Alfie Opiniões 86

Absolutely terrible.

What the? OK. The study stuff wasn't that bad. They're a bit slow to respond, but not terrible.

But when you get to the practical stage, if you don't get the first six employers for your practical component, Alffie will actively sabotage you with future attempts.

Hell, they could be too slow and lazy to provide you with what you need for the interview with one of the job prospects like I endured.

I've had to abandon my Certificate, flushing two years of my life down the toilet, because of this stupid company.

Don't use them.

I wrote a Google review on their store and then they just deleted their Google visibility. TERRIBLE customer service. We got accused of ruining a pop up children’s book just because we opened it the book. They tried to force us to pay for it saying they couldn’t onsell even though it was just a book that we had opened?? Literally made no sense. We were very loyal customers and would buy books monthly from them. Even ordered some in to give them the business. And they decided to follow us around, yell at us and kick us out of the store on this particular day. Worst experience of my life and have known others to have similar experiences. Would not recommend and Castle Towers really needs to get rid of this store.

Walked into this shop to look for a book for my niece. First things first, the entry ways are blocked off and there is only one way in and out. I’m quite sure this is a violation of fire egress codes and the pathways are not wide enough for two people to pass, nor wheelchairs or prams. As I walk in there is an author for a book signing (no signage to say who they even are) and the staff immediately go to my husband to ask him if he needs help. Taking this as just typical everyday misogyny. I wander over to the kids books which are not categorised and have no price tags listed.

There is a huge stock of one particular book haphazardly arranged in the shelf. I assume this is popular (or some weird over ordering) so I flick through it to assess if it’s right for my niece. Just as I go to send a photo to my sister to confirm, the staff member appears and says I can’t take photos and points to a sign. (Part of me thinks he was standing behind me the whole time like a creep). I explain I didn’t see the sign and was sending a photo to my sister to check if it’s the right book for my niece and I haven’t actually taken the photo yet. You’d think this was an honest mistake given it’s Christmas and I want to make sure I get the right thing (magic of Santa and all). This explanation apparently isn’t good enough and he rolls his eyes at me, and has a physical response so exaggerated, as though I’m just there to cause him trouble and says I cant take photos. There is zero understanding or ability to communicate why this is important to the store or offer help instead.

At this moment I realise this shop isn’t interested in being courteous to customers and likes to assume everyone has bad intentions, and all the other red flags I saw as I walked in immediately tell me to get the F out. Yes there is an epidemic of abuse to retail staff, but that’s not every customer. I toss the book back on a nearby shelf and proceed to walk out. Behind me I can hear a chorus of staff yelling at me not to “throw books” and telling me to stop, but the hostile environment and sudden lack of safety compels me to get out before they become aggressive. They try to follow me and my husband blocks (but doesn’t make contact) with the staff member to stop them from touching me. They then turn on him telling him off for me trying to escape a clearly dangerous situation that all of my body and soul was telling me to flee. I eventually make it out through their fire-hazard of an exit and walk away fast.

My husband catches up with me and tells me about their response. I felt bad as I thought, perhaps I overreacted and the silly season is getting to me. Over lunch the whole scenario is bothering me so much I decide to look up the reviews of this shop on Google, which then leads to Reddit, Trust Pilot and Facebook and I am immediately vindicated as I discover I am not the first customer they have treated this way and their behavior is so chronic, it has become known as the “Faulty Towers of book shops”. I was right to get the F out and not turn back.

Intimidating customers, stalking them and pressuring them to buy or get out. Their reputation is so poor, they like to delete any reviews they receive on review sites, so I guess I’ll be keeping a copy of this to add again when they delete it.

My message to the owners, rather than sticking your fingers in your ears and saying “lalalala” and blaming customers, just own up to the fact your customer service is awful and passive aggressive signs everywhere aren’t going to magically make people do what you THINK you want them to do. Maybe people are trying to tell you something. Maybe you need to do some basic customer service courses to learn how to endear yourself to the community so that your business doesn’t start loosing money and you don’t have to overcharge or bully customers into buying.

Part of me thinks they secretly work for Amazon and operate this way in order to intentionally ruin the reputation of book shops, or this is an elaborate front for something else and they actually don’t want to sell their books.

If you’re told “the book is out the back / in boxes / temporarily unavailable” — please read this first.

We went in looking for one very specific book. A staff member approached us immediately and asked what we wanted.

We were told the book did exist but was “out the back mixed up in boxes” and couldn’t be accessed however, if we paid they’d be able to provide it later. We were told we’d be texted once it was ready.

