Last week I was looking to buy a charger for my Nokia Coolpix camera - it's one of the most prevalent point-and-shoots today, so I didn't expect to have many issues with getting it from Jessops. How little I knew!

Firstly, it took me about 5 minutes to get the attention of someone in the store. Admittedly, I had thought I might be able to help myself, so I had gone straight to the battery and charger display, but the wealth of choice left me dumbfounded, so I looked around for someone to help me. Though there were two gentlemen on the other side of the store, not clearly assisting any other customers, I wasn't approached at all. I took the product I had a question about (a universal charger) and approached the gentlemen at the same time as another customer.

The one I ended up speaking to seemed quite distracted and it took me at least another minute of saying, 'Hello? Hello? I'm sorry, could you please help me with this?' before he said, 'Yeah, sure, hold on, let me see if someone else can help you'. He asked the man he had been speaking to previously for help, but the other shop assistant was now attending to the other customer.

The assistant helping me told me to wait, and went to the back. After two minutes, he came out, and said someone would help me. He then asked the same attendant from before if he could help again, who very brusquely said 'I have no idea. It says it's a universal charger, but I have no idea if it'll work for you' - and that was it! No other solution was offered - he might have as well physically shoved me aside!

And let me say again, this wasn't a complicated, professional camera with specialist mechanisms et al! This was a Nokia Coolpix, arguably the most popular point-and-shoot out there - which I had even helpfully brought in so they might look at the battery, look at the charger, and discern whether or not it might fit. But no - a quick glance at the charger in my hand, and a blunt "I don't know". Considering Jessops markets itself as the one-stop digital camera store, such an answer is ridiculous - I wasn't asking for specialist knowledge, I was simply asking whether or not one of their products (which they should have a working knowledge of) would work with one of the most popular everyday-cameras on the market today (which they were in fact selling in store!).

The initial assistant helping me then went to the back yet again, and brought out another assistant who merely shook her head at him and said they were 'sold out', leaving him to deliver me the bad news - I suppose she couldn't come the foot closer to me and say it to my face, even offer an apology? The first guy then simply shrugged at me and said I could try John Lewis - because as we all know, THEY are known for their digital camera prowess, right?