Shoppers attack High Street’s poor customer service and lack of staff in damning new survey

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Shoppers attack High Street’s poor customer service and lack of staff in damning new survey

May 21st, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

By
Jamie Mcginnes

PUBLISHED:

04:07 EST, 21 May 2012

|

UPDATED:

09:12 EST, 21 May 2012

Shoppers have dumped car parts and bicycles retailer Halfords at the bottom of the high street pile in a customer satisfaction survey.

The poll published today by consumer champion Which? ranked Halfords as the UK’s worst store.

One customer said Halfords had ‘unhelpful and rude’ staff and ‘its products are worse than any I’ve purchased before’.

Thumbs down: One customer surveyed by Which? said Halfords had 'unhelpful and rude' staff

Thumbs down: One customer surveyed by Which? said Halfords had ‘unhelpful and rude’ staff

WH Smith did little better, at second bottom overall, with shoppers slamming its ‘cluttered’ stores.

Tesco finished a lowly joint fourth worst in the survey of more than 11,000 people.

THE ‘BEST’ 10 RETAILERS

1 Lush

2 John Lewis, Apple

3 Lakeland

4 Clarks

5 Richer Sounds

6 Disney Store

7 Ikea

8 Morrisons, Bonmarche

9 Marks Spencer, Evans Cycles, Waterstones

10 Maplin Electronics, Jones Bootmaker, Monsoon, The Perfume Shop

The supermarket giant was the most poorly rated for clothes, shoes and accessories, with one customer complaining: ‘Usually there are few or no staff around.

‘On my last visit there was no one staffing the changing room or around to ask for something in a different size.’

Martyn Hocking, Which? editor, said: ‘With household budgets squeezed, people are becoming choosier about when and how they purchase products.

‘High street shops cannot afford to give customers poor service if they want to tempt shoppers away from their computers and back to the high street.’

Another huge turn-off for many shoppers in today’s high street is the 26,000 self-service tills that have begun appearing in recent years.

Customers can struggle to get the machines to scan barcodes and are infuriated by the irritating ‘unexpected item in the bagging area’ message.

The Which? survey, which appears in the June issue of Which? magazine, was based on customer ratings for factors such as price, product range and quality, service and store environment.

Consumers were asked how satisfied they were with visits they had made to shops in the previous six months and if they would recommend the retailer to a friend.

Cosmetics firm Lush came top of the table of 100 shops,with shoppers praising its ‘friendly and knowledgeable staff’ and ‘high-quality products’.

Backlash: WH Smiths was second bottom overall in the Which? poll, with shoppers slamming its 'cluttered' stores

Backlash: WH Smiths was second bottom overall in the Which? poll, with shoppers slamming its ‘cluttered’ stores

Tesco, which saw £5 billion wiped off its share value after announcing a profit warning in January this year, was thrashed by supermarket rivals in the league table of 100 shops.

Morrisons came 10th overall, Marks Spencer was 12th, Asda 23rd and Sainsbury’s finished 53rd.

THE ‘WORST’ 10 SHOPS

1 Halfords

2 WH Smith

3 Blacks

4 Tesco, Poundstretcher, JJB Sports

5 BHS, Brantano, TK Maxx

6 Primark, Homebase, JD Sports, Garden Centre Group

7 PC World

8 Millets, Barratts, Topshop/Topman, Currys Digital

9 New Look, Office, Shoe Zone, Mothercare, Stead Simpson, Toys R Us

10 Comet, Currys, Robert Dyas, River Island, Sports Direct, HMV, MCo, Gamestation, Matalan, Burton, The Range

A spokesman for Tesco said: ‘Our customers, who shop with us in their millions each week, like the wide range of products that we provide at great prices.

‘This year we’ll be investing into our stores, our customer service and the quality of our products to serve them even better.’

Mr Hocking said the survey showed the continuing squeeze on household budgets has clearly had an impact on shopping habits – with more than half of shoppers (56%) saying they are doing less shopping than this time last year.

And he said online shopping is now preferred by 41% of consumers, mainly because it’s cheaper and easier to compare prices.

The majority (57%) of people surveyed said they buy more online than on the high street.

Halfords said it is improving its service by ‘working hard and investing’.

A spokesman added: ‘At Halfords, providing a high level of great service is a top priority and our feedback shows thousands of customers each week love the help we provide.’