In hindsight this felt a bit rushed and something didn’t sit right, so we looked up reviews. What shocked us wasn’t one or two complaints it was how consistently identical the experiences were. Same wording. Same explanation. Same pressure to pay. This is likely because they overcharge vs competitors.

The next day after no text I called the store asking (without identifying myself) if the book was in stock. I was told no, but that I could come in and place an order and that “it might be out the back”.

When I mentioned we’d already paid for this exact book the day before the explanation suddenly changed and we were told our book was “right here” and ready for pickup.

What concerns me most: being (somewhat) pressured to pay before stock is clearly confirmed and a pattern that mirrors hundreds of online accounts.

Many people mention reviews being removed or disappearing so if this sounds familiar to you, I strongly recommend also checking Trustpilot, Reddit (Sydney & book communities) and Instagram threads where this store is widely discussed and frequently referred to as the “Fawlty Towers of bookstores” in the Hills area.

My advice:

- Don’t pay upfront unless the book is physically in your hands
- Don’t accept vague “out the back” explanations
- Don’t assume you’ll be contacted unless you chase

I wish I’d read reviews more closely before walking in but compared to others we were relatively unscathed.

Terrible customer service. Not allowed to open books. The rude assistants will shove the books in your face and then harrass you to buy them. It is so appallingly bad I cant believe they have any customers. Went to Target and got the books at a chearper price.

went in to browse for a christmas present for a family member: staff were extremely pushy as soon as i walked in, asking what i was looking for, what kinds of books i wanted, and when i told him i just wanted to browse, he told me to start with their classics section. i declined and was able to browse for a few minutes before finding a book that had been suggested to me, however the cover was dented and the gold lettering was scratched. i went to ask staff if they had another copy in stock that wasn't damaged, staff then proceeded to try and gaslight me and tell me there was no damage all while trying to smooth out the dents on the cover with her fingernails. she then handed the book to the other staff member and demanded i go pay for the book, and that they would give me a discount. i just walked out. abysmal customer service, terrible stock, i cannot believe this store is still in operation. i don't know why they think it's acceptable to treat people like this, especially potential customers

The bookstore from hell!!!! Spent a large amount of money at the store 4 days ago. Returned home to find damage to the cover of one of the books. Went back in today to exchange it and was refused with brazen lies about how the book is apparently sealed at sale. The guy picked up a new book to demonstrate his point only to show that there was no seal on any of the new books. Yet he continued to point at the open cover, insisting there was a seal there. Apparently he thought I was either blind or stupid. Not to mention, the books are wayyyyy overpriced - spent $80 over what Amazon is selling for. DO NOT GO TO THIS bookstore. They are complete crooks!!!!

While the books were vast in quantity, the person working was rude, obviously misunderstanding the idea of “browsing” and “window shopping”. There were signs all over the store telling customers not to read past the first few pages. Fair enough, you wouldn’t wear clothes to a party and then return them right after if you didn’t like them. When I told the employee I was simply just having a look at the covers of the books because some of the classics were gorgeous, I was very rudely told “this isn’t a library, it’s a bookstore you have to buy something”. I explain the concept of browsing and that I wasn’t looking to purchase anything and he simply kept repeating “you have to buy something or leave”. I think maybe they should start stocking dictionaries because he obviously hasn’t seen or read one in a while.

The Alffie course Cert 3 in Business Administration others me a chance to have a documented and a formal learning work frame, that shows I am competent in various topics.
I have done in practice at work places small amounts of this type of actual work, but its never been in a study format. Alffie offers a flexible study duration that one does not have to rush along, so that I can absorb all the information. It all makes sense.

Package came quickly and I had to try it right away. Even pressure on the edges sealed it. Really like the dust strip feature. Already saved my phone from a drop. For the price it’s unbeatable.

THE WORST PLACE - DO NOT GO. (If you're going there to harass them, then please go ahead!!)

I got asked if I needed help multiple times, and they kept following me around as if I was going to steal something (I'm a short east Asian woman in her 20's).
I asked them to kindly let me browse and the old b**** ass woman there told me that I am harassing her, and her husband (I'm assuming the old gronk is her husband) yelled at me to leave because that place was his, and I quote, "MY BOOKS MY RULES".

Mind you, that place barely has books and none of the books are actually sorted into genres. There's a whole place at the back that is essentially empty, and the front of the store is crowded with shelves, blocking everything and making the pathways so narrow.

Now, you might think that I was being rude or a bad customer, but I'm quite introverted and like my peace when reading or browsing books, and they really tipped me to the point where they left me no choice but to ask them to let me browse on my own (I barely talk to anyone when I'm outside).

