Hello, Dixons Carphone? Yep, we're ringing from a 2015 handset. Profits down 60%, eh?

Collection point

I'd prefer it if they just converted all the stores to click and collect warehouses with no sales staff. At the moment it's a pain in the arse having to deal with staff trying to up-sell warranty, cables, offer alternative products etc... Argos is better in this respect.

Let's also not forget that CPWH benefited from a merger premium in the previous period which will distort the profits fall if not taken into account.

Best Christmas News Ever

The best news I've heard all year - cannot wait to dance on their grave when they go bust. I'm currently in a small claims court for a defective iPhone that in the first month they would not replace or refund under warranty.

Such poor customer service it's mind boggling but at least I'm now banned from their local shop :)

I got a software update on a Chinese phone

I ordered a 4G Android 7.0 phone from a Chinese company on eBay for £80 (a THL). After turning it on, I found they had a software bug fix available to download, only 8 months after the phone was made.

Now that Chinese suppliers have warehouses in the UK, I order everything from them.

Have they thought, maybe just maybe 3 into 1 doesn't go....it might save money on rental...but do the in-house stores get the same real footfall - a lot of the the small Carphone Warehouse stores, were noiseless, highly focussed, and you could be dealt with quickly.

I think, as usual, a lot of Reg readers are missing the point of what DCPWPCW stores exist for.

They're not for _us_. They're not for people who research and make an informed decision. They're for people who "just want a phone" (/cooker/TV/laptop/vacuum cleaner) and want to park outside a shop and take it home that day. The sales force are trained with phrases that enforce the immediacy of purchase, emphasising what's in stock because what sort of cretin would want to wait ONE WHOLE DAY for something to be delivered (for cheaper).

Phones4U were widely (and rightly) critisised for their pressure selling. Go in on a Friday and if they weren't on target for the week you could probably walk away with a new contract, free phone, and £300 quid in your pocket. I speak from experience. Now since P4U guys were absorbed into Dixons (something like 80% of store-in-store staff remained, just with a different shirt on) the culture continues and it's toxic.

Weirdly, if you walk in and show a bit of knowledge, you get left alone. Try asking "So does this device does USB-OTG, and which 4G bands can I use it on if I take it abroad?" and watch as they scamper off to serve someone a Moto G5 with case, screen protector, insurance, memory card, selfie stick and a cuddly toy. I'll say it again - we are not target market.

Plus points of Carphone - they sell open market, unlocked devices. That's it. So unless you get a decent deal on a SIM-free device, there's no sense in signing up to a contract with them. The hipster MVNOs like Smarty and giffgaff offer better value, and network stores like O2 offer better support and range of tariffs.

Anonymous because my insights might just have been gained from working in store until very recently.