Top of the shops: Lush was praised for its ¿friendly and knowledgeable staff¿

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

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I have always had good service at Halford’s Edge Lane Liverpool. A young lad came out to my car in the dark and rain and changed a bulb, and windscreen wipers, and refused a tip. Would definitely visit again.

– noel, Liverpool., 21/5/2012 20:38

My husband is currently having trouble with halfords autocentre.
After taking his car for an MOT and service. They scratched his alloys real bad.
Admitted it and then after a phone call in the office came out and said we’d done it and then someone had tried to steal them.
The mechanic said to our face he’d used pliers instead of the special tool for the nut covers but they STILL said we had done it.
The manager was rude and the area manager was worse!!
We’ve been in touch with trading standards and taking it to small claims if not resolved by head office.
Disgraceful!

– shhhh!, here., 21/5/2012 20:37

Halfords! Teenage staff totally disinterested in the job and lacking any knowledge of most of the products. Also, too few staff and those present do their best to avoid contact with the customers. Pricey so go elsewhere!

– Terenceh, Hereford, UK, 21/5/2012 20:36

when they tell you a 2 month bicycle cannot be used in wet conditions because it will get rusty, you have to question the stores integrity in selling such items and that is it in breach of consumer law by selling goods not fit for purpose in light of the british climate, i bought a few bikes when i was younger 30-40 years ago and not one went rusty, what they are trying to do is get you to buy the significantly higher priced bikes, if this is their customer service, they deserve to be brought down by the office of fair trading,

– stefan, swindon uk, 21/5/2012 20:35

It’s not just staff in shops that are rude. Whenever we ‘phone our bank there are times you can’t get through and are put on hold with annoying ‘muzak’ playing in the background, and are being charged a premium rate for the ‘phone call. When you do finally get to talk to a member of staff sometimes they’re patronising and talk down to you. It’s the same whenever you speak to any companies on the ‘phone nowadays. You’re placed in a queueing system and people on the ‘other end of the ‘phone don’t give you the service or help that they are getting paid to do. That said customers can be abusive to staff. But whatever happened to the days when the customer was right?

– Sarah (Fungus the Bogeyman fan), Newcastleton Borders, 21/5/2012 20:33

Last year I tried to buy a bike for my 3 year old grandson. We were totally ignored, and the one staff member went into the back room, and I had to get someone from the lower floor to come up to serve us.Then he would not sell me the only one they had until he had safety checked it, which he refused to do right then despite the shop being almost empty.He said we would have to come back later. We bought the same one in Argos cheaper. I think that was the worst customer service I have ever received.

– daphne, Salford, 21/5/2012 20:31

I’ve always waited ages to be served, eg 15 – 20 minutes in Halfords BUT once I get hold of someone, they have been very helpful and knowledgeable. I’ve had a roof rack fitted, bought a sat nav, and 4 bicycles over the last 4 years. I guess they are very short staffed, but the staff they have have always been top quality and polite. Buying these sort of items is not quick and the customer in front of you can easily take a good 15 – 20 minutes. A couple of times I’ve been asked to come back an hour later! Hate the waiting but far better to wait than receive shoddy, rude, service.

– ann, London, 21/5/2012 20:27

If you don’t like self-service tills, don’t use them. You don’t have to.

– Roddy, Britannia, 21/5/2012 20:26

Having been in Halfords recently to purchase a new car seat for my daughter after my friends car was written off, I can understand why Halfords is labeled as the worst.
After asking several members of staff if the car seat we wanted was suitable for a Punto, we were informed that they had ‘no idea’ and to ask the man on the till.
We were waiting 15 minutes for them to bring us the car seat the purchase, when we asked where the staff member was, we we told ‘on his lunch’.
Farce from start to finish!!!

– Victoria, UK, 21/5/2012 20:18

I bought a bike from them last year for my then, 5 year old. They put it together and gave me check list to say it was ok. When I took it home we realised the stabilisers were not fitted right, they simply turned around when any weight was put on them, so we took it back. Halfords fixed this, but then there was another problem, the front brakes had been wired tightly around the front of the bike, meaning that every time my sun turned the handlebars right, the breaks sharply came on. Luckily my son wasn’t going fast when we discovered this. I called the store (Wisbech Cambridgeshire) but they didn’t seem to care and told me to bring it in. I didn’t, I took it to another shop who fixed that and another couple of faults they picked up also.
I will NEVER buy another bike from them again!

– Hermione-boo, Rural Bedfordshire, 21/5/2012 20:15

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