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Fifteen mile roundtrip to Dunhelm to get some new curtains for our bedroom. None in stock.
Eight mile round trip to Curry's/PC World to get a Dualit toaster. None in stock.
Called in at our local Wickes to get some long handled lawn shears. None in stock.
All of the above now ordered on-line.
Is it all our fault that the highstreet shops are struggling?
Nope, but I bet if you went onto each of their respective websites you could order for in store collection.
You're right and when you do find what you want, the service is rubbish. We are a nation of bumbling incompetents when it comes to training shop staff and waiters.
Are any of those high street shops? I'd say those out of town stores are the worst of both worlds.
I'm always pretty amazed what my local old skool DIY shop in stock. OK not as good as the entire internet but almost always have something that will do the job.
You could check stock online, or click and collect. Or even call.
You’re right and when you do find what you want, the service is rubbish. We are a nation of bumbling incompetents when it comes to training shop staff and waiters
It's not that, it's that the pay is shit and they have to deal with British customers. Act like an arsehole to waiting staff like a lot of Brits do, then expect poor service.
NB: DO NOT DO THIS AT B&Q! Their stock control system appears to be kept updated on a ZX81 by a blind pensioner
@binners...
I had exactly that issue with B&Q yesterday, looked on line at store stock, i needed 10 bags of Postcrete, they reported having 28, drove there and they had ....two...
B&Q deserve to go out of business just based on there web-site alone
There was a time before the internet that you just bought whatever toaster your local electrical store had in stock...
I think expectations might be a bit high.
Nope, most physical retail places are woeful and not deserving of your custom, let alone artificial 'support'.
The good ones have shifted their business model, as so many others said, if you want same-day, click and collect, hybrid online/physical model etc. The bad ones are in a state of managed decline - I assume they think if they keep shrinking and dropping off stores when they become unprofitable at some point it'll level out, they're wrong.
I once went through the snow to get a laptop I had reserved for click and collect in PC world, it was the only one left in stock.
Turns out it was the display model and they couldn't sell it to me!
Needless to say I've never been back.
My experience is that chain stores never have stock and you might as well go local as at least you'll come home with something.
PC world
Yep, fairly terrible.
I'm forced to use them a few times a year, their staff simply don't understand their products and I'm sure I know more about their stock control system than they do.
They're also a bit like a museum, not just because some of the stuff they sell is very outdated, but mostly because they have much more stuff out the back than they have on display.
Oh, for the love of all things holy don't tell them it's for a business! (they usual trap is "do you need a VAT receipt?) or expect to wait 45 mins whilst the business manager puts all your details into their system (sloooooooowly) and produces an A4 invoice - no discount, no invoice terms, just a bigger format invoice for an hour of your time. Every time.
In fact Argos carry a lot of the same things they do, they just do it much better.
Im not sure why we should suppor the highstreet. Its a pain to park, a fight to get to the shops and a disapointment to deal with the staff for a product that isnt in stock.
Buy online - better choice and price and no messing about trying to get to the shop and park.
We could then repuropse the empty stores as starter flats.
Im not sure why we should suppor the highstreet
It's the fear of change, and the fear that the very retailer you have't used in 5 years might not survive until some unknown point in the future when they'd be marginally more convenient than a different one.
Totally agree with the OP - went to buy an edging spade from B&Q (the website said they had them in stock). I got there and they had none. So I went to Homebase. They had none. So I went to a local ironmongers'. They had some but they were cheap nasty plastic shafted ones and were £10 each. So I went onto Amazon and got a really nice wooden-shafted Spear & Jackson one at £15 delivered.
Errrr ... think you missed the point about supporting the High street a little.
Dunhelm, Currys, Wickes..... not exactly local independent traders are they?
But to be fair doubt you get curtains at dunhelm prices or a dualit toaster from an Indy.
But shears?? .... Get yourself to the local hardware store (brilliant places) or garden centre.
Good luck.
Our local high street has transformed to cafes, bars, restaurants, take aways and hair salons; replacing most of the traditional stores that were there before. Has a much nicer feal about it as people sit on tables on the pavement eating in the evenings, almost European....
Burnley?
Dunhelm, Currys, Wickes….. not exactly local independent traders are they?
Probably they've put the local haberdashery, iron mongers and electrical retailers out of business though, so are the only "high street" left.
Our local high street has transformed to cafes, bars, restaurants, take aways and hair salons; replacing most of the traditional stores that were there before. Has a much nicer feal about it as people sit on tables on the pavement eating in the evenings, almost European….
