No wonder High st shops are disappearing

SussexBlue

SussexBlue

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Had almost made my mind up to go and get the Lumix G2 but then Sony threw a spanner in the works with the a33/55's so decided to go to town to see if I could see one or at least find out more info :thumbsdown:

First stop Jessops, a Sony what sir never heard of them, perhaps you would be better of checking in the sony centre :thumbsdown:

Sony centre, empty shop 2 assistants sat laughing over something on the computer, gave them a minute or so and approached them for advice, have you got one of your new A33's for me to have a look at, sorry sir do you mean the 350, no I mean the 33 or 55, sorry sir we've not heard of them are they alpha's and our website is down but here is our phone number for you to give us a call later FFS :bang::bang:
 
i went into jessops last week to see if they done a book on CS5,again 2 blank faces looked back at me "never heard of it" one said:bang:

my best one is when i went into comet looking at a dvd player.

i found a sales member and asked him the difference between 2 units,his replys was "well that ones got more buttons"!!!!!!!!!!!

how the hell do these people get these jobs ??? idiots !!!!!!!
 
Problem is most of the people that work in the shops are part time or students, having worked in Currys I know what the pay is like and also know the amount of product training that is given....... not alot if any. Thankfully I was a geek and knew the products I was selling. To be fair to the staff for the money they are on there is no incetive to know the product they are selling.

I NEVER take advice from anyone in any big retail store, I resarch myself, run in then run out of them before they start their usual ********.
 
I do the same sort of thing, I go in to buy not to be sold something. I once told the salesperson not to try selling me anything but he failed to listen and started trying to flog me a couple of extra odds'n'sods top complement my purchase. He got a shock when I told him to give me back my card and cancel the transaction and I expect he also got a *******ing from his manager who heard me tell him exactly why.

Personally, I wouldn't go into Jessops looking for a book, even if it was one aimed at photographers. Neither would I go to Smiths for a camera!
 
It's the same story at most high street stores.
Clueless young low paid assistants who know nothing about the products.
Best to read up before you enter the store.
 
eos1 said:
It's the same story at most high street stores.
Clueless young low paid assistants who know nothing about the products.
Best to read up before you enter the store.
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if I have to do that, the whole reason for buying face to face goes, and you may as well buy online
 
Donki said:
Problem is most of the people that work in the shops are part time or students, having worked in Currys I know what the pay is like and also know the amount of product training that is given....... not alot if any. Thankfully I was a geek and knew the products I was selling. To be fair to the staff for the money they are on there is no incetive to know the product they are selling.

I NEVER take advice from anyone in any big retail store, I resarch myself, run in then run out of them before they start their usual ********.
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Sorry but I'd have to disagree with this statement...

Not all shops are like this, I'm a full time student and I work in an electrical store at the weekend, I'm not naming my company but we are mainly based in East Anglia, we are not a massive company, but we're not small either, (we have several 10's of shops) however the company is fantastic. Within the company there is real care and passion for customer service, in fact, its what we pride ourselves on, and when I started nearly a year ago its something that they really made clear to me! To prove this we have regular customers who we know on first name terms who always come back to us, and always let us know how pleased they are with the service! And the product trainning was insanely good too, and within two months I was perfectly happy selling all sorts of electrical products!

The larger more nationwide companies will try to sell you crap that you don't need, however some of the smaller companies do care about the customer needs.

Sorry, but I just wanted to point that out. :)
 
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You can’t argue with Toby! we can all recount instances where the sales staff in one shop or another have been as useless as the good old chocolate fireguard but how often do we go in get the service we have a right to expect and come away without a mention ?

I have stopped getting angry or frustrated with poorly trained staff and simply vote with my feet to the next store.

M.
 
The advice dished out on here really does not help.

" Go to a shop, handle the camera, see which you like and then buy on-line"

How often is that advice served up? So you waste an hour of the shops time and go and buy a grey import online with all the problems that may come with. Is saving that tenner or so really worth the cost of not getting a good relationship with your local camera shop?
 
norvic-boy said:
Sorry but I'd have to disagree with this statement...

Not all shops are like this, I'm a full time student and I work in an electrical store at the weekend, I'm not naming my company but we are mainly based in East Anglia, we are not a massive company, but we're not small either, (we have several 10's of shops) however the company is fantastic. Within the company there is real care and passion for customer service, in fact, its what we pride ourselves on, and when I started nearly a year ago its something that they really made clear to me! To prove this we have regular customers who we know on first name terms who always come back to us, and always let us know how pleased they are with the service! And the product trainning was insanely good too, and within two months I was perfectly happy selling all sorts of electrical products!

