Worst Shop on the High Street.

Shoppers tired of poor customer service, products or even store layout have taken their revenge by ranking high street shops - and Halfords was sunk to the bottom of the list.

The car and cycle repairs shop was voted the worst, with one punter referring to staff as “unhelpful and rude” in a damning verdict for the store, which received a customer satisfaction score of just 51%. WH Smith wasn’t racing much further ahead, with a score of 52%.

Consumer champion Which? carried out the research and questioned more than 11,000 people. Scores are based on price, products, service and store, as well as after sales or returns.
Top marks
Ethical cosmetics shop Lush topped the tables with a score of 83% - beating John Lewis and Apple, which both scored 81% and shared second place.

Lush was praised for its “friendly and knowledgeable staff” as well as its “high quality products”.

The ten highest rated shops all scored over 70% and in addition to first and second place the list includes: Lakeland, Clarks, Richer Sounds, the Disney Store, IKEA, Morrisons and Bon Marche.
Bottom rung
The 10 lowest rated shops scored up to 58% and in addition to Halfords and WH Smith include: Blacks, Tesco, Poundstretcher, JJB Sports, TK Maxx, Brantano, BHS, Primark, Homebase and JD Sports, with some sharing the same score and rank in the list.

It’s highly likely that some of these stores are concentrating solely on cost-effectiveness over warm and fuzzy customer relations – Poundstretcher being a prime example. Anyone’s who has stepped inside a Primark is equally likely to appreciate the price more than the ambience of the shop, which often ends up looking like it’s been ravaged by looters at the end of a busy Saturday.

Here's what Halfords had to say: "At Halfords providing great products and a high level of service is a top priority. Our feedback shows that thousands of customers each week love the help we provide. We are working hard and investing to improve our offer further and to provide an even better experience for customers."
Squeezed budgets
Which? fired a warning shot to the big high street players to up their game, as people are becoming “choosier” about where they spend their money in the face of squeezed household spending and competition from online retailers.

More than half of shoppers admitted they were shopping less than this time last year and 41% of consumers said they preferred to shop online because it is cheaper and easier to compare prices.

The majority of respondents (57%) said they tend to buy more online than they do on the high street.
The winners and losers according to you
Do you agree with the survey? Or should it all be the other way around?

Let us know by leaving your comments in the box below.

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Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

I rarely bother to go into town apart from when I have business at the bank. I do most of my shopping at the supermarket or on-line, a lot less hassle.

Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

Aldi and Lidl are where we do most of our shoppingl Cheap but no staff around if you need one..

Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

Tesco is my supermarket of choice, I occasionally got to Sainsbury too.

Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

I shop at Sainsburys. Dont like Tesco or Asda which are the only other choices in Watford.

Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

I'm not surprised Halfords has come out worst, our local Halfords is nicknamed Halfrauds, due to the exorbitant prices they charge.

Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

Not a lover of Halfords myself, they seem to be stuck in their way of thinking, shops all seem to require a decent merchandiser.
I noticed Argos has now got it's own TV shopping channel, if your interested 642 on Sky.

Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

I felt like giving the Youngster in Perth's Halfords a Clip round the Ear last time I was there. All I wanted was a Green Touch-Up Kit for some Scratches on my VW Passat, There was only 2 colours of Green to choose from and they both looked right. I asked the Guy if he would come out to my Car with me so as I could check, the Car was just at the Door and he refused, said I'd have to buy them both, check, and get a Refund on the one I didn't want. I asked him what Planet he came from and told him I'd like to speak to the Supervisor. She was older by about 20 Years and said "Yes no Problem" She stood at the Door while I checked them against my Car. Took all of 20 Seconds and they got a Sale and I was Happy...well sort of.
I hope she Chewed the Wee Runt out after I left. He just couldn't be Bothered helping.

Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

I can personally vouch for Lush, well done to them. They started off here in Poole, they are all youngsters, happy in their work, happy to help but not in your face.
Halfords - well! We went in their to buy a bike I had seen on their website. I'd printed it off, picture and all and showed it to them. It wasn't in the store so I asked if they could order it in for me please and we would come and collect it. Got told 'order off the internet, we don't do that'. Then he turned away from us. The place was empty, rude sod!
So I went to Amazon!

Re: Worst Shop on the High Street.

I rarely venture to the shops these days except for small local independent shops and Waitrose a very customer friendly shop.