I love Boots! (Boots Stores)

Member Name: jennikitten

Product:	Boots Stores
Date:	02/02/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great range and loyalty scheme

Disadvantages: See review

Boots is a very popular offline store, originating in Nottingham. Having lived in Nottingham for a few years I can't say there's really any difference to the ones in Notts! Random bit of information: there's a Uni of Nottingham residential hall named Florence Boot after Mr Boot's wife - he donated some land to them or something!

Anyway, on to the shop itself. Boots used to be known as 'Boots the chemist', but now it sells everything from bath stuff to make up to perfume. It's also well known for its big 3 for 2 sales on Christmas gifts (gifts which are then reduced in the New Year - I got a laptop bag of all things for £7 in the sale).

One of the best things about Boots is its generous loyalty card system. You get 4 points I think for every £1 spent, and you can cash these in to redeem your purchases (or put money towards them). This is great if you get Boots vouchers or spend a lot on makeup as you're quickly rewarded. I know one woman who just asks for Boots gift vouchers for presents so she can get her favourite perfume! Additionally, most Boots have machines where you can check out the latest offers and even print vouchers in store. It's easy to fall into the trap of buying things you don't need, however, so be careful!

Bigger Boots have good sized chemist counters with pharmacists who are quite knowledgeable (though obviously you should seek proper medical advice when necessary). I've also used the photo counters and printing machines which are good.

I've noticed also that some Boots have started to introduce self service checkouts, which speeds up the queues considerably. If you're buying more personal items I guess it's good to save you feeling as embarrassed as well.

All in all, Boots stocks a wide range of things and offers a good number of services. One of the reasons for their success is probably their expansion of services, as cheaper competitors such as Superdrug can't really compete in this respect.

I've always found Boots stores to be clean and well-managed with average staff. There always seem to be staff members wandering around if you have any questions, too. My only gripe is that in some Boots stores the aisles are very narrow which makes it difficult to get to/see displays properly. Oh, and also the testers can be a bit rubbish, with ones missing and stuff.

Summary: It's great