Samuel turns in a star performance

JACOBS is a camera shop just around the corner from Atkinsons, up a narrow side street. From the outside, it looks just like any other camera store, but once inside, I got the sort of star treatment that turns a shopping experience into something very special.
My shop assistant, Samuel, asked me what I was after and on discovering that I was looking for a digital SLR, set about his task with enthusiasm and charm. He was nothing short of brilliant. Not only did he really know his stuff, he explained it in such a way that I felt I was getting really useful guidance while never feeling left behind.
After a brief chat about the state of the digital SLR market, Samuel guided me towards a Nikon D60, a Canon 450 and a Sony Alpha 350.
The pros and cons were explained with a clarity that filled me with confi dence, and all the while the conversation was easy and friendly. If I hadn’t already got a good camera I would have seriously thought about getting one, there and then.
Lenses, cases and batteries were all touched on and at no point did I ever feel that I was being steered in unnecessary directions. Just brilliant.
If anyone’s in Sheffi eld and wants to see a good salesman at work, visit Jacobs.

Score: 10 out of 10

Friendly, honest service

I’M very fond of Panasonic products, but like all brands, it needs to be sold, so imagine my delight when I walked into Sheffi eld’s the Shop@ Panasonic and was immediately greeted by a friendly face.
My shop assistant was charming, knowledgeable and amiable. I had a feeling I was going to like my Pana experience. And guess what? I did.
I was guided around some fantastic LCD and plasma TVs, each one getting its features fully explained. There was a demo of 100Hz versus 50Hz image processing, a chat about contrast ratios and I was also shown some special offers. Some screens came with a free stand – albeit a simple glass one.
What I found especially interesting was that my guide was a middle-aged woman – there was not a spotty teen in sight. There was no attempt to talk technology for the sake of it and the conversation was entirely easy going and unforced. Bliss.
For good, honest service my time in the shop really couldn’t be bettered although there was no attempt to sell me up.

Score: 9 out of 10

Pass my wallet, I'll take that Samsung!

THE Richer Sounds branch in Sheffi eld has recently been expanded, a good sign if ever there was one. And it was easy to see why from my visit. The shop was clean and tidy, well laid out and generally bright and airy. It looked good.
I soon had a member of staff at my side who guided me through the TV models on show – my proffered reason for my visit. We settled on a 1080p LG, which was very competitively priced – it certainly offered great value for money. What worried me was that when I asked about the more expensive Panasonic and Pioneer models hanging alongside the preferred LG, I was told that I’d be wasting my money – the picture performance wouldn’t be any better, apparently.
Rule number one of selling: if someone comes into your store and says “tell me about your most expensive product” you don’t say “don’t bother”, you tell them that they’re making a great decision.
However, I did end up making a purchase – a pair of HDMI cables, again at a very good price, so my time wasn’t entirely wasted although it could have been better.
Once again, an unwillingness to sell up let things down. Perhaps the commission model at Richer Sounds needs revising.

Score: 5 out of 10

Technotwaddle

Sheffi eld’s third Currys store is out at Meadowhall. Would it be any better than the other two (see next page)? Well, it couldn’t be worse.
The good news was that my fears were unwarranted. I was met by a member of staff within seconds of entering the shop. He was friendly, enthusiastic and half-knowledgeable when it came to answering questions about fl at panel TVs. He sped through what was on offer, dropped all the right buzz words – Full HD, 100Hz – but for much of the time I was suspicious that my friendly guide really didn’t have much of an idea about the words he was repeating.
He explained that 1080i panels are interlaced and therefore only show half the resolution of a 1080p spec’d TV. This is an easy mistake to make, but it’s simply not true. There’s no doubt it can be tricky to explain deinterlacing, scaling and the vagaries of interpolation, but the claims I heard in this branch of Currys.digital were frankly pretty wayward at times.
At a time when technology is the key to selling up it really would be a good idea to ensure that the people talking the tech talk understand what they’re saying. I really don’t think that this is too much to ask when you’re planning on parting with several hundred pounds on a telly.
Still, at least I’d been met by a smiling member of staff.

