Synnex, or Ingram Micro for warranty, it's not f***ing pretty. Boards older than 7-10 days DO take 3 weeks to come back to me, and I'm another wholesaler moving a nice amount of volume.

$200 mobo is different to a $20,000+ car

U-Mart f***ed me around.

Never again.

yeah thanks for pointing that out infi, I didn't realise that until you told me!
you really are much cleverer than me!

are you aware of value depreciation?

and if you've ever dealt with Achieva, Synnex, or Ingram Micro for warranty, it's not f***ing pretty. Boards older than 7-10 days DO take 3 weeks to come back to me,

Well said :)

I used to order all my stuff through Altech and Ingram (made work a reseller), now I get it through InstantIT just because the extra bucks saved is not worth the potential headaches .

yeah thanks for pointing that out infi, I didn't realise that until you told me!
you really are much cleverer than me!

And yet you boldly compare the two like a dumbass. At least one of your posts contained something worth reading.

Computer Alliance rock very hard. Went in there on the weekend and bought a new cpu, mobo, vid card, psu and ram. Went home and put it all together and it worked.

WooT!!


8-)

I compared the two to point out the value depreciation of it. What depreciates more in value than a car as soon as you drive it away from the dealer?

What depreciates more in value than a car as soon as you drive it away from the dealer?

Your analogies.

I'll never go anywhere other than C.A. Service rocks, and when I have had a problem they fix it straight away.

Well bottom line is Moo, my sister wasnt happy with the service and is going to CA from now on, for all her parts. So umart gets no $'s at all from her now, not so much because of the mobo faults, it was how she was treated.

i go to msy for the same reason. i bought a bluetooth earpiece from them once at morningside, it broke down a few weeks later. i walked in told them it was broken and the azn dude just whipped a new one out of the box right then and there. no receipt no nothing.

to prove this aint luck, he did the same thing for me several months later with a portable hdd case board. <3 msy.

i used to love my anti ca rants and back in the day they sucked royal

but legends like koopz and rubba healed my hurt

i still shop at umart though
just easier and cheaper

ive returned heaps of stuff to them (some faulty, some incompatible) and never had a drama, and ive probably put together 10, 15+ systems from umart gear

i just wish i would remember to use the logan rd store rather than milton to save me the drive

CA may be good service, but the truth is you get sick of waiting there very quick.

I've spent thousands of dollars there for work and personal use, and i've always had to wait.

That's my only real complaint about CA.

oh and moo, not to ruin your point, it's extremely valid. But if you had to wait a week to get your car fixed, the service center would give you a comp car so you can get around for the week.

Never had an issue with umart myself.

quoted for obesness. also never had a problem with umart... n haven't been to c.a. since buba left there :P

and if you've ever dealt with Achieva, Synnex, or Ingram Micro for warranty, it's not f***ing pretty. Boards older than 7-10 days DO take 3 weeks to come back to me,

unless it is gamedude and then it is gamedudes fault, right?

(tech)Troy (Hermi)..

Awesome name :D

Haha Moo thats the worst analogy I have ever heard

Never had a problem with milton umart, I have switched to morningside msy cause its a 1min drive from my house.
Thing I hate about CA is waiting behind the noobs that it often has in it. People that don't know what they want to get s*** me.
Umart has the no bulls*** line straight in straight out.

The noobs are plentiful because of the long warranty periods, they have nfi so if they can keep bringing the machine back for 3 years opposed to 1 they eat it right up.

An internet ordering system - uberquick line is a good idea IMO as well, but I don't have any say in that s*** :) Might be an idea worth proposing to one of the managers though.

To all the haters out there, take it or leave it.
I would hope you'd be intelligent enough to take the message I'm conveying without being a cock.

Another +vote for Umart. Never had problem with their gear unless it was my fault and ordering the wrong thing LOL

An express lane for people that know exactly what they want would be awesome, along with an automatic discount off retail.

an express line would never work cause people are stupid and would stand in line to ask complex questions and all that crap.

copy umart then and have the order placed via the internet first, just more of a hassle if you are out and cant access a computer.

an express line would never work cause people are stupid and would stand in line to ask complex questions and all that crap.

exactly and I have seen it in action and the customers are still stupid

Express line doesnt work too well at Umart either. iv been in there 3 times to pick up an order and I always end up waiting about 20 mins in line while someone fines my order.

At least at CA I can poke around and play in their showroom until someone is available to help.

I bought my new computer from CA because everyone here was saying how awesome their customer service is & how they're a little more exxy than Umart but you pay for the srvice. Well, let me tell you something:-
1) Salesman.
He was nice enough to suggest a motherboard that might suit my needs better, however when I told him to hold off on the mobo because I would do more reasearch he put it on the list anyway as the old original one he said was crap. Then when I rang up I told the dude who answered that I was going to go with the one the salesman suggested to which he said he didn't know what the f*** (not literally) and went to fetch the other dude who took my order in case he'd stashed some bits out the back for me. He also neglected to tell the original order taker that I'd gone with the motherboard he suggested (more on this later).

So the original guy goes and checks & what do we have here? There's no more RAM left. What the f***? I said when I was in there on thrusday that I'd be in saturday to pick it up. Now if someone came into my work and said they wanted something I'd put whatever aside for them, screw anyone who comes in later if it's the last one in stock they can wait because the other dude was there first. But I guess not at CA, unless you actually buy it right there there's no guarantee you'll get it.

