The shop you sometimes need a degree to use! (Argos)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Argos
Date:	20/11/08 (155 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Immense range of products available

Disadvantages: Queuing, availability, customer service

I'm glad that my four year old son is into his writing and reading, and that he will quite happily sit down and get a book out just as soon as put the TV on or play games. Normally, he gets out books relevant to his age where there are more pictures than words, reading is only just coming to him.

His latest favourite book is the Argos catalogue! With a balanced combination of huge pictures and the tiniest of writing to cram all the serial numbers and technical details in about every product, he has already pointed out the hi-tech lawnmower he wants for Christmas, as well as the Lego Star Wars X-Wing Fighter aimed at children aged 8 and over. At nearly 2000 pages long, you'd think it would take him a while to make his mind up. But no! 'Daddy, look! That's what I've always wanted!'

I could criticise, but the thing is, I was exactly the same when I was a kid! I would get the Argos catalogue out a couple of months before Christmas, and start making list after list after list, and just not understand why I couldn't have anything and everything I wanted! However, what is good about the Argos catalogue is that everything is laid out in an organised and easily accessible fashion.

I wish the ssme could be said of the stores, or at least, the few I have been in. Let's be honest: Argos is a very popular place, and with such a wide range of products and a promise to have things in stock, I understand fully that their warehouse is going to be considerably larger than their shop front. I only hope the warehouse is more organised on the whole.

Our local Argos, for example, has the normal rows of Argos catalogues, laminated and fastened to the long benches for customers to peruse before buying, armed with little calculator-like machines so that you can check if something is in stock before queuing up. Years back, you always had to queue to pay and get your product, but now there are various credit and debit card self service machines dotted around so that you can pay and then just wait without having to have a member of staff's assistance. Or, if you would rather queue to buy one of their various on the shelf products or you are paying by cheque or cash or just don't want to use their machines, then this queue tends to snake its way wherever there is any room left in the store.

Our local Argos has a rather small shop front, but is regularly jam packed full of customers, not just the perusers or the buyers, but also the waiters. Once you have paid and ordered your item, naturally it has to be collected from the depths of the warehouse, and this can take a while if it's busy or if you've ordered a number of different items which just happen to be at all four corners of the Argos Warehouse World. The number of people waiting grows and grows and then a plethora of items arrive before yours if finally plucked out, your number called, and the staff then struggle to find a bag big enough for my son's brand spanking new lawnmower! (Only joking, he's not really getting one!)

Essentially, the system works, but it seems to me that there are a couple of problems. Busy periods are one - I guess with any retail environment, you have to be able to take an elevated level of business without notice, and most retail environments can cope with this as the products are chosen by the customers themselves, taken off the shelves, and to the checkout, where they are paid for and then you leave. With Argos, when it gets busy, the processes become more complicated as there are more stages to go through, and the backlog just builds up. Some days you can't even get in the store because of the number of people waiting.

Another issue is the fact that the biggest insight you have to the product you're buying is a picture of it in a catalogue. This doesn't bother many people, depending on what the item is, and Argos do tend to be quite good when you return an item, but naturally there are terms and conditions, and it depends in what state you return the item. There is no chance to have a look at the size or shape or try something out before you buy it.

Customer service in our local Argos seems to be a bit up and down, and I have noticed the same in other stores. I'm sure it must be a highly stressful job as there are so many different stages to the process of a customer buying something, but each member of staff srely only has to deal with one process at a time, so you would expect to get decent customer service at each station. It is one of the things that really bugs me. Service with a smile or at least a decent welcome for the customer is important, and it's usually something that sways my mind as to whether I'll go back again or not, retail or catering, or anything, really.

Argos also has an online facility, where you can avoid all the aggravation by queuing and waiting for ages. The only drawback to this is that you cannot get a guaranteed date and time until close to the date, and there's the same danger with any delivery service: that it may be damaged in some way, and if you don't say anything at the time, it may be too late. I have never used Argos' online delivery service, so I couldn't comment, but these are the pitfalls in general with ordering online for delivery.

All in all, I rate Argos highly, despite the faults I have mentioned. At the end of the day, they offer a ridiculously large range of products, and to be able to supply as many of them as possible on a daily basis to throngs of demanding and grumpy customers is naturally going to come with its sacrifices. Queuing is a favourite past time of Brits, anyway. Let's be honest - we're good at it and very used to it. And ultimately, you can get pretty much anything you want from Argos. I'm happy to live with a couple of sacrifices along the way, but it's not a shop I'd go in on a regular basis. Wish me luck telling him he can't have the lawnmower, then, and happy Argossing!

Summary: Plenty of products, but can take a while to get them!