Colchester

22 September 2009

About town

• As the oldest recorded Roman town in the British Isles, Colchester claims to be the oldest town in Britain. It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain and also claims to have the UK’s oldest recorded market.

• Colchester, which is 56 miles north-east of London, has a population of 155,794, according to the 2001 Census.

• Daniel Defoe mentions in A Tour Through England and Wales that the town lost 5,259 people to the plague in 1665.

• Colchester has been an important military garrison since Roman times. Colchester garrison is now home to the 16th Air Assault Brigade.

• In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the main character, Winston Smith, thinks back to his childhood and his first memories of war, recalling: “Perhaps it was the time when the atomic bomb had fallen on Colchester.”

Simple as Pelham 123

HAVING recently watched a Blu-ray movie for the first time at a friend’s house, I headed to the Sony Centre on Pelham’s Lane as I wanted to get a Blu-ray player of my own.
After a few moments, Neil joined me and asked if I needed any help. I told him that I wanted to know more about Blu-ray.
He showed me the new Sony Blu-ray model (BDP-S363), which was exclusive to Sony Centres and was on sale at £199.99.
Neil said: “The Sony Centre exclusive model comes with a back-lit remote control.
“Blu-ray will replace your DVD player, it can technically then be your CD player and, of course, it will also play new-style, high-definition discs.”
Neil pointed out that instead of using a Scart lead, I would need to invest in an HDMI cable, which, Neil said, would enable me “to play back Blu-ray movies in top-end quality”, as well as upscaling my existing DVD collection.
He asked if I had a router and I said we had a wireless router.
“You can network the Blu-ray player into a router,” Neil said, “as certain Blu-ray discs have internet content and bonus features on them – the service is called BD Live.”
Neil explained that the first Blu-ray players to come to market took “about three minutes to load”, but he said the model he had shown me took “about 14 seconds”.
I asked for some information to take away. He gave me a printout of the Blu-ray player’s specifications and he also showed me the back-lit remote control.
Neil said: “Once you know where the Blu-ray player is going to go, you’ll need to look at HDMI cables.”
He showed me some QED HDMI leads and I told him that I would probably need a 1.5 metre lead.
Neil handed me a two-metre lead, which was on sale at £69.99 and said that I should consider buying a quality lead to ensure I got the best picture possible.
I thanked Neil for his help.
Summary: Neil was knowledgeable and talked me through Blu-ray well. He also mentioned the additional sales opportunities of an HDMI lead and by handing me a £70 lead, I could have bought the player and lead from him there and then.

Score: 10 out of 10

“We’ll look after you,” says Barry

AS I walked past Andrews TV on the High Street, I noticed some point-of-sale announcing the arrival of the first Blu-ray.
Barry was on the telephone when I went in, but still greeted me, and I began to browse. The Panasonic DMR-BS850EB-K was priced at £889.
After a few moments, Barry joined me. I said I wanted to find out more about the Panasonic Blu-ray recorder.
Barry said: “It’s got a twin tuner for Freesat, including high definition, plus it’s a Blu-ray player. What you will need is a satellite dish with two leads coming out, which means you’ll be able to watch one channel while recording another, or record two different channels at the same time.”
I asked how large the hard drive was. “500GB,” said Barry, “which is quite big.”
I asked Barry to tell me a little about Freesat. He said that the BBC and ITV both offered free HD broadcasts and he pointed to a TV that was showing the BBC HD Channel, which was from the Freesat platform. I commented on the “fantastic” picture quality.
“You don’t have to subscribe to get HD,” he said, “unlike Sky and there are more HD channels to come.”
Barry said his company could install a satellite dish for me. An installation for the Panasonic Blu-ray recorder would cost £139.
“We’ve got our own fitters, so they’ll do it properly. They won’t just put it above the front door.”
He added: “We’re only a small company, we’ve been going 30 years, so we’ll install the Panasonic machine for you free of charge, do the dish. We’ll look after you.”
Summary: Barry was very enthusiastic. He knew about the product and demonstrated the high definition output from Freesat. One point has been knocked off as he did not attempt to close the sale.

