Mystery Shopper August Part Two

Game
This store is in the City centre and it did not take me long to find it. I walked in to a very quiet store; there was just one customer being served. The store looked untidy and the carpet was very dirty. There was a great deal of point of sale material stating various offers, with a highly prominent and striking tennis themed display reinforcing a national TV advertising campaign for a recent game release.

I walked around the store for about five minutes looking for graphics cards; there were clearly not any in the store.

I approached the two staff members, who were more interested in talking to each other than serving any customers, and asked about graphics cards. They advised me that they do not sell them and looked at me blankly. No recommendations were given.

Summary
I appreciate that not all stores sell graphics cards, but a little more attention to customer service may encourage me to shop there again.
[6/10]

Maplin
Outside there was a black speaker playing music to create attention and draw in customers. As I walked around, I noted that everything was clearly labelled and there were lots of clearance offers available, from computer components to solar power garden lighting. I strolled in and out of the aisles to find what I was looking for, but with no success.

There were very few staff in-store, so after ten minutes, I decided to wait in the queue to get served and get some assistance.

As I waited in line, I overheard the staff assistant asking a customer if they had a catalogue at home. The customer said that he currently just looks online, at which point he was advised by the staff member that the catalogue has £150 worth of vouchers inside which could be spent in store. He recommended that the customer should get one and take advantage of the offers – a nice touch and good customer retention tool.

When I approached the staff member I highlighted what I was looking for.

He asked me what card I was currently using, and told me that a higher gig card would bring about greater benefits, which he kindly outlined. He showed me the packaging and highlighted the HD features, stating that you could use it for playing HD content with incredible visual fidelity and to watch Blu-ray movies.

He recommended two products: the ATI Radeon HD4670 1GB PCI-E Graphics card, priced at £99.99 and the ATI HD3650 512MB PCI-E card at £59.99. He also recommended that l get an HDMI cable.

Overall, this was a very good visit, as the staff member had a wealth of knowledge and gave me clear direction for future purchase.

Summary
A superb level of support given. I would have bought from this store and its attentive staff.
[9/10]

Eclipse
THE STORE was not easy to find; however, when I did find it I walked into the trade entrance. I waited for about five minutes and asked a gentleman who was standing there if I was in the right section. He kindly pointed out that there is another entrance.

First impressions were very good; when walking through the correct entrance I noted that this independent store was clean, organised, with everything well laid out and prices were clearly stated.

I looked around the store and then looked towards the counter. I was greeted by a smiling staff member who offered me help and assistance. I explained my requirements to him and he immediately knew what I was looking for. He took the time to make sure that he was giving me sound advice and was recommending the right product.

He told me that he had found the right one for my requirements, checked stock on his system and went to get it from the back. I was shown a Sapphire Radeon HD4650 1GB DDR2 priced at £53.99: this was much cheaper than PC World’s £67.99.

The staff member explained that there were two options available; a 512GB and a 1GB version. He stated that the more information the graphics card can store, the better the picture – as it stores more information to send out.

I asked how easy it would be to install and he gave me an overview of what I needed to do. He also recommended that I get an HDMI cable.

Overall he was excellent; he made sure that I understood all the information he gave to me. He used ‘layman’ terms to get complicated technical messages across, which for many people would have been appreciated.

Summary
Very helpful, showing the type of personal service you would expect from an independent.
[8/10]