Should I support my partner's employer or buy the cheapest?

happyinflorida

I'd buy from her shop as you are also getting good personal customer service which is so rare nowadays that it needs encouraging!

Currys are so bad at customer service nowadays that I try to avoid going there as much as possible but sometimes they are the only place I can get something I need or want but I hate the bad service there, lack of staff, etc etc - I would be happy to pay a bit more from a good shop!

Ebenezer_Screwj

I would buy these items as cheaply as possible from wherever. You are a money saver aren't you?

Baalmaiden

I would have thought it was worth helping to keep your partner in a job, but in general it really does depend on the service you get.
I bought my washing machine from the local shop because it would be delivered the same day and I could call upon them if something went wrong with the machine. However when I was looking for a dishwasher I bought one online because I couldn't get a integral one with a timer from the local shop. As we have solar panels I want to set it to run when the sun is shining. As a co-op member I got a good deal and the dishwasher was delivered in a few days.

stephb34

duchy wrote: »

I think the travel agency business is a good example.

Every town had travel agents both multiple and independent . The good ones would give good and personalised advice. You then made your choice which one you booked with. If anything went wrong you got good help in sorting problems out whether it was a weekend at Butlins or a far away holiday. You were also offered the product that suited you best as agencies sold a wide range of tour operators products.

Fast forward and the multiple travel agencies launched an aggressive campaign for market share, buying smaller chains and successful stand alone agencies and removing choice. Most smaller agencies didn't survive .
Look in your high street today few have independents left.

Now agencies are nothing more than retail outlets for their own in house products. Walk into a Thomas Cook and you will be firmly steered towards their own products even if they have access to a more suitable or better priced product. Staff are disciplined if they sell too many non TC products.

People have moved to booking on the Internet because they find better and less biased advice online. Staff in agencies no longer have travelled to multiple destinations and you'll likely be served by a teenager who instead of offering advice will tell you to look in the brochure.

Some people are happy with this others would prefer to still have the more consultative style but that choice is all but gone.

The electrical goods business is following exactly the same path. Ultimately it leads to less choice for the consumer.

Re Thomas cook and steering towards own product, that's not true anymore, 9 years ago maybe but TC have moved with the times, yes we start with TC products first which 7 out of 10 times is what the customer wants, but if not we are encouraged to look at all operators, a sale is a sale, inhouse is best but we sell anyone nowadays. Yes some teenagers don't have the knowledge but that goes for any industry, although if my 11 year old decides to go into travel in the future she may do pretty well with her knowledge of Cuba, Dominican, Benidorm, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Menorca etc, so don't judge a book by its cover.

duchy

I don't !
I do however put my eighteen years in the industry to use nowadays conducting service audits for TC and the like. I am only too well aware of the shortcomings in most branches. I am judging by recent specific metrics framed by the travel companies themselves and sadly the vast majority of branches fall into the "meh" category.

I left TC seven years ago as I could see the direction it had gone and could see there was no coming back. I'm far happier working in an expanding rather than a dying industry. My auditing reminds me exactly why I left and how it was the right move for me.

florere

If they can't compete on price even with staff discount I suggest your wife looks for another job, they won't be there long.

gettingtheresometime

As I said I try and buy from our local shops but I think people generally think now that stores such as Tesco etc will be automatically cheaper and so don't even give smaller shops a look in.

Today, for example, I bought the mutt some mixer from my local pet shop - I've just looked online and pets at home are nearly a £1 dearer. Wouldn't have put much money on that being the case.

There's a small shop by me that seems to have a revolving door of tenants and has been empty for the last 9 months. Being a nosy so and so I had a look as to what rent was being asked; I was shocked to learn for a floor space no bigger than my living room, rent of nearly £100 per week was being asked. No wonder then that no business has ever lasted there.

And I wonder how many people who were annoyed at Amazon and Starbucks not paying taxes in the UK have boycotted them?

takman

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

As I said I try and buy from our local shops but I think people generally think now that stores such as Tesco etc will be automatically cheaper and so don't even give smaller shops a look in.

Today, for example, I bought the mutt some mixer from my local pet shop - I've just looked online and pets at home are nearly a £1 dearer. Wouldn't have put much money on that being the case.

There's a small shop by me that seems to have a revolving door of tenants and has been empty for the last 9 months. Being a nosy so and so I had a look as to what rent was being asked; I was shocked to learn for a floor space no bigger than my living room, rent of nearly £100 per week was being asked. No wonder then that no business has ever lasted there.

And I wonder how many people who were annoyed at Amazon and Starbucks not paying taxes in the UK have boycotted them?

Pets at home are always very expensive almost everything in there is always cheaper online. All the big electrical retailers such as PC World and Currys are also mostly overpriced in store.
Also I don't know why people are so annoyed at Amazon and Starbucks I'm sure anyone on here with a business would try and pay as little tax as possible. Nobody is gonna look for ways to pay more tax!

CorrineM

Good for you, Ian, I agree. I believe we should support our local retailers, even if it does cost a few pound more. I have found the service is much better and if I have a problem, they are there to sort it out. If I do buy online then I make sure it is an independent store rather than large global stores like Amazon. Its all very well claiming the shops have to be competitive or go out of business, but the more that close, the fewer jobs there are. And soon, we will not have any choice apart from a few huge retailers that can demand the lowest prices from the manufacturers, making it harder for them to remain in business. We should be prepared to pay a reasonable price for good quality and good service, rather than always wanting to get everything as cheap as possible.
Long live the independents! And with them, the jobs.

jgriggle

Electrical retail is basically many different outfits selling identical items. Online is always going to be cheaper, as they're operating out of warehouses rather than high streets bu you don't get to see the product or get advice and see the product.

I used to work in the HiFi/Home Cinema trade but got out of it as we couldn't compete. We had: experienced staff who really knew their stuff and could match systems together to get the most out of any budget. They would also help if you needed it after purchase. This costs money.

We had a purpose built demonstration room, where you could audition many different systems, drink tea, eat biscuits ask questions. This costs money.

We kept nearly everything in stock. If you liked it, you could take it home immediately. This costs money.

We simply couldn't offer all that and compete on price with the online warehouses. There are not enough people prepared to pay extra for service. More likely they'll use you as a free advice centre and then buy online, or expect you to match the online price.