HAVING read about the Sonos music system, I thought I’d head to the Sonic Electrical Megastore on Ingleby Road to find out more.

The Sonos system was on the sales counter, where I was greeted by Jai, who asked if I needed any help. I said I wanted to know more about Sonos.
He started by explaining that it was a wireless music system that could be run throughout the house. He asked if I had a wireless router and I confirmed I have. He explained that I’d need a ZoneBridge, which retailed at £39, to link my broadband connection to the Sonos network.
Jai showed me the Play:5 speaker, which was sat on the counter. It sold for £399 and was available in black or white, and

he said it could be controlled by either the Sonos Controller, at £299, or via a free app that can be downloaded.
He suggested that I pay £10 a month to subscribe to Napster, which would enable me to stream music to my Sonos network.
Jai picked up the Sonos Controller and asked me to name an artist. I chose Queen and within five seconds, Jai had selected Don’t Stop Me Now and it was playing on the Play:5 on the counter.
I told him that I was very impressed by how quickly the music began to stream.
Jai then explained that there were other Sonos components available. He led me to the Bose area of the store, where a ZonePlayer 90 was connected to an existing hi-fi set-up. The ZonePlayer 90 retailed at £279.

Summary: Jai was able to talk me through the system well. As a user of the Sonos system himself, he also talked about his experiences. Great job, Jai.

Score: 10 out of 10

WINNING INDEPENDENT

I WAS looking to buy a new vacuum cleaner, so I headed to Comet.

The store greeter did his job admirably and I took the escalator to the mezzanine level, which is where the vacuum cleaners were. Waz approached me and asked if he could help. I said I wanted a new vacuum cleaner.
He recommended two upright models from Hoover, which were advertised as being reduced by more than 50 per cent. I explained that

I wanted a cylinder cleaner.
He asked if we had carpets and hard floors and I said we did. He then asked if we had any pets and I said we had a dog.
Waz presented the Dyson DC32 Animal at £249.99. He explained how the special brush really worked. He then went on to present the Miele Cat & Dog model (S6220), which was priced at £149.99. He mentioned that this was a bagged cleaner and that a pack of four bags retailed at £12.99.

Summary: Waz was friendly and tried to help, but only gave overviews of three models. He did not to close the sale. The Dyson display had a power socket, so he could have demonstrated it.

Score: 6 out of 10

LOOKING for a 3D TV, I headed to the Panasonic Store.

Zee told me that 3D sets started at £699 for the TX-P42ST30, and he then mentioned that the “TV of the Year” was the TX-P42GT30 set at £899. He pointed out that all sets came with two pairs of 3D glasses. The £899 set, he added, came with a free 3D Blu-ray player (DMPBDT110), worth £130. “It’s a special deal,” Zee said. He pointed out that

the free Blu-ray player was only with the £899 set. Zee went on to tell me that for £60, I could buy a special pack, which contained a Vivanco HDMI lead, a surge protector and a screen cleaning kit. I asked how much the items would cost otherwise and he said the HDMI lead was £99.99, while the surge protector and the screen cleaning kit came to £25. “You get that, the whole package, for £60,” he said, “that’s phenomenal.” Zee said he could arrange delivery and installation for £20 instead of £40.

Summary: Zee was friendly and helpful. He attempted to close the sale early with the mention of the £60 accessory pack and half-price delivery/installation. But he did not demonstrate 3D.

Score: 9 out of 10

JOINT COMMENDED INDIE

KEEN to find out about Sky, I headed to the Sky Shop in the Kirkgate Shopping Centre.

Adam asked me if I was already a Sky customer and whether I was looking for TV, broadband and a telephone landline. I said I was new to Sky and that I was interested in just TV. Adam asked what I watched on TV. I said I loved sport, while my wife liked movies and the kids watched a variety of programmes.

He asked if I had an HDready TV and I said that I did. He suggested that with the programme mix that my family had that I should consider taking the Sky World, top-tier package, which would cost me £63.25 a month, plus the high-definition option. Adam then switched the conversation back to the other products that Sky offered. He said: “If you have everything from Sky, it’ll be £83 a month and that would include the top Sky TV package, unlimited internet and your line rental.”

Summary: Adam’s presentation was smooth and slick. There was just one thing missing – a demonstration. If he’d showed me HD and the Sky+ functions live, he’d have scored top marks.

Score: 9 out of 10

WINNING MULTIPLE

LOOKING to buy a new laptop, I went to the Staples store on the Valley Road Retail Park.

I counted 14 models on display. Asif approached and asked if he could help. He asked what I would use the laptop for and I said it would be used primarily for internet browsing, email, word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. Before he talked to me about laptops, he mentioned that if I bought Microsoft

Office Home & Business 2010 at the same time, I’d save £20 on the usual selling price of £89.95. He showed me two. The Compaq Presario CQ57- 421EA at £319.99 and an HP Pavilion g6-1360ea at £369.99. He talked me through the main differences: the HP had the Intel Core i3 processor, versus the AMD Dual Core processor in the Compaq. The Compaq’s hard disk was 640GB, compared with the HP’s 320GB.

