I can remember back in the 70s when Jessops was one small shop in Leicester, people would come from all over the country for cheap cameras and there would be a queue right around the corner every Saturday morning.
I think the problem is as much that mobile phones have good cameras these days and you carry them everywhere. There is just less demand for dedicated cameras now.
But why should high street retailers
effectively be exploited as shop fronts for
online retailers who are cheaper because
they don't need to pay for retail overheads or
staff to offer pre-sales customer service
about the suitability of the product?
I think a service charge for people who
handle or try on the product & don't proceed
to purchase, may be a fair solution.
Depends on the product. Some things are better seen before deciding on purchase, although online goods can be sent out on approval, or you can return for refund if unsuitable.
I think you're over exaggerating this a bit. I don't think this happens as much as you're making out. I think it tends to only happen with technology where people like to play with it and see it/listen to the quality before they buy. Like in the case of tv's, computers, cameras, hi-fi equipment etc. I think really it only applies to these kind if retailers.
There are many times I've been into a shop like Comet or Curries and seen a tv, washing machine, Hoover etc and compared it with the online price and the shop refuses to even match in store the price they are selling it for on their OWN website. I've wanted to buy in store but if they wont budge a penny on the price I'll take my chance and order it online.
I don't think it happens in any other retail industry. People who buy clothes tend to buy them from the shop unless they haven't got the size in which case they may order off their website so still no loss to the company.
Usually if there's something I know I want and can get online easier or cheaper I'll look there first and just order it. If it's something like a tv, I want to see the picture and see how easy it is to use and take a look round the back before I buy it. If it's a camera then I want to have a play with it first. I always prefer to buy in store for convenience of being able to return goods but if shops refuse point blank to compete with online stores then that's their problem isn't it? Jessops always price matched so I always bought my camera from them.
I always prefer to support the highstreet first but when shops prefer to play awkward and refuse to even attempt to compete and get arsey over returning or exchanging goods then I have no sympathy. Jane Norman were the very worst for accepting goods back even when they were faulty. I was happy to see them go under after the disgusting way we've been treated by them on numerous occasions.
My wife bought me a cook book for Christmas from WH Smith but it was the wrong one. All I wanted was an exchange but this saleswoman got right arsey saying it couldn't be done as we'd lost our receipt. But we DID have proof of purchase via our bank statement which when I rang them their head office said would be acceptable but only for an exchange or credit note.
In the end we had to call the manager over who authorised the exchanage for me. All because of a £6.99 book. I've totally no sympathy for places like this going under when they get arsey over a £6.99 exchange. It's no wonder people are ordering off Amazon instead of standing having to argue with awkward staff in shops.
We've also had issues with their vouchers too where when we tried to buy a book we found out the small print contained so many exclusions that we weren't actually able to spend them on anything. Another company that I'll have zero sympathy for when they go bust.
It's about time these companies realised that they can't afford to be awkward with customers. Year after year we're sick and tired of shops playing awkward when it comes to exchanging or refunding Christmas presents that next year we've decided were not bothering.
Very true, but are you getting a feeling that the whole country is going down the pan?
Shop landlords are to blame for a lot of independent shops going from the high street. After the usual 3 year lease agreement they hike up the rent so much so that the shop will not make any money to rent the shop.
Shop landlords are to blame for a lot of independent shops going from the high street. After the usual 3 year lease agreement they hike up the rent so much so that the shop will not make any money to rent the shop.
Private landlords are greedy. Don't know about commercial rents but in our town you can rent council or housing association houses for half the price per month than you can via a private landlord and you don't get half as well looked after by a private landlord that you do with councils. They can pretty much charge what they like.
I shop online and don't feel guilty. Times change and the high street is gone, it hasn't kept up to date and doesn't give people what they want, their fault entirely.
I used to frequent a few local shops but the customer service was awful, they'd do eyes to ceiling if ever you dared ask when an item might be back in.
My wife bought me a cook book for Christmas from WH Smith but it was the wrong one. All I wanted was an exchange but this saleswoman got right arsey saying it couldn't be done as we'd lost our receipt. But we DID have proof of purchase via our bank statement which when I rang them their head office said would be acceptable but only for an exchange or credit note.
In the end we had to call the manager over who authorised the exchanage for me. All because of a £6.99 book. I've totally no sympathy for places like this going under when they get arsey over a £6.99 exchange. It's no wonder people are ordering off Amazon instead of standing having to argue with awkward staff in shops.
You realise they (or any other shop) have no obligation to take it back, even with a proof of purchase right?
Hi,
I've been reading this thread along with the HMV sale one for a few days now.
