Poor service today, appears to be more common than good service. Don't misinterpret this page though, as I used to work in retail for a number years. I spent three years with Toys R Us and their refund policy is second to none.

I recently visited a tackle shop in Newark called Newark Angling Centre, and the owner asked me about the type of fishing I did. I told her and after we had chatted I discovered she had given me a discount. How about that for service! I created a web page for a local tackle shop for free and barely got a thank you for my trouble!

Many retailers, restaurants, etc. get it right. I have had more good experiences than bad, however here are a couple notable companies where I have received poor service - Comet and Tesco Car Insurance. Why then, do I advertise these companies on my website? It's simple really, just because I had a bad experience, it does not mean you will!

I now shop online for most things and am delighted to say all of my experiences have been good ones. Infact, I have found that online retailers seem to bend over backwards to provide good customer service. Why is this? I have no idea. You could probably come up with various explanations, but whatever it is, I take my hat off to online retailers.

A fine example of customer service was shown by Lathams Fishing Tackle. I ordered a reel and it was sent via Royal mail. Ten days later it had not arrived. I contacted Lathams and they sent me another reel out via courier the very next day, at no extra cost. They told me if the original turned up, to send it back. It arrived two days later and I did indeed return it. Trust and customer service online.

Therefore, to sum up, retailers who aren't online - watch out! If you don't learn from internet shops and improve your customer service, you'll find even more of your sales moving away from the High Street. People don't want to deal with grumpy shop keepers or couldn't care less shop assistants.

You have been warned!

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