These Boots are made for shopping ..... (Boots Stores)

Member Name: idodoyou

Product:	Boots Stores
Date:	05/05/02 (850 review reads)
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[Prompting from a well crowned, known and respected Mrs Magee in the form of a rather splendid op has lead me to write in the category. I'll admit, while I can shop for England, to op about shopping is something I've not done .... yet.
Therefore, please be gentle]

"That was wonderful Lisa", say Mel as he wipes the sweat from his brow, "Can we do it again?".
"Oh, ok then. But first, let me tell you about Boots the Chemist".
"Can we do it then? Please?"
[Those lovely blue eyes, how could idodoyou resist ;)]
"Of course darling, just let me tell you about Boots first ok?".

[My op, so I'm picking the friend!! ;)]

If you live in the UK and haven't, as of yet, heard of Boots the Chemist, get out from under that rock.
As Britain's leading retailer of health and beauty prods with over 1,300 stores nation wide and 63,000 employees there really is no excuse.

Head towards any city or town, and you're bound to find a Boots the Chemist bursting at the seems with all manner of goodies to titillate, tantalise and generally keep the 'ole bod' in good working order. I defy anybody to walk into one of the bigger Boot's and not find what they are looking for.
The range of services that Boots [from here on in to be known as B's] offer is growing on an almost daily basis, with more and more shops opening up health centres [Chiropody, Opticians, Aromatherapy, Massage to name a few] adjacent to the main shop.

Like all good Chemists, most B's have a Pharmacy, and a friendly Pharmacist to assist you with your minor ailments. In the bigger stores you'll find a myriad of qualified [?] assistants to help you make the right decision when purchasing No7, or other branded make up. Electrical items. Sun creams. Shampoos and Conditioners. Perfumes. Laxatives. Vitamins, or any other product that the bigwigs at B's think you
might have a problem buying. Whether or not they are *all* helpful I can't comment on. I know what I want, what I've gone into buy, and therefore have had no experience of their helpfulness, or not as the case might be. However, from word of mouth, the best form of advertising, the majority seems to know what they are talking about.

Depending on which branch you venture into will depend on what it looks like. Unlike the majority of Tesco's stores I've visited, the B's shops I've been into do not follow the lay out of others.

Norwich plays host to 6 B's stores in and around the centre. We have the 3 floored Superstore in the Castle Mall with the remaining 5 scattered in prime locations to serve the inhabitants of the city well. And depending which one you shop at will depend on how you get treated.
Head for the superstore in the Mall and its rush, rush, rush. The shop assistants tend to have less time to stand and chat, advise and generally pass the time of day away with you. Plump for the store on London Street and you'll find a generally more relaxed atmosphere and friendlier staff.

However, its swings and roundabouts. If friendly service means nothing and you relish the bright lights and silver chromed fixtures of a new store I'd stay out of London St for its old, and in need of updating. And because it's a smaller branch, there aren't the facilities that people have come to expect from a bigger store. If you want basic items, a quick visit and a friendly and a less harassed member of staff ... shop in a smaller branch.

In all B's branches that over the years I've had the pleasure [and thinking back, I've not had a bad experience in any of them] of visiting, from little town 2 aisled offerings, from Airport last minute stock up booths, to Superstores up and down the country, the isles are wide, the shelves are almost always full and shopping has been a pleasure [but
then again, isn't it always?]

Talking, or rather typing of shelves leads me on to prices. Well, you don't usually get one with out the other do you? Not in supermarkets and shops anyway. Don't suppose there are many households with priced shelves??
I'm not going to lie and say B's is the cheapest for all of your toiletries. Especially since Tescos dropped their prices a couple of years back. But they are reasonable. And they do have a bigger and more extensive range of all products than your local supermarket. Like most retail establishments, B's offer their own branded items at much reduced prices and although I only use their 'Botanics' range, that ole 'word of mouth' thing has once again done the trick, and from what I've heard, on the whole people are happy with B's branded goodies.

One of B's biggest advantages are their offers, the famed and much appreciated in the world of shoppers, BOGOF [Buy One Get One Free] and the 3 for 2. These offers are usually on the ends of aisles, or in prime locations that aim to make gasp in amazement and fill your basket.

And while I'm on advantages, let's talk the biggest advantage of all. Their Advantage card. A few years back the store 'shop and save' card really came into its own. Up and down the country retailers relished in the idea to encourage shoppers to continue shopping with them. The idea, pleasing both to the consumer because of the incentive, and the retailer because it kept the customers buying, has remained a firm favourite.

With B's Advantage card, every time you spend a £1.00 you receive 4 points. A point equals a penny. Therefore, you spend a tenner [which is so easy to do] you have 40 points. 40 pence. Ok, so I'm not talking breaking the bank figures here but in a world where the cynics claim you don?t get anything for nothing .... I'm going to disagree. You do with B's. Frequentl
y you will find special bonus points offer items around the store that will bump up your points total. Bank Holidays and other occasions will see a couple of days with '10 points for every £1.00' offer too. And before you know it, you have squids on your card buck shee! Look out for the shelf edge labels with an *, make sure you've got enough points on your card, and hey presto, walk out of the store with out paying for your goodies. It's almost like shop lifting without the risk!!

