Unusual though it may be, I have always enjoyed shopping. Perhaps it is my love of gadgets and such that causes me to seek out bargains, new products and special deals.
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I am a sucker for buying a product that has been demonstrated in the store or a show, only to find that the product never works as well is home as it did when it was demonstrated.
Knife sharpeners, magnetic window cleaners that clean both sides of the panes at once, egg slicers, pineapple peelers - you name it, I have tried it.
Which brings me to the woeful situation that is Wollongong shopping. Maybe it is my age, but I do not find Wollongong a fun place to shop. The streets are empty, the shops devoid of customers.
Hopefully this will change when the new development is completed, but at present I have no desire to shop at the big majors.
Their presentations and displays do not entice me to enter their doors, indeed most of them have displays that seem not to have changed in 10 years.
One of the greatest problems I see is a lack of staff serving and a lack of staff knowing their product.
On one particular occasion I remember walking past rows of vacant cash registers clutching in my hand some small item I wished to purchase, whilst scanning the store seeking a person, any person prepared to take my payment.
I resorted to phoning the store in question, asking where the nearest manned registrar was, but I think she thought I was being a clever dick and hung up.
PREVIOUS BLOG: My painful month without the Internet
Nothing is more frustrating than asking a technical question from a member of the staff who immediately picks up the packaging and commences to read it to you, slower than you had just read it two minutes before.
Some faith was restored when I recently entered the Wollongong JB HiFi store. I was after a set of Sonos speakers, speakers that connect to your Wi-fi at home and play music streamed through the internet.
For a start, the store was cheerful and full of colour. The sales staff were polite and enquiring, and more importantly knew their merchandise. In no time at all I knew the ins and outs of the Sonos systems, what I needed and what had to be purchased to run the system.
Not only that, but the price was even competitive with what was on offer on the Net. Now, I have no connection with JB HiFI whatsoever, but it would seem to me that they are doing something positive to counter internet sales and offer that little bit more: knowledgeable friendly service.
Graeme Morrison is a connoisseur of fine wine and food, a gadget junkie and practices law as a sideline.
