PC World

Today I attempted to buy a Samsung NC10 Netbook. Before checking stock, the assistant asked what I wanted to do with it. I said I'd researched Netbooks and knew this was the one I wanted, but no, she still insisted. I told her it was for internet browsing so she went off and checked stock. Yep, got one. Good. How am I paying? By credit card. Okay. Over to the payment desk.
With wallet out, I took a seat. Calling up the order number on the screen, '£4.99' appeared. Ah. I know what's coming, I thought - PC World's 'PC Performance'. And so then it starts. She has to tell me about this. I stop her there. I'm aware of it and don't want it. Thank you. But what if your netbook goes wrong? Hmmm. Surely in warranty, I politely say, it won't be a problem. Not with PC Performance it won't be sir. No, that's not what I meant. Look, forget it. If it goes wrong out of warranty, I work with chaps who are competent computer repairers (she probably hears this every day but in this case it's true). But she's insistent. Where will you get your parts from? And then I lose patience. 'If you're going to continue to ask me questions, I'm walking out of the shop'. To which she replies, 'I've got to'. So... I walk out of the shop.
Now, I know there's pressure on staff to sell warranties, but surely the imbeciles who have trained this 'Sales Manager' must realise that if it's clear you're going to lose a sale it'd perhaps be prudent to throttle back a little on the hard sell? Peculiarly, I feel relieved not to have bought it from there. Whether I was being unreasonable expecting to purchase a product I knew more about than the salesperson (she casually mentioned this was the uprated Atom chip from the Centrino - clearly not aware it's a brand new product, was only launched in October and has never been in existence to have a previous version)I don't know, but an attempted hard sell has led to no sell.