Our local high street has transformed to pharmacies, betting shops, charity shops and pound shops; replacing most of the traditional stores that were there before. Has a much scarier feel about it as people slump intoxicated in doorways or on the pavement in the evenings, almost Eastern European….
Thanks for clearing that up DezB
Is that not the point of supporting the high street as opposed to supporting the retail park ??
Dunhelm, Currys, Wickes….. not exactly local independent traders are they?
Probably they’ve put the local haberdashery, iron mongers and electrical retailers out of business though, so are the only “high street” left.
This ^
Don't suppose the Boards of each of those Corporates GAS about the High St when they setup business and moved into Out Of Town Retail Hell Parks did they....
Most retailers leave the stock control to the Manufactures to manage these days, it's not surprising that dead stock costs money, why stock it if you can get it shipped direct from the manufacturer..??
Click and Collect is the way to go.
High streets need to change. Cardiff is a good place - loads of parking, then you head for a coffee, browse some cool stuff (e.g. Lego Store, John Lewis, sundry clothes shops, try on shoes etc), have a burrito for lunch, maybe walk by the castle, grab a doughnut or an ice cream, head home - that kind of thing.
Molls on Saturday lunchtime as he flits between costa and John Lewis.....
To be fair Molls, that sounds like Rochdale, but did you know Rochdale famously has more canals than Venice. The feel of the place is very much the same
I once went through the snow to get a laptop I had reserved for click and collect in PC world, it was the only one left in stock.
Turns out it was the display model and they couldn’t sell it to me
I had that in Halfords. Store was most apologetic and encouraged me to complain to Head Office because they were fed up with the system continually doing that.
Head Office threw my complaint back to the store to deal with.
I ordered on line, paid for next day delivery and still paid less than Halfords would have charged me.
In the old days we used to just phone up the shop to see if they had it rather than drive 23 miles and waste an hour or two. Even had a book called the Yellow Pages to get their number.
Molls on Saturday lunchtime as he flits between costa and John Lewis…..
I don't actually buy anything except the pair of kids shoes we've come in for. And the food 🙂 I haven't yet won the lottery so I do not buy anything in the Lego store.
Is that not the point of supporting the high street as opposed to supporting the retail park ??
You can't if they don't exist, rosey, but thanks anyway 😆
Actually, there's a nice working class estate near where I work and that high street has an amazing Aladdin's Cave of a hardware shop. As well as a pet shop, 3 card shops and a car parts place.
I usually go in Lidls though.
“We are a nation of bumbling incompetents when it comes to training shop staff and waiters.”
In fairness I know some truly excellent waiters... ah... but none of them are British. Fair point.
I will always try my local independent shops before buying online, and it doesn’t necessarily come down to price; however, immediacy is a different thing - local independent Hat shop had a six week wait for a Tilley hat. It arrived on my doorstep next day with Amazon.
There was a time before the internet that you just bought whatever toaster your local electrical store had in stock…
But the shopkeeper would give you helpful advice about which toaster was best for your particular bread preferences etc.
Our local high street has transformed to pharmacies, betting shops, charity shops and pound shops; replacing most of the traditional stores that were there before. Has a much scarier feel about it as people slump intoxicated in doorways or on the pavement in the evenings, almost Eastern European….
You could well be describing my home town, and the home towns of many on here I would guess.
maybe walk by the castle
I'll see if the council in my home town fancy building a castle. It's probably no more pie in the sky than their ideas for regeneration.
I've never seen any of those stores on a high street, Ok Currys about 10 years ago, they're all on outlets.
Fifteen mile roundtrip to Dunhelm to get some new curtains for our bedroom. None in stock.
Is that what they mean by starship mileage?
Go outdoors advertised sealskin mtb socks for less than half of usual price last year, ordered a pair after checking store stock online. Drove around 10 miles to collect only to be told they had none in stock, to be fair the young girl at the counter was very apologetic and explained their website is only updated once a week. I left the store and drove into Newcastle city centre, around an hour later I received an email and txt from go outdoors saying the order was ready to collect so made a detour back to the store on the way home. Showed a different staff member the email and txt only to be told again that they had none in stock and couldn't say when they would get some
I've not been back to go outdoors since and doubt I will
maybe walk by the castle
Mine's got one of those 🙂
(Think thats been mentioned drac 😉 )
Go outdoors
Talking of [i]not[/i] high-street...
almost Eastern European….