Only the once have I ever had cause to deal with a B's customer service department. The whole process was quick, easy and painless. I'd bought some 'Biore Pore Strips' [retailing at a whopping 7 squids] and when getting them home found the box empty! [thieving b**ta**s] I was ready for an argument. I mean, would they believe me? I didn't even believe it myself. No problems. The assistant was helpful, apologetic and I kept hold of my receipt and picked up another box on my next trip into the city.

As I said previously, where you shop will depend on what kind of service you receive. We all have bad days. We all know what it's like to be in a place you don't want to be, and although it shouldn?t, it does show. Working in retail myself, maybe I'm too critical when it comes to being served? I have been into some shops and received service that has left me fuming in disgust. And yet I've been into some that have left me doubting my own ability as an assistant [on my good days that is ;)] However, on no occasion can I say that I have had a bad experience when being dealt with by a B's shop assistant. They are always helpful, knowledgeable, and capable of doing their jobs.

Living in the age of plastic, you'll be hard pressed to come across a shop that doesn't take the better known of our 'flexible friends'. B's is no different, and will accept all of your plastic with the exclusion of 'Elec
tron' and 'Solo'. Cheques can be taken, and up to £10.00 with out a guarantee card [discretion of the manager]. Something that is virtually unheard of these days I should imagine?

A couple of years ago, Boots made the leap on-line, and set up www.wellbeing.com. Once only a site full of information for all your 'well being' needs, its now a virtual B's store and, an even bigger, and much more information packed site for all your 'well being' needs. There are no quick 'surfs' around this site I'm afraid. All information is geared up to make you want to learn more ... Click on one link and you'll be directed to all manner of health related pages. Click on another .... and there's more. A site to be seen, and read, to be appreciated.

Up until now, I've not made use of the on-line ordering. However, with constant offers being sent via e-mail, the time is not far off.
The delivery rate is reasonable, and if you spend over £40.00 [which is so easy to do] delivery is free. With a 'virtual' stock list of over 10,000 items, choice is obviously not a problem.
Delivery comes in six different types. Ranging from Standard at £2.95 to
Next day delivery at £4.95.
In all cases a signature is needed as proof of delivery.

The site is clean looking [white and clinical!] clear, easy to navigate, and quick to load. If it's just a look you are going for, there's no need to register, however, if you are a hermit who needs some Haemorrhoid cream, or an on-line shoppaholic, you'll need to give them your details in order to ...., well, order.

Like several other sites I have visited in the past, there is no trouble in contacting the powers that be if need be. There are phone numbers, email and snail mail addresses if you need to contact them for any reason.

My last look at this site [yesterday] told me that it was last updated on the 4 April 2002. Ok, s
o we are not talking up to the minute site updating here but it's way better than the site that keeps sending me e-mails suggesting Mothers Day gifts!!

If I had to list my top ten shops, B's would be up in the top 5. I'm a girlie. I like girlie things. Well, some girlie things anyway. Not so much the make up and hair accessories but shampoos, facial care and well, stuff to keep me smelling nice all day long. I like nice lotions and potions to put on my bod.

I like shopping. It's made better by the fact that the staff are friendly and helpful. The shop is big bright and welcoming. I guess it matters a little that it's always busy [the Superstore one is anyway] but then again, what shop isn't. I like the range of goodies. I'm never stuck for choice. And very rarely do I leave B's without the item I went in for. Oh, I frequently come out with items that I didn't go in for, but in my defence, they have all been used and enjoyed, and therefore can not really be classed as one of those waste of money impulse buys. Can they?

I guess, the biggest attraction to B's for me is the Advantage card. Although, I don't go out of my way to shop there especially for my 4 pence in every pound. If I know something is cheaper at Tescos, and I'm going to Tescos .... I buy it at Tescos. If I'm in the city and I need something from B's but know it's cheaper at Tescos, I go to B's. The majority of their stores, or rather the ones in and around Norwich, are built in such locations that they are handy. Convenient. They are ready and waiting for the customer to remember that they've run out of shampoo. Or toothpaste. Or Aspirin.

Can I help it if I remember, on a regular basis, that I need a new bottle of perfume [to go with the other 5]. Another bottle of shampoo [I'm down to my last 4 bottles and I don't want to run out] A new type of facial cleanser [the other 6 on my vanity unit
work well but ....] Ooh, and that body lotion .... I must try that, and that one. And I've heard that this is good too. Going to have to try that as well .....

[Just in case you are interested .... John Boot was born in Radcliffe~On~Trent in 1815. It was a poor area and people could not afford the services of a physician. John's mother used herbs for healing, and therefore, he took what knowledge he had learnt from her, and with the help from his father in law, and his wife opened up 'The British and American Botanic Establishment'. John and his wife prepared many of the remedies themselves as well as giving consultations and serving in the shop. The rest, you could say is history ... ]

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