Score: 5 out of 10

Good sale turns into a farce

SONY Centres have a pleasing, uniform look and this franchise in Meadowhall was no different.
The fact that I was met by a friendly, smiling member of staff was also good – I was soon engaged in a detailed conversation about flat panel TVs, picture performance and value for money. Our chat was relaxed and easy and I felt confident that I was being given good advice. My questions were also answered with a quiet confi dence.
After a few minutes we’d agreed that I might think about purchasing a KDL40W3000 – a TV that offered plenty of performance, and it could be mine for a 10 per cent deposit on a buy now, pay later plan.
Just as I was starting to think that this could be my visit of the day, everything went wrong. I asked if I could buy an HDMI switcher – a product I actually needed.
“You’ll get a better price on the internet, ours are pretty expensive,” I was told. Was I really being told that my plan to spend good money had been batted away? After a great start, my visit to the Sony Centre had turned into farce.

Score: 4 out of 10

Trapped behind the counter

THE Jessops store in Meadowhall is small but perfectly formed, but was not large enough for the number of customers it had attracted during my visit.
As often happens in Jessops, the employees were trapped behind the counter so the chances of getting to talk to a member of staff out on the shop fl oor were limited.
To make matters worse, the display of digital SLRs – an impressive spread, no doubt – lacked a certain something: prices for some models. This really is unacceptable by any standard.
The store was doing good counter-based business, but selling people memory cards and camera cases won’t make you top dollar. What Jessops generally needs is to ensure that potential buyers are met and greeted while browsing.
I left the shop feeling pretty sure that the staff were hard working and friendly, but Jessops really does need to rethink how it does business.

Score: 0 out of 10

Good display no service

THERE’s a large Currys superstore out on the London Road south of the city centre. It’s well positioned and has a large car park in the front and well served bus stop beyond that. Clearly this is meant to be a busy outlet.
The shop itself is clean and well laid out – washing machines and fridges off to one side, behind the small appliances, with TVs and computer kit opposite.
The first good thing I encountered was a display showing the difference between the quality of a signal delivered by an HDMI cable and a Scart lead. Fantastic. Here, on one LCD TV is a demo that says it all – “You need HDMI.”
Sadly, my first good experience was also my last. I wandered around the store, peered at TVs, lent over kettles, scrutinised toasters and froze in front of fridges. And guess what? No one came near me.
Staff were thin on the ground and those that were visible – unlike myself – were busy changing the TV display, which was once again fed with a signal that did no justice to the panels on show.
A mighty Pioneer Kura plasma looked like it was showing an old VHS recording, a situation that shouldn’t be necessary, and yet this is what Currys was using to show off one of the best tellies on the market. Pathetic.
I left, untroubled by staff and the desire to spend.

Score: 0 out of 10

A very poor connection

I’VE been a regular Maplins customer for more years than I can remember and I have to admit that the in-store experience is rarely very good. I like the products and prices, but the shop floor staff are rarely much cop. And Sheffield’s branch was no different on the day I visited.
I walked in, walked over to the wall of cables and connectors at the back of the store, picked up products and generally looked like a man who might make a purchase. Staff walked past me, dandered around the store and generally gave the impression of looking busy, but frankly I couldn’t see what they were about to achieve.
I had money in my wallet, I was ready to part with it but on a matter of principal I refuse to walk up to someone who’s job is to sell and say “fancy selling me something?” – it’s just plain wrong.
I saw plenty to get me interested – it’s my inner geek – but without so much as a “with you in a minute” from a member of staff I walked out and took my purchase elsewhere. My HDMI cables were eventually bought in Richer Sounds.

Score: 0 out of 10

Can anyone see me?

RIGHT in the centre of Sheffield there’s another Currys – newer than its counterpart on the London Road but in all other respects pretty similar. The layout was nearly identical, as was the quality of the staff.
Once again I poured over the TV display – which seemed to have an even worse feed that its sister store – and walked about as if wearing the cloak of invisibility. No one came near, no one acknowledged I was there, no one seemed to be bothered with the chore of selling.
As I walked around the near empty store, I encountered a couple that were similarly attired: who could have guessed that so many people would be wearing in-store camouflage the day I visited Sheffield.
But we were all clearly impossible to spot in this brightly lit shop so rather than waste my time trying to be seen I stepped outside only to discover that I was in fact visible to the rest of the world – someone smiled at me.
Two Currys stores in one city and both miserable performers. Is it any wonder that DSGi is performing so badly?

Score: 0 out of 10

Once again Currys was an embarrassment. Do the staff really hate selling so much? And even when I did get help in one of the stores it was a bit garbled and rushed.
Overall, no one really tried to sell me up on my visit to Sheffield – something that really needs addressing across our industry – with the one exception, Samuel at Jacobs. If you could clone that man you’d have a sales force to be reckoned with. My time in the city’s Shop @ Panasonic was also a highlight. As for the rest… must try harder.