Jan 11, 2008 04:54 PM
12485 Views
(Updated May 27, 2008 12:31 PM)
Home Town is the poor cousin of Big Bazaar. Naturally one finds all the unprofessional characteristics of Big Bazaar here. As we are constructing a house, I was eager to visit Home Town. Initially I was impressed by the range of products DISPLAYED. I was interested in buying Vitrified floor tiles of a well known brand in the market. The HOme Town price was 30% less than the market price.
Having decided on a particular product when we checked with the sales people they were clueless about the availability and after a lot of prodding one of the salesmen said that "we do not keep stock". It will take us 4 weeks to get the product for you. Okay I gave them my number and the description of the product. 2 weeks pass and no reply on checking with them they say that, that particular product is not available and they cannot guarantee the supply. I suggest an alternative product and after a few days the same reply. What a waste of time, energy, and resources. I realized this was the case with almost all the products at HOme Town.
Home Town has a huge showroom no doubt, but they only display the products and do not stock it. They merely serve as commission agents. ONce there is an enquiry, they contact the supplier and procure the product. The manufacturers in turn make use of Hometown to create awareness about their product but do not supply products to them. Because if any manufacturer supplies products to Home Town, the other regular dealers will not touch that product because of the undercutting Home Town indulges in.
To sum up Home Town in a sentence, it is all gas and no beer. It is a nice place to hang around and spend time but nothing worthwhile is there to be bought. The plumbing, painting, and carpentry services will definitely not be reliable because of the dependency on the service providers on whom HomeTown has very little control.
There is no price advantage as such, and the quality of service is deficient. Timeliness and promptness of delivery is unheard off at Home Town.
*An update on the exchange offer running at Home Town
If you thought that you have lost Rs. 10, 000 on your old cot. Dont fret, you are lucky and have only gained and are wiser only. Home Town recently ran a very deceptive, malafide exchange offer campaign. They claimed to give you Rs. 10, 000 for your old cot and Rs. 200 for a kg of refuse that you dumped in the trash can.
(The Rs. 10, 000 exchange is only used as an example here)
Figures are very tempting and they succeeding in drawing you to their outlet. With big dreams if you had carted all your belongings and headed to the exchange counter and collected the Rs. 10, 000 exchange coupons. When you went in picked the stuff you wanted to buy and headed to the billing counter, you were in for a big shock. The campaign never mentioned the conditions explicitly.
To avail of this Rs. 10, 000 you had to make a purchase for Rs, 50, 000 only in the furniture department.
The coupons had to be utilized on the same day itself.
At the end of it, you would have ended up buying something that is of inferior quality and not worth the money you paid. You were just drawn by the bait.
HomeTown had provided space to a "ruddy wala" who evaluated your white goods like refrigerators, television, etc and offered you Rs. 1000 or 1500 for a direct exchange of similar products from Hometown.
If you still went ahead with the purchase. There is an inordinate delay in having your products delivered because. Hometown never stocks the products, they only showcase it.
When I asked one of the supervisors on the floor why there were so many brands of ceiling fans displayed but only one was readily available. He shamelessly admitted that the companies PAID them to display the products.
So, if you had a lot of time and want to while away, visit Home Town.
Otherwise this place is good for nothing.*