Score: 9 out of 10

Bedroom brief

WALKING along the High Street, I went into the Hughes Electrical store, as I was looking to buy a new TV for my bedroom.
I was greeted by Jack, who asked if I needed any help. I told him I was looking for a 26in model.
He showed me four 26in sets. The Samsung (LE26B450C4WX) and Toshiba (26AV615DB) were priced at £399.99, while the LG (26LG4000) and JVC (LT26DE1BJ) retailed at £499.99 and £549.91 respectively.
Jack pointed out that all four of the TVs had Freeview built-in and all were HD-ready.
He told me that the LG model had a built-in DVD player, while the JVC set had an integrated 160GB hard drive that could hold 80 hours of content.
Jack told me that all four of the 26in TVs he had presented were showing BBC1 on Freeview.
He pointed out that the 26in Samsung was £399 – the same price as the 32in version (LE32B450C4WX).
I asked for some information on both Samsung sets and Jack gave me the specifications, together with the rental prices for each set.
He added: “If you want us to deliver and install the TV, the cost is £25, or if you just want us to drop it off, it’s £15.”
Summary: Jack was friendly and had good product knowledge. I left the store pleased with the service I had received. However, I felt slightly let down that he did not attempt to close the sale and I would have liked him to continue the sales pitch on the higher-priced 26in sets.

Score: 8 out of 10

Focusing on Canon

MY regular hunt for a digital SLR camera continued with a visit to the Jessops store on the High Street.
I entered the store and made my way to the Canon display cabinet. One member of staff was serving a customer, while two other members of staff were chatting behind the counter.
Two cameras caught my eye – the Canon EOS 1000D, which was priced at £399, while the Canon EOS 500D was on sale at £659, although a £60 trade-in offer would reduce that to £599.
After a couple of minutes of browsing, Andrew approached me and asked if I needed any help. I explained I was looking to get my first digital SLR and asked if he could help me. Andrew told me that the EOS 500D was the “newest beginner” SLR from Canon.
He told me it was a 14 megapixel camera, which came with an 18-55mm lens. He explained that the camera also captured HD movies, while the ‘live view’ feature was auto-focused.
Meanwhile, Andrew said the EOS 1000D, was a lot more basic, with fewer megapixels, fewer frames per second and a manually-focused ‘live view’ feature.
I asked how the trade-in deal worked. “That’s if you’ve got a Canon film camera – it can be any Canon film camera – and Canon will offer up to £60 trade-in,” Andrew said.
He also mentioned an additional promotion that Jessops was running on the EOS 500D. Purchasers of the model would also be given a free XL Photo Book, worth £35.
Andrew said the camera came with a lens, AV and USB cables, battery, charger and neck strap, and he pointed out that a number of deals could be done, with discounts on bags, filters or memory cards.
He told me that I would need to buy a memory card. He recommended an 8GB Ultra II card, which retailed at £29.
I asked Andrew for some information on the camera and he gave me a copy of the Jessops brochure.
Summary: Andrew was friendly and helpful. He explained the differences between the two models I had spotted. However, I was disappointed that he did not offer me a demonstration, or indeed, a chance to hold the cameras. No attempt was made to close the sale.

Score: 7 out of 10

Lights, camera, action!

WITH my sister about to have her first child, I popped into the Panasonic Store on the High Street to find a camcorder to record footage of my first niece or nephew.
I entered the store and was greeted by Peter, who was on the telephone.
I moved to the camcorder display cabinet and started browsing. After a minute or so, Peter joined me and I explained that I was looking for a future-proof camcorder to record the new addition to the family.
Peter explained that Panasonic’s camcorders recorded onto SD cards. He said that a 2GB SD card could store around 45 minutes of footage, which could then be downloaded to a DVD recorder, and the SD card could then be used again.
“We do other camcorders that have hard drives in them,” Peter said, “and they’re £330. They have a hard drive and also an SD card – and you can store 30 hours of recording on the hard drive.”
He picked up a copy of the Panasonic brochure and thumbed his way to page 119, saying “something like that would be ideal”, pointing to the SDR-H80EB-S.
He said that model, which was currently out of stock, retailed at £329.99. I asked when he expected to get more stock.
“The thing is, they come in and then they go straight out again. If you put down a deposit, I can get one for you,” he said. He said a deposit of £30 or £40 would be sufficient.
Peter pointed out that the camcorder has 70x optical zoom and he highlighted the face detection feature.
He explained: “The face detection feature means that if you take a picture of your niece or nephew and then put their name down, it’ll recognise them if they are in a crowd of kids and it’ll focus more on them.”
He also mentioned the camcorder’s intelligent auto function.
“All in all, it’s an excellent machine and it’ll do a great job,” he added.
I thanked him for his help.
Summary: Peter was able to recommend a suitable product to me and was able to talk me through the features and, more importantly, the benefits. As the camcorder in question was out of stock, there was no demonstration opportunity, but I liked the way he mentioned leaving a deposit, as that constituted attempting to close the sale.

