UKC

I just felt like saying what a great job the guys at the Oxford Road branch of Cotswold are doing. I was in there today originally just to eye up some gear for future purchase and got chatting to one of the guys in there about being relatively new to climbing. Very friendly and very helpful I must say.

Of course snapping up 10 DMM Live-Wire quick draws for the sum of £55 has probably helped elevate the store's image even more in my mind, but I'll definately be heading in there again before I buy anything elsewhere! Bargains and good staff make for a great shopping experience (And I hate shopping!) So if anyone from that store reads this, thanks once again!

In reply to stoo2k:
55 for 10 QDs is fantastic when you think about it. thats going to be about £2.50 per crab. I was paying that 20 years ago and you can bet the live wires`are much better than the clog ones i was buying! On balance, when you consider the ave wage 25 years ago, climbing stuff has not changed prices or even sometimes even got cheaper.
Glad you got a good guy in Cotswolds, they get slated here sometimes.

In reply to stoo2k: £55 for 10 quick draws!! Is that right? Do they have more?

In reply to stoo2k: I've ALWAYS had good service at Cotswold(usually ByC) Staff are always friendly, have an interest in their customers and in what they are buying. 10/10

In reply to stoo2k:

It is good because we actually do the activities we sell the kit for. We don't get that much product training, apart from boots, other than that its us messing around with the kit. This makes all the difference. I am glad you had a good experience.

In reply to stoo2k:

I didn't fare quite so well a couple of years ago! Replacement walking boots I bought were not so well fitted, and they were reluctant to sell me anything other than the Merrell brand they identified as right for me. Sooo not right, like boats but they advised everything else would be too narrow ... maybe my feet are just wrong!

In reply to mypyrex:

Yep, me too.

In reply to Tony Naylor:

While I can't comment on this store, I have only had ill-informed service from Cotswolds staff, sadly, so I don't shop there.

Cheers

In reply to mozzer:

Hmm strange hearing that.

Whats your store ?

In reply to LewClimbs:

I've had poor information / advice in both Guildford and London Piccadilly. I can't fault their prices online, though, and have bought clothes from them.

In reply to AlisonSmiles:

I had a similar experience at Cotswold, albeit several years ago. I always reckon an experienced user of boots is a better judge of what's right for them than a shop assistant with any amount of training. There's reasonable chance I'll have worn more pairs of boots than the assistant has sold!

In reply to Doug Hughes:

Several pairs a day? That's an awful lot of boots to get through!

In reply to mozzer:

Not mine, thankfully

In all seriousness, I guess you'll get different people interpretations all the time !

In reply to stoo2k: There's only one reason I sometimes shop at Cotswold and that's because I get a decent discount.

I have had very good and very rude service in the past and get fed up of people asking if they can help - one person is fine but it's usually more like 3 people .

I would much rather spend my cash at places like V12, Joe Browns, Needdlesports et al.

In reply to jezb1:

I work there, and we're taught to approach customers but give honest advice not 'push for the sell'. Of course we're told to greet every customer, but thats just simply manners.

In reply to LewClimbs: I've always found the Oxford Clearances branch to be a little gem.

All the guys and girls in there are climbers and will give honest advice when asked for it.
And there's normally some very cheap stuff. I got aload of.new QD's off them a few days ago for a good price.

In reply to stoo2k: I always try to support good independant shops. As they offer a far better range in specialist equipment than multiples such as Cotswold, who only stock products that are sure fire winners in sales terms. These products were probably first seen in good specialist stores.