Shopping in a Jessops store? No thanks!

For readers outside the UK, Jessops is a major national photgraphic specialist chain of stores, of some 300 shops I think. 300 is quite a few here in the UK. Here's a link to the salient details . I'd suggest you read it after you've read this lot here as it's possibly more likely to raise a knowing smile once you read the chairman's comments, knowing what you will, by then, know!

Last Saturday I had a shopping list of 3 items to buy from our local Jessops store. I'd picked the items from their web site. The upshot was that the store manager and a few of his assistants offered some mixed advice regarding 2 of the 3 items.

The advice included but was not limited to, that they were no longer made, that they might be web only, that they didn't even sell them. An interesting blend if you think about all of them and see how in places they actually start to contradict each other.

I did suggest that since it was not mentioned on their web site that they were web only, then that would be deeply unhelpful in the event that it were the case, and seemed more or less incompetent especially when added to the fact that they could not even establish if the company had any or had ever had any despite consulting their computer terminal a number of times.

So, basically a wasted visit to the store, and a distinct air of complacency from the store manager. I have no idea how he imagines he can turn a profit in his branch from out of stock and no sale situations; I don't think it's possible. He was asked how much he felt he could make from a no sale and he stopped talking at that point, I think even he knew it was not likely to work out favourably for him by then.

So once back on the web site, the 3 items were seen to be in stock and an order was placed, They all arrived on the following Tuesday. There was no mention of any of the items being web only, and I did specifically look to see if it was the case. The nearest I came to finding anything exclusive to the web was the price of one item, and that saw a modest but still welcome saving over the in store price, interestingly this was for the only one of the three items they did actually have for sale at the branch.

One comment offered by the store manager makes me wonder about today's retail staff; It was put to him that the (at best 33%) performance looked somewhat incompetent, he replied, "Oh no, I don't think there's any incompetence here". Well, I'll just have to wonder what he would elect to call it?

I know for my part that I would be rather unlikely to see if he could do better another time, and from now on it would be exclusively web only with the company, and quite possibly as a last resort, if at all.

I'd further hazard a guess that I might have seen better results from an Argos or even a Dixons branch, it's all seen in a clearer light when you consider that they are general retailers and Jessops is a supposed photographic specialist, well I'm fairly sure that's what they would tell you in that very branch of Jessops.

Oh, the three items, yes, very tricky and very obscure photographic items, most unfair of me to even ask I guess; let's see now, a camera bag, a camera support (the simplest and most basic of all the Branded monopods which they advertise as being carried) and a pack of four batteries. They had the batteries, but were asking more money than the web site was asking for them! ;O)

Am I going to tell the Company or it's Chairman? Nope, let them figure it out or go to the wall. It's not like I'd miss that sort of experience, I'd imagine most other people would not miss it too terribly either.

Now use that link above and see the Chairman's own words. I guess he's quite possibly not been in one of his stores in a while to even think of saying that, only to find the genuine status of his words so effortlessly and comprehensively unveiled by the staff at branch level.