Score: 9 out of 10

Confusion over kilos

MY washing machine was kaput, so I headed to Merrills Electrical on Eld Lane, to see what was available.
Inside the shop, I could not see any staff, so I moved to the home laundry area of the store.
A Beko 5kg, 1,000 spin speed machine, was priced at £197.99 and I spotted models in the window from Zanussi and Bosch, which were both priced at £299.99.
After three minutes browsing, a man approached me and asked if I needed any help. I explained that I needed a new washing machine.
“Prices start with the Beko we have here at £198,” the man said. “We deliver free of charge in Colchester and if your plumbing fittings are OK, we’ll connect it up free as well. But to remove the old one, we’ll have to charge you £10, as it costs us £10 to get rid of it.”
Moving to the window display, the man pointed out that the Bosch model was a 5kg, 1,200 spin machine, with a two-year guarantee. The Zanussi, he said, had a 6kg drum, with a 1,200 spin speed, and he then presented a 7kg, 1,400 spin Bosch model that was priced at £449.99.
I asked for some information to take away with me and the man gave me a copy of the Bosch brochure.
Summary: While I have deducted points for initially being ignored, the man was helpful when he finally approached me. He explained about delivery and installation, but I left the store with no clear idea of which machine I wanted. Nor did he attempt to close the sale.

Score: 3 out of 10

Tuck your shirt in first

IN need of a new washing machine, I headed to the Bennetts store on the Tollgate Retail Park.
I entered the store and was greeted by Jon, who asked if I needed any help. I explained that I needed a new washing machine and Jon shouted to his colleague, Mark, to come and serve me.
“Mark, are you free?” Jon asked. “This customer is looking for a new washing machine. Tuck your shirt in first.”
Mark asked me if I was looking for any particular features and I told him that our last machine was 6kg. He then asked me what spin speed we had had. I said I thought it was a 1,400 spin model,
I told Mark that I was keen on getting a bigger drum and that I was not looking for any particular brand.
He presented a Hotpoint (WMF740P) machine, which was on sale at £369.99. “It’s 7kg,” he said, “with a 1,400 spin, and with variable temperature and spin speeds. It’s also got a timer delay.” Then he demonstrated how easy the machine was to use.
He continued: “It’s a good middle-of-the-road one. If you choose an LG, you’re heading upwards on price. We’ve got Bosch, but we have had a lot of people saying Bosch haven’t been quite as good as they used to be on some of the machines.”
Mark gave me details of the company’s delivery costs.
I asked him for some information and he said he would have to go to Hotpoint’s website as the store no longer had any brochures.
After trying unsuccessfully for five minutes to get me some information, he headed into the store’s warehouse and returned clutching a copy of a Hotpoint brochure.
Summary: After Mark had finished getting dressed, he was knowledgeable and helpful. I have awarded points for being greeted, for asking questions to match products to my needs, and for giving me delivery information.

Score: 4 out of 10

Don’t mention the discount

IN search of an American-style fridge-freezer, I headed to the Comet store on the Tollgate Retail Park.
I noticed how quiet the store was as I made my way to the refrigeration department, where Su was sat at a desk.
I found the American-style appliances, which were just behind where Su was sitting. Of the products on display, I liked the look of the Samsung (RSG5DUMH) – a 24.4 cubic foot frost-free fridge-freezer, which was on sale at £1,199.99.
After around four minutes, Su approached me and asked if I needed any help. I asked how much it would cost to deliver the Samsung model.
“Because it’s an American fridge-freezer, they normally charge about £49. It’s a three-man job, because they might have to take the doors off.”
After typing the product details into Comet’s website, Su pointed out that I could qualify for a 12 per cent discount. “If I enter the code,” she said, “we can do it for you.” But she added: “But you saw that discount online, didn’t you?”
The price of the Samsung product was now £1,055.99. “That’s not a bad saving is it? It’s saving you over 100 quid.”
I asked for some information and Su printed out a spec. She wrote down the original price of the machine on the spec sheet, along with the delivery price. She explained that she was “not meant” to write down the discount price she had quoted. Slightly confused by what Su had said, I left the store.
Summary: Su did not display any product knowledge, although she did get the delivery information for me. After leaving the store, I contacted Comet, who said I would not be able to get the product in-store at the lower price Su quoted me.

