vs. 
Please Note: This is an article from Dec 2008. We have been informed that since then, Reliance Digital has had strict measures in place to ensure that such incidents do not occur and that customers are of utmost priority there now. They have also put in a complaint mechanism in place to ensure proper customer support. We can also confirm that our last few visits to Reliance Digital were pretty good. Furthermore, our recent experiences at Croma haven’t been very good. We will be publishing another article on the same when we have enough information. Woikr recommends that readers keep this in consideration when they read this article. (February 2, 2012).
Below are my experiences at two of the mega consumer electronics stores in India. One of them also includes a short trip to Sony World. Hopefully this will help you choose where to go next time you are out to buy any electronics item.
Scenario 1:
I wanted to buy NFS Most Wanted game DVD for Xbox 360. I went to Reliance Digital first. I found the DVD on the shelves, however, the price was too high (2510 INR). I knew that the price of this DVD was reduced to 1299 INR by the publishers some time back. Wondering why the latest price wasn’t reflecting on the product, I reached out to the sales guy who was supervising the DVDs section.
Me: The price of this DVD is printed as 2510 INR. However, I believe this has been reduced to 1299 INR. Can you please confirm this.
Sales Guy: (Completely un interested) Sir, the price is whatever is printed on the DVD. If the price changes, we update the price sticker accordingly.
Me: I understand. However, can you please use one of your computers to find out the latest price of this DVD. If you offer me the new lower price, I will buy this right away.
Sales Guy: (Still completely uninterested) took the DVD from me and went to the cash register, did something there and came back to me. Sir the price on the DVD is right. This game costs 2510 INR only.
Me: Fine Whatever.
I went to the nearby croma store. I saw the NFS DVD on the shelves. I flipped it over to see the price tag. It also had the old price of 2510 INR. Dissappointed, I was about to put the DVD back on the shelf when a sales guy approached me and asked if he can help me.
Me: (with little hope) I believe the price for this DVD has been updated. Can you please find out the new price?
Sales Guy: (took the DVD from me) told me to wait. He went to one of the cash registeres and came back in a minute. Yes sir, the price of this DVD has been reduced to 1299 INR. Would you like to buy this?
Me: Definitely.
Scenario 2:
We wanted to buy a Sony Home Theater (Model Number: DAV 777. Price 29990 INR). We went to Reliance Digital and asked for a demo. There was another Onkyo Home Theater package available for 21000 INR with a Sansui DVD recorder free. We decided to check it out. The sales guy asked us to sit on a couch and popped in a DVD in the player and hit the play button.
Me: (after a few seconds of nothing happens) Is something wrong?
Sales Guy: Please hold on for a minute sir, I am connecting the cables.
Me: (frustrated) Aren’t they supposed to remain connected?
Sales Guy: Yes sir, but we sold off the TV which we were using here yesterday. This is a new TV and the cables aren’t connect to it yet.
Me: Fine.
Sales Guy connects the cable and plays the DVD.
Me: (after a minute) Looks like you connected the cables wrong. I can’t seem to notice any positional audio. It sounds like Mono audio is coming out of all the speakers.
Sales Guy: Impossible sir, I have connected all the speakers properly.
Me: Hmm OK. Then lets go to the Home Theater room and watch the Same disc on another Onkyo system.
Sales Guy plays the same DVD on an Onkyo 7.1 channel system.
Me: I still can’t seem to feel the positional audio. Are you sure the settings are fine?
Sales Guy: Absolutely sir. I have personally connected all the cables yesterday only.
Me: Fine. Let’s check out the Sony DAV 777 then.
Sales Guy takes us to the Sony setup and pops in the DVD into the system.
Me: Why is the screen blank?
Sales Guy: I am sorry sir, but the LCD over here was also sold off yesterday. This is a new TV and the cables aren’t connected yet.
Me: Lemme help you. I went to the setup and tried to help them out. And what I saw was utter horror. The sales guy had connected the Home Theater to the TV using a coaxial cable (the cable TV’s cable) and was trying to tune the TV to receive the signal from the Home Theater’s DVD player. I asked him why isn’t he using a component or HDMI cable.
Sales Guy: (ignoring my question) Sir, the connections on the Onkyo system you were checking out have been fixed. Please come and have a look.
Me: Fine.
Me: (after watching a few minutes of playback off the demo DVD) Are you sure you have connected it right? I still cannot feel its Dolby 5.1. And why is the picture quality so bad?
Sales Guy: Sir, I assure you that it is connected right. Regarding the picture quality, it depends on the DVD.
I leaned over to look at the connections. And what I saw filled my heart with utter horror again. They had connected the player to the TV using a single yellow AV input (RCA). No wonder the picture quality was so bad.
Me: You seem to have connected the TV using a standard AV cable. Can you please use component cable or HDMI?
Sales Guy: Sir we do not have those cables for display purposes.
Me: Fine. Lets go back to the Sony’s booth then.
Sales Guy: I am afraid that we do not have that model in stock sir. There seems to have been a price hike by Sony and the models are out of stock right now.
Me: Fine. Lets try at Sony World.
We went to Sony World. They had this awesome Home Theater room with all the systems neatly connected to the display using good quality component and HDMI cables. We watched a couple of demo scenes and listened to some songs and finally decided that we will buy the DAV 777 model.
Me: What’s the final price for DAV 777?
Sales Guy: Its 29,990 INR sir
Me: Any discounts or gifts?
Sales Guy: I am afraid not sir.
