Are you being served...?! (John Lewis)

Member Name: richa10a

Product:	John Lewis
Date:	08/08/09 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Top class customer service. Modern stores. Quailty goods.

Disadvantages: Stores are few & far between.

John Lewis has to be my favourite department store. Unfortunately my town doesn't have a branch (it's too upmarket for us!), so I usually visit the one situated within the Trafford Centre near Manchester. I have shopped in several branches across the country though, & have always found them to be situated in quite modern buildings & shopping centres (there are 27 branches across the UK). I think this is part of their appeal for me, since all the department stores in my town are housed in old, dilapidated buildings & both internally & externally require extensive modernisation.

John Lewis, like any other department store, sells all the usual fayre. From the perfume & cosmetics counters at the store entrance, to clothing & footwear, to homewares & gifts. The quality here is very good. There are many designer names to be found, but prices are, for the most part, pretty realistic (realistic in terms of the brands sold, versus prices at other upmarket establishments). The merchandise is a mid-range - not the lower end such as BHS, but not so high-end as Selfridges & Harrods, meaning that the store will appeal to most shoppers.

The best thing about John Lewis is - without doubt - the customer service. It is second to none. The staff are always well presented, friendly & very helpful. This is mainly due to the fact that John Lewis is a 'partnership', meaning that every employee has a stake in the business, and receives a share of the stores profit each year. This dividend is calculated as a percentage of their annual salary, with the same percentage for everyone - from the directors to the shop floor staff. With such a bonus at stake, the onus is on all staff members to perform to the best of their ability in order to maximise their annual payout.

A bit of history, taken from Wikipedia, explains how the partnership came to be:

The business was founded in 1864 when John Lewis set up a draper's shop in Oxford Street, London, which developed into a department store. In 1905 he bought the Peter Jones store in Sloane Square. In 1920 his son, John Spedan Lewis, expanded earlier power-sharing policies by sharing the profits the business made among the employees. The democratic nature and profit-sharing basis of the business were developed into a formal partnership structure and Spedan Lewis bequeathed the company to his employees.

John Lewis is truly a pleasure to shop at. I can't recommend the store, and it's staff, highly enough.

Summary: My favourite department store.