This weekend I decided to buy my first blu ray player, so with what I'd read in mind I checked out the availability of the player I want. I have two currys and a richer sounds within 15 miles of where I live, neither have the one I want in stock.
Never mind I thought, richer sounds have them in stock on Monday so I'll call after work. As I can only get to HMV At a weekend i've been this morning to buy some films ready for when I pick up the player. Disappointed is the only way to some it up. Not because the sale isn't that impressive, more the choice and the way they were arranged. It was just too much like hard work trying to read all the spines for the titles in between being pushed and shoved.
Rant over, back home and just about to order online.
I tried, I really did. Just found the whole experience a waste of time.
Cheers.
You realise they (or any other shop) have no obligation to take it back, even with a proof of purchase right?
And I'm not obliged to shop there again either. I'm free to spend my money where I don't have to argue with staff over a simple exchange. It's called going out of your way to keep customers happy.
I'd already rang and it had been ok'd but even so if shops want to keep my custom they need to start being more reasobable with people instead of this attitude of, we've had your money so now we couldn't care less. There ARE other places I can take my custom and I WILL. Their loss not mine.
In a time when highstreet shops can't afford to lose customers they should be going out of their way to be helpful not be awkward. It ceases yo astound me how many shops still take the no care attitude when it comes to customer care. No wonder people are deserting the highstreet.
Phone cameras are as good as a compact, my phone has a far better camera than my 5 year old compact.
A mobile phone camera will never be as good as an SLR, but good enough and convenient always, I rarely used my old SLR as it was such a pain to carry and makes you look like a tourist.
The other big loss for camera shops is sales of film and developing.
Phone cameras are as good as a compact, my phone has a far better camera than my 5 year old compact.
A mobile phone camera will never be as good as an SLR, but good enough and convenient always, I rarely used my old SLR as it was such a pain to carry and makes you look like a tourist.
The other big loss for camera shops is sales of film and developing.
I disagree. My 8mp on my galaxy s2 is not a patch on my 4 year old 5mp Nikon compact. In fact people who bang on about megapixels being the factor of a good camera knows naff all about photography. Phone cameras can't cope with anything darker than bright daylight. Every phone I've had I've found indoor and night time shots are blurred because they can't cope with low light conditions. It's to do with the aperture of the lenses and nothing to do with megapixels.
I disagree. My 8mp on my galaxy s2 is not a patch on my 4 year old 5mp Nikon compact. In fact people who bang on about megapixels being the factor of a good camera knows nate all about photography. Phone cameras can't cope with anything darker than bright daylight. Every phone I've had I've found indoor and night time shots are blurred because they can't cope with low light conditions. It's to do with the aperture of the lenses and nothing to do with megapixels.
Agreed I use my phone camera to take odd snaps when I'm commuting but I have always have a compact in my handbag just in case but when I'm going out purely to take photographs I use my SLR
Many phones have cameras good enough for what most people want. I have taken holiday photos with my HTC One X and blown them up to A4 size printed on glossy photo paper and they look fantastic. Back in the day I had an SLR and used to do my own developing and printing but digital has made it so much easier for the average person with a half decent inkjet printer.
Agreed I use my phone camera to take odd snaps when I'm commuting but I have always have a compact in my handbag just in case but when I'm going out purely to take photographs I use my SLR
Unless you're printing above A4 size then anything bigger than 6mp is a waste as the human eye can't see that much detail. Of course with any camera it's only as good as the printer and paper you use to print out the final image. Or the quality/size of the screen on which the image is being viewed.
Saying that, I see loads of people with big digital SLR cameras that don't even know how to take/compose a photo. It's no good having a fantastic camera if you don't know how to take a decent photo. The end result is only as good as the person who clicks the shutter.
You realise they (or any other shop) have no obligation to take it back, even with a proof of purchase right?
When Shop A is awkward about a return despite them being legally correct and Shop B exchanges no problem (i.e. going above and beyond legal requirements) then Shop B is the one people will shop at and Shop A will be the one more likely to go bust with little sympathy from their ex-customers.
There seems to be an attitude in some shops of them being in the right so you can get stuffed which really doesn't help them, especially in a recession.
I made a point of going to HMV to buy a DVD collection that was released before Christmas, after trawelling through a very busy shop, and then one of the assistants doing the same, it was discovered that they are not going to stock it. Amazon have it, but l wanted to support a hi street shop. I felt the loss when some of my favourite book shops disappeared, browsing the shelves l always bought more than l would have done on line. Maybe a shop like Primark have the right idea, you can't buy their stuff on line, unless it's sold on E Bay.
