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Thread ID: 15691	2002-02-14 07:38:00	The PC Company Again....	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
35648	2002-02-14 07:38:00	I don't like being negative, and like to see NZ companies succeeding, but the question of quality shouldn't be allowed to rest. With all due respect to PC World, the use of the PC World Rosette in the PC Company advertising does not have any officially recognised standing, and certainly does not have any meaning at all as far as quality is concerned. Colin Brown did not fully answer all my questions regarding quality, and in particular I was disturbed with his rather slick reply that it would be easy for them to obtain ISO accreditation. That answer in itself says that he or the Company do not understand what Quality Assurance is all about, because it is CERTAINLY NOT EASY AT ALL (sorry about the shouting) to obtain accreditation, it shows a naivete. Again I speak as one who was a Telarc representative at DSIR, and have been through many assessments. As far as I know, there is only one computer manufacturer ISO 9001 accredited in NZ, and that is Silicon Systems Ltd. of Petone. My experience of their products indicates a very high standard of assembly, (and no hot melt glue). As the PC Company claims to be the No. 1 NZ PC Brand, and Best Manufacturer, it is really incumbent upon them to give credence to these claims and actively seek ISO accreditation, indeed they should already have done so. At the very least, the various accusations that have been made should indicate to them that there are problems, and these allegations should warrant a full internal audit of their procedures. As I said previously ISO accreditation would be a valuable sales tool. ( As an aside, the Gisborne cancer enquiry and similar medical scandals would not have occurred if Quality Assurance procedures had been practised)	Guest (0)
35649	2002-02-14 08:40:00	Careful, they may be listening..... But seriously, no company can produce perfect product every time. I have seen two Matrox VGA cards fail in a set of four IBM machines that were built at the same time. Stuff happens. As long as the repairs are made good in a reasonable time. As for ISO. My understanding is that it doesn't mean you do things well, just that you do things the same way all the time. Let's see what Colin has to say. r e t	Guest (0)
35650	2002-02-14 09:01:00	Wow! read this post, so went back to read the last one - too much. I thought Dad was the only one having trouble with PC co. He bought one back in October. Still trying to get it going. He lives in Dannevirke, so has to tote it over to Palmerston North each time to get it fixed. It took a month to get it (after he paid cash) and apparently it had had several motherboards by then. Its had another one since. The cd writer gets so hot you can't touch it, and it's been no end of bother, crashing regularly. He is bringing it up to Hamilton (Where I live) to get it fixed at the factory next week - I hope they will sort it out. Its a bit much for the old fella really (he's coming up 74).I have visited their shop up here several times as I WAS considering buying one of their machines. The guys in the shop have always come across as knowing their stuff and seem really helpful, but as you all keep saying - cheap is what you get if cheap is what you pay. Outwardly, the only thing I saw wrong with the product was the requirement to use long nose pliers to remove floppies from the stupidly deeply submerged front face of the floppy drive - it's crappy! So where do I look now for a new PC? A guy at work tried to get PBTech to make one to his own specs - all the best bits from all the reviews, but they couldn't get the varios parts to ever work together. Fair dues to the chaps at PB - they fully refunded, but my workmate didn't get his dream PC. I believe that the deceased PC General had a very high failure rate, but I had 2 great trouble-free machines from them. I bought my last one from a small shop in Hamilton called PC Power (a KTX brand) - works fine but not upgradeable - but everything is built into the motherboard and no expansion ports. I got what I paid for, and good service from them, but they only seem to advertise inexpensive PCs so I guess they are again the cheaper (competitve) components. So where do those of us who are not so willing to experiment with expensive componentry go for a good pc?	Guest (0)
35651	2002-02-14 11:00:00	i just had a look at a mates pccompany computer. hardware seem ok, no glue probs but.....the werid thing was their antivirus. they don't have a disk for it so i assume its on the restore disk. its nortons ver4 (95-97) on a winME machine. i'm a little surprised its actualy working but the main thing is what is a very old software with a new os??? looks like an attack of the cheaps. colin response about the cpu temps was pretty lame but i'll take that up with him at a later date.i've got a new case and i'm working on the thermals at the mo. 1.4 atho down to 45c without cpu cool progs running and i'm waiting for the proper fans to turn up. not to shabby for an all aluminium heatsink and medium speed(quiet)fan.	Guest (0)
