Eurocom: Unimpressed with customer service

It's a given these days that customer service is important and one way of providing quality service is to do what you say you're gonna do. Last Friday I called Eurocom and had my first contact with John Shore. He seemed like a friendly guy willing to help. I told him I needed a laptop urgently given that I'd lost mine in a car accident. I asked about price matching xoticpc.com and said he couldn't do it dollar for dollar but that he would provide me with a quote by Monday. HE DID NOT CONTACT ME WITH A QUOTE AS HE SAID HE WOULD. I hate when people say they will do something but don't honor their word. I'm a very intersted buyer but it doesn't give me a sense of trust or that this reseller will deliver....

...oh and there's a part 2 to this but I'll keep that for my next post...

 

Have you tried calling back to follow up?

 

I will follow up for sure. I'm all about that. I just don't like that I have to chase after a quote when I've already been told I would receive a call on a certain day.

Here's the other uncool thing. I drove to their showroom (4 hr drive) in order to try the Clevo models out and when I got there the salesperson, despite his efforts couldn't even power up the M860. The battery was dead and he couldn't find a power cord/charger for it. Also I wanted to see the WUXGA resolution on the M570 and all they had on display was a 1440x990. I can go to Best Buy and see plenty of those! When booting up that one I noticed a huge amount of light bleeding into the bottom of the screen. I brought the salesperson's attention to it and he said it's just because it's the demo, that the other ones aren't like that. Hmmm, well can I see one that works perfectly? LOL So I didn't like that I drove all the way there and didn't get to really experience the units. I think the salesperson felt bad (Mike Dohey) so he said next time they were travelling to my city to see clients they could leave a demo with me overnight to really try it out.

This was a wonderful suggestion which i didnt expect and I think makes up for the poor experience so far. Just waiting to see if it's all talk...
BTW, I don't believe in just writing negative stuff so I will definitely post anything positive they do as well.

 

I did spoke with john at 1 point and he wouldn't match the price. For some reason mark at eurocom email me and match xoticpc and gave me a better spec then them. Take to them again.

 

I also contacted them (JS) and he would not price match. He basically entered in the specs on the online page and quoted me that price. I was also expecting a quote when the 260's came in (I contacted them a couple days before they got their shipment) but I never recieved one. However I did not bother to call again because they were not willing to budge on the price. They dont even come close to xoticpc even after the exchange rate/shipping/taxes.

Please keep us updated as I am interested to see how it turns out

 

Same as the posters above: I contacted eurocom (John Shore) to investigate why their prices were so high and if I could price-match. The answer I received was unsettling (he chalked it up to slim profit margin and economic times) particularly because after reviewing the forums I was shocked to hear others had a widely varying experience with different contacts at eurocom, some able to price match others not, and more disturbingly it seemed dependant on how much you were willing to spend (>$2k orders got preferential treatment).

As a Canadian (Toronto) I desperately wanted to buy local, and even after hearing this, I figured I could barter and get a good deal. But then I reconsidered: inconsistent dealings and variable pricing is fine for eBay and peer exchanges, but it's not the type of service and reputability I want in a company selling me my next high-end computing system and service.

That's when I went with XoticPC.com on recommendation from other users. Justin, their service rep was easy to reach and in contact throughout the process. I ordered it last week and it's scheduled to arrive today.

I'll never know if I could have gotten a better deal at eurocom, but I can tell you, it's not worth the feeling you get in security. OP, you seem to be a keen consumer, so I'm sure you'll make an informed decision either way.

 

Coincidentally, I am also from Toronto. And coincidentally just after reading this post I received a call from John Shore (Eurocom) with his "best quote", being 445$ more than xoticpc for the M860 and 660$ more for the M570. He said it's because they bought their parts when the dollar was weaker. Um..yeah....

As for my experience in the showroom, he said he had chargers on his desk for the M860, and doesn't know why Mike didn't know this.

I think I'll be buying US too. Say, Anthony, how much did it cost u for shipping and customs? Which model did u get?

 

I bought the laptop and never called for support.

 

I bought mine from eurocom and no problem. i would not buy from xoticpc. The shipping fee is ridiculous. About 260$ US + custom fee. When I ask the dimension of the box and how much it weight, justin did not reply me back. Of cause I did some calculation on my own, put some dimension in UPS, and it actually lower then what they want me to pay. Way lower. Like I said, if you speak with the proper rep, you will find someone that will match the price.

 

well I just spoke to another rep and they all go to John Shore. I was told that this quote is "at cost". Yes, $445 more than xoticpc for the M860. So speaking with different rep made no difference.

 

check your pm. this is who i talk to. Email him

 

so exactly how much profit do you think a company should make off a sale in that biz?

I'm curious

 

I got the Sager NP8662 (Clevo M860ETU) with upgraded memory and HD from the base model (4 gigs, 320 GB 7200). The total after UPS Express shipping (~$200) and a %1 student discount (~$20) was $1,611 USD, which on the current conversion rate works out to be $1,758 CAD. Similar to your quote, the same model configured at eurocom is almost $500 more ($2200) minus shipping!

Customs and brokerage is handled by UPS if you choose Express shipping... it's expensive, but works out to be the same as standard+brokerage fees.
Check out livesoft's guide here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=290458

p.s. are you a metro reader by any chance

 

Hey Guys:

I am a longtime reader and this is my first post. I bought my M570RU off John Shore from Eurocom and he was a nice guy and was honest with me. I paid a little more but it was worth having my computer manufacturer in town. If you don't like the cost vote with your money and shop elsware?

