Argos

Great place to buy things from. Why the missing star? Well once I purchased a magazine from the stand near the till, and when I got to the collection point, they gave me another through the lift as they had scanned in the magazine at the till. I said «but I already bought one,» and the lady said, «yeah here’s another, could you put that one back for me?»
I stared at her confused; I ain’t putting anything back for you! No way am I going to walk all round the zig zag till shelves to put it back — you do it!

The other reviewers have obviously not had my type of experience at that branch. A few weeks ago, l called there to buy watches. The assistant on the jewellery counter was dealing with a customer. The one cashier on the main tills was also dealing with an enquiry. l was going back and to to both but with little success. Eventually, armed with my little slip of paper with the item numbers on, l decided to settle on the jewellery counter. The same male customer was still there and studying a necklace in detail. l couldn’t believe my eyes when he then took off his outer coat and put the necklace around his neck. Not a clean or tidy-​looking character, l decided there and then that l would never ever buy that sort of item at Argos in future if they allowed such a thing. At that point, l felt justified in saying, «So how long will this take?» Both customer and assistant said in unison, «As long as it takes». l tore up my selection slip in disgust. l did say to the assistant that she could have served me, but she said she wasn’t allowed. On reflection, l could understand that as she obviously couldn’t allow her attention to be distracted, but did such a sour-​looking creature really have to be so downright rude rather than saying she would call another assistant? l have complained to their managing director but as yet, no reply. lt looks as if there are serious shortcomings at every level of Argos, but in awaiting that reply (if it ever comes), l shall be boycotting Argos completely.

Argos is an old favourite of mine. If you want something, the chances are Argos will have it. They have a massive selection of items split into the categories of Kitchen & Laundry, Home & Furniture, Garden & DIY, Sports & Leisure, Health & Personal Care, Home Entertainment, Video Games, Photography, Office PC’s & Office, Toys & Games, Nursery, Jewellery & Watches and Gifts & Hobbies. The catalogue is split into these sections, making it easy to find what you want.
The catalogues are situated on stands within the store and are laminated to stop them falling apart. Once you find your item you enter the code onto an order form and take it to the till. You then pay and are told which collection point to go and wait by.
There is also the option of browsing the stock online, or on the new iphone application, reserving it, and then coming in with a reference number and paying in store.
When the store is busy there can be a bit of a wait for your item to appear on the conveyor belt and then for the assistant to call your number. But this is also displayed on information screens so you can see how many items are in front of yours, and when the item is being located.
The staff are very friendly and helpful and ensure that everything is correct with your order. I prefer this store to the one in St Johns Shopping Centre as it is smaller, not as stifflingly hot, and doesn’t seem to get as busy. Sometimes the prices of the products are a bit more expensive than in other stores, but you are paying for the convenience and efficiency of the service Argos provides.

A treasure trove, imagine a great Aladdin’s cave full of every type of «thing» you could ever want or dream of. If you can do that you are well suited to become an Argos shopper. My assessment of this is based on what meets you in the Bold Street branch rather than many goods displayed to tempt the dedicated shopper. You have long banks of lecterns each with the latest version of the shoppers bible firmly attached. I speak of non other than the Argos catalogue, this is not really shopping for browsers of the display isle but rather readers of the pages and pages of pictures and short descriptions of the full range of stuff that perhaps you didn’t know you needed. When you alight on the goodies of choice simply type in the code and check if your spending desire will be satiated, if yes then write down your item on a tiny white form with a tiny pen and queue to pay. The staff are always really helpful and will almost always offer you a three year guarantee for an extra modest consideration. Resist this or not you will be given a number and an area to go to wait, not in my experience for too long. The culmination of your visit will be a stamp on your receipt and a bag with your goodies in .
If you tried to say to a marketing expert you were going to sell goods in this way I am sure they would try to dissuade as an optimist or perhaps deluded but they would be wrong and Argos are definitely doing something right.