So I rock up and see the original order taker, he goes & fetches my s***, what's this? It's the original motherboard he said was crap so I said I told the guy on the phone that I'd changed my mind and what does he say? He tells me that I didn't tell HIM and it's my fault because I'm the customer I should tell them these things. What the f***? were you listening? I just told you I told the guy on the phone I was going with the other one, it's not my job to f***ing repeat myself 100 times because you guys don't tell each other s*** and that you weren't listening in the first place when I told you not to put the f***ing motherboard on the order list. That was what angered me the most.

Bits missing from the case? Well there seems to be some floppy drive rails missing and there were only 2 5 1/4" drive bay rails to hold cd rom drives in and they were just sticky taped to the side of the case on the inside. I don't recall seeing a manual inside the box either. Lucky none of the bits were something I needed and lucky my computer is already inside there or else I'd have gone back but as I only have 1 cd drive and no floppy drives I decided to let that slide.


From now on I'll be sticking to Umart simply because if I order something it's written down and I know when I get there I'll be getting it, they're cheaper and I've never found anything missing. Same with gamedude I'd still go there if they were actually open when I want to go (sif I cbf waking up before midday on saturdays :p)

If anyone asks though, I won't turn them away from CA.


This post is in no way intended to tarnish the name of Computer Alliance, just a tale of my shopping experience there.

last edited by whoop at 00:37:27 06/Apr/07

write a f***ing essay why don't you. haven't we seen that post before? it sounds suspiciously like something I've read.. tell me it doesn't get pulled out every time we start discussing CA?

Personally and Professionally, My experience with them as been great though I haven't really bought from them since buba left, mainly cause UMART is closer to me and cheaper. Was thinking of ducking out there for an EN8800GTS on the weekend actually!

tldr

I can't really speak for the salesguys mistakes but there is a fairly high turnover rate of salesguys...

I'd recommend for any QGL people wanting a system/parts either do your order via email with Craig Bean who knows his stuff or ask for myself, Hermi or Koopz in service and actually mention you are from QGL! I am more than happy to help anyone from here spec up a system.


What case did you end up buying Whoop?

Now if someone came into my work and said they wanted something I'd put whatever aside for them, screw anyone who comes in later if it's the last one in stock they can wait because the other dude was there first.

As far as I am aware the process should happen like this... When you are stil deciding on what you want your order will be as a Quote.
Then when you have made your final decision the quote is converted into a Sales Order and the stock invovled is subtracted from the "stock available" count and put into the "stock on hold count".

That means it should not be able to be touched by anyone else.

Can you remember the names of the salepersons you dealt with? :/

When you are stil deciding on what you want your order will be as a Quote.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

I'd recommend for any QGL people wanting a system/parts either do your order via email with Craig Bean who knows his stuff or ask for myself, Hermi or Koopz in service and actually mention you are from QGL! I am more than happy to help anyone from here spec up a system.

Sadly that's the only way to do it (especially since Tim left), most of the sales guys there make it feel like it's a race. It's almost magical how a word from the tech department quickly changes things.

Just bombard those guys with questions, they'll basically everything from what best suits your needs, wants and more importantly which product and/or brand name to stay clear of or any compatibility issues. They've helped me a s***load and the process was so much quicker and more appealing.

bumping this thread

work has just moved to Annerley so I'm looking at getting all our gear from CA instead of Umart

can one of the sales guys that post here send me a PM about what I need to do to get a business account setup?

cheers

can one of the sales guys that post here send me a PM about what I need to do to get a business account setup?

Pick up the phone and ring them

Pick up the phone and ring them

well duh

i was hoping to give a QGL person some business

All the CA staff that post here, are Tech's - not sales people :)
Just call up

To all the haters out there, take it or leave it.
I would hope you'd be intelligent enough to take the message I'm conveying without being a cock.

Hahaha

Just bombard those guys with questions, they'll basically everything from what best suits your needs, wants and more importantly which product and/or brand name to stay clear of or any compatibility issues. They've helped me a s***load and the process was so much quicker and more appealing.

And then you goto MSY with the parts list and order it from them - AMIRITE?!

New story for CA, i went in there looking for a router that could do heart beat. i asked the dude at the desk that was helping me "so can this router work for telstra heartbeat" he said, "yep, sure".. take it home, doesn't work.

after trying everything under the sun to get it to work, it just plain doesn't work, so i go in there again, to buy a different brand, and i asked specifically, "i just bought a router `x` and its not working for my telstra connection",
"oh, that router would never work for heartbeat, this one will though, i use it at home"

obviously someone made a mestake, no big deal.

"so can i get a refund on the last item then".
"No, you may get store credit if its boxed nicely though".

which i now realise is pretty bulls***. too late really to do anything about it though.

"so can this router work for telstra heartbeat" he said, "yep, sure".. take it home, doesn't work.

To the best of my knowledge, the BigPond cable heartbeat no longer exists?

Not everyone's been switched to Moby I don't think. I'm sure whingepool's got a decalogue going on the issue.

ah fair enough; I know my parents cable's not on heartbeat any more. Maybe they're doing it bit by bit

Thumbs up here for CA. Just bought another new PC from them and I am constantly buying various bits and pieces from there. Have been going there for years. The service is good. Sometimes when I go there I wonder who is who from here.

CA were good when i bought my last system there. would buy again. true story.

I can't stand all the ejaculating in this ancient thread