Kiev was the most seedy place I've ever visited, lots of night clubs / brothels with blacked out range rovers on the pavement outside and body guards sporting not at all subtle firearms. Most of the kids were getting wasted on cheap drink in the subways....
On the other hand central (posh) Moscow was really pleasant, quite like nice bits of Paris.
High streets need to change. Cardiff is a good place – loads of parking, then you head for a coffee, browse some cool stuff (e.g. Lego Store, John Lewis, sundry clothes shops, try on shoes etc), have a burrito for lunch, maybe walk by the castle, grab a doughnut or an ice cream, head home – that kind of thing.
St. David's Shopping centre is a good example of 21st Century retail. Most of those shops aren't actually there to sell you stuff. Sure enough they'll take your money if you want to, but their primary goal is to act as showrooms. Hence they're more and more owned and operated by Manufacturers (Lego, Superdry, Apple et al) they don't want to piss off their resellers so they will generally only sell current models at full RRP, you go in, you prod and push, check for size, feel the quality etc - then whip out your smart phone, connect to the (really good and free) wi-fi and buy online.
SD2 is a theme park for people who actually like shopping. The rents are way too high for most retailers who actually want to make money at the tills, they're usually down the way in the less-flash SD1.
Screwfix and Euro car parts do a good job of combing the internet with a store a bit like Argos. Not exactly high street though.
Our local high street is working hard to bring things back it has a lot of independent shops now that seem to do quite well. Yes it has bookish and charity shops too and for some reason lots of barbers and hairdressers.
No Go Outdoors though.
Isn't the demise of the high street all down to the consumer buying patterns? I would guess that most people make their purchases based on price and bricks and mortar + staff cost money. The high street has changed and will keep on changing until there a just a few left in each area that offer restaurants and bars, plus a few fancy shops.
ROFL complaining about problems you are both directly and indirectly responsible for in management, politics and as complete arses of customers. Your faith in corporate giants only works when there's growth and loads of money in it for them!
Good luck with the autocratic (low quality) hands off management and minimum wage zero hours workers being grateful and oh so pleased to serve entitled nobheads, have a nice day! Japanese style automation/vending is your only hope.
Starter flats, I almost spat my tea out. As for the retail sheds being turned into housing for those that need them, what a laugh, what delusional unicorn fantasy land do you live in? The benevolent private sector rallying round to provide affordable housing for those in need 😀 Yeah course they will, just more luxury BTL fodder for the same bunch of ****s.
I would go and have a lie down if I were you.
It's all down to laziness. Your British shopper would rather drive for an hour to park 1 minute away from a shop than walk for 20 minutes.
Our local hardware store is staffed by people who know how to use the goods they sell.
You can buy one bolt if you want.
Our local gift shop is the best shop in the whole world and you should all visit it. Plus we actually pay tax.
Anyone who doesn't have Amazon Prime please put up your hand ...
Am I the only one?
So I went onto Amazon and got a really nice wooden-shafted Spear & Jackson one at £15 delivered.
You are Eric Olthwaite, et je réclame mes cinq Euros
We have an absolutely awesome, family run hardware shop on our High Street - I have to walk past Screwfix to get there, but they're almost guaranteed to be able to offer a choice and will be cheaper than Screwfix. They'll sell you screws and nails in quantities for the amount you need, not having to buy a big box because the little packets are gougingly expensive.
The problem with chain store retail in the UK is that they can survive because of zero hour contracts and tax-credits effectively subsidising their wage bill - pay their staff naff-all instead of them sitting at home watching Jeremy Kyle.
@ Kerly - Don't worry about me I'm fine. I just don't walk around with blinkers on in cloud cuckoo land.
My hand is up C_G
Talking of Prime, it’s quite clever how Amazon got all those people to sign up and pay a subscription for free post, saved shopping around eh? Once they’ve got everyone into this one site shopping, hike up the prices! Genius.
you need one of these...
Absolutely staggered what they carry ie for our race car - o rings for the fuel injection (correct spec) and roll pins for the gear lever mod we did AND they will sell them individually!!! bought boxes of each hasten to add.
sigh...
We have a WHS smith opposite our shop. We stock one card company that they do. The same card is £1 more in Smiths and I can guarantee that they buy it cheaper than we do.