Unless you're printing above A4 size then anything bigger than 6mp is a waste as the human eye can't see that much detail. Of course with any camera it's only as good as the printer and paper you use to print out the final image. Or the quality/size of the screen on which the image is being viewed.
Saying that, I see loads of people with big digital SLR cameras that don't even know how to take/compose a photo. It's no good having a fantastic camera if you don't know how to take a decent photo. The end result is only as good as the person who clicks the shutter.
We've had quite a few of our photos blown up and framed over the years that's why I use the SLR
And I'm not obliged to shop there again either. I'm free to spend my money where I don't have to argue with staff over a simple exchange. It's called going out of your way to keep customers happy.
This reminds me of a local craft shop I used to frequent but their customer service was so bad I stopped going in.
Once, I bought a load of art materials, thought the bill was a bit on the pricey side but it wasn't until I got home that I realised that the assistant had misread one of the price stickers and charged me an extra £10 (something like £15.64 instead of £5.64)!! So, I took the item back with my receipt and showed them, explaining very nicely that there had been a mistake. My god! The woman treated me appallingly! She may as well have just come straight out with it and called me a liar, because that was certainly the implication. She asked me if I had brought in the rest of what I'd purchased so they could check everything item by item. Well, of course I hadn't! And because the item was oddly priced, it seemed a bit of a big coincidence if something else had ended in 64p. I argued, she got someone else involved and eventually I got my tenner back.
Another time, I just happened to be in the shop when another customer brought back a tool that didn't work. She had the joy of the shop's owner who argued with her for a good ten minutes that she wasn't going to give the customer a refund. The customer told her that the tool's packaging said it would do such-a-thing and she even demonstrated to the owner that it didn't. The owner's argument was that the tool could still do other things so she would only give the customer a 10% discount. The customer stood her ground and eventually got her money back! It was at that point I decided not to buy anything else there and put the things I'd been going to buy back on the shelves.
A couple of months later a Hobbycraft opened nearby. If they lost custom to them it serves them right.
When Shop A is awkward about a return despite them being legally correct and Shop B exchanges no problem (i.e. going above and beyond legal requirements) then Shop B is the one people will shop at and Shop A will be the one more likely to go bust with little sympathy from their ex-customers.
There seems to be an attitude in some shops of them being in the right so you can get stuffed which really doesn't help them, especially in a recession.
Nail, head, hit.
It's not about who's right and who's wrong it's all about keeping customers happy. For the sake of being arsey over a £7 book, WH Smith have lost any future custom which has cost them far more than doing a simple exchange. That's the trouble with big chain companies. You don't get this attitude with independent retailers because it's their neck on the line.
When my dad ran a pub he would always change the beer for someone who wasn't happy. I asked him once why he would change the pint for a regular customer when there wasn't anything wrong with it and he said, 'Because for the sake of a pint of beer, I'm not prepared to lose all their future custom when they drink in here 3 times week.' There ARE other places people can spend their hard earned money. Sadly some shops don't understand this simple concept.
It's not about who's right and who's wrong it's all about keeping customers happy. For the sake of being arsey over a £7 book, WH Smith have lost any future custom which has cost them far more than doing a simple exchange. That's the trouble with big chain companies. You don't get this attitude with independent retailers because it's their neck on the line.
WHSmith seem to be going downhill and their shops are looking quite scruffy and unkempt these days. The last time I was in I wanted to buy a local street map for my mum. WHSmith seemed a good place and they had a whole shelf area dedicated to maps, including maps of nearby towns and, also, quite randomly a couple of small towns about 300 miles away which was somewhat perplexing. None of this town, though. I asked an assistant if they had any and was given an abrupt 'no', then they just walked off! So I went to Waterstones, asked an assistant there who not only smiled and said yes, they did stock local maps, but took me to them!
That was the latest in a string of unsatisfactory experiences I've had in WHSmith, so I'm not really feeling inclined to go in again unless there's something I desperately need that cant be got elsewhere.
I'm going to stop moaning about poor shop experiences now, it's beginning to sound like that's all that happens to me, but sadly, poor customer service seems to be becoming the norm! Just to balance it out, I do my weekly shop in ASDA and they're always really helpful and friendly. I bought some shoes in Hotter a while ago and they were lovely too, giving me some empty shoeboxes for a children's charity thing my aunt does.Another shop regularly orders things in for me and they are very pleasant about it, not treating it like some great inconvenience.
Comments
I think the problem is as much that mobile phones have good cameras these days and you carry them everywhere. There is just less demand for dedicated cameras now.
