321 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
321 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
technology
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reviews
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6197194
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-----
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# Shop! Mary Portas at Currys
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## Mary Portas would like her Currys to be hotter .
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![Shop! Mary Portas at Currys][1]
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Image 1 of 3
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Shop! Mary Portas at Currys
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![Samsung 42in HD-ready digital TV, 499][2]
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Image 1 of 3
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Samsung 42in HD-ready digital TV, 499
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![Dell widescreen laptop, 499][3]
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Image 1 of 3
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Dell widescreen laptop, 499
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[![Mary Portas][4]][5]
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By [Mary Portas][6] 7:00AM BST 17 Sep 2009
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[Comments][7]
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**Rating** 5/10
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**Good for** a better, brighter shop
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**Bad for** experience service or specialism
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Four years ago, I attempted to review Dixons for this page. The lardy sales
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assistant was so unhelpful and his breakfast-stained T-shirt so tight and
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unpleasant that I flounced out in disgust and reviewed the Apple Store
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instead. The owner of Dixons, DSG, apparently shared my low opinion. After 70
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years on the British high street, it took the brand exclusively online in
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2006, rebranding its 200 or so shop facias as Currys Digital. The bad news for
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DSG is that I've never been able to distinguish Dixons from Currys, so it
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didn't make much difference. When I think of white goods, electronics and
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computers, my mind inevitably turns to the specialist touch of PC World, or
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the clear and confident value proposition of Comet. But I'm prepared to give
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it a second chance.
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**The windows **The windows were bare and open, apart from a poster
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advertising the new Dell wide-screen laptop. Regrettably, on closer inspection
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the product that the window dressers had put in front of the poster was a
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Samsung TV.
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## Related Articles
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* [Are these the most honest adverts ever?][8]
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19 Sep 2009
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* [Shop! Mary Portas at APC][9]
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26 Nov 2009
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* [Shop! Mary Portas at John Lewis][10]
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13 Aug 2009
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* [Shop! Mary Portas at Ralph Lauren][11]
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26 Aug 2009
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* [Shop! Mary Portas at Galeries Lafayette][12]
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15 Oct 2009
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**Shopability** Hats off to the team - this shop felt a darn sight more
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pleasant and professional than dreary old Dixons. The tea-stained red tops had
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been replaced by cooler midnight-blue shirts, and the merchandising was clean
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and clear, dividing the shop into laptops, MP3 players, DVD players,
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accessories, photography and televisions.
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**Was I being served?** Buying a television has never been more complicated,
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but a friendly chap helped me to navigate the various options. Even a
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technophobe like me knows that you don't buy on your first visit (you research
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online, compare specs and prices - and then you probably go to John Lewis) so
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I asked for a brochure. Too honest for his own good, the salesman told me they
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had printed one recently but the marketing team had got all the prices wrong
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so they had withdrawn it from the shop.
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He then suggested that I go online so, critically, failed to close the sale.
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The shop was nice and he was pleasant, but did I feel I'd been touched by the
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hands of an expert? Hmm…
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**What's new? **I was impressed by the company's new offer to take away and
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recycle your old appliances for nothing, though this applies only to certain
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items, such as fridges and dishwashers.
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[**Online**][13] I love Currys' new telly and print ads that feature
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brilliantly cast 'ordinary folk' in desperate situations. One of the boldest
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promotions the ads put forward is the promise of a 'next-day delivery' in
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convenient time slots between 7am and 10pm, which really impressed me. As my
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dishwasher had packed up, I rang asking for a Bosch model I'd spotted online.
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Giddy at the thought of a new model in my kitchen by the end of the week, and
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my old one on its way to recycling heaven, I tried to place an order. At the
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time of writing, the model I wanted had sold out and my second choice needed
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to come straight from the supplier and would take up to 28 days. Double hmm…
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**Verdict** If you read my column regularly, you'll be familiar with my mantra
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for shops: deliver experience, service and specialism, and people will come;
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deliver a generic experience devoid of personal service or expertise and
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people will go online. The problem with Currys Digital is that while they've
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implemented a competent clean-up, the business still fails to stand for
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anything in particular. If they were committed to beating anyone else on price
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and offering the most expert and passionate staff, they could deliver the most
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innovative technology experience on the high street.
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Currys Digital Oxford Street, London W1
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**Visited** Tuesday, 11am
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**Number of stores** 500-plus
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**What they sell **electrical goods
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**Website** [currys.co.uk][13]
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**Who's in charge?** John Browett, chief executive of DSG International plc
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[Click here to vote for your favourite shops and a chance to win a £2,000
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shopping spree][14]
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[X][15] 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?][16]
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* Share: [Share][15] [ ][17] [ ][18]
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[Tweet][19]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/reviews/6197194/Shop-Mary-Portas-at-
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Currys.html
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Telegraph
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## [Technology Reviews][20]
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* ### [Retail and Consumer »][21]
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* ### [Lifestyle »][22]
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* ### [Shopping and Fashion »][23]
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* ### [Mary Portas »][5]
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In technology
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[![][24] ][25]
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### [Samsung Omnia 7 Review][25]
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[![Kinect, Microsoft's hands-free interface for the Xbox 360 goes on sale
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today][26] ][27]
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### [Microsoft Kinect review][27]
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[X][15] 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?][16]
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Share:
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* [ ][15]
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* [ ][17]
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* [ ][18]
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* [Tweet][19]
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* Advertisement
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![][28]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][29] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][30]
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[![Follow The Telegraph on social media][31]][32]
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Advertisement
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sponsored features
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Loading
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[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][33]
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### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][34]
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[![Gil Scott-Heron][35]][34]
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Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
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on the black American experience.
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### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][36]
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### [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][37]
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### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][38]
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### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][39]
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Advertisement
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Classified Advertising
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* [IT Jobs][40]
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* [Cars][41]
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* [Culture][42]
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Loading
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[Find your ideal job with Telegraph Jobs][43]
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