What use is that. Why not do a centimetre or inches measurement so people can know the exact size. I mean, litres! What do they expect people to do, turn the cooker on its side and fill it with liquid. Seems very silly, when all they really need to do is list the inner dimensions. Anyway, I was swaying toward buying the Hotpoint HAG60K, but by the time I made up my mind it was sold out in the place I was considering purchasing it from. And the other outlets selling the same model were much more expensive, and their warranties were a joke.
Buying Cookers & Warranty's
Had a look at the cookers on Amazon UK. The Hotpoint CH60GCIW looked like a decent product. But really the cooker was being sold by Hughes Direct, and if I wanted to buy from Hughes Direct I would just buy directly from their website. Amazon also had the Hotpoint HAE60KS in stock, but that I believe is the electric version of the HAG60K. I'm looking for a gas cooker.
Some outlets, such as Curry's, don't offer a one-off payment for a few years cover, they actually want the buyer to pay a small fee on a monthly basis. Taken via Direct Debit. So, if you bought a cooker from Curry's and paid for monthly cover, which was around £4 each month for the item I was interested in buying, for two years, that would be £96. Very off-putting. (see below for the price of a 5 year one-off payment cover plan from John Lewis). I ended up buying an Indesit ID60G2X (Indesit is also part of the Hotpoint company) from John Lewis. But it hasn't been delivered yet.
Argos was considered, but their guarantee / warranty of two years wasn't as good as the one offered by John Lewis. John Lewis offer a free 2 year guarantee for all their products, and an extra 3 year optional guarantee. The price of the guarantee is dependent on the item bought. Mine cost £70. So five years cover in total for a reasonable price. A lot of the cookers within the £350 - £450 price range have there fair share of good and bad reviews, so its a good idea to get the extra cover just in case it breaks down.
I should add that I am close with someone who is a partner with John Lewis (works for them), and because the cooker is basically half theirs, they, or we, would be eligible for a discount. When the discount was applied, which is 12.5%, we ended up saving around £45.
John Lewis Website - Not As Pictured
Fast forward a few days and I have now received the cooker. Upon removing the packaging I quickly discover that they have sent us the wrong colour cooker to the one that was pictured on their website. The one I ordered was all black, the one I received is black and silver. This was quite disappointing because the one with the silver trim looks a bit cheap in comparison to the all black version. And let's not forget, John Lewis have made the mistake here. They have sold an item, or items (at least one to us) on their website that are not as described / illustrated.
John Lewis Partners Get a Bad Deal
So the John Lewis partner who I bought the cooker with decided to phone them up and see what could be done. We were shocked to discover that if you are a partner with John Lewis and you buy something from them and apply the "partner" discount, you basically don't have the same return / replace rights, or level of good will that John Lewis would usually offer normal customers for making such a mistake.
The only option we were offered was to return the cooker, receive the refund, and just start again from the beginning. I thought they would have said - Sorry for the mistake, it's totally our fault. Someone will be coming to collect the cooker that wasn't as shown on the website and will also be in possession of the actual cooker model you originally ordered (we were sent the older model). But no. They didn't even offer any good will, because apparently, when you're a "partner", and you received a discount on the product, you don't have the same rights or value that a normal customer has.
Excellent Customer Service Myth
I thought John Lewis were meant to be excellent in all aspects of customer service, especially if they make a mistake or sell a faulty item. In this case it was John Lewis that made the mistake, but they didn't really seem all that sorry or apologetic, all because the person who ordered the item was a partner. I would have thought that a partner would at least have been entitled to the same level of customer service and buyer protection that a normal customer would have been rightfully entitled to. What happened to equality. Very disappointing.
Customer For Life?
This was my first experience purchasing something from John Lewis. And needless to say, if I was to do what they proposed, which was return the cooker and just start again, once our money was refunded, I definitely would not have been re-purchasing the correct colour cooker from John Lewis. In the end I decided keep the cooker that was sent in error, as it was too much hassle returning the cooker (and all that entails - waiting in for them to collect etc) and starting again. One things for sure, I certainly won't be using John Lewis in the future, not even as a regular customer. This has been an eye opener for sure. First time, last time.
