As I previously posted, I had a bad experience with Interdiscount in Baden Bahnhof. They dropped and badly damaged an AV amp I put in for repair.
When I returned to complain I was told that I could have dropped it and that they would give no refund even though they returned it to me in a worse state than when I dropped it off. The people in the shop were rude and arrogant about this.
However...
... In contrast the head office were extremely courteous, polite and apologised profusely. My complaint was treated professionally and I was offered a very satisfactory cash settlement.
So the moral of the story is go straight to HQ with your problems!
come on guys less of the groan fest, I think Karl was in his rights to post the initial thread and Mrs Doolittle within her rights to post a positive response - no need for the fighting - lets all make up and be friends
Just to make a comment that might help...we are often told to NOT start new threads when the content should be kept in ONE place. KarlnMik made the OP which was a complaint about InterDiscount, and Mrs Doolittle made another comment about her good experiences there.
As a consumer who has shopped there, I am happy to hear about both experiences. Maybe they are very different products at different price points, but it is useful to hear how customers are treated.
Everything from Migros electronics comes with a 2 year guarantee. I have returned an item here, which was 1 month short of being 2 years old, and got a new one!
The problem here was not the lack of a warranty but rather the small print and interdiscount staff trying to pull a fast one. Whether it is interdiscount or any other store, people are people and people suck. Some will be honest and some won't. Some have good customer service skills, others... The purpose of threads like this is two fold:
1. OP can vent and receive support advice and sympathy so as not to feel to lost in a country full of different attitudes and languages but rather..
2. Others can read about the experiences and make up their own minds.
I personally still shop at interdiscount, BUT as with all my purchases of electrical goods, I KNOW I first need to read the small print of the warranty and be prepared to stand my ground...
For example, I purchased a little toy there the other day which didn't work. I returned the next day, was greeted with a smile and sent away with a replacement, despite not having original packaging etc. All of that with no fuss and a smile. And this was Interdiscount in the Zurich main station!
My wife went into Fust the other day to see if she could get a replacement part for our coffee machine - which we had purchased in England eight years ago.
They didn't sell the machine in Fust.
However, the kind lady in Fust ordered the part for us free of charge.
She said she enjoyed making people happy and saw it as part of the satisfaction of her job.
This is NOT a crappy post nor a rant. Its a true account of what happend , and now thanks to your comments your ressurecting it. I stand by my point Interdiscount does give crap service, especially in my case.
you were lucky and maybe had a good store manager. My account wasnt a rant but an accurate description of exactly what happened, from start to finish.
If people want to only read the first post then make there comments or opinions thats fine, but then theyre not getting the whole story from me. If you wish to praise Inter discount then do so , its your perogative, but do not try to negate my experience with your own posative ones. This is complaints corner, and i felt fully justified , and still do in making this post. MY comments are entirely justified, as you can see if youd read the full post, i made every effort to give all of the facts behind my experience. People can make there own judgement from it, and i expect normal intelligent people to do so .
My comment also states shop there with caution, which i also feel is fully justified.
If one of my customers informs me that my service is not up to standard, then i do everything in my power to ensure that the customer is kept happy, regardless of the complaint.
I encountered the SAME issue at the Interdiscount in Zug. I went to return the camera two hours later (the screen was pixeled) and they said it was normal. A week later, I realized it wasn't normal. Went back to return the camera and the only offer they gave me was repair, even though I clearly told them there was a problem with my camera and they even admitted there was a problem. The manager was also very rude and wouldn't speak directly to me, only one of his colleagues. I put up a verbal fight, but was told I had no other choice. It was frustrating and a lesson to never buy from them again!
I've also experienced pain with 2 Canon products [powershot camera and pixma printer], and it appears that it is Canon who charge the fee to see what is wrong with it.
If it is under warranty (in terms of warranty period and what has failed) then they'll fix it and waive the fee.
In the interim you're left without whatever is broken.
My own experience with Interdiscount have been very positive in 2 occasions, first time was returning HP printer that stopped working the last day of guarantee (after 1 year of purchase) & the manager @ ID just took it without looking at it & asked me to choose a new one of any model at the same price or higher & pay difference if i wanted.
Second time was with an Acer 23" monitor, they even didn't have the same model in stock, so i got offered HP 24" which was CHF 100 more in price without paying the difference.
Both cases didn't even take more than 1 min of explanation & all was sorted
These 2 cases were at 2 different shops of Interdiscount in Geneva.
Bought a laptop in April 2011 from Interdiscount. After 4 months of usage i noticed that the battery time is getting shorter and shorter. I used the battery with good care by charging and discharging it with regular intervals. Anyhow the situation now is that i can only use the laptop with electrical cable
So i went to Interdiscount with my receipt thinking that it will not be an issue as the sale is still under guarantee (one year). To my surprise the Interdiscount told me that yes there is one year guarantee but not for battery . You have to pay 120CHF for a new battery. I argued that when i purchased this laptop nobody mentioned to me that batteries are not covered in the guarantee. Also i asked them where it is written that batteries are not covered. The salesman looked to every paper in the box tried to read the small prints and could not find anything. So he called the manager, who is experienced, immediately point to the small print on the back of the receipt in German. Is it normal here that batteries are not part of the guarantee
I had a Sony Vaio where the battery went... um tits up as you say. This was a known fault in that model and they gave me a new battery. The problem however turned out to be not in the battery at all but on the unit, the part that charges the battery. I got free battery, but never got the machine fixed. That one sits in my office never moving from the power cord... Heaven help anyone who accidentally pulls the plug.
Anyway, moral to the story: Do as KB says and get in touch with the manufacturer directly. Don't wait! The longer you wait the more likely they will to fob you off.
I believe most laptop manufacturers do exclude the battery (unless it's a proper fault) unfortunately. However, 6 months isn't long at all so the manufacturer would be your best bet. If you've not done it, register your laptop online first then phone.
recently bought a koenig nespresso maker. had a problem and returned it . New coffee maker returned within 2 wks. Problem not with inter discount but with suppliers.
Luckily you don't have batteries in your iron . Interdiscount is still saying that laptop in under warranty. What is not covered in the warranty are the batteries.
I will try the manufacturer route. Lets see what Compaq will say on that.
Hope it wasn't the Samsung (that was mistakenly double discounted for a day) - which I also bought. As mine runs mainly on mains I've set the battery charge level to 80% for increased battery life (as recommend by software pop-up) - which still gives about 3hrs.+ (depending on use).
When I bought my Dell in 2007, the battery went (can't exactly remember - but I think was within the first year), and they replaced it without problem.
But it is likely that not all manufacturers will do the same, and is not unusual that there is a specific written exclusion.