221 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
221 lines
6.5 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
property
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interiorsandshopping
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7797459
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# Shop! Mary Portas at Homebase
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## Shop! Mary Portas is left to do it herself at Homebase
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![Shop! Mary Portas is left to do it herself at Homebase
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][1]
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Image 1 of 2
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Shop! Mary Portas is left to do it herself at Homebase Photo: Philip
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Bannister
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![Herbs trough, 9.99; Cottage Garden terracotta planter, 6.99][2]
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Image 1 of 2
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Herbs trough, 9.99; Cottage Garden terracotta planter, 6.99
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[![Mary Portas][3]][4]
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By [Mary Portas][5] 7:00AM BST 03 Jun 2010
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[Comments][6]
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**Rating** 3/10
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**Good for **a decent selection of DIY equipment.
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**Bad for **service, experience or specialism
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When it launched in 1981 as Sainsbury's Homebase, six years before Ikea opened
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in Britain, I used to pop in for bits and bobs to furnish my first rented
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flat. The brand felt fresh, new and, with the Sainsbury's association, a bit
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posher than its rivals in their builders-yard-style warehouses. Twenty years
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later, Homebase was merged into the Argos group, and I'm not sure it has found
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its way since. While B&Q has proudly stamped its 'friendly builders in orange
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overalls' personality all over Britain, Homebase, for some reason, has
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attempted to convince us that it stands for stylish home improvement. Where
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the brand has consistently let itself down, and particularly in comparison
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with B&Q, is in its abysmal service.
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Last Christmas I ran short of tree lights so I jumped into the car to visit my
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closest branch, knowing from past experience that I would be lucky to bump
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into a sales assistant in this huge aircraft hangar of a shop. They seemed to
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be out of the fairy lights I needed so I paced the store, looking for someone
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to help me. The queue at the helpdesk was six deep and the one man I found in
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the aisles spoke terrible English. I finally noticed a set of my lights on a
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decorative display six feet above my head and so, in desperation, grabbed a
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chair and set about disassembling it. In the 10 minutes it took me to do so,
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not one salesperson approached me. But I'm giving the brand one more chance,
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on the early May Bank Holiday, one of its busiest days of the year.
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## Related Articles
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* [Shop! Mary Portas at HSBC][7]
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17 Jun 2010
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* [Shop! Mary Portas at LK Bennett][8]
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10 Jun 2010
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**The windows** Stacked up in front of the windows of the Blandford store,
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presumably to motivate the people of Dorset to get out into their gardens,
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were bags of compost and racks of summer bedding plants. There were also some
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nicely packaged 'grow your own' fruit bags and some decently presented £12.99
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hanging baskets.
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**Shopability** Where Homebase has always struggled is in the merchandising of
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its homeware. Despite an evidently recent fit-out that has introduced better
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than average layouts for the tools, paints and hardware, the homeware in
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Blandford looked desperate. A solitary sofa had been plonked next to the
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entrance. The 'summer living' area comprised little more than a random display
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of uninspiring furniture and barbies. Most offensive of all was the kitsch
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knick-knacks department, a mishmash of vases, pot pourri containers, curly
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bronze 'sculptures' and rococo cream mantel clocks. My prize for most
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tasteless (and competition was stiff) went to the 'skeletal leaves in a
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cylinder'. Horrible.
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**Was I being served?** On my latest visit, staff once again appeared to be
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rarer than hen's teeth, but just as I was about to flounce out proclaiming, 'I
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rest my case, Terry', out popped Luke. He lent me a pen, found me a few prices
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and genuinely seemed interested in helping me - his smile alone prevented this
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review from being one of the most negative I've ever written.
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**Online** Unlike in the shops, there's a useful DIY advice centre on the
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website. I also enjoyed the 'interactive energy house' with helpful and fun
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tips on how to bring down your energy bills.
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**Verdict** I've just helped to renovate a DIY store for my new series of Mary
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Queen of Shops (Monday, 9pm, BBC Two - excuse shameless plug), and the
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experience proved to me that, despite 20 years of home makeover telly, most
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people still have no idea how to 'do it themselves'. Customers need a helping
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hand. There were a few 'how to' guides around the shop but, apart from the
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cheery Luke, Homebase lacks the most crucial ingredient in its retail sector:
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knowledgeable staff. In a giant DIY shop, I want to talk to a hairy builder
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who'll teach me how to lay a wooden floor. I yearn for a paint-smeared type to
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guide me through the tortuous process of choosing paint colour and wallpaper.
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If I were you, Terry, I'd cut back on the money you've spent luring people
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into the shops with discounts and use some of it to reward them with
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specialist advice. Skeletal leaves aside, you have some decent product here,
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but I think most customers would like it to be supported by a more inspiring
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environment and top-notch service. DIY should apply to the stuff you do at
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home, not the experience in-store.
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Homebase Stour Park, Blandford St Mary, Dorset
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**Visited** Bank Holiday Monday
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**Number of stores **349
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**What they sell** DIY and gardening equipment, furniture and homeware
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**Website** [homebase.co.uk][9]
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**Who's in charge?** Terry Duddy, chief executive
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[X][10] Share & bookmark
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][11]
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* Share: [Share][10] [ ][12] [ ][13]
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[Tweet][14]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/interiorsandshopping/7797459/Shop-Mary-
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Portas-at-Homebase.html
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Telegraph
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## [Interiors and Shopping][15]
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* ### [Shopping and Fashion »][16]
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* ### [Property »][17]
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* ### [Mary Portas »][4]
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External Links
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* ### [Mary Portas online][18]
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In property
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[![Castles for sale][19]][20]
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### [Property Picture Galleries][20]
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[![World's best places to live ][21]][22]
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### [World's best places to live][22]
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[![equity-release-guide][23]][24]
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### [The Daily Telegraph Guide to Equity Release][24]
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[![Green Property: Sarah Lonsdale][25]][26]
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### [Be green, stay sane][26]
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[![Bargain Hunter: The St Sulpice sofa][27]][28]
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### [Bargain hunter][28]
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[X][10] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][11]
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Share:
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* [ ][10]
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* [ ][12]
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* [ ][13]
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* [Tweet][14]
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* Advertisement
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![][29]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][30] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][31]
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