The larger more nationwide companies will try to sell you crap that you don't need, however some of the smaller companies do care about the customer needs.

Sorry, but I just wanted to point that out. :)
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Sorry if i tarred all stores/companies with the same brush but I was mainly refering to a certain company/group that ryhmes with Smixons. I know there are companies that take pride and care as much about their customer service as they do about their sales. Unfortuneatly the one I worked for and ones I have experience in care more about sales than anything else.

On the small number of occasions I have bought from a "real shop" recently most of the time the item isn't in stock, or it will be sent from another store.... it kind of defeats the purpose of going to a shop if you have to wait anyway.
 
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Some store assistants crack me up, i was in PCWorld the other weekend wasteing some time and i could hear a customer asking the assistant what is the difference between 2 sandisk cards when one is £20 and the other is £40, his reply is "they are different colours but i would say buy that one" as he points at the more expensive one.
I could see this woman was struggling to understand the guy so i stepped in, i explained to her that the class 10 card has a better transfer rate compared to the class 4 with many other properties, she explained to me that it would only be for playing music off in her car. So i said she would be better off with a class 4 and also buy it off ebay for about an 1/8 of PCW's price.
She said thank you very much, shook my hand and walked away.
 
i bought my 5DII from Jessops got great service. ok not from a techie point of view, but he went out of his way to get instock before end of play that day and he did. Top marks to the man.

I did my research online and i boight the camera in store for an extra £30-£50. However he did me a good deal on a 2nd battery and threw in some cheap extras which have been used and appreciated.

That £30-£50 means the fact that i can collect on the same day. Get aa proffesional service and the chance to haggle a little was well worth it.
 
the Jessops near me I have found are very good (depending on who you get).

I normally deal with the store manager, who is a right laugh (wonder if she's on here?)
 
john182rs said:
Some store assistants crack me up, i was in PCWorld the other weekend wasteing some time and i could hear a customer asking the assistant what is the difference between 2 sandisk cards when one is £20 and the other is £40, his reply is "they are different colours but i would say buy that one" as he points at the more expensive one.
I could see this woman was struggling to understand the guy so i stepped in, i explained to her that the class 10 card has a better transfer rate compared to the class 4 with many other properties, she explained to me that it would only be for playing music off in her car. So i said she would be better off with a class 4 and also buy it off ebay for about an 1/8 of PCW's price.
She said thank you very much, shook my hand and walked away.
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pmsl, Staples hated me doing that (esp when I worked for them at the time)
 
iPhoto said:
You can’t argue with Toby! we can all recount instances where the sales staff in one shop or another have been as useless as the good old chocolate fireguard but how often do we go in get the service we have a right to expect and come away without a mention ?

I have stopped getting angry or frustrated with poorly trained staff and simply vote with my feet to the next store.

M.
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Thanks for backing me up there.

Donki said:
Sorry if i tarred all stores/companies with the same brush but I was mainly refering to a certain company/group that ryhmes with Smixons. I know there are companies that take pride and care as much about their customer service as they do about their sales. Unfortuneatly the one I worked for and ones I have experience in care more about sales than anything else.

On the small number of occasions I have bought from a "real shop" recently most of the time the item isn't in stock, or it will be sent from another store.... it kind of defeats the purpose of going to a shop if you have to wait anyway.
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Thats fair enough :)
 
I must be one of the few then, I've had good experiance with Jessops - both the local one to me in Ipswich and the one I had to make an urgent dash to in Hull. Jessops seem to at least employ people with an interest in photography to understand.

As for the guy in Currys who brought me back a CD/DVD permenant marker when I asked for a lenspen though......
 
i went into Jessops last week to see if they done a book on CS5,again 2 blank faces looked back at me "never heard of it" one said
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Because it's not a bookshop?


my best one is when i went into comet looking at a dvd player.

i found a sales member and asked him the difference between 2 units,his replys was "well that ones got more buttons"!!!!!!!!!!!

how the hell do these people get these jobs ??? idiots !!!!!!!
__________________
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They arent idiots, they are just people employed to do a job (i.e. take people's money off them) and given too little training and support to be able to meet the needs of the customer that wants information on the products rather than just buying them.
 