This says a lot about their business. I'm sure they have their son working for them because they don't actually earn enough to buy books to sell, let alone hire employees.

How this place is still there, who knows. Maybe they're drug dealers, and the shop is just a cover up for money laundering. I wouldn't be surprised.

The amount of negative reviews is crazy, especially on Google, so they have actually closed down their place on Google to delete the reviews multiple times and brought it back up again. There is ONE singular 5-star review on Google (we all know where who wrote that), and countless 1 star (not even 2 or 3 or 4 stars) reviews complaining about that place.

Loved the Thomas the Train transfers we got! Looked great, easy to apply. The only trouble I had was getting the backs off. The transfer and backing were really adhered together. Finally got them and easy easy! Thank You!

I hardly ever leave reviews, but I felt like I needed to comment on my experience with alfie.com. There was great potential according to the marketing and first perception, but this case was rosy in comparison to the real picture. The site was actually user-unfriendly and archaic, and mixed even the links, and the site took ages to load, making it cumbersome to navigate through.

Another disappointment was the customer support. I have requested their help several times with a simple question and obtained no answer or very general answers that did not help. It was as though everyone was not actively listening or they didn't care less about solving my problem.

All in all, that experience was disappointing, which made me feel ignored. Many more worthy and trustworthy platforms exist. My experience at this site is one that I would not recommend.

Alfiepay is so secure it's inaccessible. I've tried for months to get past the stupid pug dog. Don't want to call in frustration. Bp station must be easier than a migraine at Alfie's .

What a horrible book store! The staff is absolutely disgusting. My daughter is an avid reader. She loves browsing through books to see what would she like to read next. The staff kept following her and kept telling her the area is closed.
When I approached i was asked what did I need. I asked its my 3rd visit and the area is always closed, upon which i was told its none of my business and they don’t need me to shop from there and was asked to get out. Just because i asked why is the area closed. The attack suddenly got so personal and all in front of my 8yr old. What an ill mannered staff member.
What a absolute disgrace!
I think they have some dodgy business going on behind doors.
I would not even give them 1 star if there was an option.

i ordered on 15th of may got email saying 2 to 4 weeks for delivery it is now 27th still not received my delivery sent email got message saying can not deliver email

Absolutely ridiculous. I've been completing my Cert 3 in Individual Support (Aged and Disability Care) and the entire assessment process thus far has been role plays. This includes writing 5-minute scripts for for yourself and two other roles. This includes writing detailed information filled scripts from the point of view of insurance specialists, translators, administrative staff and many, many other roles that have absolutely nothing to do with my course. It's lazy on the part of the markers and creators of this course but provides nothing of any importance towards what I'm actually studying. On top of that, when my assessments are marked, "C" provides no feedback. When she does it is literally an incoherent sentence (EG; "You have made a wonderful job but this 'stody' is about The troy and ") (That was literally the one piece of feedback I got and there was nothing after 'troy and" ) or provides any actual feedback. Save yourself going bald from ripping your hair out and your laptop from being thrown out the window due to how frustrating the lack of quality in this course is.

I used to work there, and unfortunately, it wasn’t the best experience. The only work I was given for a shift was unpacking books and cleaning floors, with a few exceptions. I never signed a contract and I was never given a roster and was called up randomly whenever stock came in. I don't hate the people who work there; they are imperfect like the rest of us, but that is no reason for me to hate them. They were quite nice to me, and I am thankful for the job opportunity. And I’m sure they are just trying to run a business. I enjoyed the opportunity to be a witness to them as a Christian and genuinely valued the experiences I had there, both good and bad. Please don’t be hateful towards them. I don’t condone their rude behaviour and I’m sorry for anyone who has experienced that.

Complete waste of time.

Just did a ndis career course... they dont leave feedback on how to correct "wrong" answer... they make it so you cant pass so they make their money without giving course completion passes

I went to "Alfie & Noa" in Castle Towers and it was a horrible experience. The moment I entered the store, the 3 staff started to follow me everywhere asking questions and I politely informed them that I first need to browse a little before making a decision. Then they were trying to rush me in to buying saying we need to close off this section for stock taking. When I moved to another section, that section was also to close off for stock taking. However, no stock taking took place while I was there which was kind of funny!!!. You can't even touch a book and they just give the stare. This book store is bizarre one. The staff are rude - especially the lady, overbearing, and very unprofessional. Also, the books do not display the AUD price either which I am not sure even legal. To be honest, it was the most stressful 10 minutes in my shopping experience. I can't believe, how this bookstore managed to stay open for this long. I wouldn't recommend anyone to go into this bookstore.