35652	2002-02-14 11:25:00	Hi Terry I too was bothered quite a bit by Colin Brown's response. I decided to let it go, because I thought the poor guy was getting enough of a hammering, and because I really have no axe to grind in this case (despite making fun of their advertising in an earlier thread). However, you have raised a valid point. Any computer company operating in NZ is subject to comment and criticism and ought to expect it as part of doing business. First of all, before I get into it, let me say that I genuinely respect Colin Brown for 'fronting' in the forum. To his post: He starts out by saying that he is 'incredibly proud' of his product. I really don't see what relevance that has to the concerns raised by the earlier correspondents. Then he goes on to claim that they are 'constantly flamed' about their components. I saw some robust criticism, but I didn't see any posts saying, 'The PC Company are a pack of [enter your favourite flame insult].' So that's a bit of an overreaction. A bit later, he writes, 'I don't apologise for ensuring our PCs are not DOA due to bad freight handling.' (This is in regard to the hot-glue question.) That statement really worries me. Their gear is getting knocked about, so the solution is to hide the evidence of the mistreatment? And when someone tells you up-front that there will be 'no apologies', you know they've already made up their mind. The reference to Erin as 'old FAT BOY' would be understandable in a private exchange, but we expect better in the public arena from someone representing a prominent company. Then there's a bit of a rant about 'Tall Poppy Syndrome', which, This is such a cop out, that I have to admit it annoyed me intensely. There is of course such a thing as Tall Poppy Syndrome, but this ain't it. Even by NZ standards, The PC Company is only a moderately successful company. A Tall Poppy is an human being who has become very famous or very well-respected and so has engendered envy in a portion of the population. There might also be a FEW dominant companies (IBM, Microsoft) that could fall into the same category. A Hamilton computer assembly company with a rather 'folksy' image is not in any position to be calling itself a 'Tall Poppy' except perhaps in relation its less successful competitors (none of whom are in this forum). They flatter themselves. Then there's the last sentence, which is simply a bit of advertising blather: '... good job for our customers ... compelling offers ... latest technology ... good service and support ... for over 20 years ... enviable record ...' The overall tone of his post is that The PC Company is perfect and anyone who criticizes is either talking rubbish or trying to knock down a 'tall poppy'. There seems to be no willingness to address the specific issues raised or to approach the problem with a 'let's find out the truth' attitude. I'm really not sure what a tour of the factory would prove. It was advised in the earlier post that those with concerns should prepare a case and submit it to the PC Co. management. That would normally be sound advice, but judging by the statements of their MD, in this case it would simply be a waste of time. I think the 'pride' expressed in the first few words of his post is indicative of the underlying problem: Any criticism of The PC Company is a criticism of his 'golden child', who is never at fault and can do no wrong.	Guest (0)
35653	2002-02-14 20:04:00	Ray, try comet internet in henderson (if you're anywhere close). They will build to spec, REALLY know their stuff and pricing is sharp. Ask for mandy or steve and say ian sent you (that way they'll know to charge double!!)	Guest (0)
35654	2002-02-14 22:09:00	John, was just wondering. Have you ever worn out the speech mark key on you keyboard?	Guest (0)
35655	2002-02-14 22:23:00	Ok the pc co dont get me started, we got our computer in march 2001 since we have had it, it has been in a total 6 times, one of those times the first day we got it the moniter didnt work, that took a week 2 repair, the other 5 times in a 2 month period they nevr fixed the problem that it originally went in for, and in fact still has the problem as I talk 2 u now. We found the staff 2 b rather rude and never returned our calls, the insurance cover that we got for our computer through the place in which we purchased the computer also seemed 2 put off return our calls. Only after heavy discussions have we finally have been promised a replacement computer at no extra cost. But if we had known that these were the hassles that we were going 2 get in purchasing a computer then we never put more consideration in were we purchased it. Pc Company thanku 4 your time and for keeping me on my feet.	Guest (0)
35656	2002-02-14 22:24:00	Ok the pc co dont get me started, we got our computer in march 2001 since we have had it, it has been in a total 6 times, one of those times the first day we got it the moniter didnt work, that took a week 2 repair, the other 5 times in a 2 month period they nevr fixed the problem that it originally went in for, and in fact still has the problem as I talk 2 u now. We found the staff 2 b rather rude and never returned our calls, the insurance cover that we got for our computer through the place in which we purchased the computer also seemed 2 put off return our calls. Only after heavy discussions have we finally have been promised a replacement computer at no extra cost. But if we had known that these were the hassles that we were going 2 get in purchasing a computer then we never put more consideration in were we purchased it. Pc Company thanku 4 your time and for keeping me on my feet.	Guest (0)
35657	2002-02-14 22:24:00	Ok the pc co dont get me started, we got our computer in march 2001 since we have had it, it has been in a total 6 times, one of those times the first day we got it the moniter didnt work, that took a week 2 repair, the other 5 times in a 2 month period they nevr fixed the problem that it originally went in for, and in fact still has the problem as I talk 2 u now. We found the staff 2 b rather rude and never returned our calls, the insurance cover that we got for our computer through the place in which we purchased the computer also seemed 2 put off return our calls. Only after heavy discussions have we finally have been promised a replacement computer at no extra cost. But if we had known that these were the hassles that we were going 2 get in purchasing a computer then we never put more consideration in were we purchased it. Pc Company thanku 4 your time and for keeping me on my feet.	Guest (0)
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