How many cameras do we need? I'm surprised the market hasn't just become saturated.
I think you're over exaggerating this a bit. I don't think this happens as much as you're making out. I think it tends to only happen with technology where people like to play with it and see it/listen to the quality before they buy. Like in the case of tv's, computers, cameras, hi-fi equipment etc. I think really it only applies to these kind if retailers.
There are many times I've been into a shop like Comet or Curries and seen a tv, washing machine, Hoover etc and compared it with the online price and the shop refuses to even match in store the price they are selling it for on their OWN website. I've wanted to buy in store but if they wont budge a penny on the price I'll take my chance and order it online.
I don't think it happens in any other retail industry. People who buy clothes tend to buy them from the shop unless they haven't got the size in which case they may order off their website so still no loss to the company.
Usually if there's something I know I want and can get online easier or cheaper I'll look there first and just order it. If it's something like a tv, I want to see the picture and see how easy it is to use and take a look round the back before I buy it. If it's a camera then I want to have a play with it first. I always prefer to buy in store for convenience of being able to return goods but if shops refuse point blank to compete with online stores then that's their problem isn't it? Jessops always price matched so I always bought my camera from them.
I always prefer to support the highstreet first but when shops prefer to play awkward and refuse to even attempt to compete and get arsey over returning or exchanging goods then I have no sympathy. Jane Norman were the very worst for accepting goods back even when they were faulty. I was happy to see them go under after the disgusting way we've been treated by them on numerous occasions.
In the end we had to call the manager over who authorised the exchanage for me. All because of a £6.99 book. I've totally no sympathy for places like this going under when they get arsey over a £6.99 exchange. It's no wonder people are ordering off Amazon instead of standing having to argue with awkward staff in shops.
We've also had issues with their vouchers too where when we tried to buy a book we found out the small print contained so many exclusions that we weren't actually able to spend them on anything. Another company that I'll have zero sympathy for when they go bust.
It's about time these companies realised that they can't afford to be awkward with customers. Year after year we're sick and tired of shops playing awkward when it comes to exchanging or refunding Christmas presents that next year we've decided were not bothering.
Fixed it for you
Shop landlords are to blame for a lot of independent shops going from the high street. After the usual 3 year lease agreement they hike up the rent so much so that the shop will not make any money to rent the shop.
Private landlords are greedy. Don't know about commercial rents but in our town you can rent council or housing association houses for half the price per month than you can via a private landlord and you don't get half as well looked after by a private landlord that you do with councils. They can pretty much charge what they like.
I used to frequent a few local shops but the customer service was awful, they'd do eyes to ceiling if ever you dared ask when an item might be back in.
This is sad, but inevitable.
You realise they (or any other shop) have no obligation to take it back, even with a proof of purchase right?
Or for anybody like me who does not run a car since a lot of stores disappeared from the high street they are impossible to get to.!!
Leaving me in the arms of internet shopping.
I've been reading this thread along with the HMV sale one for a few days now.
This weekend I decided to buy my first blu ray player, so with what I'd read in mind I checked out the availability of the player I want. I have two currys and a richer sounds within 15 miles of where I live, neither have the one I want in stock.
Never mind I thought, richer sounds have them in stock on Monday so I'll call after work. As I can only get to HMV At a weekend i've been this morning to buy some films ready for when I pick up the player. Disappointed is the only way to some it up. Not because the sale isn't that impressive, more the choice and the way they were arranged. It was just too much like hard work trying to read all the spines for the titles in between being pushed and shoved.
Rant over, back home and just about to order online.
I tried, I really did. Just found the whole experience a waste of time.
Cheers.
I'd already rang and it had been ok'd but even so if shops want to keep my custom they need to start being more reasobable with people instead of this attitude of, we've had your money so now we couldn't care less. There ARE other places I can take my custom and I WILL. Their loss not mine.
In a time when highstreet shops can't afford to lose customers they should be going out of their way to be helpful not be awkward. It ceases yo astound me how many shops still take the no care attitude when it comes to customer care. No wonder people are deserting the highstreet.
Phone cameras are as good as a compact, my phone has a far better camera than my 5 year old compact.
A mobile phone camera will never be as good as an SLR, but good enough and convenient always, I rarely used my old SLR as it was such a pain to carry and makes you look like a tourist.
The other big loss for camera shops is sales of film and developing.
I disagree. My 8mp on my galaxy s2 is not a patch on my 4 year old 5mp Nikon compact. In fact people who bang on about megapixels being the factor of a good camera knows naff all about photography. Phone cameras can't cope with anything darker than bright daylight. Every phone I've had I've found indoor and night time shots are blurred because they can't cope with low light conditions. It's to do with the aperture of the lenses and nothing to do with megapixels.
