The Scribbler

1. Some of the comments in this article may well apply to stores of the chains mentioned in other cities as well, but my experiences are limited to the specific outlets I visited. I don’t aim to generalize my opinions for the entire chain.

2. The disclaimer above is to ensure that none of those big stores sue my a** off!

Now that we’re done with disclaimers (and their disclaimers!), it’s time to tell you the dirty truth about electronics store chains in Pune.

Recently, I have been around looking for an iPod docking station, a laptop, an LCD/Plasma TV and cell phones. I have bought all these items from different stores. That itself begs the question: what are these massive one-stop stores good for?

Yes, the hint is at Croma. As someone who takes his electronics quite seriously, I do expect store salesmen to be well informed. I don’t expect them to know all the minute details, but their suggestions should mean something. And at no store in Pune have I found this. The obvious incentive for them to push a brand/product is the commission they or the store stands to earn. In this regard, Vijay Sales (Sadhu Vaswani Chowk) is perhaps the best of the lot.

Plasma TV
42″ Panasonic Viera. At Croma (Aundh): Rs 50,000. At Vijay Sales (SV Chowk): Rs 40,000. At Xcite (Aundh): Rs 40,000.

No prizes for guessing that I didn’t buy at Croma. I bought at Vijay Sales. Because the sales people there were willing to take the effort of connecting a DVD player to the TV and demonstrating the quality to me. Because they didn’t cringe when I asked them to do it. That the cashiers are also smiling helps.

At Croma, I fail to understand the reason for the 25% excess price. It isn’t like their sales guys are really well informed or that Croma was offering me something additional with the TV. The same was experienced even when buying a cell phone and laptop.

Conclusion: Stay away from Croma. They don’t have decent parking either. Xcite is pretty good… I did buy the iPod dock (JBL) from them and almost bought the TV as well. Just that their staff is fairly aloof to your presence. It could mean they don’t get in the way of browsing. But it also means they aren’t around when you ask questions. Vijay Sales offers the best prices by far of all these. Whether kitchen electronics and appliances or entertainment of cameras. Be sure to tell them that you won’t pay the 1% or 1.5% extra they ask for on use of a card and they may agree! For Laptops, I’ve started to like House of Laptops (Aundh). The staff is very well informed and the range, although somewhat limited, is good enough for most consumer needs.