We tried to make some calls and locate a dealer having old stock with the older (lower) price tag, but couldn’t. We went back to the showroom to buy it at the MRP and found an uncle negotiating with the sales guy.
Uncle: The croma people are giving a 5% cash back. If you can give some discount, I’d buy it from you.
Sales Guy: (whispering to uncle, trying to avoid us) Please hold on sir, I will definitely do something for you.
Me: Hmm. 5% discount sounds good. We should try out at croma.
Sales Guy: (still avoiding us) Sure go ahead.
We went to croma but couldn’t find DAV 777 on display. We could find all the other models though.
Me: Do yo have the DAV 777?
Sales Guy: (after checking all the display models) Looks like we are out of stock sir.
Me: Is the 5% cash back applicable on home theaters?
Sales Guy: Absolutely sir. Its for all the products available here.
Me: If you can arrange it for me, I will buy it right away.
Sales Guy checks his computer and tells me that he can get it for me tomorrow if I make the payment today. The price is 29,200 INR (that’s 700 bucks lesser than anywhere else).
Me: Any gifts or offers?
Sales Guy goes in and gets me a pack of James Bond movies (Casino Royale full movie and Quantum of Solace promo disc).
Me: (sounding greedy) Cool. But this probably comes free with Sony. I need something more.
Sales Guy goes in yet another time and gets me a small handbag. Its a pretty cheap one and from a different brand. But hey, its free !
We finally got what we wanted and that too at a lower price than other places. The key takeaway from this experience is that its best to negotiate with the retail stores sales guys. They have a lot of margin in these products. Also, it is always a good idea to ask for gifts/offers during festive seasons. They usually have gifts in stock throughout the year but are hesitant to give it to every other customer unless they specifically ask for it. Also, visit a few of these stores before you make your final purchase. Most people just go to a single store and purchase the item right away without even wondering if it might be available at other places for cheap. Remember, they are sitting there to make money.
In the above two scenarios, croma proved to be the best in extending courtesy and staying on top of the market in terms of price and availability. The sales guys were also well versed with the home theater equipment and knew much more stuff than the other two places.
And last – please use your judgment when going to Reliance Digital for buying Audio Video products. I am not sure how much credible a store can be if it cannot even afford quality cables for its display equipments.
80 responses to “Reliance Digital vs. Croma”
Very interesting, but i hope you are promoting Croma and are true to your words. You are making direct allegations and it better be supported with some more meat to the story. But good analysis in any case!
Cheers – K
@Kernel –
Thanks for the feedback :).
I just want to make it clear that we are not promoting any particular store per se. The above write up depicts my personal experience at these stores. There might be cases where people have had a different experience altogether and may not necessarily agree with my opinion.
The ordeal just doesn't end with the sales people. I got a Cisco wifi device from Reliance digital. I installed the same and realised that I wasn't able to setup the DNS and ip thru the wifi device to get it to work. I validated the same from the Airtel guys and they confirmed that everythng was fine from their end and that the device has a problem.
I went back to Reliance and told them that the device was faulty – they said that they would send their technical person at home and based on his review they would change the piece. The technician was home the following day and the genius was just pure fun to watch. He started of by connecting the main net cable to my machine and connecting a secondary set of cables to the wifi – in short the net and the wifi has no cables connecting each other. I told him the same and he said – that's the way it is supposed to be connected. He tried pinging yahoo.com not even my the gateway ip, and not surprising got a request timed out.. he did that around 7 to 10 times… and concluded that the piece was faulty… I wonder if he has ever managed to setup anything ever !!!!!
Hey Setu, looks like i have had some personal ordeals with Reliance Digital as well. I had bought an Onkyo Home Theatre(entry level) and a washing machine (top loading). The home theatre was delivered to my place in a geyser's box packing without the user manual and the washing machine was damaged on delivery… the onkyo speakers were placed facing one to one(the front left and right speakers) how will right sound reach a person sitting on the couch. I guy who came for the demo also was not of much help. Finally wrote a mail to Onkyo Japan with CC to Onkyo India… they got back to me in about 2 days time… which was really surprising… considering the time Reliance Digital took to deliver the product. Onkyo India came home set up my speakers.
For the washing machine they told us that it would be replaced by the company head office which was in delhi… A company guy who came for the check-up didnt the necessary paper-work and got my machine replaced as soon as possible (4days).
RELIANCE DIGITAL WAS OUT OF THE PICTURE FOR BOTH THESE ITEMS… I swear i will never go to those baniyas…
Later i went there to buy some optical cables for my set-up and the sales at Reliance was telling me that there were no guarantee for these cables… and i blasted that guy for the whole store to hear… later the manager came to settle to issue… how can they sell expensive cables which does not give guarantee…
Reliance Digital (thumbs down)
hi..mama..samething happened to me when i went to pch zone and digital shoppy to buy my samsung 32 lcd tv.. they sound costlier and no discounts @ 44500.. after chking at this store i went to retail dealer of samsung..some jk electronics..after negotiating he agreed to give at 33500..and i brought a refriegerator also from him..and renegotiated the total price and he gave us a disocunt of some 3000 bucks on both plus some fridge accessories..i too lost hope on this retailers..it better to chk at the dealers before going to this retailer..
Setu, thanks for sharing your experience. In my opinion it would help many buyers make a wise decision on choosing. With competition rising the outlets need to provide better training to their in-store staff.
Is there anything at which Reliance is good, except perhaps manuplating stock prices.