Summary: Asif was helpful and knowledgeable when it came to talking about the two laptops. He recommended suitable products but did not demo them or attempt to close the sale.

Score: 6 out of 10

MY elderly mother is moving to Yorkshire soon, so I popped in to the SS Electrical Superstore to see if I could find her a new washing machine.

I was greeted by a salesman, who was unpacking a new TV, and I made my way to the whitegoods area at the back of the store. He asked me what I was looking for and how much I wanted to spend. I told him that my mother was look ing to spend between £300 and £350 on a new machine. He showed me a 7kg Bosch machine, which was priced at £399. The man said the 1,400rpm machine featured a 15-minute fast wash. “It’s Bosch, they don’t go wrong,” the man said. I said a 7kg model would not be suitable for my mother, who would be living on her own,

so he showed me a Bosch 5.5kg model (WAA28168GB) at £299.
The man was not sure of the spin speed, so called over his colleague, Kully, who informed me that it was a 1,400 spin machine. He told me: “Which? recommended Bosch as one of the most reliable brands. The key things are that it’s a 5.5kg model, with a 1,400 spin, which is easy to use. If your mother is going to be on her own, she won’t need a big load, so this will be more than adequate.” Kully talked me through the programs and reiterated how simple the machine was to use. He said: “I know that my senior customers don’t like electronic displays and lots of controls.” Kully added that the model came with a three-year manufacturer’s guarantee, as long as the machine was registered with Bosch.

Summary: The first man was helpful, but Kully was enthusiastic. He was able to recommend a suitable product and demonstrate how suitable they’d be for a senior citizen

Score: 9 out of 10

JOINT COMMENDED INDIE

MY NEXT stop in Bradford was Jessops, where I was keen to buy a compact system camera.

Mike approached me and I explained that I wanted to know about compact system cameras. He asked what I’d be using the camera for and I explained that I ran my own business, so the camera would double up for business and pleasure. He explained that compact system cameras were “just like SLRs, but the size of

compacts”.
Without opening the display cabinet, he began his sales pitch by presenting a Panasonic model. The GF3 twin-lens kit – of a 14mm wide-angle and a zoom lens – was priced at £429.95. Mike also mentioned that a Sony model (NEX-C3) was proving popular with customers – it was priced at £389.95. Mike then mentioned an Olympus model, pointing out that the company gave “a lot of bang for your buck”.

Summary: Mike was friendly and helpful. He gave me an overview of the Olympus, Panasonic and Sony but he did not give a hands-on demo, nor did he attempt to close the sale.

Score: 8 out of 10

COMMENDED MULTIPLE

I WANTED to buy a digital radio for my office, so went to see what was available in Currys.

I was stunned to see 22 DAB products on a display, which looked in a bit of a state, with point-of-sale material scattered over the two shelves, while all of the radios were switched off and the aisle was silent. The cheapest product on display was from Logik (L22DAB10), which was priced at

£24.99, while Pure Digital’s Evoke Flow was the most expensive product, priced at £129.95. There were no customers or staff anywhere near me, but I did notice that three members of staff were serving other customers. After five minutes, and with no sign of an approach, I headed to the exit. In doing so, I walked past three members of staff. A lady smiled, but didn’t speak, while the two men totally ignored me.

Summary: I hate being ignored by sales staff. To be ignored by three different members of staff is horrendous and likely to be a cause for concern at Dixons Retail’s HQ.

Score: 0 out of 10

I WAS keen to buy my first satnav, so went to find out more at the PC World store on the Valley Road Retail Park.

I could not help but notice the huge array of products tha t were available. I counted 13 different models on display, from Garmin, Mio and TomTom. The cheapest was the Mio F360UK at £59.99, I was intrigued by the Garmin Nüvi 2340LMT at £259.99. With no sales staff around,

I continued to browse the Garmin model, which was billed as a western European satnav with “lifetime map updates and traffic”. I noticed that a salesman was sitting at a PC terminal just yards from me, but he chose to ignore me. After five minutes of browsing, I left. On my way out, the two staff on the tills were chatting, while the man behind the KnowHow desk was slumped over the counter.

Summary: I felt let down that none of the ‘available’ staff came anywhere near me. Maybe staff here need personal satnavs to help them locate customers that they might be able to help.

Score: 0 out of 10

OUTSIDE Maplin, I noticed a poster advertising a tablet PC.

The 10in Yarvik touchscreen tablet was priced at £149.99 – a saving of £30 off its normal price. There were five tablets in the display case. The 7in Scroll tablet was the cheapest at £69.99, while the most expensive, at £219.99, was the Viewpad 10e with a 9.7in screen. The product that I

had seen advertised outside the store was nowhere to be seen. A member of staff was serving a customer near me, whi le another was serving at the counter. A third member of staff was standing behind the sales counter and was seemingly not doing anything. Af ter f ive minutes of browsing and with no sign of an approach, I left the store, thoroughly disappointed.

Summary: While I appreciate that two members of staff were helping customers, the third was behind the counter, which meant that customers, including me, were ignored.

Score: 0 out of 10