Sunday Rest Day

Entry for 02 December 2007 Shopping and customer sercvice

I keep think about doing this post for a long time, about my opinion of some high street shop, they staff & customer service.
I like to use only shop that I like, feel welcome in and sell items, goods that are of high quality, I do not want to pay too much for them, but for better quality and customer service, I will buy thing at a little high price.

1. Marks & Spencer : This national chain of store always seems nice and friendly, very good quality and at good prices, very helpfully staff who seem to never look like they do not like what they are doing.
They used to have good contracts with they suppliers, I think that changed in the late 90's, but still a lot better than others.

2. Boots : Another store I like to use, not as good as M&S, but still very good. It has a great past with Jesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent & started by John Boot, the company done more for they staff, than just pay them & which most company now day could never match, still now day, it seem a good shop for customers (may be not as good, as it used to be for staff, but still they seem happy to service customers), after being bought out by New York City-based Private Equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, that the service will get worst, but so far, I have not seen any sign of that, plus with this & other changes, that more of they offices in Nottingham might be history ?
Still IMHO, I think as a shop, they are very good, helpfully staff, good quality & nice prices.

3. Morrisons : I did not use this supermarket chain much, before they opened Riverside store, Norwich, the closed I seen was Grantham Newton Shopping Center I think, but now I used this more than any other supermarket, the staff are helpfully (but i been in some of they stores, like Stratford & staff there do not seem as nice, like a different company), good offers, prices, but question over they treatment of suppliers, as with all supermarkets, they seem to just want to get the lowest price, at any cost, which is good for shoppers in the short term, but bad in the long term.
Morrisons seem to be better than the others, a lot better than Tesco, but still they that aim, to be the only shop around, they actions lead to closer of many small shops.

4. Co-op : In some way, Co-Op seem the best shop, more green than any other, better with suppliers, but in most Co-Op supermarkets, they staff seem like they think, serving the customers is a little too much for them, they also feel like they are ex-headmaster & what to cane someone, like any one who ask a question they do not like ? prices, quality of good are good, but service seem bad, like they do not want to be there, for some reason.
May be it just the shops I have been in, some of the Colchester Co-Op have been a lot better, from memory.
Norwich Thorpe Station is the worst, low quality food, but that was the same when 'HEAD' Nisa Today's & Budgens ?

5. SPAR : Now this, I do not use much at all, I remember some, when i lived up Desmond Drive, but I was a little too young then, but the one in Great Yarmouth, the staff seem like the Co-Op, but even worst, they seem to have better things to do, than work in a store, they shop are not what I call supermarkets, just small shops, it hard to see the different now day, a small shop are more like small supermarkets ?
I would like to use SPAR shops more, but I do not like the service I get in them shops, mostly because of the store at market Gates, Yarmouth.

6. Sainsbury's ' : This is another shop I have a high opinion of, very good customer service, helpful staff, good quality, nice prices (but think Morrisons are better on price), can not say anything bad about them, unless talking in general about supermarkets.

7. Somerfield : I used some of they older store in the past - Keymarkets, International Stores, Fine Fare , I do not remember much about International Stores, KeyMarkets on StStephens I remember going with my Dad, Fine Fare with they yellow own brand, but not much about anything else, David Greg on Grove Walk was a small supermarket, this was turn into a newsagents, then latter to Tesco Express?
I been in the Lowestoft branch of Somerfield, they staff seem ok, but some time not too helpfull.
I like to use them more than Tesco, but the Tesco staff seem a little more helpful sometimes.

