Retail Reviews

If you have seen the Tom Hanks Meg Ryan movie, “You’ve Got Mail” you may remember the plot revolves around the email exchanges of the two characters. Hanks runs the large corporate book store – FoxBooks, and Ryan the small independent Shop Around the Corner. In the course of the movie the implication is that the small independent can offer so much more by way of knowledgeable care and product expertise. The suggestion is that it’s a sad indictment of our obsession with ‘value’ (for which read price) that we choose economies of scale over service… “… we’ll just put up a big sign: ‘Coming soon, a FoxBooks superstore and the end of civilization as you know it.’” So does the small book store have anything special to offer its customers – more to the point did Buy the Book in Nottingham have anything to differentiate it positively from its […]

Picture the scene. You walk into the car dealership having made your decision that today is the day you’ll buy your new car. As you walk through the showroom, past all those gleaming metal forms you stop and linger over the model you expect to buy. The visual excitement moves seamlessly into the sensory thrill of the smell of that distinctive ‘new car’ smell. Soon after that touch takes over, as your hands are drawn towards the surfaces and switches (which you happily press even though you know they won’t do anything). The salesman, not wanting to appear too eager, leaves you for a moment before his own excitement takes over and he comes over to join you. You tell him you want the car, reel off a list of options, and start trying to contain yourself so that you might haggle effectively. Unfortunately (but unconsciously), the fact you’ve spent […]

Before you ask, no I haven’t been to every train station in the world.  But sometimes you realise that an experience is so bad that it has reached a zenith of consumer misery that would be unsurpassable. In any quest there comes a time when the hero must dismount, and tell himself that there is no maiden fairer, no prize greater, no more land to discover that is worth the effort. Or in this case, no railway station experience more miserable. And I’ve seen some bad ones. Those where the only shelter remained locked during a blizzard. Those where the only source of heat was little more than a hair dryer bolted to a wall on a timer switch. And it didn’t work. Those where the staff are only present for a couple of hours a day and make unhelpfulness an art-form (most are friendly and helpful, but some are […]

I have removed the name of this jeweller from my review because I recognise that on e transaction isn’t a representative sample on which to judge anyone – we all have bad days. However, all my retail reviews do name the retailer when they’re first published, so for the full story please sign up for my E-zine Mindshop! on my home page. I’d finally decided to buy a decent watch. I’d been thinking about it and then my old one died so it seemed like the right time. The only problem was that I had no idea what to get. Should I spend £100 or £1000? I’m not particularly fussed about man-jewellery, but buying one nice watch to own for many years might be a practical option (at least that’s what I’m telling myself). I opted to visit my local town, Saffron Waldon. Cambridge is closer but parking is a nightmare and […]