Thanks

 

I dont think anyone was critisizing JS character. Yes he seemed to be very nice. However there are alot of people on these forums who say they Pricematched with Eurocom but when a few of us tried we got a run-around. What we are trying to do is find the best deal not only in price but in support.

Thanks

 

I bought mine from Eurocom here in Canada and actually saved money. I was going to buy it from Prostar, but Eurocom gave a great deal on the M980NU. Just like nexuscom.

 

Which salesman did you talk to? I'm curious if different reps give you different deals.

 

I spoke with John at first and he wouldn't deal, only 5% discount. So I spoke with Mark. Ask to speak with him and that you were recommended to him by Darryl in BC.

I told them I could order it from Prostar and receive free shipping to Canada and if there is a warranty issue they will pay for the shipping both ways. That woke them up.

Look at my specs and go to the Prostar site and choose what I have and I still saved money going through Eurocom.

 

mark is the way to go. Hes not a regular sale rep. Hes actually higher then that

 

Hey nexuscom, would you mind PMin my the rep you deal with's email as well? I'm kinda in the market for a Clevo at the moment as well (Living in Mississauga). I'd be very grateful ^^

 

Notice the only 2 guys that had success with a price-match from eurocom have M980NUs.. They only really give you a good pricing when you buy over 3k$ from them

That is completely false. The shipping fee is either 57$ US + custom fees (roughly 100$) or 129$ US (express shipping) + no custom fees. The box xoticpc uses is actually quite big, it has some large empty space on the sides and some fluffy stuff on top and bottom, so it is highly probable that your own calculation does give something lower in price.

Well xoticpc makes profit out of a price 445$ less than eurocom's, so I think someone's profit margin is a little too high

Personally, I have tried eurocom but they weren't very negociable and didn't respond too much to emails.. But John Shore is a friendly guy and I am sure it might be possible to have a configuration at a decent price with eurocom. Maybe not on a smaller notebook like the M860TU tho.

I prefer xoticpc, powernotebooks or prostar over them.

 

thanks to everyone who posted here, especially nexuscom. Indeed his contact is the only way to go. It was like dealing with an entirely different company. This guy really cares about closing a deal with individuals (not just corporations) and he really cares about keeping Canadian money in Canada. Haven't bought yet but am now down from being quoted $500 more than xotic or prostar to only $75 more than them. Still working on it....

 

or maybe i estimate 260$ was little high but close to it.

"Thank you for your order with Xotic PC!

Due to the larger size and shipping dimensions of the NP9850 model, expedited shipping charges are higher than normal. UPS Express Canada shipping for this item to your location is $215.00"
215 $ is only shipping + custom fee have to be added...

 

While there are no custom's fees you to pay the applicable PST and GST in addition to brokerage fees and UPS charges about $75.00 for there fee.

 

Don't forget to factor in the applicable PST and GST in addition to brokerage fees and UPS charges about $75.00 for there fee.

 

Nexus, You were quoted a higher amount then most because of the large size of the 9850. Most laptops are not of this size and ship much cheaper then this large model.

 

Sorry, I wasn't aware the M980NU had a higher shipping cost.

I didn't include the taxes because you pay them either way. But UPS didn't charge me a 75$ fee for my shipping? I only paid taxes at the door. (I had express shipping)

But yeah to be honest with a canadian company you pay about 100 or more $ less than a us company for shipping, and if you order from a different province, you only pay GST (no PST). So even if it is 75$ more at eurocom, it'll end up for less at the end. The rma's won't cost you anything too with eurocom (shipping-wise).

But I wanna point out that xoticpc has great service and I feel more secure dealing with them for problems than eurocom. But that's purely my opinion

 

Yes, with Express shipping the brokerage fees are waived.

 

Actually I just realized I can't see any options to pm anywhere at the moment. Does this have something to do with me being a new member? If so I'll post my email Oo....

 

hmm sorry can't PM you. if you want post your email

 

only if you happen to talk to the right person on the right day and are buying over $2K.

I can tell you as fact that the price of the same configuration of an M860TU quoted to me at eurocom compared to XoticPC was more than $300 and that's after conversion and shipping.

If you ask me, I'd prefer not having to wait for the stars to align in order to get a decent deal on a laptop.

 

E-mail and ask for Mark.

 

[email protected].

Thanks =D!

 

...waits for John Shore response, if some are truly getting price matched and some aren't I don't like that. I would like to know what to tell fellow NBR members in that regard accurately.

 

It's like any business. You have to keep at them to get that great price.

 

Check your email

 

It's come up several times on these forums; from what I can recall John is usually not the one who offers to match, it seems it's probably the contact mentioned by Dazman.

Also Daz, I wouldn't marginalize that behaviour as justified; granted it's like a lot of businesses, but unless your venue is a flea market or bazaar, customers shouldn't need to heckle or "keep at" you for a fair price.

 

Thanks lots ^^! I'm in the process of contemplating the cheaper g71gx at best buy at the moment (might be doing a buffalo trip soon), but at the moment leaning heavily towards the Clevo, due to its business laptop-like looks.

Maybe I'll look around here to see if there's any good g71gx vs clevo threads....

 

Even with shipping and duties it will still be better than buying from Eurocom, and you will get better service and the proper parts you order. With Eurocom, there is a tendency for the customer to not get what they ordered, A LOT of people have been getting ripped off by Eurocom on top of having to put up with absolutely ridiculous prices and ridiculous attitudes from not only the people who work there, but the actual president of the company himself. If anyone needs examples see my signature.

Best way to go is to avoid Eurocom at all costs.