Re go outdoors, if there was an alternative locally I'd choose them every time, I'd actually spend a bit more if there was an independent competitor (tried LD Mountain Centre after go outdoors but they didn't stock the sealskins) as I do regularly with bike parts. I live in a small village with no high street, and the nearest towns as mentioned already have a choice of takeaways, pound shops and betting shops with very little else. If I'm honest I can't ever remember shopping for anything on a local high st, I'll always choose an independent over a chain but its getting harder to find an alternative to the online option these days
I point blank refuse to use Amazon and always have tho
Waves to C_G. I didn't even know what Amazon prime was, haha.
We live in a small town. The high street has:
1 fantastic huge DIY store. everything from coal to baking trays.
2 very good family run bakeries,
1 independent outdoor shop,
1 proper family owned fruit and veg shop,
2 butchers,
2 pet shops,
1 gift shop
1 book shop,
1 bridal shop'
1 Posh dress shop'
1 interior design shop,
1 electrical shop,
1 fabulous health food shop,
2 opticians,
and a fantastic stationery supplies shop
All these are independent. Of course mixed in are the usual hairdressers, charity shops, beauty parlours, cafes, a clothes store and supermarkets. But the shops are well used and supported.
Anyone who doesn’t have Amazon Prime please put up your hand …
Am I the only one?
Hand up here.
What is the benefit of it, apart from being able to watch Clarkson? (no thank you).
It seldom takes more than 2 days for any order to come through. If there is something I really desperately need tomorrow I'll pay the extra but I can't remember the last time that happened.
We don't have Sky or BT. Neither do we complain about how much all these services are costing and how little get in return.
We must live a boring life because we don't use Facebook either.
you need one of these…
http://www.wcbaker.co.uk/
/blockquote>Plus one for WC Bakers. I have no idea where they store all the stuff or how teh staff find it - but they always find that odd bit you need
With a new baby in the house, Amazon prime is a godsend. I'm back to work and living in a small village with no shops, if my wife needs anything it's an hours round trip into Dundee plus the hassle of packing up the wee man, finding a decent parking space with enough room to get pram out etc. She ordered something late yesterday (Sunday) afternoon and it arrived before lunchtime this morning. I'm sorry if it offends the holier than thou amongst you, but that can't be beaten.
What is the benefit of it, apart from being able to watch Clarkson?
Well it's free next day delivery, but it's also a video streaming service (same price as Netflix), and a music streaming service although with fewer songs in the basic version. And for an extra quid unlimited free games and e-books from their (wide) selection for your kids if you have one of their tablets. Quite a few benefits.
Anyone who doesn’t have Amazon Prime please put up your hand …
✋
Also, I had the opposite experience today.
I phoned Stockbridge nursery, a little place on the edge of Dunblane and 1km from our house. No poncy coffee shop (nice coffee machine for customers who do want though, bring your own mug), no fancy BBQ's or pukka outdoor lifestyle furniture.
Yes they had stock, but only 18 of 3.6m X 150mm boards of the 26 I needed, and therefore offered to deliver the rest for free on Wednesday.
I drove up, they loaded the roof rack with me and then charged me 20% less than Wickes.
Proper job.
http://www.molawn.com/garden-nursery-dunblane-stirling
I’ve never seen any of those stores on a high street, Ok Currys about 10 years ago, they’re all on outlets.
Bath has a Curry’s/PC World in the city centre.
Anyone who doesn’t have Amazon Prime please put up your hand …
Technically, I don’t; however, there have been a number of occasions where I’ve accidentally ticked the box, and cancelled it when I’ve realised my mistake a day or so later.
There are still places with good shops, like Bath, and some parts of Bristol.
I needed a couple of pairs of shorts, most of mine were worn out, so I went into Bath to check out what Route One, a skate/streetwear shop had to offer.
They do a choose two for £50 of their own range*, which were fine, limited range of sizes in store, tried one pair which were a good fit, but they didn’t have another pair the same.
Lass on the till mentioned they could get another pair posted to me, which I gratefully accepted. This was Bank Holiday Monday; they arrived on Wednesday morning.
That I consider to be excellent service, and encourages me to continue buying there.
*£37 each, similar ones by other makes were up to £75!
Actually now you mention it Newcastle might too but that like Bath is not my high street, the one in our high street closed around 20 years ago.
We're still in a little bubble here where those shops still exist. Within 2 mins of my front door I can buy electrical goods, women's hats, plumbing supplies, lingerie, and choose from two shoemakers. This isn't city centre, just a barrio like many others. There are still folk who'll pay more to shop locally, for how much longer I don't know. Airbnb etc is forcing up rents, suspect when current shop owners retire they'll sell up.
Isn’t the demise of the high street all down to the consumer buying patterns?