Everthing in Reliance Digital is highly priced, they are still selling Onkyo HT-S3100 in Rs. 20,500 while I found it Rs. 3000 less in E-zone and in Croma. Same goes for LCD TVs, all models are priced up.
I completely agree with Setu. Reliance digital at Bangalore gave me a shiver of a time, whereas Chroma was very courteceous and helpful. I guess this just a factor of the outlook of the two companies….while sales people at reliance behaves like they own the world (including their managers), people at chroma are higly friendly, approachable and demonstrative.
I totally disagree with setu with his experience at Reliance & Croma.
I visited croma to buy Samsung 32” LCD B550 which is costing about 54K (website/broacher price). Croma offered me for 45K but not having for a LCD for display.
Later, I went to Girias which is one of the electronics showrooms in Bangalore. Here, the sales guys not even aware of 2009 series samsung new LCD models.
Then after I visited Adishwars, where they offered me the same model for 42K with Airtel DTH connection free.
My best suggestion is to check the all the outlets before buy such products instead blaming the retailers.
Prabir, may correct at croma's relationship team, they are friendly and pleasant at customers.
I have been to Croma & Ezone but not Reliance Digital. I have been to Croma many times now and absolutely love it… Their display and collection of products is simply the best I've seen… Haven't bought anything from them yet but never miss out an opportunity to go there for a nice (window) shopping session 😉
E-zone is another option to look at. Reasonably priced and better staff behaviour and demonstration. However not all E-zone outlets give good experience. And never try Sony's own outlet (sony world). They are simply outrageous.
Hi, Setu. Its wonderful to hear such a gr8 difference in service from both the retailers. I think if we make a poll u will come to the conclusion that people wil have good and bad experiences about both the stores. I have been to Reliance Digital, Kolkata Store. This has the largest collection of electronic goods in Kolkata. There is no croma. Ezone do not have even 50% of the assortment tht Reliance have. Again they match the prices for most of there product if u make a good survey of the market. This is also to inform all of u people that if u verify all the products from all the retailers / dealers u will come to the conclusion that there is a common factor. These retailers cannot be cheapest in all the assortments. This is simply impossible. U will find out that there will around 30 – 40% products of all the retailers where they are cheapest in the market. So if u compare a LCD TV — For 1 model Reliance Digital is the cheapest and for another model Ezone, again for another may be a local player. Pls verify this.
As for the courtesy and the knowledge of the Reliance Digital Staffs are concerned they are one of the most trained staffs in the industry. U can compare this in Kolkata with any other stores. My experience at Reliance digital was really awesome and I will continue to shop from there. For me this is the best place to shop atleast in Kolkata.
Hi Setu,
I agree with you on some points. But i cant believe dat u never been to any store in your life dat is comparable to croma.. I am sure you would have..rite?? I will agree if you visit all the stores and then decide and give your views. Even i am a Croma fan and felt good to read your comments. But i cant say they are best once i compare them with all. There are not so known electronic stores in South or in North which have a preety good base of customers and they have been in the market for long.. Just dnt go to Croma Noida and give a final decision ! Cheers
Thanks
Nick
Dear Setu,
My experience at Reliance digital has been totally different in comparison to yours . The home theatre rooms are world class and for your information Croma doesn't have them in their stores . Apart from the closed home theatre experience what they give , the staff is trained to explain nuances of the product with good assortment . In fact it reminded me of Magnolia ( Best Buy ) in US . Setu need to travel to compare stores !!!
I have been shopping at Reliance digtal and Croma and have always found Reliance better on pricing of latest and new products . Most retailers give great prices on models which don't sell or are phased out .
Please don't misguide people by writing something which is totally your perception or your fetish towards Croma !!!! don't know why .
Reliance digital guys you are doing great job . Keep it up .
Dear Setu,
I totally disagree with you, I am a Apple savvy guy and been there several times in Croma and iStore by Reliance Digital as well. I have found the great difference between the offers and the pricing and b/w the two stores. I tell you last week I was trying to buy a MacBook Pro 13.3" latest launched by Apple. In Ghtakoper Croma, I found that they priced MacBook Pro MB990ZP/A @74400/-, there was a new iStore launched in front of the Croma, I went there and find that the Promo they are giving is fabulous i.e. 12% Discount on & 74400/-. It was not only MacBook pro, when I checked the prices of
iPods there is huge difference and promo is also fantastic, they were giving Boynq Speaker and USB Adapter free with iPod Touch and the way they given demo and assist me is world class. I think Setu you are biased with your outcome and please have look on your perception again. I been there in Digital, Croma and EZone, and the experiace I got in Digital and iStores is outstanding in terms of pricing, product range and hospitality.
Regards
Apple Lover
Dear Setu,
I totally disagree with you, I am a Apple savvy guy and been there several times in Croma and iStore by Reliance Digital as well. I have found the great difference between the offers and the pricing b/w the two stores. I tell you last week I was trying to buy a MacBook Pro 13.3" latest launched by Apple. In Ghtakoper Croma, I found that they priced MacBook Pro MB990ZP/A @74400/-, there was a new iStore launched in front of the Croma, I went there and find that the Promo they are giving, is fabulous i.e. 12% Discount on & 74400/-. It was not only MacBook pro, when I checked the prices of iPods there is huge difference and promo is also fantastic, they were giving Boynq Speaker and USB Adapter free with iPod Touch and the way they given demo and assist me is world class. I think Setu you are biased with your outcome and please have look on your perception again. I been there in Digital, Croma and EZone, and the experience I got in Digital and iStores is outstanding in terms of pricing, product range, courtesy and technical knowledge of Staff.