Score: 1 out of 10

Alone on the range

AS a treat for my partner, I thought I’d go and have a look at range cookers in the Currys store on the Tollgate Retail Park.
Inside the store, I headed for the cooker department and counted four members of staff wandering aimlessly around the store, while two customers were being served.
In the cooking department, two products appealed to me: the Rangemaster Classic 90 in black (£1,449) and the Smeg 100cm A2BL6 in black (£1,919). Both models were dual-fuel range cookers.
The Rangemaster model had five burners and comes complete with griddle and wok cradle, while the Smeg product has six burners.
All this I discerned for myself, as I was clearly not going to get any guidance from a salesperson in the store.
I walked out of the store, thoroughly disappointed.
Summary: The range cookers were within spitting distance of the store’s entrance and in direct view of where ‘idle’ staff were standing. I wanted to buy a high-value product, and walked out when four members of staff couldn’t be bothered to serve me. Is this company policy?

Score: 0 out of 10

BAD for DAB

WITH the new football season upon us – go on Burnley – I was keen to buy a digital radio, so I could listen to matches on Five Live Sports Extra, the digital-only sister station of BBC Five Live.
I headed for Currys.digital on Culver Street East to see what products were available.
On entering the store, one member of staff was serving, a man was on the telephone and two other members of staff were idly wandering around the store.
After finding the digital radios, I was drawn to two products – the Pure Evoke 1S EcoPlus (£99.99) and the Roberts Gemini RD21 in black (£89.99).
The store was quiet. The only two customers were the one being served and me, yet no approach was forthcoming from the two idle members of staff.
After five minutes browsing, and with no sign of any approach, I left.
Summary: We are in a recession. How can two members of staff ignore a customer, especially when there is only one customer in the store not being served? I think this behaviour, in these tough trading times, is unacceptable to say the least.

Score: 0 out of 10

Summary

MY TEAM very much enjoyed its day in Colchester, where we witnessed some excellent examples of sales skills and customer service.
Once again, the majority of stores performed well, while only Comet, Currys and Currys.digital let the side down.
As I have said many times, ignoring staff is not only unprofessional, it is a dangerous tactic to take in these recessionary times and this is a lesson I hope the higher-ups at DSG International’s head office in Hemel Hempstead are listening to, as both Currys and Currys.digital were guilty of this.
My mystery shopper who visited the Comet store was shocked that Su appeared to offer a discount that she should not have.
Neil, Barry, Peter, Jack, and Andrew from the Sony Centre, Andrews TV, Panasonic Store, Hughes Electrical and Jessops respectively, all did well and scored well.
A special mention should go to Neil at the Sony Centre. My mystery shopper said that he would have had no hesitation buying from him, so well done.
Finally, congratulations to the ‘fantastic five’ of Neil, Barry, Peter, Jack, and Andrew.
Now that the deadline has passed for the ERT Industry Awards 2009, as you scored more than seven points, you have been rewarded for your customer service with automatic entries into next year’s ERT Industry Awards.

Top of the Town

Independents		Multiples
Winner:	Sony Centre	Winner:	Jessops
Commended:	Andrews TV Panasonic Store	Commended:	None

PREMIER LEAGUE

	No. of visits	Total points	Average per call
B&O	2	20	10
Apple	3	25	8.3
Shop@Panasonic	8	58	7.3
Sony Centres	19	126	6.6
Independents	56	365	6.5
Richer Sounds	9	45	5
Currys.Digital	17	58	3.4
Comet	18	55	3.1
Department Stores	18	50	2.8
Jessops	17	43	2.5
Currys	16	11	0.7
Marks & Spencer	1	0	0
Robert Dyas	1	0	0
PC World	4	0	0

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