Yes and yes - we're really discussing two things here 1) the decline of Town Centre High Streets and 2) the Decline of Physical retailers in general. The two are linked, but not the same.
Some large retailers, the exact ones who have been blamed for the demise of the traditional high street for decades have been going under of late, lots in fact.
A decline like this is a sort of natural selection really, bad ones die, good ones not only survive but pick up the business from the failing ones.
I don't know what's a bigger threat to retailers these days, the likes of Amazon and home delivery, or the Supermarkets building bigger and bigger stores and moving into more markets all the time. I'm fairly sure, if I had to, I could go 12 months only buying things from my local Big Tesco - food, obvs, clothes, electricals, hardware, pharmacy, fuel, mobiles, utilities no doubt, they've even got a Bank.
Bath has a Curry’s/PC World in the city centre.
As does Bristol. I've just been there to drop off a DPD parcel to send my Rab jacket off for washing.
I assume their business model for this is that I'd then buying something electricky. Looked at a few camera bags. They were all covered in dust so I left. Now, fairly obviously, I'm back on the internet...
You can add my local plumbers merchants to the list of shit shops. Needed a generic 40mm tap cartridge - guy looks at it and announces that it’s “unique” and that I’d be better off fitting a new tap for “only £79”.
Which was surprising as the generic cartridge from Screwfix worked perfectly and cost six quid.
First against the wall etc...
Oh, for the love of all things holy don’t tell them it’s for a business! (they usual trap is “do you need a VAT receipt?) or expect to wait 45 mins whilst the business manager puts all your details into their system (sloooooooowly) and produces an A4 invoice – no discount, no invoice terms, just a bigger format invoice for an hour of your time. Every time.
I've made that mistake before. I thought there might be a discount involved as I was buying 4x 42" TV's, but nope, just an hour of my life gone. It went on so long I became convinced I'd been rumbled for using the company credit card and the police must be coming or something!
Surely there must be a point?
Just back in from my local high street. Fancied some asparagus and jersey potatoes for dinner. Just been reamed for £25 for both for family of four at ye olde greengrocer's. ****sake. And we live in the vale of Evesham! For that kind usurious tosh they deserve to go to the wall.
I’ve made that mistake before. I thought there might be a discount involved as I was buying 4x 42″ TV’s, but nope, just an hour of my life gone. It went on so long I became convinced I’d been rumbled for using the company credit card and the police must be coming or something!
Surely there must be a point?
If there is, I’m yet to discover it. The staff seem completely disinterested in it, they make a few offers of ‘tech advice’ but we never got any.
Well it’s free next day delivery
But it's not free is it? You have to pay for Prime. What a stupid comment.
women’s hats, plumbing supplies, lingerie, and choose from two shoemakers.
Sounds like a recipe for a wild night.
For that kind usurious tosh they deserve to go to the wall.
You took out a loan to buy some veg?
But it’s not free is it? You have to pay for Prime. What a stupid comment.
Pretty sure everyone knew what I was talking about. Your comment on the other hand was utterly unnecessary and added no value whatsoever to the discussion, and on top of that makes you look an arsehole. I think your comment was much stupider.
You took out a loan to buy some veg?
it feels like it!
@Stoner
I’d just like to clarify this - you paid £25 for enough potatoes and asparagus to feed four people?
asparagus
Broccoli is cheaper. Or spinach.
I’d just like to clarify this – you paid £25 for enough potatoes and asparagus to feed four people?
to be fair there was enough left for lunch for two today.
But yes. I feel properly done over.
Its the English disease though. You dont want to cause a [i]scene[/i] when dear ol' lady tells you "the asparagus comes to £14". You mumble, "Oh well, that's OK, it is a treat...". And then complain about it a few hours later to wierdos on the internet.
Its the English disease though
I had a similar moment buying olives from a market stall... "£9 please"... "Lovely. Thanks".
Cough splutter! Did I just pay NINE QUID for a pot of olives?!
Im feeling better already
Oh dear, my middle classness has just been confirmed when seeing that some see asparagus as a treat.
I get all my asparagus from Amazon anyway, using Prime 'free' delivery.
Shops will die out if they are offering things people don't want (not enough choice, higher price etc,.) but they just need to be replaced by others things rather than retail (barbers, coffee shops, micro pubs, skateboard shops with mini ramp inside and so on.)
A high street full of that rather than the token butcher, baker and candlestick maker is not a bad thing.
Were the nine quid olives nice Dezzy?
Or did they still taste of washing up liquid like all the other cheaper ones? 😉