I will keep continue to buy from iStores and Digital.
If you are an Apple Geek you should be aware about the iStores which are Apple Exclusive stores by Reliance and range of Apple products on display I dint find in any of the other store in the country. Be there hannnn………:-) then tell me your outcome..
Regards
Apple Lover
Regards
Apple Lover
I completely disagree with comments on various modern retailers…so far traditional retailers have been foolling non-tech savvy customers in our country…..they have been selling at MRPs…even though the pdts are obsolete, one has to really bargain hard with them to get a good price..modern retailers are transparent and provide much better shopping experince and are unbiased towards any particular brand ….modern retialers are cusomter centric and bargain better prices with korean/jap firms like LG/SSG and SONY/Hitachi…these firms have been selling stuff at higher prices thorugh their appointed dealers to suck money out of Indian customers….and they bribe Indian dealers by sending them to Thailand etc for fun…..Modern retaliers negotiate better with these brands thus provide better value to customers….as far as Retailers in India are concerned ….Ezone comes across as shaddy place to shop….their assortment and ambience is not up to the mark….Croma and Reliance Digital come across as premium retailers and provide much better experience at same prices…..one can trust these retailers while buying a high value item like LCD/Laptop or Home theater…..Reliance does have great Home theater experience rooms with best assortment ……..I love shopping there…..my exp. at Reliance has been unmatched………
I am looking for an AV receiver can you guys tell me the right store to consider? Reliace Digital , Croma any other…
Ranbir, where do you stay? I can help if u can mention the city..
Hey i will not agree by setu comment about digital, i think the way they will greet the customer and gives end to end solution that no body can give.
They are well educated and friendly in nature to suggest the product
I don't know much about Croma as much you guys do as I had been out of India for an year now.. but since I was looking to buy an xbox in India, I did some research online and found that Croma is supposedly going to have the xbox at slashed prices during Diwali timeframe.. And the word "Croma" is becoming popular among electronics buyers..
So reading through all the above comments along with Setu's blog, I happen to believe that Croma is indeed a nice junction to buy my xbox and other electronics..
Will definitely give it a try once I return back to India..
Hi,
I have to buy a laptop for my sister who is not S/W savy just for her normal Internet usage.
Please let me know from where should i buy this.
Which one is good to buy.
Thanks Guys!!!
I agree with Setu. The experience I had with Reliance Digital is realy worst ever in my lifetime.
The big banner does not really do anything to serve the customers. The sales guys are real dumbo. They do not know anything about the product. No comparison vis a vis other products in the same range etc.
I will not be buying anything at Reliance and this way they have lost me for ever and they will more likely cases if they dont improve.
I visited both Reliance & Croma times and checked prices online and with other local stores as well. Prices vary greatly – when one store may offer a better price for one model, as somebody said another store might offer a better bargain on another model. You can bargain on prices at a local retailer's but chain stores will sell only at listed price and they evidently don't always revise prices at market levels, also the fact that they store wide range of products.
Even though people might have different experiences, the staff at Reliance are generally not very forthcoming. I bought an item from Reliance which didn't work the first day. I went back to the store and the staff simply told me they are helpless, I needed to contact the manufacturer. To my surprise they didn't bother to assist me in locating the nearest service centre. Once a product is out of their door, they have zero responsibility seemed to be their motto.
Once at Croma I enquired about the difference in features of 2 models – the question passed to several staffs and none of them seemed to know.
So people read threads here and go to your fav store which ever of – Reliance, Croma, E Zone, … set your expectation and don't come back disappointed. Good luck new age shoppers!
Also please don't pick up the product just because your pocket is heavy and don't believe a product has to be good if only it's priced high. This attitude of Corporate & IT honchos is pushing up prices of everything.
Hi Avinash
Its really pity tht u had a very aweful experience at reliance digital. Can u pls share ur experience so tht all people here can learn frm ur experience. May be we can help u regarding the matter that has not been resolved and u r dissatisfied. awaiting a reply frm u.
Hi Ropan-
As you asked, the experience was not at all good… even not close to bad.. it was the worst ever.
I bought a mobile phone from the Shipra Mall, Indrapuram, Ghaziabad center. When I was enquiring about the phone they were not able to explain and when I asked them about the differences the salesfolks could not tell anything significant and said you need to talk to the manufacturer.
Well, I bought it because I liked the product. Two months back I started facing some problem in the poweron button and within the warranty period I went to the same store and checked with RelianceresQ counter for the service and fixing of the problem which is well within the warranty period. They gave me reciept and said that you will be getting it maximum by 7-10 days.
When asked about any standby phone they refused and said we dont have any standby. How come such a big store cannot have a standby?
I checked with them after 3 weeks but the handset was not with them and said you will get it on Saturday. I went there on Sunday but again the same case. The service manager said that I am personally looking into this and will deliver it your address on Monday.
That Monday was 21st September and till date there is no clue where that manager has gone and where is my handset. It appears that they completely lost the track of it as it was evident that the RelianceresQ is not at all organized enough.
I tried speaking to the person in charge of that store but it appears that he is the most bussiest person does not have time to speak to the customers and help them out.
Last Monday again I asked them to check that out and said we will check on Monday and update you. Everytime it was me who had to chase. They did not bother to update me on the progress.
In all it appeared that they have not value for customer and it is a hardcore govt. office and nothing else. I felt that I have to bribe them to get my product from them.
You can see my frustation here. Anyways, I wont suggest anyone to buy any product from Reliance Digital rather you go to the showroom or buy from other dealers who can give better service.
