AIBU to never shop at WHSmiths again?

[Rollermum]

I get they are trying to broaden their product base in the face of online competition but I feel they have gone way too far with crowding stores out to the point where getting around them is a headache, even without a pushchair or wheelchair.

I went to my local one which has narrow aisles, and for Christmas they have put little semi circle stands of gift wrap and sweets at every corner. I did have a pushchair but even without would have found trying especially I didn't happen to be the only one in there.

Their policy of a self service checkout in the ways of the normal till (seen in several branches, not just this one), piles of sugary crap teetering around the till and endless not very useful vouchers just gives me the rage.

AIBU to want to never shop there again even though I try to support the high street? And I feel sorry for their staff (peering out from piles of sweets, proffering vouchers).

Ours was flogging porridge at the till the other day.

It's the worst place to lose the dcs. The displays are about 10ft tall. It's like the longleat maze in there.

It seems mine isn't as bad as some mentioned - I've not been hassled at the door yet or had to get down to a basement Post Office (that is a truly terrible idea).

Bambambini it sounds great list of stuff - and potentially it is, but I think they do it all so badly.

They are horrendous. They are basically massive, overpriced, pushy newsagents. When I was a child I remember the magic of the stationery, all the board games, the books...it was wonderful. Now I avoid them like the plague.

Can we link this thread to their CEO?!

I hate being offered the cheap sweet stuff. Last time I said "I assume you are told to ask everyone if they want any. Do I look like I eat a lot of chocolate?" which was rather a loaded question

I used to work for WH Smiths when I was a student. This was back in the early 90s. It was one if the best employers in the high street. Knew its business and did it well. Now its all over the place.

It should go back to its core market. Stationary, books and magazines. Yes there is massive online competition but cheapening the brand will be its down fall.

(maybe we would need to come up with some constructive advice first, mind)

I hate Smiths now. I went in at the weekend, got a sticker book for ds and 2 basic notebooks. £20! Total rip off.

Crap sweets and kids dvds just by the till which you need to weave around just to be served. Horrendous store!

It is like bloody long leat isn't it whirly .

I pop in a few times a year but rarely buy anything. They do stock decent pencil sharpeners though, poundland sharpeners aren't as good.

Have a look at twitter, go to WHS_carpets

You can vent your hatred of WH Smiths there. Folk put up photos of funny things they see in their local store, often dirty things, stupid vouchers and blocked isles.

I can't understand how they keep going. Badly planned, badly equipped, bizarre over-stocking, terrible lighting and famous for their worn-out carpets (its true if the stores I know are anything to go by). Either close down or get a radical re-brand by someone who understands sympathetic lighting, simple styling an how to re-establish a core market.

They are expensive and run down. The ones at Liverpool Street station are particularly nasty. One of their stores there prominently advertised a product that they no longer sell (and took great delight in telling me that as well).

They have continued to squeeze costs and also benefit from its near monopoly position in train stations. They have therefore managed to continue to post strong profits.

Stationery, books, magazines, board games (aren't they having a resurgence at the moment?), craft stuff. That's what I think it should sell. Have I missed anything?

OK, I can understand the train station ones selling drinks and snacks too, I guess.

Ecclefechantart: only if we can find someone behind mountains of tat by the tills and have gone the long way round to find a magazine, just to avoid the huge stand manned by two salespeople trying to sell you unrelated crap, deliberately sited at the entrance to the magazine aisle.

Makes me heave every time I go in - now usually only to see if it's improved any. I keep hoping...

Yanbu, except for the self service tills, I think all shops should have those. If i can buy stuff without having to speak to anyone that's a win. It also avoids being asked if I'd like to buy a packet of haribo to go with my staples.

It's a banned subject in our house and a running joke as I rant about them so much.

Even their front window displays are awful. They survive because of their train and airline business.

From WHS_carpets

Look at the collapsing shelves on their recruitment page!

www.whsmithplc.co.uk/careers/

The Smiths in our nearest city incorporated the post office when it shut down. It's a nightmare, queues everywhere
The smaller one in our town isn't too bad though, apart from trying to flog big slabs of chocolate at the checkout. And they've charged 5p for crap carrier bags for years

although it is the shop i go to when i have an urge to play bumper cars with the pushchair ds is a grabber and shit goes flying everywhere im sooooo nice and sooooo apologetic and walk out without buying anything staff are like

ive been to other areas where they have bigger stores lo and behold they put the shelves in one end of the store crammed up together and a big open space till you get to the ramp for wheelchairs etc and again they stuff shit by the ramp so of course me or someone else knock it flying

I agree OP. I went into our local store last week with DD who is in a wheelchair. I only wanted a newspaper and could have bought one elsewhere but I went into WH Smiths as they had replaced their previously broken manual door with an automatic door so it was easy for me to get in.

Having got through the door with ease, we then encountered numerous display baskets placed at the end of aisles, some of which I had to disentangle from DDs wheelchair. Add to that the fact that when I went to their self service till and scanned my paper, the till was so slow that I thought the item hadn't registered so I scanned it again - only for it to come up twice and I then had to call for a member of staff to void it - which she failed to do properly and walked off without realising that it had not accepted her authorisation code, so I had to get another member of staff to sort it out.

I won't be in a hurry to go in there again - with or without DD. They don't sell anything that I can't get elsewhere

The one in our city has closed down. Won't miss it. The only remaining store is in the hospital--there was recently a story in the local newspaper about them exploiting people in hospital and charging hugely inflated prices.

Our local WH Smiths is closing for good on 11 November. Store in neighbouring town going too. This is central Scotland.

You could see it coming - filthy, chipped front door, filthy worn carpets. Overpriced goods, awkward location. No good reason to go there, to be honest. Supermarkets cheaper and more convenient. Internet cheaper and better choice.

They did themselves no favours. I'm sorry for the staff who will lose their jobs.

The biggish one in our town centre is OK. OK for layout that is, it's got the Post Office at the back too.

There is absolutely nothing on sale at WHSmith that cannot be purchased cheaper elsewhere (priced marked newspapers & magazines aside).

I'm sure we had a thread a long time ago basically questioning how they stay in business & the answer was that they have the monopoly for newspaper distribution, so the company makes money even if the stores don't. Whether that's true I don't know, and even if it is - why wouldn't you want to make money? Reduce prices a bit & make a few simple changes and it would be a nice shop again .