Agreed I use my phone camera to take odd snaps when I'm commuting but I have always have a compact in my handbag just in case but when I'm going out purely to take photographs I use my SLR
Many phones have cameras good enough for what most people want. I have taken holiday photos with my HTC One X and blown them up to A4 size printed on glossy photo paper and they look fantastic. Back in the day I had an SLR and used to do my own developing and printing but digital has made it so much easier for the average person with a half decent inkjet printer.
Unless you're printing above A4 size then anything bigger than 6mp is a waste as the human eye can't see that much detail. Of course with any camera it's only as good as the printer and paper you use to print out the final image. Or the quality/size of the screen on which the image is being viewed.
Saying that, I see loads of people with big digital SLR cameras that don't even know how to take/compose a photo. It's no good having a fantastic camera if you don't know how to take a decent photo. The end result is only as good as the person who clicks the shutter.
When Shop A is awkward about a return despite them being legally correct and Shop B exchanges no problem (i.e. going above and beyond legal requirements) then Shop B is the one people will shop at and Shop A will be the one more likely to go bust with little sympathy from their ex-customers.
There seems to be an attitude in some shops of them being in the right so you can get stuffed which really doesn't help them, especially in a recession.
We've had quite a few of our photos blown up and framed over the years that's why I use the SLR
This reminds me of a local craft shop I used to frequent but their customer service was so bad I stopped going in.
Once, I bought a load of art materials, thought the bill was a bit on the pricey side but it wasn't until I got home that I realised that the assistant had misread one of the price stickers and charged me an extra £10 (something like £15.64 instead of £5.64)!! So, I took the item back with my receipt and showed them, explaining very nicely that there had been a mistake. My god! The woman treated me appallingly! She may as well have just come straight out with it and called me a liar, because that was certainly the implication. She asked me if I had brought in the rest of what I'd purchased so they could check everything item by item. Well, of course I hadn't! And because the item was oddly priced, it seemed a bit of a big coincidence if something else had ended in 64p. I argued, she got someone else involved and eventually I got my tenner back.
Another time, I just happened to be in the shop when another customer brought back a tool that didn't work. She had the joy of the shop's owner who argued with her for a good ten minutes that she wasn't going to give the customer a refund. The customer told her that the tool's packaging said it would do such-a-thing and she even demonstrated to the owner that it didn't. The owner's argument was that the tool could still do other things so she would only give the customer a 10% discount. The customer stood her ground and eventually got her money back! It was at that point I decided not to buy anything else there and put the things I'd been going to buy back on the shelves.
A couple of months later a Hobbycraft opened nearby. If they lost custom to them it serves them right.
Nail, head, hit.
It's not about who's right and who's wrong it's all about keeping customers happy. For the sake of being arsey over a £7 book, WH Smith have lost any future custom which has cost them far more than doing a simple exchange. That's the trouble with big chain companies. You don't get this attitude with independent retailers because it's their neck on the line.
When my dad ran a pub he would always change the beer for someone who wasn't happy. I asked him once why he would change the pint for a regular customer when there wasn't anything wrong with it and he said, 'Because for the sake of a pint of beer, I'm not prepared to lose all their future custom when they drink in here 3 times week.' There ARE other places people can spend their hard earned money. Sadly some shops don't understand this simple concept.
WHSmith seem to be going downhill and their shops are looking quite scruffy and unkempt these days. The last time I was in I wanted to buy a local street map for my mum. WHSmith seemed a good place and they had a whole shelf area dedicated to maps, including maps of nearby towns and, also, quite randomly a couple of small towns about 300 miles away which was somewhat perplexing. None of this town, though. I asked an assistant if they had any and was given an abrupt 'no', then they just walked off! So I went to Waterstones, asked an assistant there who not only smiled and said yes, they did stock local maps, but took me to them!
That was the latest in a string of unsatisfactory experiences I've had in WHSmith, so I'm not really feeling inclined to go in again unless there's something I desperately need that cant be got elsewhere.
I'm going to stop moaning about poor shop experiences now, it's beginning to sound like that's all that happens to me, but sadly, poor customer service seems to be becoming the norm! Just to balance it out, I do my weekly shop in ASDA and they're always really helpful and friendly. I bought some shoes in Hotter a while ago and they were lovely too, giving me some empty shoeboxes for a children's charity thing my aunt does.Another shop regularly orders things in for me and they are very pleasant about it, not treating it like some great inconvenience.