After sales is the biggest part of any bussiness that these folks dont understand that. Why has Fian or GM could not create a market in india because they had issues with the service after sales. They dont have many service stations accross india. But at the same time why Maruti and Hyundai has the biggest share of auto market as they have the adequate services.
Anyways, this is no end to it and hence ALL readers please please dont buy anything from Reliance Digital if you dont want to get harassed.
Good luck to all who has bought a product or still going to buy from Reliance Digital.
Thanks a lot to all of you for your valuable feedbacks which will help us in future.
I want to buy three things:
1. A good digital camera (max 10,000)
2. A laptop (max 35,000)
3. Desktop (max 30,000)
Please provide me your guidance.
Hi Prabhakar
May be the following tips will help u. I will assume tht u will buy all the products. For digital camera as u know there are many brands in the market and 10K is a good enough budget to get a pretty good camera. If u r not a hardcore photographer and just wanna capture ur good moments u can either opt for a sony 10.1 mp camera or a cannon 10.2 mp camera. both are really good one. But I will go for Sony due to the quality of print that it delivers though it will be a bit expensive than other brands. 1st thing tht u should remember while taking the demo is not to go for the quality of picture in the lcd screen as tht is adjustable. U can get a option of 2 or more cameras of brands lke sony, nikon or cannon. all of these r good but sony has a larger service network than other brands.
As for the Laptop is concerned u hve not mentioned ur requirement tht is what al u wanna do with it. If wanna really go for a good laptop which has all the features then u can opt for Compaq CQ 40 series laptops. they have some 2-3 models in the segment. its better to visit the retailer and chk out the features. pls dont forget to bargain about the prices.
Hey Avinash, this is really very disapoinnting tht u faced such a grim situation. If u take my advise and for all the readers of these column I wanna mention some facts about the mobile market. Being a mobile freak myself I use a lot of phones. Some few facts will really help u all in not getting into such a situation. For a mobile phone once purchased the warranty is the sole responsibility of the Manufacturer though some retailers collect the handset on customer behalf this actually increses the turn around tme for the customer as it has to be anyways sent to the authorised manufacturer's service center unless the retailer has a authorised service license. The list of authorised service centres are available on the website of all the major celphnes manufacturers. This is always advisable to all prospective buyers of handsets to completely chk the handsets before taking the delivery of the same at the retailer's place as there is a Dead On Arrival (DOA) policy of all manufacturers where there product is replaced by the retailer if there is a manufacturing defect. Other than this if the delivery is taken then different retailer different policy. So please it is always advisible to go to a authorised service center for any issue regarding the handset. Also pls chk the seal of the handset package before billing the handset and verify tht the same is not tampered with. The retailer after the delivery is taken cannot do much as he is not authorised by the manufacturer to open the handset and chk the fault as doing so the further warranty of the product will get void and manufacturer will not tke resposibilty due to unauthorised repairs. So it is realy of no use to get a bad impression about the retailer for such a incident though we hve paid the retailer the ultimate money for the same goes to the manufacturer who will gve the service. Avinash u have given the example of Fiat, GM and Maruti. Can u tell me do u go to the same dealer where u purchased ur car for service if he do not have a authorised service center. It is fact that some dealer sell the car and some dealer have the authorisation frm the car manufacturer to gve the service and he has a setup for tht, again there are special service center which do not sell the cars but gve the service. So it is no fault of Reliance Digital as they are not authorised buy the manufacturer to gve the service on there behalf. They only sell wht they get from the manufacturer. So pls get the facts.
Ropan
Agreed diff. between retailer & service provider but can you explain what is it that prevents Reliance staff from being forthcoming courteous and assist customers resolve their problem- otherwise why would ppl go back to Reliance to buy another product after havng such bad experiences.
The bad experiences narrated here by customers are the 'facts.'
i dont know dear. but i hve not faced any such probs.
Ropan-
It appears that you are advocating for Reliance Digital.
Well, what keep them away to provide a solution to the customer. GM does not give any dealershipt if the dealer cannot have any authorised service center. That was the fact I got and I bought my Chevrolet without any problem and enjoying the rides without any issues.
This is a differnt issue here. I am just talking about the service and the way the customer relationship mangers should behave. If they cannot do it then they can difinitely say and return the product back to me. They even did not do it. The transparency is what I expected and that was missing.
Wherever you go if you dont get a good service you dont return back to the person/store. By your statement no retailer should have a service center. If that happens, do you think even you would love to buy any product from such retailer.
i too have a bad experince at reliance , even to all my friends who has taken BIGtv or reliance phone or watever there customer service is just like our govt.
Anupam If you didnt know Reliance Digital and Reliace Big TV/Reliance Phones are from two different brothers!!! Digital is part of RIL and Telecom is part of ADAG
Hi, I am interested in buying a top loading washing machine (IFB may be). Could you please let me know the right place to get the best deal. I reside in South Delhi. Thanks for your help.
There are a couple of options:
– Select Citywalk, Saket
– Home Town, The Great India Place, Noida
– Croma, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad
A local dealer might offer you a cheaper price but I would recommend buying from a mega store as they will only take your order if they have the item in stock.
Note that once you purchase an IFB washing machine, the installation guy will try to sell you accessories like stand, dust cover, water softener, voltage regulator etc. They are usually overpriced. So buy only what you think is needed. Usually only the stand and cover is required.
Also, please make sure you find out about IFB's after sales service in Delhi. I read somewhere that their service is not good.