8. Tesco : This is a shop, that most people in the UK use the most, spend the most, but is not liked the most, the staff are helpful, the price seem good, the quality of good are ok, but they seem to build store sometimes right next to others, like in Long Eaton (Asda), Skegness (Morrisons), & Diss (Morrisons), but they buy land next they own store, to stop other doing the same.
They also bad for suppliers, not good for the farmers, bad for small shops, more so than any other supermarket, because of they need to open small stores & lots of stores, big and small.
They customer service and prices, seem great, you get everything from a supermarket, plus cloths, mobile phone, TV, DVD's, bank account, loans, nearly everything, which is bad for other small shops, some might think, well hard luck, they just not as good as TESCO, but who wants just TESCO as a shop, I want more choice than that. (I think you can buy cars as well ? but not sure ? ). Tescopoly

9. ASDA : They have not got the same bad aftertaste as TESCO, but Wal-Mart has, in the USA, I do not feel as bad, when I shop at ASDA, as when I use Tesco, but may be I should.
Good , helpful staff, nice prices, good quality goods, from the worlds biggest supermarket.
Is biggest the best ?
"Specific criticisms include the company's extensive foreign product sourcing, low rates of employee health insurance enrollment, resistance to union representation, and alleged sexism."
Criticism of Wal-Mart


There many more stores, big and small.
But I just going round my Dad's.
That my opinion of nine of the national chains of stores / supermarkets, I have used.

Edit at 1913 hours.
10. Kwik Save : not a store I use much, I used them may around 1996 & may be 1997, in the Peterborough area, even got a mobile phone from there for £40, which then was very cheap.
There seem cheap and more basic store than Sainsbury's / Asda / Morrisons, but with the ASDA Farm Stores (now Smart price), Tesco value, Morrisons Bettabuy & other shop with they own cheap budget brands, plus new stores like Aldi , Lidl , Netto , it made it harder for Kwik Save and they No Frills brand.
It sad when a company, goes into administration & Kwik Save had a few good things about it, but they lost they way, lucky for some, 56 stores & they staff being bought & turn into FreshXpress.
Just looked at this on Wikip, see they found it hard too & now only 23 out of 56 FreshXpress stores left.
I wonder what the Beeston Kick Save store is now (some small shopping center, that the bus from Broad Marsh Centre to Long easton, stop at, in a little bus station, also remember the video / DVD rental store as well.
If I every used it, it would be about once, as I never got off the bus, as I remember, only about once.
Address of last FreshXpress in Nottingham, to think there was, about 1000 kick save stores at one stage, in the 90's.

NOTTINGHAM - CLIFTON

350 SOUTHCHURCH DRIVE
CLIFTON
NOTTINGHAM
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
NG11 9FE

11. Farmfoods : I remember there used to be on in Broad Marsh Center, Nottingham, but the last time I look, it unit was being used for something else, mostly selling frozen food, it a bit like Iceland, I have not used them much, but they looked cheap, as in they stores looked cheap, not the price, I can not remember the price of anything in they shops.

12. Iceland : Same as Farmfoods, but the shops looked more better, have a lot of offers, In Norwich they have the old Keymarkets stores in StStephens, a store at Anglia Square, I have not used them much.
They staff always seem helpful.



Now watching Columbo on the Hallmark Channel , Swan song (3rd March 1974 : 1.4 Third season (1973–1974, 8 episodes))

"Swan Song" (3/3/74) imdb

Johnny Cash is Tommy Brown, gospel singing superstar. Ida Lupino is his wife Edna, head of the ministry seeking to build a new tabernacle. Since Edna caught Tommy cheating on her with an underage girl, she has been blackmailing Tommy into donating all of the proceeds from his concerts and records to the building fund. When Tommy decides he has had enough, he slips the girls drugged coffee to put them to sleep on their small private plane while flying into Los Angeles and then bails out with a homemade parachute. Edna's brother Luke (Bill McKinney) insists that the police handle the case as a homicide, while the FAA is ready to write it off to an unfortunate accident. In the course of the investigation, Columbo comes to realize that Tommy Brown is one of the most sympathetic murderers he has ever pursued. Nicholas Colasanto (Coach on Cheers) took his second turn behind the camera to direct this episode.

Sunday 2 December 2007 - 04:17PM (GMT)