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Nod said:
I do the same sort of thing, I go in to buy not to be sold something. I once told the salesperson not to try selling me anything but he failed to listen and started trying to flog me a couple of extra odds'n'sods top complement my purchase. He got a shock when I told him to give me back my card and cancel the transaction and I expect he also got a *******ing from his manager who heard me tell him exactly why.
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You need to remember that he probably would have got more of a "*******ing" if he hadnt have offered you that stuff. I used to work in a bank and would have failed several of my assessments throughout my time there (maybe even lost my job) for not trying to sell everything and anything on top of "what they wanted". So just remember that next time your slightly put out by that sort of thing.
 
i have just started part time in a camera shop, as stated the pay's not great but i still want to give as much help and advice to the customer as i can. as a store when we sell an slr we have to offer or ask if you have certain accessorys or face a telling off by the manager! if it's obvious that your a serious photographer then i wont even bother asking as if your buying a 7d or the like youve probably got a bag, filters and cloths/lenspen's
 
I've purchased both my DSLR's and my compact from Jessops and whenever I've been into my local branch they've been excellent. Although to be fair I always make sure I do my research before I go in so I know roughly what I'm looking for, but on the whole I've had no problems with the customer service or the products in the shops. Maybe I've been lucky.

The customer service in some shops does alarm me though. I've lost count of the times I've been in shops and overheard sales people telling customers stuff that I know for a fact is utter rubbish! The last time I was in a phone shop buying a mobile the sales rep next to me was asked a question by a customer and knew nothing about it. I interupted and answered the question without problem. The Dixons group is the worst though I'd say, having worked there while at uni. I was only a part time Saturday working but knew more about the products than 90% of the full time staff, without having had any training at all.

The one shop I've never had a problem with is Richer Sounds. Superb customer service and I haven't met a member of their staff who doesn't know exactly what they are talking about!
 
except 99%* of eBay memory cards are fake..
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Yes my cameras all have ebay "fakes" in them that work perfectly......keep paying 10 times as much if you like
 
Last time I bought a new camera I did the rounds of all the shops

Started in Jessops, disinterested young chap came to see me after a while and didn't want to talk about chucking in something like a memory card to tempt me (bearing in mind all the shops were offering the exact same price)

Next to John Lewis, asked about the camera and one was brought out, salesperson went straight to the till and asked how I wanted to pay despite me trying to ask a couple of questions

Lastly Currys and not expecting much, very surprised to find a very knowledgeable chap who chatted about the pros and cons of the various cameras, offered a price match with a little reduction too which paid the return bus fare.

Obviously bought from Currys and to my shame expected them to be the less likely of the three to get my business
Really does depend on the staff and not the shop.

Unfortunately the independent camera shop wanted 110 quid more and in these somewhat austere times that's too much extra for me to fork out
 
What grates my goat when you ask a question of a member of store staff and they just start reading the card under the product that you've been stood staring at for 10 minutes, waiting for them to get round to serving you.

If I wanted you to read the card to me, I'd ask you to read the card to me. If you don't know the answer to the question then )*&^ing well say so and find out. Grrrrrrr.
 
Strangely enough, my local Jessops closed down recently. It seems that they are focusing their attention on the Carlisle store up here. However, there is a Wilkinson Cameras store less than 400 yards away, and this seemed to suck away a large part of the local photography supply business.

On one occasion in the Jessops store (when it was still running), the salesman who appeared to have absolutely no clue about the products in the store fleeced an old man out of over £900 on DSLR equipment (I'll admit that I did eavesdrop on the conversation). The old man only went in there for a replacement compact. :puke:
 
I think that it is very much dependant on the manager of the store, if s/he is interested then the staff will get trained. I've had some good dealings with Jessops.

I'm very much the type of person who is quite willing to walk out of the store if the service isn't quick / good enough.
 
It was the Sony Center that disappointed me most, ffs they only have their own brand to worry about and they knew not a thing about their newest gear not only that but were just uninterested in helping, stress to add that these were not youngsters either.
Used to be an old Ironmongers near me when I was a kid, that shop had tens of thousands of lines and the old codger that run it knew everyone of them, finding what he was after was another thing though :D
 
I tend to do things the other way around to most, I research online, gather info and then contact my local store (cameraworld) I trust the guys there, they have always given good sound advice and are always extremely helpful.
If they don't have one I contact the London branch and if that fails, shop elsewhere.

The folly of going for the cheapest online was recently brought home by my brother buying his D90, he went to a certain online cheapy site, and got the body £60 cheaper, waited the next day, no camera, then the next, then got fobbed off and finally got it nearly a week later.. when he opened the box, no paperwork at all, no manual, no warranty card.. turns out its all grey import's from this company and the so called 5 yr warranty isn't worth a light when you read the details as they will only replace a defective item within the first 30days, after that you get the remainder of the first two years parts and labour repair only and the remaining 3 yrs are parts only.. you pay the labour.

As he said to me today, its already cost me over £60 in grief and aggro, I should have gone to cameraworld
 
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I actually buy most of my equipment from Park Cameras (great shop) as I live quite near, I had already spoke to them but unfortunately they were awaiting stock so on a whim decided to go to town with the wife and see what I could find.
 
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