Please be careful when you buy things from croma, if you want, do not expect after sales service from them.experience after buying 2 desktopHCL, 2 KODAk digi camera and black berrystorm.Theses big stores only want to dump things at you without any after sales service.Alwaysreply onyour friendly neighbourhood shop even if they take some few bugs extra atleast they care, A big shame to a wonderful name of TATA.I fully hold responsible for the man heading this unit-CROMA. forget the offer or price when it comes to after sales service.
Worst service from Reliance Digitial Hyderabd Dr.A.S.Rao Nagar
Reliance service is waste never buy any product from Reliance Digitial Hyderabad Dr.A.S.Rao Nagar
Managers
srikanth –
shanmugham –
Krishnamacharya (AP Head)
They don't even receive any calls from customers or give proper response.
I dont know how they were hired and able to manage such a work service providers.
recently i bought blackberry 8520 phone from reliance digital bangalore, when i asked the sales guy ab the wifi availbility on the phone he says sir wifi iis yhere but u have to pay Rs299 to blackberry to access the wifi, thats horrible.I asked him is it for wifi or blackberry service he told its only for wifi. reliance u r g8 plzzz shut all ur relails shop as ur customer service are horrible.
hello, i wanted to buy a netbook can any body please help me which one is the best and where is the best place to buy.
I 2 had a bad exp, 2 days back I bought SONY home theatre system from Reliance Digital – Ambiance Mall, Gurgaon, still awaiting the person to come for installation. R-D Phones are not connecting, Sony coust care is saying, installation will be arranged by the Reliance Digital only. Looks like, I'll have to visit the store again to arrange for installation.
Reliance Digital SUCKS!! The most unfriendly and unsupportive bunch of hooligans I've come across in retail. Unfortunately I came to know of this a little late… by when I had already purchased more than a few products – from Shipra Mall, Ghaziabad. Only because the place was convenient to approach… damn my laziness!! These ppl NEVER pick up the emergency contact nos. they have given. All Service and Customer Helpdesk nos. are always either busy or not reachable. As if we dont know whats going on.
Oh and there isnt even a website for feedback!
NEVER AGAIN I'm going to buy anything from those cheaters.
I hope Mr. Ambani reads these reviews and does something about the plight of his customers throughout the country.
Well, my personal experience in 2010 says Croma (jubilee hills) is far better than Reliance Digital(RD) (banjara hills) in hdyerabad. Staff @ Croma is very well trained and looks professional. RD staff is not at all professional and lack of technical knowledge. Again, RD customer care is not at all up to the level. They have very poor reponse and most of the time their phone is busy. After my first bad experince @ RD and good experince @ Croma, i never ever purchased anything from RD. Croma is better in every aspect. RD is nothing but a fraud company which believes in grabbing money and never follow what they say. While purchasing they will tell you big things, good service blah..blah.. never belive them.
Setu,
I totally agree with you on the reliance digital retial exp. Dont understand what is the motive of their shops. I went to check out iphone 3g which is officially not available in india and the manager quoted 45k for unlocked 32 gb. i laughed at his face . also when i wanted to check new apple no sales guy helped me. they were giving me alook as if i was unwanted guest. Same of you go to chrome u realise the sales guy have adequate knowledge and give u choice according to budget. They will nt make u feel pity. Chroma guys are really trained and i hve observed that in LCD there prices are 3 to 5K lesser than samsung and Sony showroom. I vote for chroma any time
I have purchased so many electronics goods from Reliance Digital in kolkata and i feel it is best store in our city.All the sales person are very efficient and they allways maintain good behaviour and best part of Reliance Digital is their service.
Hi,
totally agree with people who have been blasting at Reliance Digital form Technical or basic know-how, customer service, After-Sales, and even approachability to talk about what we need to buy. This one time, I went to the Oh-So-Famous Reliance Digital in Shipra Mall, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad (yeah thats right! the fabled store). I wanted to buy a top loading washing machine and a split ac (1.5 tons).. When I entered the store, I went straight to the place where they had both ac and washing machines displayed… and as i was looking at those goods, i waited for someone to come over and asked me if they could help… i waited for 5-7 minutes and no one came. There as a sales rep standing right next to the AC display and doing something on the computer. I called for him and asked if he could help… the guy plainly ignored me and walked away! Then i asked another person, he said ac's and washing machines are not his "department" he is with TV dept… LOL! then i asked if he could get someone from the washing and cooling section, assuming he'd get my joke and send someone who could talk about the washing machine and the ac's… waiting 10 minutes and no one came. Yeah i did see some janitor comeover and check for dirt on the floor.. wonder if he took my joke "literally".
anyways i was so pissed off that i decided to goto croma in aditya city mall in indirapuram and the moment i entered and went to the appliance section there were guys eager to talk to me and wanted to know how they could help. They were knowledgable, had the tech know-how and didnt feel bad asking me about what my budget was so that i could get the best deal. i was really impressed with customer service there that without second thoughts i decided to buy these things. and boy did they help me with the saavings… they offered me a free installation with the ac, a free voltage stabilizer, outdoor unit stand for my ac, some freebies like cover, trolley for my washing machine and a follow up call twice to check if the things were delivered properly and if i was satisfied with 1. products, 2. service, 3. sales experience..
since then i dont even bother going to RD.. Croma know that its not the sales, but the experience and the after sales that matters the most!
Kodus to Croma, living true to the parent company's brand name.. brilliant!
hey guys
I agree as i asked about a psp travel bag from them and they were totally dumbfounded then 1 of the sales guys took me 2 the gaming section and gave me silicone case wich was totally cheap to use and useless. the sales guys r totally uneducated.
