A little while ago, we asked you to tell us what makes a great shopping experience. Ex Which? Convo team member Katie Benson joins us once again to sum up your views on what separates a good shopping trip from an awful one.
As we saw last week, M&S took the decision to stop piping music into their stores, in a big victory for frustrated shoppers. Among other things, this decision was based on feedback from customers, so it really can pay to voice your concerns. If something is winding you up, tell the retailer and, if they value their customers, they might make a change.
We recently asked you to share what you think makes a good shopping experience. The changes at M&S should please William:
“For me it starts with FREE parking. Then good prices. Then very small queues at till, and preferably no piped muzac to assault my ear drums”
According to Alfa, it can be something so simple as buying the product you went out to buy:
“A good shopping experience is when you come home with whatever you intended to buy and we seem to come home empty-handed far too often. There was a time when you could go round a few shops and see a different choice of quality products in each shop. Now they all seem to have the same rubbish”
Bricks vs clicks
In the age of online shopping, making a trip to the shops needs to be worth it. VynorHill explained the importance of getting to know a product before you buy:
“Being able to pick up something and have a good look at it before deciding to purchase. Does it feel flimsy or well made; is the size right; does it feel comfortable; does it fit; do the switches and controls work smoothly? These are things one has to take on trust when buying online, relying on customer reviews and professional advice that’s unbiased”
Several of you get frustrated having to wait for help. John Ward described the frustration of waiting for assistance, especially if you don’t get much of a reward for your patience:
“We frequently have to wait far too long for a member of staff to become available and far too often they cannot answer predictable questions about the performance or characteristics of the products. We had a recent experience of that in the lighting department of a John Lewis store where the response to a question was to look up the product on the website which I had to point out contained unreliable information and was the reason for the visit to the store in the first place”
The dance of the conveyor belt
Ever been made to feel like a slow coach at the checkout? You’re not alone. TGM shares her frustrations:
“I hate to say it but the carrier bag charge has not helped. I found staff in some shops would offer to pack bags or help pack bags, now they just throw your stuff down the bottom and sit there drumming their fingers or loudly sighing if you are not packing quickly enough, especially if you are still unpacking the trolley on a large shop”
Ditch the piped music, stock decent products and make it easy to examine them, have plenty of helpful staff and don’t make people feel stressed about packing their shopping. This doesn’t sound like too much to ask, so hopefully the high-street shops are listening and will take a leaf out of M&S’s book, making changes for the better.
Have you had an amazing shopping experience recently? Do you shun the high street and stick to online purchases instead?
Which of these is the most important to you when shopping?
A good selection of products to choose from (40%, 244 Votes)
Plenty of staff who can help when you need them (33%, 204 Votes)
Peace and quiet - no annoying musak (21%, 128 Votes)
None of these - tell us what's important to you in the comments (6%, 40 Votes)
Total Voters: 616
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