Having shopped at both Reliance Digital and Chroma – i can vouch for the fact that the experience at Chroma is faar faar better. The people seem cheerful, willing to help, and reasonably knowledgeable to answer the basic questions correctly. What i cannot comment on with Chroma is the after sales experience, 'coz the products i've bought are not the big ones that need regular servicing. At Reliance though i've bought air conditioners and washing machines – and their post sales service experience is the absolute pits. They have this weird thing of managing all service themselves, instead of having the customer work with the actual product manufacturer – and its amongst the most painful experiences i've had to endure ..
Service of reliance digital staff is good, but no internal co-ordination, not clear about even billing process, replacement, any offers such as cash back vouchers. they dont know what is the procedure they are simply telling to contact on toll free no which is mentiond on CB voucher which never happen due to all lines engaged.
[…] bigger war chest to fund these kind of activities. Their forays with Reliance Digital while leaving much to be desired still holds a promise. I have seen few months back, they are branding a few of the […]
I have purchased Sony Br 32 LCD 400EX from Reliance Digital afew days Back.
Guy came for instalation flately refued to part with any information about installation report at My place. I asked for the customer copy of the installation report for my record. He said only reference no can be given. Company policy is like that. I wonder why there was no tranparancy in the service. After prolong arguments and discussion with Regional manager Mr Bhawesh I was assured that U can leave a request note and we will sand the copy. Till date they have not responded. I spent 40000/- and now worried if they will ae to provide service. What if I choose to opt srvice afterwords from any other service provider rathaer than Reliance Digital. They simply fooling their customers and one day we may heard that they have closed down busines of reliance digital and opened some other outlet in some other name. I think going for authorised dealaer is the best way out if they also provide competititive rate for their own product.
Reliance digital sucks and chroma seems to be much better.All my friends buy from chroma and they've all had a wonderful experience there whereas I was only forced to shop at Reliance digital as its very near to my home and one thing that strikes you when u walk into the store is the ignorance of the sales ppl. abt the products and the technology involved.I mean c'mon I dont expect them to have an IQ of 180 but they shud atleast have a min. amnt of knowledge about the product they're giving the demo for….. and they're harldy courteous.Everyone appears sleepy and indifferent in the stores including the ppl. at the cash counter. stupid store.foolish ppl. RD suxx. Chroma rocks!
Yes Reliance gadgets are highly priced indeed. Saw an ad on the paper claiming a 500 GB Portable HDD priced at 11500 being discounted to 3999 claiming a 63% off. Wonder fm which world they got the price of 11500 wherein todays world you can buy a comp for that price.
They are Wholesale Cheats.
I think both the Reliance and Croma are priced high. Because i thought of buying a Philips DVD player with FM and asked the price in Pai international first. They told it was 2800 rupees. Later i checked with Reliance as well as in Croma and they told its 3600 rupees. But to my surprise they were not ready to reduce the price of it by even 100 rupees even when i told the price available in Pai. So both Reliance/Croma charge such a huge amount even for small items like DVD player then what will be the case for LED tvs???
Reliance, well what do you expect from demotivated and low salaried staff. its walmart of india (or maybe even worse)
Hi,
I just got a new Canon Digital Camera SX120IS from Croma.
The actual MRP was Rs.12,995/- with a 2 GB card and Battery charger free with it.
What Croma provided me a offer of worth Rs.12,595/- along with an original camera pouch of Canon.
But I tried to bargain it saying "On-line booking do provide me a 4GB card and a Camera Stand for timer/still photography".
At last they offered me a Camera stand worth Rs.1500/-.
So friends, do remember this: "Croma don't bargain on price, but do provide free gifts available in the stock".
Went to Reliance Digital to buy an Lenovo laptop. After 3 days of purchase, the laptop developed an hardware fault. I looked in their customer compaint book and was shocked to find that it was full of complaints for laptops which developed faults within days of purchase. It seems to me that Reliance Digital is selling refurbished laptops to customers as brand new ones.
Reliance Digital has neither refunded my money nor given me a replacement.
Samething to me on the price, I thought to buy a Dell Studio 10 months back, The price there (Reliance Digital) was 49000, The same thing was 46500 in Croma with Some free gifts too.I argued with the sales man at Reliance but of no use. Infact he doesn't know anything more than the price tag there.
Hi, Last Sunday, visited Reliance digital for buying a smartphone. They were giving 5% cash back inform of vouchers. I wanted to buy a screen guard for mobile and 8gb memory card. They didnt have either and the sales guy was trying to convince me that 8gb cards are not manufactured.
I left the shop after telling him that if they need, i can supply them 8gb cards for just 850 bucks. It is sold for 795 at Ezone half a km away.
i guess you should know that Tata stands for quality and Relaince dont have Q in their dictionary. Relaince believed that sheer size can win customers and every customer is too small against the might of relaince, so they dont bother. Even if a temple is named after them think twice before entering
Tata Rocks… I am a TATA employee… Recently I went to croma for buying laptop for my brother… It was a wonderful experience with those guys… Very helpful sales guys.. I liked the shop very much… First he gave me a cheap mouse as freebee.. I didnt agree.. after 10 minutes he gave me a toshiba branded mouse… 🙂
Hello All,
I'm planning to buy a Digital camera.
So, Again, where do you suggest?
Thanks & Regards,
Vijay.
I agree
Reliance digital sucks
I bought a Sony LCD 42 and A camera two months back
Even after making spot payment there TV arrievd after 48 hrs inspite of all assurances and n number of phone calls. left s very bitter taste
will never go back to reliance digital…thats for sure
Hi All,
Reliance digital is running a free gift campaign for purchase above 5000/- & above and Perals Neclace is one of the freebie…
Be Advised that the Pearls are of cheapest quality (Button pearls with irregular shape).. available at rs. 250/-around in Hyderabad.
Pls do not buy any item for the sake of free gifts at Reliance.
After sales service is worst at Reliance.. Quality is not something that Reliance can understand !!
Hi guys,
I wanted to purchase a laptop, and no wonder I turned upto croma , seen the offers available with the other laptops.
Asked the guy if the same offer is available for the laptop i selected (HP dv series) . He gently said. Sorry the offer(500GB ext harddrive) is not with the one i am purchasing.
I asked him to hold the packing for a moment and gave a second thought on purchase and asked the guy if he could give me the same offer i will proceed with the purchase,
And yes to my surprise i got the offer, but on a condition to come and collect the gift after two days.
Well i got it. 500 GB ext Harddrive .. Its cost around 5400 as on date..
They dont bargain on price but give value for your money and ofcourse the service . They are good(courteous) with sales and staff is really helpfull..
I would prefer to keep just one touch points for my transaction and i would prefer cromo above others.
Experiance with Reliance Digital
Last week went to Relaince Digital Grrgaon where they are claiming their products are cheaper.
I went to but IFB washing machine but their Sales person claims Whirlpool gives better feature so I took their offer of givinbg rs 101 initial payment and got the Washing Machnine Finance without Interest 10 months EMI.
what surprice me when I checked the Product Price on Whirlpool Website it was mentioned Sport Model 7.0 KG of MRP Rs 26500 where as Reliance were displaying MRP Rs 280150. I did further survay and got to know the same brand were much cheaper in other known stores.
I went back to reliance Digital store and handedover the printed doc from Whirlpool site to thier Store manager. where he claims that the Product other store offering could from the Gray market and I would not get the support from Whirlpool and the Product Given by Reliance is geneunine.
Howcome the Product vendor refuse to give services if we have the relevent doc that is the question I raised with reliance store manager. I asked him to take their product back as I am not interested as relience is playing with consumer.why Should I take a same product from you If am getting a better price.After long discussion He mentioned that will get back to me with resolution
But there was no call back for my resulution infact I was getting calls for the installation Washing Machine and also from The Finance to collect cheque.
I refused for the installtion of product till I get resolution and told them to take their Product back.
can any tell, how abt the YAMAHA speaker in Reliance?
All the above complaints against Reliance Digital are bull shits… Reliacne is giving good service & all product are in convient price compare to others.
Above comments are holds good for Reliance Digital. It sucks. I brought a Pioneer RS33TB Home theatre (36,369) and a Godrej Microwave (7,990) by paying almost 44,500 Rupees. They delivered it after a day. However when I opened the home theatre Box I was shocked there is no Remote and FM Antenna present in the box. Called sales people, they asked me to check the box which I did several time. They did not believe it they asked me to check again. I checked more than 10 times and all the time disappointment. And sales Guy informed me that since they do not have enough technicians they have postponed the Demo (Installation). I called next day and I told them I will throw these boxes if they are not going to send a technician and remote. After an hour or two I got a call from technician saying I will come at 7.30 evening. I told him to bring Remote but he asked me to check the box again. He also asked me why I opened the box. I told him being a customer do you think I should wait for 3 days without opening the box just for a home theatre installation. Then he said he will come and check the box if it is not there then he will talk to his other department. I also noticed that the manufacturing date of the amplifier is MAY 2009 and subwoofer is March 2010. It looks either I have got very old product or a used demo piece. I am writing this at 6.30 evening I am still waiting for technician to come for inspection (Checking whether I have missed the remote…Looks silly) I will update more once the technician comes to my home
I bought an ONKYO home theatre from Reliance and i had a gut feeling that they disposed off a demo piece to me cuz they packed it in a geyser box and delivered it to my place… can you believe it!! I launched an official complaint with ONKYO japan (with CC to india HO)… and they came and checked the system for me… there was no instructional manual in the box either.
This looks to be a advertisement of Chroma.
What makes you say that?
I too am feeling cheated by Reliance Digital. I purchased an Usha Lexus Hot Air Blower from them. In one month it needed 5 times repairs. The sixth time they promised to send the technician home and I am still waiting even after 5 days. Don’t buy from Reliance Digital, very poor service, may be they sell third rate rejected material.
Reliance digital is the last place one should shop from. I bought a LED 3D TV, two days back, I am yet to have it installed. After making a cash down payment of Rs. 95000/- this is the treatment I get. This is the first and last time that I have shopped at Reliance digital.
my name ramu i am regular customer for relience digital,its best retail outlet in india.
i love shoping in reliance digital bcoz the display and staff suggest is xclent.keep up the good job
last week i purchased xbox3604gb from croma sales person unable to gv demo,later on i ask my friend for help.
I m doing a video editing im from gujrat first i check in mumbays reliance store they ask me products price is 87900 Rs and after ill go in gujrat ahmadabads reliance store they ask me same price for it but they gave me 5000Rs free shoping card y y y buddy its deffrent from each ather and after all comment i read ill go croma and check the discounts and product price i hope it will be nice,,,,
I bought one samsung music system from croma, croma is just help to buy, but service is ZERO…..
I’ll never visit to croma.